Notes from the Weekend is a new 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!
FD: Felicia D'Ambrosio
MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
AH: Alexandra Harcharek
DL: Drew Lazor
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
A longer-than-average bike hike from Old City to Kensington called for some mid-trip refreshment: Ate some excellent fish and chips and sipped a $6
Pliny the Elder at
Memphis Taproom (2331 E. Cumberland St.) Friday afternoon. Talked to bartender
Keith about pizza art (more on that soon). High-grav beers are perhaps not the wisest method of hydration when pedaling multiple miles in 85-degree-plus heat but it tasted super-good going down so I can live with that.
DL
Lifted glasses with
Collin Flatt for his 30th birthday party at
Ladder 15 (1528 Sansom St.) Friday evening, where
David Ansill busted out some treats and surprises for his biggest fan (see AH's note below). Then got gluten-free full at
Daniel McLaughlin's big event our favorites were his tender sweet potato gnocchi and almond scone gilded with strawberry-rhubarb compote and agave-sweetened whipped cream.
FD
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| Photo | Alexandra Harcharek |
I was wholly impressed by the food and brew at
Ladder 15. We popped in to help celebrate Collin Flatt's birthday on Friday, and the spread was beyond extraordinary: beef kimchi tacos, oxtail cheesesteak, roasted whole Branzino, steak tartar with quail eggs, bone marrow and chicken liver pate on toasts and more. Now if they'd only bring back the buffalo lollipops.
AH
Spent wayyy too much dough at
Di Bruno's (1730 Chestnut St.) on Friday for at-home Happy Hour preparations. Bought a stinkified aged Taleggio reduced to $9.99 a pound (regularly $15.99) that was too immoderately luxurious to finish. Proper wrapping technique: wax paper then foil. I'm saving its goodness for a risotto rendezvous.
MD
Soho Pizza (218 Market St.) became the love of my life when I discovered that they were open until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. A slice of buffalo chicken pizza was just right to fuel my drunken SEPTA trek back home.
AH
Saturday I checked out the
Piazza's Restaurant Weekend and farmers market. Had lunch with friends at P.Y.T., and by lunch, I mean cheese fries and a Juan Valdez (milkshake with espresso ice cream, Kahlua and Patron). Scarfed down my food before venturing stageside to peep 10 fatties scarf down theirs in
Tommy Up's burger-eating competition. "Tiger Wings and Things" devoured nine burgers, buns and his competition with ease.
MD
The boyfriend's family blazed into Philly on Saturday, and we did what we always do: eat before we eat. Having put away a spread of baba ganouj, hummus and Bulgarian feta from
Bitar's (947 Federal St.), we slowly walked to
Zahav (237 St. James Place) for even more Middle Eastern delights. The Mesibah (party time!) menu is $42 per person and includes salatim, hummus, a variety of small plates, a whole lamb shoulder roasted meltingly tender and your own dessert. Once the adults toddled off the bed, the kids rallied at the
P.O.P.E. (1501 E. Passyunk Ave.)., where our helpful waitress Angie got us into the competitive outdoor-table market, then kicked us back inside at 1 a.m.
FD
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
After
snapping some photos at Amuse, skipped two blocks down to
Reading Terminal Market (12th and Arch streets) for a long-overdue visit. (Shoutout to Nate from
tastebuds and tidbits, who I ran into at
Fair Food Farmstand.) Got a long-time love roast pork with sharp provolone and rabe from
DiNic's and discovered a new fave nosh: the fried shrimp po'boy from
Beck's Cajun Café. The Creole mayo on that thing is ridiculous. I could eat three.
DL
I had intentions of walking Walnut Street's
Rittenhouse Row Festival but I napped too long and only caught the tail end, so I kept it moving down to
Jose Pistola's (263 S. 15th St.) for a sunrise burrito stuffed with eggs and hash browns. Found a good breakfast beer in
Allagash White.
MD
Saturday night, surprise birthday shindig for a buddy, where his girlie made us fried chicken and cupcakes. They also had a bag of
Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans in their candy bowl and I ate 6,000 of them.
DL
After what seems like 500 years, I finally had a free evening and an empty kitchen. Whipped up a quickie dinner with
Al Fresco's jalapeno-infused chicken sausage, sauteed with garlic, kale and onions and scooped into an
Amoroso's roll. Damn good.
AH
Two friends moved up my street this weekend and I thought I'd be awesome and offer my services for breakfast.
Cheese omelettes are a simple crowd pleaser, especially if you can get the flip-in-the-pan trick down.
MD
New rule #864: Sunday brunch at
Café Estelle (444 N. Fourth St.) is not complete unless everyone gets a side of
Marshall Green's homemade scrapple.
FD
Resurrection Ale House (2425 Grays Ferry Ave.) Sunday night for a bite or two. Sipped on a $5
Pliny the Elder (smaller pour than Memphis'!) and watched the Phils' lineup decimate the ball while I decimated balls made of lamb.
DL