philadelphia food diary
Make this a blog?
Best of dining lists and awards, such as those handed out by the James Beard Foundation, tend to focus on high-end restaurants with classically trained chefs behind the kitchen producing avant garde, fusion, and trend-setting dishes. Somehow, two Philly hole-in-the-wall restaurants cut through the fine linen and gained recognition on these national lists: South Philly Barbacoa and Hardena.
SOUTH PHILLY BARBACOA
As of March 2019 Philly Magazine ranked the restaurant #12 on its Top 50 list. What's even more noteworthy is that the chef, Cristina Martinez, has an episode of Netflix's Chef's Table dedicate to the restaurant and personal life. Martinez crossed through the US Southwest desert before eventually finding her way to Philadelphia. I watched a few more episode's of Chef's Tables and none of them capture the power and emotion of Martinez's life story. Other chef's talk about farm to table and their obsession with pizza crusts...she talks about spending fourteen days in the desert and wondering if she had enough food to survive. As for the restaurant...
The first thing I saw when I entered South Philly Barbacoa was a family of six Mexicans (a safe assumption) enjoying a family style meal of lamb barbacoa with a bunch of side dishes. I had wondered what percentage of diners would be neighborhood locals getting a fix of their favorite home-cooked style meal and how many would be like me, aware of and drawn to the restaurant from the high rankings and Netflix show. At 9am on a Sunday it was about a 75 / 25 split. The menu is simple - lamb or pork tacos. Consomme. Quesadilla. Tamales. A few more items. I placed and paid for my order then waited in a second line for the lamb taco to be served. While waiting I had an upfront view of the tacos being flattened.
The lamb barbacoa is the specialty. I ordered two tacos and after wolfing them down paid for another. Was it James Beard worthy? Is this the 12th best restaurant in Philadelphia? No but it doesn't need to be. This place is great, the owner has a great story, however, placing this restaurant up on a pedestal, which drives people like me to this restaurant, doesn't make sense. The tamale, with a couple of raisins baked in, was the best tamale I ever ate, so soft...so fluffy.
I plan to return and bring more of my family, so that I can dine family style.
SOUTH PHILLY BARBACOA
As of March 2019 Philly Magazine ranked the restaurant #12 on its Top 50 list. What's even more noteworthy is that the chef, Cristina Martinez, has an episode of Netflix's Chef's Table dedicate to the restaurant and personal life. Martinez crossed through the US Southwest desert before eventually finding her way to Philadelphia. I watched a few more episode's of Chef's Tables and none of them capture the power and emotion of Martinez's life story. Other chef's talk about farm to table and their obsession with pizza crusts...she talks about spending fourteen days in the desert and wondering if she had enough food to survive. As for the restaurant...
The first thing I saw when I entered South Philly Barbacoa was a family of six Mexicans (a safe assumption) enjoying a family style meal of lamb barbacoa with a bunch of side dishes. I had wondered what percentage of diners would be neighborhood locals getting a fix of their favorite home-cooked style meal and how many would be like me, aware of and drawn to the restaurant from the high rankings and Netflix show. At 9am on a Sunday it was about a 75 / 25 split. The menu is simple - lamb or pork tacos. Consomme. Quesadilla. Tamales. A few more items. I placed and paid for my order then waited in a second line for the lamb taco to be served. While waiting I had an upfront view of the tacos being flattened.
The lamb barbacoa is the specialty. I ordered two tacos and after wolfing them down paid for another. Was it James Beard worthy? Is this the 12th best restaurant in Philadelphia? No but it doesn't need to be. This place is great, the owner has a great story, however, placing this restaurant up on a pedestal, which drives people like me to this restaurant, doesn't make sense. The tamale, with a couple of raisins baked in, was the best tamale I ever ate, so soft...so fluffy.
I plan to return and bring more of my family, so that I can dine family style.
|
|
|
HARDENA
#24
Unlike South Philly Barbacoa which is located on 9th Street within the confines of the Italian Market, Hardena is slightly off the beaten path in South Philadelphia. Hardena is cafeteria style dining. You'll need the women sitting behind the counter to explain all the dishes and then it's an impossible decision on deciding what to eat. As you can tell with my plate I went with a little bit of everything.
Was it James Beard worthy? Is this the 24th best restaurant in the city? Phew...I don't know. I wish I lived a bit closer to try all the dishes.
#24
Unlike South Philly Barbacoa which is located on 9th Street within the confines of the Italian Market, Hardena is slightly off the beaten path in South Philadelphia. Hardena is cafeteria style dining. You'll need the women sitting behind the counter to explain all the dishes and then it's an impossible decision on deciding what to eat. As you can tell with my plate I went with a little bit of everything.
Was it James Beard worthy? Is this the 24th best restaurant in the city? Phew...I don't know. I wish I lived a bit closer to try all the dishes.
|
|
|