Le Bec Fin

Napoleon and I went to Le Bec Fin for one of its three-course-meal-for-$50 specials (I'm sure there's a shorter, technical name for that). The French restaurant once lauded for its classical cuisine has fallen prey to the rough economic times and the growing number of successful -- and cheaper -- restaurants in the Philadelphia area. It is now making its menu more accessible for the common man, and of course, as common men, we had to take advantage.

One tantalizingly tasty note: owner/chef Georges Perrier was wandering around the joint the whole night! Napoleon and I were giggling like giddy little school girls. And then we remembered that it's not appropriate to giggle in the restaurant whose name translated means "The Bec Fin."

I had escargots in wine/butter sauce for my appetizer. Once you get past the fact that you're eating snails, the butter sauce is divine. It was as if whatever God you believe in had resurrected the son of whatever God you believe in right there in that bowl. That good. Really.

My next meal was the prime rib. It was better than Prime Rib's prime rib, so that definitely says something. It was cooked perfectly, but seeing as how I'm not the biggest fan of prime rib, I wasn't satisfied. However, fans of the juicy cut will definitely view it as one of the better prime rib's they've had.

Finally, we were able to sample two slices of dessert from Le Bec Fin's famed dessert cart. I wanted to literally jump on the cart and have Napoleon push me down Walnut Street. Alas, the revolving door was my arch nemesis that night. In any case, Napoleon had two chocolate cakes, while yours truly (that's me) had a Grand Marnier souffle and caramel concoction whose inexplicably complex name I forget at the moment. In any case, while visually stunning, the desserts lack a certain freshness, probably because they've been sitting in the corner of a dying breed of restaurant for the whole day. But it tasted pretty good.

Rating: 3.8/5 stuck-up French chefs

Las Bugumbilias

As a mexican food fanatic, I've dragged General Tso to the deep dark corners of Philly in search of a good mexican meal. We decided to try to try Las Bugumbilias after seeing it on restaurant.com, so even if the meal was a disappointment, at least it wouldn't empty our pockets. But we weren't disappointed. The food was good. Really good. In fact, this is by far the best mexican food I've had in Philly. And our first trip here just scratched the surface of the delicious food that Las Bugumbilias has to offer.

Homemade Chips and Salsa: The chips were thick and crunchy, not too salty. The two salsas, respectively hot and mild, balanced each other perfectly.

Queso Fundido: General Tso's favorite mexican dish, we were obliged to order it. Every mouthful was gooey and rich in flavor.

Churros (sadly no picture): By far the best part of the meal. These were the fluffiest, tastiest churros I've ever had in my life. They come with 2 sauces. The egg nog sauce has a strong kick of alcohol, and the chocolate sauce is rich and sweet. So good. You have to try the churros in person to appreciate how amazing they are.

We've been back to Las Bugumbilias a bunch of times since we discovered it. Luckily, it is still somewhat unknown, so we can go there on the fly any night. As much as I'd like to keep it that way, this place deserves the credit of being one of the best restaurants in Philly.

Rating: 5/5 Pineapple Chipotle Margaritas

Core de Roma

This South Street italian BYOB is kind of what I expected it to be. I'm not trying to say that all South Philly italian restaurants are clones; its just hard for me to distinguish between them. Maybe I'm not enough of an Italy connoisseur. Core de Roma did have some unique qualities. The spicy green beans served before the meal were delicious. All the pasta and meat dishes were cooked to perfection. There wasn't one thing during the meal that I didn't like. But I don't ever see myself going back because I've felt like I've had that exact meal a dozen times. I suppose I can't complain. There's always going to be restaurants where you know what you're getting before you go. There's got to be some appreciation for well cooked traditional food. I just wish there weren't so many traditional Italian places in Philly or that they tried to be a bit more creative with the food.

Rating: 3/5 gnocchi

General Tso's note: Napoleon is clearly racist. Next thing you know she'll be saying, "Some of my best friends are South Philly Italian restaurants!" BTW, I'm giving this a 3.5/5. I think it was better than Napoleon's grade by far.

Day By Day with Guest Bloggers Pol Potsticker and Benedict

Roasted Potatoes

Pol Potsticker: For some reason, Napoleon decided that, instead of ordering from the remarkable assemblage of Eggs Benedict and Belgian Waffles on the menu, she would instead order a bowl of SOUP with POTATOES on the side. I'm not sure what Napoleon hoped to gain from this from a culinary perspective.

P.S. In her defense, this was mostly because the restaurant had run out of Huevos Rancheros. Strike one, Day by Day.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Napoleon: It was your typical chicken noodle soup: well-seasoned but nothing special.

Stuffed Challah French Toast with Peach Compote

Pol Potsticker: This tasted exactly like how I would imagine God would taste.

Seafood Omelette with Roasted Potatoes

Benedict: A little disappointing, especially compared to the french toast, but the cheese added a delicate undertone to the dish and the seafood was well cooked.

Tiffin Etc.

Indian pizza...two we never thought we'd see together. Surprisingly, however, it was pretty good. The crust and sauce weren't necessarily life-altering, but the addition of traditional Indian "subzis" on top made the final product scrumptious.

We ordered two different pizzas from Tiffin Etc., a spin-off of the Indian restaurant Tiffin located in Fishtown. The first one was a murgh makhni (also known as butter chicken) pizza. It was very flavorful, and the cheese didn't clash with the curry, as you expect it might have. The sauce, which was simply the curry of the original chicken dish, was perfectly integrated into the pizza. The second pizza was a paneer tikka pizza. This one was not as flavorful as the first, and the spiciness of the curry was not as apparent. In fact, we wound up wishing the paneer had a little more flavor to it, as it wound up diluting the taste of the pizza. Here's a picture, status post chow down:

Rating: 3/5 paneers