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Archive: May, 2011
Le Bec-Fin don Georges Perrier is setting up shop on the Main Line — Narberth, to be exact. Starting June 1, you'll be able to get a whole slew of baked goods at his newest outpost, The Art of Bread by Georges Perrier (920 Montgomery Ave.). Perrier plans to offer Lyonnaise treats and (obviously) housemade bread — to top it off, all the pastries the shop will carry will come from LBF pastry chef Cedric Barberet.
The hybrid bakery/café space will have both a takeout section and an eat-in area, with sandwich offerings like the River Deli (Reuben-style smoked salmon with gruyere, sauerkraut and grainy mustard on sourdough) and the classic Croque Madame (goat cheese, caramelized onions, gruyere and an egg on sourdough). Sandwiches clock in at $8, made only more reasonable by the fact that they include a side salad and dessert. A larger prepared-food menu is in the works, and you can expect to pay in the area of $2.25 for a slice of cake, or $25 for the whole thing. The Art of Bread will also offer catering services for parties of as many as 250.
Consultant Jon Taffer (above, center) has been in the business of reconfiguring bars and restaurants for over 20 years. Clients of his company, Taffer Dynamics, include Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico, Morton's of Chicago and several major hotel chains. Along with provoking tired business into new money making changes, Taffer got Pulsations — one of the Philly area's grander discos — off the ground in the 1980s. Now, with the help of the MTV-owned Spike TV network, Taffer is debuting a program that teaches old chefs and owners new tricks. That show, Bar Rescue, has spent the last few weeks in Philly, first at Downey's on Front and South, then Old City’s Swanky Bubbles (now renamed Sheer) at the end of last week. “It was about time," says John Frankowski (above, left) a long-time owner of Swanky Bubbles. "The place needed a makeover bad and I was proud that these guys wanted to help me."
Thank God the End of Days decided not to happen this weekend: If it had, we'd all miss out on Wawa's annual summer-month celebration of the hoagie The Hoagie. Yes, Hoagiefest is back and as exciting as ever, promising a rotating roster of classic Shortis that clock in at $3.49 apiece — the standard turkey variety is available at the special price for the entire 10-week duration of the promotion, but look for ever-changing additions like roast beef (May 23-June 5), cheesesteak (June 6-June 19), meatball (July 4-17), Italian (June 20-July 3), and the ever-dubious, truly suspicious prime rib (July 18-31). Oh, Hoagiefest. Your unforgettable jingles and truly stunning promotional artwork/website never cease to satisfy and astound. Promotions like this are almost enough to make us hunger for the your most suspicious fare.
Crisp, a vegetarian falafel brand with three locations in NYC, should open its very first location in Philly — 32 S. 18th St., the old Falafel Factory — between eight weeks and three months from now, according to founder/managing director Alon Kruvi. Philly-based franchisee Vlad Uchenik just got the go-ahead to start demolition on the Center City corner space; it'll be the first true stateside franchise opportunity for the Israeli-based company that Kruvi and partner Rakesh Barmecha brought to the Big Apple about four years ago.
What separates Crisp's philosophy from other more traditional falafelries is its sandwich lineup, all served on house-baked pita; they combine their canola-fried chickpea balls with everything from sun-dried tomato spread, goat cheese and roasted peppers (the "Crisp Parisian") to peanut sauce, sweet potato, corn salad and habanero harissa (the "Crisp Africa"). Kruvi promises that there will be a Philly-centric sandwich on their new location's menu. "Imagine your signature sandwich, just without the steak," he says. "Instead, falafel balls, in a roll or in a pita, with melted chese, peppers and onions. The 'Crisp Philly.'"
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.)
Mitch Prensky's cooked plenty of offal preparations at Supper (926 South St.), but they haven't always sold well — guess there's only so big an audience for liver, tongue, sweetbreads and ears, aka all the bits cooks and food geeks love but the more squeamish members of the dining gen-pop tend to sidestep. Then the chef got a bright idea: Why not put together a selection offal-y eats on bite-size Le Bus brioche slider rolls? If you think about it, sliders, besides being ADORABLE (soooo small, must pinch top bun like it's a fat baby cheek!), are the ideal vehicle for this school of cookery — while a trepidatious eater might not want to stake his entire meal on a a large-format offal app or entrée that might not be to his liking, there's not much dietary (and monetary) commitment involved when you're dealing with sandwiches one could easily tuck into the breast pocket of a oxford shirt.
All pizzerias should have a shelf for their model boats, ornamental olive oil, fake grapes and ceramic soccer balls, don't you think?
Look alive, beer enthusiasts and good Samaritans: Osteria (630 N. Broad St.) has tapped the first kegs of Ex Gratia, an easy-drinking kolsch brewed by Stoudt's for the House of Vetri. Proceeds from all the citrusy suds — E.G. is brewed with chef Jeff Michaud’s Meyer lemon marmalade — benefit Vetri’s favorite charity, Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Last year, Osteria raised $15,000 via Ex Gratia, which means "out of kindness"; the 2011 goal is double that, with restaurants like Amada (217-219 Chestnut St.) and Percy Street (900 South St.) joining in on the philanthropy. After the jump, peep the full list of local spots/events where Ex Gratia will be poured.
Photo: Courtesy of Steve Wildy
Bobby Dombrowski quietly opened his South Philly coffee shop Strange Brew (1321 S. Second St.) this past Friday. The Pennsport native's Second-and-Wharton operation, which we first mentioned in March, is serving Counter Culture coffee and espresso, and they'll soon introduce a selection of light sandwiches and so forth via Le Bus. It's a narrow space but there are multiple seating areas, including a communal table inside and a open-air back patio; Dombrowski, a Kid Robot head, has a chunk of his vinyl toy selection showcasead around the shop. Ask for one of Strange Brew's swipeable "Shakespeare" cards — think As You Like It — which'll track your drink preferences and qualify you for free cups. The shop is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, with a later, TBD opening time on the weekends.
Jake's Sandwich Board (122 S. 12th St.) is celebrating its first birthday today, and they're feting their customers with free roast pork sandwiches. (Gary Dorfman and Sean Stein opened up shop a little more than a year ago.) Stop by the shop at noon today to get your hands on a free lunch; they'll keep handing them out "until the pig is kicked." For the remainder of the day, take advantage of discounted prices on Jake's signature menu item — they'll sell pork sams for $5 instead of the usual $8.
Photo: Neal Santos
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