Craig LaBan

Email claban@phillynews.com

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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 chatroom.

Book: The Philadelphia Inquirer Restaurant Guide is available through our online store.

4 Bells: According to Craig, the best restaurants in the Philadelphia area.

Video: Bar Ferdinand
Gallery: Bar Ferdinand

Video: Sophia's
Gallery: Sophia's

Review: 2 bells for Gennaro's Tomato Pie 04/26/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

How can it be so easy for Mike Giammarino to channel history through a simple round of baked dough?
Review: Three bells for Fond 03/15/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

Have our little BYOBs grown up? Intriguing new ones, to be sure, are still trickling in. But the phenomenon that in many ways defined the Philadelphia restaurant boom for the last decade - and a story line of small, chef-driven dining rooms - has matured to the point where some of our best are growing beyond the start-up ambitions of their initial bare-bones boxes.
Review: 2 bells for Nan Zhou 03/22/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

Chef Zeng Feng Zhang runs one of the best restaurant magic shows in Philadelphia - even if few know his name.
Review: 1 bell for Bainbridge Street Barrel House 04/05/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

Life is a barrel of beer if you're a member of the Fetfatzes family. So why not a Barrel House?
Review: One bell for Southern Cross Kitchen 04/12/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

The shrimp and grits were going to be taken off the bill. So were the fried pickles. And it was the least this friendly but utterly confused dining room staff at Southern Cross Kitchen could do after showing up beside our table with hot entrees - oblivious to the fact that we were obviously still digging into our starter plates.
Review: 2 bells for Jane G's 04/19/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

In November, Jane G's fancy fusion dumplings looked deader than disco. Who could have guessed that, by the New Year, this kitchen would be revived and breathing Sichuan fire?
Two bells for In Riva 03/08/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

Stella didn't invent the notion that a Neapolitan-style pizzeria could become the new neighborhood bistro. But in Philadelphia, at least, Stephen Starr's stylish take on the concept three years ago, focused on serious wood-fired pies, fresh salads, and prices still within reach of local regulars, certainly landed ahead of the trend - and has remained influential.
Two bells for Indian Hut 02/28/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

My wife took a bite of crispy cauliflower, and her eyes opened wide: the glossy red "Manchurian" sauce swirled from a deceptive first hint of sweetness to a sudden sour, then a wicked, swelling chile heat.
Review: Two bells for Tavro Thirteen 02/22/2013: 'I don't love moving. Really, I don't," says Terence Feury. "I want to be somewhere for the long haul."
Mouth-watering BBQ at Fette Sau 02/01/2013: By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic

A couple weeks ago, I found myself down a country road in Chapel Hill, N.C., waiting for lunch amid the taxidermy and ice-cold jugs of sweet tea at Allen & Son Bar-B-Que. Old smoke shacks sometimes don't live up to their legends. But my first taste of this torchbearer of the East Carolina pit - its finely chopped hog sauced with a spicy vinegar tang - was akin to finding religion.