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Food and Holidays
For many Italian-Americans in Philadelphia, Christmas Eve dinner has followed a tradition their ancestors arrived from Europe: The Feast of the Seven Fishes. In general, the practice reflects Church doctrine requiring abstinence before a holy day of observation, in the same way Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. But no one really seems to know, for sure, where the custom, in particular the number seven, truly originates.
Meal Ticket decided to interview seven Philadelphians who have carefully considered the tradition themselves — they are either Italian, of Italian descent, fish eaters, fish vendors, or all of the above. Our conversations yielded a sea of perplexed expressions, diverse and interesting conclusions and a complimentary ball of Mancuso's fresh mozzarella. In the end, it appears that we might be wise to allow the true meaning of the Seevn Fishes to remain a mystery.
"We're pumped about the seven fishes," chef Brad Spence tells Meal Ticket. This Friday, Dec. 23, at Amis (412 S. 13th St.), he's cooking baccala, monkfish, eel and more aquatic creatures for the classic Italian-American repast. "This is the second year we’re doing it. It's become a huge hit." Spence didn't grow up feasting on flounder on Dec. 24, "but now my Irish-rooted family won't have Christmas Eve any other way." The four-course dinner, which features dishes like housemade squid ink linguine (above), is $65 per person, and we’ve got the full menu after the jump.
Photo: Brad Spence on Twitter
Last night, the inimitable David Katz put out a Twitter call to all his "Jewish friends and Gentiles who hate their families" for the Christmas Eve feast he's hosting at Mémé (22012 Spruce St.). On Saturday, the free egg nog will flow as citybound merrymakers dig into roasted goose, glazed ham, Brussels sprouts with green beans, mashed potatoes and cornbread-chorizo stuffing for $35 a head. (Apple or coconut custard pie is $4.) Reservations are available from 4:30 to 8, and the diner who comes wearing the "the most outlandish Christmas sweater" will eat for free (!).
Photo: Drew Lazor
In addition to offering extended hours on Boxing Day and New Year's Day as they did last year, Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.) will be open all this week for lunch, too. (Full holiday schedule here.) Chef Jonathan Adams has created a few new dishes exclusive to the holiday menu, like a South Philly-style chicken cutlet sandwich and ribollita, Tuscan white bean soup. You can also find tried-and-true favorites like the Churchill Burger (above) and the barbecue pork sandwich, and even the fish and chips (currently served on Sundays only). They've also got Wells Bombardier, a classic English bitter, on tap, and are pouring $3 martinis today until 2 p.m. Full menu after the jump.
Photo: Drew Lazor
For most of us, Christmas is about one thing and one thing only — the birth of our Savior excessive drinking in the name of the season. NO mom, it's totally cool that I destroyed a 12-pack and canteen of nog by myself in 45 minutes, I'm just holding it down like Fezziwig, nawmean? NO, I'm not going to let Uncle Jim drive me to the ER to get my stomach pumped, why do you hate fun so much? What we're trying to say here is much love to Percy Street Barbecue (900 South St.) for marrying holiday mirth with unchecked booze consumption in the most direct way possible via their 8-foot-tall "Badass Beer Can Christmas Tree."
Percy GM Aric Ferrell and staffer/artist Desiree Howie spent something like 12 hours drilling the tree's PVC pipe trunk and feeding construction marker flags of varying lengths through the holes, on which they suspended more than 400 empty cans culled from Percy's peerless craft can collection. The end result, which we got to see with our own eyes last night, is shiny and glorious and makes us much thirster than that stupid tall one at Rockefeller Center. Well-done, Percyites.
Photo: Drea Rane
Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook of Zahav (237 St. James Place) are presenting their take on holiday fare with not one but three prix-fixe dinners this December.
First up, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, is a Chanukah menu ($45/person), featuring dishes such as hummus with glazed brisket, a variety of latkes and date and orange sufganiyot. Next, on Thursday, Dec. 22, is the Israeli restaurant's second annual A Very Jewish Christmas celebration. The $50-a-head evening, dubbed An Even Jewisher Christmas, upholds the age-old tradition of Jews partaking in movies and Chinese food to occupy their time on the most Gentile of all holidays. This year's menu includes Solomonov's versions of Szechuan-style pork belly and moo shu duck, as well as Chinese-inspired cocktails. Movie suggestions can be sent in via Twitter (@zahavrestaurant), and the screening schedule will be kept a surprise until the day of, just like last year. Finally, on Saturday, Dec. 31, Zahav will offer a New Year's Eve menu ($65/person or $100/person with wine pairings), which will include fluke crudo paired with Golan Heights Chardonnay and glazed veal shanks paired with Clos de Gat Syrah. The full menu can be seen here (PDF).
Last year, Mike Nagao over at the U-City outpost of D.P. Dough (33 S. 40th St.) noticed a big uptick in orders of his Thanksgiving Zone after the holiday had passed, so this year he waited until post-Turkey Day to strike. Theory: Traditional Thanksgiving accoutrement, in particular stuffing (mmm stuffing), is consumed with such infrequence that one big T-Day binge is not enough to sate our erstwhile addiction through the end of the calendar year. Kids is jonesin'.
Available for $6.85 throughout the winter months as an alternative to the Thanksgiving hoagies we've been discussing recently, the 'zone is filled with cubed turkey breast, turkey stuffing, gravy and melted mozzarella, dusted with ranch powder and served with a side of cranberry/orange dipping sauce. See you fiends over there.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and if your fridge is looking anything like mine, baggies and containers of leftovers are threatening to take over. Here’s a way to kill two leftover birds with one stone: turkey tacos with chipotle-cranberry salsa. Just swing by your nearest Mexican grocery, or Tortilleria San y Roman (951 S. Ninth St.), where you can score a kilo of fresh corn tortillas for a couple dinero, for the Latin essentials necessary to transform your all-American leftovers into an easy Spanish-speaking dinner.
Photo: Adam Erace
Notes from the Weekend is a Monday feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. Consider this a place for good deals, great dishes, wicked cocktails, recipe triumphs (and tragedies), bizarro conversations and more. We're eager to share our notes, but especially excited to read yours.We encourage you to leave notes from YOUR weekend in the comments. Have at it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
I'm not Thai, but if I was, this is how I imagine I'd incorporate Southeast Asian ingredients into an American holiday. Lemongrass and the incomparable kaffir lime leaf (both available at 11th and Washington's Hung Vuong or your favorite Asian supermarket) add exotic citrus-y tones to this Thanksgiving staple, while a single split chili provides a sneaky undercurrent of heat. Is your family picky and ethno-phobic? You can make this recipe sans-exotica and it'll still be miles better than anything you’ll find in a can.
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