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Archive: April, 2010
Bobby Flay will officially open his fifth Bobby's Burger Palace — and his first in a truly urban area — tomorrow at noon in the Radian (3925 Walnut St.) in West Philly. Meal Ticket dropped by the space earlier today to chat up the Iron Chef (pick up our upcoming issue for a full Q&A) and get a feel for the space.
The Palace, right next to Chipotle, looks less like a Palace than it does a really bright 'n' mod escape pod — it's polished and modern, with room for about 70 along a curvaceous counter and elongated dining tables. (For what it's worth, the Rockwell Group, which designed Stephen Starr's space-age Pod, also handled this space.)
We posted the menu last week — Flay's inspiration for the burger lineup are America's regional eating habits, and that's why the burgers are named after U.S. cities. The L.A. Burger, Flay's fave, has avocado relish, watercress, cheddar and tomato; a spice-crusted Dallas rendition boasts BBQ, slaw, Jack cheese and pickles. A Philadelphia-style burger, with provolone, grilled onions and hot peppers, is on the menu at the previous four BBPs (they're situated in suburbs of New York), but here, you can get your Philly patty slathered with honest-to-goodness Whiz. ("You can't come to Philly, have a Philly Burger, and not offer Whiz," concedes Flay.)
Patties are 6 ounces, seasoned (in almost all cases) with nothing but kosher salt and cracked black pepper, and served on soft sesame-seed rolls. Fries are hand-cut, and in other spud news, Flay encourages people to "crunchify" their burgers by adding a handful of Lay's potato chips into the mix at no charge. Housemade sauces, which are also available retail, include a jalapeno hot sauce, a spicy/sweet "burger sauce" akin to A1, and chipotle ketchup. The restaurant has a liquor license, and is offering beers and milkshakes both virgin and spiked.
Flay says he has intentionally steered clear of trying the various signature burgers in Philly. "The one thing I don't want to be is influenced by anyone else's stuff," he says. "There are particular things about the burgers that we do here that are important to me, and I think that they are successful in getting people to crave them. That's really important." The chef adds that he's earned quite a bit of flak — particularly from his wife, Law & Order: SVU's Stephanie March, who he says is a big burger fan — about opening his first city Burger Palace in Philly instead of in the Big Apple. "I wanted to try the concept outside of New York," says Flay. "I didn't want it to become a New York thing. I have high-end restaurants in New York, and if I do something [there], the microscope goes on it ⦠I just wanted to open a fun burger place."
Lastly, we're curious what P.Y.T.'s Tommy Up will have to say about all this.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: Check out pics/info on @bflay's @bobbysburgerpal, officially opening tomorrow in West Philly: http://bit.ly/cusZ2x...
Don't be fooled, this is an overpriced sham that is playing off a TV name. Nothing special here, move along. All burgers come with cheese so if you want to ease fat intake you have to pay for cheese. Cruchify merely means adding chips. Prices are too high for a normal size burger that is undercooked -- I like pink, not deep purple -- Trendy joint that gives nothing above the average local strip mall shop. Sauces were not good and i stuck with their ketchup with was inferior to Heinz but the best sauce option. Best to go to a Fuddruckers and have a much larger burger for a fraction of the cost. For the price of a standard flay burger at Fuddruckers you can get a huge healthy Buffalo, Elk, Ostrich, burger or a regular huge beef one for a couple bucks less... with free fixins and $1.00 beers. I will not be fooled again; I will not go to Bobby's just because of his name being on it... what a waste of time and resources... Why? Just so I could say I went there? No thanks.
[...] - Bobby’s Burger Palace in pictures [05apr10] [...]
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Notes from the Weekend is a new 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!
FD: Felicia D'Ambrosio
MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
AH: Alexandra Harcharek
DL: Drew Lazor
Did a backwards-dinner thing on Passyunk Avenue Friday night — salato e caramello (salt & caramel) 70 percent chocolate shake at La Golosa (806 S. Sixth St.) with espresso (and a surprise glass of dessert wine that Palator importer Mark Monaco shared with us!) first, thence to Royal Tavern (801 E. Passyunk Ave.) for their "April Collins" with Bluecoat and St. Germain, and the most tater tots $4 can buy in a restaurant. Classy! —FD
Experienced the first real cheesesteak of my life on Saturday during a "crawl" hosted by my blog, AFoodComa.com. We rounded up a crew and stopped at the top three places voted on by our readers: Jim's, Pat's and Dalessandro's (John's Roast Pork was also among contenders, but they're closed Saturdays!). My arteries are still reeling. Perhaps we'll do a salad crawl next time? —AH
Saturday afternoon we lunched at Village Whiskey (118 S. 20th St.) with a friend who was visiting from Brooklyn. I devoured a medium-rare Village Burger with a fried egg, smoked bacon, Jasper Hill cheddar and caramelized onions minus two bites I reluctantly gave up for the group to sample. A-maz-ing. Also tried Coronados Idiot Double/Imperial IPA which the bartender described as a "nice, heavy, hoppy smack across the face." I'll take two! —MD
After lunch we drove to Long Beach Island for more food. My family had dinner reservations at Raimondo's (1101 Long Beach Blvd.) under "Felix party of 7." We use "Felix" to eliminate the frustration of spelling out "DiFeliciantonio" every time and also to avoid corny jokes like "What's that short for?" or "I bet you're champion spellers." —MD
After three weeks of swearing and banging about, my father finally finished building his homemade greenhouse and raised beds. I got my hands dirty while having a lesson about this year's lawn-to-table crops. Among many others, we've planted swiss chard, two kinds of potatoes, peppers, lettuces galore, and pineapple and chocolate mints (heyyy mojitos). —AH
Sampled a Champagne-washed, Champagne cave-aged triple creme fromage that Tom Peters had just purchased at Di Bruno Bros. while working lunch at Monk's on Saturday. Then frantically snarfed an entire order of our homemade chicken fingers with Cattleman's Choice (zee premier barbecue sauce, IMO) between serving tables. —FD
Early Saturday, went to Noble (2025 Sansom St.) and The Franklin (112 S. 18th St.) to visit barkeeps Christian Gaal, Colin Shearn and Al Sotack, all of whom took us up on the Jeppson's Malört Challenge we wrote about last week. (We'll be posting about the surprisingly palatable results throughout this week.) Non-Malört drinks consumed included Cigar City's Maduro Brown Ale (on draft behind Noble's bar) and the Franklin's Old Fashioned, our hands-down favorite one in the city. —DL
Grubbed on some of David Ansill's menu items at Ladder 15 (1528 Sansom St.) for Saturday dinner while watching Duke wax West Virginia. Especially dug the rock shrimp with a very very cheffy fishy lobster roe aioli. —DL
Sunday, Easter, was spent with girlie's extended Polish family, feasting on the cold spread traditional for the holiday (bunch of kielbasa and other sausages from Krakus Market, babka, farmer's cheese, eggs, etc.) plus surprisingly drinkable Costco brand hefeweizen (if you put this in some sort of cheeky-labeled craft beer bottle the nerds would say it was great, we're sure of it). Her "babcia" (grandmother) said I looked fat, then said I looked muscular like a professional wrestler. (For the record = kinda fat, not even remotely muscular.) All other family members instructed that it should be taken as a big compliment. —DL
Easter Sunday was spent slowly working through an immense basket of pre-staled Peeps, Zitner's buttercream eggs, Cadbury mini eggs and Whoppers robin's eggs. I include the brand names because they are iconic and store brands cannot compete on this holiest of candy holidays. Did not eat: the ham, the ambrosia, the pineapple bake, the four-bean salad or anything that did not have "sugar" listed as its first ingredient. —FD
Sunday = Chocolate fest. After 40 days and 40 nights of no sweets I went a little overboard and pretty much only ate chocolate all day. My diet included Gertrude Hawk peanut butter smidgens, chocolate-covered pretzels, Reese's peanut butter eggs, chocolate chip cookies, Hershey's special dark and, of course, a Peep or two. —MD
A weekend of perfect weather meant we had our simple Easter dinner served al fresco at my parents' house in Princeton: leg of local lamb, roasted potatoes and parsnips, braised tarragon carrots, the first harvest of peas. For dessert, the adults tucked in to a glistening tarte tatin while my four siblings devoured Cadbury eggs the size of their heads. —AH
Tried a slice of meat pie from A Little Bite of Italy (1419 Long Beach Blvd.) in Surf City — layers of hard-boiled egg, ricotta with parsley, prosciutto, pepperoni, capicola and mortadella, all baked into a an egg-washed pie shell. It made me regret overdosing on chocolate and not leaving room for meaty seconds. —MD
Remember how we were talking about Doritos 1st Degree Burn last week? Well, copped 2nd Degree Burn last night. Will report back. —DL
While celebrating a friend's 21st birthday at Dave & Buster's, I was appalled, though not entirely surprised, to discover that the majority of their menu items were upwards of 1100 calories, including one monstrosity clocking it at 2758. Negligible points were earned by the appearance of several bottles from Yards and Victory at the bar. But we only go there for the Mario Kart anyway. —AH
Tried all three varieties of new signature hot dogs at the Phillies game saturday, Old Philly dog with pickle and pepper hash was my fav
Another person with a penchant for stale Peeps, yes!
Ate too much delicious pie at the Twin Peaks art exhibit at Piranha Betty's on Friday and raised an ice cold Schlitz at a friend's rooftop screening on MST3K's Mitchell because that's all Joe Don Baker drinks in the movie (and he drinks a lot of it). We rounded all of these up and more arty things on Crit Mass' Been There/Done That. Tell us what you did too, you don't want people to think all you do is eat all weekend ⦠fatties.
On Friday I ate pie and drank coffee at the Twin Peaks art show. Then I ate burgers and suicide rings (so good!) at Memphis Tap Room. Saturday, I drank my dinner because I am an adult and I can do that. Sunday I spent all day thinking about how delicious the dinner I was going to cook would be and then procrastinated on going to the store to pick up some important ingredients. By the time I got around to it, everything was closed and I ended up eating tombstone pizza, bought from the 24 hr CVS. Sad!!
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: Here are Team Meal Ticket's eating/drinking NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND. Share yours in the comments! http://bit.ly/ak7inY...
Friday - DiNic's Italian Pulled Pork....WHOOAAAAAH! Sat - Mr. Pi's Sushi in Edison, NJ ......WHOOOOAAAAH! Sunday - Some Awesome Pulled Lamb Shoulder Dish at a Lebanese Spot Called Zeina in Highland Park, NJ........SIIIICK!
My brother, his wife, and I conned our way into Han Dynasty Saturday night. A big 8 top was all that was open so we convinced some strangers to eat with us. We over-ordered, and when we asked to have our leftovers wrapped, they brought back a fraction of what we left. Shady. But still, the food was unreal. The Founders IPA we brought from Eulogy was a perfect foil for the spice.
Friday - Did some al fresco munching on the roasted red pepper and feta dip at Continental Midtown followed by one or two (three?) specials at Bob and Barbara's (Always keeping it classy...) Saturday - devoured the classic burger at Ladder 15. Solid burger with good fries. After sampling my friend's short rib Korean taco, I need to go back for my own. Sunday - Smoked salmon omelette at Green Eggs Cafe. Dig the food, wish the service was better. Followed by an Easter dinner with friends of lamb, rabbit, and French cider. Sides of roasted veggies and asparagus in lemon butter (with shallots and pine nuts) made by yours truly.
Had a little bbq at the beach Saturday night, featuring Tommy Gun's pork ribs, pulled pork, corn salad, beans, and corn bread. Outta control.
Friday: Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale before hitting First Friday. Saturday: Tuna hoagie from Cosmi's with a San Benedetto Red Orange soda for lunch; Dinner at Cochon where we had the escargot and country pate for starters and the chicken and pork shouder for our main and brioche chocolate pudding and a strawberry rhubarb crumble for dessert. Brought our own: Pretty Things' Baby Tree quadrupel with plums and Lagunitas' Wilco Tango Foxtrot jobless recovery ale. Sunday: Early Easter dinner at the mom's with: antipasta from Claudios (mozzarella, prosciutto, olives, grilled marinated artichokes); lasagna, eggplant parm, ham, asparagus, sweet potatoes for dinner; ricotta cheesecake, shoofly pie, apple pie for dessert; Italian meat pie for later/breakfast.
Renovation / pizza weekend: Friday - All fancy Deep dish pizza (more like a tart) at Garces Trading Co with wild mushrooms and cipollini onions. So so good. Also artichokes, and chef's cheese selection were slamming. Saturday - Tired Dock Street vegan pizza. Old standby. Trio fries! Sunday - Exhausted Left-over pizza. The bottom. Self loathing. 30rock.
Friday: kicked off the weekend in style with banana chocolate pancakes from Sabrina's. Ate at Novita Bistro which was good, sardines special followed by mushroom ravioli. Saturday: early brunch at Morning Glory, then Easter Pie from DiBruno Bros. for dinner. (kind like quiche) Sunday: corned beef and swiss cheese omelette from Kibbitz Room, dinner was grilled boneless chicken thighs from Cannulli's, which were excellent.
I popped over to my favorite patisserie, Miel on 17th below Walnut, and had their lemon blueberry tart...incredible. Then I couldn't sleep so I went home and made mini chocolate bundt cakes, which I've been told are pretty good :)
Friday: Chicken Fried Steak at O'Hungrys in Old Town, San Diego, CA. Its kinda like a Waffle House. Saturday: Jack in the Box Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger & curly fries, followed by papa johns delivery during the basketball games.. then Tomato Basil soup for dinner. Sunday: Homemade Veggieburger fried rice burrito. Dinner: Lovely chicken breast in mustard mushroom sauce from Buon Appetito in San Diego's Little Italy.
Friday was a day for David Ansill beet salad, which then became night at Varga Bar with some Stone Ruination. Luckily I was there for a birthday party and felt compelled to continue my drinking in honor of the guest. For the first time in a long time, no shots were consumed. Sunburn wipes you out and gets you that much drunker. Saturday was all about kickball in the park while consuming copious amounts of Yahhhds ESA and being courted by a couple borrachos latinos. We followed that with a trip to the Foodery for sandwiches (weird that I didn't already know the foodery made sangwiches) and bombers of Avery Mahraja and De Ranke Cuvee. We ended the afternoon in the backyard of Druid's Keep. The night held copious amount of Asia @ Cafe scallion pancakes and hong kong wonton soup. Sunday was all about random barhopping and Easter with the POPE. Also Easter with the SPTR. Drank a Moylan Hopsickle, a Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree, and finished with a palate cleansing Stoudt Kolsch. I think I ate a brownie too.
This weekend I had Sunday off for once due to Easter, so I definitely tried to make the most of it. Saturday - Koo Zee Doo for brunch and it was SO delicious. New favorite brunch in town, I have to save some cash to make it back for dinner. Then lots of afternoon drinking at the dog park led me to North Third where not even my drunkenness could save the lackluster food... although the onion rings were pretty tasty. Sunday - Went to Sonata since they only do brunch on Sundays and it was really good, but having Koo Zee Doo the day before had upped my brunch standards to new and unachievable heights. Then I had Easter dinner at Han Dynasty haha. The food was awesome! Met Han himself and had a cigarette with him. He's hilarious and was talking about possible menu changes coming up.
First foodie weekend in some time... Friday dinner @ Memphis Taproom - Beef pasties and fried pickles to start, then chicken fried chicken. Stoudts pils to wash it all down. I wish the CFC came with gravy. Saturday bbq cookout with friends. Lots of cheeseburgers, brownies, and a mini-keg of bells two hearted. Us girls made a beer run around 9 and stopped for a pitcher of margaritas at Johnny Mananas before heading back. Sunday lunch @ Squareburger. Good enough for $4.25 but not worth the wait. Good char on the burger though. Dinner @ Amada. So. Freaking. Delicious. As always. I am pretty sure I had a dream about the patatas bravas and pulpo last night.
Friday: Phils Game with Beautiful Godchild Erin, Aunt & Uncle Bubba. Cotton Candy, Hot Dogs, ice cream in little helmet. After the purchase of a tiny pink Philles hat for said angel, no money left for stadium foods. Nicks Roast Beef in Springfield after. Ordered Roast beef combo, overboard, on the outs. (if ya don't know, now you know...how to order that is) Saturday: Phils Game with Cousins. Too Many High Lifes while tossing washers, and a few 16oz Budweisers inside. Left early to throw more washers and rip a few more High Lifes AND to finish off the incredible sunburn I left with. Did I eat Dinner? No, but I will be cooking dinner this Friday for a lovely lady I met there... Sunday: Easter Brunch with the fam. Sleep. Early.
@mollyeichel unfortunately all I did was eat. or maybe that's fortunate. oh, I DID watch Inglorious Basterds on Friday and played half a game of Scrabble on Sunday. but I think that's it for non-food related activities! @everyone who BBQ'd....good call. can't wait to get my grill (I've gone a lil overboard trying to find the best one for the best price and i will probably just end up with the very first one I laid my eyes on)
Friday - bottle of Sparkling Brut from Pinnacle Winery at the Gazebo behind the Art Museum - Nachos at London Grill - Ceviche and Pork Tacos at Xochitl - Exit 16 for dessert. Saturday - Oregon Diner for Sausage and Onion Omelet - Bottle of 1806 at POPE for lunch - Dinner was sweetbread ravolis and braised shortribs - Sunday - Growler of Iron Hill Black Ale, Filet with corn casserole and green bean casserole (from Percy Street, special order), key lime pie and cheesecake and Chocolate Easter Bunny.
Saturday: dinner with the family followed by snacks and brews at Iron Hill Maple Shade. The India Black Ale was fantastic! Sunday: family dinner at 1 p.m. (no joke) including some of my favorites made by my gram (pierogies, German potato salad, kielbasa, etc.) followed by a long nap and second dinner at Pizzeria Stella, which I looooooooved.
friday: bottle of sauvignon blanc and spreads from grocery in the park. grocery prepared foods are kind of meh. at sunset, picked up a six pack of yards IPA and me and my gal had a ridiculously jumbo chicken parm 'boli from Angelinos. For $15, we got enough boli for dinner and multiple leftover sessions. This was nothing super gourmet, but it was a good quality stromboli with a nice sauce, mozz, ricotta and fresh chicken breast. Saturday: spent the day getting my backyard crops in order. Cleaned out the grill and had my first BBQ of the season. No gas..charcoal only. As the coals were turning red, we cracked open some bottles of Sammy Smith's cider. I am not a huge fan of hard cider, but Sammy Smith's is just perfect. Crisp, not sweet and really refreshing after a long day digging in the dirt. I grilled up my favorites: grilled sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chicken thighs, onions and a briefly charred head of romaine. delicious. Sunday: standard easter dinner..ham etc. The only good thing about it, is left over ham for ham and egg sammies.
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| Photo l Gil Ortale |
| Market Day canelé (standard and mini) and fleur de sel caramels |
If you read the Philly Market Cafe blog, you know author Gil Ortale worked on his recipe for the traditional Bordeaux pastry canelé for months before offering them for sale as Market Day Canelé (say cahn-eh-lay). "I cried gallons of tears over them," said Ortale in a telephone interview. The notoriously fickle pastries, which unite a crunchy, almost burnt shell with a yielding custard-like interior flavored with vanilla and rum, require recipe adjustment for humidity, different flours and maybe even the phase of the moon.
This hard-won fight left Ortale unprepared for the instant success of his new Market Day fleur de sel Caramels. The soft candies, made primarily from butter, sugar and heavy cream, come in caramel and chocolate caramel versions sprinkled lightly with sea salt. The first individually-wrapped $2 piece I tasted was rich, creamy and sweet, with the salt adding complexity and bringing out the pure flavors of the butter and sugar. The chocolate version was just as lovely, with the subtly dusty, slightly bitter cocoa taking the edge off the sweetness.
Ortale will partner again with Joe Coffee for a stand in the Headhouse Farmer's Market this season (opening Sun., May 2); the duo have been hitting the Piazza at Schmidt's Saturday market since its inception. Ortale's oft-referred-to "ladyfriend" mans the Market Day Canelé sales at Clark Park's Saturday market, where a recent customer bought out her supply 20 pieces at a time.
Stationary retailers stocking the caramels include Pumpkin Market (1609 South St.), Quince Fine Foods (209 W. Girard Ave.) and Green Aisle Grocery (1618 E. Passyunk.).
Eat This Immediately.
[...] Meal Ticket’s Felicia D. suggests you eat Market Day’s salted caramels immediately. The soft candies, made primarily from butter, sugar and heavy cream, come in [...]
I've had both and are utterly delicious to say the least. Gil's hard work and superb culinary skills and embodied in both recipes. The lovely lady that mans the Clark Park's Saturday market is lovingly referred to as "Little Lady," not "Ladyfriend."
[...] sedate Headhouse Square farmers market (blame it on the drizzle), where we copped a dozen-plus Market Day Canelé (above). If you want people at a party to like you, show up with a box of these things. [...]
Beginning today, you can devour Roman classics like fried lamb's tongue with salsa rossa and tonarelli cacio e pepe during daylight hours at Marc Vetri's trattoria AmÃs (412 S. 13th St.). The weekday lunch menu is identical to the current dinner offerings, and runs 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
This Sunday, April 11 will see the debut of a Sunday brunch menu, with prices ranging from $4 to $20. Italian breakfast treats like homemade cornetti with marmellata are featured, along with stateside classics like Belgian waffles with rhubarb syrup to fill out the sweet side. Savory-seekers can turn to the extensive housemade charcuterie selection, bruschetta with toppings like buffalo ricotta with favas and English peas, or eggy plates like a sunny side-up duck egg with grilled guanciale and pecorino fondue.
Brunch will be served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday only. Pore over the selections after the jump.
pastries and brunch classics
freshly squeezed orange 4
freshly squeezed grapefruit juice 4
homemade Italian cornetti with marmellata 5
olive oil torta with apple butter 5
brulee half grapefruit 4
warm belgian waffles with rhubarb syrup 12
charcuterie e formaggio
prosciutto di parma with homemade frico 12
salumi misti 12
pecorino trio 10
bruschetta
egg and lemon salad 6
buffala ricotta with fava and english peas 10
mortadella mousse 8
fresh tuna and white bean 8
eggplant caponata 6
insalate
classic warm salad with egg and pancetta 10
escarole salad with apples and radish 8
watercress salad with pistachio crema and pickled rhubarb 10
verdure
artichoke alla giudia 10
roasted potatoes 6
shaved zucchini salad with mint 6
grilled scamorza with pickled vegetables 8
frico (montasio cheese and potato tart) and assorted marmalades 10
pasta
tonnarelli carbonara 16
spring onion lasagna with stracciatella 16
raviolo all'uovo 16
rigatoni with lamb ragu peas and mint 16
bufala ricotta ravioli with asparagus 16
uove (eggs)
clam cockles scallions and scrambled eggs on toast 18
grilled asparagus with poached egg in a bag and olive oil zabaione 18
potato frittato with frisse and scallion vinaigrette and roasted red bell peppers 8
sunny side up duck egg with grilled guanciale and pecorino fondue 14
egg tripe with braised tomato 10
polenta pasticciata with fennel sausage and provolone 14
alla griglia
grilled tuna tagliata with fennel and citrus 18
tagliata di manzo (ribeye) with arugula salad 26
mixed vegetable grill 10
[...] Lunching and Brunching at Amis [Meal Ticket] Amis [Official Site] geopress_addEvent(window,"load", function() { geopress_makemap(150301,"Amis",39.9448337,-75.1630601,"google",Mapstraction.ROAD, { pan: true, zoom: 'small', overview: false, scale: false, map_type: false },15) }); [...]  |
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| Click to enlarge |
Here's the opening menu for Bobby's Burger Palace, the Bobby Flay burger joint that's opening this coming Tuesday, April 6 in the Radian at 3925 Walnut. (First noted it back in December.) The offerings are not really any different from the Iron Chef's four other BBP locations, save for a couple local tweaks — there's a Whiz option for the Philadelphia burger (usually it's just provolone), and they're doing Lager on the beer list. All BBP burger styles can be done with certified Angus beef, ground turkey or chicken breast; "crunchifying" refers to the time-honored tradition of shoving chips between the buns. More soon.
[...] [...]
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Couple things of note going on at Zama (128 S. 19th St.) in the new couple days — for starters, the bar's stocking five can't-really-find-them beers from Japan's Coedo Brewery, including Shiro, a non-filtered wheat beer that'll do you well in this weather, and Beniaka, a lager brewed with roasted sweet potatoes (haven't had something like that since Allagash's '09 Fluxus!). All the Coedo brews are $10 a pop except for the Beniaka, which is going for $12.
Also launching this weekend: chef/owner Hiroyuki "Zama" Tanaka's "Sunday Sushi Experience" dinner, featuring 48 pieces of fish, served in three courses, plus vino, for $100. Tanaka will slice up 18 pieces of sashimi, three maki rolls and 12 pieces of nigiri to go along with a bottle of Oroya, a Spanish three-grape white specially blended to be sipped with sushi. The hundo price tag does not include tax and tip.
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| firstpersonarts.org |
Everyone has a story to tell, and for foodies, those stories spin on edible axes. This food-centric world takes the main stage when First Person Arts hosts Sunday Supper and Family Lore at Bridget Foy's (200 South St.) next Sunday, April 11, from 6 to 9 p.m.. As part of the Edible World series' home-cooking experiment, Sunday Supper will feature Suzan Colón, author of Cherries in Winter, for a night of story-telling and a family-style feast featuring Colón's family recipes.
"Through her story, Colón learned of her family's history, struggle and resilence," Karina Kacala of FPA tells Meal Ticket. "In the past, we focused on area restaurants, but this portion of the Edible World series celebrates the story of home kitchens and family tradition." Check out FPA's blog to read how Rick Nichols (Philadelphia Inquirer) adopted the recipes of his wife's Slovak/Hungarian-Roumanian family as his own. and keep an eye out for a contribution from Meal Ticket's very own Felicia D next week.
Tickets are $30 for members, $35 for non-members and can be purchased here. Submit a recipe and 250-word story to Kacala (kkacala[at]firstpersonarts.org) by today, April 2, and you could be awarded air time at the event (you must pay admission to be eligible) and have your story featured on Colón's blog.
Menu after the jump.
Course 1: Split pea soup with grilled ham and frizzled leeks
Course 2: Cadillac meatloaf with bacon, mashed potatoes and asparagus with crimini mushroom gravy
Course 3: Apple cake with spiced pecans and nutmeg whipped cream
Vegetarian options: tomato fennel soup, eggplant napoleon with provolone, broccoli rabe and roasted peppers with marinara sauce
Complimentary glass of wine with dinner
[...] April 11: First Person Arts hosts Sunday Supper and Family Lore at … [...]
In our latest Feeding Frenzy column, we told you about the Wishing Well (Ninth and Catharine) and its plans to open this coming Monday, April 5. Meal Ticket swung by the Bella Vista public house earlier this week to snag a couple photos of the 65-ish-seat bar, a partnership between longtime buds Chris Martino and Carmen Cappello. For photos and info on Cappello's menu, check out our March 12 post.
[...] The Wishing Well opens at 8th and Catharine. Check out the SHAME Burger after reading these previews. [Grub Street, Meal Ticket] [...]
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I'll be heading out of this gorgeous weather to the snow-covered mountains of Aspen next week as the "plus-one" of a work trip. I recently sustained a back injury that has benched me from the main event in Aspen: snow sports. (OK, part of me didn't wanna do that anyway, so now I have a valid excuse!). Since that's basically off my radar I'm looking for other suggestions.
I've researched the crap out of Aspen and have planned a culinary class at the St. Regis, dinner at LuLu Wilson, a trip to Aspen Brewing Company and a night of drinks and dancing at Regal Watering Hole — but I want more. Whatcha got? Add recommendations to the comments, please and thank you!
Even if you're not skiing, you should still take a ride up the gondola on Aspen Mountain to see the view. If you're up to it, there are also snowshoe tours at the top of Aspen Mountain led by the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies through 4/9/10.
I haven't been to Aspen in a few years so I'm not sure about and newer spots, but you shouldn't miss J-Bar at the Hotel Jerome. Montagna at The Little Nell is a good choice among the pricier spots for dinner. For apres ski I like the Double Dog (unpretentious, good local beers, great burgers) and Sky Bar at the Sky Hotel (a little more trendy, but they have a hot tub!). No one will know you weren't on the slopes all day!
All those things sound really good! I've been there a few times over the past couple years. This winter I went to Hickory House Ribs (http://www.hickoryhouseribs.com/) for the first time, after spotting it on the way into town every year, and it was PHENOMENAL. We got THE FEAST and, man, I've never seen so much food. Also try the Colorado Sausage (omfg). My standby for a cheap watering hole is really the only one in town - Little Annie's (http://www.littleannies.com/). Great cheap food, decent beer selection, and the closest thing you'll get to a dive there. Most of all, just spend as much time walking around and checking everything out - Aspen might be the most beautiful city I've ever been to!
Definitely the gondola. Lunch at http://www.woodycreektavern.com/. We biked down there, not sure if the weather will be nice enough for you.
Hi Felicia, Todd from Noble. I used to live in Vail & have done business in Aspen quite frequently. There was a restaurant I used to go to every year called 'Elevation', that was always very good. It's been about 4 years so I'm not sure how it is now. As Blee said above, drinks at the J-Bar is a must! Takah Sushi is also a good spot. Main Street Cafe is great for breakfast & Campo di Fiore was always a decent Italian spot. Have fun!
I had a pretty good meal in Aspen about 10 years ago. I think the place was called Alchemy, but I have no idea whether it's still there or still good. In fact, I remember very little from 10 years ago!
Wow, thank you everyone...I'm taking notes and hopefully I can squeeze it all in! I don't leave 'til Wednesday so keep 'em coming!
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
When chef Michael O'Halloran opened up Kong (702-704 N. Second St.) last August, he set out to create a rustic Hong Kong street food experience. Recently he altered and added to the menu/homage, and Meal Ticket caught up with O'Halloran to get privy to the new direction. Here's what he told us.
"In the beginning, we were only cooking within the confines of that [Hong Kong street food] concept," says O'Halloran. "Once we got comfortable with the area, and after receiving lots of customer feedback, we made some changes. We wanted to maintain the spirit of rustic and informal Hong Kong street food, but translate it to the Philly palate."
So, what's changed? Guests can't get enough of the âPhilly Cheesesteakâ dumpling offered during his Thursday night 50-cent dumpling deal, and O'Halloran has taken notice — it is now featured on the regular menu along with a few previous deal-night-only options. The popularity of this event also inspired O'Halloran to dream up more shindigs, like a Szechuan-style crawfish boil and rustic Chinese BBQ. (Those'll be perfect for spring/summer weather ⦠we'll have those details soon.)
Check out the revised menu in full below. There are now more vegetarian options (O'Halloran thinks Ray of Ray's Seitan has the best stuff in the area) and re-worked versions of Kong's mu shoo, ribs, BBQ beef brisket, buns (now sliders) and chicken wings. They are hybrids spawned by mating old-school Chinese with non-traditional techniques and components, too, like stuffing mu shoo with more than just pork, and clarifying rib-braise stock then reducing it for an accompanying sauce.
âI am very happy with the menu right now," adds O'Halloran. "I keep looking over it for a dish that irritates me, but right now, I'm happy with all of it.â
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| Click to enlarge |
Menu link broken?
Sorry Kevin! Please try now, it should be good to go.
[...] Kong has tweaked its approach and menu. Giving the people what they want is evident in the cheesesteak dumplings. [Meal Ticket] [...]
[...] They've also added the popular Philly Cheesesteak Dumplings to the regular menu (formerly a special) and have transformed their "buns" into sliders, offering them in Ginger and Scallion Pork, Sesame Beef, 12-Hour Chinese BBQ Brisket, or Crispy Fried Tofu. You can view the new menu at City Paper's Meal Ticket. [...]
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