On revisits and 'free passes'; top-shelf onion rings

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat:

Reader: Just wondering if you've been back to Table 31 since your original 3-bell review. Seems like there's a lot of (deservedly) negative buzz over there with all the menu and management changes. It seems like you're quick to pile on a chain (Del Frisco's) that doesn't live up to the hype, but if it's a Philly guy whose work may have been respectable in the past (Scarduzio) he's given a free pass.

Craig LaBan: I'm not a "free pass" kind of critic, and there are plenty of chefs, chained and local alike, who will tell you that past successes do not guarantee future bells. That said, I only have one stomach - and only so much budget here at the paper - so the real issue is my inability to revisit restaurants every time they make a change, which in Table 31's case, seems to be more often than I can keep up with. There is a natural window for me to reconsider initial reviews: the end-of-the-year revisits for the Year in Bells. (I went back to Del Frisco's last year hoping things had improved - only to find it had gotten worse.) It's much harder, though, to keep up with oldies in flux once the calendar year of the initial review has passed-especially with so many new restaurants.

Reader: Hey Craig, a few months back, you mentioned the topic of the best onion rings in town. I can wait patiently no longer, please share your opinions on this subject.

CL: The place was P.Y.T. the hipster burger place in the Piazza at Schmidt's. I was never that impressed with PYT's burgers, actually, until a recent visit when they seemed plumper, juicier, and more flavorful (I especially liked the pistachio-crusted lamb burger) . . . but it's their lightly battered onion rings that really rock. I don't have all the "city's best" candidates in my head at this moment, but they would be a serious contender.

Reader: I agree, the PYT rings are excellent. I also have to give a nod to a similar battered ring at Nick's Charcoal Pit, of all places.

CL: Next stop: Nick's.

Reader: Now that Lakeside Chinese Deli has closed, where is there to go for great dim sum like that? I've tried other restaurants in Chinatown, but none compare.

CL: I'm afraid I haven't found my Lakeside replacement yet. I have plenty of new favorites, like Sakura Mandarin (for soup dumplings), but I don't think anyone is quite as dedicated to artisan dim sum like the Leungs were at Lakeside. Ah, just to taste those crispy shrimp Chiu Chow rolls one more time . . . I published the recipe years ago, but it's just not the same. . . .

Reader: Since Matt Levin took a position at Rouge, is it safe to say that Adsum is another on a long list of restaurant failures for him?

CL: A reply from my colleague Mike Klein, the man who knows Philly restaurant gossip better than anyone: "Adsum is still on. He's working at Rouge till it opens, and then he's stepping back to consult. That's an unfair remark. Where has he "failed"?

CL: I have to say I agree with Klein on the tone of that question. Levin's been off the radar for a while trying to line up his next move, and some plans just haven't panned out. As far as his track record in the kitchen goes, he's done nothing but spectacular work at Moonlight in New Hope, Bridgetown Mill House, and, of course, Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, where he earned four bells. We should all be so lucky to "fail" like that!

Reader: I hope you had a chance to try that piece of cod from Otolith . . . hoping it was good.

CL: Funny you should mention it, but I finally did get over to Otolith a few weeks ago, and . . . well . . . that cod was really not good. I expressed concerns to the woman at the stand about how poorly white fish usually freezes. "Let me bring beautiful cod back to your family's life," she said, as my fish-loving kids literally hopped up and down. We followed the thawing instructions to a T, and the fish was so tough and rubbery, it was literally like eating rubber. My family refused to eat it past one bite. I, not wanting to waste such a good sales pitch, ate the whole thing. Let me say this: I'm all on board with the political agenda for supporting sustainable foods of all stripes. But it needs to compete, flavor-wise, with the mainstream.

Reader: What's your take on the upsurge of mobile food trucks. Garces now entering, Starr in the wings, a gourmet dog stand in No' Libs, the dessert trucks . . . are we finally going to see more? What do you know about the laws, why aren't there more in and around the Center City "business district"? When will you start to review them?

CL: I'm as excited by the surge in serious truck food culture as you are. I've written about them here and there in the past (see Yue Kee, though that's old school), but really, the quality and diversity for a serious out-take on the scene hasn't been here until just about now . . . or about six months from now if all the planned trucks ever actually materialize.