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We're Here to Help
Look alive, beer enthusiasts and good Samaritans: Osteria (630 N. Broad St.) has tapped the first kegs of Ex Gratia, an easy-drinking kolsch brewed by Stoudt's for the House of Vetri. Proceeds from all the citrusy suds — E.G. is brewed with chef Jeff Michaud’s Meyer lemon marmalade — benefit Vetri’s favorite charity, Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Last year, Osteria raised $15,000 via Ex Gratia, which means "out of kindness"; the 2011 goal is double that, with restaurants like Amada (217-219 Chestnut St.) and Percy Street (900 South St.) joining in on the philanthropy. After the jump, peep the full list of local spots/events where Ex Gratia will be poured.
Photo: Courtesy of Steve Wildy
The annual Dining Out For Life fundraiser is coming up on Thursday, April 28. For one night only, participating restaurants will donate one-third of the cost of your meal to ActionAIDS, the Philadelphia-based organization committed to providing essential services for men, women and children affected by HIV and AIDS. Also keep the "20% Off Tuesday" deal in mind — any diners who make a donation of $25 or greater during their dinner will earn the the privilege of knocking 20 percent off their bill at certain DofL restaurants on Tuesday nights for the rest of the year. (This offer cannot be used on holidays or in conjunction with any other promotions.) The list of participating spots is enormous (and includes such Meal Ticket faves as Barbuzzo, Bistrot La Minette, Cochon, James, Koo Zee Doo and Zahav), so check out the full rundown here and make your reservations ASAP.
Jet Wine Bar (1525 South St.) is doing its part for tsunami/earthquake relief the best way they know how — with drinking! Bob Barrett of Winebow has organized a sake tasting running tonight night from 6:30 to 8:30. (Reserve a spot at by calling 215-735-1116.) Twenty-five dollars will get you access to a number of artisanal sakes and an accompanying guided tour from certified Level II sake specialist and fluent Japanese speaker Claudio LoCascio. Expect discussion topics to include things like the how the long-term effects of the earthquake and tsunami will affect breweries and sake production. All proceeds of the event will be donated to the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund, so if you're looking for a way to help out and learn a bit too, this is a no-brainer.
Center City's Noble (2025 Sansom St.) wants you to start doing your drinking with charity in mind. The Noble Cause — Absolut Citron, fresh lemon, creme de cassis and housemade ginger beer — is their new specialty cocktail, developed to raise money for fundraising group Team In Training. One of Noble's servers will be participating in the Philadelphia Triathlon on June 26, and as a way of showing support, the team will give a full 25 percent of the drink's $10 price tag directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The best part: owner Todd Rodgers plans to make the charity cocktail a mainstay of Noble's drink menu, featuring a rotating cast of foundations and correspondingly modified drink ingredients.
LRP filled you in via What's Cooking already, but here's a reminder: Tonight at Elixr Coffee (207 S. 15th St.), join owners Evan Inatome and Winston Justice and the rest of the Elixr crew as they team up with Zama chef/owner Zama Tanaka to raise money for Japanese disaster relief. Tanaka will be preparing a signature dessert dish conceived especially for this event (it runs from 6 to 9 p.m.); bevs will be be courtesy of Elixr, and, in keeping with the First Friday calendar date, there'll be a silent auction for works by local artists. Your $10 suggested donation gets you the Zama sweets and something thirst-quenching; all patron donations and auction proceeds will go directly to the Japanese Red Cross.
Received this AMAZING and elaborate question over the Meal Ticket wire just now:
"I have a friend who pretty much only eats chicken tenders — literally every day. I've therefore decided to put together a 'Chicken Tender Crawl,' in which a number of us will spend a day going to multiple locations throughout Philly, getting an order of chicken fingers/tenders/nuggets at each stop to sample them. At the end of the day, he will name his favorite. The problem is, I don't know what places have good chicken tenders, and he divides his time almost solely between Chick-fil-A, McDonald's and Famous Dave's. If you know of any places that would be suitable for this venture, I would very much appreciate it. Additionally, he will not eat any sauces whatsoever. So the criteria for the quality must be based entirely on the chicken itself."
First of all, this dude rules. Secondly, we want to open it up to you, Meal Ticketers — who's serves the best completely sauceless, boneless, formed-into-a-shape-that-stands-at-odds-with-nature chicken products in Philly? (They do not have to be shaped like dinosaurs, but bonus points if they are.) Our go-to chicken fingers are definitely the pretzel-crusted ones at The Sidecar (2201 Christian St.), but we want to hear from you. Have at it in the comments!
Ryo Igarashi (above), chef/owner of Maru Global Takoyaki (255 S. 10th St.), who grew up in Tokyo, is using his terrific takoyaki as a platform to help his countrymen devastated by the recent earthquake and tsunami. A portion of the profits from tonight's $20 three-course monthly beer dinner with neighbor The Foodery (324 S. 10th St.) — lime-cured, torch-seared natural beef, anyone? — will be donated to Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. Six $15 limited-edition T-shirts are on sale, as well, with $10 from every sale donated, and all through April, 15 percent of money generated by delivery orders goes right to Japan. (Maru also has a Red Cross donation box on-site.) Check out tonight's full Foodery beer dinner menu after the jump.
Shola Olunloyo's gastronomic temple Speck isn't open yet, but that doesn’t mean Speck sous chef Akiko Moorman is living a life of leisure. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan spurred Moorman to do more than just cut a check to the Red Cross: on Mon., March 28, she will cook a five-course, Japanese-inspired menu accompanied by cocktails devised by mixmasters extraordinaire Phoebe Esmon and Christian Gaal.
The We Heart Japan benefit will be hosted by Aaron Matzkin and Dean Kitagawa of soon-to-open Rotisseur at 21st and Chestnut; 100 percent of the $75 tasting and subsequent $30 menu of cocktails, plus raffle earnings, will be donated to the earthquake relief effort. "Dean is also half-Japanese," says Moorman, who has run a supper club wryly dubbed Hapa Kitchen. "The sit-down dinner will be at 7:30; then we’ll open it up at 10 p.m. for people who just want cocktails. There’s also amazing raffle items: Mutter Museum passes, artwork ... chefs have donated restaurant gift certificates.”
Sponsors include proteins from Baldor Specialty Foods, produce from Blue Moon Acres and Farm Art, Japanese groceries from Narberth's Maido and potent potables from St. Germain and Majestic Wines. Gift certificates to Han Dynasty, Noble, Bar Ferdinand and Friday Saturday Sunday are all up for grabs in the raffle.
"We’re very excited because our friends in Japan have agreed to do matching volunteer hours," Moorman says. "So our cash donation will also translate into actual work in Japan."
Hit the jump for Esmon and Gaal’s Eastern-inflected cocktails; Moorman's menu to come. Email RSVP@weheartjapanevent.com to secure your ticket.
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| Photo | Michael T. Regan |
Do you know what the best Korean BBQ is in the city? Planning a wedding and we are thinking this would be the best food for us.That sounds like one badass wedding! Please share your Korean 'cue picks in the comments, readers.
+1 for Gaya, the Spicy Pork Bulgogi is amazing
Its outside of the city but Gaya in Blue Bell has the best BBQ in the area. Sides are good but the meat is just amazing and your clothes won't smell afterwards. 1002 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422 http://www.gayarestaurant.com/gaya.html
Bobo's on 6424 Castor Ave
A second vote for Kim's. It's the only true charcoal grill in the area, as far as I know, and charcoal makes a big difference. Banchan are great. Prices are higher than average, but the meats and sides are plentiful. One serious caveat, though--even with the powerful ventilation, one can leave this joint smelling faintly of woodsmoke.
Kim's on 5th Street in Olney.
KIm's, Seo Ra Bol, Every Day Good House and Bobo's all still use charcoal. And they're all strong in different ways: Kim's might have the best straight-up barbecue; SRB has the best banchan and a huge menu of other stuff; EDGH has especially good kalbi, and very good non-barbecue dishes too; Bobo's has great combination platters of lots of kinds of meats. Hard to go wrong with any of those places...
International Smokeless BBQ at 600 Washington Ave is great.
Seo Rae bol on old second St also also has charcoal and a good Korean style sushi bar. And private rooms.
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