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In Print
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
- Maru Global Takoyaki produces balls of (delicious) fury, at least according to our Trey Popp, who falls hard for the Japanese street-food snack Ryo and Nicole Igarashi are cooking at their 10th Street shop. "How long since I'd been this eager for a second bite?" asks Popp.
- In Spirit Sister, Felicia D whips up a low-impact cocktail perfect for spring — the PLCB Cucumber Crush, using stuff you can get at any state store.
- In Small Bites, we've got quick hits on ghost pepper hot sauce, a new kitchen at an old Fishtown bar, spring cocktailing and more.
- What's opening/about to open? Peep the latest edition of Feeding Frenzy to find out.
- Troegs tappings, rye pouring at P&K, bunny brunches and grilled cheese bonanzas detailed in What's Cooking.
- In Agenda, Emily Currier has word on the Twin Peaks-themed art show at Fishtown's Piranha Betty's — at tomorrow's First Friday reception, they'll have coffee (served black as midnight on a moonless night) and a wide selection of pie for guests.
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
- Trey Popp finds "uncommon focus and finesse" in the down-to-earth cooking at Avenida, Edgar and Kim Alvarez's fam-friendly restaurant in Mt. Airy. How good can home-style cooking be? "The answer is very good."
- Six bucks for mountains of Thai food? Can it really be any good? For sure: We eat our way through the lunch-time steam table deal at Thai Singha House To Go and tap out quite satisfied.
- Oyster shucking nuts! Fancified mod Seder dinners! Ancient Roman food! Find out what the hell we're yelling about in What's Cooking.
- Word on Dmitri's No. 3, brand-new burgerage and coffee/tea stops galore in Feeding Frenzy.
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| Manish Swarup, AP |
| The bhut jolokia is grown in Northern India |
In an AP story that ran in the Chicago Tribune yesterday, writer Wasbir Hussain reports from Gauhati, India that the Indian military is set to weaponize the chili declared "world's hottest" by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007.
The thumb-sized bhut jolokia, or ghost chili, rings up 1,000,000 Scoville units, the metric used to scientifically measure a chili's heat. In comparison, standard Tabasco sauce has 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units; jalapeno peppers can have anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000. Indian military officials have approved the chili for making tear-gas like hand grenades that will be used to immobilize suspects, including terrorists.
"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs," R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said.
Srivastava, who led a defense research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also on to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays to be used by women against attackers and for the police to control and disperse mobs.
Apparently, Anthony Gargano of 610WIP is planning to eat one live on air on the midday show next week. Also, get Han Chiang to tell you about the challenge he plans to set up. At worst, you can win a t-shirt that says "I'm Han's Bitch"!
[...] than the bhut jolokia, the spiciest pepper on the planet. You’ve probably heard about the Indian military’s plans to weaponize them as non-lethal dispersion grenades — the bhut will be so used due to their insanely high Scoville [...]
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
- First off, be sure to check out Team Meal Ticket's spring supplement! We crewed up to bring you this feature on Philly's regional pizza styles, and Felicia D checks in with this piece on the growing trend of bartenders making their own bitters.
- Trey Popp eats at popular new bruncherie Green Eggs Café and leaves pleased with both the grub and the non-preachy approach they take to environmentally sound restaurant habits.
- This Saturday night, drop by the Trocadero to catch a screening of Blood Into Wine, a pecuiliar and awesome documentary about Tool frontman Maynard Keenan growing wine grapes in northern Arizona. Here's our full review.
- In What's Cooking, Alexandra Harcharek details hella events, including tonight's $35 Bar Ferdinand tasting, the Yards Real Ale Invitational and Monday's cheese-meat-rosé night at Mémé and more.
- Word on Tabu, Gaetano's, King Kabob, Pub & Kitchen's new floor and more in Feeding Frenzy.
- A culture of beer fear? In Opinion, editor in chief Brian Howard wonders if the PLCB's recent crackdown on Philly bars will have a chilling effect on our local brew-heavy culture.
- In Agenda, Alexandra Harcharek checks in with a preview of this weekend's Yelp Philly Homegrown Party, which'll feature food and drink from a dozen different bars/restaurants.
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| Photo l Neal Santos for City Paper |
| "Simply Honest" vegan pie at Fino's Pizza |
Twice a year, Meal Ticket leaps from the Web to the print edition of City Paper for a little extra-curricular romp. Our Meal Ticket Spring '10 supplement hits newsstands today, lovingly coddled within the regular Food & Restaurants section.
Find inside Team Meal Ticket's exhaustive exploration of regionally delicious non-Neapolitan pizza; those local pies that aren't Tacconelli's, Osteria, Zavino or Stella. We've got the inside info on vegan pies made by vegan Sicilians, the secret of Greek pizzerias and the American cheese-coated mystery that is Pizazz.
Concocted from proprietary blends of botanicals, bitters are the comeback kid of the new cocktail culture. Now five local bartenders are getting back to the roots of the historical cure-all by making their own custom infusions. Their bespoke bitters range from the aromatic tincture of kaffir lime and curry leaves for Phoebe Esmon's Madras version to Poppy Brewster's tobacco-hit iteration inspired by the cigars of Havana at Alma de Cuba.
pizazzzzzz! i can at least blame it for 5 pounds of childhood chunk. I don't hate you for it though, Celebre's.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by drewlazor: If you were wondering why I've been eating pizza non-stop for the past month, check our @mealticket article: http://bit.ly/bmnwmq...
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| Photo | Jessica Kourkounis |
- Tim Hyland fills you in on Green Chartreuse, a peculiar spirit, created by Carthusian monks, that's starting to gain traction at Philly's best cocktail bars (including London Grill, above). What's it taste like? "I would say that Chartreuse tastes like Chartreuse," says Oyster House's Andy DeGiulio. Read on for clarification.
- In the inaugural installment of her new drinking column Spirit Sister, Meal Ticket's very own Felicia D'Ambrosio breaks down how Ladder 15 revamped its food and drink with the arrival of chef David Ansill. Read the piece for word on when you can get FREE grub next week.
- Philly Beer Week doesn't kick off till June 4, but those thirsty for springtime action are in luck: Tomorrow marks the beginning of Philly Beer Week(end), with tons of participating bars. Alexandra Harcharek shares her event pics in What's Cooking.
- Feeding Frenzy has word two new sushi spots — Jay's Favorite and Ro-Zu — plus tidbits on Chick-fil-A, 500° and more.
- In the news section, A Million Stories tackles the PLCB raids that went down at several popular Philly beer bars last week.
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Meal Ticket's own Felicia D'Ambrosio debuts some brand-new real estate in the print edition of this week's City Paper. Titled Spirit Sister, the bimonthly column will tackle the bar, beer and cocktail scene here in Philly. "Spirit Sister delves into the people and places that provide us with magical elixirs, soporific drams and other temptingly toxic potions," says Flea of her plan of attack. Her first installment, which'll be online a little later this evening, deals with Ladder 15 rejiggering its entire concept after the arrival of chef David Ansill. Check out Flea's previous coverage of the bar here on Meal Ticket.
Sounds like an overdue glimpse of the goings-on with most important people and places on earth: bartenders and bars.
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| Evan M. Lopez |
- Dan Packel, currently living on the other side of the world, discovers that the Philly cheesesteak has presence everywhere — even in mostly-Hindu Mumbai, where McDonald's doesn't even offer beef burgers. Should you dig in, or steer clear? Find out.
- Cheesesteak shop "design"? That's basically defined as where one decides to stack the surplus Whiz cans, right? Not anymore: steak expert Carolyn Wyman looks at two new shops — Wit or Witout and the second location of Delaware's Claymont Steak — to uncover out the motivations behind these aesthetically pleasing roll splitters.
- There's plenty to do this week in eats, so let Alexandra Harcharek be your guide: What's Cooking has details on an Amada beer dinner, a very piggy special menu at James, an Academy Awards party that also involves PJs and more.
- In Feeding Frenzy, we note the latest openings and news tidbits: check it for items the likes of Delicatessen, Apollinare, Ro-Zu and Hawthornes.
- Over in Agenda, Josh Middleton does a great job chatting up Bill "El Wingador" Simmons about Swallow Your Pride, about a new documentary on Philly's very own Wing Bowl. Wait till you get to the part about what runs through El Wingador's mind every time he sees a live chicken.
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
- In his last review for City Paper (sniffle), one of our favorite dudes, David Snyder, takes on Michael Schulson's sleek Sampan on 13th Street. He discovers that the star chef's non-traditional renditions of Asian fare are big on flavor. (Read an exit interview with David here.)
- We peruse the pages of journalist Max Watman's Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures in Moonshine for booze clues and end up finding some interesting Philly connections.
- In What's Cooking, Alexandra Harcharek tells you about tuna tastings at Blackfish, a food-ish social media panel (featuring one of us!), a Seussical special menu and more.
- Feeding Frenzy has word of three openings this week (Philly Sweettooth, Doma and the revamped Xochitl), plus a few other fun details.
- Josh Middleton breaks down this weekend's Pabst Blue Ribbon crafting challenge in Agenda.
- City Food Tours is holding a hungry man's trek around Philly in support of this year's massive Flower Show. Harcharek has details.
- One more in the Agenda section: Next Wednesday there'll be a tea party (a literal tea party, no Obama effigies) at the Rosenbach to coincide with the release of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. (The Rosenbach has ultra-rare first editions of the Lewis Carroll classic on display.)
Though perhaps better known as the gritty-glam late-night hangout for restaurant industry folk, the Pen & Pencil Club (1522 Latimer St.) has been a members-only club for journalists since 1892, making it the oldest continuously operating press club in America and the second oldest in the world. Full members, who must be working press, will have a chance to learn about the current state of instant food journalism when Philadelphia Magazine food editor Ashley Primis hosts Foodies, Chefs & The Blogosphere at 7:30 p.m. on Wed., March 3.
The panel discussion, part of the P&P's Off The Record event series, will include chef Michael Schulson of Sampan and Izakaya at the Borgata in Atlantic City, third-generation restaurateur Sam Mink of Oyster House, Foobooz blogger Art Etchells, Fries With That Shake blogmistress Jess Ward and our own Meal Ticket/City Paper food and restaurants editor, Drew Lazor.
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