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Notes from the Weekend: Jan. 31
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Notes from the Weekend: Jan. 31
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
Adam Erace: AE Erin Finnerty: EF Drew Lazor: DL Adrian Pelliccia: AP Laurel Rose Purdy: LRP
Friday: After being trapped on a sardine-packed trolley for almost an hour, I arrived at Dock Street (701 S. 50th St.) to sample the firkin of the month, called "Prisoner of Hell." After getting the deets on the demonically delicious ale (check back here on Meal Ticket for more), I was joined by a friend who was in the mood for Royal Bohemian Pilsner and flammenkuche (absurdly yummy, as per usual). I wondered if the only way to perfect this meal would be with the addition of fries and mayo. It was. âAP |
| Photo | Laurel Rose Purdy |
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
Come on, son! That "pet cemetary" chili (the creators shown wearing the black t-shirts and a chili-induced scowl) was sick with those duck fat fried wild boar meatballs! The chili cook-off was loads of fun, although I imagine a large cohort of beer swilling, chili consumers might have finished the weekend with some distressed innards.
I'll give it a shot. I've always gone to pho xe lua for that.
Friday - homemade burger with grass-fed Hendricks beef and super-stinky Monje, a Spanish blue cheese. Saturday - breakfasted on Pequea Valley Farm lemon yogurt (aka crack) mixed with homemade curry granola from the Alinea cookbook. Later on, my wife and I had dinner at Bibou with my parents. I had the mushroom & duck heart fricasee, which was ridiculous, followed by Scottish partridge and goat milk creme brulee. For wines we started with 2007 Andres Bonhomme Cremant de Bourgogne, followed up with 2008 Domaine Fabrice Gasnier Chinon Cuvee Fabrice (both from Moore Bros). Charlotte, Pierre and Ricardo were their usual charming selves and made us feel very welcome. Love this place. Sunday - brunched at Resurrection Ale House, had the burger and a Blaugies D'Arbyste, a really nice farmhouse ale, followed by an Ommegang BPA. Great mix of tunes on. My wife got the huevos rancheros. I don't get why this place isn't busier at brunch, but I'm glad we can always get a table!
Ate pretty well this weekend. Friday night, hit Butcher & Singer with the GPs. They appreciated the throwback atmosphere, and I appreciated my Delmonico and the excellent service. Saturday, had brunch/lunch at the Cantina on E. Passyunk--always reliable, unlike their other meals can be. Didn't get to eat again before hitting a concert in Wilmington (BRING IT). Afterward, checked out the new bar in the old Raw Dogs space in Pennsport--still a work in progress, but coming along very nicely. This will fill a void in the neighborhood. But the former Raw Dogs is only serving chili and hot dogs at the moment (no thanks) so on my way home I finally had an opportunity to check out the new tacqueria at 8th & Jackson (can't remember the name), which is dangerously open until 1am every night. The counter lady recommended the lengua tacos and WOW they were good. I also had their huitlacoche quesadilla (done Mexican style) which was also really delicious. Their red and green salsa was also well above average with real heat and great flavor. It was 1 am, and I was a little buzzed, but I believe we have a may have a rival for Los Gallos in deep South Philly. I was so enamored by the new tacqueria that I wanted to go back the next morning, but thought better of it. Nibbled at home until ordering delivery Chinese from my standby, Peking Wall. The spare ribs here can go toe-to-toe with any ribs in the city, not just Chinese take out. Not kidding about this: they are a little on the sweet side, but are cooked perfectly and have an awesome char. At $10 for the large order, which is probably more than a whole rack, is an unbelievable value. Since it's Tuesday, I will rep my Monday eats, which included killer mushroom barley soup and a bureka from Mama's Vegetarian (more than just falafel, folks) followed by pretty great red snapper fish and chips from Watkins Drinkery for dinner. Great happy hour there, btw--half off all drafts. BOOM.
I know that Jeremy is probably just announcing the cook-off in that picture, but I prefer to imagine him singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I wish I could have gone, but I was forced to go to a bridal expo at Knowlton Mansion. At least they had free appetizers. I was also at Dock Street on Friday! Me and my guy split the calamari, and then he had the rye beer paired with the flammenkuche, while I had the margarita pizza with grilled chicken and a couple of man out of trouble porters. It was packed that night.
*HALF ROASTED "BRICK" CHICKEN from Bell & Evans, PA - Irish drop biscuit, Green beans w/ grain mustard pan sauce Cooked under a 14lb Brick heated at °500 - @chefjonnymac outdid himself, F'N PHENOMENAL! stay beautiful @pubandkitchen
Ryllis, Koo Zee Doo is the truth. I learned how to butcher a rabbit in their basement prep kitchen and then had one of the dopest meals of life to date.
ME, I love octopus in any and all forms - you would probably love Barbuzzo's. Have you had Noah's Mill at Coop? Stick one ice cube in it and it is golden. Bourbon heaven. Any of the artisan scotches? I opened that joint!
Do you work for Pub and Kitchen? Your comment sounds like a press release
FRIDAY: Celebrated my buddy's birthday at gorge-tastic Marrakesh with nine of our closest friends. I think we each drank a bottle of wine and an entire chicken. But seriously, that meal is the TRUTH -- and seven courses at $31 a person really isn't so bad considering you don't have to eat again for a day and they let you pocket the uneaten whole fruits. SATURDAY-SUNDAY: Trekked down to Fredericksburg, Va., for a weekend mini-college-reunion-eating-fest situation. Most interesting meals: Kybecca, a wine bar/restaurant where you can buy a card, go up to a little machine and get yourself 2 oz. tastings of all kinds of wine for pretty cheap. Neat! and also FOODE, which, despite its kinda irksome name, sells really delicious farm-to-table treats like $4 fennel sausage and biscuits. $4! I've never seen such locavore-y food for so cheap. SUNDAY NIGHT: After a long-ass bus ride we ordered Circles Thai for dinner and got our standard pad see ew/spicy green curry/tom ka gai soup combo. Everything was absolutely delicious, although I find it weird that the tofu in the tom ka was fried and there are like 23049823098 onion slices in it. Still good, though.
Overcame stir craziness with a marginally good dinner at The Little Treehouse on Friday. Had the best duck and worst lobster I've ever had at Blackfish on Saturday. Ate and drank my face off at SPTR's Beef and Beer on Sunday. A few pounds heavier this week, but totally worth it.
Pho 75 is my favorite when it comes to pho alone, but Pho Hoa is my favorite as a Vietnamese restaurant featuring lots of options.
Nice one Drew, We worked pretty hard on contrast of flavor and color... but were worried how that would make chili purists feel. The meat balls probably would have presented better in something larger than a shot glass as well. It was a ton of fun, see you next time :) One more thing- you really like Pho Hoa better than Pho75? Say it ain't so!
I don't usually post, but I think I had a ton of great treats this weekend. Almost made me forget about the cold....not: Friday: Got treated by a friend (which was awesome!) to Koo Zee Doo in No Libs. Ate the heartiest winter salad I've had all season; Salada de Cores. Some winter veggies in a red wine & coriander vinaigrette. I'm still slapping my lips together. We also shared Moles, or chicken gizzards, which were pretty tender and subtle. Lastly, we tried their Friday Special; Fricasse de Polvo, a wonderfully tender octopus gravy over deliciously creamy mashed potatoes. All this was great with my BYO cocktail of Bacardi 8 Rum mixed with Koo Zee Doo's specialty passion fruit soda. Yum! Saturday: Hit up brunch at El Camino Real in No Libs with the beau (who always thinks it's called Cadillac). I tried the pulled pork sammie, and he went for the Machaca, a flank steak jerky burrito. The pork was on point; sweet, spicy and gooey(!!), but not a fan of the flank steak. Too jerky for me. Crisp, salty fries and Strawberry juice Mimosa were great accessories to my dish. Saturday night, had friends over who ordered Ekta. I ate some of my homemade pasta, and threw some Buttered Chicken Sauce from Ekta over it. I recommend everyone try Ekta's wonderful sauces over pasta (and not just rice) Woo! Sunday: Brunch again. Made it to Fork in Old City, re: Drew's recommendation. Beau got a very sophisticated and light leek, crab and gruyere omelet, and I went full force for the local spinach risotto; a beautiful blend of pureed spinach, cremini mushrooms and pea shoots. Now it's back to work, back to the cold, and back to the basics...
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: New NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Check it and leave your notes in the comments! http://ow.ly/3NEP8 [...]
I read this column all the time so I'll join in too... - friday night went to the Khyber, which I have decided is a great pre-Ritz spot but better for appetizers (popcorn) than main courses, sandwiches etc. BF had a special bean and pulled pork soup, which I suspect might have been a practice round for the chili cookoff because it was really more chili than soup. - saturday went to the open house of the wonderful Bikery/South Philly Neighborhood Bike Works chapter, where they had really awesome vegan and non-vegan cookies from nearby Cookie Confidential. Late night eats at the Royal Tavern yielded delicious potato, poblano and corn soup. Nice zing to it, hearty and just the right thing for a cold night. - sunday ordered someone else to make buttermilk pancakes for me to great effect. Later went to Fish's small plates sunday dinner, which was excellent - bicoastal oysters on the half shell with 2 different mignonettes, charred octopus with melt-in-your-mouth lamb stew were highlights, as was the pear cobbler with very rum-y rum raisin ice cream.
Hit up Tiffin for lunch on Friday and shared some baingan bharta, chana masala and chicken vindaloo. I never had baingan bharta (smoked eggplant sautéed with tomatoes, onions and spices) but will now be making that part of my regular order. Checked out Zento for a friend's birthday -- the square Zento rolls (I went with the salmon version) were awesome but I'll eat anything if you put plum sauce on it. Went to Cooperage where I try to find the cheapest whiskey with the best name -- so I went with Four Roses Yellow Label, which was awesome for $8. Drank a lot of that. A lot. Laurel -- That octopus is so good. I usually don't dig the 'pus but really enjoyed Adsum's.
The Momofuku Cookbook is swiftly becoming The Greatest Book to Cook From in the boyfriend's house. Saturday we had pork belly and soft-cooked eggs over rice with ginger scallion sauce. Sunday we made ginger scallion noodles (yeah, ODing on the stuff and it's great) and chicken wings tossed in David Chang's octopus vinaigrette (killer sauce - recipes here: http://almostbourdain.blogspot.com/2010/01/momofuku-fried-chicken-with-octo.html). Of course, everything was sourced from Hung Vuong.
Drew, next time you order from Veracruzana you have to get rice and beans too. The best. Their tacos al pastor are also good, but vary in terms of greasiness.
Friday: late bites at Royal Tavern. Did you know you can substitute their (admittedly excellent) fries out for tots with no upcharge? Splitting a burger and sweet potato banh mi lightened the meat-load. Saturday: Hit up Pho 75 for late breakfast with the boys. Did you know you can ask for "meat on top" and dunk it as you are ready? Learn something new every time I go there. Dinner was eaten hunkered over the dish station at Monk's -- seitan cheesesteak -- once the wait finally died down at 11:30pm. A passel of kilted and sporran'd fellows reeling around after a wedding completed the dinner-and-a-show. Sunday: didn't wake up until 2pm, so I had to hurriedly shove a powerbar and yogurt into my maw before going to the gym with my much-fitter sister. We picked up the makings of a healthy meal (tri-tip roast, prosciutto-wrapped melon, couscous medley, raw vegetable salad) at Trader Joe's, but I supplemented that virtuous dinner with Erin O'Shea's addictive jalapeno-cheddar cornbread, mac and cheese, a new baby back rib and some banana pudding at Percy Street later for the Iron Chef viewing party. No regrets.
Hey Kristen, oh don't worry, we got those too! See them in the back there?
Matt C, I've updated the post with the names of the winners...Pet Cemetery did pretty well on my scorecard from what I remember.
well, we did restrain ourselves somewhat on the small plates, but probably made up for it with oysters and 2 desserts - but still go out at about $50 a person w drinks, desserts, and tip. I regret not getting the mussels mentioned in the NY Times review, so might have to head back. It looks like they have happy hour and some nice looking cocktails so that is another bargain option... (or not so bargain for the reasons you mention).
Bizz, thanks for sharing, welcome to the fray! I can't wait to peep the small plate deal at Fish. I'm curious, did you end up spending less b/c it's small plates or did it equate to a regular dinner there b/c you ordered a bunch? I'm thinking I'm going to fall into the latter camp.
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