Triumph Over Hunger...

Triumph Brewing Company

117 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106
http://www.triumphbrewing.com/philadelphia/

I had been saving one of my gift cards to go out to eat for about a year before I decided to finally use it. I took my girlfriend out to Triumph Brewing Company in Olde City before we went out to celebrate one of my friend’s birthdays. I was really excited to try it because it is totally right up my alley. Not to mention, it reminded me of my girlfriend and my favorite place from college that we spent a lot of time in. I love when places brew their own beer, and I love them even more when they have great food to pair with it.

As I perused the beer menu, I came across the German Rauch bier, a smoked lager that I was completely enticed by. I ordered it and was really impressed with the taste of it. The best way for me to describe it is to say that it tasted like barbeque in a glass. It was super interesting, and I really enjoyed the full punch of smoke I got with each sip. My girlfriend ordered their holiday ale, which is served on a nitrogen system and had the consistency of a Guinness. It was very good, the right amount of spice and hops, but those types of beers don’t really tickle my fancy. 

We decided to split an appetizer, so we ordered the biscuits and gravy with duck confit per the recommendation of our waiter. I was in heaven as soon as it came to the table. I wasn’t really expecting what we got, but it was absolutely scrumptious nonetheless. There was a pile of duck confit in the middle, on top of a puddle of gravy, and there were a few really nice pieces of crunchy toast on the outside of the pile. All of the flavors paired so perfectly together, I seriously could not get enough of it.

I was pretty excited about the main course coming out as well. I have been on a burger kick lately. For whatever reason I have been craving burgers, a bit more so than usual, so I decided on the Philly bacon cheeseburger which was topped with a thick slice of pork belly, truffle aioli, fried egg, and mornay sauce. While I really enjoyed the burger, it was a bit too rich with all of the ingredients on it. The beef was rich, the pork belly was rich, the aioli was rich, the egg was rich, and the mornay sauce was rich. It tasted really good, don’t get me wrong, but it was a little too rich for me to order it again. The fries that it came with were like large size frites you would get in a Belgian café. I really enjoyed them in between bites of the amazing burger.

Lastly we decided to split the cinnamon sugar pretzels that were iced in a really delicious vanilla glaze. I thought it was pretty interesting attempt at a dessert, but the execution wasn’t quite there. The pretzels were a bit too dense, so chewing them was a bit tough. They tasted pretty good, but they definitely could have been improved if they were lighter and a little more airy.

Triumph is an awesome place to find great beer and some pretty high end bar food. They are doing some pretty fantastic things, so you should get out there and try it and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Pardon the Interruption...

Hey all,

Sorry for the delay in posts. My computer died last week, and I am having my brother-in-law try to retrieve the files I had on it. Sit tight, I hope that he will be finished soon and I can get back to posting. Cheers!

BOGO Pizza...

Treno

233 Haddon Avenue

Westmont, NJ 08108

www.trenopizzabar.com/ 

My friends from work decided to go out one night after work for pizza and beers. We went to Treno in Westmont because they offer buy one get one free Napoleon-style pizzas on Wednesday nights. My buddy had been raving about the place, so I was pretty excited to try it out. He is in love with all of the servers because they were all pretty good looking, so he was in heaven the entire time. They also have a pretty decent beer selection. 

We went with a group of about 10 guys, but only about 6 of us ate, so we ordered 4 pizzas and some beers, and we had a great time. I was pretty hungry, and I don’t eat pizza very often, so I was super excited for the pizzas to come out. The pizzas we ordered were the pancetta pizza topped with hot peppers, spinach, pancetta and fresh mozzarella; the prosciutto pizza topped with arugula, lemon juice, fontina cheese, and pecorino Romano; the house made sausage pizza topped with broccoli rabe, hot peppers, garlic and ricotta; and the special pizza of the day with barbeque sauce, sausage, spinach and fresh mozzarella. 

The pizzas were all very well done. The salty meats paired well with the fresh greens on each of the pies. I don’t think any of them with the exception of the Special had any sauce on it, and I have to say I didn’t miss it. The ingredients were so fresh and tasty, that the ingredients really spoke for themselves and made up for the lack of sauces. The crispy crunch of the crust was simply blissful.

I would go back to Treno in a minute for more pizza, or anything that they offer on their menu. I already told my girlfriend we have to go there because I know she will love it. You will all love it too, so go try it and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Another Bomb Diner...

Silver Coin Diner and Restaurant

Rt. 30 and Rt. 206

Hammonton, NJ 08037

http://www.silvercoindiner.com/ 

A few days after my previous inventory count experience with work, I found myself again going out to a client for yet another inventory count. This time we were outside, and it was pretty cold out, so I was freezing and very hungry by the time we were ready to have lunch and head back to the office. My coworker and I headed to the Silver Coin Diner for lunch together before we went back into the office.

I had wanted to try the place since I began working a few days a week in Hammonton for my firm. It is right down the street from my office, and diners always catch my interest, so naturally I wanted to try it. We sat down and began looking through the menu. I flipped to the specials page and decided I wanted to try the turkey salad sandwich on rye with fries. Little did I know I also got a cup of soup with it (chicken noodle) and a bowl of strawberry jell-o with whipped cream on it, all for $6.58. Super cheap! 

The soup came out first, piping hot. The broth was full of flavor, and the chunks of chicken and vegetables were only enhanced by the dousing of pepper I gave it. I cleaned the cup just in time for my sandwich to come out.

I thought this was one of the best club sandwiches I have tasted. The bacon was super crispy. The rye bread was crunchy, but not to the point that it cracked and crumbled with every bite. The turkey salad again wasn’t to as rustic as I would have liked, but it still let the turkey flavor shine through, and was creamy and delicious. The fries were piping hot as well, the perfect accompaniment to a great sandwich.

I am hoping to frequent the Silver Coin diner over my time spent working in Hammonton. The food was fantastic, and I really would love to go back and try a few other things. You should do the same and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Starr Does it Again...Asian Style!

Buddakkan

325 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

http://www.buddakan.com/ 

On this blog over a year ago, I had a survey posted for a while trying to get some feedback on where readers wanted me to go next. I told everyone I would go to the place that won the 2 week long contest. I took the results of that inquiry, and took my girlfriend out to Buddakkan recently for a nice night out because you all voted for it! I love getting feedback from readers and I really love trying places that they recommend for me, so keep it coming if you have suggestions!

I had wanted to try Buddakkan for quite some time. I had heard a lot about it, particularly about the Dip Sum Donuts for dessert, and my girlfriend and I rarely eat Asian food, so it was a nice change of pace. It is weird to think about because she grew up in Asia, but we were quite excited to be going out for it this particular evening.

The decor is pretty dark inside, really perfect for a romantic celebration, but everything is very modern and the crowd is young and energetic. It was packed from the moment we stepped in the door, and it continued to be so as it has pretty much every night since it opened. My girlfriend and I began perusing the menu and ordered a couple of Asian beers while we decided; a Beerlao and a Kirin light. Both great beers, we were quite happy with our choices, and decided on the rest of our meal as well. We chose to share the Peking duck buns for an appetizer, the Mongolian barbeque beef short rib with braised shitakes and choy sum for our main course, Dungeness crab sticky rice, and the dip sum donuts and milk chocolate caramel tart for dessert. 

I thought the Peking duck buns were pretty fantastic, but my girlfriend wasn’t very impressed. The buns were light and airy, and the duck was nice and tender. The Mongolian barbequed beef short rib was melt in your mouth tender. However, they weren’t lying when they said rib. There was only one, and I was a little pissed because it cost 27 dollars. The Dungeness crab sticky rice was the star of the show for me. There was tons of it, and it was amazing. Spicy from the x.o. sauce, sweet from the Dungeness crab, and salty from the soy sauce, I could have eaten a whole other giant mound of it. 

For dessert I was in heaven. I wasn’t too full, so I was pretty excited for it to begin with, but I had heard so much about the donuts from both my family who had tried them and Marc Summers who said it was one of the best things he had ever eaten on the Food Network. They were accompanied by three dipping sauces, blackberry, chocolate, and cream cheese. All three were the perfect accompaniments to the donuts, but the blackberry sauce really blew me away. I don’t usually like fruity donuts, but man this was phenomenal. The caramel tart was really fantastic as well. It was luscious and rich, and the crust was the perfect addition to the creamy nature of the tart. The real kicker to the whole dessert was the jasmine vanilla ice cream. It was so packed with vanilla flavor that I wanted to lick my plate clean.

While we had a great meal and time at Buddakkan, my girlfriend and I had a discussion about Asian dining in general. She said based on growing up in Asia and eating a lot of Asian food and not having to pay much for it, she really hadn’t found a fine dining Asian restaurant that she felt was worth it for the price that you wind up paying. I had to agree. Asian food is much better in my opinion when you go to a better source such as Chinatown and get it there. The price point is much lower, the food is more authentic, and the overall experience is just much more relaxing and in my opinion much more worth it. That being said, Buddakkan is an absolute star in the show of restauranting. They offer phenomenal food and a phenomenal experience, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. Go out there and try it and let me know how it is! Cheers!