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Notes from the Weekend: October 8
Steaks, beer ice cream and Jersey adventures on this edition of Notes from the Weekend.
Notes from the Weekend: October 8
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
Emily Kovach: EK
I kicked off the weekend up at Pizza Brain for the official unveiling of Hawk Krall's pizza-tacular mural. Courtyard High Lifes were sipped along with a Frankford Taco - you know, a slice of pizza topped off with a scoop of Little Baby's pizza ice cream. A drink at Bob's Happy Hour, a stop in at Space 1026 and then over to Red Lounge which may very well be the best karaoke spot in the city. Shots of Swedish fish-flavored vodka may or may not have happened. —CR
I've written about Boli Buns, a kind of repackaged stromboli from Uncle Oogie's, before , but it had been a while since I'd had them. So a big thanks to cousin of Meal Ticket L.B., who had the good sense to source a tray of Buns for her 30th birthday party on Friday night. Spinach, traditional pepperoni-and-cheese, Buffalo chicken cheesesteak... I ate them all. And cake as well. —AE
Vientiane Cafe, one of the jewels of West Philly’s extremely limited restaurant scene, hosted a group of six friends and myself for dinner on Friday night. They recently took over the old Mariposa Co-op space next door the their restaurant, and expanded to nearly twice their original size. The new addition feels seamless with the older side, and our table was tucked cozily into a private corner. It’s been awhile since I was part of a large dinner party in a restaurant, and it was wonderful: the wine bottles passed around, the multiple conversations zipping across the table, the sharing of appetizers and ogling of impressive entrees. The Thai food at Vientiane has always hit a perfect note of comforting and unpretentious, but still super well executed. Friday night proved no different. I could not suppress my glee when a massive bowl of steaming king soup was set down at my place. Clear rice noodles, thin slices of vegetables, savory aromatics and plump shrimps swam around the spicy coconut broth, and delicate balance of textures and flavors . After dinner, the crew came over to my place for gin cocktails, sassed up with squeezes of lemon and spoonfuls of lavender infused simple syrup. —EK
My Saturday farmer’s market bag was laden with sweet and spicy peppers, tart apples, red potatoes, a loaf of Slowrise sourdough, and a head of cauliflower heavy as a bowling ball. I also bought a small bouquet of flowers from Triple Tree Farms, which may be the best $4.50 you can spend in this city. Lunch was scrambled eggs with blue cheese, toast, and a salad of greens, carrots, roasted sweet peppers and curls of shaved parmesean. I have decided to roast peppers all fall long and see how many things I can work them into. —EK
Saturday afternoon I joined the masses at the Cherry Hill mall where I made the unwise decision to have a cocktail and a snack at Bahama Breeze where the cocktail menu reads "Is it possible to experience an escape to the islands without leaving your hometown?" Possibly, but probably not at Bahama Breeze. —CR
Later in the evening, I biked across town to the Dapper Dog/Little Baby’s/Yards first annual arm wrestling competition, “GRIP UP,” at the Garden Variety courtyard in Northern Liberties. Mid-way through the muscle-popping spectacle, I sampled the event’s signature ice cream flavor, Brown Butter Brawler. What can you possibly say about butter and beer ice cream, other than ‘It was insanely good?” It WAS insanely good. —EK
More cake on Saturday night, this time a thick-frosted pound from Northeast Philly icon Stock's at my aunt and uncle's 35th wedding anniversary soiree at recently Restaurant Impossible-d restaurant, La Stanza. (Too many parties, too little time this month.) Stock's lavished the three tiers it in retro icing, swans and all, which I didn't really notice till halfway through my third piece. —AE
Caroline, our friend Remi, and I ducked into Standard Tap, right across the street. In the quiet upstairs dining room, we snacked on crunchy fried smelts and a slab of mushroom mousse pate before our real dinner arrived. My original order, a bluefish BLT had just been 86’d, so I settled for a softshell crab sandwich which hit the spot - a taste of summer with enough comforting ingredients to feel right on a crisp fall night. Down 2nd street, at Bar Ferdinand, I ordered a glass of Pedro Ximinez “Oxford 1970” sherry, which proved a perfect little digestiv and nightcap all in one. —EK
I have to second Emily on the insanely good scoop of Brown Butter Brawler. Post arm wrestling competition dinner at the Standard Tap reaffirmed that those smelts have been on the menu since day one for a good reason, they're awesome. After dinner I headed up to Alla Spina for a Mintonic, a stomach settling blend of Fernet Menta, lime and tonic followed by beers and even more karaoke at the Adobe Cafe on Passyunk. —CR
Checked out Plenty's new brunch service on Sunday. That's dulce de leche cream cheese capping that gorgeous golden French toast, and it was as awesome as it sounds. —AE
I headed around the corner on Sunday morning to the South Philly Tap Room for a few Founders Breakfast Stouts and a totally ridiculous brunch order made up of donuts, cheesesteak sliders and macaroni and cheese. —CR
Sunday morning was brunch with the in-laws, so we went to the place that feels right for damn near every occasion, Resurrection Ale House. The dining room was relaxed, our service was impeccable, and the food was just great. A new addition to the menu is a sublime dish of fingerling potatoes, roasted and coated in butter and herbs. The omelette with manchego and chorizo was delicious, but I spent most of the brunch eyeing Ryan’s shredded pork and fried egg sandwich. —EK
The Pub, right over the Ben Franklin bridge in Pennsauken, is a magical place that time forgot. Ryan, Caroline and I sat together in the truly massive dining room, giddy about everything. Look at that giant loaf of bread they brought to our table! Look at the salad bar with, like, a million things on it! Look at the taxidermied heads of animals mounted on the walls! And the ginormous plates of food our server is setting down in front of us!! It was the perfect dinner for a lazy, drizzly Sunday: cheap wine, Caesar salad, red meat, and cake with coconut frosting. Pleasantly full and blissed out, our trio cruised back into Philly, vowing to return before the month’s’ end. —EK
There are no words to describe the awesomeness that is The Pub. You can't really beat a Beefeater martini, a monstrous slab of medium rare prime rib and Medieval time machine decor. —CR
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