Soho Cafe

There is a little known place, in a village called East Oak Lane, on the physical edge of Philadelphia. I'd heard rumors about this place from foodie friends. It even got a shout-out from Anthony Bourdain on The Layover. You drive for miles, north up 5th street till you swear you can't be in the city any more.  All of a sudden the storefront signs start changing to Korean.  In the span of a few blocks you are transported to South Korea. You pass Jong Ka Jib on the left, Kim's Korean Bar-B-Q on the right.  You round the corner onto Cheltenham Ave and tucked between a bank and a gas station is Café Soho.  The exterior unassuming to the extreme, save for the uniquely Asian designed chicken sign hanging out front. 

Inside, the place looks like a failed night club from Old City circa 2005. Mirrored ceiling tiles, black and red leather banquets, a discoball like chandelier, K-Pop blasting from a big screen TV.  To the untrained eye, these should all be big red flags to turn around and walk out. But wait, is that a call button on the edge of each table?  Do they give you a plastic pitcher of water at each table, and pour with both hands? Ah-ha. We've found the place.

Café Soho is an ode to Seoul and the ubiquitous Hof's that are too numerous to count in that city. In Korea the Hof (from the German Hofbrauhaus) is basically a sparsely decorated restaurant serving two things - pitchers of cheap beer and plates of fried chicken. If Japan was all about fish, Korea was all about land animals - namely chicken & beef. Fried chicken is a staple there. It is cheap and it is done impressively well - fried hard and slathered with a sweet & spicy sauce. It is the go-to for college kids, after-work office workers and just about anyone else that needs a beer and a bite. 

The kim chi pancake was tasty. Just crispy enough to not flop over when you pick it up for the dipping. A little heat, but not enough to make you wince. On it's own it merits a decent nod, but it is just a warm up for the main event. 

Ahh, this is what I've been waiting for. Look at those beautiful little nuggets of fried deliciousness. These little guys are of the boneless variety.  It's like popcorn chicken, but actually good. The meat to breading ratio is spot-on and the spicy sauce coating each piece packs a punch. Between the four of us, we devoured these in about 5 minutes. Even the girl that doesn't like spicy stuff couldn't stop eating them. She was visibly sweating and going back for more.

And now onto the original. The bone-in chicken wings. The head of the class. The reason hot oil matters. Oh Captain, my Captain. Fried to a shattering crunch that is audible with every bite. The meat is tongue scalding hot, but that won't stop you. They are light and crispy, not greasy. They are near perfect on their own. A little soy dipping sauce puts them into an ethereal plane of existence.

They do a take-out business, but I don't see how anyone could make it home with a box of that chicken sitting next to them on the passenger seat untouched. I have joined the ranks of those that now make pilgrimages to Oak Lane for Café Soho. It's a hankering that cannot be denied, and satisfied only one way.  This is hands down the best fried chicken I've had in Philadelphia. It is worth the drive, and so much more.

Food Baby Rating:  Triplets!

Cafe Soho

468 Cheltenham Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19126

215-224-6800 

Fried Chicken at Rittenhouse Tavern

Taking a cue from the Sunday Supper trend working it's way around the city (I think I may have started something here) Rittenhouse Tavern has been offering a fried chicken special on Sunday nights for $18 a person. They fry up a whole bird with biscuits, coleslaw and a special side of the day. It's been so popular that they've added it to the daily menu (and upped the price to $22).  Go get yours now before they jack it up again. 

Bacon biscuits! Yup. You can taste it immediately. There's no bits inside, but I think they use bacon grease instead of lard in the dough. It obviously lends an incredible flavor but renders them dense as hockey pucks. These are the opposite of flaky and airy. They will sit in your stomach like a bacon coated rock. There's worse things that could happen to you. 

The cabbage slaw was very good. A quick pickling with vinegar on the red cabbage gives it a great tang and still leaves it crunchy and crisp. I would most certainly order more of this.  Blue corn grits with paprika were a surprisingly big hit. The texture seemed like they were ground in-house, nothing out of a box here. You could taste the earthiness of the blue corn with the butter & paprika bringing it all home.  Second and third portions were a must. 

This is what we came for though - the bird! Whole Amish chickens, cut up into manageable pieces, marinated, breaded and deep fried into sweet, sweet oblivion. This isn't the super crispy scrape the top of your mouth brand. This is old school southern style, with just the perfect amount of crunch and some incredible flavor. Make sure to reserve your order ahead of time, as they only order a limited amount each day. 

Warning: it is served molten hot out of the fryer. You will burn your tongue. You will not be able to stop yourself from eating. The smell is intoxicating - on a cool Sunday in April, your mind starts drifting off to lazy summer days when everything moves a bit slower. The skin is crazy delicious like those cupcakes on Lazy Sunday. Light & dark alike, the meaty bird yields huge hunks of chicken, still juicy from the quick fry and leaving you painfully aching for another piece.

If you can, snag a seat outside in the wonderful little garden courtyard (warmed in the cooler months by those mobile heaters).  It's a little oasis in the middle of dense and crowded Rittenhouse square. The building itself hosts art exhibits and is worth a look in it's own right. Beautiful old millwork and dramatic arches create a gorgeous dining space. Looking forward to coming back here on a date night to check out the rest of the menu.

Food Baby Rating:  Twins!

Rittenhouse Tavern

251 S. 18th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

215-732-2412

http://www.rittenhousetavern.com/

Square Peg

What's with all the hating on Square Peg?  Craig Laban's review did them no favors, nor did Trey Popp's piece in Philly mag. Matt Levin seems to have built up a certain level of expectation with the foodie crowd that is now biting him in the poutine. After reading both of the above mentioned reviews with much anticipation, I was left like a sailboat without wind, aimlessly looking for direction on how to interpret our own experience here. 

As the Dalai Lama once said, "If you have no expectations you will never be disappointed." What an amazing way to look at life, and restaurants. Luckily for us, the official reviews had not been published when we ate. I only read them afterwards, and felt truly surprised by the night and day experiences we had. We were at the mercy of only our taste buds, and they were happy. 

deviled eggs

Beautifully made deviled eggs, with bits of fresh dill and whole mustard seeds for extra umph. A zingy wasabi sauce is a subtle counterpoint for the richly whipped egg yolks. A deal for $4.  

mahi quesadilla

Another good bar snack was the mahi mahi quesadilla. Crumbled cojita cheese on top, creamy guac and pickled veggies with a just crisped tortilla. Tender hunks of mahi inside with melted pepper jack. Yumm. 

mac & cheese "grilled cheese"

Take some homemade mac & cheese, stuff that between two pieces of buttered bread, and then grill it on a flat top. The result is kind of ridiculous and indulgently delicious. Without the picture, this one would be hard to describe. The view when cut open is priceless. The little bowl of tomato soup tasted like it came from a can; I would have preferred some Sriracha to cut through all the dairy and add some needed heat.  However, this is definitely a fun thing to order and a conversation starter for sure. One slice per person is enough, unless you're going the twins/triplets food baby route. 

fried chicken, collards, kool-aid watermelon

Levin knows a thing or two about fried chicken. The version he did at Adsum was memorable for the ultra crispy outer shell - when you bit into it, diners three tables over could hear you chomping away. He's brought that same deftness with the bird to Square Peg, where he has single-handedly created the most racist dish in Philadelphia. That same incredibly crunchy fried chicken - a hard outer shell but all tender inside like a Patrick Dempsey rom-com. Under the chicken is a pile of spicy collard greens, a small drizzle of honey hot sauce, and on the side a cube of kool-aid infused watermelon. 

I hadn't put it together at the time. But over dinner with a friend a few shades darker than my northern European self the other night, he professed that he would never eat here because of this dish. I think that might be a bit extreme, but I can see his point. The kool-aid watermelon thing is walking a fine line. The chicken is pretty damn good though. It's worth stopping in just for that. I'd put it in the top 5 of the city, especially now that Meme is closed. 

falafel

A pretty decent falafel plate. Grilled flat bread pita, pickled red onion & cucumber. A roasted cauliflower salad on the side. Big, crunchy falafel balls that were nicely fried and soft on the inside. It's not exactly Zahav, but tasty nonetheless and a somewhat healthier and definitely lighter alternative to the burgers, fried chicken and pierogies that litter the rest of the menu. I really liked the roasted cauliflower, which is saying something. Cauliflower is one of the few foods I really don't get excited about. Roasting them to golden brown gave them some crunch and a real depth of flavor that you just don't get any other way. Nicely played. 

deep fried pork chop

They deep fried a pork chop. Seriously. I wish I could tell you how good it was but I didn't order it. The guy who did barely stopped to take a breath between bites, so I assume it was tasty. I mean, how can you go wrong deep frying a pork chop? It was the special of the night and not on the regular menu. Hopefully it's there next time we go back.  

Square Peg is not the best restaurant in the city. It's probably not even in the top 10 or 20. But it is a whole lot better than critics have been giving it credit for. A menu of elevated bar snacks and creative presentations pushes the culinary envelope a bit. It's not Adsum, so don't walk through the front door expecting that. Instead, do as the Dalai Lama recommends - don't let yourself be disappointed. 

Food Baby Rating: Only Child

Square Peg

929 Walnut Street (at 10th)

Philadelphia, PA 19107

215-413-3600

http://www.squarepegrestaurant.com/