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Meal Ticket
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So Team Meal Ticket cranked out its 1000th post last week. We remember how shocked we were when we hit 100. Crazy.
We'd like to thank all our amazing readers for checking out the blog and making it so much fun for us. To our fellow bloggers, thanks for showing us all the link love.
We'd also like to ask y'all something. How are we doing? What do you like on Meal Ticket? What don't you like? What do you want more (or less) of? Thoughts, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated and encouraged. Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
Cheers!
More food! Just kidding, keep up the good work. Congrats.
I love Meal Ticket! I want more of Felicia's delicious recipes... The good word is awesome too. You guys are doing a great job!
Love the updates. Just wish it was better formatted on my blackberry. I have to scroll down a ton to read the text.
Meal Ticket is my favorite food blog in Philly! I'm a big fan of the Top Chef recaps, the good word and where did we eat. How about more video features?
My favorite posts are the "Where did I eat...?" posts. Fun stuff. Everything is great.
Dude(s), your blog is awesome. I would like to see: (a) more posts about how much better Philadelphia is than other cities. (b) A post publicly shaming every establishment in the city that uses cheese sauce instead of melted cheese on their nachos. (c) more posts on where to buy food items (for example, rotisserie chicken from Superfresh vs Bobby Chez vs Dienner's) (d) interviews with people who run the produce stands at the Italian Market. Happy birthday, and congratulations!
Congrats! 10,000 is not out of the question (and considering you just hit 100 nine months ago, is likely in the near future). Flea, please bring back Top 5.
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DISH, our annual dining and restaurant guide, hits the streets tomorrow, May 14! A copy will be inserted into every City Paper � be sure to pick one up. While we don't want to give away the stories inside, here are a few quotable teasers to whet your appetite:
- "Blend. Blend some more. And some more. Blend the hell out of it until it's smooth and creamy. You could leave the food processor on max and go take a shower and the hummus would be better for it."
- "Sometimes, I feel that since this is a gay bar, some people can be a bit wary about coming in to eat."
- "I don't even want to call it a soup kitchen ... it feels more like a dining hall."
- "Everyone is pretty much sworn to secrecy. � [They] know not to sell any of the recipes or give them away."
- "Beware: Though tasty, they are probably the heaviest, greasiest snacks on the planet."
Check out last year's DISH here.
5/14: got print edition CP at glenside library. bits of torn paper fell out. got curious. checked other copies. found just one copy of DISH, significantly vandalized, among maybe 20 CPs that had no more than a few more torn pieces left from insert. the CPs themselves looked otherwise normal. removal had been done without damaging or even disturbing anything else. any idea what's going on? is DISH that popular? or hated?
That's super weird. Why tear it up, anyway? If you're going take the DISH insert out why leave some behind? What a mystery.
d nova: Somebody out there must love us! If you send your mailing address to me at drew.lazor@citypaper.net, I would be more than happy to shoot you a copy of DISH.
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We're proud to say that we've reached our 100th post here on Meal Ticket. In honor of the occasion, we decided to compile a short list of special posts/highlights from our first two months in existence. And don't forget about our recurring features — Where'd We Eat?, Brew Revue and Snack Time (more on the way).
A long-overdue public shoutout to CP's own Alyssa Grenning, who designed our sweet logo. And a sincere thanks to everyone who's read, commented and linked so far. Keep it up! We'll do the same.
- Felicia D.'s recipe for lamb sliders on Wild Flour Bakery buns
- CHOP TILL YOU DROP: An inside look at Butcher & Singer
- THE MEAL TICKET INTERVIEW: Sandra Lee
- Cooking candied kimchi with Snackbar chef Joshua Homacki
- THE MEAL TICKET INTERVIEW: Chef Jesse Kimball, Memphis Taproom
- Felicia D.'s recipe for late-summer marinara
- THE MEAL TICKET INTERVIEW: Gordon Grubb, Brewmaster, Nodding Head
- WORLD SHUCKING CHAMPIONS: Meal Ticket vs. The Oysters
- Albany food critic B.A. Nilsson's take on the Philly restaurant scene
- WHAT WE CHEW IS SECRET: Chefs' Guilty Pleasures
- Talking with Trail of Crumbs author Kim Sunée
- "Free Bird" and foie gras milkshares: Top Chef's Richard Blais cooks in Philly
- Laffa riot: Old World baking at Zahav
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| Gimme that, you don't appreciate it. |
Pizza, the greatest gift the Italians gave to the masses since bread and circuses, is a hotly debated topic in Philadelphia. Having lived here all my life, I still don't know where the best pizza in town is made. I do know that most pizzerias in Philadelphia turn out a pie with a thicker crust and sweeter sauce than I want, and those that make thin crusts usually fall victim to floppiness and the dreaded goo layer created by the unbaked dough sopping up sauce.
True Neopolitan-style pizza is characterized by a thin, crisp crust from brick oven baking and has its own DOC designation. New York-style pizza is the most commonly sold style in the United States; floppy, foldable slices with any kind of topping you want. St. Louis pizza is square, with a cracker-like crust and a specific cheese, Provel. The limitless interpretations of pizza should have provided Philadelphia with a style all its own, but sadly, ordering a pizza here is hardly more than a $20 gamble.
Where is the good pizza in this town? Readers, vote your personal favorite, make the case for the pizza parlor of your childhood ... help us crown a pizza prince in this metropolis of proles.
The CP editorial department nominates a few of their old reliables:
Food editor Drew Lazor leans on Lazaro's for all-around pizza needs in G-Ho.
News editor Doron Taussig raves about Angelino's in Fairmount.
Marra's, on Passyunk Ave. in South Philly, is assistant copy editor Nancy Armstrong's go-to.
Philadelphia needs you! Vote Pizza in '08!
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| Dol-sot bibimbap |
| thehikari.blogspot.com |
Taco Riendo has heeded its (apparently party animal) customers' call to add weekend brunch — which they dub Cruda Weekends. "Cruda", they write on the Northern Liberties message board, "is the hangover that results from drinking lots of beer or alcohol while having a great time."
The Fifth Street taqueria sits just beyond Girard Avenue — the driving edge of Northern Liberties — and has made a name for itself serving exceptionally fresh salsa, enchiladas and any kind of taco you could wish for. The Cruda Weekend brunch menu introduces scrambled egg tacos with add-ins like chorizo, oaxaca cheese, jamon and nopales (prickly pear); chilate, a "super spicy chicken soup"; and a thick atole chocolate-based drink called champurrado, served hot.
Meanwhile, over on Liberties Walk, Hikari is adding traditional Korean items to its existing Japanese menu. The dol-sot bibimbap is an tempting medley of rice, egg, mushrooms and vegetables served in a flaming hot stone pot, the dol-sot. The dol-sot is lightly lubricated with sesame oil, and the rice in contact with the hot pot gets toasted and crispy. That crunchy layer of rice, called noo-roong-jee, can be mixed with water or hot barley tea and eaten as a soup to end your meal. Korean barbecued ribs and vegetarian jap-che noodles are also featured on the new menu.
We got Mexican for breakfast, we got Korean for lunch, and we don't need to go below Poplar to get it.
Taco Riendo, 1301 N. Fifth St., 215-235-2294
Hikari, 1040 N. American St., #701 on Liberties Walk, 215-923-2694
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Welcome to Meal Ticket, City Paper's brand-new food and drink blog. There will be much more here very soon.
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