The judges decree: No cheese with a fish dish

Here are excerpts from Craig LaBan's online chat:

Reader: Craig, it seems that in the last six months, the judges on the food shows I watch (Top Chef, Iron Chef America) have united in their opinion that serving fish with cheese is a high culinary crime. How did this opinion originate?

Craig LaBan: Thanks for asking; I know it came up when I recently balked at the cheese-on-seafood pasta dish at Gemelli. I'm not sure exactly where this aversion originated - certainly somewhere in Italy - but it makes sense to me in this context: Fistfuls of grated sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano can overwhelm something delicate like a seafood pasta. There are exceptions to this "rule," it should not obstruct right-minded creativity. But for classic presentations, it should apply.

Reader: My husband and I have moved here from Mexico, and miss the cuisine. Where would you send someone looking for simple but amazing street-style food?

CL: We've come a long way in our Mexican restaurant scene over the last few years. My favorite taquerias? La Lupe and Los Taquitos de Puebla and Restaurante Acapulco in the Italian Market. Que Chula es Puebla and Taco Riendo in Fishtown/Kensington. Mexico Lindo in Camden. For Nuevo, we also have Distrito, El Vez, and the newly remade and slightly downscaled Xochitl, which I haven't been to yet. I'll be curious to see what you think. . . .

Reader: Craig, are you familiar with a buffalo milk cheese called Quadrello di Bufala? I picked up a chunk last night, and it was sublime. A bit like a Taleggio but firmer and with a light, tangy finish. Fantastic with the Ballast Point Yellowtail IPA that I recently discovered.

CL: Obviously, you've been shopping over at the $50-store (a.k.a. DiBruno's). This is one of my favorite Italian cheeses there, definitely related in style to Taleggio. But paler in color with a bright buffalo tang.

Reader: Craig, had a great meal at Hoof & Fin (the old Gayle) on Third: mahimahi, gnocchi, crepes for dessert! Really good. Possibly my favorite part though was when our table wasn't ready the hostess/owner pulled us to the tiny bar in the dining room and poured us a glass of wine while we waited . . . it was a nice touch and was fun. . . . Do you know of any other BYO's that have a bar where you can sit and have a drink before your dinner (albeit a drink you brought). . . . Think it's a great idea.

CL: I'm glad to hear a good word about Hoof & Fin, run by Lucas Manteca, the Argentine surfer dude, one of my favorite chefs down the Shore (Sea Salt, Quahogs, Ebbitt Room). I'll be curious to see how he manages the city-coastal commute with so many responsibilities. As for the wine-while-you-wait, very nice. Very few BYO's actually have the extra space for a bar they don't plan to use - I can't think of others.

Reader: Re: Hoof & Fin . . . I had an uneven meal there. I loved the appetizers, thought the pasta dishes were great. I ordered mahimahi and it came out completely raw in the middle . . . sort of turned me off, seeing that the restaurant specializes in seafood.

Reader: What do you make of this whole beer raid situation? Maybe this will begin the overthrow of our Prohibition-era liquor laws.

CL: I think the situation is complicated: There are good reasons to have basic liquor laws - but the Keystone Kops execution (to quote Don Russell) really irked people, smacking of overreaction and control-state bureaucracy and even a little personal vendetta on the part of one anonymous complainant who apparently launched the whole thing. These confiscated beers were at other unraided bars, too. Overall, it's a black eye for our liquor control apparatus to have so clumsily taken a swipe at our growing beer scene - one of the most vital engines for restaurant growth, not to mention urban renewal, such as what Resurrection Ale House has brought to the neighborhood south of South. In the end, the bad publicity may end up having a positive effect in terms of reform (there's a hearing in April, says colleague Rick Nichols, who has followed this story in today's column). But don't count on the demise of the PLCB any time soon.

Reader: Last week you mentioned the upscale chain Redstone out in Plymouth Meeting and this got me thinking about other such places. I remembered my not-so-memorable trip to Chart House, where the seafood was fresh but service needed some work. Have you visited any other, dare I say it, chain restaurants recently?

CL: On occasion, I do, but the results are almost always disappointing. I keep returning to try the new ones, thinking one day someone is going to get the chain right - not simply as a business model (just watch the lines at the Cheesecake Factory and you know they already have that down), but as a place to get a good honest meal cooked from real ingredients by a living breathing dynamic kitchen. I'm still waiting.