Sneak Pic of the Chef
About 2-3 years ago T-dub went on a date in Atlantic City and came back raving about this restaurant she went to- Izakaya. I was super jealous, not only because she went on a hot date at the Borgata, but more importantly, she’d had this great dining experience WITHOUT ME!! Anyway, not too long after that word hit the Philadelphia food scene that Izakaya’s owner and chef, Michael Schulson, was bringing his Asian-fusion cuisine to Philadelphia’s own Washington Square West neighborhood. Weeks after it opened, Sampan was all the rave…Philly Mag, Yelp, Foobooz, the City Paper,
Hard at work!
etc…everyone had something to say about this new hot spot…some props and some shots, but mostly good stuff. I had all intentions of making it over there as soon as possible, but really never made it around to it until the spring. After re-visiting the reviews, I’m kinda glad I waited.
Finishing Touches
Despite some reviewers complaints of a few mediocre dishes, a too broad menu, and some bland sauces, they must’ve gotten out all the quirks because I enjoyed EVERY BITE of my first meal at Sampan and haven’t turned back since. It has become my new go-to lunch and happy hour spot.
A couple Friday nights ago S-dolla and I decided to drown our sorrows in food and drank. We were pleasantly surprised to find Chef Schulson behind the grill himself (even though I must admit we were asking him questions for about 15 minutes before I realized it was him). Anyway, we got there at 5:45, sat at the kitchen bar, and had tried almost half the menu by the time we left after 9pm.
Chicken Dumplings
Turkey Banh Mi
I’m not going to go into everything we ate. I would rather take this time to show off some of the great pics I got on my phone. Some of the highlights of our feast included the chicken dumplings, Vietnamese spring roll, kobe beef slider, banh mi, broiled Chilean sea bass, roasted broccoli, and crispy brussel sprouts. I order the chicken dumplings every single time I come here. They’re really good, especially when you get a bite of the pickled radish.
Kobe beef slider
The banh mi on the dinner menu is a Berkshire pork belly sandwich. I don’t eat pork so they used turkey in mine. Both S-dolla and I really enjoyed our sandwiches, especially since they’re only $4 at happy hour. The spicy mayo sauce really takes this escovitch sandwich to a whole other level. Of note, there are more banh mi options on the lunch menu. I once had one with steak, mint, basil aioli, pickled shallots, and a fried egg…just thinking about it makes me want to go there for lunch…like now. Needless to say, it was great…way better than the turkey one and the turkey one was good.
I know I said I wasn’t going to elaborate on the food, but lemme make 3 more points before I dazzle you with how great my Droid X takes pics…lol.
Fried Pork Belly Buns- Very Popular
Korean Fried Chicken & Biscuits--going back for this!!
1) Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I don’t like Chilean sea bass, but “this -ish right here” was maaaaaad good. The texture was more firm than Chilean sea bass I’ve had before. That combined with it’s wasabi, truffle, and edamame flavors helped me to really enjoy this dish.
2) Chef Schulson was trying out a play on the classic British fish and chips using instead fried BRANZINO and eggplant fries. By the time we noticed how popular it was, I had already eaten more than my poor stomach could handle. HOWEVER, to my delight, Chef Schulson said it would be on the menu next week…I’ll be there!! (I can’t find my pic of the Branzino…arrgh!)
Yuzu Curd Tart and Chocolate Pudding
Apple Crumb
3) One more special shout out to Chef Schulson who could tell that we were not enjoying the apple crumb dessert we’d ordered (the top was kind of burned and the apples too soft like apple sauce) and
Mini Ice Cream Cones- Chocolate Mint and Cherry Vanilla...new flavors every night
brought us 3 of the 4 other desserts on the menu…all of which were simply delightful!
Check it out for yourself. Lemme know how it goes.
brownstew's retrEAT 