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Archive: October, 2011
Two local down-on-their-luck restaurants are getting a Gordon Ramsay reno next month when his show Kitchen Nightmares comes to town to film. First up: red-sauce BYOB Chiarella's (1603 E. Passyunk), which will shoot from Nov. 8 to 11. After, Ramsay and crew will head to West Philly to reinvigorate the Mexi menu at Zocalo (3600 Lancaster Ave.) from Nov. 12 to 15. If you want to be among the breathless, relaunch-night diners, the producers are currently accepting reservations. Don’t call the restaurants: Email the show at phillyrest@gmail.com with “Chiarella’s" or "Zocalo" in the subject line. Include your name, party size and the best number to reach you. And don't try double-dipping; you can only dine at one restaurant or the other. Producers will begin making calls next week.
A tipster pointed us in the direction of remii.net, a splash page for a private "Chinese karaoke club" at 932 Race Street (formerly House of Chen). Look familiar? Every single thing on the site seems to have been swiped directly from The Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co. (112 S. 18th St.) — and Franklin proprietor Mike Welsh is not happy about it. "They've completely ripped off our [site] in so many different ways I can't count them," says Welsh. It's not an exaggeration — the logo, the font, the "a drinking establishment" tagline and even the imagery and geography of the page are 100 percent harvested from the cocktail cavern's thefranklinbar.com. (Here's a bigger view of the screengrab above.)
Here's some tasty peanut oil-fried news for frequenters of the Wildwood boardwalk — Paul's Idaho Potatoes, which operated on the boards for more than 30 years before closing this past summer (it was not included in the town's Boardwalk Central development initiative), is bringing its act to Philly. They'll serve hand-cut fries, funnel cakes, lemonade and other down-the-shore treats out of 429 South Street, formerly Miami Café and Abilene's. Owners have yet to commit to an opening date or month (space is gutted and bare), but we'll keep you posted.
Jason Gordon, the franchise operator who owns the Ben and Jerry's locations at 40th and Walnut and in 30th Street Station, is opening his third Philly B&J at 3400 Civic Center Boulevard right outside CHOP. But it won't be just a scoop-and-cone operation — the storefront will also include a Philly Soft Pretzel Factory and a new concept of Gordon's own creation called Wholly Cow Chocolates. Focused on socially responsible sourcing, Wholly Cow is a line of old-school candy shop sweets — choco-covered pretzels, peanut butter cups, caramels, chocolate-dipped fruit, caramel apples — prepared with all-natural and fair-trade ingredients whenever possible. The three-concepts-in-one location opens this coming Monday, Oct. 31, at 7 a.m. Hours moving forward will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
- Happy Halloween! Here’s a cat eating a pumpkin while dressed like a pumpkin!
- Living in the White House isn't the only reasonn the Obamas eat well — Michelle has positioned herself as America's most influential healthy-eating advocate. The First Lady threw a party the other day and gave each guest a little cookbook filled with healthy, low-fat recipes. It’s now available to the public so you can eat like an Obama, too.
- Cheddar breakfast pudding. Is anyone else ready to worship Madame Fromage?
- There's adventurous dining and then there's this: a British taxidermist has been living off roadkill for the past 30 years. What happens when he has a dinner party? "Here is a fricassee of freshly smushed otter, please enjoy."
- I always admire people living in tiny apartments who can make exquisite gourmet meals with next to no space. In this article, chef Shaun Hill explains how a small kitchen is not the end of the world. It just takes a little creativity and the knowledge of which kitchen tools are imperative. (That super-deluxe yogurt maker you’ve been coveting? Not necessary.)
- A new local Tumblr, This Is Not A Cheesesteak, explains what constitutes a real cheesesteak — and what doesn't. Arby's new Philly sandwich does not make the cut, obviously.
Open for about a month at 1801 S. Daly (18th between Wolf and Jackson), 2 Guys Grub is an atypical South Philly sandwich shop from friends and neighborhood natives Anthony Renzulli and Benny Carrubba. Renzulli, who developing a following cooking at Grumpy's Tavern (1525 S. Ninth St.) before branching out on his own, characterizes 2 Guys as "a little different" — for starters, they eschew sliced ribeye in favor of filet mignon for their cheesesteaks, chipping up 7-ouncers on the griddle and dressing them with all sorts of non-traditional toppings (see the "Filcrabagus," a steak layered with grilled asparagus and crab meat). Other specialties include fries doused in lumb crab meat and Old Bay (dubbed "frab fries" due to the stringent trademark of youknowwho), fried meatball sandwiches with sharp provolone and long hots and a bunch of different freshmade chicken cutlet options. They do takeout and delivery and have a small amount of counter seating, too. 2 Guys Grub is open Monday to Thursday from 10 to 10, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 11 and Sunday from 10 to 9.
OK so we don't really rock this feature on a weekly basis anymore, but we're gonna keep on calling it Weekly Candy, in the same spirit of Conan O'Brien continuing his "In the Year 2000" bit well after the turn of the century.
IN QUESTION: Cadbury's Double Decker candy bar, a milk chocolate-covered treat filled with soft, chewy nougat layered atop a crunchy cereal bottom. It's kind of like if someone spliced together the sugary DNA of a Three Musketeers and a Nestle Crunch Bar. Like most commercial candy bars, Double Deckers are not crafted with top-notch chocolate, but there is much textural satisfaction to be found in 'em regardless.
AVAILABLE AT: I first came across the Double D in a London vending machine about two years ago — after trying one, my roommate and I made sure our dorm room was stocked with a supply at all times. Lucky for us, Capogiro (117 S. 20th St.) started selling Double Deckers here in Philly this past September, so it's now that much easier to reminisce.
HOW MANY DO WE EAT IN ONE SITTING: Unless you're on a diet or have an extreme aversion to processed chocolate, you will likely blink and suddenly find an empty wrapper crumpled in your choco-stained hand.
FINER POINTS: Double Deckers are a little pricey at $1.50 a pop, but you'll seem super sophisticated when you tell your friends about the bloody brilliant London-based chocolate bar you're a bit fond of eating.
Photo: Jessica Leung
- Lou Mancinelli gives us the rundown on Desiato Cider, a new brut double hard cider — made at a winery! — creeping its way into Philly from Bucks County.
- Adam Erace checks out the dough boys of Pitruco Pizza, the new mobile pie operation slangin' in LOVE Park and up in West Philly.
- In What's Cooking: What the Cantinas got planned for H'Ween, Old Fashioned class at Tryst, Pecan Par-tay at Percy Street and more.
- In Icepack: A.D. Amorosi has info on live music coming to the most unlikely of venues — The Dolphin (?!).
Photo: Jessica Kourkounis
The second location of Rittenhouse-by-way-of-Italia yogurt shop Yogorino opened at 12th and Walnut over the weekend. Aside from their signature probiotic-rich tart yogurt and various sauces and toppings, this location (we first mentioned it in September) is serving up a selection of housemade gelati and sorbetti. They're all encased in a rotating circular fridge case that resembles a giant frozen-treat-filled version of Iron Man's Arc Reactor. Hours at Yogorino No. 2 are Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Photos: Drew Lazor
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