(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Kae Lani Palmisano.

Each week, three different guests recommend their favorite restaurants, then try each other's picks and come together to tell us what they think, right here on "Check Please."

(upbeat music) Hi, I am Kae Lani Palmisano and welcome to "Check Please," the show where regular people from all over the Philadelphia area recommend and review their favorite restaurants.

So here's how it all works.

Every week, we have three guests.

Each guest recommends their favorite restaurant and then the other two go check them out to see what they think.

This week, stay-at-home parent, Brittany Koole-Leland, loves this South Philly Mexican spot serving up bold and inventive riffs on the classics.

But Audi service consultant, Cali Sauer, says this Queen Village spot is shifting culinary artistry into high gear.

First up, audiologist, Olivia Giglio, loves this teeny tiny South Philly diner.

For all the breakfast classics, she heads to Comfort and Floyd.

(upbeat music) - [Bruce] Comfort and Floyd, they were my mom's cousins.

We liked the name.

We thought it had a nice ring to it.

We've both been involved in restaurants and it's what I've done for most of my life since I was a teenager.

And it always kind of thought that one day I would like to have my own place, but never was really sure what that would be.

The space just felt like it just lent itself to breakfast and lunch.

(bright music) Comfort and Floyd's son.

I remember visiting him in DC and he was the first person I'd ever met who had gone to cooking school and was approaching it at, you know, cooking as a career.

And that kind of always stayed with me, that idea.

(bright music) - Five years after getting married, we opened this place.

And we live right around the corner.

So this place is very much about us being here together in the neighborhood.

- It is.

- I think the food really stands out.

(bright music) One thing that I like a lot about the menu at Comfort and Floyd is that we kind of joke like, take his great dishes that he's done for many years and put an egg on it.

- Just put an egg on it.

- And then serve it with home fries and now it's breakfast.

- [Bruce] You know, that sort of breakfast for dinner, dinner for breakfast kind of thing.

- The dishes that have like a lot of components that are, you know, all made here.

Those are the ones that are very, very Bruce, very Comfort and Floyd.

(bright music) - [Bruce] We try to do everything from scratch, make the food that we want, we'd want to eat ourselves.

- He does an amazing job.

- Thanks.

(bright music) It's really special to us.

It's been really great to have worked together and experience it together.

- [Sara] I think what amazes us is that it's just what we wanted it to be.

We feel so lucky that it is what it is.

- [Bruce] Yeah, we feel pretty fortunate at this point.

- [Sara] Yeah.

(bright music) - Olivia, breakfast counters like this are far and few between.

Why did you pick Comfort and Floyd?

- This is a luncheonette spot that's pretty close to my house in South Philly, but really first found it about 2019, was visiting a friend who lives a few blocks away and there was a blizzard and completely everything shut down and he said, "I know one place that's definitely gonna be open and you're gonna love it."

And we went there, hiked our way over there in a blizzard.

There's always something new to get and there's always something for everybody.

- Is there something on the menu that everyone who goes must try at least once?

- So it's gonna sound weird for a diner, but the kale salad is always, always, always something that I'll get, no matter breakfast, lunch, in between.

Just has to go with a meal.

The kale salad is wonderful.

- I ordered the most excellent kielbasa and sauerkraut omelet, and they make their sauerkraut in-house and even if you don't like sauerkraut, it was amazing.

They were so accommodating for my 2-year-old.

We got a bunch of sides for her, a cup of fruit, a biscuit that I honestly ate half of.

But we switched.

She got the kale salad and they were really great with us.

- And Callie, you brought your daughter as well.

We ordered blueberry pancake, sandwich to-go, a special grilled cheese for there, and I basically just like cut everything off for her and she just sits there and hopefully does not throw half of it on the floor.

- So tell us a little bit more about this grilled cheese, 'cause this is not your average grilled cheese.

- No, the grilled cheese was excellent.

So it's always a little like, iffy if you get the grilled cheese at a place, 'cause you could end up with just a little baby grilled cheese.

This was on, I think LeBus multigrain bread that was very like, it was a substantial sandwich.

It had bacon, onion jam, three kinds of cheeses on that multi-grain bread and it was very substantial.

It was very flavorful.

It really was delicious for the baby and me.

- So this last time you went, what did you order?

- So I did one of their specials.

I did the spinach sausage and Asiago omelet.

Their omelets are so good.

I usually get one, either the standard few that they have or a special every time I go.

Really though, it's for the home fries.

- Oh my goodness.

- What have we missed out?

- We have a joke that like home fries, they have a super low floor and a really high ceiling where, you know, you can go somewhere and get something and you're like, that is not what I wanted at all, or something that just knocks your socks off.

And this definitely crashes the ceiling on home fries.

I'm definitely a crispy potato person and this like, fully fits the bill on that, so.

- I don't know what magic they put into those home fries.

- I know.

- But they are amazing.

- [Olivia] Yes.

- It's like they par cook them and then perhaps like grill them in a pan with magic butter.

I don't know, but they're really crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

They're not hard to chew.

I can't describe them, but what they do with them is really special.

- My fiance actually got the breakfast sandwich this time that came on the Philly muffin.

And I'd never had a Philly muffin before or even seen one.

I did not know that that was a thing, but now I might have to change my order.

So good.

It's somewhere between like an everything bagel and like a standard like, muffin.

- [Cali] English muffin, yeah.

- [Olivia] It was really, really fantastic.

And the tomato jam that it comes with felt like almost like a tomato soup, like a little gazpacho kind of like situation to go with it.

So not your standard ketchup, but it was really, really wonderful.

- I was really impressed with how small their kitchen is and how efficient the staff is with every aspect of restauranting.

I sat like right next to the kitchen at the bar and it's like as big as this table, it seems like.

And they just bang out the dishes and everything's on time.

They were really on time with the pancake first and then the grilled cheese and I had a hot tea, and they made sure they kept it away from the baby.

And then I also had the sandwich to go.

So I wasn't waiting very long for that either.

- The pancake, was that the one, was it cornmeal or what was the batter?

- Cornmeal blueberry.

And the pancake is like a big pancake.

I wasn't happy about the pricing, but for pancakes, you know, I kind of want a lower price for a pancake, so I always order a bigger stack to make up for it.

I wanted to try the special because, you know, they're not gonna have it every day.

And cornmeal and blueberry, the baby loves blueberry and it was delicious.

Yeah, it was perfect.

- Yeah, we got the cornmeal pancake as well, - Oh good.

- On their specials.

And that day, it was strawberry with candied oranges.

- [Cali] Oh that sounds wonderful.

- [Olivia] And we weren't gonna order it, and then we saw somebody else order it and so when you see it come up in the window, you're like, we have to get something sweet if we're all getting something savory.

So we split it between the three of us, which I think was perfect.

- That's the problem.

Yeah.

A sweet pancake for the table is a great way to go.

- Exactly.

- [Kae Lani] It's a good move.

- It was unbelievable.

- Olivia, this was your pick.

Sum it up for us.

- Cozy, warm comfort food with a twist.

- Cali, what's your final thought?

- Neighborhood brunch or lunch spot that is comforting and has everything you want.

- And Brittany, what's the big takeaway?

- An eclectic spot that makes you feel like home, and it really does offer comfort, as in the title or name of the restaurant.

- Try out Comfort and Floyd for yourself, located at 1301 South 11th Street in South Philly.

215-465-2917.

Reservations are not accepted and the average tab per person without drinks is $20.

Brittany Koole-Leland loves Mexican food and in a city like Philly, it takes some serious chops to stand out from the crowd.

From aguachiles, cemitas and more, she heads to El Chingon.

(bright music) - [Juan] We opened El Chingon in November, 2022.

We opened it with my family.

My sisters and brothers are also involved.

One of the biggest reasons why we did it is because we always wanted to eat tacos, the way we eat 'em in Mexico.

(upbeat music) A chingon means something very cool, something very unique, something amazing.

But it can also mean badass, you know?

(bright music) I emphasize a menu three different regions of Mexico.

I usually do, I take Puebla, I take Yucatan and I also take the north part of Mexico.

And those regions, they eat a lot of flour tortillas.

We made tortillas every single day.

So the tortillas that you eat, they were made 10 minutes ago.

One of the biggest things that we do here, it's the cemitas.

Cemitas, you can only find 'em in Puebla.

(upbeat music) A cemita is basically a traditional sandwich.

The bread actually comes from Israel, and Israel, they also have a semita, with an S. Cemita comes from the word from sesame because it's covered with a lot of sesame seeds, it's very light, very fluffy.

The bun kind of holds everything together.

(upbeat music) I believe that we have something very unique and special from the sourdough tortillas and the corn tortillas that we make and the cemitas.

I cook and I eat at Chingon six days a week.

And what I eat, that's what I want to present to the tables for people to enjoy what I eat.

(upbeat music) We're very lucky that people accept and was very excited to try our flavors and our food and just being in the restaurant.

And I always just go out and seeing people smiling and leaving the restaurant super happy and they always tell me how much they enjoy it.

It's very satisfying.

(upbeat music) - Brittany, El Chingon has become so popular, so fast.

Why did you pick it?

- It's one of our favorite places.

We go there every year for Mother's Day brunch.

They are really known for their aguachiles and their sourdough bread that they make cemitas with, they also make tortillas with.

So you can't miss out on the flour tortillas.

I've never had anything bad there.

- Is there something that someone should get if they go for their first time?

- In fact, I had that on our visit before this show.

It is cochinita pibil, which is a pork shake taco, think Mexican spiced, slow cooked ossobuco.

It comes with corn tortillas.

I suggest ordering flour tortillas, and it is amazing.

But you can't go wrong with anything.

- You had the cochinita as well.

- Yes, they serve it on the bone.

So it comes out and it's like as big as this on your dish and you're like, okay, let's go.

With the tortillas, the pickled onion, and so you just kind of make your own taco.

- This is a, yeah, build your own taco.

- And I love that.

That's like, almost like how fun taco night is at home, you have it at this restaurant.

So that's really enjoyable.

We had a chapeada salad.

It was well mixed.

It has light dressing, crispy tortilla in it, big beans, and she ate all of that.

- So I actually went for brunch and I had the crab tostadas, we did the guacamole, the elote, which was really fantastic.

And then I had the mollite sandwich and added two eggs, which was recommended by the server who she said that's how she usually orders it as well, which was really, really fantastic.

The bread is so amazing, like very, very fresh, very like fluffy, perfect for like a good breakfast sandwich with a slight edge.

- I had the warm tostadas also with the crab.

I thought that was really good.

And I think that it's not really something you would get with the crab.

- [Olivia] Yeah.

- [Cali] So the only thing is, I let them know that I had a avocado allergy and they still had avocado on there.

So luckily, my allergies were only like very minimum.

So I just give that to the baby, but it was still enjoyable even without that.

And then also we got the lamb albondigas, which is a meatball with a very flavorful broth and the meatball is very dense, but moist, and you can just cut it and put it onto a tortilla, and delicious.

- I'm sorry you have an avocado allergy because the chimichurri guacamole is out of this world.

I love avocado, and I'd say it's top two guacamoles in the city.

- [Cali] Yeah, yeah.

- Absolutely.

- Also from like a decor perspective, the tiny little mason jars of salsa that come with it, so cute, so, so, so cute.

- It would be remiss of me not to mention how much my husband loves their green Michelada Verde mix.

It is a BYO.

You can bring tequila or mezcal, and they will make you margaritas in the back.

But my husband really loves the Michelada Verde.

He has even ordered the mix to go so he can make it at home.

He says outside of Mexico, it's the best one he's had.

- That's a great cheat code.

Just go get it from the source, take it home.

- [Kae Lani] Yeah, take it home.

- Every plate that came out, you were really like, "Okay, this is awesome.

Like let's eat this giant salad, let's eat this giant," yeah.

- [Olivia] I think anytime you get a plate set down in front of you and you go, oh wow, like that justifies the price almost, a little bit, where I feel like it was really reasonable.

The portions were great and everything when it came out was like, very well presented.

It had a really nice wow factor to it.

- Yeah, it made it exciting.

Like every plate was exciting.

- It's so authentic too.

Like Philadelphia has a huge Mexican scene, as you mentioned.

Everything from here just checks every box of everything I've had when I've visited Mexico.

- And any place that has an ice cream flavor that I've never tried before always gets some solid points.

So they do have some ice cream specials at the bottom for their dessert menu.

And when I went, they had a tejate ice cream.

It was so interesting, like spices, not spicy, but spices, spiced.

It felt like something that would be really, really great during like the winter time.

Almost like just a warm hug, but an ice cream.

- There is an ice cream flavor that if you see it on the menu, you should absolutely try.

It's the mole ice cream.

- Yes.

- Yes, you've had it?

- I have.

I've had it.

And I was going to say, I kind of stalked their Instagram to see what ice creams are coming out.

- [Olivia] Yes.

- Yeah, so it's fun 'cause his sister, like the last time I had tried it, his sister had flown up from Mexico with mole in her suitcase.

- Oh my goodness.

- So he used it.

And so sometimes there are ingredients on the menu where he's getting it straight from Mexico.

Either he's going or a family member is going and bringing it back for them in their suitcase.

Brittany, this is your pick.

Sum it up for us.

- If you want authentic Mexican, great sourdough, aguachiles are phenomenal.

El Chingon is definitely the place to go.

- And Cali, what's the big takeaway?

- I would say it's traditional Mexican with an upbeat, fresh flair.

- And Olivia, what's your final thought?

- Really nice little neighborhood spot that is bringing in authenticity and opening it up to the masses.

- Check out El Chingon for yourself, located at 1524 South 10th Street in South Philly.

267-239-2131.

Reservations are accepted and the average check per person is $40 at lunch and brunch and $50 at dinner.

Cali Sauer's pick shares a kitchen with one of Philly's most exciting tasting menus.

So sharing this spot feels like we're letting you in on a secret.

Grab a seat at this cozy candlelight restaurant.

This is South Work in Queen Village.

(upbeat music) - I would describe South Work as... - Your quintessential neighborhood Philadelphia spot.

(upbeat music) - It can be a drink at the bar, it can be a full meal in the dining room.

It could be a cheese plate and a glass of rose on the patio.

There's different moments in this building that you can be used for different occasions, I think, is what I'm trying to say.

I wish I said that better.

(laughs) (bright music) Cooking philosophy around here is pretty straightforward.

We try to just not mess with the ingredients too much.

Everything's handmade here for whether it's the bread or burger buns, pasta, seasonality is very important.

90% of the food that's in this building, either the person that raised it or grew it or the person delivering it, picked it up from that person.

The menu kind of rotates quite a bit, keeps it feeling seasonal and fresh.

- Our burger, delicious.

It's not going anywhere.

(upbeat music) We met, opening Talula's Garden.

- Classic restaurant of romance.

- Yeah.

- [Chris] The thing that really resonated with us was not only the name, we used to hang out here and I think when we heard this was one of the places for sale, my first reaction was, "Oh no, somebody's gonna mess it up."

We renovated and then we opened Ambra next door that August of 2016, and we've been running South Work and Ambra since.

- It's kind of important to us that it feels just casual and accessible.

- [Chris] From hello to a thank you on the way out and all the little details in between are super important to us.

- I hope that guests feel just kind of happy and satisfied.

- Satisfied.

- [Marina] I just hope that people leave, thinking about this meal that they had and how happy it made them feel.

(bright music) - Cali, South Work is such a swanky bar with a swanky restaurant.

Tell us why you picked it.

- I picked South Work because every time I go there, it's always a magical experience.

It reminds me of all the foodie friends I have that live in Maine, and how restaurant forward that atmosphere is.

They really think about what they're serving you and at the same time, it's just really relaxed and a beautiful place to eat.

- The menu changes seasonally, but what's something that you've gotten that you really enjoyed?

- So I always order the pea and ricotta ravioli.

It's an appetizer and it comes out in a little dish and you're like, "Oh, well am I getting pasta at the appetizer and the meal?"

But it's like a different kind.

It's perfectly flavored.

It has, it's just like a spring feel to it.

And then I also will try to get the arancini.

They didn't have it on the menu, but they did serve it with your appetizer also.

So they kind of gave you an extra appetizer to try the kale iron tea as well.

- There's not one thing that I didn't love.

The things that stood out for me from the appetizers were, I think instead of the ravioli, we had an nduja tortellini.

It was amazing.

And the beef tartar was, I don't have words for it.

It was so good.

I also started off with a drink, called Mariah Carey Can't Dance.

- So did I.

(laughs) - Holy guacamole.

That was a great drink.

- It's like refreshing, even though it's like, tequila.

- [Brittany] Made with carrot juice.

Probably one of my favorite cocktails I've ever had.

- I actually have been really looking for better, like non-alcoholic, like mocktails.

So I tried the Drifting Through the Blinds, which is like really herby and citrusy and had like whipped egg whites in it.

So it was really, really delicious.

- I think it had ginger in it also.

- [Olivia] Yeah, ginger.

- That one sounded amazing.

- [Olivia] It was so good.

I did end up getting the Get Off your Horse after that, which was like rum punch and grapefruit.

And then I think my fiance got one of the rye drinks, The Paragon of Virtue.

The names are all so fun.

The names are all so fun.

- [Brittany] Yes.

- [Olivia] Yeah, The Paragon of Virtue.

And I'm not a big like rye or whiskey person, but that was really, really good.

- They brought you a little something extra too to the table.

- They did.

They actually brought us out some little cacio e pepe broth in little teacups, which was so cute.

It was cacio e pepe broth with this herb oil and a little bit of Parmesan on the top, which was just a nice little kind of like something to have while we were waiting for our appetizers to come out.

And it just made us feel like, so special and like really fun.

- So did you just drink it, like a little?

- Just sipped it, yeah.

It was so good.

- Something that we tried was the main course duck, and whatever sauce came with it was phenomenal.

My husband almost licked it off the plate.

We also really liked the pork dish.

That was what I wanted to order, but I was surprised that I ate the duck more.

- My fiance ended up getting the duck as well.

I did the cheeseburger and I'm usually not a blue cheese person, but that ended up being really like nice and went with everything super well.

And then we were able to split my fries between the two of us because it was so much for like, what I thought it was gonna be, just like, I should have known better that it was gonna be more than just a cheeseburger.

- Our waiter was great, so we took his suggestions with what to get, and I would've never ordered the rigatoni.

Blew me out of the water.

- [Cali] Yeah, that one sounds so good.

Yeah.

I had the bucatini and clams, and it wasn't like a normal bucatini, throw some clams, throw a little sauce in there.

The sauce hit all the notes.

Like it was like lemony, it was garlicy, I think they had like some scallop roe in there, and so it made it a little bit like, thicker.

And the baby, her first time having bucatini and also clams, she also loved it.

- I felt like I was at a really fancy restaurant, but also almost like a really upscale like, cabin.

- [Kae Lani] Yeah!

- [Brittany] Yes.

- [Olivia] Like it had this like woodsy, like grandma's house.

- [Cali] If grandma was really cool.

- [Olivia] Yes, exactly.

We did the fried asparagus that came with like, a fish like dipping sauce, - [Cali] Yes, smoked fish.

- Which is like, you know, you think about like asparagus and fish going together on like a brunch menu, but for dinner, that was so interesting and really wonderful.

- [Cali] And it was also like a finger food too.

- [Olivia] Yeah.

- [Cali] So you're like, wait, do I eat this one like this?

(everyone laughing) - The desserts we had were outstanding.

- [Olivia] Yeah.

- We had a citrus brulee tart that combined all my favorite things, and maybe is one of my favorite desserts I've ever had.

It's hard.

I don't eat chocolate, and it's really hard to find great desserts that aren't chocolate forward.

- However, they're chocolate dessert that is also on there was very good.

And as a chocolate connoisseur, that was really, really wonderful.

It had like sunflower brittle on.

It was so good.

- Cali, South Work is your pick.

Sum it up for us.

- So South work is a classy, but not stuffy, crafted plates restaurant that you can go for any occasion.

- Brittany, what's the big takeaway?

- We had superb service, excellent food, and a great time.

It was truly magical.

It's on my new favorite list.

- And Olivia, bring it on home.

- If you wanna feel really fancy and really cared for in a pretty casual, cozy place, this is definitely the spot.

- Check out South Work for yourself, located at 701 South 4th Street in Queen Village.

267-930-8538.

Reservations are accepted and the average tab per person without drinks is $65.

So in this week's show, we featured Comfort and Floyd in South Philly, El Chingon in South Philly, and South Work in Queen Village.

Special thanks to my guests, Olivia Giglio, Brittany Koole-Leland, and Cali Sauer.

Join us next time for three new guests, recommending their favorite restaurants, right here on "Check Please."

And don't forget to find us on Instagram and TikTok.

We're @checkpleasephilly.

I'm Kae Lani Palmisano and I'll see you next time!

(bright music)