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Archive: July, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen we are a mere two hours away from the epic square off that is Hop Chef. Sponsored by Bouwerij Ommegang, this culinary death match brings together five of the city's most talented chefs at World Cafe Live to see who can knock out the competition with thier cooking with- and beer-pairing chops.
This evening's contenders include South Philly stalwarts Scott Schroeder (South Philly Taproom, American Sardine Bar), George Sabatino (Stateside), and Joe Cicala (Le Virtu), and uptown dudes Jason Cichonski (Ela) and Jon Cichon (Lacroix).
If you've been following along on twitter you'll know that the competitive spirit runs deep with this group, and this evening's final showdown promises to be nothing short of epic. If you haven't gotten tickets to this event yet, you're out of luck, it's all sold out, but Meal Ticket is taking bets in the comments section.
Since it's nearing cocktail o'clock we'd better fill you in on the fact that today is National Piña Colada Day. Yes, that's right, a full day devoted to the enjoyment of coconutty, pineapple-y frosty drinks.
We've caught word that Tapestry (700 S. 5th St.) is launching a monthly series of Tiki Tuesdays tonight. Serendipitous, right? And while Tiki mistress Chauncy Scates and guest Tiki master Mike "Juice" Treffehn haven't included a piña colada on tonight's menu there are plenty of other tropical libations planned to transport you to the tropics. Grub Street's got the full rundown of Don the Beachcomber inspired cocktails.
In the mood for seafood? Starting tomorrow July 11, The Trestle Inn (339 N. 11 St.) is launching Rock Oyster Wednesdays with fresh East and West coast oysters on the half shell, craft beer pitchers, can beer specials from 7 p.m. to midnight along with outdoor seating and 60's surf rock. The Trestle is introducing new outdoor seating from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekday and beginning at noon on weekend. Whiskey sour pitchers are on offer for for your al fresco sipping enjoyment.
Following on the tail of their recent lobster tasting menu Mica (8609 Germantown Ave.) is giving another crust crustacean the same treatment. On Thursday July 12 and Friday July 13 Mica is serving a four course, $45 crab prix fixe. Check out the menu:
First
Crab Salad with mustard oil, French melon, cress
Second
Galette de crab 'Georges Perrier'
Third
Veal 'Oscar' with blue crab, spinach, bernaise, trumpet mushroom, sugar snap peas
Fourth
Peach strudel with raspberry sauce
Tria Wine Room (3131 Walnut St.) is coming at you with 2 great deals. First, they upped their University City Dining Days game with a 3-course menu for only $15. Reserve between July 12 and 26. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, you can also take advantage of their Off the Beaten Vine happy hour with three unique and ever-changing wines for only $5 a glass. Today, July 10 at 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., Tria Café (1137 Spruce St.) invites you to sit in on their Beer 101 new-hire intenvise training session for only $15, there are still 4 spots left!
To celebrate the 14th of July, the French national holiday commemorating the storming of Bastille and the beginning of the French Revolution, several of Philadelphia's finest French restaurants will be offering special menu items. Oh là là!
Check out the weekend line up of menus, music, and historial reenactments at London Grill, Bistrot la Minette, and Parc after the jump!
Notes from the Weekend is a feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. We'd love to hear all about YOUR weekend eating adventures in the comments. Go for it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)
Two boozy happenings to report from Fairmount's Lemon Hill (747 N. 25th St.)
First up we have a 4-course summer wine dinner on Monday July 30th for those interested in how to pair wines. For this dinner, chef Mitch Prensky at Lemon Hill is defying norms by disengaging the concept of wine dinners from the stigma of snooty French culture through dishes that contrast classic French cooking with nouveau American cooking styles. Each course showcases a traditional French dish and a modern interpretation, all paired with non-French wines that complement both styles of cooking.
There will be two seatings, at 6PM and 8PM, for $48 a head. To reserve, call 215-232-2299 or email.
And if you're in the market for a little apéritif, Lemon Hill has you covered with four cocktails tailored for hot weather sippage.
Far from your typical, southern KFC chicken wings, Tasty Place (143 N 11th St.) brings you a new kind of wing à la China at fast food prices. The crunchy crust is unusually light and airy, which made one wonder how a deep fryer can produce something that seems almost healthy – almost. Though heavily salted (hence the name salt and pepper chicken wings), there were subtle and surprising notes of ginger and scallion in each bite without any of those overly sweet sauces that make the all-important crispy, crunchy exterior go soggy.
Those wings went fast. Another surprise was a fish dish made with Chinese okra, an unfamiliar veggie with less slime factor than the American version. The rest of the meal yielded more standard Chinese fare, including pork and chicken fried rice, pan-fried dumplings and beef ho-fun.
A final important note: come for the food, not for the dining experience. Adjust your atmosphere expectations, this is restaurant located in a basement of a shopping mall, looking out over the check-out lines of a Chinese grocery store. Water is self-service from a pitcher into styrofoam cups. However this unlikely Chinatown dive has set a new standard for wings, and with food is this good, who needs real cups anyway?
Dust is flying over at Brauhaus Schmitz. This morning they've begun tearing down the brick wall connecting the original location to the space next door. The former furniture store located at 720 South Street is gearing up to become Brauers Bund, a second bar and dining room that will add an additional 75 seats to the German beer hall. The new bar will house 10 taps featuring a selection of beers exclusive to Brauhaus bringing their draft list up to an impressive 30.
The plan is to have the expanded space up and running by July 19 and open to the public for the weekend. We're looking forward to raising our steins to the newly minted space and checking out the only a Brauhaus beer offerings.
Monday, July 2
We sample Hipster Dust, a Brooklyn born seasoning blend
Side Project Jerky debuts three flavors of meat snack marvelousness
Tuesday, July 3
Exploring the bizarre world of flavored vodkas at the state store
A beachy Notes from the Weekend with hoagies, pancakes, and mussels
Thursday, July 5
Holiday in Cambodia: Khmer Kitchen opens in South Philly
This year's Hot Dog Days featuring tours, classes, competitions and more
Adam Erace extends a warm welcome to Vernick Food & Drink
Friday, July 6
Check out Hawk Krall's Philly food-centric show at Space 1026
Drink Up: Phoebe Esmon and Christian Gaal host cocktail dinner at KooZeeDoo
Eat cheap out West: University City Dining Days kicks off July 12
Bartending duo Phoebe Esmon and Christian Gaal have collaborated with KooZeeDoo's David Gilberg and Carla Goncalves in the past. On Monday, July 16th, they'll do so for a purpose even more noble than excellent food and drink: Lupus research.
"Christian and I had been talking with Carla and David...about doing a dinner with them," says Esmon. "I mentioned it to a Alana Bly, who has been the organizing force behind LUPEC [Ladies for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails] here in Philly. She suggested that we might do it as a public LUPEC event (and a co-ed one; most LUPEC events are ladies only). We had already chosen Lupus as our charity for this year--one of our members who is also a very close friend has Lupus and has suffered some fairly significant set-backs this year, which has brought the reality of the disease home to all of us."
Esmon and Gaal are donating their efforts to the dinner, and a portion of the $120 ticket will go towards Lupus research. Rhuby, Carpano Antico, Don Q Rum, Lillet Rose, Bluecoat and Salerno Blood Orange liqueur are donating booze for cocktails like the Labrador, a refreshing tonic of Bluecoat, tomato water, parsley/pepper syrup, vinho verde and lemon--the pairing for Gilberg's first course of salt cod crudo with hard-cooked egg, rabe and olives. Each dish in the four-course menu comes with a complementary cocktail. Check out the full menu after the jump and call KooZeeDoo for reservations.
- 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
