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THE GOOD WORD Vol. 8: Joy Manning of Philadelphia Magazine
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THE GOOD WORD Vol. 8: Joy Manning of Philadelphia Magazine
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with Joy Manning, freelance food writer, Philadelphia Magazine restaurant critic and cookbook author. Joy also writes What I Weigh Today, a blog about how a professional eater fights the scale.
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Like a lot of us food nerds, you're an avid Twitterer. But since you rely on anonymity for your critic gig (see right), are you ever afraid that you'll be IDed if you Tweet that you're on location somewhere?
I am on guard at all times about my anonymity; if I tweet that I am somewhere, you can interpret that to mean I just left. And I never tweet the name of a place I am or might be reviewing, though there are sometimes hints.
As a critic for Philly Mag, you're probably approached all the time by out-of-towners looking for recommendations. Is there a certain facet of the city's dining scene that you find visitors are often surprised by?
I am, in fact, often approached for recommendations. One thing that surprises people, especially New Yorkers who haven't eaten out much here, is the sophistication of our fine dining scene. People think cheesesteaks when they think Philly and are surprised to learn how many excellent high-end options we have. Vetri and Osteria, Amada and Tinto, Lacroix and The Fountain are the antithesis of the cheesesteak stereotype.
Fall's nearly here. What summer-season produce item will you be particularly sad to see go? And what was one of your favorite dishes you tried this summer using the ingredient?
I'm dejected over the lack of good tomatoes this year, but that's not the question, is it? I've been using a lot of slender baby eggplants from my CSA, Red Earth Farm. In addition to my work at Philly Mag, I'm also a recipe developer, and I've been working on a batch of vegetarian grilling recipes for another magazine. I did a grilled bread salad with grilled eggplant and basil vinaigrette. It was so good (if I do say so myself) that I could hardly believe it was not only vegetarian, but vegan. Such is the power of fresh, glossy, meaty, Red Earth Farm eggplant.
If you could have any chef in Philly as your in-home personal chef, who would it be and why?
I have been very lucky to sample food from the city's best chefs, and that makes it really hard for me to choose. My first reaction was to answer Michael Solomonov, because Zahav is hands down my personal favorite restaurant. From the moment I first tasted the hummus, flatbread, and salads served there, I could easily imagine eating nothing else for the rest of my life.� But, on the other hand, Zahav is pretty affordable and I can go there any time I want. You know whose food I can't have any time I want? Shola Olunloyo. Non-food nerds might have no idea who he is, because he doesn't cook in a restaurant, but anyone who has attended one of his "guest chef" events knows where I'm coming from. Shola served a Snake River Farms beef fillet topped with an oxtail gyoza at an event he did at Snackbar in 2007, and I still dream about it. No one knows delicious like Shola.
"Vetri and Osteria, Amada and Tinto, Lacroix and The Fountain are the antithesis of the cheesesteak stereotype" Fortuantely these places share the pride, craft and passion that goes into a classic cheesesteak, hoagie or pork sandwich. They just lack Philadelphia heritage.
Great interview, Joy is a super nice person and a great food writer. Her pick of Shola Olunloyo is also great, this guy is just blowing the doors off whenever he cooks. Wish I could be around for his corn dinner. Hopefully we'll see him back at the guest chef series at Snackbar in the fall.
As a native Philadelphian, I'm always bemused by the declaration, "they're nor from here" - usually in a negative way. Stephen Starr is a native, and he gets slammed because he's 'too-successful'. A little insecurity Philadelphia? Give me my cheesesteaks, my Jose Garces, my Pho, and Stephen Starr. Every week, this city just gets better.
[...] Meal Ticket :: Blog Archive :: THE GOOD WORD Vol. 8: Joy Manning of Philadelphia Magazine :: Philade... mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/08/28/the-good-word-vol-8-joy-manning-of-philadelphia-magazine – view page – cached o • That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Brad Lidge blows save o • That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Fumo wants to pick his — From the page [...]
Yo David, Did you really think my comment had anything to do with "they're not from here?"
Philadelphia has some truly wonderful food, which I am thrilled to eat when visiting, however, the only current Philadelphia resident chef whose food I will make a special trip to Philadelphia for is Shola Olunloyo. If you add the area around Philadelphia, I will add Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa of Ideas in Food. Unfortunately, none of them are cooking regularly in a restaurant. Fortunately, they all cook often enough at special events that they remain somewhat accessible. If I have the time, I will go anywhere they are cooking.
i think shola might be the best chef in philly. this guy is TALENTED!!! a la tiger woods
I ate at Shola's condo in the spring the best pasta dish I have ever eaten! This guy could charge $100 a person and people would pay no questions I second the best chef in philadelphia comment
least important person - Shola does charge that, in fact he charges $150 per person, and people do pay it! http://www.sholaolunloyo.com/events.html
I have had the privelage of tasting Shola's hummus ad I would say it rivals any establishment out there. He is just a Great Human Being too.
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