The Other Critics

Bloody Beets and Foie Gras Soup Top 2011’s Top Dishes; Percy Street Serves Up ‘Meaty Joy’

• In lieu of a formal review, Citypaper critic Adam Ercae recaps 2011’s best bites. From octopus at Opa and the foie gras soup at Top Chef champ Kevin Sbraga’s eponymous restaurant to the bloody beet steak at The Farm and Fisherman and the Uncle Joe’s Stromboli at Santucci’s, Erace recounts the most memorable 10 dishes out of the thousands he consumed in 2011. [Citypaper]

• Far from the Comcast Center’s pre-holiday madding crowds, Brian Freedman finds solace in the smoked meat sandwiches at Percy Street Barbecue’s satellite location. Barbecued chicken is “impossibly moist, sunset-colored and spicy from pickled jalapeños.” “Moistened with BBQ sauce and snappy from pickle slices” the chopped brisket “found greater success” than sliced, and “was an exercise in balance and meaty joy.” [PW]

• Phyllis Stein-Novack checks in at just opened Kris on 11th Street in South Philly, and quickly “scraped clean” the plate on which the grilled sardines she ordered were served. The “grilled so beautifully” octopus she boldly states are better than at Dmitri’s. The hunter’s style chicken, she writes, was “ one of the most outstanding dishes I have devoured within the past year.” [South Philly Review]

Bloody Beets and Foie Gras Soup Top 2011’s Top Dishes; Percy Street Serves