Notes from the Weekend: August 30 31

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Notes from the Weekend: August 30 31

POSTED: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 5:34 PM

Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend

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. Were 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 Anthony Sica: AS

Photo | Drew Lazor

Hey urban foragers! These berries, which grow around the parking lot right behind the 777 S. Broad building, look like something you could eat. But I think someone on here should confirm that they are not super-poisonous first. Is there a botanist in the house? DL Friday: A late lunch of the Tobias (similar to their legendary Schmitter, but it's got fried pepperoni, too) at McNally's Tavern (8634 Germantown Ave.) held me over to the end of the Phillies game. Impressive. AS Ended up at the bar at Adsum (700 S. Fifth St.) Friday evening, where I violated some marrow bones and learned about a new late-night happy hour they're rocking every evening from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. In this window (perfect for y'all industry types), $15 gets you a tasting plate featuring their fried oysters, KFC sweebreads, pierogies and tots (topped with spherical whiskey!). On the booze, they do $3 cans till last call (food till 1). DL

Photo | Adam Erace

Saturday: Ate more bread and pastries than a prego Parisian. Baguettes, buttery, flaky apple and blueberry-cheese croissants from best-in-town Artisan Boulanger (1646 S. 12th St.), plus PA Dutch-y apple cider doughnuts from Milk & Honey (4425 Baltimore Ave.) made for excellent carb-loading at the shore. AE

Photo | Drew Lazor

Salt and pepper squid is one of those dishes I feel comfortable ordering anywhere, whether it's some nameless dive or some soulless palace of white-boy Asian food. And I can safely say that it's always good at Pho Hoa (11th and Washington), and it tastes best washed down with a random beer. DL Saturday: Woke up from a dream about Capogiro's cioccolato scuro to the sound of Lidia Bastianich's voice ( How did the Phillies game turn into this?). L.B. was cooking risotto and got me in the mood. Made her butternut squash risotto with enough left over for some serious arancini this week. AS

Photo | Drew Lazor

I got my usual cherry gelati instead during a visit to John's Water Ice (701 Christian St.) this past weekend, but people keep mentioning their birthday cake ice cream with alarming frequency. Should I get that? DL Après-beach happy hour meant Non de Plums made with local plum and from-the-garden fennel fronds. Muddle the fruit and herb, add one ounce gin I had a bottle of Tanqueray Rangpur handy and half an ounce each Campari and St. Germaine. Fill with seltzer, repeat several times and forget your name. AE Saturday: Hit up Oyster House (1516 Sansom st.) for my second late-night happy hour of the weekend. On Saturdays from 9 to 11 p.m., they do their buck-a-shuck deal (it's also weekdays from 5 to 7), plus $3 beers and $3 oyster shooters. We also ended up getting a Sofia Coppola sparkling wine in a can, which comes with a bendy-straw attached to the side! DL Later into Saturday, hit up my third late-night happy hour of the weekend a brand-new one, just launched at Noble (2025 Sansom St.). Currently running Saturdays from 10 to midnight (with food specials going 10 to 11), the deal entails $3 beers, buck-a-shuck Fanny Bay oysters, $6 vino and my kinda deal right here a free glass of the aforementioned beer or wine when you order the gnocchi parisienne (with house-cured pancetta, sick!) or the Noble burger (always good). DL

Photo | Adam Erace

Sunday: Dinner at the unstoppably charming Chef Vola's (111 S. Albion Place), located in the cellar of an old Atlantic City boarding house. The undercover ristorante's special is an epic butterflied and breaded veal chop done parmigiana-style, best followed by owner Louise Esposito's tall ricotta pie, served warm from the oven buried in sliced strawberries. AE

Photo | Drew Lazor

Brought red watermelon, choco and peach Capogiro gelato over to a Mad Men viewing sesh Sunday night, where we drank Bulleit in clinky rocks glasses and grilled up salmon and Garces Trading Co. lamb merguez (above). The latest episode also featured my main dude Don Draper dropping cocktail knowledge that could very well double as personal mantra. "Make it simple but significant," he tells the ravishing Joan when she asks him what he wants to drink. DL Sunday: I did the leek bread pudding from Ad Hoc at Home. I should cook from this book more often and have no clue why I don't. The pictures, plus Thomas Keller's soothing voice coming through in the recipes, are worth the pick-up alone. Keller has some interesting ideas for condiments and preserves I need to break out the canner for this fall. AS

gourmand jk

Posted 2010-08-31 14:08:19

Interestingly enough, I also hit up SNAP for the first time--got very enthused and made a slew of different cocktails, including SNAP/Iced Tea, and SNAP/bourbon/bitters/orange.  They paired very nicely with the dry rubbed, beer-braised, BBQ'ed baby back ribs we made, though also left my better half cursing dark liquors and me proclaiming "Oh, Snap!"

Other notes: I have come to the conclusion that Stella is by far the tastiest Starr food in the city.  Also, I was delighted to discover a diner breakfast place not far from my house, which I shan't reveal in fears that too many others will flock to its deliciously greasy and cheap platters.  Does anyone else think that brunch is too energy-intensive whilst recovering from a hangover?

Adam Erace

Posted 2010-08-31 14:16:35

I hate cherry water ice, but I love cherry gelati. Weird.

lizzy

Posted 2010-08-31 14:29:53

i went to ellicott city maryland and watched both "when in rome" and "the back up plan" in the same night, thats right, no shame. all while enjoying probably the last burger and corn on the cob of the season.
sunday woke up after a few too many glasses of that cupcake white wine? and went to "the house of india"
for indian buffet!! i also tried SNAP, it's secretly really strong and tasted like a candle! not in love :(

Michelle

Posted 2010-09-01 12:48:13

The salt and pepper squid is good, but what makes it awesome is the accompanying salad.  Fried onions, sliced jalapeno, sliced green scallions and mint.

After Pho Hoa and John's, but before Oyster House and Noble, spent and hour or two at the Sidecar.  I will never stop loving it there and it is without a doubt my favorite neighborhood bar.  Go Sidecar!

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-08-31 20:53:53

Thanks Taylor! I won't eat them now...

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-08-31 20:47:38

We wavered with ordering the lobster roll but if you say it is worth it I will give it a gamble.

poncho

Posted 2010-09-01 12:40:03

It does taste like a candle! I tried SNAP on its own and I really wasn't happy about it, but I would give it another chance in a cocktail.

kibby

Posted 2010-08-31 13:10:04

Friday night, a few of us went overboard at Stogie Joes and ordered basically everything.  And then we ate basically all of it.  Everything was so, so good.  An out of towner who was with us compared the pizza to Ellio's pizza which made us all SO incensed but he recovered by swearing up and down that he loves Ellio's and meant it as a compliment.  

Saturday morning I attempted to recover from the previous evening with copious amounts of Vita Coco.  However, my old friend coconut water quickly turned against me.  As I walked around the neighborhood that afternoon it sloshed around in my bag and eventually all over my phone.  My phone spent the rest of the weekend in a Tupperware container of rice.  :(

Other notable weekend moments include trying SNAP for the first time (very tasty but my heart still belongs to ROOT) and making awesome sweet potato and black bean tacos. I will eat sweet potatoes and black beans together, in basically any form.

Sunday

carolyn

Posted 2010-08-31 13:36:48

On Friday, spent the day as Shoobies in Ocean City/Avalon. Hit up Mack & Manco for a slice of white pizza and a birch beer, and was only moderately skeptical that they've got a big sign in the restaurant proclaiming, NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINK (INCLUDING WATER BOTTLES). Hmm.

Anyway, Friday night we went to The Diving Horse, run by the folks at Pub & Kitchen, for a multi-app-course grubfest. Best bets: Tuna crudo, raw oyster, cheese plate, any of the desserts. Lobster roll was tiny (they should really call it a slider), but still delicious.

Saturday evening was a gluttonously awesome send-off for my friend who's moving to Chicago. Started off at home with Tabasco-brand Bloody Marys and gimlets and champagne; then headed to Oyster House (didn't see Drew there, though we figured out we were there at the same time). For drinks: I ordered the French Fox, but the table favorite was the Oyster House Punch, served in a Mason jar. I somehow decided two lobster rolls in one weekend would be a good idea, so ordered their version ($26). IT IS WORTH IT. Srsly. After dinner we moved to the bar for Drew's aforementioned late-night happy hour (which you can only take advantage of at the bar, FYI) and may or may not have had oyster shooters.

Afterward we grabbed a drink at the Ranstead Room, which is way swanky and fun, with cute, bespectacled waiters. I ordered the Bartender's Choice (you tell them what type of alcohol/sweetness/booziness you like and let them take it from there) with the simple instruction, "St. Germain, please." They brought me a crazy-good concoction of St. Germain, gin, 7-Up and muddled cucumbers/oranges/limes. A-mazing.

We were hung over on Sunday but that did not stop us from brunching at Black & Brew. Thank you, breakfast BLT and iced coffee, for waking me from the dead.

Molly Eichel

Posted 2010-08-31 12:51:54

I always complain that there's no good Thai food in the city but Erawan was totally delicious. I don't remember the name of what I ate but it involved shrimp and glass noodles so I was happy. Also, Sandy's on 24th and Locust has some of my fave homefries ever.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-08-31 20:53:22

Does anyone else think that brunch is too energy-intensive whilst recovering from a hangover?

You're speaking my language. Bring me eggs, I'm too still-drunk to move

Taylor

Posted 2010-08-31 16:38:34

Yes, there is a horticulturist in the house! Berries are very pretty, but don't go eating them unless you're sure what they are. It's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like you've found a species of Viburnum, which are NOT edible. Viburnums have opposite leaves, which the plant in the picture appears to have, while Blueberries (perhaps you've mistaken this shrub for a blueberry) have alternate leaves. These berries are also missing the distinct flared crown of a blueberry. 

This weekend, I didn't eat a single berry. Only bananas and pluots. Also apples, pears and oranges in sangria.

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Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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