Food & Drink
Pan-Latin-American-food-place-ama canal
Mexican food, while mouth-watering and comfortably familiar, rarely surprises. It also doesn't require much of a hike if you are looking for chewy tortillas and defrosted corn salsa with an air of gyro meat and feta wafting overhead.
The roof (of my mouth) is on fire
Standing outside of most restaurants in Chinatown can be a tad disconcerting, and Szechuan Tasty House is no exception. With its year-round Christmas lights flashing red and green, the Tasty House makes its presence known among its more drab neighbors, like Philadelphia Eddie's Chinatown Tattoo.
Wine of the week
Body, depth, acidity, color, appellation, bouquet, balance, finish: we got your wine reviews here. The only rules?
Drink of the week
Whether you're the freshman on the hall who can't even figure out what goes into a gin and tonic, or a senior who still doesn't know exactly what went into that last, unfortunate shot at your friend's 21st, this is the column for you.
Shake that andouille booty
He's quite a presence, and not solely because the giant logo looming above the entrance bears his name.
Korean Eats on Sansom Street
Simple, good Korean food. This refreshingly straightforward approach to cuisine is always a welcome sight in a city that idolizes the elaborate and uber-trendy.
Dirty Girl Scout
1 oz vodka 1 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur 1 oz Bailey's Irish Cream 1 oz white crŠme de menthe Admit it, the headline grabbed your attention.
Wine of the Week
Merlot from Chile occupies that uneasy spot as the forgotten stepchild of the world wine scene. It doesn't come close to the pretension of France, with its rigorous distilleries and snotty accents.
Drink of the week
Whether you're the freshman on the hall who can't even figure out what goes into a gin and tonic, or a senior who still doesn't know exactly what went into that last, unfortunate shot at your friend's 21st, this is the column for you.
Philly's finest coffee shops
Ants Pants Cafe 2212 South St. (215) 875-8002 ANTS PANTS (adj.) Australian colloquial term meaning unequivocally "the best" or "height of fashion." As in, "mate, this coffee is the ants pants" If study abroad just won't fit into your schedule, head over the Spruce Street Bridge to Ants Pants, an Australian coffeehouse and BYO that merges the food and atmosphere of its owners' international experiences. The iced and hot coffee and espresso specialties are made with Belaroma beans, which are roasted in Australia.
South street's southern comfort
Seated at one of the four, fluorescent lit tables of the glorified greasy spoon that is Ron's Ribs, a petite elderly woman audibly sighs.
Water works: expensive and good as hell
Usually the only way for a Penn student to score a chic meal is if Mummy and Daddy can be conned into going during NSO.
Drink of the Week
Beats Crying Alone In Your Room Whether you're the freshman on the hall who can't even figure out what goes into a gin and tonic, or a senior who still doesn't know exactly what went into that last, unfortunate shot at your friend's 21st, this is the column for you.
41st and Market rediscovered, again and again. And again.
Red Bicyclette Syrah, 2004 France $9 From its yellow label, to the Frenchman with beret and baguette riding his bicycle with his dog yipping along behind, to the substitution of "Syrah" for "Shiraz," Red Bicyclette wine oozes expatriate, hipster sensibilities.
Your local liquor store
Every week, 34th Street purchases, consumes, and reviews select wines from around the world. Employing only the most rigorous of standards, we demand that the wines we sample be unique, balanced and most importantly, alcoholic, in addition to costing less than $10 at the liquor store at 41st and Market.
Drink of the week
So you know how to make a rum and coke. You can dump some vodka in a jug of orange juice and call it a screwdriver.
More than just olive oil
By the way it looked - completely empty - it was hard to believe the Italian-based Mercato had been named Philadelphia Magazine's Best BYOB of 2006 when we arrived to take an early, 5:30 p.m.
Bite-sized amor
Walking east on South Street from campus, the Graduate Hospital area boasts one of the fastest growing Philly restaurant scenes.
Convenient campus cures
Tony Luke's may not be the destination of choice for the cheese steak cognoscenti, but necessity is the mother of invention ... and at 1 a.m.
