Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Whoo hoo - my first SE Quiz 100% :)

Eep. Those big dark soulless eyes are just way too creepy in juxtaposition with how cute the rest of it is...

The "HK" on the illustration is a nice touch. Go Phillies!

Someone was watching the "Next Food Network Star" methinks. =)

Nice article! I really miss the doner kebab from having lived in England for a bit. Which brings me to one my my pet peeves, a doner kebab is not just a "turkish gyro"! There are many similarities, to be sure, but they are not the same. The doner meat is prepared a little differently, usually a bit more well done and crispy in my experience. The meat is placed "in" the pita rather than "on" the pita, and the vegetable topping are different, with hot sauce rather than tzatziki. All of these little differences add up a completly different sandwich! Delicious!

I apologize if this post comes across as pretentious, but they really are two different sandwiches, and personally, when I am craving one, the other will just not do.

Dumb question. Why not just make creamed spinach...?

Dollar a drink unless the bartender goes out of their way to make a cocktail or does something else special, then it'll be more than that.

If I open a tab and we're drinking top shelf beer or liquor, it's a 10% tip. If I am drinking cheap beer that night it'll be 20%. My logic is that it would be outrageous to tip 20% for opening a $10 bottle of beer, and too cheap to tip 10% for a PBR (both require the same amount of work from the bartender). However I tip, I must be doing ok, because I almost always get excellent service on return visits.

Good review! Per my previous post, I am of the opinion that Monk's has the best burger that I have had in Philadelphia. Granted, I am a suburbanite and only get down to the city every few weeks, so my sample size is somewhat limited.

That being said, I would agree that the bun is the worst part of a good burger, but I guess I am in the minority here who happens to like a chewy, substantial bun, as long as a proper burger-to-bun ratio is maintained. I will admit that there is a little too much bun here.

I should expand my burger forays into the city to include more of the places that other serious eaters have mentioned, but sometimes when you go into the city and pay $20 for parking, you really just want a great Belgian beer or two, a bucket of mussels, some frites and a tasty burger. Bun be dammed!

Monk's Cafe at 16th and Spruce gets my vote for best burger in the city. Best place to get a beer in the city too. Go for lunch - it's generally packed wall to wall for dinner.

http://www.monkscafe.com/

I had a burger at the copabanana on 4th and South last Friday that was very good as well, but I would not say that it was the best in the city...

http://www.copabanana.com/

Went to a "upscale casual" restaurant a few weeks ago. Walked in, plenty of free tables. Hostess makes a beeline for the table right in front of the ladies room and kitchen entrance. Then she had a difficult time understanding why we asked (nicely) to move...

Porterhouse!

Amateur photograph not withstanding, here is my attempt from last night. I added 3 cups of diced turkey kielbasa at the end for some protein. The amount of kielbasa looks disproportionate, but only because it floats!

Can't say I was amazed - it tastes exactly like what it is. Potatoes, leeks and kielbasa. However, the foundation is there for something really good. I like the suggestion of roasting the potatoes before hand to give some body. And the Parmesan cheese is also an excellent suggestion. Also - next time I might make this with stock, instead of water.

All in all, with a few tweaks, this is something that will be added to the rotation, thanks serious eats!