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Archive: August, 2011
Restaurant Row 2.0's a.kitchen (AKA Rittenhouse Square, 135 S. 18th St.) is poised to roll out weekend brunch, which'll run Saturdays and Sundays in the sweet time window of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. See the full menu, which features eats like gruyere buns with poached eggs and country ham and frittata of corn, chorizo and green chilies, after the jump.
Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist.
IN QUESTION: Meiji's Pucca Choco Pretzels! These jawns are little goldfish-shaped crunchy pretzel lifeforms injected with "choco cream" (similar to Nutella).
WHERE TO BUY: Friend of Meal Ticket JF kindly bought us these little guys from Mitsuwa Marketplace, the gigantic Japanese supermarket in North Jersey. To be honest not sure where to cop in Philly region ... perhaps Maido in Narberth? We know that Food & Friends at 20th and Spruce carries Meiji brand products. Get at us in the comments with any advice.
HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING: I ate the entire school of choco cream-impregnated pretzel fish in a single sitting. I was the big effing blue whale and they were the krill.
FINER POINTS: While I in no way subscribe to the "don't eat anything with a face" philosophy, the little-kid me had occasional qualms with eating Pepperidge Farm goldfish just because they were smiling so earnestly. I'd be like I'm sorry goldfish, but I'm about to turn y'all grins into violent mush with my underdeveloped teeth. These sweet and fun-to-eat Puccas have no faces so I don't feel nearly as uncomfortable about shattering marine exuberance in the name of snacking. Also, I very much dig this particular sub-classification of "pretzel," even if it's really more like a cracker than the salt-studded twists we're accustomed to.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Bummed we couldn't make it out to this one but very glad there's a sweet recap of it — ginger bon vivant Brian Dwyer, the Pizza Brain proprietor and avid pizza swag collector whose quest for a Guinness World Record we've followed her on Meal Ticket, officially entered the pantheon this past weekend, and Hawk Krall was on hand to cover the proceedings for Serious Eats' Slice blog. Congrats to Dwyer and the entire Pizza Brain crew for earning Philly some positive daps for once! Pizza Brain, at 2313 Frankford Avenue, is slated for a spring 2012 opening. Here's more background.
Photo: Hawk Krall via slice.seriouseats.com
The very thematic Always Sunny Grilled Cheese Co., run by San Fran transplant Barry Greenidge, debuted last weekend in NoLibs' Garden Variety space at Second and Poplar. Open tonight and tomorrow from 9 p.m. to 3 p.m., the cart will be serving sandwiches like the Green Man (aged cheddar, mozzarella, sautéed greens with garlic, red pepper and lemon zest on rye), the Sweet Dee (aged cheddar, honey, dijon on Texas toast) and the Mac (aged cheddar, American, maple candied bacon, tomato and spicy mayo on rye).
In case you want fries with that: Garden Variety co-proprietor Mike "Frosty" Spiker adds that he's working on a Belgian frites operation that work out of the same cart as Always Sunny. They'll be serving fries real proper-like in paper cones, with homemade dipping sauces (peanut, spicy mayo, etc.).
Michael and Billy Weiss, owners of 13th-and-Walnut institution Woody's (202 S. 13th St.), have been hammering away at a big renovation of their Center City gay bar for some time now, a series of updates that'll bring with it a dramatically altered beer approach overseen by Charlie and Heather Collazo of The Institute (549 N. 12th St.). The Collazos, who've known the Weiss brothers for years (Charlie, a professional lighting designer, has worked with them on their various ventures), have designed a program for the bar's impending 32-tap draft system. "Charlie and I are started out with a lot of locals, sticking to what we consider to be more of a 'gateway' tap list," says Heather, who adds that the list will grow and evolve gradually over time.
Out on the other side the bar, there's plenty changing, too. They're building new bars that'll feature granite bar tops, they've replaced the top-level dance floor with brand-new hardwood and they're working on plans for an outdoor seating café. Chef Thomas "Tommy D" Deeney, who we profiled back in 2009, will get an entirely updated dining room, too. We're hearing work will be completed in the next two weeks or so, with a grand relaunch party coming soon after.
View galleryThere were a few last-minute changes to the competitive eating portion of the National Watermelon Day festivities at City Tap House (3925 Walnut St.) yesterday evening. They broke the competition into two rounds: The first gave contestants 150 seconds to eat as much watermelon — sourced from Misty Mountain Farm via the Fair Food Farmstand — as possible, on the premise that those who ate the most, without using their hands, would move on to the finals. Contestants wearing costumes, such as the guy dressed as a cheeseburger, were given 15-second head start.
At the the end of time, the judges selected the biggest eaters for round two. All of these finalists were given two melon quarters, with the first eater to scarf down to the rinds winning the whole thing. That was Henry Yin, who received $200 cash for his efforts, with the rest of the competitors earning $25 Tap House gift cards. (The original prize, Kings of Leon tickets, had to be nixed after the band cancelled the remainder of its summer tour.)
Tap House beer steward Andy Farrell says the night was such a hit that he hopes to host similar events seasonally. Don't be surprised if you hear about a pumpkin beer night — and pumpkin pie-eating contest — this fall.
We've all seen alcoholic elements worked into bar and restaurant décor — the dangling jugs above Percy Street's bar, the cork wall at Vintage, the beer can wall at Resurrection Ale House, the sawed-in-half wine bottles as water glasses at Talula's. But what about actual alcohol? Lêe, who's working on opening Hop Sing Laundromat at 1029 Race (see our early-July sneak peek), is doing just that — tinting the freshly poured concrete floor of his impending cocktail bar with red wine.
Though there's been plenty of progress in the Chinatown space since we last checked on it (water's hooked up; vintage liquor licenses from various states framed and displayed on southern wall), the mono-named bar owner still won't give up a solid opening date. He was eager, though, to discuss this boozy DIY project. He went out and purchased a shitload of boxed Cabernet, which he puts through a process to ensure it colors the concrete without it seeping in too deep. The whole floor will be done this way. Next time you drunkenly drop a glass of red on your buddy's carpet, maybe take a cue from Lêe and upturn the rest of the bottle so everything matches.
Tuesday, we brought you the news that Michael Santoro (who we really, really liked!) had left the enchanted Talula’s Garden (210 W. Washington Square) for a life devoid of gurgling fountains, leafy plum trees and unicorn-milk chevre. Partner Aimee Olexy isn’t saying whether the Santoro’s beef with menu development had anything to do with Craig LaBan's lukewarm two-bell review (as many suspect), but she does offer this: "Mike and I just spent a ton of time together, so it is hard. I am excited, though. The team here is amazing, and we are ready and want to go at it better than ever." A new executive chef has not been named.
As pizza freaks, this a happy hour deal you we can get behind — weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m., the recently opened Revolution House (200 Market St.) offers half-price draft beers and three bucks off anything on its pizza menu. The deal's available at the bar only.
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