#79 Hurricane Alley - Sam's synopsis

Well, we finally made it out to Hurricane Alley after a few debacles - arriving when it was closed for the day and hearing that it might be shut down around the time we were planning to go due to health code violations... turns out Hurricane Alley shares a food license with Copabanana, which is the establishment that had the majority of the violations. In fact, I must admit that I went into this review a little biased, assuming that it was going to be terribly dirty and the food was going to be questionable. I'm happy to say that my assumptions were pretty much incorrect.

We went on a Tuesday evening, so there were very few people in the bar. The whole place is decorated like a Mardi Gras themed-party, which I suppose is to be expected for this end of South Street when your restaurant is Nawlins style food. Basically lots of gold, purple, and green, plastic beads, and jazz or swamp-themed paintings - but I'll be honest, it wasn't as tacky as it could have been. I'll give them some points for that. Our bartender was friendly and attentive, but as I tried to order a dark and stormy, I was informed they were out of ginger beer. Very sad. Alas, I went for the mojito instead, which was pretty tasty and definitely on the stronger side. If you want a strong cocktail for a reasonable price on this end of South Street, Hurricane Alley is a good option.

tasty wings

The problem with this type of cuisine is that pretty much every dish contains seafood. Look, I know I'm supposed to love all kinds of seafood because I'm a Cape Codder, but I just don't. I'm sorry, I've let my heritage down. But it's just not my thing - give me some fish, crab cakes, and sometimes I can tolerate lobster - but otherwise keep those water-dwelling animals away from me. Maybe it's because they taste like how it smells at low tide? That's probably part of it. Anyways, I digress. Sandya convinced me that we should order the alligator sliders (and to be fair, that is an item off any menu you should probably order just for the novelty of it) in addition to the wings for appetizers. I wasn't a big fan of the alligator - it had the flavor of fishy chicken, which isn't terrible, but it wasn't really my thing. A little too chewy for my tastes too. On the other hand, the wings were delicious - a great glaze that had a nice kick but wasn't too overwhelming for my poor taste buds (which are slowly increasing their spice tolerance!).

it's pretty hearty, amirite?

For the main course, I got a big bowl of gumbo, since it was pretty much the only non-seafood menu on the item (it had chicken and sausage as the meat). Overall, I was pleased with the dish, although the stock was a little thinner than I was expecting. The flavors worked well together and the seasoning was well done (a nice little Cajun kick and not overwhelmingly salty). The pieces of bread served alongside it were perfect for mopping up the extra broth - but as I mentioned, I wish it had been a little bit thicker stock.

Somewhere between ordering food and hearing the story of how Doug ended up doing part of his residency in Louisiana, I ordered a margarita and was sufficiently buzzed by the end of the meal. All in all, Hurricane Alley was not nearly as sketchy as I was expecting, and it's definitely better than Fat Tuesday's.

Hurricane Alley

340 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 238-1512

#79 - Hurricane Alley - Sandy's synopsis

Hurricane Alley is the re-spawning of Cafe Nola and attempts to bring the cuisine of New Orleans to Philadelphia. They have a medium sized restaurant with bar and table seating. The draft list is short, the bottle list is longer and, surprisingly, the wine list is longest. They even have a draft pouring system for the wine and a whole wine-cellar type room at the back. They should advertise this vino side of them a little more.

My drink choice for the night, however, was from their short cocktail list. I decided to go with, the famous, Hurricane - I had never had one and figured this was as good an opportunity as any to try it.

It was mediocre. I think it has great potential though - maybe with some fresh squeezed juices.

Another surprising thing, to me, was the presence of alligator sliders on the menu. The fact that I found that surprising clearly means I know nothing about the fauna and flora of the New Orleans region. I did know, however, that I definitely wanted to try those sliders.

Alligator meat had a mild beef-like flavour to start. I really enjoyed this phase of the experience. As I continued to eat the meat, a more fishy flavour, akin to tuna, became more prominent. I did not enjoy this phase of the experience. Alligator meat reminded me a little of frog legs, which I consider to be a mixture of the texture and mild flavour of chicken with a fishy overtone. Similarly, alligator to me had the texture and mild flavour of beef coupled with a fishy overtone. 

We also ordered the New Orleans vampire wings which were really good. They had a nice crispy outer skin and a sweet garlic chilly sauce on top.

For the entree I had a the jamabalaya with pasta.

The jamabalaya was spicier than I expected but I was happy about that. It went really well over pasta and the bread was a good compliment to the meal.

In summary, Hurricane Alley was better than I expected. However, I've never had creole cooking straight from the alligators' mouth in New Orleans before. I am, therefore, exactly like people who haven't eaten Indian food right from the tigers' mouth in India and so, have no idea how good it can get. Hurricane Alley probably loves people like me. 

 

I do have to mention that I did have a little of a tummy upset the next day. I do have a overly sensitive digestive system though, so I wouldn't dissuade anyone else from going. I, however, probably wont return here - the food wasn't good enough to warrant the tummy distress.

Hurricane Alley

340 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-238-1512

#78 - Jon's Bar and Grille - Sandy's synopsis

I know very little about the three stooges. They were referenced a couple of times in Farscape, which are the only times I ever paid attention to them. So it is safe to say, the fact that Jons' bar and grille was Larry Fine's birth house, was not something that drew me to the place. I've lived next to this bar for years and not had the urge to go in.  

The blog overrides all urges or lack thereofs and so it was that I finally entered this place. Its quite spacious on the inside which is good, because it can get pretty full on the weekends. On a weeknight however, the place was a little empty. They also have deck and patio seating which makes it a popular spot in the summer.

The first thing one looks at, of course, is the draft list. Jons' has a very nice draft list with some great craft brews. I had a wonderful sour beer that I hadn't had before. Their menu is rather standard for a bar - appetizers, sandwiches, burgers some entrees. 

We decided to start with the nachos, which weren't terribly exciting but also not terrible. 

It had all the fixins' and we got ours with pulled pork - it would be very hard for this dish to taste bad. One nice thing of note is that Jons' is very accommodating of a gluten-free diet. We asked if the nachos could be prepared in a separate pan so as to avoid contamination and they said that was no problem. 

I ordered a burger for my entree which was pretty good. It came with a very healthy amount of cheese which I appreciated.  

However I have to say, the star of the show was the fries.

Besides being delicious on the day off, these fries were SO GOOD reheated. Fries that are also tasty the next day are such a rarity!

So, as far as Jons' bar and grille goes - come in for a piece of random celebrity history and stay for the beer and fries., 

Jons' Bar and Grille

300 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

215-592-1390

#78 Jon's Bar and Grille - Sam's synopsis

The fun fact about Jon's Bar and Grille is that Larry Fine of the 3 Stooges was born in the building that now houses it. So there is a nice mural of him playing the violin above the restaurant - apparently when he was an infant he spilled some caustic reagent on himself (his dad was a jeweler and used it to differentiate between real and fake gold), so in order to strengthen his arm muscles again his parents had him take up the violin. The more you know! But also makes me wonder why the restaurant is called Jon's and not Larry's... oh well. Also a bit surprising is the lack of 3 Stooges references (although I'm only a very casual viewer of the show, so they would probably go over my head anyways) - all I saw was a burger on the menu and a couple of posters here and there. But I almost think this works to their benefit, since over-the-top references would come across as too cheesy. 

I've actually been to Jon's once before when my mom and her then-boyfriend were in town for Thanksgiving a few years ago. Her ex was a big fan of the 3 Stooges so I thought it'd be a fun place to go. When we were getting ready to go here and I told someone this, they asked me how it was. My only response was "I don't remember" - meaning it probably wasn't terrible but also wasn't outstanding. And that's exactly how I felt this time around.

The restaurant itself has a nice layout - plenty of tables downstairs, an ample bar, outdoor seating for when the weather is nice, picnic tables upstairs for a more relaxed dining experience. It was a cold, rainy Wednesday night, so we were the only people in the restaurant save for a couple of stragglers at the bar until two more tables arrived. I've walked by this place in the summer and it does seem pretty hoppin', probably because of the great patio seating they have. I was impressed with their beer selection - a solid 20 or so on tap, and they must have had some recent event with Terrapin because there were 6 or 7 of their beers specifically. I elected for the Moo-Hoo, a delicious chocolate milk stout. Not that I'm complaining, because it's always nice to have craft beer from other areas available in the city. But they also had quite a few drafts that were local and/or ones that I don't see often in other bars, and a nice selection of bottles - my second draft was Jon's Jawn, which was brewed by Bullfrog (from Williamsport, PA) in collaboration with the bar. It was a little strange (brewed with merlot grapes, raspberries, and cocoa nibs. The cocoa nibs didn't do it for me, but I still enjoyed the beer). Add to that a bunch of rare bottles along the walls and Jon's seems to be a hidden gem of a bar with decent prices for good beer. Either that or I've turned into a terrible beer snob in the sense that I'm surprised this place has a good beer list. 

The food, on the other hand, wasn't stellar. We ordered nachos, which were covered in nacho cheese, green peppers, beans, and a little bit of spice from some jalapenos. They were satisfying my hunger, but the nacho cheese was a bit of a turn off for me - it tasted too artificial. I ordered the Santa Fe panini - blackened chicken, avocado, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Everything tasted a little bland and dry, but my side salad + feta vinaigrette were pretty tasty. It's not the worst food I've ever had, but nothing to write home about either. In the end, I'd return to Jon's - but just to grab some drinks off their fantastic beer menu.

Jon's Bar and Grille

300 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 592-1390