|
|
|
Archive: April, 2011
With Jose Garces' Guapos Tacos creeping around town, summer staple Honest Tom's returning to Drexel (and, with any luck, back in Center City by the time the season is in full swing) and a handful of muy
authentico South Philly trucks whose selections are nothing to sneeze at, Philly pretty much has the mobile taco game on lock. Now Whole Foods is bringing its own contender to the rooftop of the grocer's Plymouth Meeting location in the form of the brand-new Blue Route Taco Truck.
Blue Route makes its debut with a grand opening fiesta kicking off this Friday, April 15 at noon — follow the sound of Latin jazz upstairs and take your pick of carne asada, carnitas, Tecate-battered fish, spiced chicken or grilled veggie tacos (menu developed by the store's prepared foods team and executed by chef Chris Brusch). Don't forget your koozies, as ice-cold canned beer will be available to keep you chilled. The truck will be open for lunch and dinner daily (weather permitting), from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Jet Wine Bar (1525 South St.) is doing its part for tsunami/earthquake relief the best way they know how — with drinking! Bob Barrett of Winebow has organized a sake tasting running tonight night from 6:30 to 8:30. (Reserve a spot at by calling 215-735-1116.) Twenty-five dollars will get you access to a number of artisanal sakes and an accompanying guided tour from certified Level II sake specialist and fluent Japanese speaker Claudio LoCascio. Expect discussion topics to include things like the how the long-term effects of the earthquake and tsunami will affect breweries and sake production. All proceeds of the event will be donated to the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund, so if you're looking for a way to help out and learn a bit too, this is a no-brainer.
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.)
Opa (1311 Sansom St.), which just earned a nice review from Adam Erace last week, is ready to officially toast to its debut. Starting this afternoon at 4, the opening ceremonies will take place outdoors with the approval of representatives from Mayor Nutter's office. They'll be stopping by to recognize Opa as being part of the larger Midtown Village revitalization — expect to smash a few plates (in place of cutting a ribbon) after the ceremony winds down. Then, from 5 to 10 p.m., you can sample Opa chef Andrew Brown's mupdates on traditional Greek treats; complimentary mezedes and cocktails will be served throughout the night. You can welcome the warm weather for the price of a courteous RSVP.
Photo: Neal Santos
OCF Realty, which is based at 21st and South, opened the first of its two planned Southwest Center City coffeehouses over the weekend. Baristas here are brewing Counter Culture coffee (the bean of choice for shops like Ultimo Coffee, Spruce Street Espresso and Lovers & Madmen), and they're carrying Four Worlds Bakery breads and Sweet Life sweets. There's plenty of outdoor seating, which was packed during the pretty afternoon this past Saturday. Hours of operation: Mon.-Fri., 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Owners Ori Feibush and Michael Nechemia say OCF's second café, at the corner of 20th and Federal, is about two months out.
Rich Landau, who has run Horizons (611 S. Seventh St.) with wife/pastry chef Kate Jacoby since 2006, tells Meal Ticket he and his team will close their lauded vegan restaurant on or around July 4. It was both a business decision and a creative one — the owners have found a buyer (a pizzeria operation, according to The Insider) and were able to strike up an amenable agreement of sale, allowing them to move on to something new. "We have been wanting to streamline for a while now," Landau says. "Running a two-floor restaurant with our style of food has been a challenge. We have always said that if a serious buyer comes along that we will certainly entertain a fair offer — and this deal is pretty good for both parties. Originally, this new project was going to be a second space, but now with a buyer for our building it frees us up to go all out with our new vision."
That new vision will be birthed in the hugely hopping Midtown Village area — Landau says they've narrowed their search down to three spaces in the neighborhood, but are "very close to signing with one." It'll be a small, 50- to 60-seat liquor-licensed restaurant (no name yet) with a focus on small/medium plates, as opposed to the more traditional appetizer/entrée/dessert approach. It'll also mark a definite shift in cooking style for Landau, who's well-known for his elaborate treatments of proteins like tofu, seitan and tempeh — he wants to bring the focus back squarely on the great variety of vegetables available to chefs in the region."Beautiful, amazing vegetables are our passion and inspiration right now," says Landau, "and we want them to be centerstage."
That's not to say that he'll shrug off his old recipes altogether — he and Jacoby just want to reach out to a more mainstream brand of diner, one that can and should gain an appreciation for Landau's vegan cooking via his careful treatment of vegetables, and not merely preparing proteins to ape the feel of meat. So that famous barbecue seitan won't be an everyday staple, but it will make special, sporadic appearances. "That theme has worked so well for us for so long," says Landau, "but chefs need to cook from their inspiration these days, not their history."
Photo: Michael T. Regan
Sweetgreen, the healthy-food concept that opened its first area location in Ardmore this past winter, is breaking into city limits with a restaurant in the Radian at 40th and Walnut. Officially opening tomorrow, it'll be an aesthetic throwback to the chain's original shop in D.C., with elements from the design firm Staach (the tables are made from reclaimed bowling-alley planks!); the menu will be similar to the spread at Sweetgreen's other locations, with a monthly-rotating seasonal salad, plus a selection of dishes built around local/seasonal ingredients.
Photos: Courtesy of Sweetgreen
Monday, April 4
Memphis Taproom will debut its lunch truck-appointed beer garden later this month.
Tuesday, April 5
Got/want guts? Then hit up the funked-out kokoretsi at Opa.
Catahoula is throwing crawfish boils every Tuesday through Memorial Day.
Wednesday, April 6
We found home-cooked Trinidadian food at an unlikely place: Doobies!
New cupcake truck alert: Sweetbox has launched in West Philly.
Looks like South Street is getting a new Thai restaurant.
Thursday, April 7
Yogen Früz is the name, blended froyo at Citizens Bank Park is the game.
How to toast to a great cause at Noble.
Friday, April 8
Sampan has started dim sum brunch service.
The owners of Desi Chaat House and Desi Village are hopping into the coffee game with Mood Café.
Supper will soon launch a new cocktail list designed by The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.
Check out our first look inside Talula's Garden, the new Aimee Olexy/Stephen Starr restaurant.
Talula's Garden, the new restaurant from Aimee Olexy (backed by Stephen Starr), will open to the public this coming Wednesday, April 13 (not Monday April 11, as we previously reported). But though the opening's been shifted back 48 hours, the restaurant (210 W. Washington Square) is raring and ready to go, if a mock tasting we dropped in on this afternoon is any indication.
Market season is fast approaching, and the Food Trust-curated Headhouse Market (arguably the most popular in town — no news for anyone who’s tried to slip through the colonnaded gauntlet of Bichons and Bubgaboos) has 36 vendors lined up for 2011. Market manager Katy Wich is jazzed about two confirmed newcomers that will help diversify Headhouse’s portfolio, and though monoculture is frowned upon in organic-grower circles, these single-crop farmers have a legit excuse. They grow grapes. For wine!
Headhouse already has one vineyard, Stargazers from Coatesville. This season will see the arrival of Paradocx Vineyard, a 100-acre site in Chester County — the name comes from the physician owners, a "pair of docs" — and the Razzi family’s Penns Woods Winery in Chadds Ford. Snobs may balk at Keystone-grown vino, but both producers are award winners, and Gino Razzi’s powerful, limited-edish "Ameritage" blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Carmine, Sangiovese and Nebbioli sounds ridiculous. And for those of us used in the inconvenience of buying wine at PLCB-run life-drags, these pop-up bottle shops will be a welcome change of pace.
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
