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WHAT WE CHEW IS SECRET: More Chefs' Guilty Pleasures
Locked away in hot-box kitchens, chefs work surrounded by enviable amounts of� food. Berkshire pork belly, torchon of foie gras and delicately tourneed organic vegetables are their stock and trade, and they all nosh on ends of tuna loins and the odd scrap of braised lamb shank while creating the plates that delight diners. It�s a sweet perk, almost making up for the aggravating servers demanding sauce on the side on behalf of their discerning� tables.
WHAT WE CHEW IS SECRET: More Chefs' Guilty Pleasures
Locked away in hot-box kitchens, chefs work surrounded by enviable amounts of� food. Berkshire pork belly, torchon of foie gras and delicately tourneed organic vegetables are their stock and trade, and they all nosh on ends of tuna loins and the odd scrap of braised lamb shank while creating the plates that delight diners. It�s a sweet perk, almost making up for the aggravating servers demanding sauce on the side on behalf of their discerning� tables.
No matter what type of cuisine or how haute the raw materials, there are days when you just can�t eat the stuff anymore. Pizzas are delivered to the kitchen doors of four-star restaurants; takeout sushi is smuggled into the reach-in fridge. The chefs of Philadelphia shared some more of their secrets with Meal Ticket after we outed them in this week�s Top 5: Chef�s Guilty Pleasures, which features Supper's Mitch Prensky, Marigold Kitchen's Erin O'Shea, Cochon's Gene Giuffi, Root's Christopher Hora and Snackbar's Joshua Homacki.
Some additional toques gave us bonus content, revealing the things they love that you won�t ever, ever find on their menus after the jump. No shame here � just share that Frito Pie.
- Mitch Prensky (Supper, 926 South St., 215-592-8180)
Chef/co-owner of South Street�s cozy boite Supper, Prensky divulged a list of guilty favorites that he termed �a cathartic food therapy session.� The uber-processed ingredients in a few of these are the diametric opposite of the clean flavors and sparkling local produce he favors at his restaurant. "I hope I haven't embarrassed myself," says Prensky. "Oh well. No matter."
A plain bagel (untoasted) with cream cheese and crushed bbq potato chips (Wise brand only) sandwiched inside (the
more potato chips you can fit inside the better).Hot pastrami and chopped liver on rye with sliced pickles, onion and chicken schmaltz spread on the bread (this is only guilty if you care about your cholesterol level).
Fritos Pie (sorta like nachos). What you do is place a bag of Fritos on a plate and open them down the middle and open the bag like a pouch. Top with chili, Cheez Wiz (which should have its own guilty pleasure category!) and sour cream. Heat in the microwave and eat with a spoon.
Peanut butter, banana and marshmallow fluff sandwiches on Wonder Bread.
- Subhash Sarpal (Palace at the Ben, 834 Chestnut St., 267-232-5600)
Chef Sarpal of PatB plays his guilty pleasures pretty close to the vest. For a guy who indulges his guests in the cream, ghee and perfumed spices of Indian fare, his own edible vice of choice is simple. �Chinese takeout� was his pithy, evocative answer.
- Valerie Erwin (Geechee Girl Rice Caf�, 6825 Germantown Ave., 215-843-8113)
At Mount Airy�s Geechee Girl, Erwin builds upon the traditional rice dishes of the American South with Chinese, Thai and other world influences. She confesses to two food weaknesses � McDonald�s french fries and any kind of ice cream.
I really don't eat most fast food � I�haven't had a hamburger at McDonald's in 35 years. I do, however, love McDonald's french fries and will sometimes make a special trip to get them. My other "guilty pleasure" is ice cream, especially those custardy, rich premium brands like Haagan-Dazs. This, despite an egg allergy and sinus problems that would indicate avoiding dairy products. My sister, with whom I live, says that when we first got our house, she experimented with buying different flavors of ice cream, trying to find one that I didn't like and therefore wouldn�t finish before she got home. She hit pay dirt with coffee ice cream. I didn't like coffee and left the ice cream alone. But eventually my ice cream addiction got the best of me and I learned � much to my sister�s consternation � to like coffee ice cream. And, you guessed it, I finished it before she got home. These days I like coffee ice cream and I even love drinking coffee
- Ian Moroney (Pumpkin, 1713 South St.,� 215-545-4448)
Chef and co-owner of Pumpkin on South Street, Moroney wins for the most prosaic guilty pleasure that also manages to be the most shocking. When pressed for his favorite food weird food indulgence, this is what he hit us with. "Soggy cereal � Captain Crunch. I just like it! I've loved it since I was a kid. I might as well say I like to eat feces, 'cause the reaction I gaet is similar."
- Peter Karapanagiotis (Priv�, 246 Market St., 215-923-8313)
Though he�s put in time at Brasserie Perrier before taking over new small-plates spot Priv�, Karapanagiotis� guilty pleasure is about as unpretentious as it gets. �Corndogs and tater tots,� the chef says, laughing. �They�re amazing. We go to North Bowl and get corndogs and tater tots.�
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