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Notes from the Weekend: April 11
Notes from the Weekend is a Monday feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday.
Notes from the Weekend: April 11
Notes from the Weekend is a Monday feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. Consider this a place for good deals, great dishes, wicked cocktails, recipe triumphs (and tragedies), bizarro conversations and more. We're eager to share our notes, but especially excited to read yours.We encourage you to leave notes from YOUR weekend in the comments. Have at it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Adam Erace: AE
Erin Finnerty: EF
Drew Lazor: DL
Adrian Pelliccia: AP
Laurel Rose Purdy: LRP
Friday we copped some good takeout — "fresh shrimp" in a spicy-ish Bombay sauce, and straight-up chana masala — from the new Indian Restaurant (1634 South St.). Am I the only one wholly enamored with the fact that it is called Indian Restaurant? No one else seems to be as totally way into it I am. —DL
Copped Uncle Oogie's (2119 W. Oregon Ave.) takeout early-ish on Friday. That right there is their Old Italian Pizza, lauded as "QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST PIZZA ON THE PLANET" by, uh, Uncle Oogie's. I don't know about all that, but the pie was definitely aces on Friday: square with rounded edges, lots of char, thin as matzoh and just as snappy. On top, plum tomatoes, oven-roasted but still pulpy, mingled with mozzarella, grated Parm, olive oil and basil. Eat this immediately! —AE
Friday was the only day this "weekend" that we did brunch. After a trip to the veterinarian, we dropped into Morning Glory Diner (735 S. 10th St.) for some breakfast and nostalgia — it's been a while since I frequented these brunchy parts of town. Frittata with mushrooms, wild greens, and white cheddar was as solid as it always has been. Grits, yes. Done my way with butter and salt and sugar, yes and yes. —LRP
On Friday, I went to Ethio Cafe (225 S. 45th St.) and enjoyed a massive feast for two for $20 (thanks, Groupon!). Highlights included the pickled beets and cabbage, but I'd say skip over the samosas — the spicy lentil filling was delicious, but the dough was heavy and dry. Later on, I worked on making some Arnold Palmer-esque cocktails with my friends Sarah and Kim before heading to the incomparable Elena's Soul (4912 Baltimore Ave.) for some tunes and boogie. —AP
An anxiety-inducing trip to the Reading Terminal Market (12th and Arch) led to a beautiful supper at home for us on Friday night. We snagged a whole bluefish, a spectrum of burgundy, yellow, peach and orange-red carrots, and some sweet potatoes. Dan has this thing about punching whole fish in the face before he breaks them down, so that happened. I didn't punch the fish, but I did roast the vegetables. The carrots got some rosemary and garlic clove; the sweets needed nothing. We threw some baby bok choy and fiddlehead ferns with garlic and lemon in there for good measure and dinner was just spectacular. —LRP
Popped the weekend off celebrating a friend's birthday at Sugar Mom's (225 Church St.), where I took two or three diet sodas to the head. The crowd here looked cornier than ever. Ooo-wee, what's up with that? —EF
Milk & Honey Market (4425 Baltimore Ave.) has a new house baker, and this caramel banana-bread cake I had on Saturday morning gave me fuel for an afternoon of gardening. I took advantage of the cooperating weather by transplanting dozens of mini plants into my new raised beds. Behind the mess of herbs (anise hyssop, chamomile, pineapple sage and chives among them) are a bunch of heirloom tomato and pepper seedlings. I take the in-vitro fertilization approach, planting extra to hedge my bets. Tomato quintuplets wouldn't be so bad, though. —AE
Ventured into Jersey on Saturday and issued this warning before departure: "We're entering uncharted territory this morning. If I see a Taco Bell, I will have no choice but to stop." The fast-food gods answered my prayers and I spotted one as we passed between Cinnaminson and Delran. The people working were friendly and smiling AND my order was exact. What?! Girls love Taco Bell and I am no exception. —EF
I cherish weekend mornings at the crib — gives me a chance to fux with new coffees (snagged that sack of Blue Bottle Three Africans from AE’s Green Aisle Grocery the other day) and cook fried rice full of stuff taking up space in my refrigerator. I think most people already know this but you gotta rock your fried rice with cold, day-or-more-old arroz, left-over-from-takeout style. Cook your onions and garlic and whatever else down in sesame oil then hit that shiz with soy sauce and fish sauce and BAM you are an honorary Asian person! —DL
Saturday was a long, slow day, full of job applications and paper-writing — what up, end of senior year. After I got home, my roommate and I made sardine sandwiches. He recently upgraded from vegan to pescetarian, so we celebrated by making tasty, toasty sandwiches chock full of tomatoes, dressed greens, and tinned fish. Don't knock it till you've tried it. —AP
In this gluten-free stupor, I don't know why I never really knew that I could eat Corn Chex. Had two bowls on Saturday morning. During my happy breakfast I realized that somewhere in my pantry was a forgotten bag of quinoa. For a pre-work boost, cooked it up nice and al dente and added some kale, criminis, golden raisins and snap peas sauteed in garlic and San J soy. HELLO SUPERFOOD! —LRP
On our way back into town, we stopped over in Northeast Philly so family could peep my man's new whip and for sandwiches from one of the diamond in the Cheltenham rough, Pepinella's Italian Deli (118 Central Ave.). I went with my favorite, the Mama Mia's Veggie, a Sarcone'd incarnation of the classic Italian veggie hoagie that rivals South Philly standards. —EF
Saturday night was FISH TACO NIGHT at mi casa. Friends of Meal Ticket LP, GT and JC came through and we battered and fried up a few pounds of Ippolito's-copped flounder, twisting the little pieces up in calentitas from the one and only Tortilleria y San Roman at Ninth and Montrose. (You GOTTA get their fresh-fried chips and roja/verde salsas, too — remember when AE put you on?) For the batter, I followed a tweaked version of this tried-and-very-true Emeril how-to (don't front!), replacing the WTF-is-that "Rustic Rub" with our own mix of cayenne, chili powder, smoked paprika and cumin. (Half Maille/half Grey Poupon for the mustard, too.) LP and GT made badass baked bananas for dessert and then we started drinking a whole bunch of bourbon and murdered some bottles. OK maybe this weekend morning-after was not as "cherished" as the previous one. —DL
Another library heavy Sunday. I swung by the Fresh Grocer (4001 Walnut St.) to pick up supplies for a good pasta and red sauce. I decided on farfalle, and as far as flavor was concerned, my big theme was "garlicky." Not only does San Marzano have the best package design, but those tomatoes are delicious, which I think is about as win-win as it gets. —AP
Had an ultra-delicious Sunday brunch at Cafe Estelle (444 N. Fourth St.), which has quietly become one of my favorite brunch spots. We hit a sweet spot and were greeted with no wait and a perfect table by the window. I went with the Eggs Moishe — two poached atop hash browns, topped with crème fraiche hollandaise with toast and home fries. So good. And the complimentary coffee to go wins my heart every time. —EF
Spring Garden Market (Fourth and Spring Garden) on Sunday afternoon to get some razor clams (thanks for the tip Sam J.) for a simple dinner out of Jonathan Waxman's new cookbook, Italian, My Way. (Pick up this week’s CP for more on that.) Ended up gazing in wild wonder at the joy that is their candy aisle. Pocky supply = replenished. Also we weren’t able to make it back home without stopping at Philly Flavors (343 S. 13th St.) for my first gelati of the season — blueberry and sour apple, vanilla custard. —DL
Standard Tap (901 N. Second St.) called our names for a late Sunday dinner. Dan ordered a fricassee of the sweetest little bay scallops, sugar snap peas and carrots in a really buttery herb broth. For me, grilled octo (obviously) over picked cauliflower, celery, carrots, snap peas. Snap peas are everywhere this week. We bid adieu with a bowl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. ST hooks it up! They gave us like 12 scoops. —LRP
Threw together my current favorite Sunday dinner — a quick potato, chickpea and onion curry with garlic naan (courtesy of Whole Foods). Basically the exact meal I ate weekend before last. I'm a creature of habit, have you noticed that yet? —EF
Spoiler alert on our Waxman dinner — it was freakishly delicious. Pasta tossed with crab, mint, butter and jalapeno; the aforementioned razors, seared in a very hot pan till they popped, and then quickly drizzled with an easy shallot dressing, chives and breadcrumbs (that were undertoasted — I need to learn patience). The best, though, was the roasted cauliflower — good olive oil, pine nuts, a bit of heavy cream, some parmesan and S&P is all you need. This cookbook is a new fave. It's just no-bullshit recipes that are really tasty and accessible and don’t take 60 years to prep for. —DL
My soon-to-be-in-laws returned from an oh-you-fancy Caribbean cruise on Sunday. Everyone else got T-shirts. I got island-y banana extract, guava jam, spices and this AMAZING hot sauce from Grenada. Fiery, but fruity too, the peach-hued elixir electrified a saute of tiny patty pan squash with fresh mint. —AE
Last thing for now: my girl's guacamole is unbeatable. Ask her how she does it. She won't tell you, but you should just ask anyway. —DL
The name of the indian restaurant reminds me of the greatest bumper sticker ever. I had to ride right up on the arse of this car to read the tiny text, which said simply "bumper sticker".— Sam J- Slow cooked an 8 lbs. lamb shoulder on Sunday for 7 hours rubbed in crush garlic, chiles, and fennel seed pretty yummy stuff.— bje55
- Friday: #TwitterlessPersico Pizza after a weirdly slow shift at Monk's. Meatballs, red sauce, ricotta. I had to stop him adding sausage, too.
Saturday: all-day noshes with the parental Persicos. Mrs. P is good for a spread of hummus, baba, prosciutto, assorted charcuterie, cheeses, bread and way more goodies. This is all BEFORE you have dinner.
Sunday: Hit up Cafe Soho with Solo. We have hit upon the perfect combo of Korean fried chicken wings for four people: 20 spicy, 20 fried-seasoned and 20 soy plus green tea bubble smoothies. There were only 10 left over, which are in the fridge now. Garlic breakfast? yes.— felicia.dambrosio - Downed a late Saturday brunch at Dandelion of simply dandy eggs Benedict accompanied by multiple Strongbow ciders, straight from the can, while the couple next to continually beseeched me to try Adsum's infamous Tastykake sliders.
Can't wait for the 60-piece wing assortment. Four people? Not so sure about that.— danya - That's too funny Sam. Best bumper sticker I ever saw was "Shake your *ss for Jesus."
Friday I attempted my first home made Thai by way of pasty Irish girl food: Red curry with chicken. Coconut milk, red curry paste, a dash of fish sauce, dried chilies, lime juice, and sauteed peppers, onions, and chicken. It was...pleasing enough. I still craved the real stuff afterwards.
Saturday I went to Dock Street-twice. I really didn't feel like moving. Had the pear and gorgonzola salad with a girlfriend for lunch, then went back for dinner with the boyfriend and enjoyed a margarita pizza. Does anyone else get TERRIBLE hangovers from their beer? It affects me more than most others-I had 4 Bubbly Wits throughout the day and was just murdered when I woke up Sunday.
Sunday was hangover day. Made turkey sausage and frozen waffles breakfast and had leftover pizza for dinner.
Also, I went to Dandelion for lunch yesterday-their food is PRETTY. Especially the smoked salmon platter. I had the grilled chicken sandwich with avocado, roasted tomato, and sage mayo and have subsequently decreed that I will forever use raisin nut bread for my sandwiches at home.— JulieC - That's interesting that Dock Street beers tend to hangover-ize you more than others, JulieC! I wonder why that is. — Drew Lazor
- For some reason I never had the grits at green eggs cafe until this weekend. Ohhhhhh man. Scrapple chips and cheddar make it wonderful. Will definitely be ordering them again and again and PROBABLY again.
Laurel- if I had a whole fish i'd punch it in the face too. Just for good measure, ya know?
ps- your veggies look and sound really good— rb215 - It's a routine at Bar Ferdinand. He learned it there. He really wanted me to punch it but I just couldn't. The carrots were so so so slammin rb :) — laurelro
- Celebrated my birthday this weekend at Le Virtu and Little Fish. Honestly, they were two perfect meals. Kicking myself that I haven't tried Le Virtu before. I'm still dreaming of their Angnlotti in brown butter and sage. And the patio out back is gorgeous.
Little Fish tasting menu on Sundays was ridiculous. 5 perfect courses + 5 bottles of wine = true happiness.— youngmarblegiant - Warm weather on Saturday morning prompted a walk to Northern Liberties. Honey's was jammed packed so opted for a bloody mary and eggs benedict (minus ham, plus lox and spinach) at N. 3rd. Their hollandaise sauce (which is pretty much the reason I love eggs bendict -- honestly, if it was socially acceptable, I would subsist on condiments and sauces) had a nice tangy taste and the bloody mart was nice and spicy. That meal kept me going all day until I caved and had a late night hot dog at the Pen and Pencil. I paired it with a Maker's manhattan, because that's the classy thing to do.— molls to the wall
- I hit up fathom for the fries and cod pierogies and some happy hour drinking with the girlfriend. the crab fries were great, but way over-spiced (heavy smoker in the kitchen?). The pierogies were fantastic, I could have eaten a dozen! Fortunately I had a hairy eyeball to wash it down. From there I went down the street to Kraftwork. It was my first visit, and I totally blown away by the great interior design and the stellar beer selection! I will definitely be back to both establishments.
Regarding fish punching - never punch them in the face - cheek meat is the most delictable. You need to gut punch them!
And regarding bumber stickers - my favorite is "support magnetic ribbons".— rascal b. schuylkillian - Rascal, I am right there with you! Never had a bluefish cheek though. — laurelro
- Friday night we ordered in from Los Gallos which was great as usual. Chicken Mole enchiladas, yum! We also experienced the most adorable case of lost delivery guy. Our dude just couldn't find our house and kept calling, eventually stopping at the corner a block or so away. Ryan ran out to get the goods and our delivery guy started apologizing profusely and wouldn't stop despite Ryan's insisting that it was fine. Ryan eventually stopped the apologies in their tracks by giving the guy a hug to let him know all was well. Needless to say, will order again! We love that guy (and the food). Saturday errands turned into some day drinking at the Pope which turned into some night drinking at a party which turned into me in my kitchen at 1am making the odd choice of rice pilaf and broccoli for "dinner". I am an adult. Sunday I made a delicious lasagna and switched out pork sausage for the more virtuous turkey sausage. While I guess it was healthier and still pretty tasty, I think that will be my last attempt at making lasagna less bad for you. My love for pork sausage is too great, sorry turkey.— kibby
- Aw I love that Ryan gave the Los Gallos delivery guy a hug! — Drew Lazor
- wait, did you get the Tortilleria salsa to GO?? I was literally there ON saturday and asked if they sold it and they said no. que pasa? (possibly a miscommunication on my part)
not a lot to report for the weekend except an excellent brunch (as usual) at the Royal Tavern - I was hesitant to get the special, bacon pancakes, as a lot of restaurant pancakes are too big and doughy for me, but these were perfection - bits o' crispy bacon cooked under and sprinkled atop 3 medium sized cakes! awesome!
we also tied an ice cream brand at Whole Foods called Chilly Philly, which I had never heard before but according to facebook has existed since 1999. The company sports a whopping two flavors - Philly Vanilly and a vanilla malt with chocolate chips (not sure of the name). We got the latter and it was quite good! I guess if you do something well, you don't have to expand too far.
— thebizz
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