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Vegetarian
On Wednesday, Basic 4 Vegetarian Cafe, which offers an array of veggie burgers and faux-meat sandwiches (BLT with soy bacon, soy corned beef, etc.), will celebrate 31 years at the Reading Terminal Market. From noon to 2 p.m. they're giving away slices of free birthday cake after receiving a City Council citation (Councilman Squilla in the house). They're also creating an "anniversary" lunch special (veggie burger, medium lemonade and cookie) that will cost you just $8.31 and runs through the end of August.
Paul Davis and Steve Renzi snuck out their Kung Fu Hoagies cart, which we first mentioned back in November, out for a quick run the other day, practice for their official rollout at Clark Park this coming Saturday, March 10, at 10 a.m. The partners plan on vending their vegetarian fare — they're not a strictly vegan operation, though everything on their opening menu does happen to be vegan — from Clark Park on the weekends (Sunday, March 11 too) and from 34th and Chestnut on weekdays. If you miss that paint job, inspired (like the name) by Davis' practice of martial arts, you need way better glasses.
We promised you more on this in the most recent Notes from the Weekend and now we're delivering — the beet falafel at Kanella (1001 Spruce St.) is straight ludicrous. "I believe the falafel here is the best in Philadelphia," says chef/owner Konstantinos Pitsillides, never one to veil his culinary thoughts. Though debates like that are subject to eternal deep-fried argument, it's hard to disprove such a claim after you try these balls, a dish from Pitsillides' Sunday mezze that'll make its way onto the a la carte menu soon.
The idea of marrying beets with falafel — Pitsillides incorporates cubed beets into his quietly garlicky base mixture, a combination of both garbanzo and fava beans — originates with Pitsillides' grandmother, who housed an Israeli friend in her home on Cyprus for a number of years. It took six months for the chef to get his version right, but he's nailed it — the welcome crunch of the crust (thanks, peanut oil) opens into a moist, improbably light and almost fluffy interior, its friendly beet-accented flavor and hue a 180 from the parsley-green falafel innards we're most accustomed to. Eat this immediately!
Photo: Drew Lazor
Help save a couple creatures while eating a little healthier tonight at Khyber Pass Pub (56 S. Second St.) as they host the latest installment of Vegan Cocktails Philly, a traveling monthly mixer that promotes vegan awareness. From 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., KPP invites vegans, vegetarians and those who might still be stuck in a July 4 hamburger/hot dog coma to stop by and veg out on new food and drink. The Khyber, whose menu already favors options for the meatless, will tap a number of vegan beers, mix three vegan cocktails (Blackberry Palmer, Sourpuss, Melonhead) and offer eats like the vegan-friendly version of their delicious bacon grease popcorn, green tomato gazpacho, vegan Natchitoches meat pies, grilled sweet potato po'boys, Creole ratatouille, and of course dessert (vegan red velvet cupcakes). Prices for the event’s food and drink items are consistent with that of their regular menu.
Rich Landau says Saturday, July 2 will be the final day of service at Horizons (611 S. Seventh St.), he and wife/partner Kate Jacoby's lauded vegan eatery off South. (We had the full backstory on the closure back in April.) Between then and now, Landau promises he'll cook both "classics from days gone by and some tastes of what is next." No official word on the couple's new restaurant just yet but they hope to announce more details sometime next week. Here's the rundown on that spot, from our April post:
That new vision will be birthed in the hugely hopping Midtown Village area — Landau says they've narrowed their search down to three spaces in the neighborhood, but are "very close to signing with one." It'll be a small, 50- to 60-seat liquor-licensed restaurant (no name yet) with a focus on small/medium plates, as opposed to the more traditional appetizer/entrée/dessert approach. It'll also mark a definite shift in cooking style for Landau, who's well-known for his elaborate treatments of proteins like tofu, seitan and tempeh — he wants to bring the focus back squarely on the great variety of vegetables available to chefs in the region."Beautiful, amazing vegetables are our passion and inspiration right now," says Landau, "and we want them to be centerstage."
Love avocado and love chocolate, but never thought they'd play nice together outside a gelato cup — until we got our hands on the chocolate avocado cookies at Pure Fare (119 S. 21st St.). "I love manipulating fresh ingredients so that they still come out tasting like dessert," says Pure Fare chef Sarah Ginn, who takes fresh avocado purée and mixes it with garbanzo bean flour, chocolate chips and Succanat (an unadulterated cane sugar product) as a sweetener. The resultant cookie, which is both vegan and gluten-free, has a cakey, brownie-like texture, with a hint of avocado creaminess that does well taking on butter's responsibilities; you'll be a fan if you're into the off-sweet taste of proper dark chocolate. It's not the only treat of this type Ginn produces, either — she's also doing chocolate cookies using bananas as a base ingredient.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Crisp, a vegetarian falafel brand with three locations in NYC, should open its very first location in Philly — 32 S. 18th St., the old Falafel Factory — between eight weeks and three months from now, according to founder/managing director Alon Kruvi. Philly-based franchisee Vlad Uchenik just got the go-ahead to start demolition on the Center City corner space; it'll be the first true stateside franchise opportunity for the Israeli-based company that Kruvi and partner Rakesh Barmecha brought to the Big Apple about four years ago.
What separates Crisp's philosophy from other more traditional falafelries is its sandwich lineup, all served on house-baked pita; they combine their canola-fried chickpea balls with everything from sun-dried tomato spread, goat cheese and roasted peppers (the "Crisp Parisian") to peanut sauce, sweet potato, corn salad and habanero harissa (the "Crisp Africa"). Kruvi promises that there will be a Philly-centric sandwich on their new location's menu. "Imagine your signature sandwich, just without the steak," he says. "Instead, falafel balls, in a roll or in a pita, with melted chese, peppers and onions. The 'Crisp Philly.'"
In this week's CP food section, we told you about Forks Over Knives, a new documentary opening this weekend at the Ritz at the Bourse that advocates for a wholly plant-based diet as a means for Americans to combat chronic, widespread ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. Throughout the film, director Lee Fulkerson's two primary subjects, Drs. T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., discuss in great medical detail the research that's led them to this conclusion, and we meet multiple individuals who've turned their health around for the better by cutting animal protein and dairy entirely out of their lives.
Meal Ticket touched base with plant-based diet advocate Rip Esselstyn, author of 2009's best-selling The Engine 2 Diet and a featured subject of Forks Over Knives (he is Dr. Esselstyn's son), to gain some insight into the film and the movement in general. Rip, a professional triathlete who up until last year worked as a EMT and firefighter in Austin, Texas, currently tours the country with Whole Foods, "spreading the plant-strong message." (He's hosting a screening at the Whole Foods location in Plymouth Meeting this evening.) We caught up with Rip on the phone last week as he ate lunch.
This week, refined small-plates spot Meritage (500 S. 20th St.) is making meat-free dining more accessible by once again offering its fully vegan Tuesday-night tasting menu. For you vegans, vegetarians and veg-friendly eaters out there: $35 will get you a four-course lineup of seasonally appropriate dishes from chef Anne Coll, including dessert (and usually a palate-prompting amuse bouche as a fifth element). Tonight marks the menu's debut, with dishes like roasted baby beets with rhubarb, mint, and citrus; a rich vegan risotto studded with swiss chard and fava beans; and a hearty chickpea cake with spinach, olive tapenade, smoky tomato chutney and puréed herbs. Menu items are constantly subject to change dependent on ingredient sourcing, and spring's abundance of bright and ever-changing seasonal ingredients is sure to keep what's offered in flux.
Rich Landau, who has run Horizons (611 S. Seventh St.) with wife/pastry chef Kate Jacoby since 2006, tells Meal Ticket he and his team will close their lauded vegan restaurant on or around July 4. It was both a business decision and a creative one — the owners have found a buyer (a pizzeria operation, according to The Insider) and were able to strike up an amenable agreement of sale, allowing them to move on to something new. "We have been wanting to streamline for a while now," Landau says. "Running a two-floor restaurant with our style of food has been a challenge. We have always said that if a serious buyer comes along that we will certainly entertain a fair offer — and this deal is pretty good for both parties. Originally, this new project was going to be a second space, but now with a buyer for our building it frees us up to go all out with our new vision."
That new vision will be birthed in the hugely hopping Midtown Village area — Landau says they've narrowed their search down to three spaces in the neighborhood, but are "very close to signing with one." It'll be a small, 50- to 60-seat liquor-licensed restaurant (no name yet) with a focus on small/medium plates, as opposed to the more traditional appetizer/entrée/dessert approach. It'll also mark a definite shift in cooking style for Landau, who's well-known for his elaborate treatments of proteins like tofu, seitan and tempeh — he wants to bring the focus back squarely on the great variety of vegetables available to chefs in the region."Beautiful, amazing vegetables are our passion and inspiration right now," says Landau, "and we want them to be centerstage."
That's not to say that he'll shrug off his old recipes altogether — he and Jacoby just want to reach out to a more mainstream brand of diner, one that can and should gain an appreciation for Landau's vegan cooking via his careful treatment of vegetables, and not merely preparing proteins to ape the feel of meat. So that famous barbecue seitan won't be an everyday staple, but it will make special, sporadic appearances. "That theme has worked so well for us for so long," says Landau, "but chefs need to cook from their inspiration these days, not their history."
Photo: Michael T. Regan
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