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Archive: August, 2012
From creative cocktails and well curated wines to wood fired wonderfulness, Vernick (2031 Walnut St.) has been setting the bar high since opening in April. Now Greg Vernick and bar manager Vincent Stipo are working on an aspect of service so often neglected: non-alcholic cocktails.
Diners choosing to forgo cocktails and wine are not to often met with anything beyond soda, iced tea or sparkling or still water, none of which are all that thrilling or particularly food friendly.
Vernick and Stipo are elevating NA drinks scene with house-made sodas and cocktails using in season fruits and herbs. On offer at the moment are a raspberry basil mocktail rimmed with basil salt, a cucumber smash with lemon and mint, and a punch made with fresh juices and grenadine, made in house, of course.
Philadelphia is proving itself again and again as one of the country's best food towns. We at Meal Ticket already knew this, of course, but it's nice to get some national coverage once in a while! Yesterday's article in Saveur magazine highlighted six Philly-centric foods that you can't find anywhere else. If you are in town for a brief visit, moving away soon, or just love foodventures like us, taste something from this list ASAP.
Notes from the Weekend is a feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. We'd love to hear all about YOUR weekend eating adventures in the comments. Go for it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Adam Erace: AE
Caroline Russock: CR
Vegan tasting menus, ice cream, pulled pork cruises coming up! »
Contrary to the reigning stereotype, not all residents of West Philadelphia conform to vegan or vegetarian diets. In fact, soon after Mariposa Co-op (4824 Baltimore Ave.,) completed their expansion project in March, there was a significant increase in requests for a wider selection of meat and cheeses from members and customers. This demand continued to grow, enough so that they’ve recently hired Alex Malamy (veteran of DiBruno Bros., Garces Trading Company, and New York's Murray’s Cheese Shop) as the dedicated Meat and Cheese Buyer. This is a big move for the co-op, whose members underwent a spirited debate about whether their new store should carry any meat at all. It’s a culinary step up for West Philly, too, where quality sources for meat are few and far between.
Thanks to Malamy, Mariposa’s meat and cheese cases that once held an uninspired selection of cheddar, hot dogs and sliced turkey, are now brimming with choices sure to please conscientious omnivores. Heritage bred pork chops from Stryker Farm share shelf space with free range chickens, Piedmontese beef, imported salami, artisanal sausages, and a stand-up variety of lunch meats. The cheeses next door range from the usual suspects, like provolone, mozzarella, and Swiss, to sophisticated cheese plate fare: Old Chatham camembert, Misty Creek goat cheddar, Kirchenberg Farm chévre, and Artequeso manchego. Standards are awesomely high at Mariposa, and the products are priced accordingly, but Malamy promises to source nothing but organic, free range, pasture fed, nitrate free, and local-when-possible stuffs.
Just a friendly reminder that tonight local art teacher-Pub and Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.) server Deva Watson is hosting a Bring Your Own Vinyl fundraiser tonght. She's looking to enough dough so that her charter school kids can have the classroom and supplies they need to get their creative juices flowing.
The party starts at 9 p.m. with $3 pints of Sixpoint and $5 shots of Heaven Hill with all proceeds headed towards decking out Watson's classroom for the good of the kids. And don't forget, not only are the drinks cheap and the cause noble, but it's a BYOV evening so break out the best of your coolest picture discs and rarest wax a play DJ tonight.
Of course, if you can't make it out to Pub and Kitchen, you can always head over to IndieGogo and donate to Deva's project.
Best of Philly? Yup. Local Hop Chef champ? Oh, yeah. Well, George Sabatino and crew have done it again. This weekend he took home the gold at the Ommegang Hop Chef competition. His winning plate used Ommegang's Rare Vos, a yeasty amber ale in a house-made capon sausage with white bean purée, beer mustard, and a tomato-olive tapenade. Check out this video for peek at the beer soaked moment of truth.
Try the prize winning plate for yourself this weekend, it'll be on offer at Stateside (1536 East Passyunk Ave.) for your sausage and beer sampling pleasure.
Okay, folks, we're doing you a favor and posting this one pre-lunch hour, in other words, allowing for plenty of time to make it down to the barely two week old Blue Belly BBQ (600 Catherine St.) to get your hands on one of these bad boys.
The Korean Beef Sandwich ($12) begins with substantial slices of beef tossed with plenty of cabbage kimchi and a ginger-pear vinaigrette that's loaded into a hoagie roll and topped with crisp-fried rounds of shallots and scallions. It's a bracing combo of beefy, sharp, tart, and spicy. All and all, totally mind blowing, especially if you hold a flame for all things kimchi-realted. Also on board are a mountain of crisp fries and a cup of puckery red cabbage slaw.
Oh, and the barbecue is pretty killer too. But we'll get to that after lunch.
Monday, July 30
The Smoke Truck and Lil Pop Shop take home the gold at this year's Vendy Awards
Hot dog tastings, beach eats, and blow out feasts at Zahav in Monday's Notes from the weekend
Tuesday, July 31
David Katz abruptly shutters beloved Rittenhouse resto Mémé
David Ansill debuts seasonal Thursday night tasting menus at Bar Ferdinand
Wednesday, August 1
We check out the Philly-style jalapeño poppers i.e. stuffed ling hots at Nick's Roast Beef
Thursday, August 2
The Mr. Wizard of leftovers makes Zahav's lamb shoulder new again in this week's Doggy Bag Redux
Friday, August 3
Little Baby's Ice Cream swings opens its doors on Frankford Ave. on Friday
We get to the bottom of micro vs. macro coffee roasters with a little help from Old City Coffee
Note: In this column, we make leftovers new again. Waste not, want not.
Even after using my leftover Zahav lamb shoulder in some open-faced sandwiches (and eating some cold and fat-congealed, straight from the fridge), I found myself with a whoooole lot extra, an impending weekend out of town and the ugly possibility of sentencing the masterfully made meat to a slow, cold death in the back of my freezer, never to be seen again. Doggybag Redux part deux to the rescue! I incorporated the lamb into a sick Latin/Asian fried rice. You can too!
This weekend we've got beer tastings, block parties and cocktail deals.
Sports, music, food and... shoes? Saturday August 4th is the Converse Block Party at 52nd and Market Streets, celebrating the union that is the Converse high-top, basketball, street culture and hip-hop. There will be live performances by hip-hop artists Stalley, Grey Sky Appeal and Moe Pope, pickup basketball games and, of course, free food. Dapper Dog and Little Baby's Ice Cream will be giving away their goods from noon until they run out, so get there early.
It's First Friday and for the Trolley Car Diner & Deli (7619 Germantown Ave.), that means BEER. They are offering a free beer tasting where their manager and beer expert will be serving his favorites. Stop by between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. for free brews.
Le Virtú (1927 E. Passyunk Ave) and Brauhaus Schmitz (718 South St.) are teaming up for a collaborative dinner by chefs Joe Cicala and Jeremy Nolen respectively. Cicala is hosting Nolen to create a menu based on northern, German-influenced Italian specialties. The four courses will be paired with wines from Trentino and Alto Adige, for $65 a head. Call 215-271-5626 to reserve your spot on Wednesday August 8th at 7 p.m.
Every Sunday for the rest of the summer, everything on Hop Sing Laundromat's (1029 Race St.) menu is only $8, including their award-winning cocktails, recently named Best of Philly. Who knew Chinatown would become your destination for a Sunday pick-me-up?
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