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Archive: March, 2011
Back in February, the James Beard Foundation announced its 2011 chef/restaurant semifinalists, and today they're tweeting out the finalists rapid-fire style. Three local luminaries have been earmarked so far — Michael Solomonov of Zahav has been nominated for "Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic," Marc Vetri's Vetri is up for "Outstanding Restaurant," and Sam Calagione of Delaware's Dogfish Head is in the running for "Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional." The awards will be doled out on May 9 in New York City. One already-awarded honor of note: Chef Vola's, in Atlantic City, has earned an "America's Classics" award from Beard.
Construction on the outdoor patio space at Biba (3131 Walnut St.), which opened in October, starts tomorrow. Getting all the proper permits and approval from the city took a grueling nine months for Jon Myerow and his team, but the top brass expects the deck to be completely finished by the end of this week. Construction won't affect regular operations, so they'll still be opening at 4 p.m. every day as per usual. Delays aside, this couldn't be better timed — it's not officially spring until you take your first sip outside.
As Laurel Rose Purdy so dilligently informed you in her latest What's Cooking column, the burgeoning South Philly Food Co-op will host a spring community forum tonight, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Neumann-Goretti High School (11th and Moore). Co-op members will discuss progress and plans with attendees, and they'll share who they are and what they aim to do — establish a cooperative food model servicing South Philly, providing affordable access to local food — with community members unfamiliar with the initiative. Get more on the Co-op, which has been in the works for some time, on their website.
Starting today, the always-adorable Aussie Ants Pants Cafe (2212 South St.) will undergo a round of upgrades that'll provide South Street brunchers will some more elbow room. They're sprucing up the floors and walls and getting rid of the bar and bench seating in the rear of the narrow space; this'll ideally help the Ants Pants crew accommodate larger groups, and maybe even allow them to bump up overall capacity a little. The plan is for the renovations to be complete by this coming weekend; Ants Pants will be open for takeout orders up front during construction.
Jolly's Dueling Piano Bar (2006 Chestnut St.) closed Saturday night after roughly a year and a half. Late last night, reps for the piano bar's namesake, Jolly Weldon, shot out a note stating his operation would officially shift over to 1420 Locust Street, the Academy House space that was last Japanese restaurant Sakeya. Weldon's statement attributes the relocation to a need for more room to accommodate the crowds (no formal mention of the legal dispute that became public in November); all of the bar's regular performers will be making the jump, and there are plans to add expanded entertainment, Sunday brunch service and a Sunday-night "supper club." The new spot, which will be known by the slightly augmented moniker Jolly’s Restaurant & Rocking Dueling Piano Bar, will open to the public on Friday, March 25.
Monday, March 14
West Philly's getting a new hookah cafe called Aksum.
Cake and the Beanstalk is the name of the new coffee shop/bakery on Locust.
Tuesday, March 15
Wednesday, March 16
The Victory beer dinner at Barbuzzo sounds tremendous.
The Farmers' Cabinet is brand-new to Center City, and it's a serious, serious space. Check it out!
Thursday, March 17
Baltimore's Stillwater Ales is throwing an elaborate beer dinner at James in April.
We love what chef Christopher Kearse is doing at Pumpkin. Peep his next-level foie gras preparation.
Friday, March 18
Cooperage is launching an "industry night" of its own.
Bubble tea's back in West Philly thanks to the coming-soon TBowl.
Wendy's "natural-cut" french fries with sea salt: Are they delicious or suspicious?
I’m not proud to admit it, but I wound up at Wendy's last night. Do not ask how or why; I plead the fifth. Circling the 24th and Oregon drive-through in the neighborhood of 11:30, a blazing yellow sign reminded me about Wendy’s new fries, “natural cut” (skin-on) and showered with sea salt. They're called "Real Fries." Which begs the question: What were we being served before?
Last year, fans of Gia Pronto (3736 Spruce St.) were thrilled to hear that owner Marco Lentini was branching into the world of pizza with Taglio (3716 Spruce St.) in University City. The idea, however. didn't take off as smoothly as intended. Taglio shut down two weeks ago, but lo! — signs of life remain.
Lentini plans on opening TBowl, a restaurant that reapplies the make-your-own-salad system at Gia Pronto to rice bowls. TBowlers will get their choice of white or brown rice, topped off with "starters" — Lentini describes these as 20 smaller additions to the rice bowl, ranging from sautéed wild mushrooms and carrots to tomatoes and edamame. After that, there's a choice of protein (chicken, tofu, etc.) and sauce. Options will include South African chili, chipotle, something called "lemon goddess" and more. Everything gets grilled up together, and next thing you know, you've got yourself a rice bowl.
The real star of the show, though, is slated to be the bubble tea. With the loss of Bubble House (Baby Blues took its place back in September), West Philly has been in a bubble tea drought. TBowl is going to house a bubble tea bar equivalent to the coffee bar at Gia Pronto.
- Strolling through the Spice Terminal at Reading Terminal Market the other day, we came across a loose green tea with what looked like popcorn, or popped rice in it. On my next trip, I will absolutely pick up a bag of what is called Genmaicha — the rice (yes it was popped rice!) adding a little bit of a hearty, toasty flavor to it. Serious Eats tells a pretty intriguing story about the origin of the tea — most likely a Japanese legend.
- The scent of the ferment in my beloved bottles of kombucha constantly drives those around me to remark on its unattractive, vinegar-y aroma. It's something I happen to like about it — and I guess I was right the whole time. (HA HA.) It's always been advised to consume apple cider vinegar daily for better digestion, but check this out: flavored vinegar drinks that internally balance your acids with your alkalines and regulate your appetite. You know it's going to be the next chic craze, so give it a try.
- We're not sure how, but using cannabis in beer and various desserts has been OK'd by the Board of Health in Australia. Supposedly, "industrial hemp" has low enough levels of THC to not affect consumers of such things, so it's acceptable, Slashfood reports.
- My candle smells like gardenia. Yours smells like butter cream. Let's face it, candle-buying isn't the most manly of hobbies (unless you're my old friend Andy, whose poke at Yankee Candle is so worth watching), so why not try Man Cans? Invented by a 13-year-old who made fun of his sister's girly scented wax pots, Man Cans smell like BACON. Man Cans smell like PIZZA. Man Cans.
- Last week, I thought "bacon" made from shiitake mushrooms was genius (it is), but who was I kidding? Y'all are probably more interested in the real thing. What about salami chips? YumSugar shares a little easy as pie how-to: Just bake your salami. The make an SLT. Dip them in stuff. Put 'em on a burger. Cholesterol-free, I promise.
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