Bostonians in Philly
Published July, 26 2006 11:04 am
Ari and Emily sent in the following report about their trip to Philadelphia. Enjoy!
We hit three restaurants - Chinese Vegetarian Kosher Restaraunt, Maccabeam, and Maxim (which I don’t believe has any relation to the magazine, as I didn’t see Tara Reid anywhere.).
Maccabeam, an Israeli-style grill which is about 8 blocks from the center of the historic downtown, came highly recommended. After locating the restaurant and entering somewhat dingy confines, we were pleasantly surprised by prompt table service. The metal tableware and ample seating stood in stark contrast to a meal at Rami’s. Despite being denied a few menu items because of the impending Fourth of July (”No Lafas or Lamb — our meat order didn’t come in”), E and I were quite happy with the food. We shared a steak and onions pita, and a shwarma pita. We were pleased that the salad in the pocket was fresh and tangy, with a notable amount of parsley and lemon juice that we both enjoyed. The meat in each of our pitas tasted pretty similar, although the schwarma dripped clear oil and the steak a tasty yellow substance. The french fries were really lousy. Don’t get those.
Chinese Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, in Chinatown, gets respect for having a terrible name. Unfortunately, Cherry Street possesses a strong and unpleasant odor. Once inside, I was falsely seduced by the variety of wheat gluten dishes which included “pork” and a variety of “chicken” and “beef” efforts. I made the mistake of ordering the sweet and sour pork. It was well presented but disappointing, with balls of fried glutein smothered in a bottled sweet and sour sauce. E’s Tai Chin Chicken was awesome. It came with some weird jelly that we poked, and some crazy glutin blobs, but the sauce was tastier than anything “Uncle Ta’am” puts out. The soups were also interesting, with an unusually thick hot and sour broth. I enjoyed the vegetable (as opposed to meat) wontons in my soup, though they fell apart when touched. I would say that the restaurant merits a return visit, but I wish I had known to get one of the better dishes. Of course, for a total lunch cost of $13 for two people, including tip, whatever.
Maxim, a LARGE Israeli style restaurant next to our hotel, was a bit overwhelmed by our party of about 30 people. Since we all ordered at the same time, I don’t feel right really reviewing the quality of the food. The shwarma and beef kabob platters that we shared were solid, unspectacular examples of the genre, though we did find some undercooked chicken. The five people around me thought that the side of cilantro-flavored rice was spectacular. I thought the portions were small for the $14-18 price range.
The real highlight of Philly was the Kosher Experience in the ShopRite neighboring Maxim. This subsection of the store was as large as the Butcherie, and laid out in a less-threatening manner — the Butcherie should learn that high shelves intimidate shoppers, but I digress. We bought 79-cent bags of Bloomy’s candy, were shocked at $1.99 for Rubashkin Turkey Deli Slices, and drooled at the huge cheese selection. The wife and I planned to split a $7.99 rotisserie chicken for breakfast, but ultimately decided against it. Are the high real estate prices the reason that this can’t be replicated in Boston’s supermarkets?
I ate at Maxim’s in Cherry Hill a few months ago — not sure if that’s the place that you’re referring to. The prices were pretty high but the food was excellent, other than the chicken noodle soup which tasted like it was made with soup powder and too much water. All the grilled items and salads that we tried were great. I would definitely go back.