(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'm Kae Lani Palmisano.

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 the show works.

Each week we have three guests.

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

This week, doctoral candidate Zaheera Hemphill says The Senegalese cooking at her West Philly pick gets the A Grade but artist and client service manager, Brielle DuBose loves the inventive French dishes at their favorite spot in Old City.

Up first though, digital project manager, Govinda Vyas, loves exploring the range of Mediterranean cuisine at his pick for Turkish dumplings and fresh baked pizza.

He heads to Stina Pizzeria.

(mellow music) - At Stina we have a wood burning oven and everything is kissed by the fire.

So that's kind of the theme of the restaurant.

It's centered around the wood burning oven and just the idea of Mediterranean food and flavors.

They all kind of connect, you know, even though these are all a lot of different countries.

So that's the other thing.

We wanna bring people together that could possibly have a lot in common through food.

Some of the most popular dishes here at Stina are Spanish octopus.

I've been cooking octopus for over 20 years.

We're also definitely known for our Turkish pide.

Kind of like a Turkish pizza almost.

It's like boat shaped and we have different fillings inside.

In 2017, my wife and I decided to start the process of opening a restaurant and one of the things we wanted to do differently was raise money every single month for a different organization, highlight them, bring the information to everybody so they know who they are.

Kind of make as much impact, you know, on them at the end of the month.

I just want to give back, you know, it's really important to us.

- Govinda, Stina was your pick.

Tell us why you picked it.

- So I moved to this house in South Philly midway through the pandemic and every morning when I was walking my dog I'd pass by by Stina on the corner just a couple blocks away.

Me and a couple friends went there to this like outdoor seating, just expecting like an upscale pizza place and we were blown away.

It had just like incredible diversity of Mediterranean food.

We all had a great time and it was like one of the first big dinners we had together you know, post pandemic, post vaccinations and awesome neighborhood place that's had a special place in my heart because of that.

- You walk by and it really does seem like it's this neighborhood pizza joint and then you walk in and it is, it's this really unexpected Mediterranean menu.

And you recommend that for first timers they should get the Mediterranean dips?

- Totally, yeah.

And I also recommend go with friends 'cause it's way more fun with friends and the Mediterranean sampler you get to try all the different things that the kitchen has put together and everybody gets to try what they like and it's awesome.

- Another dish to try is the carrots, the marinated carrots.

Tell us about that.

- Yeah, so the Moroccan carrots are awesome.

I got that the first time I went there.

Now I get them every time I go there.

Just incredible seasoning, like nice and oily, like perfectly tender and great for sharing as well.

Everybody gets, you know, that's partially healthy.

Yeah, everybody's having some carrots with their meal.

- Brielle, you got the carrots too, right?

- I absolutely agree.

I would go back just for the carrots alone and I agree with you, you need to go with friends.

You have to try all of the small plates you can and it's much better to share.

- What did you get for appetizer Zaheera?

- I got the watermelon salad.

- Oh my gosh, so good.

- It's so good.

It was so refreshing.

I will say that I did dine by myself but I felt like I was with a room full of friends.

So it was very welcoming in there.

The hostess was really great and awesome.

She continuously checked on me so it felt like it was a room full of friends.

- Zaheera you got the mushroom pizza?

- I did.

- How was it?

- Oh my gosh, so first of all, can I say the dough that is made fresh, it reminds me of fried dough like at the fair, like really nice and fluffy and light.

And then to see them actually spin it, spinning it.

- I love the theatrics.

- It's like spinning, you know inside the restaurant it was absolutely awesome.

So I have no idea how they make that dough but the dough for the pizza was absolutely phenomenal and the mushrooms were filling.

It was really, really good.

I love that mushroom pizza.

It was great.

- Brielle, you got a pizza too, right?

- I did and I was gonna say the dough absolutely stood out to me as well as being incredible.

I got the mortadella pizza, which is something that I don't usually eat and it was incredible and it comes with a garlic sauce.

It's not like a regular pizza sauce but it is perfect.

- Zaheera, you said that the service was really good.

I mean they kept checking on you.

They also made recommendations for which pizza to get.

- Yes, because I was torn, right?

I was torn between the mushroom pizza or the eggplant pizza and she leaned over and she said, "You gotta get the mushroom.

Like that's my top favorite.

I was like, "Really, over the eggplant?"

'Cause I really love eggplant and she said, "You have have to do the mushroom."

I was so happy.

It was great.

- Aside from pizza, they also specialize in something called pide which is like a Turkish kind of flat bread.

You got the merguez pide, how was it?

- It was great.

It was like almost remind me of like a stromboli where it's folded up full of meat, full of cheese.

But yeah with this like same delicious dough that is like flaky, it's soft, it's so thin, very decadent, very abundant and like to your point about the mushrooms, I normally don't like mushrooms.

I actually went back and got another pide with the mushrooms and I like... - Oh yes.

- I love that, the mushrooms are that good.

- Yeah, they're very good.

- And then pide with all the cheese like (chef's kiss) like so awesome.

- Chef's kiss.

- Yeah.

Yeah, it was really great and I've not had a pide anywhere else in Philly or anywhere else period.

- And it's a BYO which is really fun 'cause then you can bring your own drinks of course.

You noted, Brielle, that there is a beer distributor kind of nearby so if you forget something you can go run and pick something up.

- You can just run across the street at 17th and Snyder and it's right there, super convenient.

- Another really iconic dish, the octopus.

Who here?

I feel like someone got the octopus.

- I did.

- Yes.

Brielle, how was it?

- It was incredible.

So whenever we were talking to the server about what we should get, that was the thing that he had suggested first.

He was like, "You have to try the octopus."

And I was so happy that we did.

It was delicious.

- And Stina Pizzeria, it's named for his wife Christina.

And a lot of the decor is her own artistic expression.

What did you think of the ambiance of the restaurant?

- I love that.

I didn't realize that that was all the her stuff.

It's very cool.

I love a nice maximalist like gallery wall so all the walls are covered in there and it's very interesting.

You get to look around, you know if your conversation dries out at least you'll have something to look at.

- How about desserts?

Govinda, you had baklava?

- Yeah, so I love baklava.

It's like just such an elegant dish.

Like so rich.

And when I had it there, for the first time I had it, it was like in the shape of a pie slice with a, you know, scoop of ice cream next to it.

And I was like, I got it to share, but I almost ate all of it myself.

It was that good and it was like a little bit warm, super flaky, like the honey, the nuts.

It's so good.

- How about you Brielle?

- We had the chocolate tahini cake, which was incredible.

That was my favorite, absolutely.

- I actually used the rest of my watermelon salad for my dessert because, like I said, that salad is like in a meal itself.

So I did half before I finished the pizza and then I had the watermelon salad again, which is still sweet and very refreshing.

- What did you think of the neighborhood?

- The neighborhood was awesome.

It, again, it kind of gave a, everyone knows everyone type neighborhood and everyone that stopped in while I was sitting and dining asked about the owner, how is so and so how is this person.

So they were actually asking about the people that actually owned the restaurant right?

And then the people were speaking to the chefs in the back like "Hi, how you doing?"

You know, so it was a lot of casual conversation but it was a very family, community oriented neighborhood.

So it was great.

- Govinda, this was your pick.

Sum it up for us.

- It's a neighborhood joint where like you go there, it feels like family, everybody knows each other.

Go with friends, order everything and like soak it in.

Have a great time.

It's the best that South Philly has to offer.

- Brielle, what are your thoughts?

- I think I summarized it as a Mediterranean gem masquerading as a pizza shop.

(group laughs) - And Zaheera, what's your big takeaway?

- Don't eat pizza from anywhere else other than there.

That, I mean hands down, absolutely phenomenal.

- Plan your own visit to Stina Pizzeria located at 1705 Snyder Avenue in Philadelphia 215-337-3455.

They're open from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday.

Reservations are accepted and the average tab per person without drinks is $40.

Zaheera Hemphill loves the variety of Senegalese dishes at her West Philly pick and she says whatever you try will always make a memorable meal.

For filling portions in a casual environment, he heads to Youma.

(upbeat music) - Youma is a home cooking.

When you eat with us, you will taste the real African cuisine coming from the family, from our mother, from our great grandmothers.

You know, who teach us really how to start from nothing and just cook.

our most of popular food is the jollof rice.

It's our national dish.

That's what we eat every day.

The lamb, also the chicken.

I think like everything is kind of popular.

(upbeat music) When I bring the food I see my country, I see my continent.

People who coming far away say, "I'm going to eat African food.

I'm going to eat Senegalese food.

I going to eat black community food."

My food represent who we are as a people and who we going to be also in this country.

I'm a happy person.

I try to be happy most of the time.

That's why I always make sure you know my customer feel happy about what they eat.

And connected also with the place, connected with people.

- Zaheera, you are a big fan of Youma.

Tell us why you picked it.

- Oh my goodness.

Can I start off?

Lamb.

(group laughs) Can anyone say lamb?

Lamb and onions, number one pick.

The lamb dibi is always my go-to and sometimes you get a taste for it every once in a while and you need to head right back.

- What makes this lamb so iconic?

- Oh my gosh.

So it is grilled and seared to perfection and then it is smothered with their signature onions, which like elevates the lamb to a whole 'nother level.

- I know that onions are important to Senegalese cuisine.

To give you an idea of just like how much onions Senegal is eating.

Americans will eat 20 pounds of onions per year.

In Senegal they eat around 70, sometimes more.

- Wow.

- Brielle, you got some lamb too, right?

- Yeah, so I will start with the onions are incredible too.

Yeah, they're the perfect garnish.

I had the plantains and the lamb shank.

- Oh god.

- The lamb shank was incredible.

First of all, the sizes are incredible.

And then also this lamb, I didn't use a knife, I only used a fork and barely touched it and it was falling off of the bone.

So that was incredible.

Also they're marinated in this delicious sauce.

It's so good.

So yeah, I enjoy the lamb.

- How would you describe the sauce, like the flavors?

Is it kind of herbaceous, is it spicy?

- It's definitely spicy.

Not in like a hot type of way, but in a definitely like flavorful type of way.

And I'm sure it goes with the other stuff.

I'm sure it goes great with the rice too.

- I know right.

It does.

But you're absolutely right you can smother it on anything.

- Tell us more about the plantains.

- Oh my gosh.

So those are cut and fried up.

Like I said, they're always sweet.

You have to have them to balance with the rice and the lamb dishes or chicken dishes or the fish dishes, you know, so whatever.

But the plantains are good 'cause they're also smothered with the onions as well.

- Govinda, I believe you got some plantains as well.

- Yeah.

- How were they?

- They were so, so good and I'd never had plantain smother with onions before.

But like y'all were saying, those onions are the best.

So like you can put those onions on everything.

And it made like a delicious like sweet savory like, oh just incredible like yeah the plantains I think were like one of the highlights of the meal.

Never had 'em prepared like that and would go back for those.

- It makes you realize how underutilized onions are in Western cuisine, you know?

- Totally.

And yeah like my background's Indian, like we used a ton of onion center cooking and growing up so like it put me at home like onions on it like yes please.

I'll have some more.

- So let's talk appetizers.

Govinda, how did you kick off your meal?

- I like to go death by appetizers.

So we got the plantains, we got the vegetables, we got the athieke which is something I was trying for the first time.

If I'm remembering correctly, it's some sort of root that's like ground fermented and then cooked again and it almost becomes like this couscous consistency with like a very unique like sort of smell to it I guess through the fermentation process.

But I also put onions on it and it was incredible.

- And you got a chicken dish for your entree?

How was that?

- I did.

So now I'm hearing that I should have gotten the lamb.

So I really wanted to love everything about Youma.

Unfortunately the chicken I got was a little bit dry but there was a lot of it.

I feel like I got a quarter of a chicken, I got to take something at home.

It was appetizers the next day.

And like the sauce, like it was yummy, it was peppery, it was like not too intense but it really worked all with the other flavors and let the onions shine through on that as well.

I mean I was super happy with the portions and now I have to go back for the lamb.

- I had the beef patties, the fataya, they were really good.

I'm like a sucker for any type of like meat wrapped in pastry but like they were really fresh.

I could tell the dough was made there and they were fried and crispy and wonderful.

- Another thing that they're known for are the drinks, the juices, the teas.

Everybody here got a drink.

Who had mango with the ginger?

- That was me.

- Govinda.

- That was incredible.

I still think about that juice, like I'm a talk for mango juice anything.

And then just like the spiciness of the ginger together, like the sweet, the spicy.

I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it again just 'cause like it was an incredible drink.

I went with my girlfriend, she got a hibiscus drink that was also super delicious.

But like that mango ginger was the star of the evening.

I couldn't get enough of it.

- That's what I got, or not the ginger when I got the the hibiscus one, which I love.

Like I love any Jamaica, I like any hibiscus juice it's fantastic but that was my second choice and now I will have to go back and get that.

- Brielle, you dined alone?

- I did.

- But you still felt very welcome.

How was the service?

- Wonderful.

Quick, efficient.

I can tell that they're busy.

They're like running a full on takeout or like counter, they're answering the phones, they're taking orders in the restaurant and they still had time to come and ask me what I wanted and like all the other stuff.

So very casual.

I was the only person in there for about 20 minutes and they were really sweet.

I think it's also really sweet to like, I love when a place has regulars and I saw at least a few of them come in and then you know, have a whole conversation.

They get really excited to see each other and it's really sweet.

- It's a community center.

Everybody sees one another, "Oh hey how you doing?"

It makes you feel like you're part of the neighborhood.

Speaking of which Govinda, what'd you think of West Philly?

- Yeah, it's super cool.

You know that's a part of West Philly I haven't checked out too much but like, you know I got that a little bit early.

I checked out the little African grocery store next door, you know, just wandering around the neighborhood.

It's beautiful, it's near Clark Park.

Any other South Philadelphians, I encourage you, it's worth the trek.

- Well you can make a day out of it.

Zaheera, Youma was your pick.

What's the biggest takeaway?

- You want authentic Senegalese dish, go to Youma.

- Brielle, sum up your experience at Youma.

- A cozy corner for comfort food.

- And Govinda, what are your final thoughts?

- Youma is like hidden gem in the neighborhood and definitely go for the juices and tell all your friends about it.

And don't forget the onions.

(group laughs) - Enjoy the Senegalese food at Youma.

Located at 4519 Baltimore Avenue in Philadelphia.

215-387-1970.

They're open from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM seven days a week.

Reservations are not accepted and the average tab per person is $25.

Brielle DuBose's recommended restaurant puts a modern spin on French classics and they say the topnotch food is elevated by a certain je ne sais quoi.

For artfully plated dishes and five star cocktails, they head to Forsythia.

(upbeat music) - My philosophy for ambitions here for 50 year is really now making things familiar and making them different.

Forsythia is just a nice spin on a modern French bistro.

(upbeat music) What kind of makes us stand apart from other modern French restaurants is (indistinct) and an understanding of a lot traditions to the normal French cooking.

(upbeat music) We have an open kitchen.

So it kind of gives you a chance to connect more with the customers.

A little more functional and not so, you know, fine dining and stuffy.

My main objective is to create a memory for our guests and our customers and make them feel welcomed and loved.

If they can two years or three years from now say "Oh, here reminds me of that time we had at the 50th."

That would be my ultimate goal.

- Brielle, you picked Forsythia.

Why did you pick it?

- So I think maybe in 2019 I went there for Restaurant Week on a whim.

I wanted to go with a friend.

We wanted to go to a restaurant that we hadn't been to before and we picked that one.

And I've been back so many times.

The service has been incredible every single time I've gone and the food has also been impeccable.

- I like how everybody here dabbled in deviled eggs.

- These deviled eggs came out and I'm like, "Who created this masterpiece of deviled eggs?"

- They're artfully plated.

- Yes they are.

It was awesome.

The plating was great right, so you didn't even want to eat them, just looking at them.

- Just wanna Instagram them.

- Yeah, just wanna Instagram 'em, right.

But they were delicious.

It was phenomenal.

- Govinda, what were your thoughts on the deviled eggs?

- There's like this red sauce on the side and I was like, "Oh is this just decoration or what?"

And I taste it and it's like, "Oh it's like this spicy smokey flavor that I never had in deviled eggs before" and it was just wow.

Really like took this deviled egg to like a level I hadn't had before.

- I know and they're so innocuous deviled eggs.

It's just like, you know, this is picnic food but you know, they add truffles to it and it's incredible now.

Like it's just a cute little piece of art that is also delicious.

- Brielle, this last time around you ordered nearly the entire menu.

- I did.

- Walk us through some of the highlight appetizers.

- Okay, so the beignets if you go they're seasonal, they change all the time.

I got the corn beignets this time.

Perfect.

They're always light and they come with a sauce that you can dribble on them.

They're incredible.

Their soup was a peas gazpacho.

When it comes out they just bring you a little bowl of the dry ingredients and then they pour it over the dry ingredients.

It's really beautiful.

The presentation is incredible.

Also the rabbit crepes were incredible.

They were just really delicate.

But rabbit's not something that you can get everywhere.

- Zaheera, you dined with your 12 year old son.

- I did.

So I was a little nervous, right.

Because he's 12 and he can eat plain Cheerios and french fries for the rest of his life, right.

His palate is very limited and he's not willing to try anything.

So his original idea of just going, "I'll just have dessert," turned into "Mom , I think I might try this, smoked salmon."

So he actually tried it and hours later he actually said, "Mom, I can still taste that salmon.

I said, "Are you serious?"

I said, "That's great."

He said "It was so good."

- Govinda, what were your thoughts on the entrees?

- The entrees were great, like, again, my friends, we tried to order as much as we can.

But yeah, we also got this duck that like we just ripped apart.

It was like so tender.

It was like beautiful in this like bowl with like great sides.

There's like all these different pieces.

We were not elegant.

Like I was digging in with my hands and I was just like as quickly to the plate, to my mouth as possible.

And it was just so good, so soft, so well cooked.

I was like blown away.

- Brielle, you're there a lot.

But what did you get this time around?

- There was a pork loin that was not just a pork loin.

It was three types of pork.

So there was a pork cheek, there was pork belly and then there was the loin and it was delicious.

Pork cheek is not something that I usually have.

It was so tender and kind of perfect.

- Zaheera, you have some dietary restrictions but the wait staff was really helpful.

- Oh yeah.

Our, you know, dietary needs are, you know, very strict.

So it's either hala or vegetarian.

The staff came over and first question out of their mouth, "Are there any allergies and are there any dietary needs?"

And once I explained that they simply told me what was on the menu that we can stick to.

I think that this is what stood out most for me.

- Govinda, how many people did you go with?

'Cause you went with a group of people.

- Yeah, so I went with two other friends.

But what was great about that is when I was walking into the restaurant, I saw another close friend of mine and his wife.

They were having like their fourth anniversary.

They had just had a kid so they brought their baby out to the restaurant.

So it was really awesome.

They were just finishing their meal just like raving about it, you know, saying get this, that and the other thing.

So we totally did.

The staff was super nice.

They're talking to everybody.

Yeah, we were just like felt at ease.

I usually don't eat that fancy but I didn't feel like I had to be fancy to be there.

- Zaheera did your son enjoy watching all of the action in the kitchen?

- So the one thing that he picked up on was the plating of the food.

It was almost like a painter with their painter's palette.

So it was a whole, you know, counter space where he was creating the dishes right there.

And so he was like zeroed in on creating these dishes for everyone in there.

It was really, it was really a cool thing to see.

- And what did you think of the ambiance of the restaurant?

- So, I agree.

So the ambiance when you walk in, you're like, "Okay, am I supposed to be here?"

It's really upscale feel right?

But when you sit down, they're really interactive and they're meeting all your needs and they're making everyone in there feel like you're supposed to be there.

- They also have a bartender with an excellent sense of humor.

I had a drink called a Benedict Cucumber Batch and then there was another one called a Melonie Griffith.

But he'd spelled like melon, like a cantaloupe.

So they have a lot of play on words but they're also very fresh.

They change seasonally so you'll always get something different and good.

- Zaheera what were your thoughts on the prices?

- I think the prices were fair for what you're getting in the presentation.

I will say that.

Totally Instagrammable experience right and you don't have to pay an astronomical amount of money for these plates.

- Yeah, Christopher Kearse, he is really having fun with the food.

He's making sure that things are as sourced as locally as possible.

He is expressing himself through the seasons.

So that's kind of also what you're investing in.

Brielle, do you think that those prices are on point?

- Absolutely, so the quality of food that you're getting, the nature of the ingredients that they're using and also not for nothing, the quality of the service.

It is a high level of service that you're not gonna get at other restaurants all the time.

So I feel like when I'm spending that much money, I'm really like getting a lot out of it.

- And now desserts.

I know Govinda, you got something that Zaheera you were a little interested in and you know, maybe you can exchange thoughts.

- Yeah, so it was the banana, right?

- Oh, yeah.

Oh my gosh.

So we got both the desserts 'cause my eyes are bigger in my stomach, but we were sharing, so it's all right.

The banana was like outta this world, so good.

Like it was like almost like, not quite Jello but like some sort of like gummy on top of like a cakey thing with just like this sweet like almost caramelly sauce.

I got lost in it as it sounds like.

So, it was so good, though.

That was like definitely the highlight dessert.

The other chocolate dessert was really good too.

It's made with some sort of rum.

So it was just like really, really boozy.

Delicious dessert.

It was awesome.

- Brielle, Forsythia was your pick.

Sum it up for us.

- I think it's like a perfect place to celebrate.

- Zaheera, what's your final thought?

- Perfect place, Instagrammable.

- And Govinda, how about you?

- You can get fancy without being fancy yourself.

- Check out for Forsythia for yourself.

Located at 233 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.

215-644-9395.

They're open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM and brunch from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

Reservations are recommended and the average tab per person without drinks is $80 for dinner and $35 for brunch.

I wanna give a special thanks to my guests, Govinda Vyas, Zaheera Hemphill and Brielle DuBose.

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 are @checkpleasephilly and feel free to tell us about your favorite spots.

Just visit whyy.org/checkplease to find out more.

I'm Kae Lani Palmisano and I will see you next time.

Cheers.

- Cheers.

(glasses clanking) (upbeat music)