Craig LaBan

I joined the Inquirer as its restaurant critic in 1998, after a stint covering the food beat for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Having eaten about 500 restaurant meals a year here ever since, I never cease to be amazed by the diversity and sophistication of Philadelphia's kitchens. To travel from its many authentic ethnic neighborhoods to the gastronomic temples of Walnut Street to its beery gastropubs, cozy BYOBs and multitude of greasy-but-great steak joints, is to know this town delivers satisfaction at every level of the food chain. Including online dish.

Live chat: Join Craig at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Inquirer chatroom. See latest chats by Craig and others.

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Email Craig at claban@phillynews.com

Meritage

From stuffy to the right stuff: A bold makeover, lowered prices, and a new chef cooking exciting Asian fusion signal welcome maturation.

By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

Posted 11/06/2009

Buying a successful business sounds like a solid idea in most realms. But in the quirky universe of Philly restaurants, where hands-on owners and chef talent often matter more than brand names, there can be unexpected baggage changing hands along with the walk-in fridge, wine glasses, and range.

Drink

Posted 11/06/2009

I began at The Inquirer long ago covering the Pinelands, so I regard South Jersey's berry wines with both nostalgia and trepidation.

Miga - 10/30/2009: This first upscale Korean restaurant is a welcome newcomer to Center City, but more fire would definitely be nice.

By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

Korean food is ready for its close-up - with or without its fiery funk. The pleasantly posh new Miga, which dials down the chile volume without completely losing its soul in Center City's first upscale Korean dining room, is proof of that.
Drink - 10/30/2009: Suddenly growing in popularity, tawnies are the port drinker's port. Unlike those ever-popular fresh young rubies, the intensely grapey fruit bombs that have a sweet and chocolatey charm all their own, tawnies get to spend some serious time on oak. And after the better part of a decade, the transformation is stunning.
Wine Thief deserves a reprieve - 10/23/2009: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

A wine thief is a glorified straw, a long glass siphon used to steal sips of wine from its aging barrel. And when Chris Simpson and his wife, Sophie, first came across such a device at a winery in Virginia, they were struck by what the samples it drew revealed about the virtues of a little time.
Drink - 10/23/2009: The only thing better than a fall jaunt to the orchard for apple picking is sitting down with a bushel of friends to drink a vintage of apples from a bottle. The kiddies, of course, can have the fruity sweetness of fresh cider. But I'll go for the dry and kicky fizz of vintage-dated hard cider from the Pays d'Auge in Normandy, a region of France that really knows its apples.
Girasole - 10/16/2009: The restaurant's second coming is glitzy and its prices high, but the homier dishes show the sure hand of the Iovino women.

By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

If only every new restaurant were lucky enough to have a booster like the Mimosa Club, there would be no empty dining rooms on a midweek night.
Drink - 10/16/2009: The French region of Alsace is one of my favorite sources for autumn white wine drinking. Showy grapes like gewurztraminer and pinot gris take on an especially golden hue, with exotic floral aromas that border on lushness and spice, and are a fine complement to the richer flavors of cold-weather cooking.
Bolete - 10/09/2009: From the bounty of local farms comes sophisticated and superb New American fare at a colonial stagecoach tavern in Bethlehem.

By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

When chef Lee Chizmar moved back to the Lehigh Valley from Boston with his girlfriend and partner, Erin Shea, he knew they'd need a lot to go right for their restaurant, Bolete, to succeed.
Brauhaus Schmitz - 10/02/2009: The arrival of a German bier hall and its hearty fare - in a city sorely lacking them - is worth celebrating any month.

By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

German food isn't sexy, unless the thought of liver dumplings and pig knuckles gets you all in a bother to go for a hot polka. So I guess it's little wonder that Bavaria hasn't yet inspired contemporary American chefs quite in the same way France, Italy, Spain, and Asia have.
Drink - 10/02/2009: The Oktoberfest parties are usually fizzling out to a malty memory by the time October's first Sunday rolls around. (Hey, that's today!) But thankfully for all those latecomers in lederhosen, the fest's liquid spirit should continue frothing on draft for some weeks to come, especially at Brauhaus Schmitz, which has had nearly half a dozen fest taps to choose from.
Swift Half - 09/25/2009: This Good Dog sibling is a different animal: No grunge. But the food measures up, and the Piazza newness will wear off.

By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

The Good Dog Bar is one tough pub to follow. There is that legendary blue-cheese-stuffed burger, of course, so good that it inspired me to haiku and song. But there is also such an elusive aura of perfected grunge in its cozy rowhouse bones, patinaed by generations of drinkers, that it could never be duplicated.

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Kaffa Crossing - 06/27/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Swallow - 06/20/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Pearl - 06/13/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Rouget - 06/06/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Dream Cuisine - 05/30/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Sonam - 05/23/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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Jasper - 05/07/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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The Ugly American - 04/25/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Dumpling heaven in Chinatown - 04/18/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Javier - 04/11/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
An update of Indian cuisine, faithful to authentic flavors - 04/04/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
This versatile kitchen's flavors sing - 03/28/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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Cafe Apamate - 02/29/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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Supper's on - really on - 02/15/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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Ted's on Main - 02/01/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Max & David's - 01/25/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
St. Stephen's Green - 01/18/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Cochon - 01/11/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Blue Pear Bistro - 01/02/2008: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
The Belgian Cafe - 12/21/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Shundeez - 12/14/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
City Grange - 12/06/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Silk City Diner - 11/22/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Bluefin - 11/16/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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Modo Mio - 08/31/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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Rylei - 08/10/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Did its move spoil Fuji? Not a bit - 08/03/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
Tiffin - 07/27/2007: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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