Menu Time

Ranstead Room's new cocktail menu

POSTED: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 4:08 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Menu Time

Stephen Starr's sexy speakeasy, The Ranstead Room (2013 Chestnut St), just released its new fall cocktail list and Meal Ticket is the first place you can find it. The list represents the first change from Ranstead's opening version and is heavily geared toward the season, with drinks like MJG (Scotch, allspice and lemon juice) and Golden Delicious (applejack, honey, lemon juice), as well as the once off-menu Quill Adam Erace really liked back when he reviewed the Double R.

Notes from the Weekend: Nov. 8 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-09 10:51:02

[...] a drink at the bar at Tinto (114 S. 20th St.) before going around the corner to try some of the new cocktails at the Ranstead Room (2013 Chestnut St.). I got a “bartender’s choice” with gin and creme de cacao [...]

Tweets that mention Ranstead Rooms New Cocktail Menu :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-11-03 18:17:34

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Starr Restaurants. Starr Restaurants said: It's always 5 o'clock somewhere. Time to check out Ranstead Room's new fall drink menu. http://ow.ly/342Xc [...]

Foobooz » Quick Bites

Posted 2010-11-02 14:31:15

[...] Ranstead Room goes seasonal with its fall drinks menu. [Meal Ticket] [...]

Posted by Anthony Sica @ 4:08 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Irish Whiskey and Portuguese Food, Together at Last?

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 10:41 PM

Filed Under: Food Events | Menu Time | Stiff Drank

Think Jameson only comes in a shot glass at the ass-end of a bachelor party? Think again, says Phoebe Esmon, newly installed head bartender at Catahoula--congrats, Feebs!--and President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the U.S. Bartenders' Guild. "Since most brands are a mix of peated and unpeated malt, the Irish whiskies typically exhibit a lighter bodied, smooth, approachable profile in comparison to their single malt cousins to the north. This results in their popularity for shooting or sipping neat or on ice," explains Esmon, who, with Noble's Christian Gaal, is putting on a Jameson dinner on Tuesday., November 2, at KooZeeDoo. "Do not be fooled, however, into thinking Irish whiskey hasn't enough body for cocktails: it just requires a steady hand and a nice sense of proportion to create delicious potations with this under-utilized and mouth-watering spirit." Some of those delicious potations will include Jameson with a ginger-coriander shrub (sort of a colonial vinegar-based soda); Jameson with Amaro and cinnamon dram; and Jameson's 12-year-old pure-pot-distilled Redbreast whiskey with falernum and apple cider. Five cocktails will be paired with five courses from KooZeeDoo's David Gilberg. (Check out what dude is cookin' here.) The dinner is $120 per couple, with seating at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Call the restaurant for reservations.

Posted by Adam Erace @ 10:41 PM Permalink | Post a comment

NOW OPEN: Cafe L'Aube Part Deux

POSTED: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:43 PM

Filed Under: Menu Time | Openings | Photos

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Jean-Luc Fanny, who introduced Café L'Aube to South Street in 2008, has opened his second location, at 1631 Wallace Street (corner of 17th). The new location, which debuted quietly late last week, is larger than the Ivory Coast native's first coffee shop/creperie, but it does offer the same menu (only difference they do dense, chewy Liège-style waffles here instead of lighter Brussels-style) and same hours (Mon.-Thu., 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri., 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun., 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.). Check out the full menu after the jump. Fanny, who processes his own coffee beans at a facility in South Philly, is offering both dark and medium roasts in addition to espresso here at this address.

Click to enlarge

Michelle

Posted 2010-10-19 14:55:55

They did just a lovely job with the space, love the green exterior!

Diana

Posted 2010-10-28 21:22:31

Love the ambience as well as the coffee and crepes.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 7:43 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Menus for The Sofitel's new Liberté

POSTED: Monday, October 18, 2010, 8:16 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Menu Time | Openings

Liberté, the new restaurant concept in The Sofitel (120 17th St.), is officially open. Here, in PDF format, are the lunch, dinner, all-day dining and cocktail menus. Entrée prices on chef Kevin Levett's dinner menu top at $22 for a saffron- and tarragon-scented bouillabaise; same price for a winter-friendly duck cassoulet dish. Signature drinks, developed by mixologist Marc Yanga and thoughtfully paired up with food off the menu, include an Autumn's Fashioned (Beam, ginger, pear, cranberry, sugar) and the Provence (Plymouth gin, Carpano Antica, maraschino liqueur, Provence bitters).

Michelle

Posted 2010-10-18 15:22:40

Yum, that gnocchi sounds delicious

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 8:16 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Fuel's Center City menu

POSTED: Monday, October 18, 2010, 5:49 PM

Filed Under: Menu Time | Openings

Rocco Cima, owner of South Philly's Fuel (1917 E. Passyunk Ave.), says his Center City location at 1225 Walnut should be ready to within a few weeks' time. For now, take a peek at the planned menu for the further-north outpost after the jump. Cima also passes along a coupon (click here to get it in JPG form) for 10 percent off at either location. It expires at the end of November, so looks like Cima is confident he'll get numero dos open before then.


Click to enlarge

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Oct. 18-22 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-25 08:02:16

[...] Rocco Cima shares the opening menu for his upcoming Fuel location in Center City. [...]

Furthering the quick/healthy trend: Sweetgreen opens in Ardmore next week :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-02-08 11:22:55

[...] as of late. First was Rocco Cima’s Fuel (1917 E. Passyunk Ave.), which just debuted its Center City location (1225 Walnut St.); Loving Hut, the all-vegan operation at 742 South Street; Freshii, which should [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 5:49 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Sunday: Second Annual Farmhouse Ale Dinner at South Philly Tap Room

POSTED: Thursday, October 14, 2010, 7:00 PM

Filed Under: Chef Salad | Food Events | Menu Time

As Rachel Burgos told you in What's Cooking this week, there are still a few tickets left for Sunday's Farmhouse Ale Dinner at South Philly Tap Room (1509 Mifflin St.). The food and beer fest is scheduled from 5 to 9 (yes, they will be putting the Phillies game on at 8); tix cost $50, are all-you-can-eat/all-you-can-drink and include both tax and tip. After the jump, check out what SPTR chef Scott Schroeder and his friends from Southwark, Cochon and NYC's Balthazar will be cooking. Also, it needs to be said: This is their second year using the event flyer above, and it is still rather amazing, thanks in equal stead to SPTR's comely staff and the fact that someone thought it'd be a good idea to give Schroeder a pitchfork. Nick Macri (Southwark) Pickled Headcheese Lamb Liverwurst, Pickled Onions, Rye Bread Pig Head Porchetta, Roasted Plum Preserves Duck Prosciutto Lomo Whipped Lardo Gene Giuffi (Cochon) Smoked Country Time Pork Spare Ribs, Saison Dupont Mustard glaze Sheri Waide (Southwark) Kochs Turkey Cooked in Hay Patrick OMalley (Balthazar NYC) Mince Pie, Hard Sauce Plum Strudel Scott Schroeder (SPTR) Pickled Beets Pickled Green Tomatoes Heirloom Apple, Watercress and Warm Mushroom Salad Roasted Potatoes and Leeks Cider Braised Rutabaga, Rosemary Roasted Neck Pumpkin, Ricotta Gnocchi, Brown Butter, Sage Sour Bread Stuffing Assorted Cheeses and Honeys

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 7:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

NOW OPEN: B.B. Go Fusion Rice Bar

POSTED: Thursday, October 14, 2010, 4:00 PM

Filed Under: Menu Time | Openings

Photo | Drew Lazor

B.B. Go, a quick-serve Korean restaurant, has been open for about three weeks at the corner of 18th and Ludlow. (The restaurant sports a quite-tasteful exterior paint job not dissimilar from City Paper honor box orange.) The lunch/dinner nook serves Korean specialties like seafood pancakes, japchae and dukbokgi, but its most prominent specialty is bibimbap, which can be ordered with a a base of white or brown rice along with veggies and seaweed, pork, chicken, soy-marinated beef ribs, etc. (Full menu after the jump.) They're open weekdays from 11 to 9 and Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m.; closed Sundays.

click to enlarge

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 4:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Fall menu at Sonata

POSTED: Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 7:43 PM

Filed Under: Menu Time

Photo courtesy of Sonata

Sonata's fried pumpkin pie

Sonata, which former CP critic David Snyder said is "worth singing about" in his October 2009 review, has just rolled out a new menu for autumn. "We want to accent fall flavors," says Mark Tropea, chef and co-owner of the snug BYOB on Liberties Walk. "We don't want to go off our standard menu too much, just update the dishes with fall flavors and continue updating it throughout the season." That means fried pumpkin pie, but we're especially intrigued by the chicken: wrapped in bacon and stuffed with chestnuts.

soup

rabbit and andoullie sausage gumbo / green onion hush puppies / crème fraiche 8

potato leek soup / bacon / crispy potato / chive 7

appetizer

scallop crudo / preserved lemon / serrano chili / chive / vanilla salt 11

seared foie gras / preserved black currant / brioche puree / cashew crumble 13

lobster crepe / fennel / mascarpone / lobster glace 13

crispy pork belly / smoked tomato marmalade / compressed apple / calvados molasses 10

arugula and frisee salad / serrano ham/ shellbark cheese / persimmon / pomegranate 8

entrée

butter poached lobster "mac and cheese" / fresh paparadelle noodle / chanterelle mushroom / fontina cheese 27

braised short rib / celery root puree / baby carrot 23

grilled pork tender loin / fingerling potato / brussels sprout / whole grain mustard 23

duck confit salad / boston lettuce / beet / pear / walnut / balsamic dressing 18

seared salmon / cranberry bean / baby fennel / tomato / blood orange vinaigrette 24

porcini mushroom crusted tuna / fava bean / black truffle and foie gras butter 25

pan roasted bacon wrapped chicken / chestnut stuffing / boursin whipped potato / haricot vert / glazed cipolini onion 22

mediterranean chick pea patty / confit tomato / frisee salad / yogurt dressing / feta cheese 17

dessert

caramel banana crème brulee / peanut butter mouse 7

chocolate decadence / warm chocolate beignet / chocolate hazelnut "chipwich" 7

warm fried pumpkin pie / gran marnier whipped cream / cranberry sauce / candied walnut 7

mascarpone cheese mousse / brown butter cake / cardamom ice cream / pear and dried apricot chutney 7

trio of ice cream or sorbet 6

Posted by Adam Erace @ 7:43 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Terrace Taproom launches food; Main Street Market soft-opens

POSTED: Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 4:21 PM

Filed Under: Menu Time | Openings

The projects are ramping up for Belvedere Restaurant Group,the developers working on a number of projects in and around Manayunk. Terrace Taproom (Terrace and Salaignac), open since the winter, recently rolled out a full kitchen, allowing it to rock a menu comprising salads, panini, pizzas and various apps. Check out the food rundown, plus the current tap/bottle lists, after the jump. Meanwhile, Main Street Market (4345 Main St.), the boutique grocery stop, soft-opened over the weekend, partner Robert Nydick tells us. The shop offers fresh meats/poultry and a deli operation with various cheeses and cured meats in addition to staple produce and grocery items. They're also retailing bread baked at Agiato Bread Company (4351 Main St.) out of the Market, instead of operating a walk-up window at the small bakery.


Click to enlarge

Drew

Posted 2010-10-12 12:28:24

Terrace Taproom = Best Bar in Manayunk.
I've had a couple of different types of pizza there, they have all been really good.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 4:21 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Biba in pictures

POSTED: Friday, October 8, 2010, 9:22 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Menu Time | Openings | Photos

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Biba (Left Bank Building, 3131 Walnut St.) officially opened to the public today at 4 p.m. Here's a quick peek inside the laidback wine/snack bar from the owners of Tria. There's no traditional table seating inside guests can pull up a bar stool, share a perch along a centralized communal table or even stand around a couple of casks that double as high-tops. (No TVs or WiFi, either, but y'all knew that already.) The wine and beer lists, plus the light food/cheese menu, are focused on value; you should definitely try the truffled egg ($6), in a teeny cast-iron skillet with potatoes, a bunch of different mushrooms, spinach and fontina cheese, and the sliced in-house lomo. Co-owner Jon Myerow says they're working on installing their outdoor patio, looking out onto Walnut, and should have it up and running soon.

Mike M

Posted 2010-10-10 17:54:06

18 bucks for a 12 oz glass of russian river?  they are out of thier minds.

Collin

Posted 2010-10-24 14:31:22

Mortons sells steaks for $50 and the grocery store has them for $8 sounds like a bad business model, only to someone who really just doesn't understand. Be happy to have a place so dedicated to providing you with more affordable alternatives to a great night.

| Under the Button

Posted 2010-10-08 16:35:24

[...] CityPaper’s Meal Ticket blog has some up close and personal photos, which you can check out here in case you needed more convincing for some reason.    Tweet Tags: Quick [...]

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Oct. 4-8 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-11 13:28:11

[...] Oct. 13• Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Oct. 4-8• Duck Week 2010 at Chifa• Biba in pictures• Two new pies at Zavino• Omakase October at Zama• Testing: Pub & Kitchen's [...]

Dan

Posted 2010-10-08 17:47:14

I'm not slamming this place, cause they're all the same, but a BOTTLE of the bele casel prosseco they have on their list goes for $15 or $16. Their price for a glass - $9.50.

The Segura Brut Cava Rose that goes for $7.50 a glass; well a bottle would set you back 9 or 10 bucks. 

Too much time on your hands waiting to leave for happy hour and internet access gets you a little punchy. But this is why, in large part due to the PLCB, this will never be a wine town.

Tom

Posted 2010-10-23 17:55:13

Hey Dan

Just a heads up from another restaurant professional, that is a completely normal price for a bottle that retails at that price.  Also, bear in mind that PA liquor law is not very kind to wholesalers.  

Also, you are paying for the space, glassware, and ambiance.  Not just the liquid.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 9:22 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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About this blog

Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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