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Archive: January, 2013
Local artist and self proclaimed carnivore Dominic Episcopo is embarking on a pretty unique photo project: recreating American iconography in meat form for his upcoming coffee table (or should that be butcher block) book, Meat America.
Episcopo is off to a great start with steak silhouettes of Lincoln and Elvis, ribeye in the shape of the great cattle raising state of Texas, an ode to Robert Indiana's iconic Love sculpture in the form of styrofoam packed ground beef and a Gadsen flag that no one will tread on due to the fact that it's made out of sausage.
Episcopo needs a little help to make sure that this meaty manifesto sees the light of day so if you'd like to help out head over to his Kickstarter page and donate to the carnivorous arts. Donating gets you plenty of great perks like signed first editions of Meat America and original art.
And while you're feeling generous, might as well hop over to Lucky Ant and kick in a couple of bucks to Hot Diggity's food truck fund.
"Fast food need not be loaded with calories and fat. Rotisseur demonstrated this on every level."
After a week of cooking at home the South Philly Review's resident restaurant critic, Phyllis Stein-Novack just couldn't take it anymore. She headed up to Rittenhouse eat in/take out spot Rotisseur (102 S. 21st St.) for a take home chicken dinner to share with husband Edward.
Opting for a chicken dinner, fairly priced at $26, PSN and Edward were more than pleased with the evenly roasted, comforting bird, never mind the fact this method of cooking makes for a healthier chicken experience.
Sides came in the form of baby bok choy, six to be exact served with a rich, deep garlic sauce that the helpful clerk allowed PSN to sample beforehand. A mix of pickled cabbage, onions, beets, carrots and okra were slightly sweet yet pungent, totally hitting the mark. Talking trends, PSN noted that both pickled vegetables and beet salads have been all of the rage in the past year (has it really only been a year?) but Rotisseur's beet salad with feta and herbs elicited smiles.
"Casual and moderately-priced places like Rotisseur, where one can either dine in or take out, are popping up throughout the city. Barbecue blazed the trail after burger joints made their deep imprint."
Cornbread shortage aside, Rotisseur won PSN over and she bestowed a venerable three tips of the toque to this neighborhood BYOB, where she and Edward will be returning shortly to sample the selection of bahn mis.
It seems that with every restaurant boom comes a Restaurant Week, and the E. Passyunk corridor is no exception. The neighborhood's first stab at RW is coming up Feb. 24 through Mar. 2, but the full details and menus are rolling out now, which means you'll want to start thinking about reservations if you want in. And of course, there are some great options on the list. Full details can be found here, though some menus won't be available until tomorrow.
One nice thing about this particular restaurant week is that it offers a lot of variety. In addition to lunch and dinner menus, there are 3 different price points ($15, $25, and $35), so even casual, inexpensive spots can get involved and offer deals on terms that make sense to them and their customers. We've selected a few highlights below, but don't forget to check back with the official site to learn more.
Grilled squid steak, black truffle pizza, and oyster supplements, after the jump! »
When Cafe Clave, the Cuban coffee shop at 4205 Locust Street shuttered back in December (under seamy circumstances) neighbors mourned the loss of not only good coffee and stand out Cuban sandwiches but also a neighborhood institution, a building that had been in the same family since the 1960s.
West Philly Local is reporting that neighborhood couple Kate Steenstra and Yasser Aiq are taking over the space and reinventing it into Cafe Renata. Soft opening next week, locals can look forward to coffee and cafe fare with South American and Mediterranean accents.
Well, we can't say that we don't agree with Kate Dries over at BuzzFeed, wraps are pretty much the worst food on Earth. Anyone who has ever forgone the sourdough in favor of a rubbery, orange-hued sun dried tomato filled with soggy chopped vegetables knows that, in the words of Dries: "A wrap is a sad burrito made with a shitty tortilla stuffed with a gross salad."
Dries goes on to illustrate all of the bummer aspects of these so-called sandwich alternatives for the carb-conscious including the inevitable fall-apart factor, the excess tortilla that will surely be left at the end, there isn't anyone out there who makes a really good wrap and sums up her theory with some animated gifs that attest to the fact great sandwiches are freak out worthy and wraps are decidedly not.
Oh, and one last (and very important) disclaimer from Dries: "A wrap should not be confused with its predecessor, the burrito. Burritos are amazing."
Thanks to Meal Ticket's Carly Szkaradnik for unearthing this ahead of the curve, sixteen year-old review of Planet Wrap, a short-lived Rittenhouse wrap joint that affirms the evil nature of the wrap.
Well, it's not exactly weekly but Steve Wildy is back with the second installment of the our new favorite web series (or breathtakingly shot short films, depening on who you ask), The Weekly Wildy. This week Steve is sharing all sorts of exciting haps at Alla Spina (1410 Mt. Vernon St.). The fun starts tomorrow with Tap That, a weekly DJ night/late night happy hour. This week Steve's got Adam Garbinski on the decks with his custom blend of prog jams, soul madness and deep cuts from before the dawn of the nineties. And speaking of the pre-nineities, tomorrow when you hear The Pixies' Dolittle classic Debaser head on over to the bar, mention it to the barkeep and you'll get a free can of Brooklyn. Cool deal, right?
On Monday Alla Spina, Industry Night's new location, is hosting Lucio Palazzo and the La Calaca Feliz crew for a Mexi-talian fiesta. No menu yet but we're thinking tacos, tequila and Alla Spina's traditional Italian Choco Tacos. As always, a FOH/BOH pay stub gets you in on the free buffet and the drinks are cheap and plentiful.
The last order of business on this week's episode is a series of weekly beer classes happening on Tuesdays. Each week Steve is going be pouring flights of beer and basically chastising eager beer students for not knowing the difference between brettanomyces spiked sours from a Biere de Garde and threatening them with violence. Looks like a great time.
Today’s Afternoon Snacks has a V-Day gift with Philly spirit, Shiprock pop-up wrap-ups, and some icky new findings from the CDC about food safety.
But to avoid leading off with talk of norovirus and E. coli, let’s talk about something decidedly not-gross: Amongst the many PA-specific Valentine-appropriate gifts available at the PA General Store (Reading Terminal Market) is this Valentine’s Day Philly Tower of Treats ($47), which includes a selection of Asher's Chocolates, Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets, Tastykake Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes, Tastykake Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes, Melrose Diner butter cookies, and Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, all wrapped up for the holiday. Sorry, let us repeat that: professionally gift-wrapped TastyKakes, people.
After the break, the moral of the story seems to be not to eat anything too healthy. »
Eater's telling us that the ridiculously named and quick to shutter YOLO coffee shop at the corner of 12th and Spruce is reopening tomorrow and the folks who own EPX breakfast spot Chhaya are consulting. The new concept is going to be called Toast, may another Drake reference. Nah, probably not.
The Insider's always got his finger on the pulse of Philly restaurant happenings. Today he's saying that February 4th is the opening date for a sit down cafe connected to Rittenhouse's Metropolitan Bakery. The expanded space will be serving light lunch options like pizzas, sandwiches and house-cured charcuterie and pickles. Coffee will be coming from Point Breeze roastery Green Street.
And in breaking burger news we've got not one but two locations of totally worth the wait Shake Shack coming our way, one in University City and another in the King of Prussia Mall complex.
And in less cheery news Old City's Craft & Claw has closed up shop after a mere three plus months. Foobooz is speculating that C&C just could shake the stigma of it's days as douche-o-rama club Mad River.
Take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and head on up to NoLibs Cantina Dos Segundos' (931 N. 2nd St.) fourth anniversary bash. In honor of four years of chips, margs, and good times the folks at Dos are offering up margaritas, tequila shots and a selection of snacks for the muy barato price of $4.44. With cheap drinks and plenty of small plates to go around, we're thinking this all day fiesta is going to be a rager with a soundtrack provided by some pretty sweet DJs. For more info check out Dos's event page.
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