Archive: October, 2010

Baby Blues in pictures

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 7:17 PM

Filed Under: Openings | Photos

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Stopped into the newly opened Philly location of Baby Blues, which opened late last week at 34th and Sansom in U-City (the former Bubble House). Owner Stephen Fischer, whose brothers run branches of the 'cue joint on the West Coast, took a salvaged/reclaimed approach to furnishing the historic space, whose two sides have been united by an open island kitchen look for touches like old fire hydrants and machine gears doubling as high-top table bases, Brazilian army canvas stretched over the tops of comfy stools, and an old bakery bread rack doubling as a wood receptacle for Blues' 400-pound-plus Southern Pride smoker. The Fischers' childhood dinner table (there are 10 of them) serves as communal seating in a private event space downstairs. As far as food, they offer a selection of mixed-up American barbecue traditions, plus plenty of seafood. We got down on a combo plate of babybacks, Memphis-style ribs, collards and mac 'n' cheese. All very good. Peep game if you're a BBQ head.

donna

Posted 2010-10-30 10:03:12

That all looks so good, can't wait to try this place out.

Foobooz » Quick Bites

Posted 2010-10-26 11:01:42

[...] via Meal Ticket Meal Ticket snapped a bunch of pictures at Baby Blues, the new BBQ joint in University City. [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 7:17 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Where'd we destroy house fried chicken?

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 4:57 PM

Filed Under: Where'd We Eat?

Got an interior shot of this place, too, but the chicken is so good that maybe one of y'all can identify the place based solely on this! Fried chicken done in the style of Peking duck ... comes with lemon wedges and a little dish of seasoned salt. Amazing! Where were we? UPDATE: Little too tough! Clues: It's in Chinatown. It's been around forever. It's BYOB.

Adam Erace

Posted 2010-10-22 15:02:14

Shiao Lan Kung's salt-baked squid and shrimp are unbelievable.

Beth

Posted 2010-10-22 13:21:08

OMG. NOM. (not a guess, obvs.)

gan

Posted 2010-10-23 08:36:07

i went last night and asked for the house fried chicken (i'm assuming that is what this dish is). unfortunately they were out...

Rock Colors

Posted 2010-10-22 13:12:58

I'd have guessed Sang Kee if it were duck, but that's not byo... 

HK Golden Phoenix by chance?

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-10-22 13:15:39

Rock Colors:

Not Phoenix, but you're sooooo close. Like, less than a block away close.

Jule

Posted 2010-10-22 15:00:06

That looks SO GOOD. Must try immediately.

benji

Posted 2010-10-22 14:05:37

Shiao Lan Kung?

benji

Posted 2010-10-22 14:15:23

I haven't actually had it before, but it looks incredible. It's on my list.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-10-22 14:09:36

Benji, yesssssssssssss. Shiao Lan Kung! Great job. Dave Katz of Mémé recommended this chicken to me (and that dude knows his fried chicken). This stuff is ridiculous. I might have to do a future "Eat This Immediately" post on it just as an excuse to order it again.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-10-23 16:54:19

gan:

Yes, this is the house fried chicken. Bummer that they were out!

Notes from the Weekend: Oct. 25 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-25 17:33:16

[...] also at Adsum Friday night, but just for a couple drinks. Headed home and wrecked leftover house fried chicken from Shiao Lan Kung (930 Race St.) [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 4:57 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Irish Whiskey and Portuguese Food, Together at Last?

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 10:41 PM

Filed Under: Food Events | Menu Time | Stiff Drank

Think Jameson only comes in a shot glass at the ass-end of a bachelor party? Think again, says Phoebe Esmon, newly installed head bartender at Catahoula--congrats, Feebs!--and President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the U.S. Bartenders' Guild. "Since most brands are a mix of peated and unpeated malt, the Irish whiskies typically exhibit a lighter bodied, smooth, approachable profile in comparison to their single malt cousins to the north. This results in their popularity for shooting or sipping neat or on ice," explains Esmon, who, with Noble's Christian Gaal, is putting on a Jameson dinner on Tuesday., November 2, at KooZeeDoo. "Do not be fooled, however, into thinking Irish whiskey hasn't enough body for cocktails: it just requires a steady hand and a nice sense of proportion to create delicious potations with this under-utilized and mouth-watering spirit." Some of those delicious potations will include Jameson with a ginger-coriander shrub (sort of a colonial vinegar-based soda); Jameson with Amaro and cinnamon dram; and Jameson's 12-year-old pure-pot-distilled Redbreast whiskey with falernum and apple cider. Five cocktails will be paired with five courses from KooZeeDoo's David Gilberg. (Check out what dude is cookin' here.) The dinner is $120 per couple, with seating at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Call the restaurant for reservations.

Posted by Adam Erace @ 10:41 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The Food Trust, City Paper Choice Big Vision Winners

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:20 PM

Filed Under: Food News

Photo | Neal Santos

An extremely well-deserved congratulations to The Food Trust, which took home 2010's CP Choice Big Vision Award in the Food and Drink category. From the crazy-popular Night Market series the org has just established to its less visible accomplishments (establishing several brand-new farmers markets in areas that needed them, creating the Philly Food Bucks program), the non-profit had a hell of a year. Read Adam Erace's writeup for the full scope of what The Food Trust has accomplished in 2010.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 7:20 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Weekly Candy: Sour Patch Xploderz

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 6:15 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photo | Adam Erace

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell our dentist.

IN QUESTION: Its no secret Sour Patch Kids is the Official Candy of Meal Ticket®. (Did you know they started out as Mars Men in the height of the '70s UFO craze, and were the first candy to use sour sand coating?) Since our love for SPK is well-documented, we figured new gel-injected Sour Patch Xploderz would be an easy win for the Cadbury Adams candy company. With flavors like Raspberry Lemonade Rush and madcap disregard for spelling, how could we not be instantly addicted? Alas, they kinda taste like gumdrops and dont so much xplode as ooze, the like centers of the Freshen Up gum your grandmom used to carry around. And no sour sand at the bottom of the bag! Blasphemy!

Photos | Adam Erace

AVAILABLE AT: Scoop Xploderz at the (currently supersized for Halloween) candy section at Target on Mifflin and Water. HOW MUCH DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: While we do a 3.2 on a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids, Xploderz lacks the tang that keeps the palate refreshed and ready for more. Still, we suggest trying to polish off the whole bag. Stored in the cabinet for a week, the leftover Xploderz had all xploded, seeping Grape Berry Surge and Apple Strawberry Burst like puss from an obstinate wound. FINER POINTS: What a tragic disappointment. But at least Sour Patch Candy Canes are right around the corner.

Michelle

Posted 2010-10-21 13:24:49

I love the weekly candy feature even though I don't really like candy

Posted by Adam Erace @ 6:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Oct. 28: Noble's next rooftop dinner, with Farm 51

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 5:04 PM

Filed Under: Food Events

Farm 51 on Facebook

Todd Rodgers of Noble (2025 Sansom St.) drops word that there only a few tickets left for next Thursday's roof-to-table dinner. The series, which launched this summer (check out our video feature), and Noble chef Brinn Sinnott is moving into the fall season by collaborating with West Philly's Farm 51, the urban-ag operation run by Andrew Olsen and Neal Santos (who also happens to be CP's wicked-talented in-house photographer and videographer). Noble will be using Farm 51's beets, Swiss chard, peppers, malabar spinach and even fresh-laid chicken eggs for the five-course dinner, which will run $55 a head, with cocktail/wine/beer pairing available for an additional $20. Call 215-568-7000 for reservations.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 5:04 PM Permalink | Post a comment

IN PRINT: City Paper Food and Restaurants, Oct. 21

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 2:29 PM

Filed Under: In Print

Photos | Neal Santos

- We get our nacatamal on at El Gallo Pinto, a little South Philly corner grocery that also happens to put out homey and delicious Central American cooking. Visit over the weekend for the soups, and visit any other day for everything else. - Adam Erace visits the recently renovated Mustard Greens, which has been going strong for nearly 20 years just off South, and finds that the Cantonese-style cooking is just as tasty and relevant as ever. - Rachel Burgos runs down a bunch of great food/drink events for the coming week in What's Cooking, including a sweet-sounding ragtime party at Noble and this weekend's 10th annual Reading Terminal Market harvest festival. - New locations for Café L'Aube and Good Karma are but a few of the openings detailed in the latest edition of Feeding Frenzy. - We'll post more about this later, but a huge congrats to The Food Trust for winning a City Paper Big Vision Award.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 2:29 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Two hard-to-beat food/drink deals: barbecue today, booze tomorrow

POSTED: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 9:10 PM

Filed Under: Dealage

City Paper's partnership with Half Off Depot provides ample opportunity to take advantage of sweet edible/imbibable bargains. Figured we'd draw your attention to two deals, going down today and tomorrow, well worth a shake. First, you can drop $12 for a $24 certificate to smoky stalwart Phoebe's BBQ (2214 South St.). That deal began at 10 a.m. today and ends at 10 a.m. tomorrow. That 10 a.m. Thursday deadline coincides with the kick-off of a second daily deal (and this one's a doozy) spend $25, and you'll get a $50 printable gift certificate for Joe Canal's Liquor in beautiful downtown Marlton (305 N. Rt. 73). There is no limit on how many one person can purchase, either, meaning (if you act fast enough) you could feasibly stock up on spirits for the entire holiday season for 50 cents on the dollar. Check out halfoffdepot.com/philly tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. to get your Canal's on, and "like" Half Off Depot Philly on Facebook to stay posted on the latest daily deals.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 9:10 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Where'd we pick up lunch?

POSTED: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 8:35 PM

Filed Under: Where'd We Eat?

Lalo

Posted 2010-10-20 15:43:13

European Republic?

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-10-20 15:52:44

Nice, Lalo! This is European Republic, right by CP's offices. They have a great lunch deal  any wrap, plus a small fry or cup of soup, plus a drink, for $6.95.

Morty

Posted 2010-10-20 15:44:52

The Italian Market

poncho

Posted 2010-10-20 15:44:24

la va?

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 8:35 PM Permalink | Post a comment

SNACK TIME: Celebrity pumpkin stencils (whistle solo), illegal goodies, fast-food gourd action, now that's the way to eat a salad, chuck

POSTED: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 7:51 PM

Filed Under: Snack Time

rachelishungry.wordpress.com

- I swear to you I stumbled on this, but TMZ is featuring a series of celebrity pumpkin stencils. I really enjoy the Slash stencil, so much so that I'm willing to share this photo of my sister and I from Halloween a few years ago. let me know if anyone actually uses any of these. - Care of culinaryschools.org, one of my faves, Phoodie, shares this chart of illegal foods. As in, what the foods are, where they are illegal, and why they are illegal. Casu marzu, WHHHYYYYYYYY?! - If you are like me, and you love it when two of your favorite things combine in this case, pumpkins and fast food then click this link. Serious Eats provides a slideshow of fast-food pumpkin treats along with brief descriptions. Call me a savage, but I really don't mind the Dunkin' Donuts pumpkin muffin. - The Oyster Evangelist proves that you CAN make friends with salad by topping said salad with french fries. Can I get an Amen? - The Di Bruno Bros. blog gives a short, sweet, to-the-point rundown on the "chuck" cut of beef. I learned more about beef via these few short paragraphs than I have in my everyday beef-eating experience. Chuck, I hardly knew ye.

Posted by Rachel Burgos @ 7:51 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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About this blog

Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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