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Archive: March, 2011
Last week, we posted on ?uestlove's Twitter quest ?uest to find cooks qooks to whip him up dinner, with one moving on to feed him and the Legendary Roots Crew at the June 4 Roots Picnic. Questo's team has been trickling out the five finalists for the contest (scheduled for April 3) via Twitter, and we're happy to see some familiar faces in the running — peep South Philly Tap Room's own Scott "@foodsyoucaneat" Schroeder on cam prepping a chicken-fried steak cheesesteak that looks imperative. And here are vids from two other finalists, Kenny (he works on the line at Bistrot La Minette) and Clara; keep an eye on @cook4quest for info on the final two contestants.
When the new Pennsylvania Convention Center broke ground, the expansion displaced a few city blocks' worth of businesses — among them Willie Bouikidis' Race Street Pizza. Undeterred by this involuntary closure, Bouikidis decided to take his business elsewhere — and after 14 months of work, he's opened 1518 Bar & Grill at 1518 Sansom. The space was formerly Black Cat Cigar Shop, and some distinct touches (like the decorative antique cash register and a dark wood bar) pay homage to that history. 1518, which is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., takes a pretty fantastic spot on a well-populated stretch of Sansom, in good immediate company with restaurants like Oyster House and Nodding Head. Although 1518 has an extensively stocked bar (and doors officially opened on St. Patrick's Day), Bouikidis maintains the the food will be front and center. Take a look at the lunch and dinner menus (click to enlarge), and a shot of the interior, after the jump.
Chef Moon Krapugthong plans on closing her Bangkok street food spot MangoMoon (4161 Main St.) on April 9 to focus on her long-running Chabaa Thai (4371 Main St.) as well as a brand-new operation: Yanako, a Japanese restaurant that'll allow her to further develop her professional collaboration with Okinawan chef Harry Ige, whom she hosted for a "Chef in Residence" stint earlier this year.
Notes from the Weekend is a Monday feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. Consider this a place for good deals, great dishes, wicked cocktails, recipe triumphs (and tragedies), bizarro conversations and more. We're eager to share our notes, but especially excited to read yours.We encourage you to leave notes from YOUR weekend in the comments. Have at it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Received this AMAZING and elaborate question over the Meal Ticket wire just now:
"I have a friend who pretty much only eats chicken tenders — literally every day. I've therefore decided to put together a 'Chicken Tender Crawl,' in which a number of us will spend a day going to multiple locations throughout Philly, getting an order of chicken fingers/tenders/nuggets at each stop to sample them. At the end of the day, he will name his favorite. The problem is, I don't know what places have good chicken tenders, and he divides his time almost solely between Chick-fil-A, McDonald's and Famous Dave's. If you know of any places that would be suitable for this venture, I would very much appreciate it. Additionally, he will not eat any sauces whatsoever. So the criteria for the quality must be based entirely on the chicken itself."
First of all, this dude rules. Secondly, we want to open it up to you, Meal Ticketers — who's serves the best completely sauceless, boneless, formed-into-a-shape-that-stands-at-odds-with-nature chicken products in Philly? (They do not have to be shaped like dinosaurs, but bonus points if they are.) Our go-to chicken fingers are definitely the pretzel-crusted ones at The Sidecar (2201 Christian St.), but we want to hear from you. Have at it in the comments!
Bobby Dombroski, an audio engineer by trade, hopes to open Strange Brew Coffee at 1321 S. Second by the last week of April. The small café, which'll open up with a small amount of inside and backyard seating (sidewalk permits in the works), will serve coffee and espresso from Counter Culture, the North Carolina roaster used by local cafés like Ultimo, Spruce Street Espresso and Lovers & Madmen. Dombroski, who grew up right down the street and Second and Mifflin and still lives in the 'hood, will also offer pastries, muffins and granola, plus teas from the nearby House of Tea at Fourth and Monroe (they're blending a proprietary house "Strange Brew" for the shop). Local art, coupled with vinyl-art toys and pieces from Dombroski's own collection, with decorate the space.
This Wednesday, be on the lookout for The Peepster, a mobile vehicle WITH A PEEP ON TOP OF IT from Just Born, the Bethlehem-based makers of everyone's favorite pure-sugar Easter treat, plus know 'em/love 'em classics like Mike and Ikes and Peanut Chews. The Peepster will be making a number of spontaneous stops in Philly throughout the day, handing out free candy and prizes as part of its "Random Acts of Sweetness" tour; you'll be able to track the car's whereabouts via its website. No official word on whether the car becomes exponentially tastier after being microwaved for 25 seconds.
Mohammed Islam, owner of Fairmount's King of Tandoor (1824 Callowhill St.), has debuted his new eatery just off the corner of 17th and South. (We first mentioned the project in the fall.) The Indian restaurant, which is called Indian Restaurant (you are not going to forget that name), has been serving for about two weeks now; the menu is similar to KoT's offerings, with a broad variety of lamb, chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes, plus a number of lunch specials, including "to-go" boxes running $8.95 to $9.95.
Indian Restaurant's current hours of Indian restaurant operation: Mon.-Thu., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri., 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat., 12:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., 12:30 p.m.-10 p.m.
Indian Restaurant! That is solid branding.
Jet Wine Bar (1525 South St.) is taking the industry-night concept into the daylight (owww ... so bright) with its industry brunch, running every Monday (today included) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Designed to cater to those who are "more often making a Bloody Mary on Sunday than drinking one," the in-the-biz brunch is open to everyone, but those who produce a bar, restaurant, salon or "other weekend-brunch killing industry" paystub will get a generous 20 percent lopped off their bill. Come for the eggs, frittata and sandwiches and stay for the Bloodys — we downed a couple yesterday afternoon and can attest to their "destroy this godforesaken, somehow-still-lingering hangover" ability.
Meritage (500 S. 20th St.) tantalized fans of elusive-in-Philly Korean fried chicken last summer, but they only kept on their menu for occasional limited engagements. Well, fans of twice-fried, spicy glazed chicken, despair no more — due to overwhelming popular demand, the restaurant has brought back the popular treat. Starting next Wednesday, April 6 (and every Wednesday and Thursday thereafter), $18 will get you a plate full of Korean fried chicken, collard greens and mac 'n' cheese. There's no word on how long this new run is supposed to last, but it would probably serve your best interests to get over there as soon as you possibly can.
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