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Chef Salad
Last year's "Down the Shore" party at Zahav (237 St. James Place), to which we gave away tix via extremely difficult Jersey Shore-themed trivia challenge, was one of the most fun cheffy events we've had the pleasure of attending in Philly. Looks like newly minted James Beard winner Michael Solomonov is going for Round 2 in 2011 — on Thursday, June 30, they'll start the July 4 holiday weekend right with "Down the Shore 2: The Zahav Boat." First of all: buahaha. OK actual info now: The Love Boat-themed evening ($60 a head) will feature all-you-can-eat/drink offerings from returning participants Pierre Calmels (Bibou), David Katz (Mémé), John Taus (The Corner) and Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette), with first-timers Jennifer Carroll and Monica Glass of 10 Arts joining the festivities. For entertainment, there'll be a '70s DJ, a lounge singer and karaoke. Guests are encouraged to rock "cruise wear." Yessssss.
Le Bec-Fin don Georges Perrier is setting up shop on the Main Line — Narberth, to be exact. Starting June 1, you'll be able to get a whole slew of baked goods at his newest outpost, The Art of Bread by Georges Perrier (920 Montgomery Ave.). Perrier plans to offer Lyonnaise treats and (obviously) housemade bread — to top it off, all the pastries the shop will carry will come from LBF pastry chef Cedric Barberet.
The hybrid bakery/café space will have both a takeout section and an eat-in area, with sandwich offerings like the River Deli (Reuben-style smoked salmon with gruyere, sauerkraut and grainy mustard on sourdough) and the classic Croque Madame (goat cheese, caramelized onions, gruyere and an egg on sourdough). Sandwiches clock in at $8, made only more reasonable by the fact that they include a side salad and dessert. A larger prepared-food menu is in the works, and you can expect to pay in the area of $2.25 for a slice of cake, or $25 for the whole thing. The Art of Bread will also offer catering services for parties of as many as 250.
Those who wish they could transpose a Jose Garces dining experience to their homes and workplaces can now rest easy — Garces Catering is now a reality. Customized menus from each of Garces' restaurants are available, and for events with 150 guests or more, they've got a variety of different set menus. (Booze, however, has to be provided by the host.) Guapos Tacos, the fantastic Garces-owned taco truck, is in on the plan. You can charter the mobile tortilla filler for events that last more than an hour and involve 50 or more guests.
Philly native Michael Schwartz, a 2010 James Beard winner (Best Chef: South) for his cooking at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami and Grand Cayman, is making the most of his mid-June trip to his hometown for Marc Vetri's Great Chefs Event. On Wednesday, June 15, the night after the fundraiser, he'll hop into the kitchen with Brad Spence of Amis (412 S. 13th St.) to cook a four-course dinner collaboratively dubbed "Genuine Amis." The meal — inspired by recipes out of Schwartz's new Michael’s Genuine Food: Down-To-Earth Cooking for People Who Love to Eat — costs $100 a head and will include a copy of the cookbook. Tix available online; rundown of the comfy-sounding coursework after the jump.
Chef Tim McGinnis, who was just featured in last week's Meal Ticket Magazine, tells us he's no longer cooking, brining and smoking at South Philly market Plenty (1710 E. Passyunk Ave.) — looks like he's heading to the Emerald Isle instead. McGinnis, who recently completed a graduate degree at St. Joseph's, sends along the following statement about his plans:
After building a strong foundation at Plenty and finishing my graduate work in Food Marketing I'm making the leap into the corporate world. However. before I become part of the establishment I'm taking one long trip to my motherland, Ireland to be exact. The land of Guinness and pasty white skin to live with friends and take in the sacrifices my ancestors, my people endured to make a better life for me and the rest of my family here in the U.S. a hundred or so years ago.
No official word just yet on who will be replacing McGinnis at Plenty, but we'll keep you posted.
UPDATE [20may11]: Plenty owner Jesse Spalletta checks in with the following info: "As you know, Tim is no longer with Plenty. Other than that change, everything else will remain the same. It should be a seamless transition. There are no plans to replace Tim, we have a great kitchen staff and will be adding a couple supporting roles."
Before opening their BYOB Fond (1617 E. Passyunk Ave.) with partner Tory Keomanivong, chefs Lee Styer and Jessie Prawlucki cooked together at Walnut Street’s gilt French colony, Le Bec-Fin (1523 Walnut St.). Last year, the betrothed hosted a collaborative dinner that included former LBF chef Pierre Calmels; on Monday, May 23, they’ll bring in Le Bec’s current top toque, Nicholas Elmi, as well as The Man Himself, Georges Perrier. (Considering Fond’s teensy-weensy quarters, we hope Georges keeps the screaming to a minimum.) The dinner is five courses for $75 and includes springy things like fluke crudos and cherry tarts. Peep the menu in its entirety, after the jump.
The 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards go down tonight in NYC, and we here at Meal Ticket would like to wish the best of luck to Zahav's Michael Solomonov (up for "Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic"), Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin (their flagship Vetri is up for "Outstanding Restaurant") and Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione (up for "Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional"). Get 'em, gents.
UPDATE [10:10 p.m.]: HUGE congratulations to Zahav's Michael Solomonov for taking home the "Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic" win! Here's a shot of him chillin' backstage, via the Beard Foundation's blog. He represents the Philly region's sole victory of the evening. The "Outstanding Restaurant" award went to Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park, while Dogfish Head's Calagione was beaten out by Julian P. Van Winkle III of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery for "Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional." Cheers to all the nominees for the honor, regardless.
Chef Scott Schroeder of South Philly Tap Room (1509 Mifflin St.) is teaming up with meat man Nick Macri of Southwark (701 S. Fourth St.) to roll out Scott Dogs, a hot dog cart that'll be tapped for farmers markets, festivals, gatherings and special events — including SPTR's May 21 Wheat Beer Festival, the tentative launch date for the operation. Macri is making franks — with a snappy bite, like the ones Schroeder grew up eating in Detroit — strictly from scratch. The plan is to boil up the links in Kenzinger, and then offer up a simple array of toppings, stuff like beef heart chili (another Detroit staple), cheese sauce, homemade relish and other go-tos. Though the May 21 date is not yet set in stone, Schroeder has hopes to roll Scott Dogs out to happenings like the Food Trust Night Market and the Phoenixville farmers market this summer.
We here at Team Meal Ticket are quite excited about the full-color Meal Ticket-themed magazine that's coming out next Thursday, May 12, in all copies of City Paper and all copies of the Philadelphia Business Journal, our media partner for this effort. The publication, which will feature some great longer-than-a-blog-post writing from the likes of Adam Erace, Felicia D'Ambrosio and others, was a chance to harness the oft-frenetic approach we take here on he web and parlay it into a fully realized mag. Can't wait for everyone to check it out.
While the magazine drops on the 12th, there's also a launch event on Wednesday, May 11 that you should know about. From 5 to 7 p.m., come to Trust (249 Arch St.) for cocktails and eats from some of our favorite restaurants, including Delicatessen, Koo Zee Doo, Maru Global, Marabella Meatball Co., Oyster House and more (full participant list after the jump). The food and drink will be accompanied by a panel discussion co-moderated by PBJ BizBites columnist Peter Van Allen and myself. Featured panelists include: Michael Schulson of Sampan and Izakaya, Mitch Prensky of Supper, Moon Krapugthong of Chabaa Thai and Dana Herbert of Delaware's Desserts by Dana, winner of the TLC reality show Next Great Baker.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay, who opened Philly's Bobby's Burger Palace roughly a year back and also inspired a Rihanna-themed headline we're not especially proud of, is visiting the city this Saturday, April 30 — aka the 10th annual "Comcast Cares Day" — to build a 250-square-foot, 240-seedling community garden for the Lauretha Vaird Boys & Girls Club at 4800 Whitaker Avenue. Construction will take place between 9 a.m. and noon. The Good Food Garden program, sponsored by Food Network, Share Our Strength and Teich Garden Systems, will also oversee the building of community gardens in Baltimore, Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Chicago, Houston, St. Paul, Ft. Lauderdale and Knoxville.
Peep our artsy photo of Flay, by the way! How stoic.
Photo: Drew Lazor
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