Notes from the Weekend: Jan. 10

The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.

0 comments

Notes from the Weekend: Jan. 10

POSTED: Monday, January 10, 2011, 11:11 PM

Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend

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 atÂ citypaper.net/notes.)

Adam Erace: AE Drew Lazor: DL Laurel Rose Purdy: LRP

Boyfriend and I went on a Friday night dinner date to Pumpkin (1713 South St.), where we were pampered with, I don't know, six courses? We practically tasted our way through their flashy-yet-cozy winter menu. Silky cauliflower veloute poured over pickled cauliflower, lady apples and Indian spice. Roasted skate wing with sunchokes and Meyer lemon. Sweet beets paired with creamy Roaring 40s blue. Washed it all down with a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and then (ahem) Vieux Clocher Cotes du Rhone, which I beg all of you to pick up RIGHT NOW and thank me for the most expensive-tasting non-expensive wine I've found to date. âLRP Though it kinda freaks me out when Grace Tavern (2229 Grays Ferry Ave.) is quiet (what, all of a sudden we're too good for you, Penn kids?!) on a weekend evening, it's also kinda beautiful. Kelly's Burger, lots of Maker's and way too many lots of shots made for an unexpectedly glorious Friday night. âDL We hit up The Dandelion (18th/Sansom) for a drink after Pumpkin, but it was so crowded we couldn't get bar seats, or even standing room. But I'll definitely be back to sit in the dog room and yearn for a robe, a tobacco pipe and a bloodhound to accompany me by the fire. âLRP

Photo | Drew Lazor

- This Week in Gout: I thought it'd be a good idea to pan-fry a grocery store steak in the salty oil from an anchovy tin. It was a good idea! âDL

Photo | Adam Erace

Ultimo Coffee (1900 S. 15th St.) is synonymous with, well, coffee, so who knew owners Aaron and Elizabeth Ultimo were doing sick mulled cider, too? I spied the silver-framed sign by the register, but after I'd ordered a cuppa their Kenya; they were nice enough to cancel the coffee right-quick and pour out some cider instead. Mulled with spices and ginger â "The ginger really cuts the sweetness of the cider," Liz explained â and reheated/frothed on their La Marzocco cappuccino machine, the cider (sourced locally from Kauffman's apple farm) hit the spot on a snow-veiled Saturday. âAE

Photos | Drew Lazor

Went real old-school â like Betty Draper when Don still loved her old-school â on Saturday evening with this caesar salad, for which we whipped up our own croutons (Metropolitan baguette from Pumpkin Market) and dressing. (A few shrimp, too, for good measure.) The dressing required that I coddle a single egg. After cupping it in the crook of my arm and singing Harry Chapin to it for 20 minutes, my girlfriend explained to me that coddling an egg meant just putting it in hot water for a minute so you don't get salmonella. MY BOY WAS JUST LIKE MEEEE âDL

Photos | Adam Erace

Extended family gathering at Percy Street BBQ (900 South St.) Saturday night. (A great place for groups, no?) All nine of us did the all-meats, all-sides Lockhart jawn, plus Percy's killer smoked wings, DL-endorsed turkey tails (!!!) with pulpy cranberry sauce and my fave mac 'n' cheese in town. âAE

Photo | Drew Lazor

Busted out a bottle of City Paper editor in chief Brian Howard's home-brewed Figgy Pudding Chocolate Fig Stout for a bunch of friends on the last-beer-of-the-night tip late Saturday, and every single one of us was thoroughly impressed. I'll admit I was skeptical about fig purÃ©e in a beer, but it came off really well â and all that extra sugar made it hellaciously boozy, too. Figgy Pudding collaborator and CP arts editor Carolyn Huckabay says she made that sweet label on the site myownlabels.com. âDL

Photo | Drew Lazor

Sunday night dinner planning came off a bit like a multiple-choice exam question: A. TACOS B. TACOS C. TACOS D. TACOS You know what they say â when in doubt, pick C. I did and I WAS RIGHT. âDL

Janis

Posted 2011-01-10 19:57:42

I'll vouch for the Fernonbrau Figgy Pudding!

Tweets that mention Notes from the Weekend: Jan. 10 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2011-01-10 20:29:50

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor and Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: New NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND (featuring our new ternie @laurelro!) is LIVE. Share your notes in the comments: http://ow.ly/3Bv9a [...]

carolyn

Posted 2011-01-11 12:52:34

Friday night was a lay-low-and-cry-through-the-finale-of-Six-Feet-Under kinda night, so Domino's was in order. We got vegetables on it though so it was healthy. (Jalapenos, olives and mushrooms count as vegetables right??)

Saturday after a grueling six hours at the office, we rewarded ourselves with The Best Han Dynasty Dinner Ever In The World. Wontons in chili oil, three-cup chicken, dry-pot lamb. The table next to us ordered some kinda hot-pot fish situation and shared with strangers. That's just the kinda place this is.

danya

Posted 2011-01-11 10:22:36

Sunday took advantage of the 20% off on takeout grub for the game at Percy Street BBQ -- a pound of smoky, juicy-yet-crispy brisket (sadface:no burnt ends) and a half pound of falling-off-the-bone ribs, and subsequently jinxed the Eagles by asking if they were going to continue the promotion for the next game, too. That's right, it's all my fault.

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Posted 2011-01-11 13:11:54

I spent the weekend in Montreal with @don_kar and our respective Twitterless mates.  Suffice to say, it's a hella restaurant town with the best overall service in the entire waitron universe.

DNA Restaurant: Horse heart tartare. Tripe and tendon oreganata. Duck raviolo with "all the good parts," including cute little quacker kidneys. One of my standout meals of the year.

Greasy Spoon: Poutine that subs out curd-stuffed profiteroles for fries. Success.

Chez Cora:  Crepes filled with chili and gratineed. 

Au Pied de Cochon: Foie poutine and eponymous dish are worth the hype. Wine list is a paper tiger; they were either out of, or couldn't find, nearly all of our selections. Other items were less successful, especially a lobster drowned in garlic. Who garlicks a lobster?

Schwartz's:  Their "viande fume" sando is good, but not a patch on Cafe Estelle's homemade pastrami. Very very fatty, but the pickles were good, I guess.

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Posted 2011-01-11 13:13:28

Oh how could I leave out Dieu Du Ciel?  Easily the finest little brewpub ever -- friendly staff, warm and cozy vibe, and nachos to accompany the 18 drafts made on-site.  The unseen-in-the-US Rigor Mortis Triple was outstanding.

rachelburgos

Posted 2011-01-11 12:41:25

Friday went to Tres Jalapenos at 8th(?) & Christian, showed up with no reservations and 7 other friends and were seated immediately. Got a gigantic pork quesadilla and shared a few apps and some flan with the group. I had a bottle of wine but friends with tequila said the margarita mixer stunk, and had to doctor it up themselves even after sending it back. 

I don't remember what I did saturday. whoops.

Sunday went to Devils Den for brunch, got a big breakfast with some bacon, potato pancakes, eggs, and a bloody mary. it was pretty MEH.

Tweets that mention Notes from the Weekend: Jan. 10 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2011-01-11 12:03:33

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by CoolSpinster. CoolSpinster said: RT @mealticket: We love Julie. "What's the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow? Tacos!" http://ow.ly/3BSJY Tacos ARE the answer! [...]

Julie

Posted 2011-01-11 11:03:12

Tacos is ALWAYS the answer. What's the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow? Tacos!

Friday I surprised my boyfriend with spicy steak sandwiches to celebrate his newly super employed status. Marinated thinly sliced steak in garlic, lemon, olive oil, and parsley for a few hours and made a chipotle sauce spiked with sriracha. Served on crusty (heh) rolls topped with melted pepperjack cheese and carmelized red onions.

Saturday I had two girlfriends over for our annual post-Christmas make copious amounts of food/get drunk/champagne pillow fight party. I made an olive, caper and artichoke tapenade, a roasted red pepper dip that no matter what I kept adding tasting MEH, chicken walnut and goat cheese wraps, and lemon squares. I'm no baker, but if anyone else has the American's Test Kitchen Cookbook I can vouch for everything baked good in there so far. I get nothing but compliments and kisses.

Sunday was football day, so the boyfriend and I grabbed a case of Natty Bo and the leftovers from my party and headed to our friends' apartment. Ordered the meat special pizza from Fiesta and ate the crap out of this crazy goat cheese that had a line of volcanic ash running through it. We all decided that Ray Lewis must be a fan of this stuff, because of course Ray Lewis would eat volcanoes.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2011-01-11 11:11:07

We all decided that Ray Lewis must be a fan of this stuff, because of course Ray Lewis would eat volcanoes.

YES HE WOULD GO RAVENS OMFG

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 11:11 PM Permalink | Post a comment

0 comments

Comments (0)

First Gigs: Jeff Ziga, Little Baby's Ice Cream
If you don't know Nutella is bad for you and your kids, then you are a total idiot and a bad parent.
An edible guide to Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival
Notes from the Weekend: May 20
Hell's Kitchen casting in Philly
Frozen Drinks Alert: Water ice cocktails at Noir
Spike TV's "Bar Rescue" turns Swanky Bubbles into Sheer
Now Serving: Jerry's Bar
Real Talk: 50 Things They Never Told You About Being a Chef
Night Market Watch

About this blog

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.

Follow team Meal Ticket on Twitter:

@mealticket | @carolinerussock | @adamerace

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January