So just what is it that makes Thai food special? Most likely it is the combination in each dish of the four basic flavors -- sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Over the centuries, Thai cooking has borrowed freely from the culinary arts of China, India and Malaysia, blending these different influences to create something that is truly unique. While Thai food has a reputation for being spicy, in reality most dishes are not. The spiciness......

by Debbie Foster Trying new restaurants is something that my husband and I love to do, so when I saw that a new Thai restaurant had opened up in our neighborhood, I co-opted my husband, parents, sister and son to go and try it out. My official opinion: yummy, yummy, more, more. Kao Tip, located in NE Philadelphia (on Cottman Avenue just off of Frankford avenue) is an encouraging addition to the culinary palate of......

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and......

What's new and/or interesting on television this week. Victoria Beckham: Coming to America (Mon, 8PM-9PM, NBC10) - It's the British invasion all over again in this reality show-type special which follows Posh Spice as she moves from London to LA. Secret Life Of... (Mon, 8:30PM-9PM, Food Network) - This time they're taking a look at superstitions surrounding foods - so, stuff about New Year's Day foods, spinach, garlic, and carrots. Cities of the Underworld (Mon,......

Tinto, referring to the red wine often served in abundance at tapas eateries in Northern Spain, is wonderful. Not just because we love Amada. Not just because, despite its drab, low-ceiling, somewhat claustrophobic décor, the attention to detail is still there and appreciated. Not just because the wait staff cannot only memorize, but eloquently explain, the concept as well as the entire wine and cocktail list. Or lastly, not just because the food is perfectly......

Movie: Invisible Waves Future Screening: Sunday, April 8, 7:30 PM, Ritz East 1 I see a fair number of pretentious, art-house movies at the festival every year (see, for example, Invisible Waves), and I’m continually amused by the variety of euphemisms that festival programmers and blurb-writers employ when they essentially mean either “slow,” “boring,” or both. However, I assume that some of you may be festival neophytes who, for whatever reason, are not exactly sitting......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......

Looks like even the tenure track at one of America’s most prestigious universities won’t prevent you from getting arrested for fucking around with baby boy Thai hookers. Professor Robert Ward, an emeritus prof at the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, has found himself stripped of his teaching duties after getting caught with homemade kiddie porn for the third time in eleven years. Who wants to bet he’s a Republican? Anyone?......

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it......

One of my closest friends is in town this week. I haven't seen her in about a year, and I've really missed her. One of the reasons for that is that she was always the one on whom I could depend for a culinary adventure. A meal with her can often be an "experience." I'm not the only one who feels that way. So when she announced she'd be in town, another friend (Alexis, of......

Did you see that "Battlestar Galactica" season finale on Friday? "One year later?!" C'mon, how many people thought that was going to turn out to be a dream right up until the last scene? Anyway, here's what's fun and/or interesting on TV this week (not "BG"...and not again until October! Sigh): Boy with the Frozen Bones (Mon; 8PM-9PM; Discovery Health): With shows highlighting weird and rare medical conditions like this one, "The Dog-Faced Boy," and......

Phillyist just heard that three West Philadelphia / University City standards are donating all receipts from dinner tonight towards the American Red Cross. The restaurants are Dahlak, an Ethiopian joint located at 4708 Baltimore Ave, Laotian restaurant Vientiane Cafe at 4728 Baltimore Ave, and Abbraccio, which serves up Italian cuisine at 820 S. 47th St. (just south of 47th and Baltimore). As a regular patron of all three establishments, Phillyist can vouch for the......

West Philly and University City offer no shortage of dining options for the adventurous. Between the multiple and uniformly delicious Ethiopian restaurants, the Vietnamese cafes, the Thai places, the Indian buffets, Saad's Halal Palace and the legendary Koch's Deli, nobody is ever short on places to eat. But occasionally you might find yourself in the neighborhood with nothing but five bucks in your pocket and gnawing hunger in your belly. Under those circumstances, your......