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Dealage
With the Spanish night-loving lifestyle in mind, Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran will debut a new late-night specials menu at Jamonera starting on Monday, March 19. Night owls will enjoy a $2 rotating tapas menu that features fried chorizo-stuffed olives and sheep's milk cheese with membrillo, as well as $3 beer, $4 sangria, $5 glasses of wine and a $15 sherry tasting. Turney will also be offering "kitchen staff snacks," $5-to-$10 dishes she makes for her employees after the hustle/bustle has died down. Dishes include desayuno ("breakfast"), Spanish fried egg, ibores cheese, papas fritas and a choice of house-ground chorizo or grilled veggies; "jamón & waffles," Serrano ham-studded waffles with smoked mahon ice cream, maple syrup and crispy pork belly; and Marcie’s Kitchen Snack Fries, Serrano-wrapped fries with aged sheep's milk cheese and truffled sea salt. The late-night eats will be available Sunday through Thursday from 10 to 11:30 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Jamonera
As you may have noticed, I really like the El Bar (1356 N. Front St.). Part of the draw of the Fishtown watering hole is how cheap it is, thrifty pricing that extends to what they call the Kensington Happy Meal. For a measly $5, you get two hot dogs, a PBR tall boy, a bag of chips and a prize. The idea originates with one of the bartenders, whom everyone refers to as Fish. "A lot of construction workers come in here for lunch and happy hour. They're always ordering hot dogs and beer, so [Fish] figured, 'Why not put it all together and make it a special?'" says Christi Finley, who's worked at El Bar for more than three years. The bar has been offering this special (not to be confused with the Citywide) for a few months and plans to keep it going until interest dies down. The deal stops at 7 p.m., so if you're planning to make a night of it, get there early.
Photo: Alexandra Weiss
Amis (412 S. 13th St.) had to push its first-Monday Industry Night back a week for March, giving the Belgian-beer mafiosi who staff Monk's, Fergie's and Belgian Café ample time to navigate their cellars and blow dust off the good stuff. We hear Monk's capo Tom Peters will be showing up this Monday, March 12 with a cache of large-format bottles of who-knows-what, complementing Dock Street drafts, Sly Fox cans, Italian large-formats via Alla Spina and the "Red Velvet," a beer cocktail combining Monk's Sour Ale, San Pellegrino Chinotto and creme de violette.
View galleryWHERE YOU AT? I stopped at Stateside (1536 E. Passyunk Ave.) during that unseasonably warm spell a couple weeks ago. The bartenders had flung the windows wide open and the steady din of cars stopping, starting and rumbling around the Passyunk Fountain provided some good ol' South Philly background noise as a friend and I chatted over half-price drafts.
Mike Stollenwerk has quietly augmented the happy-hour at Fish (1234 Locust St.) we told you about early this month. The weeknight dealage, which originally range from 5 to 6 p.m. only, now extends to 7 p.m., and includes the offer of 99-cent oysters for the duration. Buck-a-shuck rules now also apply to Fish's late-night happy hours, which go down from 11 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Three-dollar crafft beers, $5 wines and a $6 cocktail of the day still apply.
Photo: Courtesy of Fish
Bartenders and brunch go together about as well as Krazy Glue and kittens, so cheers to Al Sotack of the Beard-nom'd Franklin for fighting through the pain for a bourbon-ified event this Sunday at Farmers' Cabinet (1113 Walnut St.). He'll join F-Cab booze boss Phoebe Esmon at noon on Feb. 26 to mix up a complimentary bowl of punch using Angel's Envy bourbon out of Kentucky. Brunch at the Cabinet runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Center City District Restaurant Week is always a cash cow, but Chestnut Hill and its business association will not be outdone — in March, the neighborhood debuts a Restaurant Month boasting prix-fixe deals Sunday to Thursday at 24 different Hill locales. Each restaurant will do three-course meals for either $19.95 or $29.95; some spots are doing breakfast and lunch specials, as well. Participants locations include Campbell's Place, Chestnut 7 Bar & Restaurant, Heirloom, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, McNally's Tavern and Mica, the latter of which just landed on GQ critic Alan Richman's Best New Restaurants in America list. More details at chestnuthillpa.com.
Photo: Neal Santos
WHERE YOU AT? The biting cold this week has me longing for spring, so I went hunting for it at Mixto (1141 Pine St.), hoping its Latin influence could put a little sizzle in my step. My girl S and I arrived at 5 p.m. and sat at a high-top near the downstairs bar. We languished for a little while before realizing walking up to the bar to order drinks was the right move. Got our mojitos and miniature pinchos (grilled meat skewers) shortly after.
WHAT'S THE SCENE? All the natural wood and brick at Mixto is gorgeous, and in the summer they get their Miami-on-Pine thing going with outdoor seating. (They'll put tables out in the winter if the weather is temperate.) Inside has a good vibe, though, with upbeat Latin music and a menu largely inspired by Cuba and the Caribbean, further speaking to my need for spring. Even as early as 5, quite a few people were already seated for dinner. Most of the crowd looked to be in their late 30s, not a big surprise since the spot has been around eight years in a relatively affluent neighborhood — the clientele's a definite reflection of the stability of the place.
WHAT'S THE DEAL? I was happy we went on a $5 mojito day, since that minted rum drink was what my warm-weather heart was craving. This special rotates throughout the week: five-buck mojitos on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then $5 margaritas on Tuesday and Thursday. In addition, all Latin beers are $3, and they offer a couple small bites to enjoy alongside. My favorite $2 pincho was the chipotle barbecue chicken. I somehow managed to say no to the $1 empanadas, though it was awfully hard to deny something both fried and priced at a single dollar. All of Mixto's HH dealage runs weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
Mazel tovs are in order for 943 (943 S. Ninth St.), Pascual Cancelliere's hearty Arge-talian BYOB, which celebrated its first birthday on Friday. To celebrate, Pat's starting Sunday Suppers this weekend. Much like the custom in local Italian-American households, "In Argentina on Sundays you'd eat pasta, but also the meat that's been cooking for hours, be it chicken, pork or beef." Think sauce-braised chicken thighs, short ribs with ravioli or puchero, a "soup-like dish with sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots and chicken or beef. We add cut-up pasta right to the broth." Cancelliere says the featured recipes will change every couple of weeks, but they’ll always have plenty of Quilmes on hand, a crisp Argentine pilsner poured complimentary on Sundays.
Photo: Neal Santos
Came across Iron Tower (56 N. Ninth St., 215-485-7399) yesterday afternoon on the walk back from the newly opened Ramen Boy. About two months old, it's a tiny sandwich shop and creperie owned by Mitchell Ho, a classically trained native of Vietnam who spent the better part of 30 years cooking in Paris, most notably at La Gauloise in the 15th Arrondissement. The trilingual Ho, who's been in Philly for about three years, initially ran Iron Tower as a proper French/Viet pastry shop, hawking cream puffs and pate de chocolat, but business was too slow; he's since rejiggered his offerings to focus on sweet crepes (strawberry, banana, Nutella, etc.) and the best-priced banh mi around. He's charging $3 flat for a straight-up Ba Le-rolled sandwich — BBQ pork, chicken, beef, ham or crispy tofu dressed with mayo or olive oil, lettuce, pickled shredded carrot and crazy-spicy bird chili (upon request). Ho says he might be able to accommodate requests for Gallic sweets, too, if you call ahead. Iron Tower is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Photo: Drew Lazor
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