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Archive: October, 2009
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We were curious why there were little suggestion cards on the table during a recent not-even-remotely-sober visit to Royal Tavern (937 E. Passyunk Ave.). Of course, the entire thing was explained, in a extremely clear way, ON THE TOP OF THE CARD WE FILLED OUT, and we were just too sloshed to read it. (Good work, Team Meal Ticket.)
Now we know that the Royal's turning seven in November, and they're asking their customers to submit their favorite long-gone eats. Do you have a fondly remembered blackboard special (they've served more than 4,700!) or menu item that you want to see make a triumphant return? Stop by the Royal between now at Nov. 8 and fill out a ballot, preferably before you start drinking. The bar'll tally the top vote earners and begin serving the contenders on Nov. 11, and the No. 1 vote-getter will be revealed during the anniversary party on Nov. 17.
Lastly, to any Royal staff that may be reading this: We sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize for anything inappropriate that may have appeared that card. That was the whiskey scribbling. We love you.
Short Rib Spring Rolls!
I would suggest a total revamp since frankly the food there rather sucks. Sorry. Just one man's opinion. Last thing I had was the hummus trio which was like the Sahara. I needed to ask for oil and lemons to finish preparing it in my plate. Drop your misguided pretensions.
Hopefully the comment cards will inspire the new(er) chef(s)(?) to create food as good as the first chef. I miss the food from those days, where almost everything on the menu was just delightful and deeeelish! Rarely have I had a good meal from the Royal since. I always keep the hope alive as I really do love it as a hang out. I will say, the popcorn is genius.
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| Courtesy of Jolly's |
Jolly Weldon (above) is shooting for Oct. 30 for the grand opening of Jolly's Dueling Piano Bar (2006 Chestnut St.), which was originally slated for a late September debut.
The brief primer on the concept � as you might've guessed, it involves two pianos and two pianists, both of whom play songs at the whim of an audience in a "Dueling Banjos"-style tete-a-tete. People drink. People sing along. People get pulled on stage. Good clean fun.
Food- and drink-wise, Jolly's will offer happy hour deals from 6 to 8, prior to the show. Aside from the wine and beer lists, signature cocktails will include the Black Widow, a berry mojito; the Sweet Caroline, featuring that ever-popular sweet tea vodka with lemonade; and a 22-ounce Nawlins-style Hurricane.Chef Brendan Smith of nearby *smith's has developed an affordable small-plates menu with eats like sliders, flatbread pizzas, mini crab cakes and shrimp cocktail.
The two house pianists, "Wildman" Joe Marchetti and Anthony "Tony T" DeCarolis, are both Philly natives; they'll perform Tuesdays through Saturdays starting at 8, and we're told they have a repertoire of more than 2,000 songs. We here at Meal Ticket are currently developing a list of tunes with which to stump the dueling duo � so far all we got is "Hoochie Mama" by 2 Live Crew. (LET ME SEE YOU TOUCH THE GROUNDDDD) Please leave other suggestions in the comments.
Dueling instruments always sounds like an entertaining evening out. Best of luck to Jolly�s Dueling Piano Bar.
[...] Dueling Piano Bar (2006 Chestnut St.), which Meal Ticket has been following for a few months now, opens to the public this coming Friday, Oct. 30 (a World Series off day) at 3 p.m. Here’s a [...]
We tried our damndest to think of a reason not to post this.
We failed.
RELATED:
- Kade descends on Village Whiskey
- Dear Center City District: End your Sips photo now, because we just found your winner
He is a terrible person and should be Banned from the entire city.
This guy is such a joke - he lies, can't act work a you know what, treat women like trash and is just repulsive all the way around. He'll be sweeping the floors at 7-11 in no time, assuming they will hire him
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Quite a few people have been raving about Honeycrisp apples lately, as the ultra-short season (they're typically harvested in the last week of September) is upon us. If you've never had a Honeycrisp before, holy crap they're the best apple of all time! Developed in the '60s by University of Minnesota researchers who cross-pollinated the Macoun and Honeygold apple varieties and first released commercially in the early '90s, these things are nearly a meal in and of themselves. The refreshing snap of the skin and flesh is unparalleled (sorry McIntosh, you suck!), and they're the perfect balance of tart and sweet in the taste department.� They're also super pretty and look like apples from cartoons.
Got this one from Maxx's Produce (225 S. 20th St.) yesterday. Where else in the city might we cop some delicious Honeycrisps before they're all gone, Meal Ticketers?
Eat them immediately.
When the Honeycrisp apples are gone, you can eat honeycrisp applesauce all year long. The applesauce is really delicious, thick and chunky, like homemade and no added sugars or sweeteners, tastes like the delicious HC apple! You can order and have jars shipped to you from the apple grower's website: www.HighJOrchards.com
seriously, greensgrow farms has them at the thursday and saturday market. so worth the trip to kenzo for how tasty and fresh they are!
Beechwood Orchards at the farmer's markets on Tuesday on South at Passyunk and on Sun at Headhouse Square has them (he was also at Rittenhouse on Saturdays last year, but I haven't been to that one this year). And they are indeed the best.
if you act fast and hustle your rump to the farmers' market at 36th and walnut they have them...
Honeycrisp apples are the best apples in the whole world!!!!!
I got a pair of honeycrisps as big as my FACE at Linvilla Orchard this Sunday. One eaten with a nice thick hunk of extra sharp cheddar cheese is the perfect meal.
Sue's Produce on 18th Street typically has honeycrisp apples as well. It is truly an amazing apple!
Polianarchy: The honeycrisp cheddar combo is exactly what I'm eating as my lunch right this second!
they have 'em at linvilla orchards, and they're huge, it took me two days to eat one
weird, i had a honeycrisp/cheddar lunch today as well ... and i get my HCs at headhouse on sundays -- at least two vendors sell them weekly.
Marini's Produce on Veale Road in Wilmington DE (across from St. Edmunds Academy) has had them and they are by far the BEST apple! Get them while you can!!!
Also available at Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal.
Wegman's in Cherry Hill has them a lot! They are amazing, although I don't know how anyone is full from an apple and piece of cheese for lunch!
i got some at the lansdowne farmers market a couple weeks ago but don't know if they still have them. the varieties change alot. but oh they are good...had a sample and had to buy a bunch.
You can also find them at Jin's produce on 20th between Market and Chestnut. I made a pie with them this past weekend-ridiculously good.
[...] up some honeycrisp apples � The King of Apples! � to munch on during the hike, and sliced them up using a great pocket knife borrowed from Adsum [...]
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Starting Oct. 16, Memphis Taproom (2301 E. Cumberland St.) is busting out a handful of super hard-to-find beers produced in Franconia, aka northern Bavaria. On Saturday, they'll bust out five selections, including� firkins from lauded labels like Mahr's Brau and Brauerei Spezial; they'll roll out six more come Sunday. Drink till they're kicked. Chef Jesse Kimball will be doing a menu of German fare, too � he's planning on offering specialties like rollmops, celery soup, kassler ripchen (smoked pork chops), sauerbraten and more. Prost.
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| Grub Street Philadelphia |
| Colin Shearn and his many moons. |
Every Wednesday, Meal Ticket pokes around the food blog world to see what's simmering.
-- Kirsten Henri at Grub Street Philadelphia kicks off her "Bartender Bible" Q&A series with Franklin Mortgage & Exchange mixmaster Colin Shearn, who prefers his guests curious, thirsty, rich and funny.
-- Center City alco-playground Ladder 15 creates yet another velvet rope to vault -- this one based on your birthday. The Illadelph notes that after 10 p.m., you must be at least 23 to get your Fun Dip martini.
-- Sugar Mom's made #6 on Comedy.com's list of the "20 Worst Bars in America", writes Michael Klein on The Insider. How could a place with pinball AND porn in the men's room be bad?
-- Philadelphia Magazine restaurant critic Joy Manning shares cooking tips from Philadephia chefs on The Restaurant Club blog.� Find out who's using Wondra flour and how far you should be pushing your brown butter.
-- The Philly Dish host and voracious traveler Maria Valetta talks OpenTable etiquette on her blog, SipsBitesAndSites.� Who knew that restaurants pay OpenTable per reservation that shows up?
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
This coming Friday or Monday should see the opening of European Republic (213 Chestnut St.), a new budget-priced concept in the Old City space that's been a number of restaurants, most recently Meju. Philly's Khaled Haddad linked up with his cousin, Ali Noor, to open the space � Noor's run a successful ER location in Long Island for the past decade, so they decided to see if it'd fly in our city.
The main specialties here are Euro-style frites, done in canola oil, with 22 different dipping sauces, which range from barbecue and roasted garlic to jalapeno cheddar and avocado ($2.75 for a regular, up to $5.75 for a triple order); and wraps, which Noor says will be done on fresh sourdough bread and not the tortillas we're most accustomed to. There are soups, salads and pasta dishes, as well, with quite a few vegetarian options.
Proposed hours: Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
After the jump, check out a few pics of the interior and a scan of the opening menu.
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
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I had the Penne with Salmon and thought it was absolutely delicious. The service was excellent and the atmosphere was extremely friendly. I am looking forward to go there again very soon.
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Take this Sporcle quiz and prove how many categories of cuisine you can name, as defined by the Zagat guide.
Discussion question: is Zagat still useful in the age of Yelp/food blogs/CHOW?
I got a little more than half of these. (There are two caviar restaurants in New York?) And no, I think Zagat is losing its clout in the foodie-blog age. Especially because their "entire" book is "full of" other people's "quotes." I find this to be "incredibly annoying."
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| Beck's Cajun Caf� on Facebook |
Just touched base with chef Bill Beck for some details on Beck's Cajun Caf�, his New Orleans-inspired stall that should be open in the next two weeks right near DiNic's in Reading Terminal Market. Beck, who formerly ran Pompano Grill, has long loved NOLA cuisine, so he's keeping it real here, sourcing most all his meats � andouille, smoked Cajun sausage, tasso ham, alligator sausage � directly from Louisiana. Traditional and chicory coffees, too. Beck's will also offer fresh-to-order beignets, muffalettas by the whole or half and several varieties of gumbo (crab, corn and okra; chicken and andouille). Tons of po'boy sandwiches, including Philly-centric renditions like chicken salad with fried oysters and an andouille, steak, salami, cheese and onion straws the chef is thinking of calling "The Trainwreck" in a nod to his RTM location. Breakfast service will see selections like the traditional Eggs Royal, grilled cornbread toped with poached eggs, eggplant, tasso and a Tabasco hollandaise.
Beck's just waiting on a few city inspections, and hopes that he'll be ready to go by Tuesday, Oct. 20. If there are delays, though, he says he shouldn't be open any later than Monday, Oct. 26.
Yes-n-deed, I am from Texas, I've been depressed since I've couldn't find any good boudain or crawfish in the city..
Beignets & muffalettas -I am so excited! Thank you RTM for adding cajun to the mix - we've been waiting so long.
This sounds like heaven. I am way too excited for this.
After the jump, peruse the bar and dinner menus, plus the beer and cocktail lists, for Square 1682, opening tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in the lobby of Kimpton Hotels' brand-new Palomar at 17th and Sansom. Want more on the green-first project? Check out out Sept. 30 slideshow of the interior and our Aug. 28 interview with chef Guillermo Tellez. Dinner will be served Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 to 10, and till 11 on Friday and Saturday. Bar's open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with the bar menu going till midnight.
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