Little Vittles

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Published: Jul 22, 2008

In February 2007, 30-year-old Filipino-American blogger Marvin (he keeps his last name and outside-the-blog job secret) founded Burnt Lumpia (burntlumpia.typepad.com), a site chronicling his gradual rediscovery of culture through cuisine. Growing up in a Filipino household, the L.A. native often took his family's cooking for granted, but he's making up for it now with in-kitchen experimentation that marries tradition with playful innovation. (The blog's title refers to lumpia, the ubiquitous deep-fried spring roll.) He's used common Filipino ingredient ube (purple yam) to craft gnocchi, wrapped bananas foster in banana leaves, adobo-fied babyback ribs and infused vodka with the super-tart kalamansi fruit. "I knew if I didn't learn about Filipino food and teach myself how to cook it now, I'd be sorry for it later," says Marvin. "Our grandmothers, mothers and aunties won't be around forever, so it's probably not a bad idea to learn some of their recipes before it's too late." —Drew Lazor

Fresh fruit and veggie season is in full force, but Hiromi Paper's thinking ahead to the times when glistening produce isn't right at our fingertips. The California-based company carries inedible food-based papyrus that's so pretty, it's OK we can't have it for dinner. Crafted in Germany, the paper is made from ultra-thin slices of real produce that are delicately pressed and laid in charming cross-sections. From stunning starfruit mosaics to delish displays of oranges, carrots, lemons, eggplants, green tomatoes, bananas, persimmons and black radishes, the 6.5-by-8-inch sheets (ranging from $9 to $13.60 apiece) are perfect for writing off-season love poetry about the summertime farmers market. Available at hiromipaper.com. —Amy Strauss

It's a good sign when vitroleros are on hand at a Mexican restaurant. The large, ribbed glass jars are designed to hold agua fresca, a drink whose origins date back to pre-Colonial Mexico. The iced concoctions — a blend of water and fruit, in most cases — are typically made in large batches. Xochitl (408 S. Second St., 215-238-7280) offers traditional tamarind and hibiscus aguas frescas, as well as a sweetened rice-based horchata variety. All three flavors are wildly different: The tamarind is pulpy and complex, the hibiscus bears a cranberry-like mingling of sweet and sour and the horchata's grainy milkiness is pricked with cinnamon. They go amazingly well with the spices of chef Dionicio Jimenez's cooking. "They are not too sweet," he says, "and they are easy to make. You can often just blend together fruit and water and have them ready instantly." In other words, they're the perfect drink for a sticky Philadelphia summer. —Claire Bullen

 

Geula Buchnik emigrated from Israel to Philly 13 years ago to pursue her passion for art. But after opening her Café Ole (147 N. Third St., 215-627-2140) in 2000, food became a vital creative outlet. (She's still an artist in the traditional sense, though — check out the café's exterior mural.) One of Ole's tastiest housemade snacks is a sandwich filled with brie, dried cranberries and Granny Smith apples, all piled between two slices of Le Bus raisin pecan bread. Best of all, the $5 treat, which tastes best grilled, is small and neat enough for Old City multitaskers to grasp on the go. —Sierra Tishgart

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