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Philly Style Bagels: Great to have 'round here

Craig LaBan: One highlight from the week was my first visit to the newly opened Philly Style Bagels in Fishtown, at 1451 E. Columbia Ave., just beside the park a block off Frankford Avenue. Partners Collin Shapiro and Jonathon Zilber established themselve

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of Jan. 26, 2016:

Craig LaBan: One highlight from the week was my first visit to the newly opened Philly Style Bagels in Fishtown, at 1451 E. Columbia Ave., just beside the park a block off Frankford Avenue. Partners Collin Shapiro and Jonathon Zilber established themselves as Philadelphia's best bagel artisans during almost two years of Sunday pop-ups in the Pizzeria Beddia space. The fact we can now get those hand-rolled, Yards IPA-boiled, chewy bagels five days a week is a legitimate quality-of-life improvement.

Reader: Wonder if you heard the Pete Wells interview on Fresh Air last week? He talked about the Per Se review and lots more, including a good discussion about how to describe taste. It was interesting stuff.

C.L.: No, I didn't, but I should take a listen. Pete is a fascinating and funny guy. I'm sure it was a great interview, especially considering the recent takedown of Per Se that pretty much broke the Internet.

Reader: Any place you can think of that has had decent buzz in the city that you just weren't that impressed with?

C.L.: One place that consistently seems to be raved about and has a loyal following that I just didn't connect with (on many levels, and over multiple visits) was Gran Caffe L'Aquila. I see all the reasons it is such a popular place - great design, impressive gelati, extensive wine bar, an authentic Italian feel - but the food never did much for me.

Reader: If Top Chef eventually comes to our wonderful food city, would you consider being a special guest judge if they asked?

C.L.: In theory, it seems like it would be a fun thing to do. In practice, it doesn't make sense for a critic who aims to remain anonymous, as I still do. At least to the best of my ability. Time on a TV show isn't worth relinquishing that for me.

Reader: As someone who lives in the Northeast and has enjoyed places you've recommended, like Azaad Foods and Picanha Brazilian Grill, I wanted to mention a fairly new Vietnamese place I have eaten at a number of times: Pho Ha Saigon, 575 Adams Ave. Nice, modern, clean space, food consistently very good. I have only gone during the day, and the service has been just OK.

C.L.: Thanks very much for the recommendation on Pho Ha Saigon on Adams Avenue. I saw Michael Klein's item in the Insider on the place when it opened, and it looks quite slick. Also, just peeked into the Oregon Avenue locale a couple weeks ago and made plans to come back. Northeast Philly has an entire community of authentic Vietnamese places I have not yet visited and explored at length. It's definitely a blind spot in my local pho education that I need to shore up sooner rather than later.

Reader: Always looking for some good hidden gems in the North, Northeast, and Southwest - particularly in some of the underrepresented cuisines. Any recommendations?

C.L.: We've got the whole world to explore here in Philly. But here's one I mentioned in a chat about five years ago: Le Baobab, a tiny restaurant on Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philly serving West African food from Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Loved the grilled lamb dibi, fried whole fish (with tomato onion sauce), Yassa chicken, guinea fowl, and the djolof rice. West African food, much of it in West Philly, is a lot of fun to explore and probably doesn't get talked about enough.