Splitting the Adam

Introducing CP's new restaurant critic, Adam Erace.

by Drew Lazor

Trey Popp, who started reviewing restaurants for City Paper in 2006, has moved on to become the restaurant critic at Philadelphia magazine. While we'll certainly miss Trey and his devilishly erudite stylings, I'm extremely excited to introduce his replacement: South Philly native Adam Erace, who's spent the last three years wearing the critic's hat at Philadelphia Weekly. We caught up with Erace to ask him a couple quick questions. His byline will begin appearing in City Paper next Thursday, Aug. 5.

City Paper: Our departing critic, Trey Popp, has drawn comparisons to Mark Twain, based on his globe-trotting background. If you had to compare your food writing style to a literary figure, who would it be and why?

Adam Erace: I like to think if Chuck Palahniuk started writing restaurant reviews instead of hilarious, tightly wound dark novels like Fight Club and Choke, they might sound like mine. His use of popular cultural asides, arresting description and unusual similes makes for sentences you want to ingest, not just read. I'm halfway through his latest, Tell-All, in which he describes a character's eyes as "the bright brown of July Fourth sunlight through a tall mug of root beer." I want to drink those pages.

CP: Aside from restaurant reviews, what else will you be contributing to CP?

AE: You can expect to see my digital byline on Meal Ticket (citypaper.net/mealticket), where I'll be rambling about restaurants, trends, news and cooking, including a column featuring recipes based on weekly Top Chef challenges.

CP: Let's say you wake up tomorrow morning and your three long-standing wishes for the Philly restaurant scene were magically granted. What would they be?

AE: 1. There would be somewhere to score real paletas, Mexico's fresh-fruit Popsicles. Considering the city's booming Mexican population, it's preposterous the closest paleteria is in Kennett Square. (If y'all know a closer one, give me a shout.) 2. Greensgrow-like urban farms spread all around the city. 3. Café Estelle would have a second location, situated conveniently in my kitchen.

CP: Which impending Philly openings are you most anticipating and why?

AE: In terms of places that haven't opened yet, I can't wait to see what Stephen Starr does with the Broad Street Diner, and I'm stoked for Fathom Seafood Bar from Mike Stollenwerk. I love what he does at fish and it'll be a boon to have that seafood finesse translated to a casual setting. Two spots that just opened I'm really eager to check out: Adsum for that bonkers menu, and Catahoula, because Southern food is under-represented in Philly and it sounds like somewhere Vampire Jessica might wait tables.

(drew.lazor@citypaper.net)