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In Print
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| Photo l Albert Yee |
| David under his cloak of anonymity |
It is with major regret we bid a fond adios to David Snyder, one of our two restaurant critics here at City Paper and writer of local food and drinks blog PhilaFoodie. David has been lending his laser palate and piercing prose to the Food & Restaurants section since August of 2008, ingesting everything from the exotic (duck tongues) to sheer corruptions of nature (gnocchi "heavy enough to bend space-time").
In his exit interview, he filled us in on what it means to be a consumer advocate, what aspiring critics have to know and why he's leaving what is surely one of the most-envied gigs in town.
Read our Q&A with David after the jump.
Meal Ticket: What were your most and least favorite reviews to write? Why?
David Snyder: My favorites lie at the extremes. It was fun and effortless to write about brilliant restaurants such as Bibou, Marigold Kitchen, Mémé and Talula's Table, for example. Their strengths are so mature and well-defined that the reviews virtually wrote themselves, like I was merely channeling good juju from the meals I had eaten. Plus, it felt good to let folks know that if they decided to spend their hard-earned cash at those places, it would be money well-spent.
Negative reviews were often easy to write, too, if the restaurants' weaknesses were loud and pronounced. On occasion, having a sour experience afforded me the playful luxury of torturing my readers with puns (DaVinci) or using a quirky format (Aladeen). Some critics say that they don't like to write negative reviews, but that never made sense to me. It's like a criminal judge saying he doesn't like to sentence convicted felons. Being a consumer advocate is what you sign up for as a critic, and sometimes that means writing a negative review. It's important to take that responsibility seriously.
The restaurants that were the most challenging to write about were the ones in the middleâspots that were neither spectacular nor terrible. Finding a place in the spectrum for these restaurants and putting the experiences into context was not an easy task sometimes.
My favorite review to write though, by far, was Wokano. When you've eaten duck tongue and fried pig intestines with friends, you've bonded for life. To be able to write about that experience was pure joy.
MT: What did you learn from your reviewing gig?
DS: For one, dining out as much as I have for this job has fundamentally altered the way I view the dining landscape. I don't see the dining scene in terms of ârestaurantsâ anymore. I view it more in terms of plates or meals. Most restaurants have a mix of dishes, some good and some not-so-good; it's rare for every menu item to perform at the same level. When people would ask me for recommendations, I found myself talking about what they should eat across the dining scene instead of where they should eat.
Another thing I learned was just how much you can derive about a chef's psyche just from eating his or her food. After eating at terra, for example, it seemed obvious that the duck dish was a reconceptualization of the less successful acorn squash hot pot I had tried earlier, even though the two dishes did not look or taste anything alike. Based on that, I suspected that Chef Paraskevas had a healthy and constructive attitude about failure. When I interviewed him later, I was surprised at just how accurate my hunches were. Every confidence and every insecurity is right there on the plate if you just look carefully.
MT: How can a reader spot a poorly-done restaurant review?
DS: A restaurant review is well-done if it's engaging, either by weaving a tale or providing some context or metric to gauge whether the restaurant is successful in what it's trying to do. Reciting a list of dishes you ate isn't enough; you have to tell a story.
MT: What should people take away from a well-done review?
DS: It's up to the reader to determine what he or she takes away from a particular review or reviewer. A review is merely a guide. As a consumer, the key is to be making informed decisions. With so many resources now available (including food blogs, Yelp, eGullet), consumers seem to be as hungry for information and perspective as they are for a worthwhile meal. That's a beautiful thing.
MT: Do you have any crucial advice for aspiring critics?
DS: The most important thing is to develop solid writing and interview skills. At its core, food writing is journalism. If you are not a strong writer or if you do not have the skill to pull information from a chef who's unwilling to talk about his or her craft during a post-meal interview, it won't matter how well you know your way around a kitchen.
You also need to develop your palate, a database of flavors in your mind against which to measure the food you'll be eating. In other words, you have to eat a lot. The goal is to forge a palate that's both broad and deepâyou need to know what food is supposed to taste like across a wide spectrum of cuisines. Part of developing your database also entails understanding the chemistry of how flavors and textures work together; Harold McGee's âOn Food and Cookingâ should be required reading.
This should go without saying, but it's important to be an adventurous eater. I understand it can be challenging to cope with foreign textures and flavors. But in this job, being a picky eater is not an asset. The more boundaries you create, the more your database will suffer, and the less effective you'll be at reviewing.
And don't be afraid to be provocative.
MT: Why would anyone leave this awesome job?
DS: Reviewing restaurants for the City Paper has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. It's been a privilege to review restaurants for City Paper during what continues to be an amazingly vibrant time in the Philadelphia restaurant scene. And, believe me, it pains me deeply to give it up. But a fresh and exciting opportunity has opened at my day job that I simply could not resist. In order to fully exploit it the way I want to, I'll need to spend more time in the office, which unfortunately will leave little time for a full schedule of restaurant reviewing.
Nooooooooooo! We'll miss you David. Wish you all the best.
Well done David. "Weaving a tale" is important for well-written criticism. I always believed we journalists are gypsy story tellers who go from place to place telling stories. Now if I could only play the violin...
Woo Hoo - now we can go out for dinner again!!! Great job David, you will be missed
[...] City Paper’s David Snyder moves on from writing restaurant reviews. Maybe we can have a Tag retirement ceremony. [City Paper] [...]
[...] - In his last review for City Paper (sniffle), one of our favorite dudes, David Snyder, takes on Michael Schulson’s sleek Sampan on 13th Street. He discovers that the star chef’s non-traditional renditions of Asian fare are big on flavor. (Read an exit interview with David here.) [...]
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| Photo l Neal Santos |
| Fettucini with pink sauce and scallops at Lafayette Bistro |
-- Trey Popp visits Lafayette Bistro in Fairmount and points out patron absence despite decent Mediterranean-Tunisian influenced eats, including the "decadent and delicious" pink-sauced fettuccini with scallops, pictured above.
-- Drew Lazor followed the floating aromatics of Vietnam all the way to UPenn's campus. He can't Pho King believe the underground operation he found.
-- As the restaurant world turns, flips, and turns again, Feeding Frenzy has the skinny on new joints to check out like Hoof + Fin, Garces Trading Company and Healthy Bites ToGo. Also, the elusive liquor license has been granted to anxious Zavino.
It looks like very delicious and I can't wait to try one, but with the scallops thing, I guess I can't let my special someone eat with me then, he is allergic.
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
- Trey Popp visits the third location of Han Chiang's Han Dynasty (it's the first in Philly), and discovers that the owner's hyper-opinionated approach to Sichuan cuisine is exactly what our Chinese food scene needs.
- Felicia D says screw a Whitman's Sampler: Impress your sweetie for real this year by organizing a chocolate tour around the city. She's got all the spots to hit up, from Zahav and Betty's Speakeasy to Mr. Martino's on East Passyunk.
- In Small Bites, check out info on two locally crafted chocolate beers just in time for V-Day, Stumptown putting down roots in NoLibs (along with first word on a big cafe expansion) and chatter about chaat in West Philly.
- Alexandra Harcharek runs down the week in eats in What's Cooking, including a canning class and a NOLA-tastic Mardi Gras party at Reading Terminal.
- For word on the latest openings, check out Feeding Frenzy, which details Fat Salmon, Falafel Factory, Xochitl's new plans and more.
- Outside the food section, in Loose Canon, Bruce Schimmel visits the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture convention and finds that the outlook for local farmers is brighter than ever before.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: What's in @citypaper's food section this week? http://bit.ly/9NygPD...
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| Photo l Neal Santos |
| Pork belly buns are a standout dish at Chew Man Chu |
-- David Snyder visits Chew Man Chu and finds a busy, sorta-pan-Asian restaurant that appeals to diners whose yardstick of approval has no markings for authenticity.
-- Drew Lazor and the lunch crew visit Burger Maestro in the Bellevue Food Court, but the overdone beef and fry ensemble doesn't play as harmonious a tune as it could. Chicken sandwiches and a "Philly dog" do earn a nod for first-chair status.
-- Sparkly wine and chocolate at Le Bec Fin? Multi-course candlelit vegan feast at Horizons? By Hallmark, it must be Valentine's Day! Alexandra Harcharek runs down destinations for smoochy types in What's Cooking.
-- Play Foosball and chug cans at Bar, chow down on critters at the new Italian Market Paesano's, or be amazed by what you can make by juicing 500 lbs. of carrots a week at Thoreau. Feeding Frenzy has the details.
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| T Magazine |
The New York Times style magazine, T, gives some V-day love to our own mayor of Philly's "red-light district", Marcie Turney and her Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates (108 S. 13th St.). Writer Charlotte Druckman catalogs Turney and partner Valerie Safran's 13th St. empire, as well as cherry-picking her favorites from the Marcie Blaine chocolate box.
The current truffle selection includes the well-calibrated Lolita Hot Chocolate, which features cinnamon ganache and ancho chile; the Bindi Madras, whose curry-coconut combo takes on an unexpectedly nutty, hickory-ish life of its own; and the Italian Prosecco, with its subtle boozy kick. More Philly-centric chocolates are also notable: Busy Bee Farm supplies the fragrant purple flowers for the Lavender Vanilla; the city's beloved La Colombe coffee (the Corsica blend) meets Maker's Mark whiskey in the Tipsy Poodle, so named for its alcoholic content and the chocolate curls that cover it; and the Cajeta's caramel is made from Pennsylvania goat's milk.
Click over to the T blog to find out which chocolates Druckman knows you'll want seconds of.
Marcie Blaine chocolates are killer! Try the caramels rosemary/pinenut, marcona almond and chile or the crispy hazelnut tastes like a grown up kit-kat. On certain days they are in the back making the chocolates-so you know they are fresh-not shipped in from somewhere.
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
- David Snyder visits Daniel Stern's new taproom MidAtlantic, which specializes in comfort grub from the immediate region. While he uncovers some absolute winners (look at those housemade hot dogs, foreal!), he finds the much of the menu cumbersome.
- What are we gonna eat in 2010? Meal Ticket guress Felicia D'Ambrosio addresses that very question, rattling off a roundup of food trends she thinks (and/or wants) to come to the fore in the new year. Fried chicken, gojuchang paste, ramen ... and Italian?
-In What's Cooking, we've got info on the last firkins of Yards' Old Bartholomew barleywine, scientific beer discussions, a decadent wine pairing dinner and more.
- Feeding Frenzy has note of several forthcoming projects this week, including Center City's MilkBoy location, Maru Global Takoyaki and Falafel Factory.
The New York Times reports that a study of 6,000 Australian women has found that even childless women who live with a mate gain significantly more weight over 10 years than their single sisters.
After adjusting for other variables, the 10-year weight gain for an average 140-pound woman was 20 pounds if she had a baby and a partner, 15 if she had a partner but no baby, and only 11 pounds if she was childless with no partner....
There is no reason to believe that having a partner causes metabolic changes, so the weight gain among childless women with partners was almost surely caused by altered behavior. Moreover, there was a steady weight gain among all women over the 10 years of the study.
Quit your cackling, husbands.� The other shoe is about to drop on your pudgy butts, too:
The study included only women, but the researchers cited one earlier study that showed an increase in obesity among men who had children, adding further evidence that social and behavioral factors are part of the explanation.
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| Yana Paskova for the New York Times |
| Damon Dyer prepares a Monte Cassini |
On Christmas Eve, the New York Times highlighted a 500-year old ingredient that is making a comeback with crafty cocktail bartenders in NYC.� B�n�dictine, originally crafted by French monk Dom Bernardo in 1510 as a medicinal elixir, has grabbed the attention of mixologists who value its bitter, herbaceous flavor profile.� Read the article for the full story on B�n�dictine's evolution through the centuries, but if you like a drink that delivers the full range of cocktail happiness -- bitter, sharp, acidic, sweet and round on the tongue -- run over to one of our many fabulous cocktail bars and ask for Louis 649 bartender Damon Dyer's newest concoction, a Monte Cassini.
As writer Jonathan Miles notes, the Monte Cassini's equal parts B�n�dictine, lemon juice, yellow Chartreuse and 100-proof Rittenhouse Rye whiskey will appeal to fans of the cultish Last Word, a classic imbibe of equal parts green Chartreuse, lime juice, Maraschino liqueur and London dry gin.�� The reason I advise?� Green Chartreuse was de-listed by the PA LCB about three months ago, making it a Special Liquor Order only.� With a new glut of avid bar managers seeking the stuff, it's become impossible to find.
With Green scarce and Yellow just barely hanging on, I feel in need of a drink.� Bartender, a Monte Cassini, please?
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| Photo | Jessica Kourkounis |
- David Snyder visits Stephen Starr's Pizzeria Stella, and leaves feeling as though the brick-oven dough cooker has the tools to change how Philly feels about quality pizza.
- Felicia D tells the tale of Carpano Antica Formula, the Italian vermouth that's de rigueur for our city's smartest cocktail mixers.
- In Small Bites, we've got all the details on skewering adventures in Chinatown, the best time sign up for Lancaster Farm Fresh's 2010 CSA, super-sleek Swedish lunchboxes and more.
- Erin Mae Szrankowski's got notes on New Year's Eve in the latest edition of What's Cooking.
- Word on a batch of edible noobs in Feeding Frenzy, including Zama, Philly Cupcake and more.
- Over in Agenda, check out Lauren Seibert's writeup on Moo Shu Jew Show, a comedic dinner event that pokes fun at the Jewish tradition of eating General Tso's Chicken on Jesus' b-day.
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| Photo | Justin Bauer |
- Justin Bauer and Char Vandermeer round up the best cookbooks of 2009, and let you know which tomes will make for the sexiest gifts. They peruse books from John Besh, David Chang, Michael Ruhlman and more. Above: a Portuguese dish from David Leite.
-Trey Popp visits G-Ho's Resurrection Ale House � digs the beer selection and grub (especially the vegetarian options), feels the bread could use a little work.
- It may be haunted, it may be kinda gay, but it's definitely Fishtown � Andrew Thompson drops by Luke's Bar to see what's shaking.
- What's Cooking is chockfulla holiday cheer this time around � Carolers' Dinners, toy drives, Santa-ish pub crawls and the like abound.
- In Feeding Frenzy, we note some of the last openings of 2009, including Avenida, Lafayette Bistro and Sampan.
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