|
|
|
The Good Word
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with Joy Manning, freelance food writer, Philadelphia Magazine restaurant critic and cookbook author. Joy also writes What I Weigh Today, a blog about how a professional eater fights the scale.
 |
Like a lot of us food nerds, you're an avid Twitterer. But since you rely on anonymity for your critic gig (see right), are you ever afraid that you'll be IDed if you Tweet that you're on location somewhere?
I am on guard at all times about my anonymity; if I tweet that I am somewhere, you can interpret that to mean I just left. And I never tweet the name of a place I am or might be reviewing, though there are sometimes hints.
As a critic for Philly Mag, you're probably approached all the time by out-of-towners looking for recommendations. Is there a certain facet of the city's dining scene that you find visitors are often surprised by?
I am, in fact, often approached for recommendations. One thing that surprises people, especially New Yorkers who haven't eaten out much here, is the sophistication of our fine dining scene. People think cheesesteaks when they think Philly and are surprised to learn how many excellent high-end options we have. Vetri and Osteria, Amada and Tinto, Lacroix and The Fountain are the antithesis of the cheesesteak stereotype.
Fall's nearly here. What summer-season produce item will you be particularly sad to see go? And what was one of your favorite dishes you tried this summer using the ingredient?
I'm dejected over the lack of good tomatoes this year, but that's not the question, is it? I've been using a lot of slender baby eggplants from my CSA, Red Earth Farm. In addition to my work at Philly Mag, I'm also a recipe developer, and I've been working on a batch of vegetarian grilling recipes for another magazine. I did a grilled bread salad with grilled eggplant and basil vinaigrette. It was so good (if I do say so myself) that I could hardly believe it was not only vegetarian, but vegan. Such is the power of fresh, glossy, meaty, Red Earth Farm eggplant.
If you could have any chef in Philly as your in-home personal chef, who would it be and why?
I have been very lucky to sample food from the city's best chefs, and that makes it really hard for me to choose. My first reaction was to answer Michael Solomonov, because Zahav is hands down my personal favorite restaurant. From the moment I first tasted the hummus, flatbread, and salads served there, I could easily imagine eating nothing else for the rest of my life.� But, on the other hand, Zahav is pretty affordable and I can go there any time I want. You know whose food I can't have any time I want? Shola Olunloyo. Non-food nerds might have no idea who he is, because he doesn't cook in a restaurant, but anyone who has attended one of his "guest chef" events knows where I'm coming from. Shola served a Snake River Farms beef fillet topped with an oxtail gyoza at an event he did at Snackbar in 2007, and I still dream about it. No one knows delicious like Shola.
"Vetri and Osteria, Amada and Tinto, Lacroix and The Fountain are the antithesis of the cheesesteak stereotype" Fortuantely these places share the pride, craft and passion that goes into a classic cheesesteak, hoagie or pork sandwich. They just lack Philadelphia heritage.
Great interview, Joy is a super nice person and a great food writer. Her pick of Shola Olunloyo is also great, this guy is just blowing the doors off whenever he cooks. Wish I could be around for his corn dinner. Hopefully we'll see him back at the guest chef series at Snackbar in the fall.
As a native Philadelphian, I'm always bemused by the declaration, "they're nor from here" - usually in a negative way. Stephen Starr is a native, and he gets slammed because he's 'too-successful'. A little insecurity Philadelphia? Give me my cheesesteaks, my Jose Garces, my Pho, and Stephen Starr. Every week, this city just gets better.
[...] Meal Ticket :: Blog Archive :: THE GOOD WORD Vol. 8: Joy Manning of Philadelphia Magazine :: Philade... mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/08/28/the-good-word-vol-8-joy-manning-of-philadelphia-magazine – view page – cached o ⢠That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Brad Lidge blows save o ⢠That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Fumo wants to pick his — From the page [...]
Yo David, Did you really think my comment had anything to do with "they're not from here?"
Philadelphia has some truly wonderful food, which I am thrilled to eat when visiting, however, the only current Philadelphia resident chef whose food I will make a special trip to Philadelphia for is Shola Olunloyo. If you add the area around Philadelphia, I will add Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa of Ideas in Food. Unfortunately, none of them are cooking regularly in a restaurant. Fortunately, they all cook often enough at special events that they remain somewhat accessible. If I have the time, I will go anywhere they are cooking.
i think shola might be the best chef in philly. this guy is TALENTED!!! a la tiger woods
I ate at Shola's condo in the spring the best pasta dish I have ever eaten! This guy could charge $100 a person and people would pay no questions I second the best chef in philadelphia comment
least important person - Shola does charge that, in fact he charges $150 per person, and people do pay it! http://www.sholaolunloyo.com/events.html
I have had the privelage of tasting Shola's hummus ad I would say it rivals any establishment out there. He is just a Great Human Being too.
 |
| twitter.com/foodieatfifteen |
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We're going to start by highlighting the city's many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we're chatting with Nick Normile, the now 16-year-old who writes the blog Foodie at Fifteen. Normile, who's entering his junior year at Lower Merion High School, juggles classes, cross country and SATs with a weekend apprenticeship at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse. (This is a kid who celebrated his birthday at Per Se.) For the record, the young cook says he wants to study business in college, with long-term plans to attend culinary school and eventually open his own restaurant.
We know you stage at Lacroix on the weekends, but we don't know how you landed the gig. When did you start and how did you get in?
One day about three years ago, the Inquirer did a special in the food section about cooking classes and demonstrations in the area. I saw that Lacroix was holding something called "Shopping with the Chefs," where people would go with the chefs at Lacroix to Di Bruno's, try some cheeses and pick out some ingredients, and then go back to Lacroix. The chefs would then show the guests how to cook the ingredients, and the guest would get a finished three-course lunch. I convinced my mom to let me go to this and I really enjoyed it. It was just me and a few adults and I was just talking with the chefs the whole time, telling them how I liked to cook, and at the end of the lesson, the chef told me that I could come back on weekends, which I've been doing ever since.
In addition to Lacroix you've apprenticed at Osteria and Amada. All top-notch spots � all with excellent beverage programs. Do you ever feel jipped that you can't partake in wine and cocktails due to your age, given that they're important to a dining experience?
Yeah, I definitely wish I could try wine. Wine is kind of similar to cheese in terms of production (that it takes a lot of care to produce, that there are so many varieties from everywhere, that it tastes different depending on where it's from) and it really interests me. I'm going nuts on my 21st birthday.
Read on your Twitter that you believe there's a "strong correlation between food and my mood." Do you mean that you gravitate toward certain foods when you feel a certain way, or vice versa — do you find certain foods affect your mood, for better or for worse?
When I said that, I meant that the food I eat affects how I feel. It is definitely true that how we feel determines how we eat, but I think the reverse is true, as well. Eating good, whole, healthy foods makes me feel good, whereas heavy, fatty, processed food, when not eaten in moderation, makes me feel like crap (cheesesteaks, hamburgers). It goes deeper than that, but that's the basic idea.
Do you pack a lunch to bring to school, or do you eat cafeteria food? If you pack, run us through your average brown-bag meal.
I always pack a lunch. If I'm in a hurry, I'll do something like peanut butter, banana and dulce de leche on this great whole-wheat bread from a nearby bakery. If I have more time to prepare something, however, I'll crisp up the skin on a sous vide chicken breast and put it in a Tupperware with some grilled asparagus.
Future rising star in the food world? Maybe. That PB&B sounds delish! I'm keeping my eye on Nick, I see great things in his future.
See you on Top Chef 10: Philadelphia!
if philly has to wait till #10, I'm gonna be mad!!!
Another great interview.
He's spot on with his comment about the quality of the food affecting his mood and overall sense of well being. Compounding over-eating with a selection high in sodium and cholesterol not only leaves you feeling lethargic, but it's always very detrimental to your health. That 'stuffed' feeling isn't good for you as it causes imbalances in blood pressure. Add to that the cancer link with preserved foods- known yet ignored for so long- and you'll see what the average American diet does to both the individual and the healthcare system(of course, in regard to the latter issue, diet is by far not the only thing to blame).
Here's an article that's about 40 years late:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8202188.stm
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with longtime Philly food personality Holly Moore. Moore, who wrote a food/restaurant column for City Paper for 14 years, is best-known for his food site (not a blog!) HollyEats.com, which sees the prolific eater rating inexpensive food all over the country on his grease-stain scale. CBS3 recently did a segment on Moore, which features a clip of him riding on his signature scooter.
You ran your own restaurant, Holly Moore's Upstairs Cafe, here in Philly from 1978 to 1982. Let's say you caught the bug again and decided to open a place today. What would it be called, where would it be and what would it serve?
I am tempted to jump back in�far too often.�About three years ago, I made offers on a few�locations, but none panned out. The name: Holly Dawgs. Holly Dawgs sells top quality�HollyEats�grease stain-worthy�food, including�hot dogs (Usinger's imported from Wisconsin, hopefully served on a toasted and buttered New England-style hotdog bun), hamburgers and cheesburgers�(four- to five-ounce, ground fresh daily), fresh-cut French fries (not shoestring), batter-dipped onion rings, draught root beer and shakes made with light cream.� There would be no turkey dogs, kobe�burger/dogs,�or�veggie burgers, and no toppings other than cheddar cheese, fried or raw onion, ketchup, mustard and red and green relish. No cheesesteaks, either.�Philadelphia needs another cheesesteak place like it needs another Southern Italian restaurant.
What now-closed Philadelphia restaurant do you miss the most? (Other than your own!)
That's easy.� Steven Poses' Commissary, the early years. The Commissary even helped�lure me to Philadelphia back in the late '70s.� Before then, all I knew about Philadelphia was Old Original Bookbinder's and the oil refineries�seen on the way�in from the airport. After being offered a job with an ad agency, I stayed at the Latham for a few days to get the feel of Center City. The Commissary, as much as anything, convinced me that W.C. Fields had it wrong. I still crave the Commissary's fresh-baked brioche and croissants, their omelet bar and, of course, the�carrot cake.�Among the other places�I really miss: Levis',�the Astral Plane�and Siegfried's, a German deli in the Reading Terminal Market that made several kinds of liverwurst.
You cover a wide array of food from all over the country on Holly Eats. What cuisines have you uncovered in your travels that are underrepresented here in Philly?
Non-franchise hamburger and hot dog stands. Cheesesteaks are so dominant in Philadelphia that, unlike most every other major city, there are�few walk-up stands where one can grab a quick burger or�dog.�As far as an actual regional cuisine, Southern cooking options have been pretty slim until recently. Bebe's sides, and especially their banana pudding, are as good as any meat and three in the South. Philadelphia�still needs more pan-fried chicken and more chicken-fried anything.
Early in your career, you worked for McDonald's as part of the team that developed the Big Mac. When's the last time you had one?
I used to make a point of downing a Big Mac once or twice a year. That ended when McDonald's started storing cooked burgers in warming drawers rather than serving them hot off the grill. McDonald's founder Ray Kroc and I didn't get along all that well,�but I have tremendous respect for his emphasis on freshness and quality. If�Ray Kroc�were around today, he would fire all the McExecutives and bring back�the McDonald's of yesteryear. There are few restaurant skills as impressive as a McDonald's grill guy, spatulas in both hands, flipping�six�burgers at a time, row after row after row. On road trips I will still grab an occasional Egg McMuffin.�That is about the only thing McDonald's has not screwed up.
Yes! Great interview. I so agree with the need for more hamburger stands and chicken-fried foods!
Holly, what will it take for us to convince you to move to Providence, Rhode Island? We've got plenty of great diners, Haven Bros, NY System Hot Weiners, Stanley's, and Mamie Ellen's Southern Vittles.
Holly, good work.. keep hittin the Delaware Valley joints!
I second the chicken-fried foods movement! Is is too much to ask for a good chicken-fried steak in this town?
his website has been around for years!!! i can't believe that people are only covering it now. i don't think that i have ever disagreed with a single one of his opinions....
[...] credited with spearheading the city’s restaurant renaissance (just check out contemporary Holly Moore’s high praise), has little interest in bumping chests with all those brassy contenders for Philly’s [...]
 |
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with local food writer Adam Erace. He's best-known as the restaurant critic of Philadelphia Weekly, but you can also catch his work in Philadelphia Style, New Jersey Monthly, the Courier-Post and DiningOut Philadelphia. He also runs a personal blog, and is teaming up with his brother, Andrew, to open Green Aisle Grocery on East Passyunk Avenue next month. Slow down, Adam.
PW did a great job with its 50 Must-Eats story. How many of the 50 dishes have you personally eaten? And do you have a favorite item on the list?
I wrote 23 of the items, and have eaten all 23 either during reviews, research trips, personal dining and cooking at home. I'm kind of a milkshake/malt/float/ice cream soda maniac, so the frullato from Golosa is probably my favorite on the list right now, especially given the weather. It's thick with this great cappuccino-like froth on the surface and made with really dark chocolate, which I love, and fresh fruit and spices like cardamom and cinnamon. The frullato also comes in this modern curving beaker of a glass, like something you'd find at hip housewares boutique in Rome, with a bendy straw, which, let's be honest, makes everything better.
Former New York Times culture editor Sam Sifton was named the paper's new food critic this week, and unfortunately for him, there are pictures of his face all over the Internet. Since you're a critic who tries his best to stay anonymous, what's your take on this? How much does the incognito thing really matter? Everyone knew what outgoing Times critic Frank Bruni looked like.
Anonymity is definitely important, but it's also definitely an increasingly elusive state to maintain given the Internet, Facebook, etc. That said, I'm not planning on wigs, glasses and a Gael Green hat parade to stay undercover. I find walking in (rather than making reservations), a credit card with an alias and just acting inconspicuous work well. To my knowledge, I've only been recognized during reviews a handful of times, and more often than not, it winds up being detrimental to the experience. Once I was reviewing a new spot, really splashy opening, really well-known chef, and I knew from the beginning I was made. The food was wonderful, but the service sucked. Skitterish, hover-y, an onslaught of managers coming over to see how everything was between every course. The extra attention hurt the overall experience.
Of all the meals you eat out, what percentage of them are straight-up crappy?
In a given year, during which I'm typically eating out two to three times a week, the percentage of truly crappy meals is only about 10 percent. On the other side of the spectrum, truly perfect meals are only about 10 percent, as well. The remaining 80 percent all falls somewhere in between. There are restaurants with insane food but creepy servers I feel like could strangle me in my sleep; ones with smart, well-edited beer lists but god-awful burgers; others with good looks and nothing below the surface. All these factors push a review in positive, or negative, territory. But it's rare that a restaurant doesn't have at least one redeeming quality.
Have you ever taken a date out to a review meal? If so, how does that turn out?
Taking dates on reviews either goes incredibly well, if the girl in question is really into food and curious about my job, or incredibly badly. I'm actually a pretty terrible date during a review. I don't talk much, I'll tell you what to order and eat your food while you're in the bathroom. It's an occupational hazard. You could tell me you invented Post-Its, and I'll nod along, wondering the whole time about whether that flavor in the sauce is allspice or clove.
[...] Darling's to introduce room service to The Piazza and Liberties Walk• Tangerine calls it quits• THE GOOD WORD Vol. 5: Local food writer Adam Erace• Full run-down of Valanni's new menu items under chef John Strain• Tastee D's to open [...]
[...] Shady. No, it�s Adam Erace. You might remember me from such publications as: Philadelphia Style, the Courier-Post and, lately, [...]
 |
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with Shao Zhi Zhong of FriedWontons4U. Shao, a native of Guangzhou, China whose family came to Philadelphia when she was 5, is an avid home cook with an insane knack for food photography.
You grew up in the restaurant industry here in Philly, working at your uncle's restaurant in Chinatown. Why do you think you ended up on the coverage end of food via your blog, as opposed to having a full-time career "in the biz"?
I still work there a few times a week. The economy is rough. I'm very thankful I have this small part-time job until I could find something more stable. As for being "in the biz," I could see myself doing something in the management side, but never as a chef or enrolling in culinary school professionally. I have terrible knife skills! For me, cooking is about making mistakes, and trying to get it right over and over again at my own pace. Cooking professionally would take some of the joy out of that.
When I first started the blog, I did it because I had all this down time after I left my last job. I always enjoyed cooking, but the blog has made me realize how much I love the whole process of it. Researching for recipes, shopping for the ingredients, selecting the plate for the dish and even the occasional cooking hiccups. I have as much fun with these steps as I do cooking the whole meal. If I ever do something that's "in the biz" full-time, it would have to be something as enjoyable as trying to perfect an ice cream recipe over and over again.
Your photos are beautiful. Everyone wants to know how you do it!
Thank you! I mostly shoot with a Nikon D60, and sometimes with a Nikon D90, as well. I tend to stick to a 50mm and a 35mm lens for all my food photos. Need to catch all the little crumbs on the plate! My speedlight also helps when I'm working with less-than-perfect indoor lighting conditions, but you don't really need to invest in a SLR to take good food photos. If you have a point and shoot, natural light is your friend. My first post was shot with a small Canon PowerShot.
 |
| friedwontons4u.com |
What's really important, though, is patience. Snapping pictures as you watch the food you just made slowly getting cold is torture. The blog has changed how I react to food. When a plate of food is presented to me now, the first thing that comes in mind is not "I can't wait to dig in, yum!" but rather it's "if I turn it slightly on this angle and rearrange this lettuce leaf ... "
If you weren't cooking/covering food in Philly, which other city would you like to blog about?
I was in Seattle and San Francisco a few months ago and had some amazing meals there. I also love the dinning atmosphere of Rome and Japan when I was over there. It would be very hard for me to pick just one city. I want to eat my way through every continent if I could! Every region has their own unique dining culture. That's whats so great about eating in a different country, or even in a different town � you get to learn so much about the area by the dish that's presented in front of you.
 |
| friedwontons4u.com |
You have five ingredients to cook with for the rest of your life. What are they? Choose wisely!
How could you make me pick?! Well, garlic is a must. Lemon, fish (please don't make me choose which type), eggs, and, of course, bacon. Garlic goes good with just about everything. Lemon juice and zest will brighten up any dish. Fish is one of my favorite proteins. I can eat eggs any time of the day. As for bacon, well, it's BACON, and you can never go wrong with some pork fat in your life.
What an interesting interview - great questions! If I may, I would like to suggest the esteemed food critic of the South Philly Review, Phyllis Stein-Novack. Perhaps it could be the 1st ever round table GOOD WORD and feature both Edward and Carl (both frequent dining companions of Phyllis)!
I whole-heartedly agree with Poncho. Phyllis Stein-Novack would be an excellent choice-- she is my favorite food critic. Both locally and nationally. I'm sure Cousin Carl and Edward would both be happy to oblige!
Awesome to see Shao featured here! I wholeheartedly agree with the statement about watching food get cold while taking the photos. When shooting, the entire time I'm just thinking "man I want to get this over with so I can dig in!" Awesome work, keep it up Shao!
Great article on one of my favorite bloggers! Congrats, Shao. Your food photography is stunning; glad to know the secret to your success!
[...] Meal Ticket By Shao, on August 3rd, 2009 THE GOOD WORD Vol. 4 [...]
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with Pete Proko, deputy editor at Philadelphia Style. Pete is in charge of the magazine's dining coverage, and we were eager to pick his glossy food-focused brain.
It�s no secret that the economy has had a deleterious effect on fine dining. But has the recession influenced the way you write about food? Do you find yourself looking at story ideas differently? Or has it not changed much, due to the fact that the typical Style reader could be called financially comfortable?
You always have to be mindful of the times and your audience, and while Philadelphia Style may cater to a more upscale crowd, the fact is no one is immune to what is going on around us. All you have to do is look at the countless "stimulus packages" being offered around town and across the country. It's like Restaurant Week every week ... when Lacroix starts doing $35 dinners and Georges Perrier is letting you pay what you wish, it's evident that everyone is playing things close to the vest.
That being said, the great thing is that Philly is a foodie destination and the dining scene here will continue to thrive. I like to say the only thing a Philly foodie likes more than their favorite restaurant is a new restaurant. We don't have celebs walking the streets regularly here, aside from athletes; chefs are the stars in this town. And no matter what economic class you fall under, we are fortunate to live in a city full of educated gourmets who don't mind paying for something they appreciate. Whether you are talking about a white tablecloth spot or a gastropub, good food is good food and I think Style does an excellent job of covering all aspects of the local scene, which, let's face it, is quite layered.
What newcomer chefs locally are you really excited about right now?
I�m excited to see Luke Palladino [of A.C.'s Borgata; taking over the former Les Bons Temps on 12th Street] come to the city ... you can't really call them newcomers, but I think Jen Carroll does an amazing job and I love what David Katz has done since opening M�m�. And I really can�t wait to see Matt Levin step out on his own with Masano. It sounds funny with his reputation, but he is one to watch.
Is there a current restaurant trend � a drink, a dish, a preparation, etc. � that you're straight-up sick of?
Overcrowded menus! You got small plates, larger portions, family style, a bar menu -- enough already, I didn�t study for this test!
It's lunchtime, you're hungry and you have $10 in your pocket. Where are you going?
This is like trying to pick your favorite song ... the possibilities are endless but you always have your go-to spots. Since I�m constantly visiting so many great restaurants for dinner, I like to have a less formal lunch when I can. If I�m undecided, I might swing through Whole Foods or Di Bruno Bros. to see what catches my eye.
The tacos at El Jarocho are always a treat, but like a lot of Philadelphians, I love a good sandwich for lunch and there�s no shortage of those throughout the city. The folks at John�s Roast Pork are family friends and you can never go wrong with a cheesesteak with fried onions and sharp provolone. If I want a hoagie, I'm lucky because our office is in South Philly so I'm able to regularly treat myself to Chickie's and Mi-Pals. The Palm Tree market in NoLibs is a decent spot, but lately I just head north to Girard for the extremely addictive Gustaio at Paesano�s.
It's like I said, there are so many choices, and it really just depends on where I�m at and what I�m in the mood for. But if it�s been one of those mornings and it looks like it�s going to be one of those afternoons, I resort to a sandwich I�ve been eating since I was a little boy: the roast beef special on rye from Gooey Looies in the Pennsport Mall. It's the kind of monstrous creation that should come with four extra slices of bread and two people to help you eat it.
This is becoming my new favorite Meal Ticket feature, keep up the good work! May I suggest FriedWontons4U? The pictures she posts are awesome.
Agree with poncho. Nice job, Pete and Drew.
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We�re going to start by highlighting the city�s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we�re chatting with Jessica Rossi Ward and Jaime Leah Davis, better known as BurgerBaroness and Jaimeshake from Fries With That Shake. These girls know food, especially stuff on buns: If you don't believe us, join them on one of their regular Burger Club Philadelphia "meatups," where they criss-cross the city in search of the best burgers.
OK, we need to know the real story behind the food tattoos on your "About" page. What inspired them?
BurgerBaroness: I am originally from California and my earliest food memories are from Bob's Big Boy. We lived a block away from Bob's when I was a wee one and I remember loving that Big Boy statue. When I was thinking of getting a food-related tattoo, I just thought my earliest food memory would be an appropriate start. I also loved that he is holding a burger to represent my love of all things burger-y.
 |
 |
| frieswiththatshake.net | |
Jaimeshake: I really knew that I wanted a food-related tattoo, but like, what? My first thought was cupcakes. They're little, sweet, and cute. Duh! So I spent countless hours browsing insane amounts of cupcake tattoos on Flickr, and walked away thinking that cupcakes might not be the best idea. I really didn't want a tattoo that everyone else had, and wanted it to have special meaning for me. So I remembered the slightly famous ice cream cone "man" painting at Gregory & Paul's in Coney Island. Coney is actually one of my favorite places on earth; ice cream is my favorite food; and the ice cream man's face reminds me of my fiance, Earle. No brainer. My friends Bethany and Ronnie officially dubbed him Senor Softee.� He and I are great friends. Sometimes he tutors me in Spanish.
Is there a specific type of cuisine you just straight-up don't like, or tend to avoid? If so, why?
BurgerBaroness: This is a tough one for me because I pretty much eat everything. I can't think of a single cuisine that I don't like. I'm not sure how I feel about this frozen yogurt trend that is taking over Philly. I thought we got past that with TCBY back in its heyday. If I want a frozen dessert, I'm going to eat ice cream or gelato.
Jaimeshake: There isn't much food I don't like, but I will say I wasn't interested in Thai, Vietnamese, or Indian cuisine until I turned 25. I don't know why that is exactly, but I was just ... afraid. Now I can't live without pho, spicy curries, samosas or naan.
 |
 |
| L-R: The BurgerBaroness and Jaimeshake | |
Locally, what food line will you always wait in regardless of its length?
BurgerBaroness: I will always wait in line when shopping at Reading Terminal. I mean, I really have no choice, but it is totally worth the wait. It is one of the best food things in Philly. When soup dumplings came to town, I would have gladly waited in line; I was crazy for those juicy bundles of happiness. I actually accused a friend of going to get some without me. Which she totally didn't. Did I mention I was crazy for them?
Jaimeshake: I will always wait in line for Lorenzo's (on South) no matter how tired/cracked out/what have you I am. I will always patiently wait in line behind countless families and indecisive newbies at Capogiro who need to try every flavor first. While I think it's worth the wait for a table at Sabrina's Cafe, living around the corner for two years taught me the prime times to avoid a line. And for some reason, no matter if the line is out the door and if they forget my order, I will queue up at the Starbucks by my office at 8:55 a.m. almost every morning.
Let's pretend I'm a skeptical potential Burger Club Philadelphia member. Pitch me on joining your ranks, Mad Men-style! Smoking/scotch optional.
BurgerBaroness: Simply enough, it's just a lot of fun to get together with 15 people, eat burgers and geek out about them. We've got librarians, musicians, food bloggers, crafters, urban planners, etc. It's so very Philly. I love everything about it.
Jaimeshake: Burgers! Fries! And if you're not into that: veggie burgers! Fries! You can bring friends! You can make friends! It's a win-win, people.
[...] out Jaimeshake and I answering some fun questions from Drew Lazor for Meal Ticket’s Good Word. Our tattoos and burger club get a little [...]
Woot! One of my favorite blogs. Nice getting to know you ladies a little better.
The Good Word is a new weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We're going to start by highlighting the city's many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In the inaugural installment of The Good Word, we're chatting with Arthur Etchells, founder and editor of Foobooz.com, the three-year-old site that PW critic Adam Erace has referred to as "the Moses of Philly food blogs." The Good Word indeed.
 |
So Art � what's the worst thing about food blogging?
Worst thing about food blogging has to be the way food becomes this�insatiable�siren. There's always something new to try. An old favorite you've neglected. And then you feel a bit guilty as you cook up some Trader Joe's chicken dumplings. And you never should feel guilty about TJ's dumplings.
What's your favorite hangover cure in the city?
Hangover cure is the Reading Terminal Market, especially since it is now open on Sundays. People talk about getting something greasy and fried. But there's something about a DiNic's roast beef sandwich that makes me feel like a human again. I think it's the sharp provolone. Opens my sinuses up. And if that doesn't do it, keep eating, there's tons of stuff around you.
What bar do you go to when you don't want to run into anyone you know?
The Dolphin.
Name a Philly restaurant you wish was open 24 hours, and why.
As much as I'd like to pop in for some tapas at Amada come 3 a.m., I think I'd go with John's Roast Pork. That way, the late-night cheesesteak run would actually taste good, and there would finally be a place to get a great roast pork sandwich after dark.
[...] THE GOOD WORD Vol. 1: Arthur Etchells of Foobooz [Meal Ticket] geopress_addEvent(window,"load", function() { geopress_makemap(97811,"Foobooz World Headquarters",39.9431,-75.173608,"google",Mapstraction.ROAD, { pan: true, zoom: 'small', overview: false, scale: false, map_type: false },15) }); [...] The Dolphin....Tavern?????
Well I certainly didn't mean the Dolphin Hotel at Disney World.
Hell yes the Dolphin.
The Dolphin is awesome. Besides the strippers, they also have Ms. Pac-Man, two pool tables and a wide selection of SoCo based drinks. Ok, that last one was me being facetious. But I do dig the place.
Oh and re: John's Roast Pork, I would be happy if they just had weekend hours at all... sigh...
The Dolphin is by far my favorite bar in Philly. They have a claw machine with porno in it!
[...] reviewed restaurants for the Philadelphia Weekly from 2005 to 2007, worked with Foobooz editor (and fellow Good Word-ian) Arthur Etchells for about a year and a half before signing on for the national expansion of New [...]
[...] Vol. 1: Arthur Etchells of Foobooz [...]
- 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
