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Archive: May, 2012
Last year, City Paper released its first-ever Meal Ticket Magazine, a special standalone full-color release inspired by this here food blog. Very excited to run down what's included in the 2012 edition, which you will find inserted into all copies of CP's May 17 issue.
- Adam Erace loves Peter McAndrews and his fleet of Philly restaurants, but he has a tough time at Popolino, the Irish-does-Italian chef's new Roman trattoria-style BYO. Kitchen execution and slow service make the experience suffer, but the good news is they've just brought in a new chef to right the carbonara-stowing ship.
- Alexandra Weiss chats with performance artist Robert Karimi, who's in town at the Asian Arts Initiative under his stage name, Cocinero Mero ("best cook"). The San Franciscan hosts a interactive stage experience combining the feel of a cooking show with music, comedy, storytelling and video. His latest installment, "Viva La Banchan," doubles as an educational piece about how to combat type 2 diabetes through diet.
- In Feeding Frenzy: Vernick Food & Drink, Spencer ΣTA Burger and Lansdowne's new Argana.
- In What's Cooking: It's a crazy food event weekend! The Italian Market Festival, SPTR's Wheat Beer Fest and City Tap House's Preakness party are all going down.
Photo: Mark Stehle
Travel Channel's Food Paradise, which focuses on a thematic American dish or discipline with each episode, is filming at two locations in Philly this weekend, and you can get your grill on TV if you time it right.
On Friday, May 18 from noon to 2, the crew will be at Jake's Sandwich Board (122 S. 12th St.) to shoot the shop's Garlic Bomb (pictured), a vamp-repellent cheesesteak hooked up with roasted garlic spread, sautéed garlic and deep-fried garlic cloves. They're actually looking for a few garlic freaks to participate in their "5-Pound Philly Challenge," featuring the Garlic Bomb, on camera. If you've got a voracious appetite and are OK with smelling like an Italian nonna's kitchen on Christmas Eve for two weeks after, email info@jakessandwichboard.com with three reasons why you should be picked.
On Saturday, May 19, from about 11 a.m. to 2, Food Paradise will shoot at Hot Diggity! (630 South St.). Owner Keith Garabedian is looking to pack the joint for the filming and says the show plans on interviewing customers about their fave dogs and so forth. Saturday will also see the debut of HD!'s housemade sodas — they'll offer a house root beer, a maple lemonade and a cilantro/lime/jalapeno soda, with other flavors rotating in and out in the future.
Photo: Courtesy of Jake's Sandwich Board
Tonight, Bartram's Garden (54th and Lindbergh) is hosting a fundraising soiree that'll appeal to lushy history buffs — bartenders Theo Webb (Fish), Christopher Walls (Dettera) and drink-lady-about-town Phoebe Esmon will be mixing cocktails using a bitters recipe originating with the family of lauded botanist John Bartram.
Curators at the national historic landmark uncovered the recipe in their research and asked Robert Cassell of Philadelphia Distilling Co. (Penn 1681 Vodka, Bluecoat Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe, XXX Shine) to recreate it. "To a general point of geekiness, we tried to stay very true to the recipe — this is how he would've done it," says Cassell. Though the recipe vaguely calls for a "neutral proof spirit" to go along with the botanicals, the distiller decided to use a cane-based raw product as his base for the Bartram bitters, as rum was the most popular alcohol in America during that era. In lieu of running the product through a modern still — another luxury not available to the OG bittercrafters — Cassell simply let the Caribbean-derived cane lie, along with additives like cherry wood provided by Fair Food, gentian root from Penn Herb and prickly ash bark taken right from the Bartram grounds. He also refrained from using modern milling equipment to grind these ingredients to a consistent size, meaning each 20-gallon batch he produces tastes a little different than the last.
"I hate to use the term 'bitter' to describe bitters, but it's definitely that — there's a firmness to it," says Cassell, contrasting Bartram's recipe to modern bitter brands like Angostura. If you can't make it to tonight's event — tix, which range from $50 to $125, also include food from Power Catering with support from Supper — Cassell tells us the product will soon be made available via the PLCB's online store.
Image: bartramsgarden.org
For someone visiting Philadelphia, eating a cheesesteak is the most obvious item on the culinary checklist. But from where? Pat's or Geno's are the most highly publicized choices, but ask any local and they'll rattle off a bunch of favorite must-stops — and usually throw in a few places that don't serve steaks at all. There's no official cheat sheet to help whittle down such an overwhelming tourist decision. Luckily, Jeff Gaynor recognized the dilemma and decided to help by creating The Junk Food Tour.
This Wednesday starting at 6 p.m., a.kitchen (135 S. 18th St) will be doing its part to celebrate American Craft Beer Week. Chef Bryan Sikora has created a menu that features a variety of options to pair with drink from Maine's Allagash Brewing Company. Unlike most beer dinners, a.kitchen's lineup can be ordered a la carte, or guests can put together their own four-course meal for $65.
If you count yourself among the city's opinionated noodle cognoscenti (DL wrote about you in March) you won't want to miss this week's $45 tasting at Matyson (37 S. 19th St.). Chef Ben Puchowitz, also of the Cheu Noodle Bar pop-ups, has his nontraditional lobster pho with burdock and basil as the centerpiece of the May 14-through-17 menu, which celebrates Asian street food with dishes like soup dumplings and spicy Korean rice cakes. Peep Puchowitz's full menu after the jump. As with all Matyson tastings, it's $45 for five courses, not including tax, beverage or tip.
The third location of Sabrina's, on Drexel's campus, opened at the beginning of the school year last fall. Along with that September '11 debut at 34th/Powelton came the promise of an associated stop from Robert and Raquel DeAbreu called Spencer ΣTA Burger, grilling a bunned-up selection of sandwiches separate from the café menu. Choices at the patty-centric concept, which properly opened over the weekend, include "Dr. I's Burger" (pictured), topped with Sabrina's huevos rancheros sauce, guac, lime sour cream, tomato, pepper jack and a fried jalapeno; the breakfast-y "Wakey Wakey," a burger on a biscuit topped with grilled sausage, caramelized maple/onion/shallot jam and two over-easy eggs; and the "Ultimate Spencer Burger," a beast boasting everything from poached apples to turkey bacon. Full menu's after the jump. ΣTA Burger will be open on weekends only to capitalize on munchie-stricken party crowds — Thursday from 8 p.m. to midnight, Friday/Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 4 to 10.
Monday, May 7
The Sofitel has a new rooftop garden.
Beer Cakes hopes to corner the local drunken dessert market.
Tuesday, May 8
Zeppoli, Savannah eats, spicy ramen and Burger Brawl in Notes from the Weekend.
Wednesday, May 9
Gozen Yogurt is Philly's first mobile froyo operation.
Get booze and a place to sit (!) by becoming a "friend" of The Food Trust's Night Market.
Zen-Nor is opening in the old Gayle/Hoof + Fin space in Queen Village.
The Havana Room is new in NoLibs' North Shore Beach Club.
Brett Naylor is the new chef at Oyster House.
Thursday, May 10
What's in CP's May 10 food section?
Friday, May 11
Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi goes for a record in Chester.
Underground Eats, the restaurant in the Underground Arts building, is getting close.
A new seafood restaurant is coming to South Street.
- CP food critic/pizza connoisseur Adam Erace dishes on his favorite pies for Eater Philly. Foreshadowed by several NFTW posts, Santucci's unsurprisingly makes the cut. Erace also reminisces about his childhood, noting Mack & Manco's in Ocean City as one of his faves.
- Following up on last week's Snack Time, Tuesday's vote to BYOB-ify O.C. resulted in no change in policy. A referendum was up for vote last November, but was removed from the ballot because the allowable amount of alcohol wasn't specified. Guess it's still take out from Mack's and drinking at home. Pizza's on Adam Erace.
- Here's a whole website of celebrities as food called Foodlebrities.com! Just to name a few, there's Pita Frampton, Surge Gainsbourg, Bill Nye the Science Fry, Goldie Prawn and The Adventures of Beet & Beet. (Pictured above: Flan-a Del Ray.) There's also a link to a photo editor so you can submit your own. Don't even think about doing Kevin Bacon, though. Come on.
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