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Weird Regional Foods
It's hot as hell, you've got nothing but a dollar in your pocket and you're within shouting distance of the Polish American Cultural Center (308 Walnut St). Looks like you should grab yourself a cup of Polish Water Ice, which the PACC now carries. But what makes Polish Water Ice, which has retail shop locations in Ocean City, Wildwood and Sea Isle, so Polish? Packing in as much fruity flavor as Rita's, this Eastern Euro rendition of Philly's favorite summer treat, developed in the early '90s by Thomas B. Curyto, has a richer, more custardlike consistency. There's no dairy in the product, though — that creamy smoothness comes from a both a "secret family recipe" and the use of an Electro Freeze, or soft-serve ice cream machine. If you want ice without heading to Jersey, snag a cup of cherry, mango or watermelon at the PACC or pick some up at your local Acme.
Over the weekend, an attractively packaged quart of ice cream caught my eye in the snug freezer section of Casel's supermarket in Margate. The flavor: Lobster Tracks, churned by the fine folks of Maine stalwart Gifford's (who incidentally claim dominion over the invention of Moose Tracks ice cream). My fiancée, who spent childhood summers building houses for the underprivileged in Farmington, Me. — I do not deserve someone this virtuous — recognized the Gifford's name. "We went there every night for ice cream!" she erupted. "It's amazing!" So we bought some.
We're sure you already knew this, but next Tuesday, May 24, is National Escargot Day, the most lauded of all gastropodian holidays! As of right now, three excellent Philly restaurants — Southwark (701 S. Fourth St.), Bibou (1009 S. Eighth St.) and Bistrot La Minette (623 S. Sixth St.) — have something special and specifically snail-y in the works. More details after the jump.
This past Saturday afternoon, David Katz over at Mémé (2201 Spruce St.) started cranking out Moroccan tacos — house-pressed tortillas topped with traditionally Moroccan ingredients — so obviously we had to swing by and try a few of these out. Katz, who's Moroccan-Jewish by heritage, says this bit of casual culinary fusion came to him awhile back when he realized just how many base ingredients Mexicans and Moroccans share. "It's just a full-on crossover — they use a lot of the same stuff," explains Katz of the veggies/herbs (tomato, cilantro), meats (chicken, beef, lamb) and spices (cinnamon, coriander) both cooking traditions rely heavily on.
Sorry to drag our feet on this one a bit (blame it on the arduous task of visual digestion): The winner of 2011's Scrapplefest, held late last month at Reading Terminal Market, was Molly Malloy's, which put together this glorious, sunny egg-topped stack of crispy scrapple rounds and brioche. If the name is unfamiliar: That's what Vinnie and Jimmie Iovine of Iovine Bros. Produce are calling their takeover of the Terminal's still-operating beer garden. Right now they're awaiting transfer of the liquor license, so no construction has commenced just yet, but we do know that Bobby Fisher, who cooked for Iovine's former catering business (they've since sold it) will be the chef at Molly's (named for the Iovine's mother). He'll put together a menu to complement a selection of local brews at the gastropub, which is expected to open in in mid to late summer.
Photo: Carolyn Huckabay
Vasiliki Tsiouris, who owns Opa (1311 Sansom St.) with her brother George, has not tried her chef Andy Brown's rendition of kokoretsi just yet. It's not that it's not good — on the contrary, it wouldn't be getting our ETI treatment if we didn't think it was well worth ordering — it just ain't for her. That she'll readily admit as much should tell you all you need to know about the reputation of this very traditional Greek delicacy, various organs (in Brown's case, a lamb's sweetbreads, liver and heart) bound by lamb's intestines.
Wait, where are you going?!
Meritage (500 S. 20th St.) tantalized fans of elusive-in-Philly Korean fried chicken last summer, but they only kept on their menu for occasional limited engagements. Well, fans of twice-fried, spicy glazed chicken, despair no more — due to overwhelming popular demand, the restaurant has brought back the popular treat. Starting next Wednesday, April 6 (and every Wednesday and Thursday thereafter), $18 will get you a plate full of Korean fried chicken, collard greens and mac 'n' cheese. There's no word on how long this new run is supposed to last, but it would probably serve your best interests to get over there as soon as you possibly can.
Benjamin Shyong and Arthur Kuan's story could easily come off as a shady undertaking — they started a business in Shyong’s dorm room, ordering supplies from overseas and taking orders via cell phone. They delivered product on bicycle, sometimes as late as 3 in the morning. Customers clamored for their stuff, and sometimes they received 100 orders per day.
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| Photo | Adam Erace |
I did not like the pizza from Uncle Oogies but these look really good.
I love the pizza at Oogie's but I will def try these next time!
I love the pizza at Oogie's and I'll def have to try these next time!
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