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Archive: May, 2012
As Alex Weiss told you in this week's What's Cooking, the BigBite food-competition collective is hosting its fourth annual Wing King this Saturday, May 26, outside at the Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum (3819 Hamilton St.). Twenty-five cooks — as of this moment there are just five contest slots left, hurry up! — will compete for this awe-inspiring poultry trophy, their signature-recipe flappers judged by a panel that consists of SPTR/ASB chef Scott Schroeder, food blogger Shao Zhong, resident BigBite judge Joe Bernstein and yours truly. Non-contestant entry is $10 and includes live entertainment, wangz, Narragansett beer, Spodee cocktails and tastes from a number of other sponsors, including Uniquely Greek. Philly's own Reef the Lost Cauze is hosting the jam, which starts at 5:30 p.m. See y'al there.
This Sunday, Xochitl v. 2.2 (408 S. Second St.) launches brunch under chef Carlos Alonso. As you might expect, it's got a Latin accent with dishes like the sope Benedict, cornmeal pancakes and Bloody Marias. "We really want to keep it affordable," says GM Adam Solomon, which means the menu tops out of at $15 for an Angus steak, huevos and chilaquiles. Brunch goes from 11 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon. Here's the menu (PDF).
Photo: Felicia D'Ambrosio
Next Friday, June 1 is not only kick-off day for Philly Beer Week — it also marks the re-release of Brewer's Art Resurrection Ale in Philadelphia. Despite the efforts of Brendan Hartranft and Leigh Maida, the Baltimore-brewed beer has not been legally available in the Commonwealth for five years. But the 7 percent ABV Abbey-style ale is back, this time in 12-ounce cans. It's only right that the official re-debut take place at Hartranft and Maida's Resurrection Ale House (2424 Grays Ferry Ave.). Volker Stewart, co-founder of The Brewer's Art in Charm City, is coming to town to celebrate the occasion at RAH, which kicks off at 6 p.m. And yes, the cans will continue to be sold in Philly after Beer Week ends.
Photo: Brewer's Art via baltimoresun.com
-Adam Erace wonders what the inconsistent comfort-food approach at Square Peg means for chef Matt Levin and his career in Philly.
- Food in Jars blogger Marisa McClellan talks to Lee Stabert about her debut book, smartly called Food in Jars. We've got a copy of the book we're giving away here on the blog, keep eyes out.
- In Feeding Frenzy: Rice & Mix, Lil' Pop Shop, Ortlieb's, Le Cochon Noir and Cookie Confidential/Beer Cakes.
- In What's Cooking: BigBite's Wing King, Le Virtu's outdoor season debut, the year's first Night Market and a way to build yo' wine IQ.
Photo: Neal Santos
Hey y'all. So next week is my last week as a full-time City Paper staffer. We'll get into all the mushy-mushy bawling goodbye-love-you-forevers in a few days, but for now — CP needs to hire someone new! The best alt-weekly in Philadelphia is looking for an Associate Editor who can handle both comprehensive food/drink coverage in print and online and take on the responsibilities of a listings editor. Here's the job summary:
This position's Food Editor duties include assigning, editing and writing food- and restaurant-related stories and reviews for the "Food and Drink" section of the newspaper, as well as locating art to accompany the stories. He/she oversees several special issues, coming up with creative concepts for them. He/she writes several daily posts for the Meal Ticket food blog, creating a mix of breaking news and creative content. This position's Listings Editor duties include maintaining the online listings database and overseeing the interns responsible for inputting listings. He/she assigns and edits the weekly "Agenda" column and contributes to writing "Agenda" picks. The Listings Editor, along with the Arts Editor/Copy Chief, coordinates the editorial internship program, selecting and training interns for the fall, spring and summer. The employee's primary duty requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment regarding the editorial content he/she is responsible for.
Here's the full job description in PDF format.
To apply, send a resume, cover letter and writing samples to Editor in Chief Theresa Everline (theresa.everline@citypaper.net) and HR Director Ron Scully (ron@citypaper.net) with the subject line "Food/Listings Editor."
This Thursday, May 24, is National Escargot Day, a holiday marking the end of the French snail-harvesting season. Throughout the week, Gallic-and-otherwise restaurants all over town are partaking in the festivities with special snail-centric menus. Doug Dussault, the self-proclaimed Snailman behind Potironne Company, is supplying wild Burgundy snails to the participants, and will even make appearances at Southwark and Lacroix to talk snail. Other participating restaurants include Bistrot La Minette, Fond, Matyson, Bibou and Amis. Check out the National Escargot Day page for schedules, menus and general slow-gastropod info. Reservations are highly suggested for each dinner. Some highlights from each restaurant's menu after the jump.
The guys behind Finnigan's Wake, at the beer-and-vomit-soaked corner of Spring Garden and Third streets, don't think small. So when Northern Liberties neighbors last year managed to turn back a plan to give Finnigan's a tiny alley called Bodine Street — which the bar had been blocking with a dumpster for years, and which the bar owners saw as the perfect spot for a two-story outdoor deck conveniently abutting the property held by their friends at the Democratic City Committee — they went back to the drawing board. The result: What you see above. Yes, those are two 800-plus-square-foot decks full of fun, which co-owner Mike Driscoll says would be necessary to his goal of converting most of Finnigan's business to catered events.
Driscoll says those decks would also be critical to financing what's pictured below, the overhaul of Bodine Street, transforming it from Dumpster Alley to Attractive Pedestrian Walkway. The rendering shows a walkway of pavers, an outdoor dining area, and a photo mural of the current Finnigan's Spring Garden facade so that passersby can remember the bad old days.
The word is July for Bliss Juices and Ice Cream, a Lebanese-style ice cream/dessert parlor and juice bar from the crew behind Manakeesh Café (4420 Walnut St.). General manager Abd Ghazzawi says they're in the process of breaking through into the adjacent building for Bliss, which will seat 15 and serve Lancaster County ice cream, fresh waffles, crepes, exotic juices and Lebanese fruit cocktails, which "consist of fresh juice, fruit pieces and ashta, a ricotta-based sweet cream, topped with honey and ground nuts," according to Ghazzawi. They're typically eaten for dessert after lunch or dinner. If the picture above is any indication, we'll take 'em for breakfast, too.
Photo: nogarlicnoonions.com
Vientiane Café, the bustling Laotian BYOB at 4728 Baltimore, is about to add a little more bustle. It's expanding into the former Mariposa space next door at the end of June or beginning of July. Right now they're waiting on permits and paperwork to begin construction; once that's settled, they'll knock down the separating wall, providing room for nearly 20 more patrons at a time. Not a huge number, but for a tiny restaurant that seats only 30 right now, it's a major upgrade.
Photo: Drew Lazor
View galleryIs placing a burger on a menu — even a house-ground sirloin one, topped with bourbon/soy-glazed mushrooms on a fresh-baked black sesame bun — a creative concession for someone like Jason Cichonski? Yes, he admits. But there she is, in all her Cabot cheddar-draped glory, on the brand-new happy hour menu at the chef's progressive Ela (627 S. Third St.). Cichonski's modern-cookery meanderings aren't going anywhere, and his tasting-format dinner menu continues to evolve. But he views this new happy hour, which launches tonight and will run Tuesday to Friday and on Sunday from 5 to 6:30 p.m., as a chance to crank out some comparatively down-market plates. Think the burger (only 10 available each day), think crispy boneless sous-vide-then-fried thighs ("Chicken Chomps"), think jarred bacon-marinated sardines, think house pickles and chewy "beet jerky." Deals on drinks, too: $3 draft beer, $5 wine and a $6 rotating cocktail. A burger chef Cichonski ain't, but catch him in this 90-minute window to see how well he plays one.
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