The Blockley

The Blockley Pourhouse

This isn’t a review. It’s a promise.

On Tuesday, August 11th, The Lost Patrol (a band I have liked for a few years) will be playing The Blockley. I plan to go out to support them. As exciting as that is, I am also particularly excited about trying the food before the show. The Hot Veggie Brown sandwich sounds scrumptious and totally within my budget! In fact, the whole menu seems quite reasonable. I’ll be sure to post about my experience.

Bubble House – University City

ucityphila.org

This will be a short post; I just need to rant about the Bubble House for a bit. First of all, when making iced tea, ladies, make it double strength! I don’t want my iced green bubble tea to taste like I’m sipping tapioca AND tap water. See, the funny thing about pouring hot tea over ice means it’ll water it down completely! Secondly, please don’t allow your staff to approach my table when they are cracked out. Thank you.

Ahem. Let’s try that with a little less angst. Well, yesterday I had the displeasure of drinking some tap water, I mean tea, at the Bubble Tea House. The waitress was aloof and disappeared for more than 20 minutes at a time, even though the restaurant was seemingly calm. The sencha green bubble tea was horribly watered down, even after I had it sent back the second time. The waitress, despite her dreamy, inattentive behavior, clearly showed her displeasure when I told her could barely taste the tea in my drink. The second incarnation of the tea tasted pretty much the same as the first. I’ll head to Chinatown the next time I have a hankering for bubble tea.

Rating: One nom.

Vietnam Cafe in West Philadelphia

Image via Daily Pennsylvanian

As a HUGE fan of Vietnam in Chinatown, I was ecstatic to learn that the Lai Family was opening up a satellite restaurant two blocks from my apartment in West Philadelphia. Vietnam Cafe does not offer as many dishes as the one in Chinatown, but in my opinion, that’s GREAT! The items on the menu are fantastic and more may cause too much indecision (on my part, that is!). The food is also cheaper and the restaurant is BYOB. Some may be turned off by the scaled-down approach to Vietnam Cafe, but I think it’s cozy and perfect for a West Philly establishment.

While I haven’t tried everything on the menu, most of the items are delicious and fresh. Having never been to Vietnam, I cannot vouch for the Vietnamese authenticity of Vietnam Cafe, but my discerning palate is most definitely pleased after each meal. A few of my favorite dishes are:

Grilled BBQ Platter: a variety of appetizers, the BBQ platter is served in a giant wooden bowl and is definitely a meal for two starving patrons. The meats are grilled to perfection; the dripping juices soak into the vermicelli-stuffed, self-rolled spring roll wrappers. Fresh mint, cucumber, and pickled radish and carrot are also delicious when paired with the meat. Let’s face it, I’m a sucker for pickled things. The beef wrapped with grape leaves are particularly amazing, almost reminiscent of a Greek kabob. Of course, fish and tamarind sauces are provided for dipping. The BBQ Platter is the first item I tried from the original Vietnam, and I was so happy to see that the Lai’s decided to add it to the new Vietnam Cafe menu.

Pho Tai (Beef Noodle Soup): a traditional Vietnamese staple. Vietnam’s Pho Tai has a delicious broth, which is what makes it stand out from other Asian noodle soups I’ve had. There are a lot of spices going on in the broth: star anise, ginger, pepper, and coriander are a few that I can detect. I’ve never been a huge beef fan, but somehow I am in love with this beef soup. Raw flank steaks are dropped into the broth so that they are gently cooked when the bowl gets to the table. Vietnamese cuisine seems to love the contrast between cooked and raw; the soup is presented with a side of fresh coriander (cilantro), bean sprouts, and jalapeno. I add all the accompaniments, plus a bit of Sriracha sauce to spice things up.

And… since I have such a sweet tooth, I usually get the taro coconut rice pudding, which is smooth, not too sweet, and amazing. They serve it hot, which may surprise some foodies, but I think it’s MORE than successful. The corn one is also delicious!

I almost forgot to mention that the Lai family and the rest of the waitstaff are welcoming, warm, and amazingly helpful. Some of the dishes a tad mysterious and the servers are descriptive with their explanations. I love this place! I usually dine at Vietnam Cafe once a week and I think they know me by name. Woohoo!

VietNOM!

4.5 Noms.