|
|
|
Archive: July, 2011
The AKA Rittenhouse Square's a.kitchen (135 S. 18th St.), which opened three weeks back, starts lunch service today at 11:30 a.m. (As the AKA is an extended-stay hotel, they also do breakfast.) The lunch menu, which you can peep in full after the jump (click to enlarge), is basically a truncated take on a.kitchen's dinner offerings, with the addition of sandwiches, including a "top-flight" cheesesteak rendition from chef Bryan Sikora.
Back in May we had a bit on South Philly Tap Room chef Scott Schroeder's plans to launch a hot dog cart, appropriately named Scott Dogs. Though the debut of the operation has been pushed back a couple times, this is a sure thing: Head to Old City's Silicon Gallery (139 N. Third St.) between 1 and 6 p.m. this Saturday — National Hot Dog Day, not coincidentally — where Schroeder will be doling out his made-from-scratch wieners. On display at Silicon will be a collection of local hot dog enthusiast/illustrator/blogger Hawk Krall's hot dog prints, which you've seen hanging up at the new Hot Diggity! and in numerous publications. (Krall will be rocking a little hot dog giveaway of his own this Wednesday.)
You can get your Scott Dog for free if you bring a donation for Cradles to Crayons, an org that provides essentials to low-income children in the region (here's CtC's list of acceptable donations); if you show up without a donation, you can still purchase a hot dog, but just come with a donation! To sweeten the dealage, Silicon owner Rick De Coyte is knocking 10 percent of all sales between this Saturday and July 31; if he collects 20 or more pounds of donations for Cradles to Crayons, he'll extend that discount through August.
Larry Comroe and Wade Smith's Far From Home Cafe, the food truck they founded in the Caribbean and launched in Philly in February, is entering its final week of business. Though Comroe can't elaborate very much, he says he and his partner have been offered both a book deal and a food truck-centric "consulting opportunity" that will involve them moving across the country. "Part is going to be a book about food trucks, from A to Z," says Comroe, who expresses his gratitude for Far From Home's positive reception here. "And then maybe a little travel and take that on the road." They're looking to sell both the Far From Home name/business and truck itself. We look forward to hearing more about their next project; in the meantime, know that the truck will be in its usual LOVE Park spot today through this Thursday, July 21. Comroe promises the empanadas will be well-stocked.
Monday, July 11
Hopefully you took advantage of free 7-Eleven Slurpees on July 11.
Raw Sushi has opened its second location, in The Piazza.
The Wishing Well is turning into Bebe's BBQ for the evening of July 24.
Tuesday, July 12
Opa launches lunch service with free food.
Philly's Hawk Krall will be handing out free hot dogs — out of the Wienermobile! Yes.
Wednesday, July 13
We took the day off! Ahhh.
Thursday, July 14
Check out our cover story on Bassetts Ice Cream and features from our 30 Years of Food package.
The bird roasters at Rotisseur are now doing lunch.
Tofu/corn fritters at Circles — eat them immediately!
Like bikes, beer, food, other stuff? Join the sixth annual Weavers Way Urban Farm Bike Tour.
Friday, July 15
Honest Tea is performing a little social experiment to test out Philly's collective honesty.
Dickinson Square Park Farmers Market, located on the southeast corner of the the South Philly park (Moyamensing and Morris), officially opened its stands for business on Sunday, June 5. So far, the market's been a success, offering fresh produce like corn, peaches, tomatoes, blueberries and lots of other summer goodies on a weekly basis. This Sunday, July 17, they're bringing in vegan chef Rachel Klein of Miss Rachel’s Pantry, who'll show marketeers how to prepare “no-cook” vegetarian dishes, including starters, soups, and more, all made from farm-fresh products available at the market. The demo will take place in the Parsons Building in the center of the park at noon, and there'll be free samples and recipes for all. The farmers market runs every Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Photos: Courtesy of Sarh Feinstein and Jill Ivey
Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell our dentist.
IN QUESTION: We loooooooove all things Pocky here at Meal Ticket, but this one caught our attention due to its dualistic appeal (weird flavor/awesome packaging) — Sweet Milk Pocky! Though they're ostensibly meant to ape the flavor of sweetened condensed milk, these things taste like straight-up butter y'all. If you are into crunchy biscuit sticks slathered in teeth-slidey, margarine-esque opaque frosting the color of cartoon straw, then you, my friend, would probably like to take Sweet Milk Pocky out on a date.
WHERE TO BUY: Where else? Hung Vuong Supermarket in Wing Phat Plaza at 11th/Washington.
HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING: The whole box. It's the only way to form a real Pocky opinion.
FINER POINTS: Who's really the Sweet Milk Pocky mascot? Is it the cool-ass nonchalant cow on the outside of the box, or is it the weird, possibly royal old-school airplane stewardess/milkmaid anime girl who uses Pocky as a wand to cast spells on lions?! I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE INFORM ME
How do you envision this going? On Tuesday, July 19, the very refreshing Honest Tea brand (mmm Black Forest Berry) will set up a completely unmanned "pop-up store" at the northeast corner of Fifth and Market, offering Honest Tea drinks for a dollar a pop — the catch being that customers are on the honor system as far as paying goes. Last year, when the company held the social experiment in seven U.S. cities (not including Philly), America proved to be 87 percent "honest" on average — much higher than you'd think. Boston was the most honest individual city, with 93.3 percent of people paying a buck for their drink, with L.A. ranking as the least honest, with 75 percent. Very curious how Philly will stack up next week.
UPDATE: Not to be cynical, but we've brainstormed a few potential outcomes for this promotion. Multiple choice:
A) Flash mob will kick shit out of Honest Tea, cops will do nothing about it
B) Honest Tea kiosk booted/impounded by the PPA
C) Entire setup on the back of a scrap truck by 2:30pm
D) City Councilman steals cash box to fund reelection campaign
E) All of the above
Come thru Johnny Brenda's (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) tomorrow, July 16, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to partake in their annual Saison Brunch, where a whole buncha summer-friendly saison and farmhouse-style ales get the tap treatment to accompany JB's regular brunch menu, plus a selection of Jacques Pepin-esque French country fare. (Ooh and a French pop soundtrack too.) Chef/owner Paul Kimport will be doing an herby chicken liver mousse, country pate, pate en croute, Lyonnaise salad, quiche with gruyere/ham/favas and a Birchrun Hills Fat Cat cheese plate with fig jam, plus sour cherry clafloutis and apricot tarte tatin for sweets lovers. Check out what they'll definitely putting on draft after the jump; don't be surprised if more booze is added between now and then.
- Holy beef patty, America! First Lady and healthy-food advocate Michelle Obama went to Shake Shack. As if that wasn't enough, her meal cost her 1,700 calories. How could such a vegetable champion have a burger once every 14 months? Hypocrite! In other news, Shake Shack is frickin' delicious.
- Crooner Dean Martin, famous for such songs as "That's Amore" and "Ain't That A Kick In The Head," may have had the greatest burger recipe of all time. Seriously, it’s two ingredients. Sure, there's a lack of culinary sophistication there, but that didn’t stop him from getting tons of tail.
- We all know the recipes for romantic comedies (boy meets girl, boy and girl love, conflict, resolution), horror films (all peaceful, killer emerges, lots of running/dying, killer is defeated), and BBC British dramas (long dramatic speeches, so much pent-up sexual tension). Alfred Hitchcock films are no exception. He's the Julia Child of the suspense thriller — and the recipe is perfect every time. Hitchcock, also a “part-time gourmet,” may have cooked it over and over, but did you ever get bored? No.
- Mick Vuick, owner of McDain’s Restaurant and Golf Center in Monroeville, Pa., has banned children ages 6 and under from his restaurant. His reason? They’re loud. Parents all over Monroeville are outraged by the injustice.
- Ooooh Marmite, how I loathe thee. Growing up, there was always a jar of the stuff in our cabinet, but I would never eat it, mainly because it’s gross. According to this new marketing campaign by the company (titled "Hate Cuisine"), I’ve been missing out. They’ve hired this completely real frog and snail to tell you that "oat cwezeen" is pretentious and unnecessary — all ya really need is a bit of Marmite and your food will be heavenly.
Bassetts Ice Cream, the frozen pride of Philly, is celebrating its 150th birthday this year, as discussed in-depth by Carolyn Wyman in our latest CP cover story. Among the many things she points in the piece is the fact that Abraham Lincoln was president when the brand started out. I bet Honest Abe even had brain freeze while thinking up The Gettysburg Address.
For the fifth year, Bassetts will host the Ultimate Ice Cream Festival all day Saturday, July 16 at Center Court in Reading Terminal Market (12th and Arch streets). Expect everything ice cream — eating contests, juggling, tastings — in addition to scooping/serving. Bassetts' never-before-seen George Washington Sundae, a blend of cherry-vanilla ice cream, fresh blueberries, walnuts and whipped cream, in honor of the National Constitution Center’s "Discover the Real George Washington" — will make its debut during the event. In addition to Bassetts’ coolness, Miller’s Twist, Capogiro, Franklin Fountain, Bredenbeck’s and Uncle Dave’s Homemade Ice Cream will join in on the festivities and provide frozen treats, including five specialty birthday cakes for Bassetts, all of which will be presented during a ceremonious cake cutting that begins at 2 p.m.
Photo: Neal Santos
- 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
