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Archive: September, 2011
Partners Vlad Uchenik and Paul Ferker will debut Crisp (32 S. 18th St.), the first Philadelphia location of the NYC-based falafel stuffer, tomorrow, Sept. 27. (We first mentioned them in May.) Taking over the space vacated by the short-lived Falafel Factory, the all-vegetarian Crisp specializes in fried-chickpea-ball sandwiches dressed up in styles like the Mexican (with fresh guac, corn, salsa and nacho chips) and the Africa (peanut sauce, sweet potato, corn, tomato, scallion, habanero harissa). Other menu options include falafel salads (all the fillings mixed up with fresh-baked pita on the side), homemade vegetarian soups and chilis and the brand-new falafel "pizza," an open-faced falafel riff with special sauce. The eco-pretty space is designed mostly for takeout, though there is a small amount of counter seating. One fun feature of every Crisp order is what they call "The Handbag," a sturdy cardboard takeout box (patent pending) that zips in half for convenient falafel munching. This could very well put my days of disastrous vehicular falafel consumption behind me.
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., noon-8 p.m.
You don't need to be Jewish to celebrate the holidays this week with Michael Solomonov and the crew at Zahav (237 St. James Place). Solo was featured in the New York Times last week with his favorite recipes for Rosh Hashana, some of which will be available tonight through Oct. 2 in a five-course, $45 prix-fixe. Each mesibah includes hummus and salatim (with challah instead of the usual laffa) and Mama Solo's coffee-braised brisket. Call for 215-625-8800 reservations; full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Photo: Ryan Collerd/New York Times
Monday, September 19
Blue Bear Tavern has finally open in Center City.
We've got photos and menus for the latest Sabrina's location to hit Philly.
Tuesday, September 20
Adam Erace has more details on Peter McAndrews' new pizzeria.
Spread Bagelry has challenge Adam Richman of Man v. Food to eat a 13-pound bagel.
Adsum is closed and will be reborn as Tapestry, a neighborhood tavern.
The tagliatelli al limon at Zeppoli is one pasta dish you need to eat immediately.
Wednesday, September 21
Renaissance Sausage is returning to the streets with a breakfast cart.
An update on Pitruco, Philly's upcoming Neapolitan pizza truck.
We've got the info on David Katz and Matt Levin's Sept. 27 corn dinner at Mémé.
Pizza, beer and ... theater? Someone thinks these things are splendid with one another.
Thursday, September 22
King Tut is a new Middle Eastern BYO on Pine Street.
Loco Pez, a wacky Mexi bar from the owner of Alfa, is open in Fishtown.
Friday, September 23
Kanella reintroduces its Meze Sundays.
Pics inside the ever-so-close Philly edition of Barcade.
There's a second Yogorino location in the works for Center City.
The always sharp-eyed Nicole Rossi checks in with intel that Yogorino, the mind-bogglingly delicious Italian yogurt shop that opened in Rittenhouse two years ago, is working on a second location at 1205 Walnut, on the same strip as Starbucks and Marabella Meatball Co. A staffer at 20th and Locust confirms that construction is underway, but there's no official word on an opening date just yet.
Philly's Barcade (1114 Frankford Ave.), in the works since the spring of 2010, is very close to opening, if a recent swingthru was any indication. Some city paperwork is all that's really holding back the five owners, who have locations in Williamsburg and Jersey City, from rolling out their craft beer/vintage video game combo concept in Fishtown.
Konstantinos Pitsillides of Kanella (1001 Spruce St.) tells Meal Ticket he'll reintroduce his Meze Sundays on Sept. 25. For those unfamiliar, once a week the Cypriot chef sets aside a la carte dinner service in favor of a prix-fixe meal featuring an arsenal of smaller plates that just keep coming. You pay $30 a head for an all-vegetarian selection, or $5 more for a food lineup featuring seafood and meat. Besides being one hell of a deal, it's a very smart way to taste through a diversity of Pitsillides' food without being KO'd by overconsumption.
Photos: Drew Lazor
Oh god it was so good.
Clue: This place was not featured in Brion Shreffler's recent piece on Mexican barbacoa in Philly.
Yesterday Critical Mass filled you in on the last-minute venue change for the highly anticipated POPPED! Music Festival — due to heavy precipitation in the forecast, the two-day show has been moved from outdoors at FDR Park to the Liacouras Center at Temple University. (Official details here.) This seemed to jeopardize the all-local Food Bazaar Meal Ticket has been telling you about (we helped curate participants), since there's simply no adequate place to fit all those trucks and vendors along that swath of North Broad, to say nothing of the permitting morass.
- Food artist Alexandre DUBOSC has created a series of zoetropes — cylindrical pieces of art that create super-cool kinetic visual effects when rotated — using almost entirely edible materials. The video is hypnotizing, particularly the chicken cake at the end.
- Actor Rainn Wilson has a bone to pick with McDonald's. When the head office asked everyone how they were doing through Twitter, Wilson responded with "Fighting diabetes from obesity." McDonald's took the bait and tried to lead Wilson toward "healthier" McDonald's choices.
- A man in Illinois broke into a Mr. Beef & Pizza last week because he was hungry. After waking up at 3 a.m. and realizing he could really use something to nibble on, he headed to the fast-food joint, smashed a window, climbed inside and made himself some chicken fingers and fries. He's being charged with burglary. His bail for having the munchies is set at $5,000.
- A New Jersey woman is in trouble for spiking her boyfriend's dinner with lines of cocaine. After some thorough research, it looks like no one knows why.
- There's a pumpkin shortage in the United States. Because of hurricanes and tropical storms, most of this fall's crop got washed out. What's left will cost more than usual, so your carving parties might get pricey. I would also suggest picking up your Libby's Pureed Pumpkin in advance for pumpkin pie making. Last time there was a pumpkin shortage, supermarkets were completely out of the stuff before Thanksgiving. It was rough.
Photo: Alexandre DUBOSC via Laughing Squid
View galleryNew Mexican bar/restaurant Loco Pez (2401 E. Norris St.) — that's "crazy fish," for our gringo readers — sneakily arrived on the Fishtown scene Tuesday. Owned by Joe Beckham of Alfa (1709 Walnut St.), the dim, unmarked, tchotchke-filled corner joint serves a straightforward cash-only menu, as the sign above the bar so kindly notes (along with some other colorful phrases en espanol). They do Mexi street food, like Cali-style corn tortillas filled with carne asada, al pastor, mushroom and chorizo/potato; guac made on the spot; and "beans diablo" and hot dogs heavily endorsed by head bartender Erik Boardman (you may recognize him from Alfa or Xochitl). There's plenty of booze, too, with more than 20 beers (six on tap), wine, 25 types of tequila and specialty tequila cocktails like the Bel Air (made with Art in the Age's RHUBY). While Loco Pez is serving dinner only at the moment, we're told a 5-to-7 happy hour begins this coming Monday, followed by the bar's first-ever Taco Tuesday, with 50-cent tacos. In a few weeks they'll be ready to dish out brunch.
UPDATE [03oct11]: Correction — Loco Pez has not launched 50-cent Taco Tuesdays as previously reported, but owner Beckham says the bar does have plans to roll out a deal of this nature sometime in the future. Meal Ticket apologizes for the error.
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