Archive: September, 2010

Restaurant Weeks hits Chinatown

POSTED: Monday, September 27, 2010, 6:06 PM

Filed Under: Dealage | Food Events

OK, we've been coming real hard with the Restaurant Week picks and info for some time ("We're up to our ears in prix-fixe deals, mannnn," they groan), but it behooves us to mention Chinatown Restaurant Week, which kicked off yesterday and runs through this Friday, Oct. 1. The dealage-heavy six-day event, now in its second year, features dinner options ranging from $15 to $25. Full list of participants here.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 6:06 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Baby Blues BBQ opening Oct. 8

POSTED: Monday, September 27, 2010, 5:11 PM

Filed Under: Openings

babybluesvenice.com

Stephen Fischer tells Meal Ticket he'll debut his location Baby Blues BBQ in the former Bubble House (3404 Sansom St.) next Friday, Oct. 8. Baby Blues was first founded by Fischer's brothers Newtown Square natives in Venice Beach about seven years ago, and has since expanded to Hollywood and San Francisco; this location, the fourth overall, will be the 'cue brand's very first East Coast operation. (Fischer's father founded the Gino's Burgers, Rustler Steak House and Sportsters chains, the latter of which being where the siblings first learned how to make ribs.) Fischer describes Baby Blues' style as a hybrid of multiple American barbecue traditions, as they offer Memphis-style long bone pork ribs, dry-rubbed babybacks, and Texas beef ribs as well as Carolina-style pulled pork, beer-braised beef brisket and a bunch of seafood. The University City space itself has been overhauled to feature a centralized island kitchen, with counter seating, with a 1,000-pound meat smoker being the focal point. The restaurant, which can accommodate around 125, carries an industrial smokehouse feel, with original exposed brick and steel beams. And Birds fans: Baby Blues is now the official home of Anthony Gargano and Ike Reese's WIP post-game show.

Baby Blues BBQ on 3400 block of sansom

Posted 2010-09-27 18:13:08

[...] ribs as well as Carolina-style pulled pork, beer-braised beef brisket and a bunch of seafood.    Baby Blues BBQ opening Oct. 8 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper    "It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past" Jonathan [...]

Sansom BBQ Spot Will Open October 8 | Under the Button

Posted 2010-09-27 17:57:19

[...] BBQ, the barbecue joint that’s set to open in the old Bubble House location at 3404 Sansom. Meal Ticket reports today that Baby Blues will open October 8. This happens to be the start to Fall Break, but a less busy [...]

Meat Strauss

Posted 2010-09-28 12:55:05

I have been to the Baby Blues in Venice Beach.  This place is awesome...best ribs and brisket I have ever eaten.  The best of all is the mac and cheese...can't wait...save a seat for me next to Anthony Gargano.

Peter Civitella

Posted 2010-09-27 16:17:37

I used to frequent Gino's, and Sportsters. I wish we had them back!!!!
The Gino Giant was great, the ribs at Sportsters, are you kidding me?
All we need is an onion loaf, and some cole slaw. I wish we could have
a rib place like this closer to me. Anyone who enjoys great food, with
a great atmosphere should give it a GO. These people KNOW what they are
doing. I can't wait to get down there.

Theresa Roomet

Posted 2010-10-24 00:23:30

I was wondering if you ever have a live band possibly doing blues songs, etc.   This area needs a good place where people can have a great meal & also hear some good bands in a setting such as yours.  The place would be packed if you tried it.    Thanks.

Baby Blues BBQ Opens Tonight | Under the Button

Posted 2010-10-15 16:57:28

[...] made the announcement a few weeks back that a new BBQ joint would be opening on 34th and Sansom. Baby Blues BBQ officially opens tonight in Bubble House’s old spot and it looks really classy with its blue [...]

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Sept. 27-Oct. 1 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-04 08:02:12

[...] West Philly’s Baby Blues BBQ sets an opening date. [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 5:11 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Sept. 20-24

POSTED: Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:30 PM

Filed Under: Meal Ticket | Ticket Stubs

Monday, Sept. 20 Green Eggs Cafe, already a hit in South Philly, opens its second location in NoLibs. Far From Home is a new comfort-food truck launching soon in Philly. Spots like Cafe Lift, Pumpkin, Sidecar and Curley's (cheese fries!) pop up in Notes from the Weekend. Distrito kicks off a $25 all-you-can-eat taco/enchilada deal for Monday Night Football. Tuesday, Sept. 21 A Southwestern tapas restaurant called Kokopelli is opening in Rittenhouse. Old City Coffee's Church Street cafe has a sweet new look. Adam Erace shows you how to harvest fennel pollen step by step. Wednesday, Sept. 22 Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant is Old City's newest eatery. The Thirteenth Diet's Daniel McLaughlin sticks to a 150-mile radius for his upcoming strictly local dinner. Thursday, Sept. 23 Jolly Weldon is opening a Maryland-style crab house in South Philly. Friday, Sept. 24 The restaurant space at Eighth and Christian will become a new Mexican restaurant called Tres Jalapenos. Check out Adam Erace's detailed guide to roasting your own peppers and preserving them in the most delicious way possible. We've got tons of photos of the brand-new Watkins Drinkery in South Philly. There's a new chef at Zavino, and some new menu details, too.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 1:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

New chef at Zavino

POSTED: Saturday, September 25, 2010, 12:07 AM

Filed Under: Chef Salad

Photo | Drew Lazor

Matt White, most recently at Seablue at the Borgata in Atlantic City, is the new head chef at Zavino at 13th and Sansom. (Opening chef Steve Gonzalez departed earlier this month.) White is a veteran of huge-operation Las Vegas eateries, working under big names like Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina, and is excited to try his hand running a small place where he can be very hands-on with the menu. A pizza lineup featuring some brand-new stuff, designed in collaboration with Zavino pie man Joe Beddia, should be launching within the next two weeks. White plans on offering fresh-made pasta specials Friday to Sunday and has been testing out all sorts of plates, so keep an eye on the chalkboard menus. Oh, and here's a bit of good news for hungry drunks in the immediate area: Zavino is organizing a food partnership with the nearby Bar (1309 Sansom St.), which, somewhat notoriously, serves a very limited menu of hot dogs, pickled eggs and Cup Noodles. You'll soon be able to place a pizza order while boozing at Bar, and the Zavino crew will walk it a few feet up the street and drop it off to you.

Two new pies at Zavino :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-08 13:29:42

[...] Meal Ticket pizza haunt Zavino (112 S. 13th St.), whose new chef Matt White just started, rolls out two new pies today   a new-look spinach, with bechamel, onions, cloves and red pepper [...]

joan

Posted 2010-10-09 10:34:35

Zavino used to have AMAZING food, the Pizza is still good but the specials, pasta and menu has gone vanilla and suburban. HUGE disappointment. Food is an art...not an assembly line like these Vegas, A.C. warehouses White has worked in.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 12:07 AM Permalink | Post a comment

Watkins Drinkery in pictures

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010, 11:11 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Menu Time | Openings | Photos

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Watkins Drinkery, from Jonn Klein of The Dive, is officially open to the public as of 5 p.m. today, but we dropped into a soft-open dinner service last night to snag a few photos for y'all. Sitting right on the corner of 10th and Watkins (near Morris), Klein's bar is the product of nearly-three-year, red tape-laden struggle chalk it up to the property's sordid past as a cocaine distribution hub, plus some heavy doses of Philadelphia Bureaucracy, the most trusted name in bureaucracy. He's done a bunch of changes to the space, but points out that it's mainly stuff you can't see (electrical, tap system, plumbing, kitchen renovations, etc.), meaning the Drinkery still holds that South Philly neighborhood tappie vibe. Just take a look at the light-up starscape ceiling panels above the bar, a holdover from the Bella Rosa II that Klein actually paid to get back into working order. (Klein can't wait to for February to roll around, as he plans on organizing a tongue-in-cheek "Valentine's Day Under the Stars" event.) The interior, dotted with photos Klein took throughout his travels of Europe, has been given a fresh start, especially the second-level floor, which features a dart board, billiards table and a 40-games-in-one 1980s arcade machine the floor up here is the beautiful original oak, but Klein had to rip up something like five layers of crappy board and linoleum up to actually find it. John Morris, a Dive regular who's cooked all over the place, in and out of the city, is the Drinkery's head chef, and he's put together a selection of atypical bar food (see full food/drink menus here) that's priced extremely well (top price: $9.95). What we ate, in order (food till 1 a.m. nightly):

Ostrich carpaccio with micro arugula
Grilled vegetable salad (zucchini, corn, asparagus, etc.) with a vanilla vinaigrette
House-cured duck prosciutto and buffalo mozzarealla sandwich with beef tomato
Rabbit sausage sandwich with pickled jalapenos
Fish and chips (beer-battered mahi mahi with malt vinegar mayo)

Another big selling point for this brand-new spot will be its happy hour, running seven days a week from 5 to 7 p.m. half off everything on draft.

Miss Fidget

Posted 2010-10-22 15:29:26

WOW, I can not fricking WAIT to check this joint out. A much welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Giant Congrats John!

Adam Erace

Posted 2010-09-25 11:08:18

Dope. So glad this deal finally got done.

Foobooz » Quick Bites

Posted 2010-09-28 12:14:35

[...] Meal Ticket takes a look inside Watkins Drinkery taking photos of food, pool tables and the starscape ceiling. [Meal Ticket] [...]

Watkins Drinkery?

Posted 2010-09-27 18:26:43

[...] with pickled jalapenos * Fish and chips (beer-battered mahi mahi with malt vinegar mayo)    Watkins Drinkery in pictures :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper    "It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past" Jonathan [...]

Meal Ticket’s 2010 in Pictures: September :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-01-01 12:02:31

[...] - Watkins Drinkery in pictures [24sept10] [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 11:11 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The secret to great roasted peppers has nothing to do with peppers.

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010, 8:46 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Roasted peppers, that staple of the Mediterranean pantry, are an easy way to preserve the taste of summer for the coming months, but the secret to great ones has nothing to with the peppers themselves. Red, yellow, orange or green; charred in the oven, on the burner or the grill; it doesnt matter. What really sets roasted peppers apart is the what you pack them in. But first, lets get roasting. ROASTING. Roasting peppers on a grill imparts the most residual flavor, but for ease, I typically do mine in the oven. Preheat to 400, and wash and dry the peppers. Arrange them on a sheet pan foil-lined if youre lazy like me with a couple cloves crushed garlic still in their paper. Drizzle liberally with olive oil, add salt, pepper and dried oregano and roast until blackened on both sides, about 30 to 40 minutes, turning the peppers once. STEAMING. When the peppers look good and blackened, remove them from the oven. Reserve the roasted garlic and transfer the peppers to a mixing bowl; cover bowl with plastic wrap. The heat from the peppers creates steam that's trapped in the bowl, helping the skins to separate. This takes time, so walk away. Go to the gym. Fly a kite. When you return in two hours or so, the peppers will be ready to peel. PEELING. Even after steaming, peeling peppers can be tricky and time-consuming. Its also messy, so do it over the sink. Start by popping out the stem and opening the pepper. Wipe out the seeds, then find a crinkly corner of papery, oil-slicked skin and slowly peel it back, separating it from the peppers flesh. Transfer peeled peppers to a clean mixing bowl. If youre processing a large batch, at some point it will seem logical run the peppers under water, removing seeds and loosening skin. Fight this temptation! Water will wash off all the charred taste the oven has given the peppers. Tenacious skin or obstinate seeds wont kill your roasted peppers, but rinsing off their flavor will. FLAVORING. What you do after the peppers are roasted is the secret to their greatness. Most commercial jars are packed in olive oil. Yawn. Packing the peppers in an herbaceous, sweet-and-sour vinaigrette impacts their flavor thirtyfold. The foundation of this vinaigrette is the leftover oil you see sitting in the first mixing bowl, now infused with pepper and garlic. Pour it into a clean bowl, add an equal amount of red wine vinegar, a tablespoon of honey, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and pour over the peeled peppers. Herbs are next. Add whatever you have on hand this batch contains parsley, two kinds of basil, thyme, lavender, mint, lemon verbena, oregano and garlic chives and leave the leaves whole unless theyre (a) huge or (b) woody like rosemary or lavender. Give the peppers a good mix, taste for seasoning, adjust as desired and move onto the last step ... PACKING. The science of canning and jarring evades your boy, so I just pack my peppers in recycled plastic containers. Add the peppers, plus red pepper flakes or dried chile for heat I used Market Days cucarachas plus the roasted garlic cloves. Pour the vinaigrette over the peppers. If you come up short, top with straight olive oil so all peppers are covered. Attach the lids, give a shake and refrigerate up for six months though these guys are so good, they wont last past Halloween.

Rachel Burgos

Posted 2010-09-27 13:08:56

Wow, this is great! I'm definitely bookmarking this for future pepper roasting  adventures.

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Sept. 20-24 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-09-27 08:32:04

[...]  [...]

Michelle

Posted 2010-09-24 16:51:59

What a great tutorial, I really want to make some roasted peppers now!

Posted by Adam Erace @ 8:46 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Restaurant Week Pick for Sept. 24: Pub & Kitchen

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010, 7:47 PM

Filed Under: Dealage

Photo | Michael T. Regan

Need somewhere to get your deal on tonight? Every day during next two weeks, Team Meal Ticket will bring you a daily Restaurant Week pick. We will highlight some of the best deals being offered by officially participating restaurants, as well as some renegade Restaurant Weekers around town. And so another Restaurant Week comes to a close tonight across Center City. We hope we provided you with some guidance as far as where to spend your money. We'll now leave you with our last pick for this fall's Restaurant Week 2010: Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.). They don't take reservations, so no constant OpenTable refreshing and no having to eat at the bar because you don't have a reservation just go. A little planning might turn you up an outdoor table, but Jonathan Adams' menu sounds good no matter where you're sitting. We also have two weeks' worth of recommendations for you to choose from. Get out there tonight, though this is your last chance until January 2011.

Posted by Anthony Sica @ 7:47 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Win two tickets to Fork's Sept. 29 Sustainable Seafood Dinner

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010, 6:48 PM

Filed Under: Chef Salad | Contests | Food Events

Meal Ticket's got its seafood-loving fins on a pair of tickets to next Wednesday's sustainable seafood dinner at Fork (306 Market St.), for which chef Terence Feury is teaming up with the very seafood-savvy Jennifer Carroll of 10 Arts. The $75-a-head dinner, benefiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and the Wetlands Institute of Stone Harbor, will feature the chefs, both alums of Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin, preparing a four-course (plus dessert) tasting. The evening will also feature food writer Paul Greenberg, who's just released Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, a book examining the history of humanity's four most-consumed ocean dwellers (salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna) as well as the global impact of industrial fishing and seafood farming practices. If you want the two tix, simply email the correct answers to the these seafood-y questions to drew.lazor@citypaper.net, subject line: "Fork Dinner." DO NOT LEAVE ANSWERS AS A COMMENT. Good luck! UPDATE [2:15 p.m.]: Congrats to Meal Ticket reader Andy for answering our questions correctly. Answers after the jump.

1. What is the real name of the Chilean sea bass?

2. Complete the names of these oysters: Cape May _____, Naked _____, Mermaid ____, Emerald _____.

3. Translate the following Japanese seafood names into English (be specific): maguro, anago, tako, hotate.

1. Chilean sea bass is its popular name, but the fish's far less sexy official moniker is the Patagonian toothfish. 2. Cape May Salt, Naked Cowboy, Mermaid Strait, Emerald Cove. 3. Maguro = tuna. Anago = salt-water eel. Tako = octopus. Hotate = scallop.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 6:48 PM Permalink | Post a comment

New life (again) at Eighth and Christian

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010, 5:42 PM

Filed Under: Openings

Photos | Drew Lazor

The corner restaurant space at Eighth and Christian, which was Molcajete Mixto (that closed), then Paxia (that closed), then Mezza Luna (that closed, shadily), looks like it's coming back as a Mexican restaurant called Tres Jalapenos. No one was in the space when we dropped by but a peek inside suggests the interior is pretty much the same as before. We'll keep you posted as we hear more.

NOW OPEN: Tres Jalapenos :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-22 13:15:04

[...] Only open a month, Tres Jalapenos (744 Christian St.) is the BYO sister restaurant to Los Jalapenos (1800 N. Fourth St.). Located right on the corner of Eighth and Christian, the space (formerly Paxia, then Mezza Luna) features a nice mix of kitschy/traditional Mexican flair; it’s quite larger than I expected. [...]

benji

Posted 2010-09-27 18:31:17

Saw the new sign and it looks like the same logo as Los Jalapeños on south 4th street (http://www.threejalapenos.com/).

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 5:42 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Tonight: Thursday Night Throwdown at Chestnut Hill Coffee

POSTED: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 10:14 PM

Filed Under: Coffee | Food Events

Tonight, the monthly Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) barista latte art competition heads northwest to Chestnut Hill Coffee Company at 8620 Germantown Avenue (previously installments have been held at Spruce Street Espresso and Newbold's Ultimo Coffee). Competitors will sign up at 7 p.m. ($5 entry fee) and pouring will commence promptly at 8; winner gets the pot, plus some prizes from Counter Culture. Spectators are more than welcome to come check out what's being touted as a "latte art massacre" (!). UPDATE: According to TNT's Twitter, Obama might be there!

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 10:14 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Notes from the Weekend: June 17
The Lite Choice Opens Flagship Store on 16th Street between Walnut & Locust
Free stuff for Father's Day
Gone Fishin'
Happy National Beef Jerky Day!
Summer of Riesling Dinner at P&K
Hot Dog Wire: LaBan Coney at ASB
George Sabatino guesting at Scott Dogs Hot Dog Cart Pop-Up
Now Serving: Tiffin Bistro
Vetri opening in the Navy Yard, plus a nod to Le Bec

About this blog

Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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