The Other Critics

Will BYOB ‘Not Just Tricky Nonsense’; ‘Virtues Are Undeniable’ at Hop Sing Laundromat

• “Deconstructed in myriad ways,” the Christopher “Kearse-ified” chicken poularde at Will BYOB, Inquirer critic Craig LaBan writes, proves the chef-owner has “both the technical prowess and the artistic vision to create modern food that still makes tasty sense, and not just tricky nonsense.” The end result? “Gorgeous, complex, intriguing, yet still comforting to eat.” He adds that other inspired examples of avant-garde cooking in the city are “few and far between.” Still those “brilliant sparks” are tempered with “a tendency to over-precious flourishes that would soar with more restraint.” [Inquirer]

• In his Drink sidebar, LaBan writes that Chinatown cocktail bar, Hop Sing Laundromat’s “virtues are undeniable.” In considering the “wizardry of the drinks” put forth by “eccentric yet talented,” “singularly-named” Lêe, LaBan says the Hop Sing original Nevermore, a combination of Vietnamese coffee, Smooth Ambler gin, and Patron Citrónge, is “quirky, like its creator, but deliciously one-of-a-kind.” [Inquirer]

• Adam Erace finds 23 shades of “all-beef bliss” at the newly opened South Philly branch of Underdogs. “Top honor” goes to My Thai, the “bright, crunchy papaya slaw and sweet, nutty peanut sauce” topped “tube of beef,” but the pepper hashed Georgia Bulldog “packed more flavor” than any of the other dogs. [Courier-Post]

Will BYOB ‘Not Just Tricky Nonsense’; ‘Virtues Are