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Archive: June, 2011
This Fourth of July weekend, Lou and Joey Campanaro of Village Belle (757 S. Front St.) will serve the burger that in 2009 was named one of the "50 Best Foods in the World" by London's Observer. The brothers will charcoal-grill the featured LaFrieda blend bacon cheeseburgers, which originate at Joey's NYC restaurant Little Owl (brother Lou runs the Belle down here; they're South Philly natives), and sell them for $8, in addition to offering other goodies like pulled pork sandwiches and beverages. The outdoor grilling will take place on Friday, July 1 starting at 6 p.m. and Saturday, July 2, starting a 5 p.m. While indoor seating and Village's Belle's regular dinner menu will still be available, the Campanaros encourage all to spread out a blanket and take advantage of the weather and the view, especially for the Saturday night fireworks.
Photo: Courtesy of Village Belle
Yesterday Marc Vetri shot out this pic of what will eventually become his Italian pub Alla Spina, at 600 N. Broad. (Back when the space — it'll also house concepts from Stephen Starr and Cescaphe Ballroom's Joe Volpe — was first announced, Vetri's working name was Birreria 600.) The chef's in no rush to open. "Maybe by a small miracle December 2011 — but I doubt it," says Vetri when asked when the high-ceilinged beer bar/restaurant (looks huge, but it's only about 700 square feet larger than Amis) should be ready for the public. Think 2012 when it's still cold. In the footrace to open up here, looks like it'll go Volpe (he's already got weddings booked for his spot; look for him in the early fall) followed by Starr, with his New England seafood shack (called Route 6, last we heard) before 2011's end.
Photo: Marc Vetri on Twitter
Received a note that Gordon Ramsay's fix-this-extremely-F'ed-restaurant show Kitchen Nightmares is scouting Philadelphia for a new season of the show. (You might recall the last time Ramsay visited Philly, polishing up the now-closed Hot Potato Café in the process.) The production team is seeking nominations for spots that might be good for Ramsay to yell at loudly help — if you've got a suggestion, send the restaurant's name, location and a brief explanation of why the establishment's "qualified" to kitchennightmares@theconlincompany.com, or call 1-866-226-2226.
The Ranstead Room (2013 Ranstead St.), Stephen Starr's bar behind El Rey (2013 Chestnut St.), revealed its new summer cocktail list today. The menu features drinks like Tstrumble (tequila, strawberry and lemon), the Ranstead Sling (gin, Benedictine, pineapple and lemon) and the Sunflower (gin, elderflower, Combier and absinthe). For those who are unable to decide, you can still ask for a Bartender's Choice and give the mixologists the chance to create something unique for you. I don't know about you, but I’m pretty curious about this Sunflower ... check out the full menu after the jump.
Davinder Singh of Minar Palace (1304 Walnut St.) tells Meal Ticket he's instituting a sweep of changes to liven up the Center City Indian eatery. For starters, they're rolling out a brand-new menu that'll go live right after the July 4 holiday (we'll post it here when it's complete). They're also getting into the lunch hustle with a full buffet, and into the web-ordering game by signing up with GrubHub. All-day table service means no more plastic and paper utensils and plates, either. (He's upfront about the fact that all these updates have resulted in slight price increases.) Inside the kitchen, Singh says they're installing a real-deal tandoori oven that'll allow them to roast all their meats as well as bake naan to order.
Photo: Shirley Nicole Fonner
Tonight from 10 to midnight, slink into Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.) for a "one-off" industry night hosted by TuB Gin.
They'll be making $3 gin cocktails for the duration of the evening (some special stuff from Sixpoint will be pouring, too), plus they'll shuck free SeaFresh oysters and cook up some meaty surprises courtesy of Pat LaFrieda. And if you're an off-duty bartender looking for a post-shift challenge — you're welcome to get behind the P&K bar and try your hand at an original TuB cocktail. The label will dish out prizes to the best.
Quick bit on the hooch for those unfamiliar: A Philly-based brand (repped by Red Tettemer) that's produced in Colorado, TuB is a small-batch craft gin distilled with multiple varieties of Colorado juniper berries, plus distinctive botanicals like coriander, angelica, oris root and cassia bark.
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.)
Tonight at 7 p.m., Brauhaus Schmitz (718 South St.) is celebrating its second anniversary in business. To mark the milestone, all draft beers will be poured for $2 off and there will be a free food buffet, too. Chef Jeremy Nolen has decided to switch it up a bit and will be serving smoked brisket and roast pork sandwiches, stuffed clams, a cheese platter and pasta rather than the more traditional German fare he's known for. Co-owner Doug Hager said there's nothing else specific planned besides "partying our asses off." No reservations required, just show up and expect a good time.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, who recently announced they're pulling the plug on their vegan restaurant Horizons (611 S. Seventh St.) after service this Saturday, July 2, are officially talking about their new Philly venture: Vedge (1221 Locust St.), a bar/restaurant they're characterizing as the diametric opposite to LA's temple of meat worship, Animal. The old Deux Cheminees space (at one time the target location of Stephen Starr corporate chef Chris Painter's Il Pittore) will feature a vegetable bar, where chefs will plate up cold fare like olives, antipasti and even vegetable "charcuterie" boards. Adajcent will be the hot kitchen, designated for roasting, grilling and smoking. Jacoby will still handle dessert ("fruit forward, but still sinful," we're promised). Vedge will also feature craft beer and wine lists and a selection of cocktails. Expect a "late summer" debut.
At 3 p.m. today, join the Mariposa Food Co-op, Mayor Michael Nutter and major supporters as they celebrate the kickoff of renovations at the co-op's new storefront at the Belmont Trust Company Building (4824 Baltimore Ave.). Mariposa, which outgrew its Cedar Park location, plans on extending store hours, expanding to carry more sustainable products (including meat) and allowing anyone to shop (regardless of membership) at the new address, five times the size of the original co-op. Visit their website for a rendering of the new space, scheduled for an October 2011 opening. In a testament to the co-op's investment in the West Philly community, nearly 25 percent of the funds for the $2.3 million renovation were raised by Mariposa members and individual donors.
Across town, the South Philly Food Co-op is continuing to make progress with its plan to provide reasonably priced food and nutritional education south of Washington Avenue. Though the co-op does not yet have a physical location locked down, they're now accepting applications for "member-owners," putting them one step closer to an actual storefront. This coming Wednesday, June 29, the co-op will host a general membership and board election meeting at 7 p.m. at East Passyunk Crossing (1729 S. 11th St.). Other events organized by the co-op this summer include a night of music and food at Gold Star Park, a fruit and veggie tasting and a dessert bake-off.
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