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Archive: October, 2012
Last week, we told you about fall's don't-sleep backyard BBQ at Le Virtù (1927 E. Passyunk Ave.) on October 29. But details were sparse at that time, and you may have been wondering: what pairs best with hoodies and fire pits? Well, now we have the menu in hand, and the answer is at once obvious and enthralling: a bounty of shellfish in brodo, a quintessential fall risotto, whole grilled fish and bone marrow sausages, olive oil cake with a bit of char from the grill, getting cozy with roasted apples and pears. Sounds like a perfect cool-weather feast to us.
The party starts at 7 p.m. on the 29th, and tickets ($90 a pop; wine and beer included) go on sale this Friday. Here's the full spread:
Assorted Antipasti
Steamed Shellfish, Fennel, Olive Oil Cured Olives, Lobster Brodo
(Scott Schroeder)
Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto
(Joe Cicala)
Whole Grilled Bronzino, Shaved Root Vegetable Salad, Herb Puree
Bone Marrow and Truffle Sausage, Burnt Onion and Pear Mustard
Wood Fired Polenta
(George Sabatino)
Grilled Olive Oil Cake, Roasted Apples and Pears, Cinnamon Whipped Sheep’s Milk Ricotta
(Angela Ranalli)
Last week, we shared the Thanksgiving pre-order menu from Belle Cakery with you. But if you were hoping for even more help with the hard work of feasting, Percy St. BBQ can help. They’re taking orders now through November 15 for smoked turkeys—or even the entire meal. $65 gets you a 15-pound bird with gravy and cranberry sauce included; $225 nets dinner for six to eight people with the addition of mashed sweet potatoes (obligatory marshmallow topping included), cornbread-sausage stuffing, collard greens, baked apples, and a pecan pie.
The boon to reluctant cooks is obvious—but even for those of us who like helming an elaborate feast, a smoked turkey is a delicacy that many home cooks aren’t set up to make themselves. It’s also more than worth noting that for every smoked turkey they sell, Percy St. will be donating to a food bank to buy a turkey for a family in need. If you want to give it a try, you’ll need to call the restaurant to order by noon on Thursday the 15th; turkeys can be picked up on Wednesday, November 21, at either Percy St. location (900 South St. or the Market at Comcast Center).
A Jason Cichonski-Shola Olunloyo collab is the sort of thing that’s going to make a lot of people start salivating without any further details. That said, now we have further details: Shola posted this working menu on his Studiokitchen blog yesterday. You know, in case you were somehow on the fence.
Raw Seafood . Various Non-Traditional Garnishes
Spanish Mackerel . Arctic Char . Sea Urchin
Wild Maitake . Brown Butter Dashi . Onsen Egg . Sudachi Lime
Scallop Baked In Soy Mash . Shaved Octopus . Kabocha Squash . Yuzu Pickled Cranberry
Pork Belly and Gyoza . Miso Apple . Pickled Mustard Seed . Raw Daikon
Roasted Plums . Red Bean Cake . Black Sesame Praline . Buttermilk Ice Cream
Travel + Leisure magazine's November issue is has a line up of nine Philly restaurants not to be missed. Francine Maroukian chimes in with smart commentary about our fair dining scene, siting the fact that Philadelphia is not a place where out of town chains thrive, instead we're more partial to our own in-town empires. Here's a look at the best of the best according to T+L:
The Farm & Fisherman (1120 Pine St.) This Pine Street corner got called out for Josh and Collen Lawler's witty take on modern American farm fare.
Koo Zee Doo (614 N. Second St.) Husband-and-wife team David Gilberg and Carla Gonçalves turn out Portuguese plates from the tiny kitchen of this No Libs BYO.
Bistrot La Minette Peter Woolsey's straight out of Paris bistro earned points for authenticity was well as expertly poured Kirs. 623 S. Sixth St.; bistrotlaminette.com
Zahav (237 Saint James Place) Nutty hummus and smokey eggplant are the New Isreali menu items that have T+L swooning over Michael Solomonov.
Paesano's Philly Style (1017 S. Ninth St.) Peter McAndrews earns props for his reimagined hoagies that trump touristy cheesesteaks any day of the week.
Garces Trading Company (1111 Locust St.) Jose Garces' market-wine shop-restaurant is keeping up with Philadelphia's sandwich legacy with the cubano clásico.
Kennett (848 S. Second St.) A repurposed dining room and innovative country cooking earn this Second Street hang a place on T + L's top ten.
Barbuzzo (110 S. 13th St.) Marcie Turney's new Mediterranean spot earns praise for pastas.
Dandelion (124 S. 18th St.) Starr's British accented gastropub gets a nod for stand up fish and chips.
On today's Afternoon Snacks, we've got free events hosted by Hendrick's, East Passyunk's annual Halloween pub crawl, and London Grill's Pumpkin Fest tomorrow night (start carving now)!
If it’s free, and it’s booze, then it’s news to us: Hendrick’s Gin is hosting 3 days of events starting tonight, and all they ask of you is that you RSVP. Called Voyages into the Unusual, the event is being staged in five different cities throughout the year (it’s already gone down in Houston, SF, and Chicago, and will wrap up in NYC over Halloween), and our turn comes tonight through Thursday at Trust (249 Arch St.). Tonight they’re hosting cocktail classes at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., which you can RSVP for here, with sampling including a signature “traveling punch” (a new one for each city; you can see Houston’s here). Tomorrow and Thursday nights, education goes out the window in favor of parties that promise the, well, “unusual.” …And also gin.
This Monday, October 22nd London Grill (2301 Fairmount Ave.) is hosting an evening of North Carolina cookin' with Hoppin' John Martin Taylor, author of Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking. This guide to the curious and comforting cuisine of North Carolina's Lowcountry is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with a re-release from UNC Press as well as a night of music and family-style dining at London. London owner Terry Berch McNally and Hoppin' John Martin Taylor go way back, she hosted a cookbook release party for him when the book was first published in 1991.
The twentieth anniversary menu kicks off with a cocktail hour featuring pimento cheese, biscuits with "trash" gravy and a chance to talk shrimp and grits with Taylor. All of the dishes served at dinner are Lowcountry classics, think shrimp and chicken pilau, cornbread, and green bean and benne (sesame) salad.
The spread is $60 a head and comes complete with a African Creole and jazz trio to set the mood for the evening. To reserve your place at the table call 215-978-4545 or visit London's site.
We admit, we sort of wear our affection for Brauhaus Schmitz on our sleeves around here, but they just keep making it so damn easy to love them. Take, for example, their upcoming Oktoberfest Happy Hour: on Thursday, October 25, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., a $30 ticket gets you a liter mug that you can refill to your heart’s content from a list of five draft options. For experienced guzzlers, a few hours with a bottomless mug might be draw enough, but the best part is that $10 of your ticket price goes to the Center for Literacy.
CFL is the country’s biggest nonprofit devoted to community literacy, and its services are crucial in Philly, where it’s estimated that over half the adult population is considered low literate. The Brauhaus event is limited to 100 guests, so you need to RSVP in advance if you want in.
Sure, it's barely one in the afternoon and it's Tuesday but we're dreaming of happy hour. Luckily our buddies at Alla Spina (1410 Mt. Vernon St.) are on the same page. Beginning at 6:30 this evening Alla Spina is hosting a Trappe Takeover. Although the abbey-brewed beers from La Trappe de Koningshoeven are no longer brewed by monks, these Dutch imports live up to their trappist roots. From 6:30 to 8:30 flights of Witte, Dubbel, Quadrupel, and Isid'or, a Belgain strong ale will be available as well as single pours. Export manager Erwin Klijn is in from the Netherlands to talk shop and history of this 128 year old Brouwerij and a few folks will go home with a commemorative Trappe glass.
Eater Philly has all the details on next week's collaborative dinner at Ela (627 S. 3rd St.) that's bringing together chefs Jason Cichonski and Shola Olunloyo for a Japanese tasting menu that will likely be pretty incredible.
(Meanwhile, over at Eater National, this just made us oddly giddy.)
We've heard her auguring skills are almost as good as her way with pastry, so yeah, we think a tarot card reading from Angela Ranalli will be well worth the twenty-spot.
You may not have noticed that Supper (926 South St.) is open on Mondays now, and has introduced a happy hour deal that lets you pick 3 hors d'oeuvres for $12 to go with their excellent cocktails. (Happy hour is from 5 to 7 p.m., FYI.)
Speaking of happy hour, Pizza Brain (2313 Frankford Ave.) is bringing their version back this week, with 2-for-$5 slices of 'Jane' today through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.
Notes from the Weekend is a feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. We'd love to hear all about YOUR weekend eating adventures in the comments. Go for it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Adam Erace: AE
Caroline Russock: CR
Eating adventures kicked off early this weekend when MT contributer Emily and I headed up to New York for the Food Network Wine & Food Festival. A trafficky megabus trip into the city meant that we had to skip fest kick-off Meatball Madness but that might have been for the best. We ended up scoring spots at San Fran import Mission Chinese for some killer reimagined Sichuan fare. The mapo tofu and kung pow pastrami are the stuff that dreams are made of.—CR
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