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Craig LaBan on restaurants and food
 
11:13
philly.com -  Craig LaBan will be here at 2 p.m. Until then, submit your questions and comments below.
2:01
Craig -  
Good afternoon my hungry friends, and welcome back to Philly food and drink chat central. Have you all been paying homage to the gods of brew this week? I’ll be curious to hear any reports – good or bad – from the front-line taps and barstools of Philly Beer Week’s sophomore edition. But we’re not limited this week to beer talk today. What else has been on your plates? I’ve been up to my old ravenous tricks, chomping across town with the usual zeal, and we’ll be revving up another round of the Crumb Tracker Quiz to mark the highlights. Name in order which three places I ate these dishes, and win a prize:
1) a tuna misto hoagie (with a dessert of pistachio baklava purchased across the street from this S. Philly hoagie gem); 2) Cashel blue and rasher burger; 3) black bass crudo…. Ready, set….start crumbing!
2:02
Craig -  
I wanted to mention one more house-keeping detail before we get started. There was a discrepancy in the rating posted with the online edition of my review of Kanella this past weekend. The correct rating was three bells (as was properly noted in the print edition) – not the two that was posted online all weekend. That has since been corrected, and it’s a well-deserved three.
2:03
[Comment From Guest]
2 - Tir Na Nog
2:07
Craig -  Ok, guest, #2 was a gimme. I was at Tir na Nog last week for some Irish whiskey "research" in honor of the upcoming St. Paddy's Day, and had a small meal as well. Their burgers have real potential - thick and nicely charred, with great Irish blue and bacon (aka rashers) - but it was sadly overcooked. The fish and chips were also a disappointment - like cod in a soggy brown bag. I was not, however, disappointed with TnNg's whiskey selection - try the Connemara if they have it, or the Knappogue '93, or the Tyrconnell... Something different, at least, than the usual Jameson/Busmills (though I like them, too...)
2:07
[Comment From Susan Gish]
Craig-Going to Paris next week, we'll see if anything comes close to Cochon and La Minette. I met two Parisians here recently that said that La Minette is darn close. Anything we can bring back for you?
2:10
Craig -  Susan - I like Cochon and La Minette just fine, but if you can't find anything in Paris that comes close, or even exceeds them - you're not eating in the right places! Gourmet just had a recent issue dedicated to some of the emerging quartiers of Paris worth taking a look at. Me? I"m stuck back in 1989, eating cauliflower gratin at La Brasserie Mouffetard, and couscous royale at the little couscouserie at the top of the hill, on La Place de Contrescarpe. Good memories that need to be refreshed. If you want to bring me a little treat, though, how about a good loaf of Poilane, a raw milk Epoisses and a bottle of vintage marc de Bourgogne? (I'll settle for the bread... thanks for asking!)
2:10
[Comment From phillychowgrl]
1- Chickies, 2 - Tir Na Nog, 3 - Table 31?
2:13
Craig -  Yo phillychowgrrrrl.... you got #1 - chickie's is definitley one of the unsung hoagie heros of South Philly, and I treated my block-mates this weekend to a nice assortment of their wares. For those in the know, Chickie's makes my favorite veggie hoagie in town - with meaty eggplant slices and a good fistful of broccoli rabe - moist and somehow not too bitter - that gives the whole sandwich satisfaction. Their new "tuna misto" though is definitely worth checking out - oil packed fish with artichokes wrapped in prosciutto. Ex-ellente! Their other hoagies are pretty good, too, but I have other favorites in the Itailan and old Italian genres...... that baklava from Bitar's by the way is just outstanding. So is their humus, fyi,  to all those chickpea freaks from a few weeks ago....
2:13
[Comment From Art]
Hi Craig -- Any early guesses on which (or how many) of the new bumper-crop of steakhouses won't survive the economic mess?
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