Tortilleria y San Roman

Hi, I've been walking around the Italian Market blind — more like focusing intently on the ground so as not bruise shins on suddenly halting carts being pulled by old ladies, or step in puddles of fish juice — and was wondering if you have, too?

'Cause did you know that there's a tortilleria at the corner or 9th and Carpenter churning out fresh tortillas? Neither did I. And it's apparently been there for about a year. Seriously, where have I been?For $1, we got a half kilo of warm, fresh tortillas (16 total in this paper wrapped package). A kilo will cost you $2. I like simple math.

Tortilleria y San Roman
951 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147

Fuel

I'm not one to count calories, but I do try to put healthy foods into my body at most meals, so can appreciate the health conscious, everything-under-500 calories menu at Fuel.

Now, be careful with those calorie counts printed on the menu. Those numbers don't include bread or tortillas if you opt to get an item as a sandwich or wrap. And, of course, a bit more oil here or a bigger piece of chicken there than the original recipe calls for, and those numbers mean nothing.

And, muscle jocks, note that protein grams are printed on the menu, as well.

I also appreciate that many of Fuel's menu items are vegetarian or have an option of adding tofu, but am miffed that subbing tofu for chicken is the more expensive option. Tofu is dirt cheap.

Fuel, the East Passyunk casual eatery owned by radio host, DJ and trained chef, Rocco Cima, is decked out in minimalist black and bright red and green. Add the too loud pop dance music that's constantly rocking and music videos playing, and you might thing you're at a Christmas rave. The music is pumped onto the street, as well, making the uncomfortable slatted metal bistro chairs the least of your al fresco dining pains.Smoothies are part of Fuel's juice and coffee bar menu, and the Fruit Fuzzion with strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, and bananas was solid.Fuel's menu and table-top display calls attention to their many "award winning" items. We suspect Fuel was handing out the awards themselves, but decided to take the bait on the "award winning" sweet pea wonton dip.
The vibrant green, chunky green pea dip topped with sun dried tomatoes is evenly tempered, not too garlicky or salty, but certainly not bland. The grilled wonton chip are delicately thin, keeping carbs and calories low. The Thai tofu wrap had a pleasantly light and tangy peanut sauce, fresh cucumbers and carrots, and a surprise crunch from noodles. If basil had been included, as the menu suggested, the wrap would have been better. The uncooked and unseasoned tofu was a huge disappointment, though.

Tofu aside, the Thai wrap was pleasant, but not outstanding. Marinated tofu either grilled or baked would have added much flavor and a more pleasing texture without adding too many extra calories. Something Fuel might want to consider.

The accompanying side salad was simply mixed greens dressed with a maybe too vinegary balsamic vinaigrette.The Fuel Stacker was ordered as a pannini, probably doubling the calorie count printed on the menu, even though the bread is a low fat loaf specially baked for Fuel at neighboring Nino's Bakery. Grilled portabello, zucchini, eggplant, squash, tomato, melted Mozzarella and pesto make for a sizable, if standard vegetarian sandwich.

Fuel is not a destination dining spot by any means, but makes for a decent, everything-under-$10, casual lunch, dinner, or weekend brunch (egg white omelette, any one?) stop when cruising the Avenue...as long as you can stomach the pumping jams. Skip the bread if you're truly calorie conscious.

Fuel
1917 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148
215-468-FUEL
Mon-Sat: 11am-10pm
Sun: 11am-9pm

Cupcake Heaven

Oh, man, have I been sitting on these cupcake pictures from Wilmington's Concord Pike strip mall cupcake haven, Cupcake Heaven, for a long while. Like, maybe half a year! Sorry.

If you're looking for inventive flavors and a wide variety of cupcakes, Cupcake Heaven is just the place for you. With about 120 different cupcake flavors in their repertoire, and 25-30 of those available daily, you're gonna have to root around to find your favorite. Sugar-free, vegan, and gluten-free cupcakes can be made by special order, as well as larger cakes for special occasions.

With so many flavors, and, of course, personal preferences, some of Cupcake Heaven's creations are complete misses, but others are hits. I've found some cakes to have different textures and levels of moistness, too, making some perfect and others not so much.

Cute cupcakes are (were) trendy, but Cupcake Heaven missed that memo, and is operating out of passion, not fashion. The website could use an update, and the strip mall shop set up as a cafe that also offers soup, sandwiches, and coffee lacks warmth, classy decor, or any other inviting qualities beckoning customers to stay longer than it takes to order, pay, and hop back in the car. It's a shame, really, but don't let that stop you from dropping by.
This chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and pretzel pieces was moist, rich, sweet, salty, and perfect. The French Toast cupcake reminded me nothing of French Toast and was a little dry, but that's OK, because three out of four cats prefer cream cheese frosting.
Red Velvet was underwhelming, which is on par with most, and the other cupcake (I've forgotten what it was, it's been so long, but pretty sure it was eggnog) was just spiffy.

Cupcake Heaven
2117 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803
(302) 426-0270
Mon-Fri: 7am-8pm
Sat: 8am-8pm
Sun: 9am-2pm

Hoof + Fin

Update: no longer open.

The main draw of Hoof + Fin for us is it's near-to-us Queen Village location, not the fact that we're huge meat (hoof) or fish (fin) eaters. But we frequently pass the Argentinian inspired eatery that opened this past February in the space previously occupied by Gayle, and I scope Hoof + Fin's menu every time I stand outside of neighboring South Street Philly Bagels waiting for our dozen bagels to go. So...we decided to go in Hoof + Fin one evening.

Hoof + Fin is a tight, tiny and dark rowhouse cave. The table candle had to be held to the menu and our food to get a good gander, as the Edison-style light bulbs just don't kick out enough light. Volume levels are not dim, though. Dinner can be a shouting match on a packed evening. When the weather's nice, perhaps you'll be fortunate to snag a seat in their outdoor patio.

Argentinian food, a cuisine that's heavily influenced by Europe, is heavy on the beef, but there are still a few main dishes on the menu that a vegetarian can order, like a pasta, risotto, and even a tofu dish.A complimentary mason jar of long, thin, crispy cracker sticks accompanied by a roasted red pepper aioli starts the table off. The aioli was a bit tart for maybe most people, though I love vinegar, so found the aioli addictive.
A large freshly fried and crispy corn and cheese empanada was like a sweet creamed corn hand pie, worth every bite. The accompanying salad of mixed greens and micro-thinly sliced radishes, sweet peppers, red onion, and carrots was dressed perfectly in a well balanced vinaigrette.I had to see what Hood + Fin would do with tofu, so ordered the grilled tofu entree. A large, thick slab of firm tofu either briefly seared was the centerpiece of the plate. The lemon and soy sauce covering the tofu was pleasant and familiar, as were the grilled squash, onions and peppers. All things that I have prepared at home and love, but done well and elegantly at Hoof + Fin.

My one quibble is that I would love to have had the tofu cut into thinner slabs to enjoy more seared and flavorful surface areas (the center of such a large piece of tofu never absorbs sauces, and tofu by itself is flavorless).

The salad on the entree plate was the same as the salad with the empanada, with the exception of an addition of a little quinoa, but I did not mind the duplication because the salad here, and previously, was good and not a slapdash afterthought like so many side salads can be.

I particularly like the From the Grill section of the menu that allows a choice of fish or meat from the grill and one starch and one vegetable side. It's a make-your-own entree option. Tofu is not listed, but perhaps they'd allow the substitution of grilled tofu for the meat or fish.

From my first look at Hoof + Fin, I'll conclude that the flavors are simple but balanced, and the Argentinian inspired food is well executed. If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to bring a bottle of wine to the tiny BYOB and enjoy an evening (or weekend brunch) close to home.

Hoof + Fin
617 South 3rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-925-3070
Dinner: Wed-Sun, 5pm
Brunch: Sat and Sun, 11am-3pm

National Food Bloggers Bake Sale

Who doesn't love a bake sale? No one, that's who.

On Saturday, April 17 bloggers across the nation are coming together for the Great American Bake Sale to support Share Our Strength, an organization whose mission is to end childhood hunger in America.

Philadelphia's Great American Bake Sale is being held on April 17th from 10am till 3pm at A Full Plate Cafe on Liberties Walk (1009 N. Bodine St Philadelphia, PA 19123) in Northern Liberties.

Local bloggers you know and love will be contributing baked goods that you've probably drooled over while reading their posts. I'll be baking up gluten-free double chocolate cashew cookies, but scope this list of just some of the many treats that will be available.

So come on over this Saturday to A Full Plate to get your bake sale on for a good cause. Make a morning of it, why don't ya? Visit the Great American Bake Sale before strolling the Shops of Liberties Walk, then hit up the Piazza Farmer's Market. Hey, your Saturday morning is looking good!

All proceeds from the bake sale benefit Share Our Strength. If you can't make it to the bake sale, but would like to donate to the cause, please visit this link to make a safe and secure donation.

El Diablo

The owner and crew behind the counter were admittedly nervous and visibly shaky while building my late morning burrito, which was probably the second or third burrito sale of El Diablo's April 9 opening day in Wilmington's Trolley Square Shopping Center, but the new, independently owned California-style burrito shop managed to wrap up a winner.

In place of what used to be a dry cleaners is now a cute and sleek little burrito shop with less than 20 seats and a small assembly line counter where you place your order for one of the five specialty burritos: grilled steak, grilled chicken, citrus braised pork, serrano braised pork ribs, or vegetarian. Three large salads are also available, and in the coming weeks El Diablo will introduce tacos and quesadillas to the permanent menu.Now, you either love big-ass rice and bean burritos or you don't. I happen to love them, but my major complaint at most places is lack of punch and zest with the flavors of the standard ingredients. I had no complaints at El Diablo! The toppings are fresh and tasty: hearty marinated mushrooms, tangy corn salsa, two kinds of pico (regular and hot), salsa verde, avocado poblano sauce, romesco sauce, three types of hot peppers, and pickled onion to name a few. It is your own fault if you walk away from El Diablo with a bland burrito. The vegetarian burrito comes with marinated mushrooms, cilantro-spiked rice, black beans, corn salsa, pickled peppers, pepper jack cheese, and pico de gallo. These ingredients are just suggestions, so feel free to eliminate some or add some of the other ingredients available. I decided to up my flavor quotient with the addition of pickled onions, cilantro, and avocado poblano sauce.

The citrus braised pork and serrano braised pork ribs offered at El Diablo are an upgrade from the usual meats at most burrito shops, but you'll pay $8.75 for these fancy meat burritos. On the lower end, the vegetarian burrito only comes in at $6.75.

I was going to knock El Diablo for not offering a non-bean vegetarian protein, but the marinated mushrooms had lots of flavor and was beyond generously portioned. Not sure if the generous portion of mushrooms was an opening day oversight, though.

El Diablo should do well in Trolley Square, where twenty and thirty-somethings gather to bar hop on the weekend. And during the week, the location is only a hop, skip and jump from the thousands of hungry downtown business workers. Because of licensing, El Diablo unfortunately can't stay open past midnight, but if the owner sets up a cart outside to cater to the after-hours bar crowd like I overheard him talking about, they should do very well.

Here's wishing you the best of luck, El Diablo. Hopefully your opening day jitters are a thing of the past, and you're rolling fat, foil-wrapped burritos like it ain't no thang.

Weird note: at one point, I was the lone female out of the twenty customers in El Diablo. Men must love burritos. Or Wilmington has a shortage of women.

El Diablo
13A Trolley Square, Wilmington, DE 19806
Mon-Wed, 11am-9pm
Thurs-Sat, 11am-10pm
Sun, noon-7pm

European Republic: Banana Pudding

A sticker that says "I brake for banana pudding" should grace my car bumper, because it's no secret that I love the stuff. A reader alerted me a while back* that European Republic in Old City has banana pudding on their menu.

What? Land of twenty-plus wraps and Belgian frites with twenty-plus dipping sauces?

Curious as to how good banana pudding could be at such a place (I had strong doubts), I hopped on over one afternoon for a midday snack.
Out of the cooler came a filled-to-the-top plastic container of banana pudding with banana-flavored pudding instead of vanilla pudding, and no banana slices. Wrong and wrong! The Nilla wafers were soft, but this is the norm unless the dessert is eaten immediately after assembling, or there is ingenious staking of wafers to avoid pudding-soak.
Even with bad banana pudding, I'm not yet discounting the European Republic for a quick lunch. Banana pudding is not their mainstay, after all. Maybe one day I'll get back for a wrap and frites. I just won't be braking for their banana pudding.

*Thanks to all who take the time to share through blog comments, email, and Twitter. It may take eons before I get around to places, but they do go on to my to-do list.

European Republic
213 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-627-5500

Varga Bar: Truffled Mac and Cheese

Whoa! This is weird. I actually like pinup girl themed Varga Bar's restaurant-style creamy mac and cheese. And it even has fancy add-ins.Overused and overbearing are how I describe black truffles in the dining scene, yet, somehow, Varga Bar managed to walk the line between whisper and punch-you-in-the-face with their truffled mac and cheese, a baked casserole with black truffle, Guyere, Fontina, and Marscapone (no bacon for me!). As always, I'd prefer a mix of sharper cheeses, but I did truly enjoyed Varga Bar's mac and cheese.

Full disclosure: the four or so Miss Marches (Sailor Jerry rum and Victory root beer) I imbibed may have contributed to the casserole crush.

Varga Bar
941 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-627-5200

Amada

I went to Amada for my birthday, but decided not to blog about it. That is, blog with pictures of each dish accompanied by a description and opinion.

Why didn't I snap pics?

I wanted the night off, and...

You've all been to Amada and already know the good work that Garces does. I hadn't been, though I certainly know of Garces' good work. I tried when they first opened in 2005 but you needed a reservation (you still need a reservation most nights), and I loathe premeditated dining (unless you premeditate it for me), so never bothered trying.

This is the real reason why I decided to blog about Amada: unlike most restaurants (tapas or no tapas), there are enough veggie dishes on the menu that a vegetarian could order the recommended 3-4 plates per person and return 4-5 times without having to order the same thing twice.

And I'm not even counting the cheese plates and desserts, dishes that could have meat easily removed, or taking into consideration the seasonal menu changes.

That is all.

Amada
217-219 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-625-2450