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Food Events
The Headhouse Shambles have been home to the crown jewel of the The Food Trust's urban farmers market thrust for years now, so we're excited to learn that marketeers will soon get a chance to pull double duty at Second and Lombard. Tomorrow, Bobby Logue and Tom Henneman of Bodhi Coffee (410 S. Second St.) are meeting with the South Street Headhouse District to hammer out details of a new Friday-night market they plan to launch this spring. In contrast to Sunday morning's farmer- and restaurant-heavy lineup, this new weekly fixture will showcase the wares of local manufacturers.
We first talked to the folks at Philadelphia Mobile Food Association (PMFA) back in December when they were organizing their first-ever meeting — and still calling themselves the Philadelphia Food Truck Association. Founding member Andrew Gerson of Strada Pasta says they decided on a name change to make things more inclusive — vendors of all kinds are welcome to share their thoughts and voices with the organization.
They'll get a chance tomorrow, January 11, from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m., when the PMFA holds its second meeting at the Free Library (1901 Vine St., fourth floor). They'll get into the nuts and bolts of the association, including the formation of committees and the election of a board of directors. Discussion will also focus on the three communal vendor lots the PMFA hopes to get up and running soon, which would allow multiple vendors to operate at private gathering places. Gerson emphasizes that Philly eaters, and not just business owners, are encouraged to attend the meeting. “These food trucks are for Philadelphians," he says. "[Customers] should let us know where they want the food trucks and why."
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
You've been to pub crawls — but how about a Dishcrawl? The West Coast-based startup is hosting its first event in Philly on Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., organized by ambassador Michelle Cryder.
"I've lived in Philly for the past five years and I recently spent about six months in San Jose. Dishcrawl is huge there, and the concept immediately made me think of home," says Cryder. "We've got so many incredible restaurants in easily walkable neighborhoods, and I loved the idea of giving people an opportunity to get a crash course in a certain neighborhood's food. I think it's a great way for food nerds like myself to get to know their city and have a pretty rare opportunity to actually meet the people preparing it."
Jennifer Zavala, the former El Camino Real chef and Top Chef contestant who's working on launching the Cherry Bomb Bus, will start hosting monthly female-driven industry nights, cleverly titled Hen's Revenge. This is not to say bros aren't allowed to attend; it's just that the bar and kitchen of whatever venue hosts the event will be staffed exclusively by female talent. "There's a lot of dudeness in the restaurant industry," says Zavala. "I want to get the girls out from hiding behind the line so they can get the culinary credit they deserve."
Slated for the third Monday of each month, each Hen's Revenge will highlight different female chefs and bartenders. Jen Choplin of Watkins Drinkery (1712 S. 10th St.), Lisa Howell of Resurrection Ale House (2425 Grays Ferry Ave.) and RAH bartender Molly O'Neill will kick off the series on the 23rd; they'll serve dishes like lamb shawarma nachos, andouille pigs in a blanket and lentil/mushroom vegan meatloaf at Teri's (1126 S. Ninth St.). It'll run from 10 p.m. to last call or until the food runs out. Standard industry-night rules apply — show a bar/restaurant paystub at the door to get in; free food, pay as you go for drinks (there will be specials). For updates, follow the Cherry Bomb Bus on Facebook and Twitter.
West Philly's Fiume (229 S. 45th St., second floor) is presenting an excellently boozy event this holiday season: their second annual Whiskey Week, which kicked off Dec. 30 and runs through this Sunday Jan. 11. The cozy, living-room-size bar is currently stocking 100 types of whiskey, with a heavy focus on bourbon and rye. Though you can try anything you want neat, on the rocks or in a flight (prices range between $4 and $60), Kevin James Holland, the man behind it all, will also be mixing specialty cocktails, including the Holland Tunnel, his take on a Manhattan. "[The idea] was really just an excuse to turn Fiume into my dream bar for 10 days," says Holland. Look out for bottles like 18-year Sazerac Rye, Tuthilltown Manhattan rye and baby bourbon and Hirsch Small Batch, rarities that will be specially poured for the duration.
UPDATE [3:30 p.m.]: Holland checks in with news that he's extending Whiskey Week through this coming Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Andrew Gerson of the yet-to-launch Strada Pasta and the burgeoning Philadelphia Food Truck Association recently teamed up with Pitruco Pizza (see Adam Erace's review) to open a street-food commissary at 26 Mt. Airy Avenue in Mt. Airy, right near Earth Bread + Brewery. But serving as a certified home-base kitchen for the two mobile operations is only part of the plan for the space — they're also using it as a venue, hosting public and private events, "laidback chef tables" and tastings in the evenings. They've got the capability to do 20- to 25-person communal tables, as well as a scattering of four- and six-tops on the commissary floor. "The idea is a fun, relaxed BYO feel, relatively inexpensive," says Gerson, who will host the commissary's first event of 2012 this Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. (Here's more info.) The plan is for Gerson and Co. to host events on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; he also wants to move into pastamaking classes after he launches his truck in March.
Photo: Andrew Gerson
Before Brad Spence joined the Vetri family, eventually becoming chef/partner at Amis (412 S. 13th St.), he cooked at Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s Spaniard Casa Mono in New York. (That's actually him on the far left of the NYT photo above.) The C.M. crew will be coming down the Jersey Turnpike on Jan. 2 for an Industry Night extravaganza featuring whole animals. Mono’s got goat (liver-stuffed artichokes, loin tartare with cardamom yogurt, olive oil-poached with creamed Tuscan kale, neck paella), while Spence's squad is turning goose into ragu and cotechino and serving the bird's crispy leg with blood orange marmalade. For dessert: pizzelle sandwiches filled with semifreddo and gooseberries. Usual Industry Night rules and times (10 p.m.-1 a.m.) apply.
New Year's Eve is up there with Valentine's and Mother's Day in terms of restaurant cashcowitude, so opulent tasting menus with hefty prix-fixe price tags and shmancy wine pairings is often the move. But two local hangs are pulling a casual 180 for Dec. 31.
"We're pumped about the seven fishes," chef Brad Spence tells Meal Ticket. This Friday, Dec. 23, at Amis (412 S. 13th St.), he's cooking baccala, monkfish, eel and more aquatic creatures for the classic Italian-American repast. "This is the second year we’re doing it. It's become a huge hit." Spence didn't grow up feasting on flounder on Dec. 24, "but now my Irish-rooted family won't have Christmas Eve any other way." The four-course dinner, which features dishes like housemade squid ink linguine (above), is $65 per person, and we’ve got the full menu after the jump.
Photo: Brad Spence on Twitter
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