b.b.go

Update: no longer open.

Can Center City sustain two fast food-style Korean restaurants within mere blocks of each other? Giwa, the hugely popular Korean joint that opened in 2006 on Sansom St., now has competition from the newly opened b.b.go on the corner of 18th and Ludlow. Or does it?

b.b.go dubbs itself as a "fusion rice bar, " and serves a limited menu of rice-based Korean dishes. Bibimbap and Dubbap are the two main offerings, with each dish having a handful of variations depending on desired ingredients — tofu, chicken, beef, pork, etc. Also on the menu are pajeon, japchae, dukbokgi, and gimbap.My main reason for visiting b.b.go was to eat gimbap, Korea's answer to sushi and an answer that I actually prefer to Japanese sushi, but have difficulty finding in Philly. b.b.go's menu lists beef or tuna gimbap, but I thought I'd ask if they had veggie gimbap. At noon, only an hour after opening and before any sort of lunch rush had started, b.b.go told me they had sold out of the two orders of veggie gimbap they had made (if I am to believe that they even made a veggie version), and, apparently, had no interest in making me any.
Unlike at Giwa where you can order bibimbap cold or in a hot stone pot, at b.b.go cold is your only option. Your choice of brown or white rice is topped with various vegetables in the case of the vegetable bibimbap or the tofu bibimbap, and a fried egg upon request.

Zuchinni, mung bean sprouts, carrots, lettuce, daikon, spinach, and silken tofu topped this bowl. With the exception of the pickled daikon, all of the vegetables were plain — but fresh! — and the tofu was unseasoned. I prefer more pickled and fermented vegetables on my bibimbap. Perhaps the heacho bibimbap with seasoned seaweeds would have suited me better.

Kochujang, a spicy pepper sauce, is squirted on top by the server only upon request, and if you want more, you'll need to get up from your table and squirt some more from the couple of kochujang bottles sitting on the ledge with the utensils and napkins.
The accompanying miso soup is mild and innocuous.The accompanying kimchee is spicy, but, as far as kimchee goes, this is mild stuff.Tofu dubbap with mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and onions is nicely spiced (I asked for medium), but is also sweet and saucy. This is actually how I would like my cheap Chinese take-out to taste, but not my Korean food. The accompanying salad of iceberg and sliced radishes with Italian dressing was an unpleasant mystery.

b.b.go currently has an off-the-menu bento lunch deal that will get you most of the way around the small menu, and then you can decide for yourself which fast food Korean restaurant is tops — Giwa or b.b.go?

b.b.go
20 S. 18th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-569-8600
Mon-Fri: 11am-9pm
Sat: noon-8pm
Sun: closed

Xochitl - Lentil Stew

Around the second I posted about my new favorite veggie burger in the city, the deeply spiced black bean burger at Xochitl was off the menu. And, that's the downside of seasonally changing menus. Turn around, and gone are your favorite dishes. The upshot is that a new favorite dish may take it's place and be just what you're in the mood for.

Xochitl's menu of modern and traditional Mexican food is small, but they always have at least one vegetarian entree. On the first cool evening of the season when I donned a scarf and hat, Xochitl's warm beluga lentil stew with squash, trumpet mushrooms, wilted kale, and walnuts hit the spot perfectly. Buttery on first bite, then a hint of spice. All yum, and seasonally satisfying. Get it before it's gone!

Xochitl
408 S. 2nd St, Philadelphia 19147
215-238-7280

Mitsitam Café - DC

A funny thing happened when I was looking for suggestions of places to eat in DC. A cafeteria came recommended not once, but a few times.

I do love cafeterias (not for the usually sub-par food, but for the associations and memories), so when Mitsitam Café, a cafeteria-style eatery at the National Museum of the American Indian in DC, came highly suggested, I was game.What's intriguing about Mitsitam Café is that they present traditional and contemporary native cuisine from five regions across the Western Hemisphere, with dishes changing seasonally. The five areas of the Americas represented are Northwest Coast, Northern Woodland, Great Plains, South America, and Meso America. My plan of action was to grab an item from each area.Lines were long, particularly at the South American station where totopos with toppings (nachos) were served, and at the Great Plains station where bison burgers were served. Silly Americans, sticking with the familiar.While most of the mains are not vegetarian, there are a wide variety of vegetarian sides (clearly marked, along with other dietary info) that are healthy, varied, and interesting. You'll never see a larger variety of grains and vegetables in a cafeteria, I'm sure. Tip: go with the most exotic ingredients, unless you are a fan of bland, simple vegetables. From the South American station, I got a tasty, but grainy, cup of peanut soup with sweet caramelized plantains and chili oil.A nutty and earthy wild rice and watercress salad came from the Northern Woodlands station.From the Great Plains came a chewy and slightly sweet wheatberry salad. The most interesting dish of the day was a slightly sweet and puckery pickled acorn squash and seabean salad from the Pacific Northwest. My very last stop was at the Meso America station for sopes topped with pinto beans, stewed vegetables, lettuce, and avocado. Large enough for an entire meal for one person, when the plate of sopes landed on my tray, I had then grossly over ordered.
But we can't forget dessert! So, a plate of churros with dark chocolate sauce from the Meso America station was ordered. Now my tray was obscene.
My entire order came out to about $32, but I ordered enough food for at least two starving people. More reasonable is their deal of four sides for $12.50.

While not the most elevated dining experience in DC, it's worth eating at Mitsitam Café if you are going to spend a day on the Mall sightseeing, not only because the dishes and ingredients from the five different Western Hemisphere regions get the ol' noggin' thinking about native foods of the Americas (food as education!), but, also, how often do you get to sample such a wide array of Native American foods?

Don't you dare reach for the nachos or burger!

Mitsitam Café
4th St & Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20560

Blackbird Pizzeria

How does one decide which slice of pizza to order when none of the pizzas are off limits? The freshest one out of the oven, of course.

Straight out of the oven, a hot, fresh pie topped with perfectly toasted artichoke hearts, soft and sweet caramelized onions, just enough crumbles of peppery seitan sausage, and Daiya cheese (the non-soy vegan cheese voted most popular in school by those who like melty and creamy personalities), slid into the counter display case next to a plain vegan cheese pizza and a vegan pepperoni pizza. Hot or not, the vegan artichoke pizza had my name on it.I should stop using vegan as a descriptor, because at Blackbird Pizzeria, the recently opened and much anticipated pizza and sandwich shop, everything is vegan. Into the same space on 6th Street formerly occupied by Gianna's Grille, the loved/hated vegan and non-vegan pizzeria (everyone loved Gianna's until they fessed up to knowingly serving vegans non-vegan cheese), Blackbird has landed and taken the same genre of food (vegan pizza and sandwiches), waved a magic wand, and made vegan pizza and sandwiches a hundred times better.

I'm sure Blackbird's chef and co-owner, Mark Meebus, previously a chef at Philly's haute vegan restaurant, Horizons, helped foster the sense of pride in food that is clearly evident at Blackbird, along with partner Ryan Moylan.
I'm going to add Blackbird's pizza to the list of new Philly pizza darlings which includes Stella and Zavino. The dough at Blackbird is a bit different, though, and, dare I say, I think I like Blackbird's better.

Blackbird's always crispy and never saggy crust offers a little something for all types of crust lovers — thick, medium, and thin. Thin in the middle, gradually growing thicker toward the outside, and then a huge lip that is crispy on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside. Some may say that huge pizza lip is a waste, but get a hot pie straight out of the oven and I think you'll be a big-lip convert. All you vegans who suffered through the dog food-like vegan cheesesteaks at Gianna's, come to Blackbird and see how a vegan cheesesteak should be done. Seitan at Blackbird is supplied by Upton's Naturals in Chicago, and their thinly sliced "Philly style" seitan is browned on a griddle along with green peppers, onions, and mushrooms fill a crusty, long roll, the heat melting the mild Daiya cheese into a proper goo that seeps throughout. One of the best cheesesteaks I've ever eaten, and comes about as close to the real thing as you'd want.

Zing! And, just like that, Blackbird waved it's magic wand and elevated the casual cuisine of vegan pizza and cheesesteaks.

Sandwiches will set you back about $8. A plain cheese pizza slice is $3, and a whole plain cheese pizza is $15. Pizza toppings are extra, and include goodies such as seitan pepperoni, seitan sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, fennel, artichokes, caramelized onions, avocado, jalapeno, black olives, and garlic. A bbq portobello sandwich, fries, and sweets from Vegan Treats are also on the current menu, which should see a few new items in the near future.

While the business gets going full force, it's cash only and hours are limited to Tuesday-Sunday from 3pm-10pm. Delivery has yet to be rolled out, but when it does Blackbird and their pizzas will be on auto-dial.


Blackbird Pizzeria
507 S. 6th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-625-6660

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

Stewed okra and tomatoes over rice is one of my all-time favorite side dishes, that, I swear, it seems like we ate every week when I was growing up. Surely we didn't dine on this simple Southern dish that frequently, and even if we did, I never tired of it.

For one, I simply adore rice and can eat it at every supper, as we almost nearly did growing up in South Carolina where rice is king. And, even as a kid I always enjoyed okra. Yes, it's slimy, but don't kids like slimy things? I did! Okra was like a toy on the plate. See how long the slime strands will stretch, squish the slimy pod around your mouth. And, best dinner table game ever, race to stab a singular, slime-covered okra seed with the tine of your fork before your brother could. It's not easy.
Then there are the bright, acidic tomatoes that really are the stars of the dish as far as flavor is concerned. Everybody makes stewed okra and tomatoes with fresh okra, but the tomatoes are almost always from a can, because, well, canned stewed tomatoes are picked when perfectly ripe and have all their full flavors preserved. Go ahead, use canned tomatoes, it's perfectly fine.

But what if you used your last can of stewed tomatoes for soup the previous week, and you have just-bought, fresh, local tomatoes on your counter? Roast those fresh tomatoes first to get that sweet, concentrated tomato flavor you'd get from a can.
After you're done roasting tomatoes (or popping open a can of tomatoes), the dish comes together as simply as sauteing some onion, then simmering okra and tomatoes in liquid (water, vegetable broth, or the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes) until the okra is tender.

Serve stewed okra and tomatoes over rice, for sure, and if my memories aren't too hazy, there'd be a pork chop and a side of butter beans on the plate, too. Nowadays, tempeh does the trick for me, though.
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes
serves 4 as a side

3 large tomatoes (or 28-ounce can of stewed tomatoes)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound okra, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
salt
pepper

• If roasting tomatoes instead of using a can of stewed tomatoes: Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes into eights and place on parchment paper-line baking pan. Drizzle tomatoes lightly with olive oil. Salt and pepper tomatoes. Bake for 3 hours. Cool enough to remove skins, if desired (I leave skins on).
  
• In a medium-sized pot over medium-low heat, add about 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To the onions, add okra, tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Simmer, with the pot lid partially covering the pot until okra is tender (depending on the size and variety of okra, this could be any where from 10-30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• Serve warm over warm rice.
  

Baking Quirks

Been baking a bit the past few weeks, and while the treats turned out well, I'm not so in love with them that I need to devote a post to the recipes. A few peculiar and personal quirks were made apparent during my baking, though.

Oatmeal cookies just aren't oatmeal cookies unless they have raisins in them. At least for me, that is. I had to amend this Martha Stewart recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies to add raisins after the first batch came out and I found myself pouting a bit.And, while I love upside down cake, I don't love these upside down caramelized apple muffins from The New York Times. It's the muffin form that I have a problem with. I can't help but want to place the flat side down, and the round side up. It disturbs me to no end. It's like a helpless turtle on it's backside unable to get up.

Guess I like things just so.

Chhaya

There seemed to be some skepticism in the air when Chhaya opened a few months ago on Passyunk Ave. A cafe that was a coffee house specializing in sweet and savory waffles during the morning and day, then, on weekend evenings, a cafe serving small plates?

It's really not as complicated and schizophrenic as it sounds. Chhaya is simply a cafe that serves up better than average food than most coffee houses.On the surface, Chhaya's small and bright cafe looks like any neighborhood coffee shop, with people dropping by the counter for a latte to go, and people settling in at a table with a cuppa and their computer. If you're a coffee snob, know that Chhaya prepares coffee to order using the siphon method.If you'd like a little more sustenance, Chhaya offers the likes of bagels, muffins, vegan cupcakes, scones, yogurt parfait, pancakes, eggs, home fries, salads, wraps, and paninis. Most baked goods are made in house, with the exception of baguettes (sources up the road from Artisan Boulanger), and bagels.

Of course, don't miss out on Chhaya's specialty — waffles!
If you have a sweet tooth, order the whipped cream-topped, thick Belgian-style waffle with either fresh fruit or chocolate chips. Classic, sweet, and simple.Feeling savory? The chili, cheese, and fried egg- topped waffle is in order. The mildly spiced vegetarian chili is studded with black and kidney beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and celery. Would love to see a corn meal-based waffle paired with the chili, but the not-too-sweet standard waffle batter works here.

An Eggs Benedict waffle topped with a poached egg, ham, and Hollandaise sauce is also on the menu. There is also a waffle of the day. On our visit, the waffle of the day was chicken curry. Yum!

Chhaya is a BYOB, so bring your champagne for brunch mimosas, or a bottle of wine for Friday and Saturday evenings when the menu changes over to small plates.

Weekend evening small plates feature dishes like olives, roasted eggplant relish, tomato salad, white bean hummus, charcuterie plate, warm figs with blue cheese and prosciutto, marinated white anchovies, and Tuscan style meatballs with white wine sauce.

See, it really is a coffee shop with better food. Just look at this spread of food! Must return for dinner soon.

Chhaya
1823 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148
215-365-1100
Mon-Thus: 7am-7pm
Fri: 7am-10pm
Sat: 8am-10pm
Sun: 8am-3pm
BYOB