Archive: September, 2010

Restaurant Week Picks for Sept. 23: Pizzeria Stella and Xochitl

POSTED: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 9:35 PM

Filed Under: Dealage

Photo | Drew Lazor

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. Head out for pizza tonight at Pizzeria Stella (420 S. Second) for "Pizza Week," where $25 will get you an antipasti dish or salad, a pizza, gelato, and a glass of house wine, draft beer, or non-alcoholic drink. Quite an amazing deal in the sea of deals that has been the past two weeks. Special pies this week include a red pie with fontina and provolone, and a mortadella pie with pistachio-green onion pesto. (Read more on Stella in Drew Lazor's July pizza story.) Another Headhouse steal can be had at Xochitl (408 S. Second St.) where chef Lucio Palazzo is offering a five-course Restaurant Week menu.

Dan

Posted 2010-09-24 10:57:37

Did the Stella thing. What an unbelievable deal. The special pizza was awesome (despite the haters their pizza is the best, well better than Zavino) and I had grilled octopus with an excellent pesto sauce and, as if I didn't have enough basil, got a good size scoop of basil gelato. All this and a glass of house white (went well with the octopus) for $25. Living large.

Posted by Anthony Sica @ 9:35 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Herbal vinegar and oil workshop at Urban Jungle

POSTED: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 8:30 PM

Filed Under: Food Events

Courtesy of Urban Jungle

For gardeners that love to cook, the workshops at Urban Jungle (1526-30 E. Passyunk Ave.) should be a calendar mainstay. Tonight marks the second class in their fall series, DIY Herbal Vinegars and Oils, under the direction of resident horticulturalist Doris Stahl. The workshop, which runs from 6 to 7 p.m., is a helluva deal; $20 gets participants wine and snacks along with all materials required for bottling their own oil and vinegar infusions. (A decent bottle of EVOO will run you more than that.) Register for tickets here, and keep an eye out for future UJ workshops. Starting in October the garden center will also feature be complimentary pumpkin carving stations ever Saturday.

Michelle

Posted 2010-09-23 16:27:49

This sounds awesome!

Posted by Adam Erace @ 8:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Jolly's Crab House opening in December

POSTED: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 8:01 PM

Filed Under: Openings

Photo | Drew Lazor

Maryland native Jolly Weldon says to mark December down for the opening of Jolly's Crab House, a true blue (crab), Baltimoron-style crustacean-cracking haven at 2650 S. 15th Street, which was for years Mio Sogno. Right now Weldon, who's got Jolly's Dueling Piano Bar at 20th and Chestnut, is waiting on the transfer of the liquor license before he gets his hands really dirty with tweaks and renovations. They'll specialize in steamed blue crabs (sourcing, whenever possible, directly from the Chesapeake), and their chef (whom Weldon won't yet name, but describes as a "longtime South Philadelphia chef with some great Italian specialties") will also offer seafood dishes, including macaroni with a traditional crab gravy. Once open they'll do a two-hour all-you-can-eat special that you can purchase at any time come in at 5 and pay the flat rate, Weldon says, and you'll have until 7 to run through as many hard-shells as you can, with sides of corn, soup and salad. Eight craft beers on tap, plus a nice wine program; space-wise, expect a 20-seat bar, 80 inside seats spanning two dining rooms and an outside area that'll hold 60. And of course, since this is a Jolly production, the Crab House will have a piano in the bar area.

Foobooz » Quick Bites

Posted 2010-09-28 12:14:52

[...] Jolly’s Crab House is aiming for a December opening. [Meal Ticket] [...]

danya

Posted 2010-09-23 19:47:04

"Baltimoron." Almost as good as "Northern Libertarian."

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 8:01 PM Permalink | Post a comment

IN PRINT: City Paper Food and Restaurants, Sept. 23

POSTED: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 4:26 PM

Filed Under: In Print

Photo | Neal Santos

- Adam Erace checks out Mac's Tavern, the Old City tavern with partial It's Always Sunny ownership, and discovers a solid beer selection, friendly bartenders and food that skews more straight-up pub than gastropub. - We chat with Kim O'Donnel, the national food writer and Philly native, about her new The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook, designed to introduce hearty vegetarian meals to carnivorous lifestyles. - What's Cooking has word on Zahav chef Michael Solomonov's upcoming farmstead dinner, a Stephen Starr/SPTR collab, this weekend's huge Vendemmia wine festival and more. - Three new spots highlighted in the latest Feeding Frenzy: Philadelphia Chutney Company, Hop Angel Brauhaus and the new location for Four Worlds Bakery.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 4:26 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Restaurant Week Picks for Sept. 22: Garces at the bar, Noble, Pumpkin, Supper

POSTED: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 8:34 PM

Filed Under: Dealage

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. We are big fans of eating at the bar at any time of the year, but during Restaurant Week it can be the slyest move in town. Both Amada ( 217-219 Chestnut St.) and Tinto (114 S 20th St.) are offering their Restaurant Week menus (Amada/Tinto) at their respective bars. It is first-come, first-serve, so you don't even need reservations to dine at the two hottest Restaurant Week spots. If you require a little more leg room, think about going farm-fresh at Noble (2025 Sansom St.) Pumpkin (1713 South St.) or Supper (926 South St.). The Restaurant Week menus for all three restaurants (Noble/Pumpkin/Supper) stay true to their seasonal roots, and there are plenty of tables available at all three places tonight.

Posted by Anthony Sica @ 8:34 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Where can one get poor man's pudding?

POSTED: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 7:40 PM

Filed Under: Where'd We Eat?

Photo | Drew Lazor

danya

Posted 2010-09-22 15:15:42

Yea, I've never even been there! But they sure do draw pigs good.

danya

Posted 2010-09-22 14:42:17

Looks like Cochon?

Sean Mellody

Posted 2010-09-22 14:42:47

Looks like Cochon to me.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-09-22 14:43:40

OK Danya that might be a new Where'd We Eat record. Two minutes?! Yes, this is the always-excellent Cochon. Ate there yesterday as part of a pork tour through the city with some out-of-town writers. More pics of that coming soon.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-09-22 14:45:05

Sean, you also win because you posted the same time at Danya. You guys are too good, I need to make this harder...I guess the giant picture of a pig is a sligggghttt indicator of the place's Cochon-itude, huh?

Michelle

Posted 2010-09-22 18:07:12

Who does the chalkboard drawings at Cochon? They are so good!

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 7:40 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Sept. 25: Final day to support Share the Harvest

POSTED: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 6:57 PM

Filed Under: We're Here to Help

This Saturday, Sept. 25 marks the end of 2010's Share the Harvest program, hunger relief org Philabundance's initiative encouraging local gardeners to donate their surplus fruits and vegetables to feed those in need. They'll accept donations from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at 11 locations throughout the region (full list after the jump). They're aiming to beat last year's collection total of 10,850 pounds of produce with a goal of 11,500 produce pounds, so if you've got a little home-grown love to share, be sure to do it. Philadelphia County: Laurel Hill Gardens, 8125 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia Bucks County: Carousel Gardens, 591 Durham Rd., Newtown; Seasons Garden Center, 1069 River Road, PO Box 20 Washington Crossing Chester County: Gardners Landscape Nursery, 535 W. Uwchlan Ave., Chester Springs Delaware County: Rose Tree Park, 1971 N. Providence Rd., Media; Linvilla Orchards, 137 W. Knowlton Road, Media; Terrain, 914 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills Montgomery County: Albrechts Garden Center Nursery, 650 Montgomery Ave., Narberth; St. Asaphs, 27 Conshohocken State Rd., Bala Cynwyd; Rhoads Garden, 570 DeKalb Pike, North Wales Camden County: Springdale Farms, 1638 S. Springdale Rd., Cherry Hill, NJ

This Saturday is the last day for this year’s Share the Harvest | South Jersey Locavore

Posted 2010-09-22 15:22:21

[...] can be dropped off between 10am and noon at the following locations  (thanks to meal ticket for the [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 6:57 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The Thirteenth Diet goes local for September

POSTED: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 4:55 PM

Filed Under: Food Events

thethirteenthdiet.com

Last month, Daniel McLaughlin of the excellent The Thirteenth Diet the blog project that sees the writer experimenting with a different diet every month of 2010 threw together an Ayurvedic feast. For September, McLaughlin's got a doozy on his hands he's organizing a local dinner, prepared exclusively with ingredients sourced from within a self-dictated 150-mile radius of Philly. While this certainly sounds brilliant and conscious and locavore-tastic, take a second to consider the challenges one's strict (and we mean strict) adherence to a local/sustainable diet presents:

If you mapped a mildly extravagant day of dining in terms of where your food and drink came from, you could quite easily ring the globe. Say you have smoked salmon for breakfast, a burger with an iced tea for lunch, lamb chops and risotto for dinner, with a piece of chocolate cake for dessert. While only considering the main ingredients, youve easily hit Norway for salmon, Argentina for beef, India for tea, New Zealand for lamb, China for rice, and Ghana for cocoa. Assuming some of the supplementary ingredients came from somewhere intra-national, youve had a day with food from 6 out of 7 continents. Crazy huh?

What's more, pantry staples like olive oil and salt cannot be derived within McLaughlin's 150-mile reach, so he's had to get quite creative in preparation for his five-course, $50 feast (BYO), which will be held Friday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. at the home of Philly interior designer Gregory Augustine. Peep the full menu here (spots there are only 24 are going super-fast) and secure a spot by dropping McLaughlin a line.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 4:55 PM Permalink | Post a comment

NOW OPEN: Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant

POSTED: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Openings

philadelphiabarandrestaurant.com

Old City bartenders Shawn Gormley and Nicolas Moore have teamed up to launch Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant at 120 Market Street, the former home of the club Triada. The 75-seat space features 12 beers on tap (close to 40 in bottles) and food from 25-year-old Jordan "Red" Sauter, who most recently held the chef de cuisine position at Peter McAndrews' Modo Mio. A bit of that "my way" spirit seems to have rubbed off on Sauter, as his menu stresses personal points of pride, like cooking all of his burgers to well-done ("diner-style"); other highlight eats include a scrapple cheesesteak with provolone and fried egg, and red wine-braised veal cheeks served with parm and figs. PBR is open weekdays from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. to accommodate brunch hours.

Foobooz » Tale of the Tape: Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant

Posted 2010-09-23 11:07:11

[...] NOW OPEN: Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant [Meal Ticket] What’s new in Old City [The Insider] geopress_addEvent(window,"load", function() { geopress_makemap(184031,"Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant",39.949525,-75.143219,"google",Mapstraction.ROAD, { pan: true, zoom: 'small', overview: false, scale: false, map_type: false },15) }); [...]

harry

Posted 2010-09-22 11:41:41

I got a chance to try the burger there this sunday and apparently its cooked well done cause of the higher fat content in the meat and honestly after eating it, they can cook it whatever way they want cause it was one of the BEST BURGERS I ever had.. Good stuff PBR

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Posted 2010-09-22 14:36:42

[...] NOW OPEN: Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper [...]

NCfalcon4LIFE

Posted 2010-09-22 16:21:05

Great Food and Atmosphere...Best Of Luck To My Man NICK..

Yo_Momma

Posted 2010-09-22 14:15:34

Obvioulsy you are a closed-minded twit.

Andy B

Posted 2010-09-22 10:47:38

Well done burgers are gross.

Cathy Bardle

Posted 2010-11-13 14:27:38

Had the pleasure of eating in this wonderful Restaurant, the food was AWSOME!! The mussels were out of this world, the PBR burger was Mmmmm!!The desserts were the best!! And the drinks out of this world!!!!

kathleen

Posted 2010-11-19 10:50:34

The pasta was wonderful,the red beets were so good and the presentation of all the dishes where done with Red's (chef) style and pride --good eats --try it you'll see --in old city @120 Market St---loved it

Buddy Rock

Posted 2011-01-08 12:42:18

Went there this past Sat (New Years Day) There was one person at the end of the bar that was hanging out with the chef and the bartenders.  Every other word out of his mouth was the "F" word. In addition there was music playing that was about as vulgar as it could be, especially for the women in the bar. Not sure if this is the norm, but there appeared to be a shift change and the music was cut off and the person that was friends with staff disappeared.  Could have been a nice experience. Sorry.

BTW, info@philadelphiabarandrestaurant.com does not work.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 3:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Along Came (Fennel) Pollen: How to harvest your own

POSTED: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 8:15 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Inked individuals say once you get one tattoo, you immediately want another. Same goes for gardening, at least by my experience. One heirloom tomato plant is never enough. Why limit myself to a single strain of sage when I can have six? The rub is we live in a city, not on a farm, and urban gardening is a hobby fraught with growers indecision. This season, I went back and forth on fennel. Id never grown it before and my containers were maxed, but the young seedling (a bronze breed) just looked so sexy and regal sitting there outside at Terrain at Styers (914 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills). Of course, I bought it, and four months later Im really glad I did. Aside from territorial herbs like mint, bronze fennel was the hardiest and least demanding thing I grew all summer. In less than 6 inches of soil, this attractive workhorse shot up 2 feet in a month, its antennae-thin extremities exploding with umbrellas of tiny buttercup-colored buds. Fennel pollen. Stalk, seed, frond and flower, every part of the fennel plant is edible, but the pollen is my favorite part: sweet, woodsy, intriguingly musky. When dried, this fragrant dust adds unparalleled dimension to pork dishes, pizzas, risottos and more. (With a going rate of about $20 an ounce, it better.) I wondered: Could I dry these buds like other herbs? It seemed logical, so I tried, and now Ive got a little jar of homegrown fennel pollen tucked in my spice cabinet for the fall and winter. If youve got fennel growing, you can have it too. Heres how. 1. Use scissors to snip the flowering branches of your fennel plant. 2. Gently rinse in cool water and blot dry with paper towel.

3. Transfer flowering branches to a sheet pan or plate depending on amount. Leave them alone until dry and slightly shriveled, two to three days.

4. Over a bowl, gently roll the flower clusters between your thumb and index fingers to separate the pollen from the branches. Transfer to a jar and store in a cool, dark place.

rascal b. schuylkillian

Posted 2010-09-21 16:58:15

very cool post.  I grew one fennel plant this year after my sister successfully grew a number of seedlings I gave to her the previous year. My plant is now nearing 5ft. tall (if it wasn't sagging over)!  Other than admire its hardiness and using some fronds in a few dishes, I've let it grow unmolested.  

I am actually considering pickling part of the bulb and hardier lower sections as an experiment.

Something to think about...

Adam Erace

Posted 2010-09-24 13:49:08

Pickling the bulb sounds brilliant. Let us know how it goes!

Tweets that mention Along Came (Fennel) Pollen: How to harvest your own :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-09-23 15:29:09

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Yarden, J.J. Wolf. J.J. Wolf said: Along Came (Fennel) Pollen: How to harvest your own: Same goes for gardening, at least by my experience. One heirl... http://bit.ly/aG6XkV [...]

Notes from the Weekend: Nov. 22 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-22 23:17:10

[...] vegan detention, but it made for such a delicious Friday lunch. Dusted the surface with a little of my homegrown fennel pollen. [...]

Posted by Adam Erace @ 8:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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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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