|
|
|
Notes from the Weekend: August 13
Notes from the Weekend is a feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. We'd love to hear all about YOUR weekend eating adventures in the comments. Go for it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Notes from the Weekend: August 13
Notes from the Weekend is a feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. We'd love to hear all about YOUR weekend eating adventures in the comments. Go for it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Adam Erace: AE
Caroline Russock: CR
Hannah Chatterlee: HC
A.D. Amorosi: AA
Though I'm a staunch Pho 75 on Adams Avenue supporter, I broke loyalty to try out Best of Philly winner Pho Ha (610 Washington Ave.) The meat (brisket and steak) was served rare and cooked quickly in the boiling hot soup, the greens were fresh and crunchy and the noodles were cooked perfectly, but there were way too many. I had to forfeit after 45 minutes of slurping with what looked like a normal serving portion of noodles still left in the bottom of my bowl. The soup had distinctively different flavor and spice proportions from the Pho 75 version, I got a little more cinnamon and tang. But ultimately, childhood conditioning and nostalgia rule in this smackdown. I'm coming back to you, Pho 75.—HC
Friday night kicked off with a visit from some out of town friends. We headed over to The Cantina (1651 E. Passyunk Ave.) for some crowd pleasing watermelon margaritas, carnitas and vegan beef tacos, and more chips than any self-respecting table should be allowed to consume. —CR
Celebrated some family nuptials on Friday night at the Gibson House in Marlton, where the featured libation including a brew of flavored vodkas, rum, pineapple juice and booze-soaked fruits. I avoided that, but wrecked the home-cooked buffet of bacon-wrapped chicken, mac and cheese, pulled pork on potato buns and green beans.—AE
Hit the sky-high R2L (Two Liberty Place at S. 16th St., 37th floor) for the panoramic vistas and owner/chef Daniel Stern’s new dinner menu. Tender lobster chunks in everything (mac and cheese, butter poached lobster salad with grapefruit, white and green asparagus and avocado). The foie gras spring rolls with duck confit, ginger, soft pecans, carrots and endive mixed gentle nuttiness with foie-fabulousness and the grilled Scottish salmon filet was as smooth as silk. Made certain to have more than a few Loree’s Jones cocktails with Citron and ginger liqueur.—AA
Saturday was an epic adventure of a day spent exploring the Russian offerings out in the Northeast. A late lunch at Stolovaya (9846 Bustleton Ave.), an Uzbek restaurant in an unassuming strip mall was a smorgasbord of smoked fish and cured meats i.e. Russian antipasto, vinegary cabbage salad, manti, plus-sized Uzbek lamb pierogis, and roast duck with dried apricots and grapes served over buckwheat. After lunch we headed to Russian supermarket-wonderland Net Cost Market (11701 Bustleton Ave.) to stock up on babka and way underpriced caviar.—CR
Stopped by Honeygrow (16th and Sansom Sts.) for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Slick set-up in there but this stir-fry was somewhat bland. Had better luck with the salads; I built my own with arugula, pineapple, blue cheese, mint and buttermilk lemon dressing. Grabbed an Insomnia Cookies Cookiewich for dessert, sugar and M&M cookies with mint chip and coffee ice creams. Ridiculous.—AE
Couldn’t wait to try Jane Guo’s return-to-Philly Pan-Asian spot Jane G (1930 Chestnut St.). Chef Michael Chan’s lobster tails spilled out of an icy raw bar and generous bowls of seafood bouillabaisse. The lamb chops in a tiny pool of tamarind sauce was supple and lightly fruity. Jane’s old Broad Street location was represented heartily in garlicky noodle heaven and the turkey edamame with truffle dumpling was divinely subtle.—AA
Made it down the shore for the first time this summer, and finished off a day playing volleyball on the beach and fighting rough waves at Bay Head with some lobster mac and cheese at Shore Fresh Seafood (703 Bridge Ave, Point Pleasant NJ). Although the pasta was a tad overdone, as is so often the case with baked mac and cheese, the cheese sauce was rich, heavy and stuffed with lobster chunks.—HC
Blogger/wife Glamorosi not only made not-too-sweet blackberry soda with berries picked from our garden. We had her Sunday recipe for center cut pork chops with sage and fresh blackberry sauce over yummy Vietnamese sweet potato puree with pink Brandywine heirloom tomatoes and bitter broccoli rabe - the latter featuring garlic grown in our garden, as were the herbs and tomatoes. Dessert was homemade custard with Rainier cherries macerated in kirsch.—AA
A day at the beach is never complete without Hoffman's Ice Cream (800 Richmond Ave, Point Pleasant NJ). I look forward to this cup every year. After waiting in a 30 person line, I got my standby, black raspberry, and tried a friend's favorite, coffee Oreo. Their ice cream is made on the premises, and it's clear that they crushed real Oreos into each batch. Absolutely worth the line, and the hour and half drive for that matter.HC
I've been to The Industry (1401 E. Moyamensing Ave.) loads of times for drinks and snacks but had get there early enough to try out the hangover friendly brunch menu. Accompanied by fellow Meal Ticketer Emily Kovach and London Grill Bar ManagerCristina Tessaro, we did it up with Morning Rickeys and Ghosts of Mary along withsticky buns, burgers, and the Stomachestomy, a wild pile of pancakes interspersed with scrapple, bacon and sausage topped off with a fried egg. A late night kimchi quesadilla and can of Sixpoint Crisp capped off the weekend.—CR
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
