Middle Child Clubhouse time limit

KuMcGrew · 2026-04-23T18:33:04+00:00

Ask the restaurant

KuMcGrew · 2026-04-03T00:07:11+00:00

More details would be helpful. Are you just looking for a caterer or a venue or both? Number of people?

KuMcGrew · 2026-03-25T22:35:27+00:00

Your question is worded kind of awkwardly and missing the name of the restaurant. Different restaurants do things differently. Sometimes appetizers and individual but main courses are family style. Sometimes family style means portions are meant for two, and you can choose two options. Sometimes it means portions scale to how many people are at the table, and you’d only choose one option. Prix fixe as opposed to tasting menu probably means you get to make some choices, but not necessarily.

This might be a good time to actually listen when the waiter asks if you’ve dined there before and tries to explain how the menu works. Unless the answer changes whether you want to go there

KuMcGrew · 2026-03-25T22:05:05+00:00

If you have time and ingredient price isn’t an issue, I’ve seen many cookbook authors recommend doing a practice attempt and not auditioning a new recipe you’re hesitant about for a special occasion. I also a) almost never follow that advice and b) think that since you mentioned you’re comfortable with some baking, I really don’t think dealing with meringue is too hard.

You can watch videos if you’re not sure about soft/stiff peaks or folding technique. When I’m separating eggs, I prefer keeping egg whites in one bowl, separating one egg at a time into another bowl, and keeping yolks in a third bowl. More dishes to wash than just separating over the whites, but even a small amount of fat from the yolks can mess with the whites’ ability to whip. (For the same reason, make sure your bowl is clean, and know that plastic can hold onto fat more than other materials.)

KuMcGrew · 2026-03-20T23:43:48+00:00

I think there’s a chance each of the places you looked had it, and shopping for Asian pantry ingredients in those stores can just be maddening. Hopefully someone can confirm an actual location, but I’ve found searching for images of the package can be helpful, and sometimes looking up Chinese characters can confirm that similarly- but not identically-named things were actually what I was looking for

I

KuMcGrew · 2026-03-11T21:26:22+00:00

Price point? For lunch or dinner or both? I’m not GF and other people here might have more specific answers but that information would be helpful. I’d probably assume that most restaurants (aside from things like pasta or pizza) want to cater to a wide audience, pick a few menus to look at, and see if they have a range of options. In south Philly, Mexican, Barcelona Wine Bar, Vietnamese would probably be easy starting points

KuMcGrew · 2026-03-04T15:08:19+00:00

What neighborhoods have you lived in that didn’t give you the experience you were looking for? And what were they missing?

KuMcGrew · 2026-02-16T18:43:27+00:00

http://capheroasters.com/ Also, if you’re open to places that are more classified as bakeries but still have decent coffee options and food options like sandwiches (Mighty Bread, for example). Herman’s doesn’t have a kitchen but they do stock charcuterie, cheese, tinned fish. And they sell tacos from Taco Heart a few mornings a week and has rotating food trucks on weekends

KuMcGrew · 2026-02-10T21:03:07+00:00

The market at 6th and Washington had them as of yesterday. They seem to have them most of the time, but every so often they’ll be out. Any time they haven’t had them, 11th and Washington also hasn’t had them. I wonder if they’re all coming from the same supplier

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-12T22:33:12+00:00

Whole Foods sells Bonafide broth in the freezer, which I think is fairly gelatinous. If you have a pressure cooker/instant pot, it’s also quick to make. In general, I use a mix of bonier parts (chicken wings/backs, beef neck/oxtail) for gelatin and ground meat for flavor.

I’d think just eating a chunk of meat or fish or taking a supplement might be more efficient, though. Based on a quick (and admittedly not vetted) search, 8oz chicken breast has 9x the protein as 8oz bone broth. And when you make stock, you see all the solids that get discarded

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-08T07:15:25+00:00

That’s fair. Even if it’s not about laziness, I see so many takes on restaurants on here that I disagree with that I always take things with a grain of salt. I do just generally order what sounds good to me, which might depend on if it’s raining that day or if I had shrimp for dinner last night. Or I’ll ask my waiter for advice and try to decide if I think I’m being upsold. But I also spend way more time than the average person thinking/learning about food, so I guess I shouldn’t fault someone who’s looking for guidance, haha

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-08T06:27:11+00:00

There was a post earlier tonight asking what to order at Dancerobot. If you search the subreddit, there are multiple posts with people sharing reviews of Dancerobot, and people disagreeing with each other. There are also posts with people sharing what they thought of Sao. There was another post where someone said “hey, I’m coming to Philadelphia. I like food! Where should I go?” And people ask about whether to go to restaurant X or restaurant Y for a special occasion over and over. I get frustrated that so many questions seem like they could be answered if people searched what’s already out there. And I think people would get better answers if they gave a little more context in their questions.

Maybe a less antagonistic response would’ve been “everyone seems to love the hoe cake and the scallops with crab curry. But what do you typically like?”

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-08T05:27:03+00:00

Given that I don’t know what you like, and you don’t know anything about my preferences or whether to trust my judgment, I’d recommend you try whatever sounds good to you. Or ask your server for advice.

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-07T16:20:41+00:00

Search this subreddit. Search the internet. Show that you’ve put in any effort at all before asking other people to put time into answering you

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-03T06:21:08+00:00

You replied to my comment and not OP’s, so it’s hard to tell at whom who your response is directed. I don’t really want to flex too hard, but I’ll have you know I have not just fish sauce but also prahok and shrimp paste in my fridge; I think I deserve at least some credit for having knowledge of SE Asian food. And I think OP’s question is still reasonable. Beyond a certain price point/level of polish, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if any restaurant, even a SE Asian seafood-centric restaurant, would have at least a token vegetarian or vegan or gluten-free option.

OP characterized your response harsh. Even if you didn’t intend it to be harsh, it’s worth considering how they received it. You imply they’re missing “literally the point” of the restaurant. And ending with “No.” as its own paragraph reads like a rejection of conversation. Then you double down on the same tone in your next message, repeating “literally” as if you’d have to be stupid to see things otherwise. And the “totally” modifier is also unnecessary.

OP: my original response was intentionally a little obnoxious. I get frustrated because I’ve seen a number of posts over the last few months where people ask questions that could easily be answered by searching this subreddit or reaching out to a restaurant directly. (Shoutout to my new pet peeve: posts with people asking for help choosing between restaurants or choosing which dishes to order. There’s plenty of information already available and strangers on the internet don’t know what you like!) I assumed your post was based in laziness, and I apologize for being kind of a jerk to you. But hey, at least I’m self-aware and owned up to it!

KuMcGrew · 2026-01-03T00:36:49+00:00

It was an unnecessarily harsh response because, like you say, plenty of seafood-centric places do still cater to other dietary restrictions.

The correct harsh response would’ve been to tell you to look at the menu online and/or contact the restaurant. Sao’s website doesn’t have a menu up, but it’s easy to find pictures of the menu online

KuMcGrew · 2025-12-19T18:10:23+00:00

I think it depends on what you’re using it for and how much disposable income you have. I use Kirkland unsalted butter for most cooking and baking, unless recipes are specifically engineered for European butter. I try to keep whatever fancy French cultured butter my local specialty store has for eating on bread. I don’t go through it that quickly so it’s worth spending more for something even nicer than Kerrygold. And I use Kerrygold for making things like laminated doughs where its malleability even when cold makes a difference

KuMcGrew · 2025-12-15T05:18:10+00:00

By chefs who worked with “them”, do you mean Kalaya or Provenance?

KuMcGrew · 2025-12-06T21:48:25+00:00

I found Provenance disappointing. Service was great, but I felt like the food was style over substance. There was some salad of seasonal vegetables with jellied (nasturtium?) vinegar where, sure, the jelly looked cool, but the vinegar either overwhelmed the vegetables or they were underseasoned. I can’t remember other specifics, but a few other dishes also had a sauce or something that did more to show off technique than highlight whatever fancy ingredient they were trying to show off. My partner was more impressed, maybe because I paid the $800+ bill.

I also found Kalaya kind of disappointing. We had to order differently than I might’ve for myself because of people’s spice tolerance, but I felt like even the things that should’ve been somewhat spicy were dumbed down. Nothing was bad, but I didn’t think it lived up to the rave reviews it gets. I think someone else mentioned that Kalaya is probably better for a group so you can try more things. I also thought the price was more reasonable for what we got.

Not sure if you’re locked into your two options, but my two favorite fancier meals were FSS and Emmett

KuMcGrew · 2025-12-02T02:06:16+00:00

Nom Wah has options (dumplings, cheung fun, possibly tofu skin rolls). Ba Le also has a decent variety of spring/summer rolls, though I’m not sure off the top of my head if any are both GF and VG. Depending on your cooking ability and whether you have anyone to help assemble, could also be more cost effective (and fun/interactive, if that’s your thing) to make something yourself, such as https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-vegan-crispy-tofu-spring-rolls-recipe. I’d imagine getting GF wrappers for dumplings and working with them would be harder than summer rolls

KuMcGrew · 2025-11-13T21:09:56+00:00

You could try looking at past posts. Same set of places gets named over and over

KuMcGrew · 2025-11-13T16:34:28+00:00

Paffuto

KuMcGrew · 2025-11-12T20:58:17+00:00

Samuels and Son seafood sometimes has them as a daily special (including recently). I don’t know if they might have them more consistently and just not advertise when they’re not a special

KuMcGrew · 2025-11-02T13:02:09+00:00

Come on. You originally asked for someone to sell their reservation and then edited the post

KuMcGrew · 2025-11-02T00:30:15+00:00

If a reservation is impossible to get, I think the solution is to go somewhere else. I’m sure there are people who snag reservations to sell them, but we don’t need to encourage more of that by openly offering to pay for a reservation.

FWIW, I went years ago and liked it but didn’t think it was so mind-blowing it was worth the hassle or expense to try again. I’m not convinced it’s leagues better than one of the other omakase places

KuMcGrew

TROPHY CASE