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Archive: November, 2012
Meal Ticket founding father Drew Lazor is over at City Eats with a list of "10 most promising industry talents on the rise in Philadelphia" and he's got some solid picks. Lazor's list of up and coming food folks includes friend of Meal Ticket Becca O'Brien, the preserves-making powerhouse behind Green Aisle Grocery's line of house-brand products. Making his way and down Passyunk Avenue, Drew tapped his Christopher Kearse chef/owner of Will BYOB, Albert Stumm, editor of The Passyunk Post who has been keeping us posted on the EPX happenings and Stateside's pastry chef Robert Toland.
Also on the list are a few stellar start-ups like gentlemen jerky makers Side Project Jerky and locally roasted ReAnimator Coffee. For the full list of Drew's favorite food folks head over to City Eats.
On today's Afternoon Snacks: Seasonal cupcakes, an extensive game tasting in the burbs, and pizza class back in session in East Falls.
So, um, if you’re going to eat a cupcake, you might want to make it this one from the Sweet Box truck. They sold out of these gorgeous little guys in short order today, but promise they’ll have more on board tomorrow at Love Park.
Can you believe that Percy St. BBQ (900 South St.) is already three years old? Seems like just yesterday we were all abuzz with news of their opening. But here we are: their 3rd birthday party is going down tomorrow (that's Thu., Nov. 8), and it should be a great time, with food and drink specials, birthday cake, and music from John Francis and the Midnight Choir.
Because beer and smoked meats go hand-in-hand and two birthdays are always better than one, party guests will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Colorado's Oskar Blues brewery. Oskar Blues cans will be going for $3 all night—and you'll want to make sure you're in the house around 9 when they wheel out the (free!) birthday cake shaped like a cow drinking an Oskar Blues can of his own.
From the beginning of the party at 5 p.m. until 10 p.m., Percy St. will be doing half-price apps—turkey tails, country ham plates, and their awesome brisket-topped BBQ fries—and you'll also get a bit of a price break on the rest of the menu, as they roll back prices to 2009 levels. Food specials cut off at 10 p.m., but free pulled pork sliders should keep you going strong through the home stretch.
And perhaps best of all, unlike most birthday parties for toddlers, this one won't require the stressful pre-fête trek to Toys R Us.
We hope you’ve been squirreling away your pennies recently, because there’s a pretty special dinner coming up at Fork (306 Market St.) that might well be worth a splurge. Next Tuesday, Nov. 13, exec Eli Kulp and pastry chef Jonathan Saliba are hosting Fork alum Andrew Wood of Russet, chef-owner of Jersey’s must-visit Zeppoli, Joey Baldino, and special guest Fabrizia Lanza.
As a longtime friend and teacher of the chefs involved, Ms. Lanza (along with her late mother Anna Tasca Lanza) has had immense influence on our area’s Italian dining scene. (Lanza runs Case Vecchie, the extremely well-regarded cooking school in Sicily, as well as Tasca D’Almerita Winery.) The dinner at Fork is being thrown to celebrate her latest book, Coming Home to Sicily (Sterling Epicure)—and a signed copy is included in the price.
The night will begin with a reception at 7 p.m., with dinner to follow at 7:30. Baldino will contribute an amuse, while the antipasti will be a collaborative effort; pasta will come from Wood, the entrée from Kulp, and dessert from Saliba. Wine pairings—all from the family winery, of course—are included in the price, which is $135 per person or $240 per couple.
Pizza muralist and friend of Meal Ticket Hawk Krall is tackling the Frankford Avenue Taco over at Slice. The what? Oh, you know the Frankford Avenue Taco, a slice of Pizza Brain's always amazing pizza topped off with a scoop of Little Baby's pizza-flavored ice cream. Sure, the combo is bizarre but according to Krall "it's AWESOME! Sort of like ice cream with waffles but you know, more pizza-ish." Check out the full report right here.
Meal Ticket's bottle shop of choice, BREW (1900 S. 15th St.), has a new addition: a tap system! In addition to their well curated selection of bottles, you can now get draught beer to go. Currently, they're pouring Commonwealth Cider's traditional dry, Sly Fox Helles lager and Firestone Walker Pale 31. Growlers go for a very reasonable $7, with fills between $10 and $15.
Wursthaus Schmitz is the latest addition to the Reading Terminal Market's meaty offerings. According to Foobooz hot sandwiches and platters are still a week or so out but for now you can stock your German larder with dark breads, spicy mustards and endless varieties of wursts from Oxford Avenue's Rieker's Meats.
Mike Stollenwark has revamped the former Fish space at 1234 Locust Street into Rhino Bar, a spot for the usual craft beer and cocktails plus pretty good lookin' menu of bar bites including shishito peppers with Maldon salt, foie gras pierogies and a goat cheese-topped Rhino burger made with a custom blend from Pat La Frieda. Plus the kitchen is open until 1 a.m. Grub's got the full menu.
Bainbridge Street Barrel House opened its doors yesterday with 24 taps and full breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Jordan Fetfatzes of the Bella Vista beer dynasty is in charge of operations and Eric Paraskevas is manning the kitchen. Particularly intriguing is a menu of top your own fries with options like mushroom ragu and cheddar and pulled pork, sour cream and jalapeño. The Insider has all of the morning, noon and night menus plus opening draft list.
Local pros wow us with gingerbread masterpieces, Saveur asks why pie and ice cream have to be, like, two different things, and Hudson Valley comes to East P'yunk: all on today's Afternoon Snacks!
Although many of the stores we frequent haven't even run out of discounted Halloween candy yet, we feel like it's really never too early to enjoy elaborately decorated gingerbread houses. Luckily for us, we only have to wait one more week for the unveiling of this year's Fairmount Park gingerbread holiday house display. Starting on Tue., Nov. 13, edible replicas of Fairmount landmarks crafted by local pastry wizards will be on display at the Shops at Liberty Place through Dec. 9. The exhibit ties in with the annual holiday tours of Fairmount's historic homes; full details can be found here.
It seems as if the Rittenhouse area is awash in gorgeous earthy truffles. Last Monday, Il Pittore’s Chris Painter made them the focus of his fanciful wine dinner on Sansom Street. This week, the too-often overlooked Le Castagne (1920 Chestnut St.) has four days worth of all-truffle Italian meals (beginning this evening and running until November 10th) and wine pairings with two different prix fixe menus and a less pricey lunch menu to boot.
"I've wanted to do a truffle menu for quite some time considering where they come from and the type of food we serve here," says Anthony Masapollo, La Castagne’s co-owner/manager of Le Castagne "Truffles are more than a mere ingredient. They elevate a meal to unspeakable heights. That’s why we’re offering a range of options to suit everyone's taste and wallets."
Look, we're not here to browbeat you into voting. But seriously: just go vote.
If you need a little more motivation, lots of Philly businesses are happy to provide you with some. Discounts and freebies abound for anyone willing and able to flash a sticker or utter the magic passphrase, "I voted!" (Sadly, we never get stickers at our polling place, but we love the creative solution to that problem that one pal of Meal Ticket came up with.)
Here are just a few deals to get you started:
Pumpkin (1713 South St.), Mugshots (1925 Fairmount Ave., and 2831 W. Girard Ave.), and Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave.) are all offering free cups of coffee to anyone who's voted already.
Ultimo (22nd and Catharine Sts., and 15th and Mifflin Sts.) will give voters 20% off any drink today.
Show your sticker at Bistro St. Tropez (2400 Market St.) and they'll throw in a free apple turnover if you order a coffee or tea, or a free bag of housemade potato chips if you order lunch.
Hot Diggity (630 South St.) is also giving 20% off your entire order today to anyone who shows them a sticker.
On another note, while there are too many bars to mention running specials as everyone gathers to watch results pour in, we'd like to call your attention to one:
Johnny Brenda's (1201 Frankford Ave.) is donating 100% of sales of Sly Fox brews on tap to Sandy relief. Not the profit, but the entire purchase price. From 4 to 6 p.m., drafts are $1 off, but the Sly Fox donation deal lasts all Election Night long.
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