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Archive: December, 2012
Take note, cheese geeks: Di Bruno Bros. has a new book coming up, penned by local author/professor/all-around smartypants Tenaya Darlington—better known in some circles as Madame Fromage.
Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese: A Guide to Wedges, Recipes, and Pairings, due out in early May from Running Press, will feature an in-depth look at 170 varieties, 30 recipes, and plenty of pairing advice. Given the collective knowledge of the author and Di Bruno owners, we expect "definitive" might be the word to describe this particular volume.
The holidays are a busy time of year for everyone but for those who work in the restaurant biz, doubly so. Someone has to ladle out the punch and line up the buffet for all of those holiday parties, right?
Well, as a nod to all of the hardworking FOH/BOHers out there the kind folks at Opa (1311 Sansom St.) are hosting an Industry Holiday Party on Sunday, December 23rd. The party starts at 9 p.m. with dangerous dollar PBRs and Jameson shots all night long. Snacks are going to be provided by Zavino, Han Dynasty and Federal Donuts. All you've got to do to get into this rager is bring a paystub.
If you can't wait until New Year's Day for your Fancies and String Bands fix head on over to the Mummers Museum (1100 S. 2nd St.) this Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. for a Pre-Christmas party sponsored by the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association. In addition to the obligatory Santa, museum tours and tunes from DJ Corny (we're intrigued) there will be loads of food trucks on hand. Be on the lookout for Chewy's, Spot Burger, Vernalicious, Lil Dan's and The Mini Trini plus a whole lot more.
And this year the party is hosting the First Annual Golden Ladle Soup Contest where amateur soup makers can compete with their best bisques, chowders and purees. To enter all you need to do is bring two gallons of your creation to the museum by noon.
Chef watch: Stollenwerk out at Fish, Jansen stepping down from REX 1516 and Cicala back from Abruzzo
In sad news chef Regis Jansen is stepping down from his position at REX 1516 (1516 South St.) His battle with cystic fibrosis has taken a turn for the worse and he's going to focus on feeling better. His sous Justin Swain is taking over. For the month of January REX will be running a cocktail special with all of the proceeds going to MANNA. The cocktail on offer is a Snappy Pamplemousse, a blend of Art in the Age's Snap, Combier Pamplemousse Rose, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, OJ and bitters.
Over at Food Republic Le Virtu chef Joe Cicala is recounting his most recent trip to Abruzzo and we've got to say we're more than a little bit jealous. To say that he ate well during the trip would be the understatement of the century. Head over to Food Republic for salumi, olive harvests, truffles and risotto with Fiano grapes, sausage, black walnuts and Parmigiano.
Mike Stollenwerk is out at Fish and Rhino Bar. It's been quite the whirlwind of openings, closings and moves for Stollenwerk over the years. Chef de cuisine Adán Trinidad is taking over the exec spot.
The best free apples ever, a local cheese and mushroom feast, a Maple Syrup Heist update, and free beers for toys this weekend, all on today's Afternoon Snacks!
Tonight marks another installment of free in-store performances at Art in the Age (116 N. 3rd St.)—this time featuring the Silver Ages with John Wesley Harding—and as usual, there will be complimentary cocktails to go around. But tonight there is another free thing that is even better than those first couple of free things: SNAP caramel apples. No, really! Get there at the 6 p.m. start for a good standing spot or first dibs on a drink or whatever, but mostly to ensure that you get to grub down on some apples.
Cheese, mushrooms, yule logs, and free beers, after the break! »
Looks like the first Industry Night of 2013 is going to be a good one. For the premier FOH/BOH party of the year Paul Kahan and Brian Huston of Chicago's the Publican are taking over Alla Spina (1410 Mt. Vernon St.) on Monday, January 7th for an evening of all things porcine including pork rinds, pork belly piedina with long hots and provolone, pig's head bollito misto in beer broth with chestnut noodles and silver dollar squash pancakes with bacon maple syrup.
On the drinks tip Victory will be unveiling the Hundred Horse, a chestnut ale collaboration between Alla Spina and The Publican. You can also look forward to eggnog milkshakes, cans of Pork Slap (obvious choice, right?), shots of Malort, a bitter, love- it-or-hate it wormwood based spirit from Chicago and amaro on draft to help digest all of that pig.
As usual the buffet is gratis and the drinks are cheap just remember to bring a pay stub to prove your industry cred. Party kicks off at 10 p.m.
Last week, The Insider broke the news that Gennaro's Tomato Pie, from the owner of the late Lombardi's in Rittenhouse, was coming to South Philly. Now Passyunk Post has a bunch of pictures and an optimistic outlook on the projected Jan. 2 opening date. We've gotta say, they've done a great job with the small space at 1429 Jackson St.
Gennaro's will be BYOB, open for dinner Wed.-Sun., and won't serve slices; the P'yunk Post entry cited above has some food porn shots of the pizzas to get you excited. Per Mike Klein, the menu will be small and centered around American-style tomato pies (think Trenton-style tomato pie à la DeLorenzo's, not the thick crust staple Philly's more accustomed to by that name), with a few salads, appetizers, and desserts.
The good folks/marketing mad scientists over at Bob Evans have gone all out this holiday season and have brought together martinis and mashed potatoes. And no, they're not gin-soaked Idahos.
These Mashtinis are made with America's #1 selling refrigerated mashed potatoes (Bob Evans brand, duh) and scooped into a classy martini glass with all sorts of seasonal toppers. There's the Thankstini, a parfait layered with turkey, stuffing, sausage, sage, cranberries and gravy and a Classy Carbonara Mashtini that tops off the spuds with prosciutto, Boursin, peas, shallots and tomatoes. For the full recipe roster of these kind of ridiculously amazing sides head over to the Bob Evans site.
View galleryWe’re sure you don’t want one more source reminding you that Christmas is, like, a week away. So let’s just get right into a few last gift ideas for friends who eat—this time, limited to those items you’ll be able to snag even if you figure you’ve got at least four more days before you even have to get started on your shopping.
First up: magazine subscriptions. Generally speaking, if you’re giving someone a card containing a print-out telling them what they can expect to get from you, everyone knows that you forgot about that person. One exception is with magazines—they always take a while to start showing up at your door. Of course, if you don’t know the exact contents of your pal’s mail already, you might want to stay away from staples like Saveur on the chance that they’re already getting it. So try something just a little off the beaten path: on the gorgeous, swank, and weighty tip, we like Diner Journal, Kinfolk, and Gastronomica. San Francisco’s Meatpaper is great and has the benefit of being more reasonably-priced. At the same price, Lucky Peach might be veering into more commonplace territory now—but that allows for the benefit of easily being able to find the current issue to wrap up with the subscription notification. (These are all quarterly publications, by the by.)
Do you have a predilection for all things pizza-related? A true passion for pie? Well, if your life's goal is to eat, sleep and breathe pizza we'd like to let you know that Pizza Brain (2312 Frankford Ave.), the Fishtown temple to all things pizza-centric is now hiring front and back of the house staff. For more info on how to join Team Pizza Brain email braindwyer@gmail to get the pizza wheel rolling.
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