(cheerful 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!

(cheerful music) (cheerful music ends) 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, attorney Mackie Ermocida wants you to try the authentic Mexican comfort classics at her South Philly pick.

But casino customer service rep, James Martin, knows the BYOB date night spot with the best Italian-tasting menu.

Up first, though, biomed scientist, Rebecca Meyer, wants to turn you onto the totally addictive Tibetan dumplings at her pick.

Experience the flavors of the Himalayas at White Yak in Roxborough.

(screen whooshes) - White yak is Tibetans national animal, which is why we are named White Yak, to honor both our national animal and my roots.

(Treley speaking foreign language) This is Treley Parshintsang, chef and owner at White Yak.

I come from semi-nomadic in a very remote village in Tibet, where I grew up as a yak herder.

To be the only and first Tibetan restaurant in Philadelphia means really a lot.

With great power, comes with a great responsibility.

(sweet music) It's not only about the food, but the whole ambience.

When you're walking, you will feel like you're in Tibet.

(sweet music) My cooking philosophy is rooted to Tibetan culture, where food is seen as medicine, both nourishing your body and mind.

(sweet music) Popular favorites?

Dishes like momo, traditional Tibetan handmade dumpling.

(sweet music) Unfortunately, my mom passed away when I was nine.

(sweet music) I always remember her momo.

Her momo is the best.

(soulful music) Love and support from the community has been truly heartwarming.

(soulful music) Thank you to my amazing team, their dedication and hard work made this possible.

Thank you to my husband, who is always there for me behind the scenes.

And to my kids, your love and patience give me strength.

To any immigrants out there with big dreams, I want to say this from my heart.

If someone who was once a nomad girl, village girl, barely speaking English when arriving USA can do it, you can too.

(soulful music) We serve both delicious and healthy Tibetan food, and I want them to feel that in every bite.

I want them to leave with a big smile and a little bit closer to Tibet.

(soulful music) - Rebecca White Yak is quite a departure from Roxborough with its Tibetan fair, why did you pick it?

- Yeah, I chose it because it really is a lot of unique flavors, some things that I've never encountered before.

I always get to try something new there.

And it's also, it has a lot of common ground with, say, Chinese food and Indian food, and there's something for everybody there, both meat and vegetarian dishes, and just lots and lots of flavor.

- And one of your go-tos are, of course, the momos.

- Indeed.

- Tell us a little bit about those.

- Well, they're great dumplings.

They have a number of different kinds.

Some that are a little bit more savory, some that are more spicy and have different sauces on them.

Some of them I think are comparable to the flavors in soup dumplings.

I, when I visited the restaurant most recently, had the momo khotrak, which are pan-fried and get a little crispy surface on them.

They have this nice, thick dumpling dough around them and this flavorful, it had chicken inside, which had just a little bit of sneaky heat to it, and a nice dip sauce that's a little bit brighter, sweeter.

They're just delicious.

- I loved the momo.

I really could have just sat there with a pile of them, (chuckles) destroyed them all.

- I also actually just got the chicken momo, and they have like little bits of celery like blended into the filling too to give it like an extra little bit of texture.

They were so good.

I actually got an order to go after the meal.

(chuckles) - I had no idea what to expect.

I just, I didn't go in with any kind of preconceived notions of what anything was going to taste like.

So everything was just so flavorful and bold, and the eggplant, I literally just kept going back to.

- You get the eggplant.

It was the first time trying it, and I think I'll get it every time now.

It was like you said, really bold flavor, really garlic-y, but also in a bit of a sweet sauce.

It was just a nice blend of flavors.

One thing I really love is the chicken shatrak, which is I think also served with other meats.

It's lightly sauced, really flavorful.

It's got a lot of bell peppers and onions.

It's just a really tasty standby.

James, how was the barley soup?

- Oh, it was very deep-roasted, garlic-y flavored.

Its texture was almost sort of like a chowder.

Very warm, very comforting.

- We shared the Tibetan curry, which was like a golden yellow curry, which was very tender and tasty and saucy.

And my partner also had the phaktsee with the bacon and the leek and the garlic-y sauce, and he just really loved it.

- I loved the pork rib, and they were like these little, came out like as like little bites, and that, I just, really good.

They had a little hint of heat, but not over the top, for me anyway.

- I had gotten bone-in mutton curry, which, again, very deep, very rich.

The other entree that we had ordered was, and I'm going to absolutely ruin the pronunciation on this as well, I believe it was phaktsee.

Imagine like a Mongolian beef that you would get from like your regular takeout, except if you replace the beef with like tenderly fried bacon and bits of leek.

It was phenomenal.

- Another really traditional thing that they do at White Yak is the butter tea.

Tell us a little bit more about the butter tea, Rebecca.

- Sure.

So my partner has been lucky enough to get to visit the Himalayan region before, and so he's given me some context on this that it's something that's frequently served there, even at home, with yak butter, and it's a way to kind of pack a lot of extra nutrients into a person's day.

It is really, really rich.

It's almost like creamy, as if there was milk in it, but it's butter.

And it's a bit salty, so it's kind of like drinking a really hot broth.

It's very, very nourishing feeling and very rich.

- When I went to go and visit White Yak, it was like a kind of cold and windy day, and I had ordered the butter tea, and within minutes of drinking it, I was sweating.

It was just like instant warmth, instant comfort.

- I thought it was delicious.

I agree with everything everybody is saying, right?

Like very comforting.

- And then, of course, desserts.

How were the desserts, Rebecca?

- Well, we tried the house dessert, which was our first try of that.

It was I think that same barley flour base in a little bit of a patty on the plate and covered with some ice cream and whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

So that base was really the flavorful part that had a bit of a nutty, not too sweet, and very sort of pleasingly firm texture to it, that combined with the ice cream and the whipped cream was just really a nice capping off to the whole meal.

- Barley dessert isn't a thing I get really out in the world and it was just really good, really good.

- James, what did you think of the prices - Between the two of us, I think we wound up spending like 150 bucks, but that's including like two drinks, two entrees and two desserts.

So I would say that's pretty fair.

- I feel that it's very warm and inviting.

It has a feel of almost being in a cottage somewhere with some nice artwork on the walls.

Some of it is sort of classic portraiture of Himalayan scenes.

Some of it is colorful masks, and just really cool things to look at while being in this, you know, very warm and cozy atmosphere.

- Rebecca, White Yak is your pick, sum it up for us.

- It's a neighborhood gem with really bold, delicious flavors and some unique taste every time I go.

- And Mackie, what's your big takeaway?

- My big takeaway is that momos changed my life.

(chuckles) And also, just a totally, totally, like you said, unique experience.

Definitely recommend it.

- And James, what's your final thought?

- It's definitely worth the trip.

It's a little bit out of the way, you know, outside of like, you know, Central Philly, but it's worth it for, you know, a more uncommon cuisine.

- Try out White Yak, located at 6118 Ridge Avenue in Roxborough.

215-483-0764.

Reservations are accepted, and the average tab per person without drinks is $35.

(screen whooshes) Mackie Ermocida heads to this 9th Street Mexican joint for a quick and tasty bite.

For mole, pozole, and some pretty infamous barbacoa, she heads to Casa Mexico in South Philly.

(screen whooshes) (lively music) (Cristina speaking Spanish) (upbeat music) (Cristina speaking Spanish) (Cristina continues speaking Spanish) (upbeat music) (Cristina speaking Spanish) (Cristina continues speaking Spanish) (joyful music) (Cristina speaking Spanish) (Cristina continues speaking Spanish) (Cristina continues speaking Spanish) (joyful music) (Cristina speaking Spanish) (Cristina continues speaking Spanish) (joyful music) - Mackie, Casa Mexico has become an institution in the Italian market, tell us why you picked it.

- Exactly that.

(chuckles) I've been a fan of South Philly barbacoa for a long time, from when they were cooking out of their house, and I'm a huge Cristina Martinez fan as well.

But most importantly, I'm a huge barbacoa fan, and in my opinion, it's the best in the city.

- And so what are some of your go-tos when you go to Casa Mexico?

- Well, without a doubt, the barbacoa.

All tacos, I believe in not really just Taco Tuesday, I really believe in taco every day.

So, for me, it's just a great go-to.

I also love stopping there if I'm just doing shopping in the Italian market and just making a pit stop.

It's just so juicy, and they carve it right there for you in front of you with all the fixings that you want to see, right?

They have raw onion, they have fresh cilantro, and they have just homemade fresh salsas that I am obsessed with, I could drink by the gallon.

I expanded in my usual, just getting a bucket of tacos.

I tried the guac, I tried esquites, and I tried the rice and beans.

And I loved the esquites, it was just like street corn.

This was really special in my opinion.

It was really cheesy, it had like a really good kick to it.

And I just, once again, kept going back to it.

- The fact that they serve it in the corn husk is just so special.

It was like the right amount of spice, the right amount of mayo.

It didn't even need the lime that it came with.

Good to know that it was there, even though it was not necessary.

- We had guacamole, and I think the star of the show there was the chips.

I have never tasted so much corn in tortilla chips before.

They were fantastic and they were so crispy.

- Yeah, I also thought they were salted perfectly.

- Did you find that too?

- Yes.

- Like that's so major for me with a good chip, is like, if it's under salted, it's just like, this is just not hitting right.

And it just, they nailed it.

I thought the guac was really fresh.

I don't know what your experience was, but for me, I thought it was really fresh.

Some onion, tomato in there, cilantro, I thought it was perfect.

- [Rebecca] Yeah, and a nice little hint of lime.

- Yeah.

- And of course, the name of the game here is tacos.

That's a big deal for Casa Mexico.

How about the taco bar with all the fixings.

Did you stop by the fixings bar?

- Oh yes, and made different selections for each one of my tacos, and I really enjoyed, I don't know exactly what it was, but it was like a dark red, kind of resembled a chili crisp almost.

And that just like sank into the chicken that I had in my tacos and made a really nice, just overall, like a marinade almost.

- What kind of tacos did you get?

Because you tried a few different variety.

- Yes, so I ordered chicken tacos as my main overall meal because you get three at a time.

And I also ordered a single vegan taco, a vegan from the barbacoa menu.

And that bucket of tacos you speak of, they could all be the vegan ones, they were fantastic.

It was either squash or maybe sweet potato.

It was described as root vegetables, but I think I saw some collard greens in there.

I think there might have been some cactus.

I kind of took it on faith, whatever was in there, it was delightful.

A strong sense of chili in however they were cooked down, and just a really nice texture.

I couldn't believe how they were.

- Also, you just mentioned cactus, and that was the other thing I liked at the taco bar, they had like fresh, really sliced thin cactus, which you don't see everywhere, and I thought it was awesome.

- James, you had a really unique experience that I feel like can only happen at a place like Casa Mexico.

- I had a run in with a pair of German tourists that were in, apparently it's very difficult to get good Mexican in Germany, and the restaurant happened to be cash or Venmo only.

So rather than forcing these two tourists to have to wrestle with an ATM, I wound up buying them lunch and dining with them.

Shout-out to Philip and Sophie.

(Kae chuckles) They got to experience some authentic Mexican, and so did I.

- Cool.

What did you guys eat?

I had gotten the carnitas tacos.

Normally when I think carnitas, I think of crispy carnitas, but these were a little bit more on the stew side.

Admittedly, they were a little bit more fatty than I was expecting, which at first was a little off putting.

But I think after adding a little bit of a raw white onion, it kind of gave it a little more texture.

- And they do have some drinks, they have some juices, there's some Mexican coke.

But what kind of drinks?

What did you get to drink?

- I got a cafe de olla, I think I'm pronouncing that right.

But it's a traditional Mexican coffee that's brewed in like a clay pot, and it's very like cinnamony.

I got an orange-flavored cafe de olla, which was served in like an orange shaped like clay mug, it was very good.

- And then, desserts.

Did anyone try a dessert?

- I did.

I went for a tres leches, which was also my first time having that there.

And it was spectacular.

It was also huge.

It is a shareable dessert for sure.

James, what did you think of the prices?

- Dirt cheap, especially for launch, which is fantastic.

I think just for me, between an appetizer entree and a drink was like 30 bucks.

Very good.

- Oh yeah, and then you're also a big spender helping out those German tourists.

- And then also helping out the German tourists.

- It had been a really gray, gloom day, and we walked right in, and it was bright and cheerful, and we just had a happy time the entire time we were there.

Also helped along by the really friendly service.

- Oh yeah, yeah.

- So it was a great day lunch.

- This was your pick, sum it up for us.

- I would say casual, delicious meats.

(chuckles) But my takeaway is always get as many tacos as humanly possible.

(chuckles) And James, what's your final thought?

- It's a great place for a quick bite and a flavorful bite.

- And Rebecca, what's the big takeaway?

- A great place to try a variety of great tacos and lots of sauces.

- Check out Casa Mexico for yourself, located at 1134 South 9th Street in South Philly.

267-470-1464.

Reservations are accepted, and the average tab per person is $25.

James Martin adores this classy BYOB Collingswood spot.

For a five-star tasting menu served up southern Italian style, James recommends Nunzio.

(screen whooshes) (casual music) - The restaurant was formally owned by my mentor, Nunzio.

He has such a huge impact on my career, just the classic Italian and French influence that he has taught me, which kind of carries over into the new fresh feel that we're going for now.

(casual music) Our fresh take on it is being very local.

I have a farmer from Vineland that I use, and we incorporate a lot of those fresh ingredients, and so we tend to do like more of a fresh tomato sauce rather than, you know, your cooked down gravy style.

Because I think that this is an area that is full of Italian restaurants on every block, and what I want to do is kind of set myself apart.

(upbeat music) We do all handcrafted pasta, ravioli, agnolotti, and different things like that, bringing in the fresh fish, and we kind of try to keep that coastal feel light, fair, something new to the area.

(upbeat music) I think for me the biggest thing is, is like I think, finally, after many years of, you know, working for other people, I feel like I'm finally getting to that new start, new fresh start in my life.

I'm very appreciative of what I had in the old Nunzio, but I'm just ready to start something new.

I'm getting a lot of feeling now from people that are walking in and they just love the space.

They love the chill vibe.

And I just want people to come in, relax, have some good food, just enjoy themselves.

And if they walk out happy, that's my main goal.

That's kind of why I do this.

(easygoing music) - Before this episode went to air, Nunzio changed their name.

Same location, same chef, just a new name.

(screen whooshes) James, there's a running joke in Collingswood about the amount of Italian restaurants right there on Haddon Ave, so why this particular Italian restaurant?

- There's just constantly rotating specials that change every week.

- And what did you get this last time you went?

- I always get whatever's on special, but this time, we opened with some delicious arancini served with this like carrot puree and almost like a tomato bisque.

It was like an Italian appetizer version of like a grilled cheese and tomato soup.

It was fantastic.

Like just a little bit of crunch, a little bit of cream, perfect.

And then entrees, this incredible like steak with Calabrian chili.

It was like the right amount of spice and like perfectly charred, perfect cook.

- There was a Sunday tasting menu and also a special prime rib tasting menu.

There was the regular menu, and then the specials menu for the week.

And so, you know, we had a lot of shuffling and some literature reading to do, but it was fantastic to have so many choices.

But the nice thing here was that we could all choose our own adventure.

Nobody had to do the same tasting menu as anyone else, so we got to choose a lot of variety.

I started with the burrata, which had a pistachio oil over it and some pistachio nuts, and it had a fig jam under it.

Typically it served with a couple slices of prosciutto too, but they were very accommodating and able to put that on the side for me since I don't eat it.

And I found it really delicious.

It was a nice, big hunk of burrata, but it didn't feel too heavy, and I thought the pistachio oil was, you know, really gave it a super distinct flavor, and the fig added some nice sweetness too.

- I also got the burrata because I've never turned down cheese in my life.

(Kae and James chuckling) Yeah, I thought it was awesome.

And I did get the prosciutto, and it was just perfect, right?

It's creamy, it's salty, it's sweet from the fig jam, it's awesome.

I also have to say, I think the thing that surprised me the most was how much I loved the spinach salad, which had like a warm speck vinegarette.

- Oh.

- Which I was like, I don't know how this is going to be, but it was awesome.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

It was warm speck vinegarette, cranberries, walnuts I think as well, a little bit of cheese.

Awesome.

- And what did you get for your entrees?

- (puffs) What didn't I get?

(all chuckle) Got the pork chop, which I thought was awesome.

That had sweet hot peppers with.

It wasn't humongous, again, I went with people and we shared because, again, that's my move.

But it was really good, really juicy.

Had like a perfect sear, and then you bit into it, it was just so juicy.

And then, we got two kinds of pasta, one was a rigatoni with short rib, the other was, and for me, I'm a pasta lover, the other was this orecchiette with spicy sausage and a little stracciatella mozzarella.

Awesome.

- So, I ordered from the regular menu and had some of the house-made pasta, which I was pretty excited to try.

I had the goat cheese ravioli, which had mushrooms and peas and some, I think, again, infused olive oil because there was some bright green olive oil bits around it.

And I thought this dish was really nicely balanced.

The raviolis were soft and tender.

The goat cheese was really kind of that tart pecan.

And the mushrooms brought it some really pleasant earthiness.

My dining companion went with the tasting menu and he had the casarecce pasta, which had some similar elements to it, but with a different type of pasta.

They were sort of like double-barreled rounds of pasta in a similar sauce, which I'll note here was very, very brothy and not like what I expected.

I really liked that it was a light and, you know, not too cloying sauce.

It was good.

And we also shared some seafood risotto, which was heavily, heavily scented with, you know, delicious seafood broth.

It was a great texture, a very, you know, good bite to it.

And, you know, hefty on the seafood.

- This is absolutely a special occasion place, and you bore witness to how many birthday parties?

- Six.

(Mackie and James laughing) - I went to use the restroom, and it was like a movie.

I faintly heard happy birthday being sung.

(all laughing) - Not to jump ahead, but we got bananas Foster, and the server made, you know, they do a tableside bananas Foster, which I am going to try because you don't see that anywhere anymore.

And I thought it was really cool that the server was, number one, just very helpful in general throughout the meal, but then, you know, comes around and whips around with the pan to do the full bananas Foster experience tableside, and I thought it was awesome.

- We shared the chocolate budino, which is a pudding with some nice vanilla cream and shortbread crunchies on top.

And this was a nice, not too big but shareable portion.

And we had the cinnamon sugar zeppole, which were sort of fried dough bits with a bit of lemon curd.

I didn't taste a ton of cinnamon on these, but these were a nice end to our meal, especially the lemon curd was really pleasant.

- This was your pick James, sum it up for us.

- Definitely my highlight pick for among the many, many Italian spots that you could choose from in Collingswood.

It's definitely worth it to check out what's on rotation.

- And Mackie, what's your big takeaway?

- Definitely try as much pasta as you can.

(chuckles) - And Rebecca, what's your final thought?

- I think it's modern Italian with a lot of caregiving to flavor and balance and some really delicate touches, I thought, and would try again for the variety of menu options.

- Check out Michael's for yourself at 706 Haddon Ave in Collingswood.

856-858-9840.

Reservations are accepted, and the average tab per person without drinks is $60.

(screen whooshes) So on this week's show, we featured White Yak in Roxborough, Casa Mexico in South Philly, and Nunzio in Collingswood.

Special thanks to my guests, Rebecca Meyer, Mackie Ermocida, and James Martin.

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 at @checkpleasephilly.

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

Cheers.

(glasses clacking) (cheerful music) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music ends)