|
|
|
Booze
The bar at Opa (1311 Sansom St.), always a solid destination for left-of-center tipples, has just rolled out a trio of fall-friendly cocktails built around Greek flavors, all spins on classic drinks:
- The Thendro (pictured), a take on the Sazerac: Metaxa (Greek brandy), Mastiha (a liqueur derived from mastic, the peculiar-flavored evergreen sap produced exclusively on the Isle of Chios), Peychaud's bitters
- The Xinouli, a take on the margarita: Espolon Blanco tequila, Veev, lemon, Cava
- The Maimou, a take on the Monkey Gland: Plymouth gin, orange juice, ouzo, grenadine
Also, you might not know about Opa's happy hour, which runs Monday to Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. — $3 beers, $4 wines and $5 "bartender's choice" cocktails on the drinking end. Crazy food deals, as well — $4 saganaki, $6 calamari and half-price souvlaki ($3 to $1.50) and fries ($6 to $3). Chef Andy Brown will be rolling out a brand-new fall menu within the next couple weeks, too.
Marnie Old likens a good Rioja to a sommelier's LBD (little black dress) — it's a wine whose versatility works with many foods on multiple occasions. To test this theory, join Old as she teams up with chef Jose Garces at Amada (217-219 Chestnut St.) for a Rioja wine dinner and pairing lesson next Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. You'll start off with Rioja Rosado, then settle into a flight of Riojas Blanco and Tinto paired with a selection of Garces' Spanish tapas. Make sure to save room, as the meal continues with Crianzas and Reservas served with family-style portions of Wagyu beef, scallops and chicken a la plancha, habas a la Catalan and garbanzos con espinancas. End the night sweetly with lemon torta, a personalized copy of Old's latest book, Wine Secrets, and lessons on the sensory science behind pairing vino not just with a protein, but with a dish's seasoning and cooking method. Dinner is $70 per person, not including tax/tip; to make reservations, call 215-625-2450.
Tequilas (1602 Locust St.) is welcoming a milestone — a quarter-century in business — with events and specials running through Oct. 2. Joe Raffa of Oyamel in D.C. and Danny Mena of Hecho en Dumbo in NYC have added a few additions to the menu for the week to go along with full lunch and dinner deals coming in at $15 and $25, respectively — opt for new dishes like red snapper ceviche, shrimp soup cooked in chile guajillo, crisp corn tostadas, roasted kid goat and pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. Tonight, get your Thirsty Thursday on as master mixologist Junior Merino, aka The Liquid Chef, makes a special appearance behind the the bar, shaking up concoctions to go with dinner. Using tequila from Siembra Azul, the Mexican distillery owned by Tequilas head honcho David Suro-Piñera, he's preparing drinks with names like Wild Passion, Future Traditions, Deseo and Winter's Warmth. Call 215-546-0181 for reservations.
Tonight, MidAtlantic (3711 Market St.) is taking a fowl approach to pairing food and drink — starting at 6 p.m., the West Philly restaurant will host Birdies, Beer + Booze. Teaming up with Dock Street and Philadelphia Distilling, Daniel Stern's restaurant will provide eaters with a slew of poultryfied dishes, each matched with a beer and a cocktail. Start off with hors d'oeuvres, like pot pie soup dumplings and chicken-fried "oysters," paired with a drink combining Dock Street's OMG Pale Ale and Philly Distilling's Bluecoat Gin. From there, enjoy four more courses (quail, duck, egg custard, etc.) with two drinks a pop accompanying. It's $35 for just the food and an additional $25 to take care of the booze; full menu after the jump (click to enlarge). Call 215-386-3711 for rezzies.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Tonight from 6 to 10, Cooperage (Curtis Center, 123 S. Seventh St.) will host the 2011 release of Victory Village, a Victory Brewing Co. brown ale brewed in collaboration with Souderton's One Village Coffee. This lighter-bodied, 4.8 percent ABV ale, a hit when it debuted in 2010, is infused with One Village's Smart Blend Ethopian/Sumatra-Gayo coffee, lending the beer a mellow sweetness, along with hints of chocolate and some drier coffee notes.
Cooperage will pour pints of the beer, plus other Victory drafts (Moonglow Weizenbock, Festbier, Harvest Pils) for $5, and the kitchen will crank out coffee-inspired bites (espresso ribeye sliders, coffee-lacquered duck fingers). In case you eat/drink yourself to the point of passing out, One Village is also providing a firkin (yes, a firkin) of iced coffee at the bar to help you recharge. Victory Village is already available to purchase in growlers at the brewery's Downington headquarters, but they've also got a bunch of kegs they're looking to distribute to local bars soon.
Above: One Village's Rob Altieri and Woody Decasere with Victory founder/brewmaster Bill Covaleski (center).
Photo: victorybeer.com/blog
World-famous Phillies blogger bolgger Zoo With Roy has teamed up with Vincent Derosiers, master brewer at Iron Hill North Wales, to create a second ZWR-themed beer. (The first, So Cuttered Hoppy Wheat, came out in the summer.) The beer, a pumpkin lager with seasonal spices, vanilla and cinnamon, has been dubbed Doctoberfest Pumpkin and is scheduled to be tapped tomorrow, Sept. 27, at 5 p.m. in North Wales (The Shoppes at English Village, 1460 Bethlehem Pike). In celebration of such a wondrous brew, Derosiers is offering a free slice of pumpkin pie to anyone who shows up wearing a ZWR T-shirt, as well as guaranteeing high fives from other ZWR fans. The lager has been brewed in very limited quantities, so get out there and drink up the Unofficial Official Beer of the Phillies' playoff season.
Photo: zoowithroy.com
Philly's Barcade (1114 Frankford Ave.), in the works since the spring of 2010, is very close to opening, if a recent swingthru was any indication. Some city paperwork is all that's really holding back the five owners, who have locations in Williamsburg and Jersey City, from rolling out their craft beer/vintage video game combo concept in Fishtown.
Vendemmia is the name of the Italian fall grape harvest. It’s also a South Philly scholarship foundation whose annual festival is on the calendar for this Sunday, Sept. 25. Now in its 15th year, the vino-soaked bash returns to historic Girard Park (21st and 22nd, Porter and Shunk streets) after spending the last few years in the parking lot of the Eagles’ NovaCare practice facility. The South Philly-fabulous festival's centerpiece is a contest between local winemakers, but there’s also live music and food stalls from local restaurants. Most of the attendees BYOB and BYOF, too, and lay out elaborate picnic spreads. (Cacia's tomato pie is always popular with my family.) General admission tickets are $40 and are available through PayPal on the Vendemmia website; you can also ball with a 10-top for $400.
Photo: vendemmiafoundation.org
As we told you in August, chef Jason Goodman's new menu at The Farmers' Cabinet (1113 Walnut St.) made its debut for Restaurant Week this past month. For those hungry and thirsty, F-Cab head bartender Phoebe Esmon has created a special list of cocktail pairings to go along with every option on Goodman's prix-fixe menu. Offered only during RW’s two-week run, the selection comprises concoctions named the Mystic Circle, the Procession of the Sage and The Charly Baltimore, all of which ring in at $12. After RW wraps up, she'll transition into the Cabinet's fall cocktail menu. Peep the full list of pairings after the jump.
Bartender John Boswell, who took over neighborhood tappie Corner Spot (2253 E. Clearfield Ave.) this past winter to convert it into Port Richmond Pour House, is not an unreasonable guy. But if you’re going to get lubed up at his bar, you have to be aware of the rules.
Most of PRPH’s 10 "House Rules," printed out and posted on the wall by the front door, are plain jane. (Click pic to enlarge.) The barkeep is king. Don't bother trying a beer if you're visibly sauced. Be respectful of neighbors. But then Boswell delves into atypical territory, stuff you normally don't read posted in public eyeshot at a neighborhood drinking establishment. "If you smoked wet today, don't ask for shit," intones Rule No. 7. Cool guy wanting to start a running tab? "Don't bother asking, we don’t care who you are." Abutting the Top 10, in oversize font, is a wholly separate and very straightforward disclaimer, granting bar staff carte blanche to toss out anyone they deem “riff raff, low-lifes, scumbags or just plain assholes."
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
