Sampan

Sampan's mostly veggie-unfriendly menu has kept me away from the chic, Asian-fusion restaurant on Philly's 13th St. restaurant row, despite having a celebrity chef (sorry, but I don't know Michael Schulson, his TV appearances, and his Atlantic City restaurant, Izakaya, from Adam), and the fact that at the bottom of the menu a statement is printed saying vegetarian accommodations can be made. What finally got us in the door — and out the back door — was Sampan's graffiti bar and happy hour. An outdoor, sheltered-from-the-elements space with a long communal table and bar, both made of steel, lies just out back from the restaurant. The back wall and table tops are all graffiti-ed up by artists giving the space a gritty, but hip, urban feel. I like!Happy hour runs Monday-Friday from 5-7pm with $2 snacks and a daily-changing $4 cocktail. You know what would be nice? If the Graffiti Bar had an actual bartender during happy hour. When we went — on a Friday, no less — there was no bartender until 7pm, so servers from indoors periodically came out to check on us and take orders to give to the indoor bar.The $4 cocktail of the day was coconut rum with cherry soda — like a cherry Coke with subtle hints of coconut — and, mmm, I could drink these all day long.
The happy hour menu only has one vegetarian item — satay corn — so that's what I went with. Nothing more than grilled corn on a skewer siting on a dab of mayonnaise, topped with cilantro micro-greens, and accompanied by a wedge of salted lime and a little pile of togarashi (Japanese chili powder) to bring a little Asian to the fusion. The $2 price tag was about right.

Since we had such a nice server, and corn is not enough for dinner, we decided to ask about the vegetarian accommodations. Basically, four or so dishes that can easily have the meat removed (the pad Thai, mapo tofu, Korean rice cake, and fried rice), along with a couple of salads and starters that are already vegetarian are Sampan's accommodations.I went for the pad Thai sans shrimp, and what arrived was the blandest pad Thai I have ever had. Ever! It tasted like I was eating buttered spaghetti. I mentioned this to our server, and then was explained that the chef leaves off the fish sauce-inclusive pad Thai sauce when anyone orders the dish without shrimp, in assumption that the person is vegetarian. That explains the blandness!

Leaving off the pad Thai sauce is simultaneously considerate to vegetarians and extremely lame. Not hardly what I'd expect from a celebrity chef that claims vegetarian accommodations can be made on their menu. How about a pad Thai sauce without fish sauce? We also paid full price for this dish, which, unfortunately for vegetarians, is the norm at most restaurants when meat is omitted, but, dang, full price for meat-less and sauce-less noodles!The Korean rice cakes sans sausage has Asian greens and a sauce with a pleasant mix of spiciness and vinegar, and is actually the better of the two dishes. I'm just not a fan of rice cakes which are heavy, chewy pieces of steamed glutinous rice flour that resemble dense pasta. It's the heft that gets me. I am a fan of the celery micro-greens that garnished the dish. Sampan apparently has an arsenal of piquant, not-your-average micro-greens back in the kitchen.

A bartender-less bar during happy hour and lame vegetarian accommodations. If it weren't for the exceptional server we had, I would have left in a sour mood instead of smiling ear to ear, making a point to thank the server for such a wonderful evening.

Sampan
124 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-732-3501
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30am-4pm
Dinner: Mon-Thurs 5-11pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-midnight, Sun 5-10pm

Zavino

Two free glasses or wine or beer per customer is a great way to get diners into a new restaurant, and that's exactly what Zavino is doing until their liquor license comes through. The little bit of money they lose on beer and wine will be more than compensated by the repeat business they're sure to get, because they're making some great pizzas in a snug and charming little corner pizzaria and wine bar on one of Philly's hottest restaurant rows.

Seating is tight at Zavino's window tables and serpentine marble bar, so go during off hours or before the rush. While the owner is pleasant in assisting both customers and servers, his added body in the already cramped interior is unneeded. With a corner location there are sure to be sidewalk tables added when the weather warms up, which may alleviate the crush.

Similar to Stella, Starr's new Pizzaria off South St., Zavino's menu is small and focused with small plates of antipasta, cheese, cured meats, salads, and vegetables. Zavino also features some larger entree specials.

And, of course, there are the pizzas. The pizza oven at Zavino is gas with fruit woods tossed in, but still kicks out a crispy pizza with nice blistering. Four out of seven of Zavino's 12-inch pizzas (all priced $8-$13) are vegetarian.
The roasted butternut squash at only $5 still seemed a little skimpy for what it was - 5 or so cold slices of sweet balsamic glazed roasted squash topped with a smattering of arugula and three shavings of Pecorino. I don't see them pricing this dish at $3 or $4, so...here's where they make some moolah. Tasty enough starter, though.Mushrooms are a favorite pizza topping of mine, so we choose The Kennett with bechemel, Claudio's Mozzarella, roasted onions, and a mix of oyster, crimini and shiitake mushrooms.

Ooh, bechemel sauce on pizza is so good. At first I was hoping for a little more onion/herb/garlic pop, but then, thinking back on all the mushroom soups I've eaten when I lived in Kennett Square (the pizza's namesake and source of the mushrooms), the creamy and mildly musty pizza captured those soups perfectly.

Compared to Stella's pizza, I found Zavio's pizza a smidge thicker (but by no means thick-crusted), a little crispier and not suffering as much from droop when a slice was picked up. I would not be able to declare a winner between Stella and Zavino without having pies from both pizzarias in front of me, and even then I think it would be a draw, not to mention completely useless unless you're a pizza übersnob. Nothing wrong with having good pizza in two different parts of town.

For some, this is all you need to know: you're far less likely to dine amongst families with children at Zavino than you are at Stella.

A slice of chocolate pear cake (picture was so poor it wasn't worth including) in a pool of chocolate sauce and topped with a dense whipped cream was fine, but nothing to write home about. Before ordering dessert, remember that some of the best gelato in the country is right across the street at Capogiro.

Zavino
112 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-732-2400
Sun-Wed, 5-11pm
Thurs-Sat, 5pm-2am

Bourbon Dinner At terra

I get myself in trouble every time I whine on Twitter. This time I whined about terra's 5-course bourbon dinner held on December 15 not having vegetarian options, when I know from reading terra's blog that their chef, Eric Paraskevas (Slate, Lolita), boasts of including veg options on the menu and keeping tempeh stocked in the kitchen.

An almost instant reply back on Twitter from terra (small "t") said they'd look into the matter, and the very next day a veg option for the bourbon dinner became a reality. How could I not reserve a seat after my little Twitter bitchin'? Plus, I've heard good things about the somewhat newly opened warm, cozy, subterranean restaurant and bar nestled below Tavern on Camac on the quaint Camac St. ally.
Different bourbons from the Jim Beam family were an ingredient in each of the five courses that evening, and each course was paired with a bourbon drink by a duo of personable representatives from alcohol distributors Southern Wine and Spirits who also circled the room answering any questions about the bourbon being served. The reps also raffled off a bottle of Knob Creek. (Our table didn't win.)Steak Tartar (tofu in my case) with Baker's Bourbon Caviar was the amouse bouche. With not much flavor to the bourbon Caviar nor the tofu, diced onion was the main flavor.Baker's Bourbon served neat started the evening off. Sweet, smooth, and as a dinner partner noted, toasty, this 7-year aged bourbon is a nice sipper.A warm and light onion roll arrived to the table, which was so good, I ate all of it, and I normally don't eat bread brought to the table unless it's worthy.Arugula salad with Humbolt Fog cheese, Jim Beam soaked cranberries, roasted parsnips, house bacon (omitted in my case), and ginger bourbon vinaigrette was an outstanding salad and my favorite course of the evening. One could taste the bourbon in the cranberries, but the tart sweetness of the berries tempered the bourbon. All the other components of the salad came together to create a perfect salad.
Jim Beam Black, cranberry Juice and Dekuyper Peach Schnapps was a fruity drink that did pair well with the second course, but everyone at our table poured a little Baker's Bourbon from our first round of drinks into the cocktail to knock the fruitiness down a little.Smoked Pork Belly (seitan in my case), chestnut blini, pickled beets and maple Knob Creek Bourbon foam was the second course. Happy to see that the foam was dense and more like a sweet maple bourbon whipped cream, it paired well with the mini chestnut blini. Sad to see that the seitan was just straight-up seitan without any special sauce or marinade, the seitan paired well with the perfectly pickled and peppered beets. A bite of all four together, though, muddied the components.A Manhattan made with Knob Creek, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, bitters, and fresh lemon with a cherry garnish was paired with the second course. At our table we had a lover and a hater of this drink. You either like vermouth and bitters, or you don't. Or you're impartial, like me.
Unlike the lamb on the right, the seitan on the left could not stand up to the heavy bourbon flavor of the grits.

Pan seared lamb chops (seitan in my case) with Booker's Bourbon grits and Szechwan peppercorn jus was the third course. Again, I was sad to see straight up seitan without any special sauce or marinade. The jus on the vegetarian dish seemed to be a light vegetable broth, and with the unsauced seitan, the two could not stand up to the creamy polenta-like grits heavily flavored with bourbon. The meat eater at our table did not have any problem with the flavor of the bourbon grits as they had the heavy flavors of lamb and sauce to counter balance.Booker's Bourbon served neat was paired with the third course. With a much higher alcohol content (121-127 proof) than the Baker's Bourbon (107 proof) that started off the evening, this uncut, unfiltered, straight-from-the-barrel bourbon burned and warmed. And left the inside of my lips numb. Glad I held onto the Baker's Bourbon to taste the two side by side. I'd prefer to sip on the sweeter and mellower Baker's Bourbon than the Booker's Bourbon. Ordering a cup of ice like the gentleman sitting next to us and slipping a cube or two into the Booker's might be a good idea.
Black Forrest Gateaux and Jim Beam Red Stag creme anglaise with coffee granita was the final course. Unfortunately the coffee granita was mostly a puddle of coffee when it reached our table. The firm disks of chocolate cake topped with bourbon-soaked cherries and cream sitting in a pool of vanilla sauce was respectable if not a little sloppily assembled, but did not wow, as so many desserts never do.
Jim Beam Red Stag, hot chocolate, and whipped cream with a cherry garnish was paired with the dessert course. Being that it's the holiday season and I have a chocolate tooth and a sweet tooth, this mixed drink was my favorite of the evening. (I did enjoy drinking the two straight bourbons side by side for comparison's sake the best.) Jim Beam Red Stag is a black cherry-infused bourbon, which I've sample straight, and do not care for it's cough syrup reminiscence. In a dessert drink, the Red Stag worked. Would probably work well in Coke, too.

I think the meat eaters had a different and better experience at terra's bourbon dinner. A dish that is conceived of as a meat dish, does not always stand up to the mild flavors of meat substitutes like tofu and seitan. It's not enough to simply substitute tofu for beef, or seitan for pork and lamb. Had any of these naturally bland meat substitutes been sauced and punched with stronger flavors, the dishes would have probably been as compelling as the dishes in their original and intended meaty form. With more time to think out the vegetarian dishes, I think the chef would have nailed it.It's true that hospitality plays a huge part in a dining experience, and it most certainly did at terra. From terra's speedy response to a whiny Twitter blurb, the chef's flexibility and willingness to accommodating a vegetarian, and the friendliness of the restaurant owner (also owner of Tavern on Camac upstairs), I most certainly will be back to dine at terra.

The real judge of terra will be when I sample from the dishes as they were intended from the normal menu. I spied hoe cake (so excited to see this Southern specialty) and rigatoni with tempeh bolognese that have my name all over it. Also, I'm madly in love with terra's intimate, warm, and manly (but not too manly) space boasting a 200-bottle wine cellar.

terra
243 S. Camac St., Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-545-1102
Sun-Thurs, 5-10pm
Fri-Sat, 5-11pm

Pastoral

If it's not already obvious, I'm not Korean. I am far from an authority on Korean food, but I do like Korean food. My absolute favorite Korean meal consists of kimbap (a sushi-like roll) and bibimbap (a big bowl of rice topped with assorted veggies), and I order it all the time, which makes my authority on Korean food very, very limited. I recently decided I should order something else, to see if I could fall in love with other Korean dishes as much as I have with kimbap and bibimbap.

And here enters Pastoral, a Korean restaurant in Philly that's simple-Asian-sleek inside, and easy to tuck into without a reservation.

My partner notes that when he ate at Pastoral a few years ago, there were no vegetarian offerings on the menu, and had to request something be made vegetarian. So, it's important to note that Pastoral now has a vegetarian menu. The vegetarian menu is seperate from the regular menu, so be sure to ask for it if it's not stuck in the regular menu, as it was absent in one of our menus, but present in the other. (Update: maybe my dining partner just wasn't presented with the veggie menu many years ago.)
The server at Pastoral was keen enough to ask if fish was OK in our selection of banchan, and it was, so that's why you see a dish of fishcake in our otherwise vegetarian banchan. This appetizer sized dumpling soup has only a few dumplings and scallions, but plenty of extremely yummy, buttery broth that is perhaps a little heavy handed with black pepper, but I can take it. Lord knows what was in the dumplings; they were of little consequence, it's the broth that was amazing.
And here's my bowl of Soon Tofu, a dish I've never had before, so I have nothing to compare it with. The dish is described as a stew of vegetables cooked with soft bean curd in a spicy soup. I asked for the dish medium in spice level, and the dish was spicy enough, but I would go up a notch next time. The hot, spicy soup seemed perfect on such a cold wintry night, except the broth lacked depth (perhaps a non-veggie version would cure that), and I dislike silken tofu, which was a prominent ingredient in the soup.
This is my dining partners bowl of Yuk Gae Jang, a soup with scallions, mushrooms, veggies, and noodles in a spicy broth. This dish had a very similar broth as the Soon Tofu, but was slightly tastier, making Yuk Gae Jang my prefered soup of the two main dishes. The dumpling soup won hands-down, though.

Ah well, Soon Tofu and Yuk Gae Jang at Pastoral did not sway me from my favored kimbap and bibimbap, but that's not to say I wouldn't return to Pasoral to test out other dishes or their bibimbap. But, sadly, kimbap is not on their menu - a disturbing absence I've noticed lately at other Korean restaurants.

Pastoral
205 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-545-8511
Mon.-Sat., 11:30am-10pm; Sun., closed

Mixto

Mixto. I pass it all the time on Pine St., but can never remember what type of food they serve. I've asked my partner countless times if he's eaten there, always forgetting that he has on multiple occasions. For whatever reason, the place does not stick in my head. Well, Mixto has finally been solidified in my head with a recent visit. They serve Latin American and Cuban cuisine.

The dinner menu is fish and seafood heavy, so vegetarians are limited to one entree, and few appetizers and soups, but considerably more salads.

The two appetizers we tried were guacamole with fried green plantain chips, and sweet plantain filled with cheese (beef omitted). With only a bite of each due to the large party at our table, I can only say that they both were fine.

I went with the veggie plate, a huge plate that included beans and rice (choice black or red beans; and white or yellow rice), sweet plantains, fried green plantains, yucca, assorted sauteed veggies, avocado, and arepa.

The vegetables were bland, and the fried green plantains were extremely dry. There was so much food on the plate that I ignored what interested me least - the vegetables, fried green plantains, and arepa - and ate the beans and rice, yucca, avocado, and sweet plantains. The black beans could have used bolder flavors.

My veggie platter had me wishing Mixto offered a couple more vegetarian entree options with more thought, instead of a plate filled with a little of this and a little of that.

The service at Mixto was only marginal. The appetizers and drinks (both white and red sangrias are great) arrived quickly, but there was an extremely long period between appetizers and entrees. So long we joked that they had to run down the street to kill the chicken.

No pictures, but the boy lurved his fish entree. I also hear people lurve Mixto's brunch.

Mixto
1141 Pine St, Philadelphia 19107
215-592-0363

Lolita

After our trip to Apothecary a few weeks ago, we decided to duck into Lolita next door for some food. Lolita is a contemporary Mexican restaurant, which is to say the food is not Mexican, but Mexican influenced. The restaurant is also BYOT (bring your own tequila), so we ambled around the corner to the PA liquor store on Chestnut and scored a bottle of tequila before we slid into our street side seats.

Watermelon, blood orange, and traditional lime were the special margarita mixes of the day. We went with a pitcher of blood orange margarita mix. Really, you can’t go wrong with mixing your own drink.

Chips and salsa were complimentary. The red salsa was smoky. The green salsa had lots of mint. Mint throws me sometimes. I like it; I don’t like it. Lolita’s minty green salsa was strangely compelling.

There are asterisks on the menu next to entrees that can be made vegetarian by substituting either pan seared three chili tofu or grilled portobello, and I would say that about half of their entrees can be made vegetarian. Our server, who was quite nice, even noted that one of the dishes normally offered vegetarian could not be done that night because one of the sauces had anchovies. Very thoughtful of him.

We both ended up substituting the tofu in our dishes. The tofu was very dry and chewy, with a crispy outside. I’ve never had tofu exactly of this texture at any restaurant, and I was not fond of it. It’s like the tofu sat in a slow oven for days and dried out. From this one visit, I would recommend vegetarians opt for the portobello substitution. Maybe this batch of tofu was off, though.

My partner ordered a dish with a smoky mole sauce, roasted corn, and I’m sure something else that I just can’t remember right now. His dish was very good, but, for some reason, a noticeably smaller portion than my plate of food.

I ordered the tofu with fried plantains, cider glaze, cherries, and orange and jicama slaw. This dish was very tart – too tart, even. The tartness from the cider glaze and cherries may have worked with the duck that originally came with the dish, but tofu could not stand up to the sauce. The only reason I could eat this dish is because I can drink vinegar straight from the bottle. The soft, sweet plantains were fabulous and generous. The slaw was also good.

Froo-froo presentations are pretty, but I never know from reading a menu if when they say salad or slaw that means it comes with an actual salad or slaw on the side, or just a dollop on top for aesthetics and a taste teaser. I love slaw, and when I see slaw on a menu, I want slaw, not a tiny bit of slaw. Lolita is a froo-froo plater. Now I know.

The entrees are quite expensive ($18-$24) for my thin wallet. My entrée might have been worth $21 if I had not substituted tofu for the duck, and I wish the bill had reflected these substitutions. Not all restaurants give vegetarians a break for omitting meat or substituting vegetables or tofu, but it sure is nice when they do.

For dessert we ordered the pecan cheesecake with goat’s milk caramel, and dark chocolate-ancho chili crust. Overall the cheese cake was great, but I was disappointed that the crust was not heavier on anchos. I could not detect any heat in the crust.

The major detractor from our dining experience at Lolita was the tofu. The texture was so unpleasant. I wish I could do it all over again with portobello – at a cheaper price. And it's cash only, so bring the big bills!

Lolita
106 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-546-7100
Sun.-Tues., 5-10 p.m.; Wed.-Thurs., 5-10:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5-11 p.m.
BYOB
Cash only

Apothecary

Update: no longer open.

Apothecary Lounge is a relatively new bar on 13^th St that has been getting a good buzz lately with their herbal and alcoholic potions. I like a fancy drink as much as the next girl, and, even more, I like soaking up the sun (they have a roof deck) , so checked things out one early evening.

We were denied roof deck access (the deck’s not that large, and the people occupying it weren’t budging), so sat at the bar on the ultralight metal stools in front on the green-glowing wall of cube shelves behind a bar brimming with tincture bottles filled with herbal essences, small bottles of fine liqueurs, and other special ingredients.

The menu lists all of their intriguing drink specials, including the many, many ingredients in each drink. It’s going to take you a good ten minutes to decide what to order. Just remember that the pleasant, and very busy bartender had patience with you as you decided, so please have patience when they make your drink; it takes a while, and your drink order just went to the back of the line.

How they remember what goes in each drink, which tincture holds what, and where that bottle of liqueur is is quite a feat. I don’t think any of these bartenders are drinking on the job, or else they couldn’t do their job.

I had a hard time deciding on a drink. I ended up ordering the Rustoleo with Brazilian Cachaca, Flor de Cana Nicaraguan Rum, honey liquor, acai, fresh blueberries, lemon, chocolate mole bitters, and European bilberry extract. Told you the ingredient list is long!

The drink smells of honey and, with a drop or two of chocolate mole bitters, the first sip is a touch dark and smoky. The drink is delicious, but is not earth shattering. And I’m sure the alcohol negated any of the anti-oxidizing, vision restorative properties of the bilberry that the drink description hinted at.

My partner ordered the Immunity Idol with Hendricks Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, fresh pineapple and orange, champagne, orange bitters, Echinacea, hawthorn root, elderberry liniment, and inebriated berries. Also a good drink; more fruity and girly than the drink I ordered.

At $10-$14 a cocktail, drinks are pricier than at your average bar. The question is, is the drink worth the price?

Yes - The work the bartenders put into making your drink, and the ingredients that are used in the drink certainly justify the price.

Maybe - Taste-wise, I’m not sold just yet. The two drinks we sampled were good (there are more to be sampled, and maybe I didn’t hit my drink), but nothing so crazy-remarkable that I'm planning a return visit soon.

No - Health properties? Don’t fool yourself. I’m not knocking herbal medicine, but a drop of Echinacea extract in a cocktail is not curing anyone of anything. It’s a harmless and fun gimmick that hearkens to the olden days of pharmacies dispensing herbals in alcoholic potions.

Apothecary has a small food menu, too, but we skipped it. The two parties on either side of us seemed to be enjoying the food. Beer and wine can also be ordered, but why? You’re there for the cocktails.

We concluded that Apothecary is a great bar to take your out-of-town clients. Apothecary is conveniently located to downtown hotels, has a novelty factor that will delight (drinks, not the dark and sparse interior), plus you can expense the drinks. Everyone wins!

Apothecary Lounge
102 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-735-7500
Tues.-Sun., 5 p.m.-2 a.m.