Triangle Tavern is a Two-Bell Addition to South Philly's Gravy Scene, Says Craig LaBan

For this week in restaurant reviews, the Inquirer's Craig LaBan paid a visit to South Philly stalwart, Triangle Tavern, where "ghosts of importance" were a force to be reckoned with". He seemed to enjoy chef Mark McKinney's take on all the classics  — be it his meatballs, the linguine with clams "white" the he claimed was "one of the best versions he's had in a while", or the mussels "red", "a solid mollusk feast". His biggest gripe, however, was with Triangle's red sauce:

That mussel broth is easily the highest calling for the Triangle's red sauce. Without the shellfish to temper and enrich it, or too little steeping time for the added meats in other dishes to let the vegan marinara base acquire its proper "gravy" depth, the San Marzano sauce here was consistently too acidic, as though someone forgot to make a final seasoning adjustment. It's a serious flaw considering the sauce's workhorse status, smothering everything from meatballs to thick-cut eggplant parm, and a generous "Sunday Gravy" over rigatoni brimming with sausage, stewed pork chop, and a thick hunk of pepperoni that I so wanted to embrace but just couldn't quite. It's the reason I'm still at "like" rather than "love" with the new Triangle Tavern.

But with a well-executed lasagna and "dangerous" sweet cherry adult water ice, LaBan couldn't help but award the Tavern with two bells.

Elsewhere:

• City Paper's Adam Erace made his way to Fishtown to check out new Korean Fried Chicken spot, Andy's Chicken. He didn't have much to say about his "tub of bulgogi", but he delighted in the fried chicken, even calling it a "contender" his his last week's fried chicken love, Southgate.
• The day after the announcement of Philly Mag's new restaurant critic, came a review of Bud & Marilyn's. New critic, current food editor, Jason Sheehan loved every bit of the Midwestern-modern restaurant, bringing back relics of "American culinary embarrassments and the brilliance of simpler, stupider times."