If it's spicy, chances are I'll like it. Thai, Szechuan, Mexican, Japanese, or Indian: if it leaves my lips a little tingly and my sinuses a little clearer, it's generally okay by me, which is why I was excited to try out the newly-opened King of Tandoor in Logan Square. Now, I'm no expert in the field of Indian cooking, but I've eaten my share of good Indian food, and my share of bad......

*Why yes, it is Wednesday. Chef Joseph Poon is sixty, but you wouldn't know it when you meet him. It's only once you start doing the math while he's talking—it seems as if the Chef has had hundreds of restaurant jobs, on top of owning no fewer than than four establishments over the years—that you realize that he couldn't possibly be as young as you first thought. Nobody can blame you for your misconceptions, and......

Dear National Mechanics: Two weeks ago tonight, I found myself at your door. I'd had some blood work done earlier in the day and I hadn't had much to eat, so I probably shouldn't have been drinking. But there were margaritas, and then there was sangria, and then I just really needed something of a more solid nature in my stomach. A friend suggested you. We walked to the door and were told it would......

It's about seventy billion degrees outside, but somehow, people are still eating outside at restaurants with sidewalk service. Not only eating outside, but waiting to eat outside. Ordinarily, we at Phillyist are the sit-indoors-in-the-air conditioning type, but we do love a good al fresco meal, so we can't help but feel jealous of all the people who seem completely unphased by the heat as they enjoy their lunches and dinners. We've yet to discover......

While an undergraduate psychology minor, I learned about any number of behavioral studies involving children that went something like this: Researcher: Johnny, I'm going to leave the room for just a minute. While I'm gone, don't eat any of the delicious-looking candies on the table in front of you.Researcher leaves; Johnny shoves two handfuls of M&Ms into his mouth. And like this: Researcher: Billy, I'm going to leave the room for just a minute. While......

We already know that you like to put your money where your mouth is and support food-based fundraising efforts. Fortunately for you, summertime means there are plenty of opportunities to stuff your face and ease your conscience all at the same time. One of these, Fox Chase Cancer Center's 16th Annual Plain & Fancy: A Taste of the Greater Delaware Valley (a mouthful in and of itself!), happens next weekend. For a mere thirty-five bucks......

Philadelphia may not be perfect, but on the whole, we're a city full of big-hearted people willing to open their hearts—and, sometimes, their pocketbooks—to those in need. The latest group to benefit from this philanthropic city of ours is the family of the late Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, who, you might recall, was killed while on duty just a few weeks ago. And funds will be raised in Phillyist's favorite fashion: through our stomachs. Several......

We've had friends who lived or worked near Old City tell us before that they had trouble finding fast, cheap, non-pizza food in the neighborhood. Nonsense, we'd say. There are so many restaurants in Old City, surely, there must be a slew of options for a quick lunch on the go. The hungry tourists have to eat something, right? Well, yes and no. Sure, there's the food court at The Bourse, and about a......

There are few things we love more in the world than food. And when it's good food that comes cheap, we love it even more. That's why we're excited for 8 Days of Eats, the South Street Headhouse District's answer to the Center City District's Restaurant Week. There are fewer restaurants to choose from, sure, and most of those restaurants don't have menus posted on the event website, but 8 Days of Eats has a......

And no, we're not talking about roughage. We're talking green like local foods, which ensure that you're protecting natural resources and getting the freshest meats and produce available, prepared by some of Philadelphia's top restaurateurs. That's right—you don't have cook your own meals to make sure you're eating local, organic ingredients. Restaurants like the White Dog Café have been keeping it local for years, and popular and well-reviewed places like Farmicia, Fork, Vetri, Standard......

We all know one or two. We don't agree with them, but they're our friends anyway, even if Anthony Bourdain likens them to terrorists, some courts have called them murderers, and Roger Clemens doesn't know what they are. They're vegans—or at least really serious vegetarians—and their numbers are growing. Are they obnoxious about it? Well yes, sometimes, like when Hugs for Puppies is out blocking the sidewalk and ruining people's meals. And while veganism......

Starbucks may be closed for three hours this evening, but have no fear! Dunkin' Donuts to the rescue! About an hour ago, Dunkin' started serving up small lattes—of any variety—for 99¢. They'll keep slinging the discounted caffeine (or decaffeine) until 10PM or closing time – whatever comes first at each individual franchise. While you're down there, you may want to try out one of those new Flat Bread [sic] sandwiches they've started selling over......

Did you ever imagine yourself getting paid to be a food critic? Most of us have at one point. (We bet that food critic is on your dream job wish list right below travel writer.) Surely most of us will never reach Craig LaBan status, but here's a way that we can all rate our favorite restaurants and receive something in return. Zagat's is calling for reviews of Philadelphia area restaurants in their online survey.......

Have your Valentine’s Day activities planned out yet? No? Us neither (and we really have no excuse). Luckily foobooz is looking out for you, or at least your stomach. They have an extensive list of eat-out options and specials, including many singles events, to get you through the (perhaps dreaded) day. Our favorite is the Puppy Love Valentine’s Party hosted by Devil’s Alley tomorrow night at the Painted Bride; $35 buys tickets for one person......

So just what is it that makes Thai food special? Most likely it is the combination in each dish of the four basic flavors -- sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Over the centuries, Thai cooking has borrowed freely from the culinary arts of China, India and Malaysia, blending these different influences to create something that is truly unique. While Thai food has a reputation for being spicy, in reality most dishes are not. The spiciness......

There's a new restaurant reviewing website in town, and we think it's pretty neat. Urbanspoon works as a local restaurant review aggregator, finding reviews of eating establishments city-wide and combining them with user rankings to come up with an overall score, a la Rotten Tomatoes. Urbanspoon will also tell you its current top restaurants in the city, give you reviews by cuisine, neighborhood, or price, and even features a few "specialty" categories (vegan, gluten-free, delivery,......

At first glance, the details about the upcoming Center City District Restaurant Week look the same as always. So does the list of participating restaurants. What has changed, though? The cost of your prix fixe dinner will now be $35 instead of $30. Why? Well, it's not explained. And we certainly can't figure it out, seeing as, from what we can tell, the menu prices at the featured restaurants haven't changed – which means that......

The Phillyist Staff had so many ways to countdown to 2008 that we found ourselves with quite a few leftovers on this, the final day of 2007. So enjoy this afternoon's glut of lists from your friendly neighborhood bloggers, and we'll see you next year! At this point, I guess most of you readers out there know that I don't eat to live – I live to eat. So it stands to reason that I've......

With New Year's Eve less than two weeks away, dinner reservations at local restaurants are going fast. Many bars and restaurants across the city will be open for business during regular hours; others will keep their kitchens open late to accommodate the gastronomical needs of New Year's revelers. And then there are the select restaurants with special prix fixe menus for the holiday. Some sound far more delicious to us than others, but if we......

Dear Philadelphia: Congratulations! Just a day after The Inquirer reported that violent crime was down across the city, we received a press release from the GPTMC extolling all your other achievements in 2007. You deserve a big pat on the back for the national and international media mentions you've garnered this year. People are paying attention to you. You're like a celebrity now. On the Food front, The Today Show decided that Vesuvio Restaurant's......

Phillyist loves us some grub, and we love the Restaurant Weeks about town. We just heard about another: Kid's Table. Through Sunday, December 16, participating restaurants will be donating a portion of their proceeds to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to fund research and medical treatment. The list of places is on the short side, but hopefully this is an event that will grow with time. Besides, we've always wanted to try Ristorante Panorama, and......

Usually, before going to the Tower Theatre, Phillyist likes to grab a bite in Center City Philadelphia and then jump on the 69th Street-bound El. That's what we'd be doing tomorrow night before the Stephen Lynch show, too, except that we're meeting up with people who'll be driving in for the show, so we've just agreed to meet them in Upper Darby for a pre-show dinner. Only problem is, we have no idea whatsoever......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Phillyist Happy Hour: Get your drink and eat on with the Phillyist crew at St. Stephen's Green (17th and Green), 6-8PM. Free Alan Licht: Guitarist Alan Licht at the Kelly Writers House (3805 Locust Walk), 6PM. Free Meg and Rob: Comedy duo Meg and Rob present “Reviving the Lecture Circuit” as part of the Philly Improv Theater's week at the Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge), 8PM. $5 Baroness: Baroness,......

While it's definitely debatable just how "southern" my Texan heritage makes me, Texas is definitely far enough south that kids take cotillion classes where they learn to do things like waltz and set a proper table. And it's the latter that I feel the need to bring up today. You see, I've noticed an epidemic lately. Not necessarily an epidemic of people who don't know the order in which to place the water, red......

Wednesday's event on South Broad Street was as much a six-block-long performance as it was a lighting display. Even before the brief speeches by three of the event's organizers, the Avenue of the Arts was a circus of performers on stilts or in costume. Afterwards, the street became even more active as five bands started playing and the crowds lined up to purchase food from the outdoor stands set up by nearby restaurants. Terra......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. A handy list for frequenters of fast food restaurants like ourselves: The 88 Fast Food Items Most Likely To Kill You. We're pleased to say that most of these are from places we don't ever go to. But we're depressed to see McDonalds' fries and Burger King's chicken fries included. We love those! (Via Sarah) And speaking of unhealthy foods, how about some......

Phillyist loves food. A lot. So much so that when we’re trapped at our desk unable to nosh, we spend a good deal of time online looking at food-related items and salivating on our keyboard. A particular form of torture pleasure is checking out local food blogs and listings so we can fantasize about restaurants and markets that we could be enjoying that very second if it weren’t for the dastardly need for full......

Dear Travel + Leisure: If you're going to talk smack, get your story straight. Least attractive city? (Insert buzzer sound.) Have you seen the people who live on Staten Island? You said we were least stylish. Wrong , wrong, and wrong. You said we were the least active. Does any other city have this? You called us least friendly. Bullshit. If we've got to live with the ugly label, at least recognize that we are......

Last night, Pencopal, Ross, and I ended up at Gi Gi. We'd heard good things, but the newly introduced menu was ultimately... really underwhelming. Not bad, but not at all worth the expense. (Other than the cocktails. They were yummy.) It made us long for better tapas. Thing is, there are lots of places to get tapas in Philadelphia. Some, like Ansill, I know to be good. Others, like Tinto and Amada, have been covered......

I love La Viola. It was the site of my first foodgasm, and a couple of foodgasms since. It's one of the first places I recommend to people who want a romantic meal before a night at the Kimmel or the Merriam. It's one of the first places I tell people to go for a first date. And when Ross and I decided to celebrate being Libras together, it was one of the first......