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Notes from the Weekend: October 17
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: October 17
Notes from the Weekend is a Monday Tuesday (this week!) 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
Drew Lazor: DL
Jessica Leung: JL
Nicole Rossi: NR
I just missed snagging a bottle of Stillwater's veryverylimited Olde Bay Saison during my visit to Baltimore last week. Fortunate for me, Bmore native Erin Wallace, owner of Devil's Den (1148 S. 11th St.), was much quicker to the draw — she generously offered to share hers with me at the DD bar Friday evening. The beer, the most overtly Maryland thing I've ever ingested (maybe they'll brew the next batch with Natty Boh, jumbo lump and the tears of Brooks Robinson?), tasted precisely as advertised, a fizzy, balanced farmhouse with a weird, distinct crab juice finish. Glad to have tried it. Thanks, Erin. —DL
Sidled up to the copper-topped bar at The Farmer's Cabinet (1113 Walnut St.) Friday night to have a go at the new fall cocktail menu. Top tender Phoebe Esmon expertly whipped up an impressive concoction of gin, St. Germain, red peppers and rosemary. Afterward, hopped over to Opa (1311 Sansom St.), where I enjoyed a few dry martinis with old and new friends alike. —NR
Ventured into the 'burbs Friday night for C's birthday dinner with her family at Maggio's (400 N. Second St. Pike, Holland), a popular pizzeria/resto with a gigantic menu, automatic doors and a surprising craft beer list. They had a whole section dedicated to Oktoberfest, so while the rest of the crew dug into creamy, cheesy veal and pasta combos, I scarfed a schnitzel and spaetzle with a side of lentil soup. —AE
Before heading home Friday night, the BF and I made our way to the Cooperage (123 S. Seventh St.) to chill with one of our favorite bartenders, Anthony. Grubbed on some hummus, nachos and beer as we watched a group of animal-noise-making drunks try to down picklebacks without falling over. —JL
Copped breakfast from Milk & Honey Market (4425 Baltimore Ave.) on Saturday. Isn't that a good-looking sandwich? It's their coppa Caprese, with Claudio's meat, Severino pesto and ciabatta with the right ratio of crunch to chew. Later, Massaman curry and such at Bhan Thai (4330 Dearborn Circle, Mt. Laurel, N.J.) in Le Jerz, where their "very special dessert" was a chocolate souffle out of the Escoffier textbook. Strange — but well-done! Came with a nutty homemade pistachio ice cream, too. —AE
Checked out the new weekend lunch menu at Bistrot La Minette (623 S. Sixth St.) Saturday afternoon. Eggs baked in brioche served with a creamy asparagus sauce had us nodding "oui" with every bite. So glad they opened their doors to late-breakfast weekenders. —NR
Needed to fuel up for a spooky schlep up to Spring City's Pennhurst Asylum Saturday night, so M and I (OK, mostly M) put together a very pretty cheese plate and some baked goodies (like these clove-y spice cookies) for our friends coming with. Pennhurst was so incredibly jampacked it looked like the scene from I Am Legend where everyone is freaking out trying to escape New York and then the National Guard blows up the Brooklyn Bridge and everyone dies. At least Will Smith got some alone time in that. I was crammed in line butt to gut with a bunch of chainsmoking teenagers in JNCOs, which still exist (?!). The dungeon we got into was scary; that we left all our snacks in the car was scarier. —DL
I got done work early Saturday and had the apartment to myself for a bit, so I made some mac 'n' cheese — too late to visit Di Bruno Bros. (1730 Chestnut St) by the time I got out, so I settled for a mix of Acme-bought Cabot sharp cheddar and Colby Jack. Later on headed to Percy Street (900 South St.) with a gal pal to sip on my first Wild Onion Pumpkin Ale, which I very much enjoyed. —JL
Not too long ago, someone gave me a quart of peppers that were somehow acquired at or near a notable South Philly sandwich shop from a woman fond of peppering conversation with Asian racial epithets. The logic was that since I am part Asian, me taking possession and subsequently eating the racist peppers would neutralize all hatred. I HAVE YOUR PEPPERS, YOUR WORDS HAVE NO POWER OVER ME. I was feeling real powerful like the 99%. And then I ate one. Holy fuck they were so spicy. I died for 5-7 minutes. The bigotry, it burnsssss. —DL
Saturday night, dined at Talula's Garden (210 W. Washington Square), where the menu showcased plenty of seasonal additions. Sweet seared scallops with caramelized cauliflower, roasted Lancaster chicken and buckwheat crepes and sides of honey-glazed squash and pumpkin seeds all paired so well with guest sommelier-selected glasses of Rioja and Pinot Gris. Dessert welcomed a scrumptious pear tart and almond ice cream we enjoyed with a complex Muscat. —NR
Had the pleasure of judging Square 1682's second annual High Steaks charity cookoff on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Drained a handful of Victorys and somehow managed to hold off on eating before plopping down at the judges' table and eating a bunch of cheesesteak takes. Winners at the block party were host chef Guillermo Tellez's bao bun, which earned top honors from the panel, and Davio's chef David Boyle's signature cheesesteak spring roll, which took the people's choice award. —DL
Sunday is my favorite day of the week, and this one was dedicated to football and fish stock. First, C and I hit up Black and Brew (1523 E. Passyunk Ave.) for coffee (toffee latte for her), Headhouse farmers market (Second and Lombard) for hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, celeriac, a quart of grade B maple syrup and breakfast sandwiches from the newly returned Renaissance Sausage truck cart. Devoured the sweet, spicy sausage-egg-and-cheeses at home, then got to work on the stock. Last week, I bought a whole striped bass from Ippolito's (1300 Dickinson St.); they filleted it and I asked them to save me the scary-looking carcass. I showed the sneering, razor-fanged striper who was boss by sticking him in a pot with other fish scraps, plus carrots, celery, celery root tops, fennel stalks, garlic, bay, lemon, peppercorns, coriander, fennel seed and a whole lot of water and simmered it till the 1 p.m. games ended. As-if-you-care survivor pool update: We had the Bengals and are still alive after a nail-biting victory over the lame Colts. —AE
The BF and I changed it up a bit on Sunday and headed the opposite direction. Straying away from East Passyunk, we made our way to Schlesinger’s (1521 Locust St.) for a couple of sandwiches, split pea soup and potato pancakes. Lunch was great; the servers arguing with each other in front of us was something else. —JL
Picked up some necessary ingredients Sunday afternoon for a turkey, white bean and pumpkin chili I threw together in the new slow cooker I was eager to use. Still having cheese on the brain post-Talula's, I snacked on a few pieces of nutty Robusto while the chili came together. —NR
Mr. Martino's for dinner with the 'rents on Saturday consisted of white bean soup (flavored with rosemary, yum), arugula salad, spinach ravioli with butter/nutmeg sauce, and a strawberry shortcake kinda thing for dessert. Delicious food, great ambience, etc.
Sunday went to one of my fave West Philly bruncheries (OK, the only West Philly bruncherie I can think of) and was pretty disappointed all around -- lame service, cold eggs, no coffee refills, etc. Can't win 'em all. Next time I'll try Marigold Kitchen.— CarolynH- Friday I finally touched down back home from Dallas after a week in the middle of nowhere. Headed straight for South Philly Tap Room for the surprisingly un-gut busting hot roasted short rib sandwich with bell's double cream stout-mushroom gravy. And gravy on the fries because why the hell not. Headed back to the 'hood for Grace Tavern ridiculousness afterward. A perfect welcome home evening.
Saturday was pretty busy, starting with a basic knife skills class at Cook with Tim McGinnis. Cook is a beautiful space, they didn't skimp on the equipment, and have some pretty great stuff in the works for classes. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out more classes there. Saturday evening headed out of the city (a spooky enough proposition as it stands) to Pennhurst, where a group of us huddled together and only one person was able to manage some jerk chicken. Reportedly "bland."
Sunday I raced around the city to the halal butcher on 23rd between Lombard and South, which I highly recommend, to Whole Foods and a quest for sage spanning six locations. Happily spent the evening in the kitchen putting it all together.— LouPerseghin - I tried Monsu in the Italian Market for the first time. It was fantastic — fab flavors, a super authentic-feeling experience and the waitstaff was sweet as heck. It was pretty inexpensive, too. Go! And make sure they bring you bread with mozzarella spread. OMG.— josh.middleton
- I desired a cocktail after fighting the crowds at Whole Foods Friday night so we decided to see how Xochitl is faring since the change. The answer: not well. Has anyone else seen the new menu??? The prices are outrageous, they are selling fried chicken for $30 a half or $58 for the whole bird! The drinks were not good, and neither was the guac or the apathetic bartender.
Saturday lunch of BBQ tofu and sauteed brussels with mustard was a winner, but not enough to sate me for the duration of the haunted asylum experience. Luckily we had a table full of cheese and fruit waiting for us at home post-scares.
Ate leftovers for lunch on Sunday while working and then stopped in Devon for the 1st time in my life. The bloody mary was good and staff was friendly, I will probably go back.— MLF - $58 for fried chicken? That is crazypants.
Friday I was craving tamales so I stopped at El Rey for that and some cheap margaritas. Later that night I roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar-my snacking as an adult has become completely warped.
Saturday we had a wedding in Danbury Connecticut-the food was pretty awesome, the groom and his family are Greek so they had an assortment of hummus and skewered meats and veggies during the cocktail hour. But Sunday morning was killer, we desperately needed to negate our hangovers so before heading home we stopped at a random Greek diner nearby. It was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. I ordered my first egg over easy-I hate eggs and everything about them but recently learned the joys of dipping rye toast into the yolk, so I had that with sausage (super fresh and so juicy) and amazing home fries. The boy had eggs Benedict and corned beef hash. I even got reprimanded by our elderly waitress for not finishing my egg. I loved this place.— JulieC
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