Chifa’s new lounge Thursdays

Speaking of Mr. Garces….

Center City Sips is back!

You know the summer is officially here when Center City Sips starts up – and it’s starting next week, so get ready. Sips will kick off June 3, so be sure to leave work in time to enjoy it for at least an hour or two!

For those of you not familiar with Sips, it is a Center City-wide happy hour event that occurs every Wednesday in the summertime, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Restaurants, bars and lounges offer $2 beers, $3 wines and $4 specialty cocktails, along with yummy food priced around the same level. The drink and food offerings differ depending on each location, so be sure to do some serious happy hour bar-hopping in the upcoming months!

Sips is especially a great time to try all those fancy-pants places you’ve always wanted to go and could never afford. Though the portions might be a bit smaller there during the Sips events, it’s nevertheless a great way to get a foot into restaurants where even the regular happy hours can be expensive. A few of my personal favorite Sips places from last summer:

G Lounge – FREE FOOD! Need I say more?

XIX (Nineteen) – This restaurant is absolutely beautiful and the bar is so sultry it will seduce you in about five seconds…so watch those martinis…

Pearl – You can get all the fun of dancing at Pearl without the pricy cover that it charges on the weekends. And, you can grab some VIP seats (Ok, ok they’re not VIP during happy hour, but STILL).

Vango – On nice days, check out the rooftop bar/lounge/dance area. And I must say, Vango does not skimp on their portions!

There are countless other places to try, so let’s stop talking and get sipping! Check out the full list of this year’s participating locations.

Finally, a James Beard award for Garces!

Though Stephen Starr has dominated Philadelphia as a restaurateur who boasts a great deal of variety in his restaurants, virtually taking over the city’s over-$50 menus, it is Jose Garces who has come out on top by sticking to his niche.

Earlier this month, Garces won a James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic for his creative cooking at Philly restaurants Tinto, Amada, Distrito and Chifa. After being nominated three times, Garces finally took home the prize.

Though Garces was not born in Philadelphia (originally from Chicago), the city of brotherly love has become his home and the mecca for his Latin-inspired cuisine. As a tribute to our adopted Philadelphia who has revamped the Philly food scene, let’s take a look at Garces’ gems.

Tinto

I. love. This. Place. And – cue the gasps – I prefer Tinto over Amada. Though both tapas restaurants have amazing food, Tinto’s setting is more intimate, and its tapas are, in my eyes, more creative and better executed than Amada’s. Tinto’s menu changes based on the season, ensuring that the dishes are always fresh. Some of my favorites at Tinto are the basque-style paella and the pork belly montadito (think juicy pork somewhere between roasted and grilled to perfection). Though a paella and a pork dish are both fairly simple to cook, the difference in Garces’ creations at Tinto is that the simple dishes combine rich textures and burst with flavor, which is generally hard to achieve in a simple dish unless it is cooked to perfection. The only downfall of Tinto is, sadly, the sangria, which is a little heavy on syrupy-tasting fruit with not enough wine to back up the flavor.

Philly’s brews: From beer belly to six-pack

Philadelphia may carry a “rough-and-tough” vibe, but these days the city is exuding a slightly more bubbly personality – beer bubbles, to be exact.

Philly has become one of the premiere beer destinations in the United States, and it’s been a long time in the making. William Penn, the city’s founder, began brewing beer here in as early as 1680, according to beerhistory.com.

Though the beer economy in Philadelphia is and has always been intact, Philly beers have for a long time faced the same problem that other brews do: image-consciousness. Philly beer makers and distributors have struggled to heighten the image of beer, given that wines are considered “classier” and better paired with food, according to Nate Fochtman, who works in operations support at Origlio Beverages, one of the top three distributors in Pennsylvania.

Especially in a town that is a leader in BYOB restaurants, Philly’s brews need to step up their game.

“Whenever people think about going out to a BYOB, the first thing people will automatically grab will be a bottle of wine,” Fochtman said. “But now [with] the image of the craft beers and Belgium beers building their popularity … you find more are bringing 25-ounce bottles of craft brew or Belgium brew they might find at a deli.”

Figs: Random, eclectic and delicious

One of the best features of the Philadelphia food scene is the BYOB culture. Though many Philadelphia BYOs are sometimes on the slightly pricier side, they make up for the food bucks by allowing you to save a huge chunk of cash on booze. Recently, I discovered Figs – a Mediterranean-inspired joint in the Art Museum/Fairmount area.

My first reaction walking into Figs was (after a classic “damn, this smells good” reaction) that the restaurant was very diverse. The diners at Figs included everyone from college students, to young professionals, to families and older couples. Somehow, though, the atmosphere didn’t seem disjointed at all – quite the opposite. Only at such small, homey Philly BYOB restaurants have I been able to sit with my friends, a bottle of wine and a six-pack of beer in hand, while the couple sitting to my left sip champagne and the group of 10 to my right take shots of the cheapest breeds of vodka that come in plastic handles.

Just as diverse as the crowd at Figs was its food – everyone can find something to love here, whether he or she is a vegetarian, a meat-lover or a seafood junkie. Like the customers, the menu seems to meld together harmoniously. My five friends and I decided to split the baked brie appetizer and the salmon pizza, both of which were great choices. The baked brie was sprinkled with almond shavings and honey, and had a slight sage essence. It was bubbling and clearly fresh out of the oven and provided just the right balance of sweet and salty. The salmon pizza was interesting – think lox and a bagel with all the fixings (onion, capers, tomatoes). However, instead of the bagel, Figs uses a tasty, soft, white flatbread, similar to a pita. The dish also skips the traditional layer of cream cheese under the smoked salmon, a smart move that allows the flavor of the salmon and the flatbread to shine through.

Tasty treats for mom

This Sunday, give mom a taste of the town by taking her to a local restaurant’s Mother’s Day brunch. Check out my two faves for places that are serving up special meals this year for Mother’s Day:

Splurge a little: Le Bec-Fin (1523 Walnut Street, 215.567.1000, www.lebecfin.com)

Philadelphia’s five-star restaurant Le Bec-Fin is serving a special three-course brunch May 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The meal starts with fresh pastries and a made-to-order omelet station served buffet-style, continues with an a la carte menu of main courses and is topped off with desserts from Le Bec-Fin’s dessert cart. $50 per person, not including tax, gratuity or beverages.

Jazz it up: Chris’ Jazz Cafe (1421 Sansom St., 215.568.3131, www.chrisjazzcafe.com)

Chris’ Jazz Cafe will offer a Mother’s Day dinner with live music from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The menu includes Chris’ normal menu, so don’t miss the goat cheese beignet or the salmon. And don’t skimp on dessert — the chocolate mousse is sure to impress moms with a sweet tooth.

Eating through the recession and enjoying it

The recession is eating away at our wallets, jobs and securities – and now our plates – but guess what? It could be the start of something wonderful.

In his April 16 “Table Talk” article, “To lure diners, chefs try a little innovation,” Michael Kline touches upon the way in which more and more restaurants now offer price-fixed meals and half portions. These are great ways to save money while still eating well. And best of all, it allows you to mix and match your meal. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love a heaping portion size and I can usually out-eat a 200-pound grown man. However, though I’m eager to eat, I’m also always the last to order because I can’t make up my mind. With something like smaller, cheaper dishes, you can not only save money but also try more dishes. And in my experience, though the portions are “half-size,” they are generally larger than half, which is always a great thing.

Some Philadelphia restaurants are also combining these types of food deals with drink specials. Table 31, for example, now features “Happy Nights,” where customers can have an extended happy hour, so to speak, with drinks between $3 and $7, a prix-fixe menu and smaller food plates for $9. For a restaurant where it’s easy to drop a few hundred bucks on dinner, I’d say that’s pretty damn cheap.