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Food Events
Bridgeport's Chick's Tavern (231 E. Fourth St.) challenges you to flex your mussels at its ninth annual Mussel Bowl, scheduled for this Sunday, Jan. 29. Chick's, well-known for its bivalves, holds the contest every year around the time of the Super Bowl as a seafood spinoff of the famed Wing Bowl. The contest itself comprises two 5-minute rounds with a 10-minute break in between; contestants must eat as many mussels as possible in each round using nothing but their bare hands.
Chick's goes through approximately 2,500 to 2,800 mussels every Bowl. "It's really just a fun day for the community," says Amy Young, granddaughter of Chick's original owner. The Irish Thunder Pipe Band performs at the contest every year, playing "Amazing Grace" in requiem for empty shells once the competition is over. Part of the $20 competitor registration fee goes to charity; this year, proceeds will beenfit Steve Savo, a retired Bridgeport police officer. Check out the Chick's Tavern website for registration info and pictures of last year's Bowl.
Despite its decidedly downtowny feel, Munish Narula's Tashan (777 S. Broad St.), chillin' at Broad and Catharine, is outside the participatory boundaries for Center City District Restaurant Week, which runs Jan. 22 to 27 and Jan. 29 to Feb. 3. In reponse, the upscale Indian is gerrymandering the RW borders — always looking for an excuse to use the word "gerrymandering" on Meal Ticket — by creating a special discount for those dining in. Tashan will eat $15 a head on every $50 spent to bring the per-person base price down to $35 — the price of your typical Restaurant Week dinner. For example, a $100 check between two people would end up costing only $70; a $200 check for a party of four would be discounted to $140. Tables must mention the dealage to their servers when seated, and the restaurant requests that eaters tip on the pre-discount total.
Photo: Neal Santos
Tonight marks the very first High Gravity of 2012 at The Sidecar (2201 Christian St.). The evening, which comes around once a month, sees the G-Ho beer bar populating its taps with nothing but big-ABV strong bold beefy beers. Highlights on January's lineup, which you can check out after the jump (click to enlarge), include Bell's Sparkling (sooo ill), 21st Amendment's Allies Win the War and oak-aged Pumking from Southern Tier. Good excuse to peep their new second floor (above). Chef Brian Lofink's also rolled out a tweaked winter menu, with new dishes like veggie shepherd's pie, shrimp and grits and grilled hanger steak with creamy kale.
The last time I hit up Le Virtù (1927 E. Passyunk Ave.) I hit it hard — 35 courses hard. But you need not spend an entire work day, plus a month's worth of carbs, to enjoy the skills of chef Joe Cicala. The protean chef and the Italian restaurant’s owners, Francis Cratil-Cretarola and Catherine Lee, have a special event planned for tomorrow night. From 5 to 8 p.m., they’ll celebrate La Cottorra, the traditional Abruzzese outdoor winter festival where drink and food get shared around a fire.
Along with Cicala’s version of Sagne e Fasciul' (Abruzzo-style pasta fagioli) and the restaurant's regular menu, they'll serve panini with hand-cut porchetta (Cicala loves his pork), roasted chestnuts and specialty sweets such as pizzelle and Abruzzese biscotti. Hot mulled wine, Lancaster County apple cider with spiced rum and a warm Abruzzese punch will also be served. Tickets are $30 per person and profits will be donated to Project H.O.M.E. to combat poverty.
The weiner accoutrement at Hot Diggity! (630 South St.) is so on point because partner Keith Garabedian, in addition to being a frank enthusiast, is a trained chef — before opening his tubesteak emporium over the summer, he cooked at South Jersey's Tortilla Press and Little Cafe, plus Tom Colicchio's craftbar in NYC. He'll flex his skills beyond the bun tomorrow night at Southwark (701 S. Fourth St.), when he teams up with Sheri Waide and Nick Macri for a four-course rabbit dinner inspired by HD!'s menu.
Got our hands on a pair of tickets to this weekend's Big Ass Beer Fest, which'll bring together 50+ high-ABV beers (think imperial, think barleywines, think doubletriplequadruple IPAs) this Saturday at Starlight Ballroom (460 N. Ninth St.). You want? All you need to do: Between right now and noon tomorrow, January 17, leave a ONE-SENTENCE COMMENT on this post convincing us why we should give these tix to you. We'll select our fave response and toss the tix — $45 in advance, $55 day-of — your way. Best of luck.
UPDATE [3:45 p.m.]: Congrats to Meal Ticket commenter emilyk, who pulls the tix with this response: "Desperately chasing BrewDog Sink the Bismarck dragon, stuck in agonizing black hole of ABV-quest-fruitlessness — please send help ASAP (aka two tickets to this weekend's Big Ass Beer Fest)." You got it chief. Happy dragon-chasing!
Not everyone is able to take a holiday in northeast France this winter, but chefs Peter Woolsey of Bistrot La Minette and Jeremy Nolen of Brauhaus Schmitz are giving you the chance to fake it at the end of this month. On January 25 and 26, the two are teaming up to bring you Dinner in Alsace at Woolsey's restaurant (623 S. Sixth St.). Well-known for its wine, Alsace is also famous for its distinctive cuisine, which has plenty of German influence due to its border with Deutschland, hence Nolen's presence. "[The cuisine] features a lot of German flavors executed with French techniques," says Woolsey. "It's hearty food, great for eating in the winter."
The chefs have snagged Winebow's Bob Barrett, an expert in Alsatian wines, to match two German and two French wines with the meal. He'll be on-hand at the dinner to talk about his choices, as well. The four-course dinner is $35 a head, or $50 with the pairings. Check out the full menu after the jump.
East Girard Gastropub, aka The E.G.G. (200 E. Girard Ave.), is hosting a grand opening party tonight. Chef/owner Rob Holloway will pass around free hors d'oeuvres between the hours of 6 and 9; from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., he'll host a late-night happy hour, with discounted draft beer and $5 select pub-fare items. Peep our December 19 post for more info and the menu.
Ben Puchowitz of Matyson (37 S. 19th St.) is turning his restaurant into a proper noodle shop for one night only as he and longtime buddy Shawn Darragh host a pop-up event for Roundeye Noodle Bar, a concept they're floating in the hopes of attracting investor attention. Described as "a hip noodle spot run by two white boys from the suburbs" (hence the name), Roundeye will serve takes on pho (duck leg dumpling, foie, pickled turnip), ramen (pork belly, soy-stained egg, shiitake, Swiss chard) and veg-friendly curry (udon, butternut squash, pak choi, peanuts) at Puchowitz's Center City BYO on Sunday, Jan. 29. They'll kick out the broth from 4 p.m. till they run out of food; the evening will be cash-only, with no rezzies. Here's the full menu.
Last week, we told you about the new Mt. Airy commissary (26 Mt. Airy Ave.) from food truckers-in-arms Strada Pasta and Pitruco Pizza and the dinner series that would follow. Pitruco's crew is hosting one this Saturday, Jan, 14. A suggested donation of $35 gets you five courses, and while an amazing-sounding chanterelle, Fontina and prosciutto pie is on deck for the dinner, it won't be all pizza. Pitruco will be flexing their culinary chops with tomato consomme, lamb belly stew and more. Peep the full menu on Pitruco's Tumblr and email pitrucopizza@gmail.com for reservations.
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