Pandoras Review

As with most people, whenever the GF and I are not up to cooking or heading out to a restaurant, we opt for take out. When we can't pinpoint exactly what we want (which happens more often than not), we opt for Pandoras, which offers a melange of options ranging from sandwiches, wraps, pizzas, wings, calzones/strombolis. These are things that can be found in most generic American eateries to be sure. The one difference? Pandoras is consistent and does most of their items very well. That being said - we are talking about take out ... so take my bloviating with a grain of salt. 

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli ($8.25 small / $15.25 large) 
Chicken, Buffalo Sauce, Bleu Cheese, & Mozzarella 

The first time we ordered from Pandoras, I was feeling a buffalo chicken stromboli. Being the glutton that I am, I opted for the large. Biiiiiiiig mistake unless you have 3 other gluttons that can support you in this endeavor. The picture above belies the true monstrosity of this beast. Consider this is an extra-large pizza box. Consider further that this stromboli was portioned into four sections, each of which was easily the size of what even I would consider a large stromboli. I could barely finish a quarter of this beast. The rest was put into about 5 Tupperware containers. Great value, but in my humble opinion - overkill.

So this time around, we ordered a small. This came in a small to medium sized pizza box. And while it was also portioned off into four sections, the entirety of the stromboli was just a little bit larger than one of the quarters of Pandoras' large stromboli.

The innards ooze blue cheese, mozzarella, and diced chicken. A delicious and winning combination in my book. The crust of the stromboli is typically crisp on the outside, with a nice chewy and pliant dough within.

Chicken Fajita Wrap ($6.95)
Chicken, Green Peppers, Onions, Cheddar, Salsa and a side of sour cream

The GF's dish was certainly healthier, but no less tasty. She chose a whole wheat wrap, which was nicely grilled, lending the wrap to a crisp texture in the exterior. I definitely stole half when she wasn't looking!

Wing Dings ($6.25)

I had no idea what wing dings were the first time I ordered them. All I know is, since then, I have ordered them every single time. Pandoras does these really well - juicy meat within, with an incredibly crisply fried exterior. They simply fall off the bone. I wish they would offer more blue cheese to dip these in, but honestly? They really need no accompaniments. I can eat all of these in one sitting - no problem.

Cheese Fries ($4.25 small / $5.75 large)

What you see here is the large order of cheese fries. We asked for the cheese whiz on the side, which clearly wasn't done, but these fries were delicious nonetheless. Receiving the cheese whiz on the side would have likely allowed the fries to retain their crispness better though. When we finally dove into these fries, they were a bit limp. Luckily, the salty, creaminess of the Whiz allowed this to be an almost non-issue.

If you're into loaded fries - try the 'Foogie' fries - those are loaded with bacon, cheddar, mozzarella and a side of ranch dressing. Evil, delicious, and coma-inducing in its own right.

Overall, Pandoras hits the spot when I'm craving take out. You don't feel better about yourself after the meal, but it definitely brings a smile to my face while I'm eating it. Hey - you can always hit the gym afterwards ... if you can wake yourself up from the resulting food coma.



www.pandorasphilly.com

Maggiano's: Philadelphia Review

Update: I thought about amending my post, but thought that simply providing an update would be best. Essentially the bill at Maggiano's was $125 and I had $200 in gift cards (eight $25 cards). I gave her 7 cards so I could add a tip of $35. Service definitely did not warrant a $50 tip. She never returned with the $175 in cards. After 20-30 minutes I was finally able to flag her down.

She mentioned that they don't do receipts for gift cards (never heard of this) and that they would run the cards at the end of the day. I asked for one of the cards back - thinking that I would only leave a tip of $25 for this annoyance. Not as much as I wanted to leave, but enough -  especially considering the faulty service.

I just found out that she CHARGED that 7th card .... for the full amount. I'm curious how they aren't able to run the cards until the end of the day but somehow the full $25 amount in this 7th card is now gone.

Ridiculous and unscrupulous. Feel free to read on to get a flavor for the actual dishes at Maggiano's but to be sure - I'm never returning to this output for such faulty service. Disappointing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in college, we would often come to Maggiano's when our parents were in town and could foot the bill for our group. Consistent Italian food - in unlimited quantities? Yes please!

Unlimited quantity, you ask? They call it 'Family Style' at Maggiano's - and it's the way to go if you have four or more people in your party. They have three different options which range from light, classic, and chef's choice. The higher ranges offer more choices, which may include entrees such as lobster carbonara. You can view all the options here.

So, when the GF's brother and cousin came into town, we decided to grab some light Italian food before going to the Sixers-Thunder game at Wells Fargo. We opted for the classic choice, which gave us the option of 3 different apps or salads, 4 pastas or entrees, and 2 desserts. All of which can be reordered again throughout the meal. Light, to be sure.

Family Style ($28.95 per person)

Bread Service

Bread service is offered with any meal - you don't necessarily need to get one of the family style offerings. However, I was surprised that only one type was offered. I don't know if it's just this location or if Maggiano's has scaled back. However, back in the day (we're talking about over 5+ years ago), they offered at least four different kinds of carbs - Asiago rolls, multi-grain, and the like. In any case, we weren't here to fill ourselves up with bread. So onto the good stuff! 

Spinach Salad
Tender leaf spinach tossed with diced red peppers, roasted red onions and Gorgonzola cheese, topped with applewood smoked bacon and toasted pine nuts. Served with apple cider vinaigrette.

Surprisingly, this salad was one of my favorites of all the dishes. The onions, bacon, and gorgonzola brought a nice, funky savoriness, which was balanced by what were yellow peppers (though the description says red) and apple cider vinaigrette. The toasted pine nuts added a nice textural element to the dish as well. This was reordered again.

Crispy Onion Strings
Thinly sliced white onions, lightly seasoned and deep fried

These were perfectly sliced - probably with a Mandolin. Very fine - and came out perfectly crisp. Somewhat greasy and heavy - but delicious nonetheless. Well seasoned as well.

Sausage & Peppers
Italian sausage, roasted peppers and caramelized onions

At this point, we were only getting the appetizers and our table was already starting to get full - so apologies for the top portion of another plate obscuring some of this dish's plate. In any case, the sausage was well seasoned and had a nice snap. This is surprisingly somewhat sweet. A subtly saccharine lemon butter sauce came with roasted red and yellow peppers. The caramelized onions melded well with the dish as well. This was re-ordered again.

At this point, service was decent, however our waitress was consistently behind on refilling our drinks and more often than not, did not even notice our glasses were empty. They were refilled upon reminder however. To be truthful though, she never took an initial drink order - we had to ask after she had left upon taken our food order. I did appreciate that they fired the mains after the appetizers were semi-finished - though this is most likely because there would have been no room on the table.

Chicken Parmesan
Breaded chicken breasts baked with Provolone cheese and marinara sauce, served with spaghetti marinara.

The chicken parm at Maggiano's is pretty beastly. Huge breasts of chicken are cut in half - dressed with Provolone and marinara. It isn't heavily seasoned or fried, though it had a nice crisp crust.. The marinara is subtly sweet.

Taylor Street Baked Ziti
Italian sausage, pomodoro sauce and ziti topped with a layer of melted Provolone and Parmesan

This dish was a prototypical of a baked ziti. Al dente noodles - not over-drenched with pomodoro sauce. The sausage was densely crumbled throughout the dish. Overall, it was a bit heavy handed with the salt though.

Four Cheese Ravioli
Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella and Provolone. Served in a pesto-alfredo cream sauce with a touch of marinara

The ravioli was creamy and surprisingly light considering the addition of cream cheese. The filling inside the ravioli was a well-seasoned mix of cheese, however the pesto-alfredo cream sauce was a bit bland. The pasta was clearly put under the broiler, which brought a nice toasted element to the dish.

Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine tossed with garlic in an Asiago cream sauce

The fettucine was prototypically thick, creamy, and heavy. It was fairly one note though, with a creaminess that was highlighted by salty Asiago cheese. 

At this point in service, the men at the table were still hungry so re-ordered all of the mains. After a thirty minute wait, the manager stopped by to inform us that all of our dishes had broken and the food was thus contaminated and we would have to wait some more. Understandable and fine with us. We appreciated the notice.

Interestingly though - the food came out no less than 2 minutes after he left. So I'll leave the conspiracy theories to you - but it's obvious we either received contaminated food, the original food was fine, or the manager was extremely delayed. In any case, understandably the 2nd round of dishes had slightly less food for some dishes (one less chicken breast for the parm and two less ravioli). We were able to finish about half of this second round and had the rest wrapped to take home. 

After the mains were consumed, it was on to their massive desserts.

Chocolate Zuccotto Cake
Chocolate cake layered with sambuca chocolate mousse, iced with chocolate frosting and dusted with cocoa powder

This dish was dense - pure chocolate at its finest. The cake definitely had a nice textural contrast with the chocolate mouse. A tall glass of milk would have been the perfect complement.

Creme Brulee
Rich and creamy vanilla custard with a hint of citrus, caramelized sugar crust, topped with fresh strawberries.

This creme brulee was immense and highlighted the textural duality of this dish. The top layer of caramelized sugar was incredibly thick. In fact, it took a little effort to break through that crust. The creme portion of the dessert was rich and the vanilla flavor was not joking around. Absolutely delicious. Topped with strawberries, this dessert was definitely a favorite.

Now onto the service. The busboys are clearly busy and the runners do a great job. However, our waitress' service was downhill from the start. I can somewhat forgive the lack of attention to our soda refills. Even when we asked for refills, it took awhile for them to come. Granted - we were there the weekend of Thanksgiving and while it's not the busiest I've seen this location, it was hopping.

At the end of the meal, I was prepared to pay with gift cards (I had $200 in denominations of $25). Despite the lack of consistency in service, in consideration of the busboys and runners, I was prepared to tip over 30%. I gave the waitress 7 gift cards ($175) - expecting that I would get another receipt back to add the tip.

We waited for said receipt.

And waited ..

And waited ...
 
After thirty minutes of not looking our way and purposely avoiding eye contact, I got her attention and she stopped by. I asked for our bill - and she mentioned that she was confused. I asked what she was confused about. She said that with gift cards, she could only "verify that the cards had the amount listed on the gift card and that they would be processed at the end of day." I mentioned that this was ludicrous and clearly something was amiss.

Honestly - did she expect a 40% tip? Service was nowhere near that good. I asked for one of the cards back, leaving the staff with exactly a 25% tip before taxes. Not exactly chump change, but less than what I had wanted to leave. Fine with me considering the inconsistency in service, but this left an uncomfortable taste in all our mouths, despite the decent food we had just eaten. Especially since she should have at least informed us rather than hiding from us - it was clear that she knew why we were waiting.

Overall, Maggiano's delivers if you're looking to go with a crowd and are seeking out a variety of options. The food is consistent and decent. It's more of a touristy-chain restaurant and due to this, service can get overwhelmed. In this particular instance, it was not necessarily a case of being overwhelmed, but clearly something was amiss. Hopefully not the norm - regardless - there are better Italian options in Philadelphia if you're not looking to be a glutton.

www.maggianos.com

Ruth's Chris: Philadelphia Review

I've been going to this chain (I use the term loosely since it has such negative connotations) for over a decade. Regardless of whether I'm having a Ruth's Chris rib-eye in Chicago, NJ, or in Philly, it definitely hits the spot. I have fond memories from college of getting together with all of my friends when our parents were in town. We splurged (on our parents' dime of course) and had some of the best steaks we've ever had at the time.

Since then, my tastes have become slightly more discerning and it is clear there are several higher quality steak houses out there. Peter Luger's, BLT Steak, and Primehouse come to mind in NY, while Butcher & Singer and Barclay Prime hit the spot in Philly. But for those of you who scoff at any chain restaurant - Ruth's Chris gets the job done - consistently and well.

And just because it's a chain - doesn't necessarily mean you get chain price points. Ruth's Chris is just as pricey as the big boys. I'm sure if they had a lower rates - they would easily get more customers.

In any case, this time around, we came with the GF's brother and cousin. The brother has been here every time he's visited from Michigan and I like to think I've turned him on to a real steak-house steak. In fact, the GF's brother typically prefers his meat well-done, but I've even shown him the light in terms of ordering at a medium to medium-rare temp.

Ruth's Chris did decorate for the holidays (we came the day after Thanksgiving - a bunch of gluttons, I tell ya).

But on to what constitutes a Ruth's Chris meal.
  
Bloody Mary - Stoli ($9.25)

Typically when I'm at a steakhouse, I like to start off with this libation. Peppery and fresh - I enjoy its undertones with any nice cut of meet. I asked for a Stoli iteration - it allowed for a nice smooth finish. Came with a simple olive, lime, and lemon wedge.

Bread

Bread service consisted of one dinner roll apiece. These were cold - definitely not made to order, or even on the hour. Somewhat understandable - wait no - I take that back. Not at these prices. At least they had room-temp butter though. Not being able to easily spread butter on bread is definitely a pet peeve of mine.
 


Rib-eye - Medium ($45)

The plate is right out of the broiler at 500 degrees - hot! Certified USDA Prime, this is a fantastic representation of my favorite cut of beef. While I typically order all other cuts medium-rare, I believe that medium is the perfect temperature for this cut as it allows the marbling to entrench in the meat better. The 'cap'? As you can see here - it's enormous and unctuous. The steak is seasoned perfectly, with a nice crust as well.

I've had the cowboy rib-eye here as well. That comes bone-in, which will typically add a more intense flavor to the beef. The last time I had it here though, the meat but a bit gristly and unfortunately, sinewy. Wasn't too happy, especially at a price point that is at least $10 more than the standard rib-eye. There's certainly enough flavor in Ruth's Chris standard rib-eye so I would generally recommend that. 

Petite Filet - Medium ($37)

The GF was all alone in ordering this tender cut of beef. I typically order mine medium-rare, but the GF prefers it medium. Filet has a more intense beef flavor and it definitely shined through in this iteration. The steak had a nice salty outer crust, which is a nice textural contrast as well. 

Shoestring Potatoes ($9)

These were deliciously crispy and salty without being too over-greased. It was a bit hard to get these onto our plates since they were so thin - a serving tong would have been appreciated. 

French-fried onion rings ($9.50)

These hefty-sized onion rings are a must-order. Perfectly fried, crispy, and delicious. The onions have bite and texture to them - not limp at all. They have also been tempered prior to frying so they're not too intense, which I appreciate.

Service this night was just as great as every other night. The atmosphere at Ruth's Chris is casual elegant. I've been here in a suit and in jeans. I've never seen the Philly location have much foot traffic, typically five or six other tables. However, they have plenty of space for at least 10 times that.


Overall, Ruth's Chris is consistent in its preparation and service. Nothing beats a delicious rib-eye, and Ruth's Chris does it well.


 
http://www.ruthschris.com/