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Contests
Best of Philly 2012 voting is upon us, and best-burger contender Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.) is giving away free Churchill sliders today for the masses to sample. They did the same thing last year for Philly Mag's "Best Burger Bracket" and the tactic worked; P&K's La Frieda beast (above) beat out Village Whiskey's Whiskey King burger for that honor. They'll put out 400 sliders starting at 4 p.m., a time that happens to coincide with the bar's $1 oyster and $3 local draft happy hour. The petit patties will be free, and all the P&K crew asks in return is for you to vote for the Churchill every day until the polls close on Monday.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Japanese mega-masticator Takeru Kobayashi, whose last visit to Philly saw him crushing Osteria and Garces Trading Co. food with The 700 Level and Philly Mag, is back in town today with the aim of breaking his own cheesesteak-consumption mark. This afternoon at Harrah's (777 Harrah's Blvd.), the pro eater will try and wolf down a Tony Luke's sandwich in less than 24 seconds, his current record. He'll then perform various other regional feats of intestinal strength, such as killing a two-pound Varallo's cannoli and pizzas and mac 'n' cheese from various Harrah's restaurants. No giant bears as far as we know.
Following up last year's successful Cheese Experiment, Theo Peck and Nick Suarez are bringing another installment of their roving Food Experiments events to town — this year, approximately 25 amateur chefs will go bread to bread in a sandwich battle. Going down on Sunday, May 6 at 2 p.m. at the Underground Arts building (1200 Callowhill St.), the competition will feature contestants interpreting the sandwich theme any way they see fit, and their creations will be judged by a panel of judges that includes Emilio Mignucci of Di Bruno's and Lily Cope of COOK. Pecks tells us there are still a few slots left for competitors; head here to apply.
Aside from bragging rights, winners will receive prizes from sponsors like Le Creuset, Brooklyn Brewery and Wusthof knives. The grand prize winner will be flown (yes, flown from Philly) to Brooklyn to compete in the nationals. Whose sandwich will become king of the north? Find out by purchasing $12 tickets (includes admission, bites and a Brooklyn beer). Or try your luck here: Meal Ticket has a pair of tix to the event that we're giving away. To enter, simply LEAVE A BRIEF COMMENT ON THIS POST DESCRIBING YOUR FAVORITE PHILLY SANDWICH AND WHY IT'S YOUR FAVE. You have between right now and noon this coming Wednesday, May 2. Be sure to comment/register using an email address you check frequently, as that's how we'll alert our winner. Good luck and happy sandwiching.
View galleryFor those unfamiliar, a tuna dumpling is a Japanese sushi-spot snack typically consisting of mashed avocado and crab with spicy mayo wrapped inside a piece of tuna to create a dumpling shape. This descriptor, however, is not binding, as there are innumerable variations on the formula. Prior to the opening of Machi Sushi (209 S. 20th St.) in early March, Vic Sushi Bar (2035 Sansom St.) was the only place I'd ever seen a tuna dumpling in Philly. More recently, I come across something called a "tuna pumpkin" on the menu at Sumo Sushi (337 S. Broad St.). It automatically begged scientific exploration: How do Philly's tuna dumplings hold up when pitted against one another in an overly obsessive taste test?
In dire need of after-dark caffeination this evening? You might want to head to 18th and South at 7 p.m., where some of the best baristas in Philly will compete to make the best damn lattes they can muster. Tonight's competition at OCF Coffee House (1745 South St.) — the first one here since last summer — is April's edition of the monthly battle known as TNT (Thursday Night Throwdown). Watch baristas from all over Philadelphia duke it out for bragging rights, the pot of entrance-fee money, a poster, a bag of coffee and a gift card the nearby Pumpkin Market. As if watching a bunch of dedicated dripsters make foam art isn't enough of a draw, there will also be a Yards keg on the scene.
Photo: Drew Lazor
The Hunger Games, to the surprise of no one, destroyed the box office this past weekend. But it really freakin' raked it in, man, earning $155 million, a number that made it the third-richest debut of all time, behind only The Dark Night and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Games' straight cash cow status, of course, means we're buried up to our mockingjay broaches in unauthorized merch! Example: The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook, which features more than 150 dishes inspired by passages in Suzanne Collins' books. Each recipe, from "Katniss' baked shad" ("The bones in the shad mirror the skin and bones that our heroes are slowly becoming.") to the utilitarian "no-nonsense wheat dinner rolls" of District 13, is complete with bibliographic info referencing moments in the dystopian YA trilogy.
Meal Ticket's got a copy of the cookbook for you, so you can get a head start on planning your Blu-Ray release party that will involve forcing your college friends to wrestle each other over the last ladleful of wild groosling chili. All you've got to do, between now and 5 p.m. tomorrow, March 29, is write a caption for the image after the jump and leave it as a comment. Make it funny, make it stupid, make it memorable. And be sure you register/comment with an email address you check frequently, as that is how we'll alert our winner. May the odds be ever in your favor or whatever the fuck they say in the movie.
On March 31, the Philly chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals is hosting its first-ever dumpling-eating contest to benefit the Prodigy Program, a mentoring initiative that matches members of NAAAP with local students in coalition with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Going down at Chinatown's Sang Kee (238 N. Ninth St.), the event will crown first-, second- and third-place eaters and will be followed by a dumpling tasting for non-stuffed attendees. We're telling you about it early because the deadline to RSVP (for the contest or just to watch) is this Friday. It'll cost you $30 to compete for dumpling-inhaling supremacy and $15 to spectate ($10 if you're a NAAAP member). Email mang.chang@naaapphilly.org by March 23 to sign up. Wonder how many dumplings the victor will end up consuming ...
Photo: Drew Lazor
Bridgeport's Chick's Tavern (231 E. Fourth St.) challenges you to flex your mussels at its ninth annual Mussel Bowl, scheduled for this Sunday, Jan. 29. Chick's, well-known for its bivalves, holds the contest every year around the time of the Super Bowl as a seafood spinoff of the famed Wing Bowl. The contest itself comprises two 5-minute rounds with a 10-minute break in between; contestants must eat as many mussels as possible in each round using nothing but their bare hands.
Chick's goes through approximately 2,500 to 2,800 mussels every Bowl. "It's really just a fun day for the community," says Amy Young, granddaughter of Chick's original owner. The Irish Thunder Pipe Band performs at the contest every year, playing "Amazing Grace" in requiem for empty shells once the competition is over. Part of the $20 competitor registration fee goes to charity; this year, proceeds will beenfit Steve Savo, a retired Bridgeport police officer. Check out the Chick's Tavern website for registration info and pictures of last year's Bowl.
Got our hands on a pair of tickets to this weekend's Big Ass Beer Fest, which'll bring together 50+ high-ABV beers (think imperial, think barleywines, think doubletriplequadruple IPAs) this Saturday at Starlight Ballroom (460 N. Ninth St.). You want? All you need to do: Between right now and noon tomorrow, January 17, leave a ONE-SENTENCE COMMENT on this post convincing us why we should give these tix to you. We'll select our fave response and toss the tix — $45 in advance, $55 day-of — your way. Best of luck.
UPDATE [3:45 p.m.]: Congrats to Meal Ticket commenter emilyk, who pulls the tix with this response: "Desperately chasing BrewDog Sink the Bismarck dragon, stuck in agonizing black hole of ABV-quest-fruitlessness — please send help ASAP (aka two tickets to this weekend's Big Ass Beer Fest)." You got it chief. Happy dragon-chasing!
Back in 2007 Sam Tremble wrote a great piece about training to enter the multi-tiered "Spicy Contest" held at Moon Krapugthong's Chabaa Thai in Manayunk (4371 Main St.). Our writer, a self-proclaimed hot-food enthusiast, put his threshold for spice to the test in preparation for the barrage of heat the unforgiving Thai chef had in store for him:
I've spent the last 70 days training myself to endure painfully spicy food with the testicular fortitude of a heavyweight boxer. With Manayunk's Chabaa Thai Bistro's second annual Spicy Contest looming in the distance, I've inhaled habaneros whole and sucked hot sauce straight from the bottle, my mouth burning constantly with a sting reminiscent of cheap liquor. I've even turned down offers for free haircuts: I need my ratty locks to hide any sign of sweat from the prying eyes of the judges' panel. Yup, instead of dedicating my time and energy to more noble pursuits (organizing a protest of the war, Racing for The Cure, finding a job, etc.), I focused it entirely on expanding my capsaicin capacity.
Tremble didn't end up taking the belt, but he and everyone else will have a shot at a $1,000 cash prize in the 2012 installment of the Spicy Contest, Chabaa's fifth. Want to enter? Simply visit the restaurant between January 23 and February 29, sign a waiver (yes seriously) and dive into the first round, which requires contestants to order and consume a starter and an entrée off a special "qualification menu." The 10 entrants who display the most poise during this task (Chabaa staff judges; they're only releasing some of the parameters to ensure no one games the system) willl be invited to the final round on March 13. Whichever eater impresses a judges' panel the most on this day will snag $500 cash and $500 toward a charity of his/her choice. Full rules/regulations here. Happy burninating.
Illustration: Ryan Casey
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