#84 Lovash Indian Restaurant and Bar - Sandy's synopsis

I have to admit that I am always skeptical about an Indian restaurant before trying it. Having grown up in India, I am a little more critical. However, I have definitely grown from being a person who used complain that a dish "doesn't taste like it would in India" to someone who can appreciate that, even if the dish doesn't taste "authentic", it still tastes good!

Lovash fits into that category for me, it doesn't taste exactly like what I would have in India, but the flavours are so good and the food so fresh, that it was a win all around.

I would be remiss if I did not start by saying the folk at Lovash are extremely nice. I run into them occasionally on the street and I always get see them in happy healthy interactions with their staff and with their customers. Suffice to say, we were greeted with what seemed like a genuine warmth.

After our party arrived, we started our meal with some beverages and appetizers. For appetizers we ordered the tandoori chicken samosas, shami kebab (lamb patties) and sheekh kebab (beef kebabs). For beverages we ordered some mango and salt lassis and chai.

Shami Kebab

Shish Kebab

The appetizers were fantastic, very flavourful and now, come highly recommended. I thin kI liked the two kebabs over the samosa. This is also the first place where I actually liked the salt lassi.

For our main course, each of us ordered an entree and some naan to share. They have a south Indian flavours section that I was curious about.  I ordered the Coondapur Chicken Curry from this section and I was not disappointed.

The curry tasted freshly made, with tender chicken and the right amount of spice. The naan was a great accompaniment. Lovash also has a great "hot sauce" if you need to add more heat to your dish. The

I also had a chance to try most of everyone's else curries and liked them all. The portions are ample with a chance for leftovers.

To  conclude, I was pleasantly surprised by Lovash. They have great food, friendly service and so a great restaurant all around.

Lovash

236 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-925-3881

#84 Lovash Indian Restaurant & Bar - Sam's synopsis

On the list of "Sam's Most Frequented Food Carts While Toiling Away as a Grad Student," Lovash occupies the #1 spot by a wide margin. So needless to say, I was very excited to finally make it to their restaurant.

mmm papadum

Sandya arrived first and had a large table ready and waiting for when the rest of us arrived - we got a good group of people to join. I don't make it to the food truck any more, but one of our fellow dinner guests Kelly gets lunch from there quite a bit. Which became even more obvious when our waiter recognized her from earlier in the day - guess she forgot about our dinner plans! But we were finally able to put a name to the face that serves lunch at the cart almost every day - Atul. He must work pretty crazy hours, serving lunch at the cart and then waiting on tables for dinner. But it was nice to finally have a formal introduction, and we spent much of the dinner chatting with Atul and getting to know him a little better. Turns out when he lives in San Francisco he once helped Maya Angelou in his shop... pretty great encounter!

The door to the restaurant is a little misleading, so it might take you a few extra seconds to get inside (like it did for me). It's a medium-sized restaurant with a few different rooms, several tables, and a small bar. While using the bathroom later in the evening, I did see that there's a party room on the second floor as well. The decor was pretty standard, although we did have a running fountain above our table that was a little leaky and soaked my jacket a bit... but it was hard to be too upset in the spirit of the evening.

While waiting for the remainder of our party to arrive, we ordered some appetizers. The restaurant, not surprisingly, has a much larger menu than the food cart. Tandoori chicken samosas and beef shish kebob, as well as some papadum on the house. I really enjoyed the samosas and while I didn't have any of the beef, I had some of the accompanying vegetables and they were also great - well seasoned and spicy (in the sense that they were well spiced). I love papadum - it's a thin crispy wafer made from lentils or other flour. These ones were pretty tasty - not the best I've had but definitely snackable. I think I ate the most out of anyone... sorry guys.

butter chicken

Once Doug arrived, we decided to each order our own meal but share the love by passing our dishes around, minus Steph who is limited in what she can eat due to Celiacs. Luckily for her, they had a small South Indian menu that included dosas. As I recently learned on our excursion to our friend Lee's wedding, Steph is a big fan of said dish, which I agree are totally delicious. Unluckily for Steph, they did not have any dosa batter made. Such is life. Not limited in my food choices, I went with butter chicken, one of the house specials. We had a spattering of all kinds of food - lamb chettinad, coondapur chicken curry, and mushroom vindaloo, just to name a few. We also ordered several breads - naan, garlic naan, and onion kulcha to go along with our meals. Service was swift and we were quickly eating our main meals. I ventured out on a limb and ordered my meal at the medium spicy level, which I think was a good choice. It was a bit hot, but it really brought the spices and flavors out. The creaminess of the sauce paired well with the tender chicken, and the accompanying bread was perfect for scooping up food. Most people agreed that Sandya's dish - the coondapur curry chicken - was the best, and while I thought hers tasted great, I liked mine just as much. I had also ordered a spiced Indian tea, and it was pleasant with its additional spices added, but not the best cup of tea I've ever had. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill though.

By the end of our meals, we were completely full with no room for dessert, but we lingered a bit and chatted amongst ourselves and with Atul. It was a wonderful evening full of friends, great food and conversation. I'm happy to report that Lovash's restaurant is just as good as the food cart, and I'd definitely return in the future for another meal.

Lovash Indian Restaurant & Bar
236 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 925-3881

#82 Green Basil and #83 Haagen Dazs - Sandy's synopsis

Green Basil is a new Thai BYOB that opened a few months ago. With Circles a block west and Tamarind a block east, Thai restaurants are becoming commonplace on this part of South street.

The staff at Green Basil are wonderful and very patient and helpful when it comes to choosing your dishes. Green Basil does have some dishes that are unique to them (as compared to Circles at least), particularly in the appetizers section.

To start, we ordered the curry puffs, Thai sausage and papaya salad.

Curry Puffs

Thai Sausage

Papaya Salad

The curry puffs were delicious, the more burnt parts of the thai sausage were fantastic. (That's more my weirdness with sausages. I think people who like sausages would like the non-burnt parts as well.) The papaya salad was decent. 

For my main course, I decided to try one of the fancy whole fish dishes - the pla rad prik - described in the menu as "crispy tilapia with Thai sweet chilli sauce. Spicy."

Turns out, I'm not the biggest fan of deep fried whole fish. The flavours were nice, but it just wasn't my jam. I did, however, get to taste the Massaman curry and that was fantastic! It managed to have a distinct flavour from Circle's massaman curry and I know Steph (who ordered it) liked it better than Circle's Massaman Curry. That is a huge compliment. Keeping that in mind, I definitely want to come back here and try things of the non-whole fish menu. I'm especially excited to try some of their noodles.

All in all it is a good place to have some beers and good Thai food and I clearly would like to go back. It doesn't hurt that it is around the corner from my house.

Later that evening, before calling it a night, we moseyed over to Haagen Dazs for some ice cream. 

I ordered the banana split because 1) I had never had it here before and 2) I like the idea of bananas and icecream (banana milkshakes are the best!). It was okay. It comes with strawberries too which I didn't like. Guess I'm a banana purist. The chocolate fudge though was pretty delightful. 

Overall, I do like going here. Even though they don't have a banana milkshake on the menu, they are always very happy to make me one as they have all the ingredients. Also doesn't hurt that it is around the corner from my house and I am not a Rita's fan. I will say, finding out that Haagen Dazs is an American chain and not some fancy European chain, kind of blew my mind. I did not know that. 

Green Basil

240 South Street

215-644-8180

Haagen Dazs

242 South street

215-925-3373

Philadelphia PA 19147

#82 Green Basil and #83 Häagen-Dazs - Sam's synopsis

curry puffs!

We visited Green Basil on a warm spring Saturday evening. Sandya checked ahead of time to see if it is BYOB (it is), so we picked up lots of beer and headed over with our respective SOs in tow. Ari and I arrived first, and were able to get a table for 4, even though the restaurant is on the smaller side. Our waitress was very friendly, and as it turns out, may be stalking Sandya and Steph (but just so she can hang out with their dog Pavlov). In any case, they soon arrived and we spent a good deal of time chatting and catching up, but finally decided it was time to order food. We were all pretty hungry so we ordered a couple of appetizers in addition to our main dishes. I wanted to order a Thai iced tea, but because we were getting ice cream later and already had beer, I decided against it. But I kind of wish I had gotten it, because I do love Thai iced tea...

this is "thai sausage"

For appetizers, we ordered the papaya salad, curry puffs, and thai sausage. What is thai sausage you ask? An excellent question. It is basically pork sausage with thai seasonings - lemongrass, lime, soy sauce, etc. It was pretty crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, but almost a little too salty. Which was fine with me, but I don't think the rest of the table enjoyed it as much. I thought the papaya salad was refreshing, but it felt like it was missing something. It also had little mini dried shrimps in it, which is probably a normal way to prepare this dish, but not something I'm a fan of (because yeah, seafood is not really my bag, as I think we've all established at this point). I really liked the curry puffs, I thought the filling of chicken, potato and curry was delicious and flavorful, and the puff was fried and crispy. Spoiler alert: I thought the appetizers were the best part of the meal. But more on that later...

pad thai. a nice presentation at least.

..Or now, because I'm onto the next paragraph. So, I had wanted to order the green curry friend rice with chicken, but when I asked the waitress, she said it was super spicy. After trying some of the spicier dishes that were ordered by others at the table, I think I probably could have handled it. But alas, my spice intolerance got the best of me, so I went for the pad thai instead. Someone had to order it, right? When I first tasted it, I found the sauce a little off-putting, but over time it grew on me. It was a little too sweet and did not have enough spice (of the flavor variety, not the heat variety). But, I was hungry, and it wasn't terrible or anything, so I ate most of it. I know that Ari and Sandya also weren't super impressed with their meals - they were decent, but not outstanding. Steph really enjoyed her massaman curry and I totally agreed on that front - it was rich and creamy and I liked it over my pad thai. If I remember correctly, this is a newer restaurant, so I think they have some room to try out and improve their recipes. The service was great, but I think there are better thai options in the near vicinity (like Circles, even if it's on the pricier side).

ICE CREAM AND CATS.
THE BEST.

Sorry Sandya.
It's too good not to post.
Plus we are honoring the
memory of Tangier <3

Ari departed, and we took a break to prepare our amazing wedding gift for Lee (of Tangier fame). After a few beers, our amazing art skillz came through and we had drawn what can only be described as a headless camel with a very buff rear leg. We decided it was time to reward our hard labor with some ice cream (and it was time for Pavlov to go for his nightly bathroom stroll). While Sandya went in and ordered, I kept watch of Pavlov while the drunken masses oohed and awwed at how adorable he is with his cute fluffy face and 3 legs (they're not wrong). I was still rather full from dinner, so I got a single scoop of caramel cone ice cream in a cone. It was good ice cream, a nice balance of pieces of cone and chocolate mixed in with vanilla ice cream and caramel swirls. Häagen-Dazs is one of the better "chain" places around, but nothing that blew me out of the water. What can I say? Even though I dislike seafood, I love the never ending supply of homemade ice cream on Cape Cod. It's hard to compete with that.

Green Basil

240 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 644-8180

Häagen-Dazs

242 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 925-3373

#80 Nora's Taqueria and Grill and #81 Dunkin' Donuts - Sam's synopsis

I have had the pleasure of eating at Nora's before, but in a slightly different setting. The owners of this fine establishment started off with a food truck, which happened to be parked at 38th and Spruce, making it a convenient spot for lunch while I was still on campus. It was known to me as the Peruvian truck, and it has - slightly confusingly - a bunch of flames painted on it. But that did not stop me from trying it, and I'd almost always get the chicken and rice, with one (or more!) of their many delicious sauces - creamy chipotle, mole, teriyaki, the list goes on... So this time around, I was determined to order something different.

We had a nice group of six people, and were able to find space in the front for all of us, which was great. Nora's is certainly a hole in the wall establishment in every sense of the word, which can either mean really great food or really terrible food. Luckily for us, it was the former. The restaurant is small, with some sparse decorations here and there and the grill right behind the register for everyone to see. The menu is also sparse, with just a few options - tacos, burrito (/bowls), or the infamous chicken over rice. They do seem to have specials that may potentially rotate, with enchiladas being on the board the day we were there. I went with a burrito bowl made up of zucchini, corn, and cheese (listed as calabacitas on the menu) served over rice with some shredded lettuce, with the creamy chipotle sauce because mmm it is delicious and creamy and adds a nice touch of flavor. I also ordered guacamole and chips for the table, because obviously.

Minutes after ordering, our food was already arriving at the table. We were all pretty pleased about this. Well, Ari had to wait a little longer for his (the enchiladas with mole sauce - a very nice dish. Even though we are self-proclaimed "food bloggers," I can't say I know the qualities of what makes up a good mole sauce. But my guess is that this one probably fell pretty well on the better side of mediocre), which we all decided was due to the fact that his rice was arranged into a very neat pyramid on his plate. In my case, my food came out almost immediately but was still the perfect temperature. There was a big glob of melted cheese, which might turn some people off because it wasn't evenly distributed, but it was gooey enough to disperse around the food. And it was a damn nice touch to the burrito bowl. Not that adding melted cheese to a burrito bowl is anything out of the ordinary, but it was quality, salty, warm, gooey cheese. That's great in almost any situation. The vegetables were fresh, the rice was the perfect texture, and the serving size was spot on. Oh, and the guacamole was delicious too - it also tasted incredibly fresh and had a nice amount of citrus added in to give it some tangible zest. Nora's is definitely a great spot for quick, cheap, tasty food - both from their food cart and at their location on South Street.

Despite being satiated already, we needed to actually finish off 3rd Street with a stop at Dunkin' Donuts. Let me tell you something about Dunkin' Donuts - if you are from Massachusetts, it is a holy place. Dunkin' Donuts (or as I like to call it - Dunky D's) originated in Massachusetts (Quincy to be exact), and you probably only need to drive a maximum of 5 minutes from any location in the state to reach one. My hometown does not permit fast food restaurants - yet there are at least 3 Dunkin Donuts. You get the idea. So I grew up with it. Other people may hate their food and coffee and all that jazz, but it's got that certain feel of home that I'll never be able to dissociate. Of course, not drinking coffee, I actually have no opinion on if their coffee is a go-to or not. Almost everyone I know from MA swears by it, so it's pretty biased. But unlike approximately 95% of the world, I could care less about coffee. So I'll just give you my opinion on the food.

I've always liked the donuts at Dunkin'. Growing up, even though I'm a huge chocaholic, I'd always go for the strawberry frosted donut. I also really love their pumpkin cream cheese muffin (it's seasonal). For nostalgia's sake, I ordered the strawberry frosted, and it tasted just as a I remembered. Pretty sweet, a little artificial, and just like home.

Nora's Taqueria and Grill
248 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(267) 758-2413

Dunkin' Donuts
308 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 627-1657

#80 Nora's Taqueria and Grill and #81 Dunkin' Donuts - Sandy's synopsis

Nora's Taqueria and Grill is a small eatery just past 3rd street on South that specializes in mexican staples like taco's as well as not so staple dishes like the Pollo don Luis. I've see a few reviews that describe Nora's as a "hole in the wall" and I would agree with that only with respects to size. Nora's is very well kept and clean with sit down space for about 10-12 people. We were six people in our party and were easily accommodated as most people come here for takeout.

I've been here a few times now since it is very close to where I live and am still making my way through their staples. I've had their fantastic tacos before and they are fantastic (Sidenote: You get a choice between lettuce tomatoes, and sour cream or cilantro and onions as toppings and I highly recommend going with the cilantro and lime). So, this time I decided to go with the burrito, the al pastor burrito to be specific.

That was a big *cking burrito and it was so good that I ate all of it. It had just the right amount of spice accompanied by some sweet pineapples - very satisfying.

We also ordered some chips and Guacamole for the group, which was my first taste of their guac and let me tell you - it was super tasty!

They also have a daily agua fresca which is usually very good. The flavour that day was Guanabana, which was a fruit I had never heard of but definitely tasted very good - tasted a little of lychees and pineapples mixed together. Another thing to note is that their specials are not in their menu but on an electronic menu screen, so be sure to take a gander at those before making your decision. 

After stuffing ourselves with delicious mexican food we sauntered down to Dunkin' Donuts for some dessert. We discovered that not only does the place have an upstairs area to sit down at, it has a GREAT view of south street.

If you wanted to get a little work done (they have free wifi in case you need it) with some coffee and also people watch for distractions, this would be perfect. Hell, if you wanted to just get away somewhere to people watch on south street, this would be great. So, we ordered our donuts and drinks and stared out the window for awhile, slowly sinking into a food coma. I ordered their vanilla CREME donut because I am a sucker for anything with cake frosting-like cream on it (in it, anywhere touching it). It was good, I mean, it was cream in fluffy sweet bread, you cannot go wrong.

All in all, it was another great evening on South Street.

Nora's Taqueria and Grill

248 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

267-758-2413

Dunkin' Donuts

308 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-627-1657

#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