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Notes from the Weekend
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
DL: Drew Lazor RB: Rachel Burgos
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Rachel Burgos |
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
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| Photos | Drew Lazor | |
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| Photo | Rachel Burgos |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Friday: Before a late-night movie at the Bourse, we hit up Amada and sat at the bar (sorta ... we had corner seats with no counter space due to the gigantic meat slicer sitting there). Drank two tinto sangrias and split artichoke/mushroom flatbreads and some soft cheese that came with homemade nutella. Yessss. Saturday: Responsibly ate at home except for an early-ish dinner at Viet Phuong at 11th and Washington. No. 61 -- bun with char-broiled pork and spring rolls -- is crazy, crazy-good. Sunday: Grabbed bagels and crazy-strong-ass coffee at Bodhi before weaving through the insanely-packed Headhouse Farmers Market. Scored some squash blossoms which I don't quite know what to do with. Later on grabbed sandwiches at Paesano's -- the Chicken Diavlo is still my favorite, tho the namesake sam almost beats it out.
i cant even talk about anything i ate this weekend before SUNDAY! I was blown away by George's Place @ Beach & Perry in Cape May, NJ. It was the best Greek food I've ever eaten. I'll post a review of it tonight at Foodurlez.com
FRIDAY: Pizza for brunch? Why not, especially if it includes the Tartufo (egg!) at Pizzeria Stella and if it's with the fun Alex & Aki of IDEAS IN FOOD. Split 5 pizzas between the three of us, with a tiny bit of help from their 2-year-old daughter. A quick espresso at Bodhi Coffee still left room for an afternoon visit to Percy Street BBQ, where the man and I were treated to a late lunch. The buttery cheddar-jalapeño cornbread is cooked to order in a mini skillet, but it pales in comparison to the PST sandwich - that's smoke pork belly, slaw and pickled green tomatoes. Ribs are tasty, too, and we were told a real wood-burning grill is coming in the near future. SATURDAY: Bought NY Strips and a hunk of American cheese to put my new home food-slicer to the test. The homemade cheesesteak (wit) was the best I have EVER eaten. SUNDAY: I'm now the proud Foursquare mayor of the Headhouse Farmers Market! (Cred? Loss of cred?) Either way, the abundance of great fish, veggies, fruit, meats and herbs is becoming overwhelming. I never bring enough bags.
Stuff them with fresh ricotta and maybe some herbs. Then egg wash, dredge em in flour and sauté until crispy and brown in olive oil/butter. Better yet, stuff them with a mixture of ground pork, shitake mushroom, little garlic, Ginger, fish sauce, cilantro and a soy sauce. Cook them same way described above. Now I'll have to go harvest blossoms from the back yard. Yum.
Finally, Friday and a night filled with food and drink splurges were in order for a decade's worth of amorous dedication. XIX is a great spot for romance unless there are obnoxiously drunk, been-there-too-long patrons. We snatched a seat at the bar, away from the rowdy crowd, and were promptly ignored by bartenders. Would've loved to stay for more than one glass of champagne but I was seconds away from laying a verbal smackdown on the 'tenders and we hit the road towards dinner at Vetri. It was an over-the-top dinner and an over-draft of funds but worth every cent we barely had. Foie gras pastrami, baby goat, spinach gnocchi, sweet onion crepe. AHH. Be nice and the sommelier may supply you with an extra wine flight. Cheers. Saturday I ate at the dreadfully commercial Garden State Park Shops at new (?) Kabuki. Not bad sushi spot and definitely a change in culinary scenery at the Shops. You can also eat hibachi, but you gotta make up your mind. It's either sushi in the dining room or hibachi at the hibachi. Got it? Another dose of the Vetri clan at Amis on Sunday night. Between bites of mortadella mousse bruschetta (yeaaaaa), pork jowl buccatini (yea yea yeaaaaa) and marinated lamb (yea yeaaaaa) I noticed a house for sale across the street and thought that realtor has and ace in his/her pocket with Amis as a neighbor. I'm considering it myself.
Drew, the mention of bacalao in your Xochitl post made me miss one of my Abuela's (grandma's) specialties. Thanks to that reminder I will beg her to whip up a dish, and maybe just maybe get her secret recipe off of her and attempt to make it myself. Carolyn & Rascal b. Schuylkillian: you have inspired me to seek out some squash blossoms and make something AWESOME with them. Thanks!
Stuffing squash blossoms seems to be the jam lately! James stuffs them with ricotta as Rascal suggests...Sam from Sycamore stuffs them with ricotta then tempura-fries them. Intense. The pork prep Rascal mentions sounds dope...
At the Talula's Pop Up , they didn't stuff the blossoms with anything. They served them with a green tomato ketchup that gave you the experience of fried green tomatoes when you put it all together. Something along those lines would be fun to try and replicate.
I was in San Francisco for some Yelpish training last week, so these are a bit far away but most definitely worth a hit if you are ever on the Left Coast. Knocked off work Friday afternoon and took in the scene at Dolores Park. Unfortunately did not come across the fabled Pot Truffle Man. Headed back to SoMa to grab a drink with former Philly Yelp CM Monica, who suggested we try Foreign Cinema for dinner. Though they said no ressies available until 10 p.m., we rolled the dice and were seated inside ASAP. Cocoa-crusted steak with wilted romaine and leeks ringed with butterbeans was the biggest winner of our dishes; plus The Song Remains The Same cocktail with muddled lemon and 12-year old Scotch lived up to the legendary album. Spent Saturday hiking in Muir Woods. Stunning redwoods and ferny gullies followed by a lackluster sandwich with a stellar view in Sausalito, proving true the theory that the better the view, the worse the grub. Stuffed face with a gross Special K protein bar in the a.m., then feasted on some wonderfully fatty-crisp bacon fries at Broken Record in SF, a dive bar with a killer kitchen hidden in the back, while watching Orange fall apart with fouls during the World Cup Final. Hopped on a plane after having my Bobble water bottle taken away by TSA and wasn't even offered free peanuts. Damn you United.
Zama for mom's bday and thought it was a lot of money for sushi I could have had other places. The halibut appetizer was delish though. Cashed in a gift certificate to Friday Saturday Sunday on the latter day and stuffed myself with amazing crab cakes. They seated us in the Tank Bar and there was no one there, which was perfect for date night, but a little creepy otherwise.
Catered Christening party for Baby Gastro. Trolley Car Diner's fried chicken and pasta salad made people jealous of our charmed life. Also realized that Fleur de Lehigh tastes like mustard. Delicious boozy mustard.
Totes agree on how you feel about Zama - I'm sticking with Vic!
You have a better chance of getting drunk off shots of jack Daniels mustard then fleur de lehigh.
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor. Drew Lazor said: RT @mealticket: Ready to share your eating/drinking NOTES FROM THE (LONG) WEEKEND with us? Bet you got some good stuff... http://bit.ly/bobGTq [...]
The pizza (leftover from Zavino) was still good at 3am! :-P
Weekend: best philly vacation in yrs. Fri: Multiple cases of craft beer from Bella Vista, 4lbs steak. Sat: Red, white & blue potato salad, w parsley, pickles & egg. Sun, Mon & Tues: multiple meats & cheeses from SP Acme, multiple sauces, fresh herbs, crumbled Italian sausage: Lasagna! ps Nice ice cream photos
Sorry, potato salad was Sun, also. Too much happened that day.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: Who made the latest NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND? @Zavino @antspantscafe @zamasushibar & @capogiro20 for starters: http://bit.ly/8YRMJU [...]
Saturday I went to Green Eggs Cafe at 13th & Dickinson. For the first time ever I actually enjoyed waiting (10 minutes, tops) for a table by sitting at the bar cooling off with a large iced coffee. Though my smoked Atlantic salmon omelet was fantastic, I absolutely recommend "The Kitchen Sink" to any first timer visiting. It comes in a skillet and is filled with all sorts of yummy things including eggs, potatoes, sausage, biscuits, gravy, and cheese. I also appreciated a guilt free brunch: Green Eggs supports and is committed to a "green" (GET IT?!), extremely eco friendly ethos, including serving coca cola in glass bottles, biodegradable take-out containers, and every hippie-at-hearts favorite, composting. The rest of my weekend consisted of mad BBQ's (count it!) mostly out of town.
FRI / Hardena, where have you been all my life?Popped in for an $8 plate of pre-AC Expwy sustenance, including beef rendang, chicken coconut curry, a veggie firtter thing and collards with more soul than an album of Keith Sweat songs. And this juicebox of Indonesian tea I'm now kind of addicted to. Kaffir lime and cardamom leaf up in that piece. Later, at the fam's shore digs, mom hooked up clams and macaroni like only mom can. SAT / Started the morning by braising a big hulking piece of Esposito's pork shoulder. Went in the oven at 10:30 with dark beer, bronze fennel, thyme, rosemary and two bottles of dark Turkish lager. Out of the oven 6:30 pm. / Dinner down Stone Harbor way at White Heron Grill neé Blackfish. Detail on lock, but suffice to say, their specialty cocktail was a red apple cosmo. SUN / Grilled! Used that pork to fill mini calzones (inspired by Mike Solo's at Zahav's down the shore bash). Ricotta, herbs, fennel poppy and sesame in there too. Rolled out another pizza dough and grilled according to Felicia D's Meal Ticket how-to. Laid on the onion jam, yellow tomatoes and cheddar thick. Also: crabs and macaroni. Ask your South Philly friends.
Started the weekend on Friday with hot dogs and cheap beer at McLincheys, which on the first night back in a familiar town was the only place the ladyfriend and I could come up with. Moved to Jolly's for a beer before finishing the night at the Franklin (first of two trips this weekend) for a penicillin and something with muddled strawberry and cucumber. Thanks to Drew and Michelle for the Zavino trip, that was an unreal amount of food, all of it amazing. Nothing like double fisting a Polpettini slice and a forkful of lasagna. Big thanks for the super double secret cocktails about to be unleashed, the adult lemonade was perfect for a sweltering evening. My Aviation at Ranstead was right on, and the decor made it especially appropriate subbing gin in for Bols. The Franklin's drinks 'with teeth' is a really great menu, and the European Oils is no joke. The Blues Explosion is a nice finish, with the maple syrup and grapefruit balancing perfectly. Sunday was a wedding, but we finished off the Philly trip with lunch on Monday with a stop at Paollo's on Pine St. for some cheese fries and pizza, then a quick jaunt to the Last Drop for a soy latte to fuel the drive back to Boston.
you forgot Good Karma Cafe & The Flying Monkey Deuce. I was so hoping GKC was air conditioned.. no dice, though if it really does improve my karma I suppose it'll be worth it. I got an iced ginger chai which was satisfying from the heat although next time I want to try the vanilla. At Deuce we both got.. raspberry lemonade? That place is super cute inside, despite its disgusting name, and they're expanding soon for more seats/tables. If I wasn't so full already I would've indulged on all their cupcakes. next time!
Friday- Pizza. Lots of sausage and hot pepper pizza from the Pizza Pub. Saturday- More pizza. This time from Mack's on the Wildwood boardwalk. Followed up by the best ice cream down the shore, Duffer's. Went for a Maple Walnut Sundae the size of a baby's head. This was the kind of ice cream overdose that puts you to sleep. Sunday- Breakfast at Samuel's Pancake House. Carrot Cake pancakes with a side of pork roll. You know the summer is here when you somehow find syrup on your flip flop from breakfast down the shore. Sunday lunch was a fine Mexican delicacy-the Choco Taco- on the Wildwood beach. Didn't get any real food Sunday afternoon because Wawa Hoagiefest + July 4th x Broken Deli Screen=Madness. Back to Philly for the Fireworks from atop a roof in Rittenhouse. Monday- Dollar Dog Day @ Citizens Bank Park and a Roy Halladay Complete Game.
That delicious-looking gelato combo in the last pic is dark chocolate and Thai coconut milk. I'm just saying...
Spent all of last week on Rehoboth Beach, earning my Foursquare local badge watching World Cup at Dogfish Head Brewpub. Watched Spain top Portugal while drinking: Life and Limb, Dogfish Head's maple syrupy collaborative brew with Sierra Nevada (the dark, thick, sweet beer is only available in bottles at the brewpub), and Wrath of Pecant, DFH's carob/plantain/smoked malt/pecan wood collabo with Beer Advocate's Alstrom bros. (a woody, roasty brownish ale). Watched Spain best Paraguay over a pint of the excellent seasonal sour Festina Peche (so light, so tart, so refreshing) and a glass of the brand-new GrainToGlass, aged on the cedar used to make surf boards at Massachusetts' Grain Surfboards (a cloudy, reddish ale with some herbal flavors). At some point in the week also had a vintage (circa 06) World Wide Stout, and a flight that included imperial stout Bitches Brew, the excellent/so-hoppy imperial pilsner My Antonia (originally brewed as a collab with Italy's Birra del Borgo) and the bitey saison Zeno. Did most of our own cooking thanks to a Greensgrow CSA share donated by vacationing friends as well as a package of chive, cheese and bacon pierogi from Polish Goodness. Had sushi and a bottle of Tozai Snow Maiden sake (named after a 226-year-old koi) at The Cultured Pearl. Oh man, long, beer-soaked vacation.
YOOOO last year I went to the dogfish head brewpub, it was one of the highlights of my summer and I'd LOVE to go back. I also had the festina peche for the first time this weekend, but I gotta admit I couldn't hang with it. It was just a bit to tart for my liking. The first one was pretty great, but by the second one my mouth felt like I had chased a bag of sour patch kids with some lemonade. To each their own, I suppose.
What I forgot was Saturday lunch at Le Viet! Definitely best atmosphere of any Vietnamese on Washington Ave, with stone & copper walls, lots of sunlight streaming in and courteous service. Get the Cha Gio Re, like spring rolls but with rice threads as the wrapper, around minced shrimp & pork, and don't miss the Hen Xuc Banh Da, sauteed baby clams served in an edible rice cracker bowl. Clay pot duck was great, too.
I LOVE Festina Peche. They lightened the sour notes this year too.
Although the 4th was uber hot, I still manned the grill. Rocked some pasta salad, cuccumber salad and a friend made Asian Slaw that is to die for. On the grill had your obligatory burgers and dogs along with some bratwursts and two pork tenderloins grilled to perfection with two different marinades. Sweet Baby Ray's never fails.
Please tell me more about this Asian Slaw you speak of...
Sweet Baby Ray's is soooooo good. A wise man once showed me the way by combining equal parts SBR's and Sriracha for chicken nuggets...yummmm
Hah! You know, now that you mention it, it was definitely more sour than I remember, which is likely why I dug it more this year than in the past, and probably why Rachel (above) didn't.
[...] 6/30 Meal Ticket• Meal Ticket Roll Call: Meet your new interns, Rachel Burgos and Anthony Sica• Notes from the (Long) Weekend: July 6• Famous Dave's coming to Chestnut Street• EAT THESE IMMEDIATELY: Summer specials at [...]
thanks bh! here at polish goodness, we aim to please!
[...] - Notes from the (Long) Weekend: July 6 [06jul10] [...]
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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Totally proud of you for cooking at home, Drew! After a not-pleasant train-bike trip to NJ (got shouted/honked at 3x... is bicycling on the road illegal in Cherry Hill now?), treated myself to lunch at Las Bugambilias, my fave high-end Mexican. It's not so high-end that it's expensive, though: the Crema Mixta soup is half cream of poblano pepper and half cream of huitlacoche, and is less than $7! Add the free (excellent) homemade tortilla chips & salsa, and I was super-satiated for under $10. Midtown Lunch, if you can make it down to 2nd & South, take note.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: Latest edition of NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Check it out and leave your own notes in the comments! http://bit.ly/aOz7lD [...]
In a last minute ditch-the-city weekend I traveled (past broccoli mountain)to the charming drunken town of State College PA. on the way I stopped at a quaint roadside eatery called "burger king" and ordered one internal parasite and a large Coca~Cola, I'm pretty sure I saw Roy Orbison while there. on Saturday I ate a smoked pork sandwich out of a strangers garage, then drank some yards brawlers while I watched the USA unsurprisingly blow it to Ghana. For dinner we ate homemade pizza on the grill and some bbq chicken, followed by the most giant delicious ice cream cone from the Penn State Creamery (I had the "peachy paterno" but the lady had "bittersweet mint" which kills it). Sunday breakfast I tried the legendary Grilled Sticky, which is grilled, sticky, and also legendary. Then we drove back past broccoli mountain to finish the weekend with some PBRs and PPJs in PHL. tres classe.
I love a good chain restaurant and was pleased as punch to go a Texas Roadhouse somewhere in New Jersey on the way down the shore. It was so salty that it was hard to eat, but everyone was freakishly polite and they had huge beers for $4 (we're talking Oscar's-sized), which I figure is awesome for everywhere but Oscar's. Plus, you haven't heard "Yeehaw" until you've heard it with a Jerz accent.
jason can't forget we also ate at the "red rabbit" outside harrisburg.. http://tinyurl.com/269y28g !
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by . said: [...]
I preface this NFTW with: Judge not, lest ye be judged and all that. I took in a perfectly delicious parking-lot hummus-and-falafel wrap in the (figurative, it was blazing hot) shadow of Campbell's Field on Friday evening, having slaked my thirst at good Steve Mashington's Phish tailgate just prior. I followed that up with a Kahlua-spiked iced chai (with soy milk! In a PARKING LOT!) before streaming with the rest of the circus into the venue, to dance and freak out the squares. Saturday was nil for food due to the relentless time-wasting of Ghana, who had otherwise played quite brilliant football, which made me lose my appetite for lunch. Harumph. Snuck in on a Sunday night dinner my parents hosted for a gang of my dad's former colleagues, who wanted to know if I showed up at the dinner because I knew there would be a lot of young, single doctors there. I matter-of-factly, and truthfully, replied I stayed for the food.
Friday I cooked ALL day for the family-party-filled weekend. Fruit salsa, green beans with cripsy shallots and almonds, roasted pork and gravy with peppers and onions, corn salad and a few mexi-inspired layer dips. Lots of work but always fun to get it cracking in the kitchen. I can see Drew enjoyed it, too! Scrimps are looking good! Before heading into said weekend we girded our loins at one of our standby sushi joints - Lotus in Marlton, NJ - on Friday night. Pretty standard as far as sushi goes but friendly service and house-brewed soy sauce is what keeps us going back. The soy sauce is combined with sugar then reduced until it's two stages away from a legit syrup. Totally untraditional but so good. Saturday and Sunday were totally eclipsed by the dueling graduation parties. In situations such as these I feel it's best to drink heavily, and so I did. I also schooled some youngins in beer pong for one more lesson post-graduation. You're welcome, kids.
Molly, that's my hood. Next time, drive to the next shopping center and stop at Wild Ginger if you like sushi/asian food. It's yum (crab pad thai, rangoons, tuna trio roll) and byo so you can stop in the Roger Wilco next door and bring it on in. Not that I'm condoning drinking then driving down the shore. Just sayin. And I'm betting you'll like the way they say "yeehaw" in here much better.
Friday night I had delish oysters and cocktails at Oyster House and then some not so delish entrees. We got the clam bake for two, which included potatoes, corn, mussels, lobsters and clams. The clams still had the weird, tough foot-thing attached. Yucky. Can anyone explain why they do that? Am I missing something? On Saturday I tried KooZeeDoo for the first time and it was so great. We got too many things to mention but I think my favorite was the cuttlefish and black eyed peas appetizer. Try it!! Woke up early on Sunday and made the trek up to the Golden Nugget Antique Market which is awesome if you are into junk like I am. They have a little car-racing themed food stand in the middle of it that serves hot dogs, burgers, egg and pork roll sandwiches and really good fries. Sunday night we were exhausted from a long weekend. I cooked a roast chicken (zuni style) and we ate it with a cherry tomato salad while watching crazy-ass True Blood.
On Sunday I had the BEST fried chicken in existence at Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn (of course). If you ever get the chance, it is totally recommended. Perfect crunchy spicy skin with super juicy meat. I'm planning on going back to NY just for more.
Friday night I had a critically timed "heady vegan burrito" from some hippie chick, and it was awesome.
Marc, please elaborate on the contents of a heady vegan burrito.
GRILLED STICKIES! Love those things...
Beans, rice, cilantro and a few other ingredients, with a little bit of a kick, wrapped in perfectly chewy white flour tortilla. I couldn't hear all the ingredients because we were talking about how awesome the Also Sprach Zarathustra with Michael Jackson medley was.
I also visited Han Dynasty. It was my first time there, which for a spicy food fanatic like me is inexcusable. The spicy crispy cucumber was more delicious than any pile of raw vegetable has a right to be. The cumin crusted lamb and dry pepper style pork were both so good I couldn't wait to have the leftovers for lunch the next day. I'm now a little obsessed and I can't wait to go back. In fact, I already made reservations for the chef's dinner on Monday.
I too had a grilled sticky ala mode at the Ye Olde College Diner in State College on my way to Cleveland. I would have bought ice cream on the way back home, but alas my barely-closing chest freezer is jammed with six different Creamery half gallons. I did manage to consume a plethora of Great Lakes Brewing products while in Cleveland: Eliot Ness Amber Lager, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Holy Moses White Ale, and the very awesome Lake Erie Monster (unfiltered imperial IPA). Many of which made its way into the trunk of my car for the ride back.
"a few other ingredients..." mmhmm
A great weekend in NYC! Friday Night - an evening of Wingz @ Moriarity's in Philly! Foodrulez.com is having hold the Philly Wing Warz. Top 10 wings in the city Saturday was lunch @ Eatery in Hellz Kitchen - Cantaloupe Gazpacho! So good it inspired me to make make it myself - http://bit.ly/aBvzYN Sunday was brunch at Sarabeth's on the Upper West Side on 80th! Crab cake eggs benny!
What is a grilled sticky??!!!
Joy, I LOVE the cucumber dish!!! I could honestly eat it every day.
I have certainly been wishing for it everyday!
[...] in local Wine & Spirits stores, just a little bit ahead of schedule. The booze, which we snuck a taste of back in June, is an interesting beast indeed — it combines elements both sweet (blackstrap molasses, brown and [...]
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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+1 on Four Roses, did the Kentucky Bourbon trail earlier this year, Four Roses was the overall fav
Friday night, by the grace of god, some great friends and I got a table for five at Tomatoes in Margate. That place never disappoints. We split the calamari, the burrata (NEW!) and some special crab empanadas in avocado sauce. All of which we made disappear in no time flat. I had lobster tail and three shrimp in a cream sauce on corn salsa (reasonably priced!) which was even better than it sounds. Also tried my friend's soft shell crab, my other friends short rib and had some sushi. FTR, the sushi there is fantastic. We finished up with banana cream pie, key lime pie, and their peanut butter pie (which rules). I also kinda sorta remember talking to my friends, but my mind was on eating off of their plates.
joose prevented the paella food coma1!!
Cricket tossed off the sticky shackles of Philadelphia to get some shore time in this weekend... Friday was pizza too bad to mention, though the garlic knots and sauteed spinach salvaged the meal. After a lovely day at the beach (the breeze! the bikinis!), we strapped on our pearls for an early Father's Day dinner at Klein's in Belmar, where the cherrystone clams on the half shell made everyone happy. Had some white-boy sushi that sufficed. Made it home for some quality time with Pop on Sunday, and he seemed well-pleased with the bottle of Compass Box Hedonism he was gifted with for giving life to Cricket. He even shared!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: The latest edition of NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. We want to hear what you ate/drank this weekend, leave a comment! http://bit.ly/aOtrtB [...]
Friday I had a low key dinner at Los Amigos in Berlin, NJ. My soft-shell crab tacos, I'm sure, were no match for DL's Maryland crab feast, but they were spectacularly spicy and soft-shell crabs now rank in my top five taco fillings with the elite company of short rib and pork belly. Saturday was awholelotta drinking in the insane heat during a Phillies tailgate. I was enjoying dousing the heat with Dogfish Head 60min IPA so I didn't feel it necessary to actually head in to the game. Sidenote: It's upsetting that a 4-pack of 90min costs the same, maybe slightly more, than a 6-pack of 60min. I love my Dad and he loves the beach so that's where we went for Father's Day. We ate at Raimondo's which isn't awful, but its menu closely resembles every other restaurant menu on the island. I miss Blue. Come back, please.
I love the name Tomatoes.
Your Jooze experience reminded me...during a serene game of CLUE after dinner on Friday night a friend burst into hysterics which could only be explained by his chugging of a watermelon Four-Luko, a drink scarily similar to Jooze. I believe this is mostly reserved for underage drinkers but he, for some reason, needed to try it. He was buggin.
There was some discussion of the merits of Joose vs. Four Loko. I'm not sure if it's something I want to get to the bottom of.
"like fruit-flavored ore" That is beautiful, Drew.
"like RIBBONS of fruit-flavored ore", I meant. The Joose has killed my brain cells.
Went to Percy Street to celebrate a friend's day of birth. We all got the Lockhart (that would be EVERYTHING, plus dessert). I skipped dessert and I was still so full that I couldn't eat the next day, which is probably a good thing considering my mom's Dad's Day meal was Cincinatti Skyline Chili as an ode to his Ohio home. It's the most Midwestern version of chili you can think of (really sweet, not a lot of spice, on top of spaghetti). I'm sure it was great (don't yell at me mom!) but I passed because I was still in a blissful meat coma.
Took home and split 80 wings with five friends at the Jug Handle Inn (Cinnaminson, NJ). These wings have all sorts of accolades--even Joy Behar squawked from her talk show perch that they were the best in the country. That seems a bit hyperbolic if you ask me, but they were damn good. The medium, hot honey, and honey bbq were crispy and moist; the sauces were awesome. As for the bald eagle wings, which are their hottest, they may have tasted good, I'm not sure. They were so hot that I couldn't really taste much. Nonetheless, I'm certainly going back. For Father's Day, I took my dad and family to Bistro St. Tropez (dads got 14 oz. ribeye entrees for free). We all enjoyed our mains enough, but the starters were definitely the highlight. My dad's duck terrine was delicious, and my sweet breads were the best I've had. Good wine, too.
friday did some grilling on a generous friend's roofdeck. chicken sausage, bbq chicken sandwiches, red skin potatoes and some regular hebrew national hotdogs. dessert was pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream. finished up the night at mac's in old city. good music and surprisingly good beer list. started the day with bagels from hot bagel on south street. everything with veggie cream cheese left me wanting seconds. after a disappointing phillies loss (and equally as disappointing vanilla milkshake), headed down to margate where my well-prepared mother had bobby chez crabcakes waiting for me and the boy. not a lot of filler and whole lot of crab...maybe not maryland crabs, but i take what i can get. a few bites of wawa mint chocolate chip ice cream and i was in heaven. sunday started eating any leftovers i could find at my mom's and then at my grandfather's, to not much avail. ended the weekend perfectly though, at robert's place. stone crab claws, clams casino, ribs and fries. followed it up with two cents plain...made for high calorie perfection.
âFoods We'd Like to Take a Nap Inside Of, If Such a Thing Was Possible.â I actually laughed out loud on PATCO. And I was standing up, in the middle of the car, coz I had a bicycle. And everyone looked at me. And I wished then that PATCO had a widescreen monitor at each end, and that each rider could vie for access, and that I won for a bit and could connect my phone and show them what I was laughing at... Anyway. Sunday ate food from the grill and salad -- didn't matter what it was because a day on the beach makes you hungry as hell and the food tasted like heaven!
Had an awesome birthday dinner at Fish on Friday. Got lobster paillard for starters and it was so good that I want to go back just for that. The entrees were yummy too but I gotta say that I don't love the actual space. It feels kind of boring and uncomfortable. Food is excellent though. Saturday meant back to Maryland! Crabs, Paella, grilled veggies, oh my! And the Joose was awesome. I'm not crazy about grape flavored things but in my opinion the purple joose (called Dragon Joose!!!) was superior to the red joose. The Joose is Loose! Sunday was another good day of eating- beet salad and mimosas at South Phily Tap Room, Root and ginger ales at the Pope and then an always amazing La Rosa potato pizza for dinner. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm.
A big fat FU to the spelling gods.
let me know when the research begins so I can hook it up...this hole-in-the-wall joint by my house has the world's largest supply of Four-Luko. Sometimes I can't believe the things I say about where I live.
I chugged Four Loko's out of a beer bong this weekend....word of addvice: Don't beer bong Four Loko it's no joko!
Potato pizza!!!!
I've unfortunately sampled joose. It tastes like pez and meth. and broken dreams.
Confused. Why is this an FU? Tomatoes is the correct spelling. Am I missing an inside joke here?
Nevermind. Just looked up their website and saw the apostrophe. I truly hope that's intentional.
i feel totaly out of the loop, i have no idea what jooze is. LOL! i went to Central PA and ate like a pig at Knoebels this wknd. check out the write up on the great food of Knoebels http://foodrulez.com/2010/06/20/noshin-down-the-park/
i want to be the (out of) control subject for this science experiment.
I could not agree more about the decor of fish. I don't understand what they were thinking during the design phase! Did you see the wall that is painted the color of peanut butter??? Despite all those negative thoughts I do really love the food and I think the ( live ) fish in the bathroom is cute.
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
[...] QUESTION: We’ve already fussed over the Chocolove brand’s chili/cherry bar, but this one has got to be their absolute best. [...]
Friday - Egg Salad for lunch - Creole Shrimp at Oyster House for dinner Saturday - Fried Chicken with Gravy, bacon and biscuits for brunch at Wishing Well, good bloody mary - lots of good beer all day - English Muffin Burger at London Grill late night. Sunday - cheesesteak omelet and John L King scrapple sandwich (shared) at South Philly Tap Room, with a Dogfish Black and Blue and Russian River Supplication. Ordered dinner from Franco and Luigi's - Sausage, Pepperoni and Onion Pie, wings and brocolli rabe.
Friday: Founders dinner at SPTR, where my favorite of the 9 courses was an ordinary-sounding-but-not-tasting peppered Berkshire pork loin over a summery pared-down ratatouille. Saturday: Sushi at the Shore. Best part of the meal was when the waiter pronounced 'tempura' 'tempurie' and 'tartare' 'tartear'. Sunday: Mack & Manco's! Half red, half white with spinach. Washed down with PA Dutch birch beer, followed up with Boardwalk fries.
Friday - Ommegang/Duvel Beer Week event at Grace Tavern - disappointed to only see 2 beers from each brewer on tap. Followed that with a delish dinner at Melograno, where husband's steak was the clear winner. Ended the night at Sidecar for another Beer Week event. Saturday - My 30th birthday party, which we catered, in part, with Bebe's BBQ. Holy pig, those ribs are good! Sunday - should have gone to Odunde, but the rain kept us away. Ended the weekend at Fish's prix fixe. Small, but delicious, portions. No longer the weekend, but very excited for an official birthday dinner at Morimoto. Mmmm.
Friday - Amazing dinner. Scallops and Filet appetizer was the bomb, only to be outdone by the Seafood Napoleon (review at foodrulez.com) at Sean's Restaurant in Cape May, NJ! Saturday - Pizza at the famous Mack's on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ - seriously - the white pizza was bumpin' Sunday - Tandy Cake Sundae at Fleck's in Cape May, NJ. Nothing brings a weekend at the beach to a close better than a sundae from Fleck's, it's a Cape May tradition!!
Friday- My sister and I had a wicked craving for Indian cuisine so we went to Bindhi on 13th and Sansom. Apps -Lobster pani puri, and beef lettuce wraps Entrees - Chicken Tikka and Seafood Gooza Side - Sweet Goat Cheese Paratha bread. - I live for this.
Saturday - I think I did my weekend eaten all in one night at Oyster House. Ordered up a dozen and half of Hama Hama Oysters, follow by half a dozen of east coast oysters, a dozen of cherry stone clams, oyster shooters, and there was also the lobster roll and soft shell crabs...ohh and of course dessert, which was apricot crumble a la mode. The food was split among 4 people, but I'm pretty sure I did the most damage.
10th reunion up in Ithaca, NY. Pizza bagel at Collegetown Bagels, decent dinner at Maxie's Supper Club, and the award winning brunch at the Ithaca Ramada. A culinary wonderland.
Friday we got to LBI late-night and were greeted with a nice glass Tignanello. MMM. After reading Philly Mag's BEST OF THE SHORE 2010 I decided to drive-by each nominee on the 18-mile isle. The best stop, by far, was Foodies. Chef Peggy does it ridiculous in this 2x2 shop and literally packs in flavor with 7-layer brownie bars, loads of composed salads (we got Santa Fe Slaw and Roasted Corn Salad) and artisan pizzas on lavash, wheat dough, naan bread. The most gorgeous of them all was one I dubbed "The Antipasti", quite literally like a charcuterie platter on pizza dough. It pairs fantastically with La Fin du Monde. Family friends introduced me to my new favorite pound cake from Stock's. I'm probably on the late train with this one, but I've strictly been a chocolate lover and when it's not chocolate it's Potito's pound cake only.
Friday I got an over-priced (and unfortunately not very strong) Miss August at Varga Bar. Not technically this weekend, but just tonight I checked out Stephen Starr's new restaurant, Stella, a pizza place in the Headhouse district. So flavorful! I've never had octopus again, but the mint-tinted appetizer there certainly turned me into a believer. Between the three of us we had more than enough pizza with a Marguerita and (my personal fave) Spinach pizzas.
Had Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Chocolate Cheerios cereal salad for dinner Friday night during a brief respite from Beer Week. I am so healthy. Saturday got up late and trekked up to Memphis Taproom for a super-late brunch with friends. Liked what they ordered (Tacos Bruncheros) more than what I got (the Red Rooster, with Scrapple subbed in for sausage). That afternoon we wandered over to the P.O.P.E. for one last Beer Week beer -- I got Ommegang's Tripel Perfection and it was DELICIOUS. Homemade pizza and gummi worms for dinner. I am so healthy!
A friend brought hoagies from Lenny's in Roxborough for a tailgate on Sunday. They give anything from the Italian Market a run for their money.
[...] we pointed out in a recent edition of Notes from the Weekend, we’ve become a bit obsessed with flackzi, a very traditional Polish soup done up with beef [...]
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Friday night was an order pizza and drink lots of cheap wine kind of night after an expensive day of PPA-related trauma. Saturday while running errands stopped by Chick Fil-A with the hopes of sampling a spicy chicken sandwich but they hadn't debuted yet. Went with the old faithful- nuggets with polynesian sauce and hot sauce. Yum. Saturday night had an impromptu BBQ and made burgers and a huge pasta salad. Also made a drink with Ruby Red grapefruit vodka and a target brand energy drink that made me, who is usually immune to the powers of energy drinks, feel like I was on a shitload of adderall. Go get some of that energy drink!! Sunday had dinner at the always delicious South Philly Tap Room. Drank two beers from Pretty Things brewery that were really great and ate a bigger than expected cheese plate and a MASSIVE side of tempura asparagus.
Friday night I had aaa beer at the Khyber — Flying Fish Exit 4 (I think?); amazingly sweet and delicious — before heading home to eat on the cheap (in the form of a pathetic turkey sandwich on a potato roll) before the official Beer Week kickoff at Beneluxx. They had three Pretty Things brews on tap — Jack D'Or, Baby Tree and Field Mouse's Farewell, my personal fave. Also ate some cheese and chocolate accidentally (budget dinner fail). Saturday had lunch at Village Whiskey and couldn't not order the Village burger (not the crazy foie gras'd one, but plus avocado and chevre). Yum x 100. Also on the menu: East Coast oysters, cheese puffs, pickled artichokes, and a Ginger Rodgers. (Mom ordered the Harvard Girl, which is cute of her.) Drank Pacificos with friends in the backyard that night; Beer Week would hang its head in shame in my direction were it animate.
Friday: Celebrated the first day of PBW with a few at POPE with D. Lazor. Mah girl Duchesse, 1809, Gaffel Kolsch. Chips and guac to counteract a happy hour load. Saturday: Slipped away to the Shore, where I subsisted on ice cream, kettle corn and coconut water. Dinner at a newish spot where 40 minutes passed before my first appetizer even arrived. Sucks for them. Sunday: More beach time, more kettle corn. Dinner at Izakaya in AC, where the cucumber-gin-shiso cocktail was extra gin-y and the Kinki chicken wings were good as ever.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: The latest installment of NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live! Share your eating/drinking notes with us in the comments: http://bit.ly/9ytujh [...]
Played the greatest food game ever: The Grocery Store Game. Each person picks one item from the grocery store (best to start with the basics) and reveals their item. In the next round, players have to build off what other people get. Then you have to create a smörgåsbord out of your purchases. It takes ingenuity, creativity and daring. We ended up with tacos, a rice-a-roni-esque mixture and a couple of other difficult to explain (but still delicious) concoctions.
Friday: Started with wings, pork slider, an Ola Dubh, and as many half-pints as I could for the 10 minutes that the Hammer of Glory was at Varga Bar; then made my way to Opening Tap, where I told Mitch from Yards that he looks like Jake Gyllenhaal. Soaked up the craftiest of beers with soup dumplings from Dim Sum Garden. Saturday: Spent the day trying to recover in b-school class. Recovery finally achieved with samosas, butter chicken, and malai kofta from Tiffin Mt. Airy. Sunday: Started off strong with sausage pancake bites from Dunkin' Donuts, finished off even stronger (or stupider) with an order of 6 BK fire-grilled ribs.
Poor Drew, all alone. Good thing you go out to / are invited to 6 restos per day. Works just fine. Adam - Kinki wings? Your fave?
Chunks of marinated chicken breast on a kebab with mushrooms, red peppers, pinapple, garlic cloves and onions (these marinated sepereately in Sofia Zinfandel / EEOO / jerk seasoning). Grilled over charcoal at the lake, ate with Jim Beam Hot Sauce and washed down with Anderson Valley High Roller Wheat ale. And my issues worsen...
Best food event was at McGillin's Olde Ale House for the 150th Anniversary Dinner. My sister's painting was unveiled and a print was given out as a favor for those in attendance. Buffet style Irish Classics and some amazingly tasty wings accompanied two very fantastic beers: McGillin's 1860 IPA and Victory's Summer of Love Ale. Fantastic night. I missed the Budweiser Clydsdales though. Not to bent out of shape about it.
One of my gave wings around fo sho. Others: POPE's mole wings, Varga's and For Pete's.
Shall we revisit the terrifying "best wings" thread of September '09? http://bit.ly/4dOPZO
[...] maker at Broad and Snyder. (We know their potato pizza is the truth, but decided to switch it since that’s what we got last time.) We “unboxed” it, ate it, thoroughly enjoyed it and are now very proud to share our [...]
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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DL: Drew Lazor
MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
Friday night, revisited my old pal chicken and waffles at Jones (700 Chestnut St.). We hadn't spoken in a minute. Drank bourbon and talked about the cult of Sex and the City with the quite-chipper bartender. —DL
Family LBI weekend plans were derailed by the slow-moving construction company that's remodeling our house, so I offered my pad as a getaway from city life. We sat out back, smoked cigars, drank Stellas and ate hot dogs and fancified burgers made with oyster sauce, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic and ginger. We also drank a $10 Chardonnay from Cupcake winery, which wasn't bad for the price. —MD
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Found some Maryland-style steamed crabs at Pike's Seafood Market at Washington & Ogontz. They were pricey at $6/crab, but heavy, sweet and soooo worth it.
"unable" to make a tuna melt? a load of bullshit. same thing happened to me before. when I asked our server if they had an oven, he told me that no, 4th street does not have an oven in which to make a tuna melt. I don't blame our server, I know he was only doing as told. I do however blame the establishment for not granting simple guest requests AND for condoning their servers to tell such lies in order to prevent said requests. On a positive note I did enjoy a delicious Unibroue Ephemere yesterday to beat the heat, one of my favorite summertime beers!
I was treated to my first John's Water Ice of the season yesterday! I got a lemon and cherry mix with pretzel rods on the side, soooo good!
Hell yes. What's your pick for best John's flavor? I gotta go with cherry.
I did a lot of cooking at home this weekend, and I treated myself to a bottle of buffalo trace, a decent but not too pricy burbon I had not previously sampled. I did dine out Friday and hit up Rembrandt's, enticed by its close proximity to home and outside seating. I was impressed by their great selection of drafts...no macros and not a bad choice on the list. I was a tad bummed they were out of the Chouffe IPA tripel...one of my all time favorite breweries and not common option on tap. The best part of the visit was the lamb burger I split. Served on great bread, cooked to perfection and topped with goat cheese, shaved fennel and olives. One of the better sandwiches I had in a while... On the way home, stopped off for a totally uneccesary special or two at Era. For $3, you get an all-star bottom barrel combo of a shot of heaven hill burbon and bottle of lionshead. Still need to sample the fare at Era...
The first part of the weekend was spent in Scranton visiting my sis. The bf and I were delighted to discover several great beer bars, one of which (Backyard Ale House) was offering a free bbq to anyone hanging out that day. Score! Back in the city on Saturday, we hit up Kraftwork for dinner and I gazed jealously across the table at the beer can chicken sandwich while I ate my falafel. Randomly, that was my first experience with falafel and I was underwhelmed. I hate dill, and the herb was used liberally in this particular version. The fries with mustard dipping sauce were great, though. Attempted to work it all off dancing at Kung Fu Necktie, until they kicked us out at 2:15. Sunday was a hangover lunch at Resurrection Ale House. I'd kill a man for their German potato salad so of course I went with the fried chicken, served with a heaping pile of the salad. Still dreaming about it. Today: Fat kid remorse.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper and Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: The latest installment of NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Share your own notes in the comments! http://bit.ly/9YHEkt [...]
The most notable item of the holiday weekend was hitting Dino's in Margate for the first time this summer. For a lesson in controlled chaos go in there during a busy lunch. I don't know how they manage, but they do. It was PACKED but our order was ready early. Their cheesesteaks and hoagies (on Atlantic City bread of course) are great, but their tuna is simply the best.
No recollection whatsoever of what I did/ate on Friday. It was so long ago! Saturday we went up to New York for the day. Most notable food experience: dinner at Prune. Fried chickpeas with coarse sea salt; fried sweetbreads with bacon and capers; roasted marrow bones with parsley salad; seared duck breast with dandelion greens; pistachio pastry with buttermilk ice cream. Holy hell. Decadent and, all things considered, affordable. Sunday I had my first Sarcone's hoagie ever -- I went with the Sinatra (prosciutto, spinach, mozz, herbs). Regretted only getting a small. Monday went to Capogiro on Passyunk, aka Capoyunk and seriously felt like I was in France. Amazing cappuccinos (La Colombe) and pastries (including H&H bagels from NY!).
Chocolate!
I would destroy sweetbreads with bacon and capers. ARE YOU SERIOUS???
Um yeah. They were CRAZY delicious.
Was along for the New York Saturday trip; here's my non-Prune highlights (as I shared all the above, though not a Negroni, a Boulevardier and a rye manhattan): On the bus ride up had one of those Dunkin' Donuts cheddar bagel twists: Total yum At Blind Tiger: A Chelsea Rye Not on cask and a Founders Rye Ale with former CP hard hitter Tom Namako At Rattle 'N' Hum: A Great Divide Titan IPA and, on cask, a Middle Ages Wizard Winter Ale with former CP music czar Neil Gladstone and former CP contributor Gabrielle Mosquera
ditto cherry.
Hit up Resurrection Ale House for the first time. Chili glazed shrimp skewers with white gazpacho and red grapes was the highlight. Also had brunch at Morning Glory on Monday. The food was good as always. However I think I will be boycotting this place for the remainder of the summer, or until they get a/c. Sauna brunch.
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
DL: Drew Lazor
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Thursday: Used the wife and I's weekend visitors as an excuse to go to Beneluxx, wherein we munched sublime chocolate and fondue and sampled all sorts of lovely beers. If such a place as heaven exists, it surely resembles that little bar on Third, no? Friday: Excellent Mexican food at Mi Puebla in the Germantown/Mount Airy/Chestnut Hill section of town. Try it if you're up there. Saturday: Aforementioned visitors meant we went to the Italian Market. They grabbed a steak at Pat's. I went for a sammich at Paesano. I win. Then, many, many beers and Flyers at 12 Steps. Sunday: Friends leave. Wife and I have disappointing Italian while mattress hunting on the Main Line. Have a decidedly better experience at Belgium Cafe later (though, being honest, the wife wasn't a fan of their chicken fingers). I've forgotten how much I love mussels and sour ales.
The single origin espresso at Bodhi Coffee was a perfect precursor to the Headhouse Market (& Market Day Canele). Made with beans sourced from a single farm -- currently a Costa Rican one -- the espresso was flavorful and super crisp, leaving almost zero aftertaste. After downing the perfectly-pulled coffee drink I proclaimed to Bobby, "So clean tasting, I could even kiss someone!"
Friday night ate at Nam Phuong at 11th and Washington. I eat there way too much and every time I go I end up ordering the same thing. Summer Rolls, house special vermicelli and $3 beers. Also important to note- mixed drinks there for $5 that are so strong that you feel like you are drunk after one sip. I recommend the Zombie- made with copious amounts of 151- if you are trying to get loaded on the cheap (duh, all the time). Saturday, drove home to Maryland to have crabs for the first time this season. They did not disappoint. The crab sellers told me it is looking like an excellent year for crabs, so there is more to look forward to this summer. Yay!!! Then had dinner at my parents' house- beef tenderloin kebabs, warm potato salad with goat cheese, sugar snap peas, corn on the cob and green tea ice cream with strawberries. I love Maryland/my parents. Sunday spent the date doing some very, very late in the season Spring Cleaning around the house. Realized in the evening that I had only had coffee and energy drinks to keep me going and ordered a sausage and pepper pizza from La Rosa (so awesome) and devoured it while drinking wine and watching a terrible horror movie in my very clean house. Great weekend!!!!
You know what's awesome after a marathon night of drinking Natty Bo in West Philly? IHOP. Thanks hash browns, I owe you one.
Saturday: Friends had a "housewarming" party for a house they've lived in for two years. Burger season is here. For dessert Chelsea invented something she called a "pie bar" which is basically pie filling atop a flat shortbread crust. I ate a lot of it. Sunday: Dunkin Donuts bagel for breakfast. Should have eaten more pie bar instead. For dinner, a roast chicken and Israeli couscous, which is by far the best kind of couscous.
This was a great weekend for food and drinks. On Thursday, ate the duck heart and morcilla special while working at Kraftwork. On Friday, ate my first oysters ever at the oyster house (became an omnivore just about a year ago) then had this excellent "Everything Tuna" sandwich-- tuna COVERED in everything bagel spices-- at Nodding Head. Ditched the bread and just devoured the tuna and fries. On Saturdy, went with a group of friends + family for an early dinner at Cantina Dos Segundos. The fried plantains appetizer and nachos were both a huge hit with everyone. Turns out this place works well for an affordable night out with a group. Sunday started with excellent coffee and not-excellent croissants at Flying Saucer in Fairmount. Later, we ventured into town and got drinks at Varga-- a Yards TJ, Sly Fox saison, and Victory Pursuit for my companion, and their Miss May and an SF saison for myself. Then, finally, I went to Percy St BBQ for the first time. Everyone enjoyed their meal, even our veg friend who rocked the avocado salad and vegan chili. Everything about the presentation and atmosphere here really complements the food. It's comfortable, airy, and fun. I don't know much about Texas bbq, so maybe it's just me, but I didn't love the buttery cornbread and the cake-y part of the blueberry cobbler. What I did love and keep dreaming about is the banana pudding... incredible consistency and flavor. Needless to say, the meats were all delicious and fell off the bone. We washed everything down with a galloon of Brooklyn Pennant Ale. Summer! It's here.
How does Doron forget ALL of the vegetables we ate this weekend? Arugula and lemon salad, curried cumin carrots, curly kale...yum.
capogiro: strawberry gelato / marshmallow gelato. BOOM. homemade indian food & chocolate ricotta icebox cake for lost. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-ricotta-icebox-cake
FRI / Leftovers, hunched over the kitchen sink, watching the Phils: salsa verde-flodded enchiladas and serious costilla tacos from Los Gallos, two slices of rioctta-dabbed white from nabe newcomer Porter Street pizza. Midnight snack: Quaker oatmeal with Three Springs canned peaches. SAT / Tried Noble v. 2.0, where the food is way better with Brinn Sinnot cooking, but Christian Gaal's cocktails (and the atmo) are still the best things bout the place. Dude makes his own tonic, did you know? Highlight: oysters with pickled melon and ramps. Midnight snack: adulterated virginal Dutch Meadow Dairy raw milk with singularly awesome Honey Smacks. SUN / Hit up Headhouse, where I scooped some Stumptown from Bodhi, an insanely good fig-brie-sausage situation from Renaissance Sausage and some scapes and yellow zucchini from Tom Culton, who's sporting a the makings of a handlebar mustache. Sauteed the squash in duck fat rendered from a Griggstown duck breast pilfered from Green Aisle, added it to Severino capellini with manchego, oregano, garlic chives, roasted onion-and-butternut squash seed oil pesto. Sliced down the duck and fanned it over Green Meadow arugula with a strawberry gastrique. It looked like 1996, but tasted great. Dessert: Batch #2 of local strawberry ice cream. Bangin.
I had a solid regiment of sandwich consumption Thursday and Friday followed by a weekend of cooking at home. Thursday, I checked out the new Jake's sandwich board at 12th and Sansom. Around 1pm, staff there outnumbered customers 5 to 1. I ordered the Mensch. Slow cooked brisket, provolone, fried onions and horseradish sauce. Solid sandwich on great bread. Quality ingredients, inventive sandwiches, and you can get a fried egg on anything. I'll be back. A couple comments: 1. the horseradish sauce was not spicy enough and reminded me of Arby's (which is not a good thing); 2. as a former sandwich architect with many years of experience during high school and college, my mentors taught me to construct a sandwich and apply condiments horizontally, not vertically to maximize the variety of ingredients in each bite - when I got back to my office and unwrapped my fresh sammie from Jake's, most of the cheese and onions stuck to wax paper. It was like the taint of my sandwich got a brazilian wax. I hadn't been to Nodding Heads in a long time, I got worn out on their beer, and somewhat stale menu back in the day. I made a return visit for lunch on Friday. I got the jerk pork sandwich and their IPA. My lunching partner got the duck BLT. Two extremely solid sandwiches! Seems Nodding Head has some solid new fare. My sandwich had plantains and a spicy magno chutney. Really awesome sandwich. I am still not over the moon about their beer...its solid beer and all (always liked the grog and 60 shilling) - but the American in me wants my IPA much colder... The rest of the weekend I dined in after days spent working in the garden and fishing. A case of the Avery variety pack set the tone....
PIE BAR! GIVE ME A PIE BAR
Rascal, I haven't been in Nodding Head in a minute either. Jerk pork sounds really good.
Noble is ridic. love that place.
My dining companion got the jerk pork on Friday and also approved.
Friday: Went to POPE to celebrate Patrick Rapa and Lori Hill's birthdays. Drank, among other things, a Crooked Tree Double IPA, a Six Point Red Tuft ESB, a Heavy Seas Siren Noire Chocolate Stout, a Founders Double Trouble out of the bottle and then we all did shots (because that's the kind of people we are) of something the waitress recommended called a Firefly (which is more or less sweet tea vodka and delicious). Saturday: We bottled the batch of George Hummel-concocted, Home Sweet Homebrew-sourced Rye IPA that'd been fermenting for the last two weeks and celebrated with a small Pizzazz pizza and a small bbq chicken pizza from sLice Sunday: Hit the Headhouse farmers market (asparagus, eggs, bread, cheese, tomatoes, apples), then Home Sweet Homebrew for the ingredients for our next batch of hooch, an American pale ale. Hit the liquor store for a new bottle of sweet vermouth for making boulevardiers and a bottle of brandy for making sidecars. Hit Bella Vista Beer and picked up an amazing sampler case of Furthermore beer (their Knot Stock, Fatty Boombalatty, Proper and Three Feet Deep) and a bottle of Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout. Hit Whole Foods, then came home and used the grill pan to cook up steak from the grocery store and Culton Organics asparagus, broke out the new gift mandolin to make baked crinkle-cut sweet potato fries/chips, harvested the first three scapes from our eight garlic plants and sauted them up to top the steak before settling in for the series finale of Lost.
Started Friday with happy hour at Tria Wash West, had Rose Pino Noir âneither red nor whiteâ and garlic goat cheese pesto bruchetta. Perfect way to start the weekend. Walked over to dinner at Garces Trading Co. for the chef's tasting shared. So much food for two people! We left with a hefty doggy bag and a bottle of Roja for the road. Saturday we snacked on leftovers from GTC's, then had friend's amazing beer bread and margaritas while watching the Flyers win. Great tacos (finally!) at Headhouse Square on Sunday, then made crabcakes with lottsa lemon and asparagus eaten watching the Lost finale marathon.
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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FD: Felicia D'Ambrosio
MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
DL: Drew Lazor
I'm well on my way to cardiac arrest if this weekend is any indication. Starvin Marvin's signature foot-long, Geno's Whiz whiz, wings and Founder's Double Trouble at P.O.P.E., Primo's Nonna's veggie. Not sure how I, or my waistband, survived. —MD
Friday, went to our ever-frequent haunt The Sidecar for "one drink" and ended up having a number of drinks that was higher than one. Also dug into their sick soft-shell sandwich ... get 'em while they last, crustacean heads. —DL
Spent sunny Saturday hitting up a few of Philly's more essential beer halls on a tour de force of digital video and drinking — my solemn duty as guide to the boys of Beer Nation, whose Philadelphia webisode premiers in July. Dudes with expensive cameras running backwards in front of you attracts more attention than one would think. —FD
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Ate enough at the Italian Market Fest to keep me satiated for days. The huge bag of kettle corn and muffuletta from Di Bruno were delicious but the bootleg Philly Water Ice stand (complete with tequila add-in) was the best part of the day. And Maria, the only way to eat water ice correctly is with a pretzel rod (or with tequila. See above).
Friday: Headed down to the Wachovia Center to watch game seven of the Flyers/Bruins. My friend and I made it through one period before we decided the drunk young adults were too much for us. I did get to see a funnel-dog (funnel cake-wrapped hot dog on a stick, topped with powdered sugar) up close and personal, though. We watched the rest of the epic game at The Pour House in Westmont. Saturday: Lunch at The Ugly Mug in Cape May. A Sam Adams Summer Ale hit the spot, along with a gigantic crabcake for me (seriously, the biggest one I've ever seen) and a lobster roll for the boy. Sunday: Lunch at Cape May Fish House where we ordered the exact same thing as the previous day, sans beers, only my crab cake was weak while my man's lobster roll taunted me in all its delicious glory. Tacos at home for dinner followed by more Flyers greatness.
Oh, Molly's comment reminded me - we also had a GIGANTIC bag of kettle corn for the ride home, which I munched on throughout the day. Yum!
Molly, that totally gets my vote. You have to bite a chunk off leaving the bottom half intact, so it looks kinda like one of those spoon/straws.
Took off Thursday after work for a long biking/camping weekend in Asheville with CP book critic/home chef Justin Bauer. Stopped in Stephens City, Va., at 10:28 p.m. for my very first ever Waffle House experience. Ordered a buttermilk waffle and the cheese 'n' eggs, both of which I'd heard are memorable. Friday, after setting up camp, got ribs (with the blueberry chipotle sauce), collards, jalepeno cheese grits, corn pudding and mac and cheese from 12 Bones Smokehouse which is, as per our friends at the Asheville Mountain Xpress, where the Obamas ate while they were in town vacationing a few weeks back. After a rain-halted Asheville Tourists game where I sampled a Magic Hat Vinyl lager and a French Broad Rye Hopper, we hit The Thirsty Monk for sliders (lamb, black and blue) and a Redhook 8-4-1 Expedition Ale. Saturday, after a 30-mile bike ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we put in an order (one large with feta, calamata olives, artichoke hearts, onions and fresh basil; one large with rosemary crust, pepperoni, sausage and spicy sauce) at Digable Pizza, an amazing organic pizza shop run by hippies (and possibly named for Digable Planets?). Because pizza made by hippies always takes longer than they say it will, we wandered across the street to Hops & Vines, an awesome wine and beer bottle shop/homebrew joint where I saw, for the first time in my life, Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA, a beer I've only ever heard spoken of in hushed tones, as if saying it too loudly might cause it to blink out of existence entirely. Picked up a 20-oz. bottle which I hope to enjoy this week when all the conditions are optimal. Also picked up a Seven Sisters abbey style ale from Asheville's Highland Brewing Company. At the campfire that night, enjoyed mixing up cocktails of Russell's Reserve Rye (which I like less than Beam and Wild Turkey) and a local Dr. Pepper-esque soda called Cheerwine (whose motto appears to be "It's a soft drink" and which I highly recommend). Sunday involved brunch at a place called Cafe Ella for an excellent omelette (with tomato, artichoke hearts and mozzarella) and grits, then to Chocolate Fetish for a gift box of sea salted caramels and assorted truffles (including an excellent hot-pepper dusted variety) before getting on the road for the 11-hour drive home. En route home, stopped at a Wendy's for a Baconator and was disappointed to learn that if you order a single (rather than the double), you get, like, two pieces of bacon, which seems more like a regular old bacon cheeseburger than something deserving of a moniker as imposing as The Baconator. Just saying.
Friday -- Chelsea made homemade pizza. Five stars. Saturday -- Dinner at Avenida. Five stars. Sunday -- Sandwiches at Italian Market fest after long afternoon of basketball. Eleven stars.
Friday: Took advantage of Amada's $14.50 Catalan Express lunch special, consisting of gazpacho with avocado ice cream (yes please) and spicy Pernil pork sandwich with cabbage. Also, Sangria. Not that it was included. Saturday: Grubbed at the Italian Market Fest — specifically chicken sandwich with pretzels and spicy cheese dip. Helped a friend move, then drank way too many Pacificos and takeout from Cafe de Laos in South Philly. Dumpling app: highly recommended. Sunday: Breakfasted at Black & Brew. Had the Huckabay standard: brioche french toast with bacon, and plenty of coffee. Original, right? Snacked on farmers market goodies for the rest of the day, including decadent lightly salted chevre from Patches of Star.
Friday, Checked out Savas brick oven pizza to go along with a flyers victory, and way too many beers Saturday, ITL market fest, Espositos Porceheta pork sandwhich with hot peppers and "gravy" - worth seeking out Sunday, Headhouse Market, Sausage egg and cheese from the sausage truck, and some housemade Prosciutto di Parma sausage
Thursday I had dinner with the fam at AUGUST on the corner of Wharton and 13th sts. The atmosphere is sexy, the service is friendly and the food will make your toes curl in an ecstatic kind of way. Friday night I stumbled into Maoz on Walnut after a few too many Belvedere Vodka martinis in the Gayborhood. I love Maoz. It's so fresh and pretty. Saturday I tried Fuel on E. Passyunk Ave. Everything on the menu is below 500 calories. I started with an antioxidant packed acai/pomegranate/blueberry smoothie, had the tuna and arugula salad as an entree and topped it off with their awesome dessert specialty, the banana mash. You really need to check this place out. The only complaint I have is that the music was way too techno-y and loud. Icky. Sunday I headed back to E. Passyunk Ave. to share a bottle of white wine with friends at Paradiso. I got there early in the afternoon and the place was already hoppin'. It's a beautiful space and the wine was excellent. I'll have to head back for a meal one day soon. Food!
Filed Under: Notes from the Weekend
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FD: Felicia D'Ambrosio
MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
DL: Drew Lazor
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
Had an amazing brunch at Amis, sat at the kitchen counter, meal was highlighted by a very well informed waitress and a not to be missed Duck egg with pecorino fondue served in a small all-clad sauce pan
Spent the afternoon yesterday reading recipes for macarons and feeling incredibly ill-prepared to attempt making them. I decided to just go buy some instead and stopped at Miel Patisserie for a lemon and butter cream version and then to Garces Trading Co for a mint and white chocolate one and a salted caramel and chocolate one. Although the flavors of Garces macarons sounded more appealing, they ended up coming a distant second flavor and texture-wise to the Miel macaron. Garces ones were definitely prettier though.
Mother-in-law made my trek to the Shore worthwhile by snagging two 3-1/2 lb lobsters fresh off the truck at 7am at the seafood market. The man of the house had to take the claws outside & crack them with a hammer, but -- perhaps because they hadn't ever sat in tanks -- they had none of the toughness usually associated with large beasts. General consensus was it would be too much meat for four people (along with the rest of dinner) but I assured them I'd handle whatever they couldn't stomach. And I did. Sweet & succulent.
Once again, my notes from the weekend includes some weekday chowings. I was in California again for work, staying at the Claremont hotel, which overlooks Berkeley, Oakland and San Fran. A lovely hotel with two great eateries - Paragon bar and Maritage restaurant. Having been to the Meritage in Philly, I felt obliged to do a taste test. Interestingly, Meritage in in the hotel shared a similar menu item as meritage philly - pork buns. While Philly's Meritage would win the pork bun throwdown overall for superior pork buns, the pork buns in the meritage at the claremont was topped with the most thinly julienned pile of carrot, cabbage and daicon, which really added a great contrast the pork belly and hoisin. The other stand out dish from Meritage at the claremont was a crispy flatbread topped with house smoked salmon, cavier and creme fraiche. The only other thing to make note of from my stay there was a really bangin dish of fried calamari. What made this stand out to fried calamari every where was that it also included chunks of fried green tomatoes and pickles interspersed with the crispy tentacles. The best part of eating once back in philly was harvesting and eating the first couple heads of lettuce from my garden. I've really come to love a really simple dressing for greens of olive oil, lemon juice and salt/pepper.
So many delicious bites this weekend: at Amis> perfectly cooked spring-y fava beans and asparagus, at Fish> Peekytoe crab, grouper, morels, oysters (read: EVERY thing down to the minced cucumber), at Headhouse Square> freshly baked Market Day canneles. On Sunday, hit up the farmer's market at 9:59 and brought the boy's mom and my Brooklyn ma together for a home-cooked 5 course feast (who knew grilling pork tenderloin could be so simple??). Those lilacs from my fave Chinese family at HH are making my whole house smell awesome.
Go to Kraftwork. Just had a Lagunitas but I'm a fan of Sidecar's food so I figure their's will follow suit. The interior is gorgeous! Nice atmosphere, super nice waitstaff even with it being crazy busy. I cheated on Sarcone's with the PCOM special (with Russian dressing, naturally) from Koch's. After a lengthy Sarcone's v. Koch's debate, we decided that they were separate but equal. I was full after the first half but couldn't just let the other half be lonely so I let them have a reunion in my belly.
Late-night dinner on Friday at Taqueria Veracruzana: Carnitas quesadillas look like tacos; burritos look like a human head (in size, anyway). Yum all around. Took out-of-town friends to Fitler Square's Tastebuds for breakfast and Italian Market's outpost of Paesano's for lunch. We split four sams — the Paesano, the Diavlo, the Tuscan Tony and a veg special — and then had to get Anthony's coffees to digest it all. Picked up some Italian prosciutto and decadent cheeses from Claudio's for later. (Picked up some Brown Betty 'cakes for later-later.) Rounded out the friend-y weekend with brunch at Carman's Country Kitchen. I had cornflake-encrusted challah french toast topped with blood orange, strawberry, nutella and whipped cream. Srsly.
Went to Ladder 15 for happy hour before heading to the Flyers game. Enjoyed some goat cheese cigars, both styles of Korean taco and a small bite of the Sloppy Jose mix just to try it. Loved Ansill's tacos, especially the pork belly. After the game, we came back downtown for drinks and snacks at Tria. Fell in love with the beet salad because I substituted beets for grilled asparagus due to my loathe of beets. Went to Kraftwork on Saturday night to enjoy some more food and drink. Tried the cheese board (great), the ricotta dumplings (okay) and the croquettes (meh). Winners were found in the entrees we picked out which included the burger with bacon onion jam (awesome), the beer can chicken sandwich (great) and the falafel sandwich (also great). The best thing I could have done there would have been to put the cucumber sauce from the falafel sandwich on top of the spicy beer can chicken sandwich. Thinking back, I wish I had done it. Beer list was good but the wine list needs some work and the temperature of the red wine needs some love and attention. However, the pork Krispy treat is NOT to be missed. Winner, winner, pork for dinner.
As fate would have it: I accidentally ended up at Cichetteria 19â (despite having reservations at another restaurant and then trying to walk into a different place through Cichetteria 19's doors). A very lucky find. The owner and the staff were so friendly and informative. We stuffed ourselves silly on small plates of food made from seasonal and local ingredients- melon and prosciutto, olives, two amazing seafood dishes. The wine was pricey, but if you don't mind small portions, the prices were reasonable.
Mike H, that sounds great...I'm obsessed with their baccala.
Can't wait to get to Kraftwork.
spent part of the weekend in DC for sisters graduation. Ate at Rasika on Sat and Jaleo on Sunday/Mother's Day Brunch. Both places were outstanding. Fried spinach, Tandoori Salmon, Curried Lamb shanks, GIANT curried Shrimp, and a traditional dumpling-like cake with rosewater and pistachio ice cream...Rasika! For brunch we ordered many dishes/sm. plates. Soft-scrambles eggs with wild mushrooms, chicken croquettes, salt roasted baby potatoes with Cilantro-Cumin dipping sauce, beet and blue cheese salad, potato tortilla, patatas bravas(some of the best I have had), sauteed spinach with raisins, potatoes and pinenuts and a warm apple charlotte at Jaleo!! TWO thumbs up for both spots...
I have spent many hours pondering this Sarcone's v. Koch's question. It's like debating Jordan v. Russell. I think I need to back Koch's because of cultural loyalty but if someone argued for Sarcone's I could not hold it against them.
Mmmm, Market Day caneles. Bought the 2pack of large; they didn't make it past one block on my walk home.
Is Sarcone's vs. Koch's really a fair one-or-the-other debate? Can't you just buy me sandwiches from both? I mean, can't you just like both?
Friday: During lunch hour, I ran to Home Sweet Homebrew where George Hummell put together on the fly a rye IPA recipe for my next batch of Fernonbrau. Post work: the usual beers at Khyber, then pre-Flyers Italian tuna hoagie from Cosmi's, during the Flyers drank the last few bottles of Dark Star Brown Ale (a Home Sweet Homebrew kit) and finished up with a celebratory post-Flyers rye Manhattan at Royal Tavern. Saturday: Lazy day that included putting chicken wire up around my lettuce planters to keep squirrels from eating it before I do and, while watching the amazing Betty White SNL, brewing up that rye IPA and getting it into the fermenter then experimenting with bread machine recipes using the spent grains from the wort. Sunday: Mother's day brunch at my sister's (I brought caneles from Green Aisle) followed by the mother's day plant sale at Bartram's Garden.
Yeah I would say it ain't fair (or easy), especially given the bread factor and the pork factor, to attempt to compare Jewish deli and Italian sandwiches. PS-Hi Doron...didn't you sublet from me 2 blocks from Koch's?
Hey Julia! I DID once live two blocks from Koch's, just briefly, and I regret leaving that hallowed ground every day. Drew, what a cowardly position. Pick a side!
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