[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Drew Lazor and Meal Ticket, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: The latest NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Share your long-weekend notes in the comments! http://ow.ly/3h7Ve [...] 

Dear Nam Phuong, 

Thanks for having both booze and pho. You saved my Saturday.

Love,

ME

Oh Yeah!

Nam Phuong saved me on Friday, too.

mmm.

Neal

The Kabocha squash was one of my fav dishes when we ate there!

Post-profoundly disappointing Thanksgiving (from a culinary perspective, it was disastrous -- don't buy a "pre-cooked" turkey from the grocery store, b/c it may arrive totally FROZEN. Then you eat ham), things picked up a bit with brunch at Cafe Estelle on Friday.  The cold-smoked Nova with just a schmear of cream cheese on Marshall's flat bread perked me right up. 

Saturday was spent picking up gift-guide presents for an Action! News segment and wolfing down a vegan feast at Blackbird Pizzeria.  The potato-rosemary slice is the truth, and the vegan cheesesteak (seitan, mushrooms, peppers and onions) is hot and hearty. 

Refrained from eating before yoga workshop on Sunday (unless apple cider vinegar in water counts as a meal) then devoured an apple, a banana and a VitaCoco from Green Aisle. Soooo virtuous. 

Chef aunt in Lancaster hooked up a majorly major Sunday dinner -- chipotle-raspberry AND garlic-herb porkchops, mashed, curried cauliflower, asparagus. Ate too much raw dough making slice-n-bake cookies with little cousin, swiftly negating all the vegetables, seitan and yoga in one weak moment. Hopefully no one is taking me to Aruba for my rapidly-approaching 30th birthday.

I will get to Osteria one day. And that soup from Zahav has me drooling.

My Thanksgiving was spent at my boyfriend's mother's retirement home.  Man did I miss my mother's gravy-pan drippings and homemade stock made from veggies and gizzards mixed with the perfect roux? You can and should eat it off your loved ones. At least the oyster stew was good but due to my perpetual idiocy I spilled half of it on my pants. 

Friday I finally made my way to Marigold Kitchen thanks to my girlfriend's Groupon. We had a rather inventive apple appetizer with apple "caviar" and foam and toasted oats. Damn good. They kept bringing teeny appetizers and palate cleansers throughout the meal-best one was the carrot soup with thyme foam. My main course won the night, I had the squab with a chocolate foie gras sauce. My boyfriend's dinner was topped with creme fraiche, so of course we sang the Randy Marsh song from South Park all night.

Saturday was an annual beer swap with friends. We brought a case of Southern Tier pale ales, and my favorite of the night was the Flying Fish Exit 4. The dude who brought Hoegaarden was mercilessly booed.

Sunday I made my brother and the boyfriend home fries with onions and peppers, rye toast with fried egg, and some sausage. And later that night we went to an all you can eat sushi dinner (I forget where-down Rt1 near my mom's in Morrisville). The barbecue eel was by far my favorite. And the octopus was worth ordering for the look on my brother's girlfriend's face. Tentacles!

Awesome! I saw a Puerto Rican friend of mine stuffed her Thanksgiving turkey with mofongo...ridic!

yo them riverview pretzel bites are all kinds of fucked up! super bummer, due to the fact that pretzel bites are my must have for movies. almost ruined my piranha 3d experience.

I tried the hummus with Fava beans for the 1st time at Zahav, I usually get the traditional one, and it was awesome!  Also, the brussels with whipped feta and almond semifreddo were great.

Saturday I stopped in Metropolitan on 19th to pick up cheese from their well stocked refrigerator and a sourdough baguette. 

Sunday's Eagle viewing experience was much better than the game itself, upstairs at Delicatessen is homey and comfortable.  Ate some awesome fried mac n' cheese balls, potato salad and tons of pickles! Later that night watched 3 episode of Walking Dead, a show I am now obsessed with. Very sad to learn the season finale is next week.  Why, AMC, must you air shows with such short seasons?!

The rolls! Oh god the rolls!

SERIOUSLY. They're ridiculous.

I helped prepare an epic Puerto Rican Thanksgiving. Not only did we have the usual fare like turkey, stuffing, corn pudding and green beans, but also rice (yellow AND white) and beans, guineitos en escabeche (plaintains coined & marinated in an olive oil, red & yellow bell pepper, onion, garlic & peppercorn mixture), pasteles (pork & chicken), and coquito, an eggnog-like seasonal cocktail. YUM.

After fueling myself with a banana and Red Bull (not recommended) for my 5:30 a.m. traffic-fearin' trip to Maryland, ate lackluster sausage biscuits and gravy at a local diner with my parents. The goal of stretching out the ol' Thanksgiving stomach was reached, however.

T-day dinner was fairly standard/delicious, but appetizers -- jalapeno feta topped with olive tapenade, random cheese fondue, sweetened pomegranate seeds -- were key. 

Friday we hit up a place in Adams Morgan (DC) called Mixtec for huevos rancheros, and they were out-of-control delicious. Friday night was my 10-year high school reunion at a douchey club in DC, so I fueled up at a local Afghan restaurant with lamb kabobs and maybe a little too much wine.

Saturday ate at an Irish place in Rockville, Md., called Againn but pronounced (a-GWIN), and sampled squash ravioli, mushroom soup, creme fraiche grits, fish & chips and many other tasties. One of the only Philly-foodie-level places in my hometown, so I was a happy camper.

Sunday back in Philly was spent eating leftovers, watching TV, and taking a quick jaunt to New Jersey for discount booze and Chipotle. I never ate again after that.

Not much of a fancy eater-outer these days due to being a starving artist. But every six months or so I like to dress up and grease my hair and hit the town like I'm a baller. 

JG Domestic all the way! 

For starts, we ordered the cheese plate, one of which was "The Best Blue Cheese of 2010." Fairly good. Paired with a truffle apple topping, and a pumpkin butter. 

The rolls! Oh god the rolls! Lightly salted and delivered in a mini cast iron skillet, came with whipped butter and a fruit compote of some sort. I'm not much obsessed with the fancy names, but it was good.

Chef Conn also hooked it up with the Hickory Smoked Pecans, each smoky nut flavored with bacon. 

Kabocah Squash - kale lightly sauteed in oil married with the sharp cheese and cnadied squash. Yes. Eat it.

And the Jidori Chicken, enough to feed more than just two, but we somehow managed to eat each morsel of meat off the bones. 

Oh and dessert! Beignets with the bourbon vanilla mousse, and the maker's mark butterscotch. 

Thank heavens for JG.

ALMOST ruined Piranha 3D!

[...] in Saturday night and rocked out a shrimp risotto using a homemade seafood stock we did up  with last weekend’s oyster and crab shells. It turned out pretty well, but it tasted even better on Sunday. Thinking risotto cakes topped with [...] 

[...] - Notes from the (Long) Weekend: Nov. 29 [29nov10] [...] 

Didn't go anywheres fancy, but happened to eat some banging drop cookies from the Joy of Cooking.

FRI: After-work drinks at the Khyber Pass Pub. Chose a Dark Horse Black Bier, which is about 2304893209 times better than what I got last time, Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Stout. I understand it was kind of my fault for ordering something called a Creme Brulee Stout, but it was crazy sweet and smelled like Dum-Dums. Ate Chickie's and Pete's crab fries and buffalo chicken strips at a Sixers game later on. Fatty over here!

SAT: Woke up late and ate a really disappointing brunch. I won't name the place because I generally have OK experiences there, but let's just say that when a menu says "queso fresco" and I get shredded grocery-store cheddar mixed with iceberg lettuce, that's pretty lame. Grilled cheese and tomato soup dinner at home, with Stoudt's Abbey Tripel, my new favorite non-Belgian trip.

SUN: Met friends for a KILLER brunch at Kraftwork. Bloody Mary and Sausage Biscuits with Gravy are both highly recommended. Plus there was room for all six of us, with no wait, at 11:30. Go Fishtown! Dinner at home again -- this time kale chips, Israeli couscous and an amazing Paula Deen baked acorn squash (with bourbon maple syrup, brown sugar and butter, natch). Tim Tams for dessert!

It was a knock-down, drag-out Food-O-Rama in casa Persabrosio this weekend. 

Friday night saw me exhausted from hovering over my roasted vegetable stock for hours, so the kind Mike P treated me to a respectable fried chicken sandwich at the always-packed Royal Tavern.  Very tasty at $9, but not a patch on Bakesale Betty's.

Saturday was spent trimming, blanching and Frenching 4 lbs of green beans, slicing 3 lbs of mushrooms and hovering again over the stove in pursuit of a no-cans Green Bean Casserole for Friendsgiving at Ada and Rick's lovely home. Nearly three gallons of wine punch was also mixed up, modified from Stephen Siebert's sangria recipe from Amada. 

Sunday was all about Yelp Elites taking over JG Domestic.  That ultra-professional crew plied us with lobster cappuccinos and Four Roses cocktails until we fell panting into their arms.  It was divine decadence!  That chanterelle-truffle flatbread?  I die.

Got to keep the vous hush hush!!  Their spanish fries are "awesome baby, #1 in the city and a vous favorite".  I love the menu sidebar commentary.  But seriously, I am pretty sure that those waffle fries are so delicious because the fryer oil is aged to perfection!

I hit up some old standbys this weekend.  North Star for cheapo happy hour and a basket of the bangin jerk wings on Friday.  Saturday, after watching someone reenact a heinous arm-sawing in 127 hours, I hit up Vietnam Palace for some salt baked squid, papaya salad with jerky and the deluxe vermicelli platter.  I left kind of wishing I went to Xe Lua for some reason.  But satisfying none the less.

My boyfriend took me to Hooters. In Atlantic City. For my birthday.  Because he didn't think to make a reservation anywhere else.

Hey, at least the wings were good.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live y'all! Share your notes with us in the comments, we love to read what you ate/drank: http://ow.ly/3dTSG [...] 

Had some late night drinks at Varga (Oskar Blues) and then Black Sheep (Troegs Mad Elf!).  Saturday, after finding out Mercato was closed for a private party, wandered over to Barbuzzo and got seats at the kitchen table.  It's fascinating to see 4 sous chefs in action producing dishes out of a huge menu.  The margherita pizza was great, but the highlights were the ravioli and bundino dessert.  Sunday had post-half marathon brunch at Devil's Alley, an underrated brunch place.

Friday night- La Rosa pizza.  No matter how many times I get that potato pie it always surprises me how good it is.  One of my favorite things about La Rosa is the pricing.  I've never gotten a pizza that costs more than $11, but every time we order it's a different price despite always getting the same thing.  Friday's price was $9.60, which fed 3 hungry people and left ample amounts for lunch (or drunk eating at 2am, not judging).  It was a "budget tour" weekend, so we also drank some good old Canadian Club blended whiskey.  Mixed it with apple cider which covers a multitude of sins.  
Sunday we went to an epic Friendsgiving celebration that had more food and drinks than I could mention.  Totally perfect and everyone left in a serious food coma, which is the sign of ultimate Friendsgiving success.

Favorite quote of the weekend: "I'm a pescatarian, except I eat bacon." Props.

Friday the boyfriend and I ate Persian mini cucumbers, mini multicolored heirloom tomatoes, feta, tzatziki sauce, and grilled chicken in pita (all from Trader Joe's), and got bombed off of box wine while watching Showgirls on Encore. Only box wine is an appropriate pairing with Elizabeth Berkley's epileptic dolphin sex shenanigans.

Saturday we braved the marathon rush and met up with friends at Reading Terminal. We started at Pearl's and got oysters, snapper soup, and fried clams. Bought Chai tea at Old City Coffee, got a black and white cookie from...somewhere (think of the cookie Elaine!), and the boy bought some ridiculous freshly sliced slab bacon from one of the meat vendors. Later we got cheese steaks and pizza fries from one of the sub par delivery places in West Philly.

Sunday was BACON DAY. The BEST day. That stuff was unreal, and a little over a pound cost less than $5. The rest of the day was spent watching football, and I made a cherry pie and a twist on Giada's baked fettuccine with asiago and thyme recipe. Meaning I add at least four cloves of garlic and some grilled chicken to make it a full on meal. And I made sure to sing the South Park creme fraiche song, seeing as the recipe called for it.

The "smelled like Dum Dums" comment made me laugh louder than it should :)

Only box wine is an appropriate pairing with Elizabeth Berkley’s epileptic dolphin sex shenanigans.

That is the realest shit you, or anyone else, has ever wrote.

Rascal, I can't help but speak excitedly about The Vous. It's one of the best places.

"You can fuck me when you love me"

Nomi Malone is a POET.

Friday I inhaled a plate of salt and pepper squid from Pho Hua so that I could get back to work and prepare for the impending Gallic insanity.

Ate hummus for breakfast on Saturday before heading over to Green Aisle to pick up our Momofuku Milk Bar cookies ( OMG cornflake-chocolate chip-marshmallow!), cardoons and a Stump Town re-up.  After GAG stopped in Fuel, an experience that was too ridiculous for words.  Dinner at Meme was lovely as usual and to top it off we were sent away with a parting gift of gorgeous kale.

Sunday dinner was awesome! I mean it doesn't get much better than delicious broth with tofu, kale, cherry tomatoes and prawns.  After dinner watched the Eagles and later, a new episode of Real Housewives of ATL.  I Love Sundays!

Tried Circle Thai for the first time with some Pad See-Ew with beef, which I thought was Pad Kee Mau but, as it turns out, is not. It was still totally delicious, but the best part was the delivery guy gave us a copy of America: Freedom to Facism with our meal. We watched it because he told us it was about mind control. As with my meal, it was not. The part about tasers was funny, though. Will definitely go back, propaganda DVDs, or not.

Cured a New Wave-induced hangover with the breakfast sandwich at Tastebuds, which was pricey but good. But the highlight of weekend was definitely Kanella's Sunday meze menu. It was insane and totally worth the $35. I'm still full.

Had a gaggle of girlfriends in town this weekend so indulged appropriately. 

FRIDAY: First guests arrived at 5 and so cocktails -- St. Germain and Champagne -- happened. We snagged a reservation at Mr. Martino's and went nuts: fried ricotta with asparagus; arugula salad (for the assuaging of guilt); veal tortellini with gorgonzola tomato sauce; scallop risotto; and some kind of pasta (cavatelli?) with tomato pesto. We also shared a bottle of Root Chilean red wine which has nothing to do with AITA's ROOT. Delicious, still. I should mention, too, that table bread comes with sun-dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil, and they are incredible. I may have asked for a straw and I may not have been kidding.

SATURDAY: Waited for freaking ever for a table at Green Eggs Cafe in South Philly (a tip to hostesses: don't undersell the wait time by an hour!), but was nonetheless pleased with lox & bagel & mooching friends' sweet potato fries. 

Dinner was at Oyster House, which is like the perfect combination of great food and non-doucheyness. I ate bluefish with bacon-braised black kale, and once the 9-11 pm Saturday happy hour hit, indulged in a $3 Chihuahua oyster shooter. Try them! They're good even if they're also kinda gross if you think about it too long. After dinner we hit the Ranstead Room for a quick cocktail, then Doobie's for one more. (It was a Furthermore Fallen Apple and I wasn't crazy about it. Too fizzy maybe?)

SUNDAY: Quick breakfast at Black & Brew before the girls headed home. You guys should all go there right now and get a pumpkin latte with nutmeg. Sayin'.

Haven't stopped thinking about last night's Farmers Dinner at James, especially those cardoons.  Nice pics, man; can't wait to see the rest of them.

Friday: Hit the new/old Khyber Pass Pub both for lunch (an okay but not-earth-moving bbq brisket sandwich) and happy hour (yay, Jeremy Thomson. yay, doubled tap list). Hit Los Taquitos de Puebla for Tacos al Pastor con quesillo then swung down to Watkins Drinkery for Dock Street Rye IPA and what I recall to be a Sly Fox Chester County Bitter on cask. 

Saturday: Homebrew: In the a.m. siphoned the fermenting wort for a chocolate Russian imperial stout from the primary fermenter to my new glass carboy for secondary fermentation. Then whipped up a batch of black mission fig puree for introduction into tertiary fermentation. Then caught a train toward Bethlehem to visit my mother where we hit the Nazareth Wegmans to collect victuals and quaffables for a cocktail hour. Janis (my mother) used one of Wegmans' new wine kiosks with hilarious (her first breathalyzer test didn't take) and drinkable (three bottles of chianti on special) results. Stocked up on beer, as well (Founders Breakfast Stout, Ommegang Biere de Mars, Weyerbacher's Merry Monks Ale, Voodoo's Big Black Voodoo Daddy and Jolly Pumpkin's La Roja). There I overheard the following discussion. Clerk: "Do we have Zitchwin peppercorns? This guy's looking for Zitchwin peppercorns." Guy: "Yeah, I need some Zitchwin peppercorns." Other clerk on phone: "Yeah, do we have peppercorns in the store? Some guy's looking for them." Then with a friend from high school we hit Emmaus' Tap and Table, which is owned by the same people who just opened East Falls' wonderful Fork and Barrel. Had the wild boar bratwurst with pretzel and the fried chicken and waffle. Drank a flight of tap selections, including New Holland's Ichabod Ale, Emelisse's Double IPA, and Rock Art's Belvidere Big IPA and Pumpkin Imperial Spruce Stout and Rock Art, then finished the evening off with a big bottle of Brasserie de Blaugies Biere Darbyste (brewed with fermented fig juice!). All excellent, and all in the strictly candlelit environs of Fork and Barrel.

Sunday: Capped a long day of leaf raking with my first ever California Pizza Kitchen experience which was good if a little bizarre (architecturally it was as if it had been designed by Mike Brady), but I was too famished to really judge. So hungry was I, the Chicken Chipotle and Meat Craver's pizzas both tasted like the best things I'd ever eaten.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper and Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: New NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Share your notes with us in the comments! http://ow.ly/3acms [...] 

Was the spicy chipotle pumpkin soup not as good? Cos that sounds awesome, I'd be interested in the recipe.

It was pretty good, I liked the kick at the back of your throat that the chilies gave. But the butternut squash soup was HEAVENLY. It tasted like everything good about the fall. The pumpkin soup was a Bobby Flay recipe, I'd definitely make it again!

I had a very low budget weekend as I battled the mother of all sinus infections. And although I was still sick on Saturday I pretended like it wasn't happening and trekked to NYC, which was not as gourmet of a trip as I'd hoped. Hill Country Chicken was dinner that night. It was a "fresh food fast", not "fast food" sorta outpost. Split two Texas Tender wraps, one with chicken one with fried avocado, both with too much cole slaw.  Good fried chicken, though; the Colonel is probably pissed about these guys. Opted for Boylan's over the beer selection = surprised to see alcoholic offerings. Later, wound up in a college bar, pounding hogwash beers, regrettably. Even had to hold a friend's hair back. Glory Days. 

Sunday: breakfast was Wawa (biscuit sandwiches are good), lunch was leftovers and dinner was store-bought pierogies. Wished I had a Babcia and antibiotics.

Stogie Joe's is rad, I love the pizzza!

Julie, I have a feeling you might sell your grandmother and/or great aunt for some of the food at MangoMoon, as well. It's awesome.

[...] JUST DO IT: Philadelphia Tweed Ride• POETIC LICENSE: Horoscopes, Nov. 12-18 Meal Ticket• Notes from the Weekend: Nov. 15• Thanksgiving 2010 in Philadelphia: Where to go, who to call, what to do• Kokopelli [...] 

Still haven't been to Mango Moon, but I would sell my grandmother on the black market for Chabaa Thai's king crab pad Thai. 

Friday I finally strayed back to the Khyber. It was strange seeing the band area now with a pubby feel, but I couldn't complain about the extra taps and the re-emergence of our beloved Jeremy. The General even made an appearance during happy hour, so it still felt like my bar. Later I met up with the boyfriend who brought barbecue from Dwights right by Belmont Ave-barbecue ribs, collards, mac and cheese. I felt gross as hell but the food was delightful.

Saturday I spent the day making soup with my roommate-spicy chipotle pumpkin, and creamy butternut sage. The latter was so good we nearly licked the bowls.

Sunday was football and the shredded chicken sandwich from Fuh Wah. Extra jalapenos.
Sunday

I was recovering from a nasty stomach flu that kept me food-less almost the entire week, but by Saturday I felt stable enough to attempt some solid food.  Had a ton of fruit for breakfast as a test run (apples, kiwis, blueberries, bananas, apple cider!!!) and it went well.  I celebrated my return to the world of the living with a trip to Stogie Joe's that evening.  We sat at the bar, which has an angled mirror above it that allows you the best crowd watching perspective ever, and I sipped on a Bud Light Lime (whatever, it is delicious).  I shared a house salad and a pepperoni and cheese stromboli.  It tasted like the best thing that I have ever eaten.  If you've never eaten there, you are missing out big time.  Do it!

The James dinner was as awesome as everyone has said so far. I loved trying cardoons for the first time but that rutabaga soup was my favorite.  My grandmother cooks rutabaga every Thanksgiving and I think I'm the only one in my family, other than grandma, who actually enjoys it.  I must recreate that soup and share it with her!

[...] The weekend before last, we had the great pleasure of attending the fourth annual Green Meadow Farm dinner at James (824 S. Eighth St.). Organized almost exclusively around products sourced from Glenn Brendle’s operation in Gap, Pennsylvania (about an hour west of the city), the meal was a celebration of Green Meadow, the family-run Lancaster County farmstead that supplies numerous top-notch Philly restaurants with herbs, vegetables and other produce. (In addition to Jim and Kristina Burke’s James, Green Meadow supplies the likes of Barbuzzo, White Dog, Bar Ferdinand, Zavino, London Grill and quite a few more.) [...] 

Friday night, I headed for redemption and dinner at Wild Ginger in Sicklerville, NJ. I picked up a few sushi rolls, edamame, crab rangoons, and an avocado salad.  This was after an upsetting loss that removed the volleyball team I coach from the state tournament. I eat my feelings.

I hit up Oyster House brunch on Saturday morning with a friend.  We had some Bloodys, a given at brunch, to wash down the dozen oysters we shared. We also shared shrimp and grits (eerily similar to the ones AS grubbed at Adsum) and smoked salmon Benedict. Both were tasty and hearty, as brunch food should be.

With Primo’s hoagies (an Abruzzi and Napolitano, to be exact) and Yards Philly Pale Ale in hand, we were ready to tailgate Sunday’s Eagles vs. Colts game at the Linc. Inside the gates, I discovered a whole new world, mainly because I kept it to a three-drink minimum in the parking lot. Headhouse Plaza is a pre-game option I never knew existed. It had some beer and some food, but nothing that would motivate me to forgo future tailgates.  I must note that CBP has way better food and drink options than the Linc, what’s up with that?

Last week, visited Victory Brewing Co. on Wednesday, part of my service industry weekend.  We didn't see the brewery but did sample a ton of beers.  The list was long but seemed a little short on rarities.  That said, Wild Devil was available and I'll drink that forever.  We tried the pretzel app (CHEESE SAUCE YUM) and each got a salad entree-- steak and portobello for her, taco salad for me (taco salad is my favorite meal, ever).  The shell was good but the chicken was dry and the seasoning clashed with the rest of the salad.  Why is something so simple never as good as when I make it at home?  Damn you, taco salad.  Like most breweries, the beer was excellent and the menu could use some work.  Go for the brews and three giant authentic tank lids from Europe (tank lids is probly the wrong word but I'm blanking).


Friday - worked all night, so on Saturday night I picked up a 24oz take-out bottle of Sierra Nevada Harvest fresh hop ale and hung out at a friends' home.

Sunday - after working the brunch shift, indulged an unusual craving for a rum and coke with Sailor Jerry and a slice of lime.  Sweet and delicious.  From there, moved on to a glass of Stone Imperial Russian Stout... and then kept rolling on at a friends' house, paying him to make me Manhattans all night.  (I think) We used Bulleit, Noilly Pratt, bitters and these fancy cherries he has for this purpose.  The night ended with one more beer back at Local 44-- a Prima Pils, which, in retrospect, really tied the weekend together.

It is def the best tomato soup in Philly.  Have you ever tried the fennel bisque? She makes it in the winter and it is soooooooo good, 2nd only to the tomato.

Spent Saturday in Baltimore with my sister visiting our other sister who was in town for a conference. Upon finding The Brewer's Art to be way too packed at happy hour for our low-blood-sugared selves, we swooped over to The Owl Bar (a wonderfully owl-themed pub in the lobby of The Belvedere Hotel) where we had a so-so dinner (food was okay, service was not) and a couple of respectable house beers — an Owl Ale and an Owl Lager. After dinner, we hit The Brewer's Art again and were able to snag seats at the bar. Drank a Resurrection (abbey ale) and a Zodiac (Belgian pale ale), then a flight (gratis!) of Proletary Ale (a stout), Le Canard (a Belgian pale ale), Seven Beauties (a seven-grain beer I particularly liked) and Ozzy (a Belgian "devil" beer). Left with a bottle of Resurrection and a bottle of the not-available-on-tap La Petroleuse — a Biere de Garde that I ordered thinking was their Green Peppercorn Tripel. Liked the Petroleuse, but am wishing I'd ordered the GPT as that sounds interesting indeed.

Cafe Lutecia tomato bisque is unbelievable.

Weekend at the 'rents house in Princeton meant digging through their backyard garden for end-of-season foodstuffs (see: http://twitpic.com/34hriw). I'm always impressed at how many types of (organic!) vegetables they manage to fit in a 3 by 6 space - rows of chard, celery, some holdout green peppers still in there, long red hot peppers, a bunch of mismatched potato varieties. Dug up the purple kind for a simple potato leek soup.

Also got a new car: a sweet little Mini cooper in silver, but I don't quite know how to drive her yet. Rewarded myself after an hour lesson of stalling out and "HOLY SHIT ALEXANDRA GIVE IT MORE GAS IN SECOND" by driving to get takeout at Masala Grill, the best Indian joint up there. Nutty chicken korma and chana masala makes it better.

Friday night we had an indian feast at home.  Some friends picked up pizzas from Tiffin, Etc. and I made a cauliflower and potato curry that was a little too spicy but not bad for a first try.  We drank a ton of champagne because we are classy and apparently enjoy waking up with a headache. 
On Saturday, Yan took me out for a date night at Fond.  What can I say? It was amazing.  Everything was perfect.  I had mushroom risotto, scallops and butternut cannolis.  The dessert was insane and I want to go back RIGHT NOW to eat it again.  
Sunday, I frantically shopped and prepared my soup for the above mentioned soup swap because I am a slacker and waited until the last minute.  I left the swap happily toting 6 pints of soupy deliciousness that I will make my way through all week.  Then I got home and drank a 22 of Mad Elf.  Yummmmmmmmmmm.

That tripe is everywhere I look!

Had a great time at Sidecar Friday night after an early showing of "Due Date" and finished the night with some Manhattans at home.

I chose to drink my dinner at Grace Saturday night so of course I came home and sauteed some homemade pierogies courtesy of Bobcia ( 3 potato and 2 cheese!) and ate those with the brussels that had been deliciously roasted. 

Sunday was nice and lazy, spent most of the day snacking on hummus, veggies and crackers.

Drew, I hope that pic got a few chuckles around the office.  I'm glad I trusted you on the burger, but you may have to win me back after that Malort. At least there's less of it now with which to torture the next guy.

Huevos rancheros ... can be a gastric blessing or a curse after a night of imbibing, am I right? The dish at Ida Mae's on Saturday was the former, thank goodness. Was shocked to see that the joint was nearly empty, though. Show this place some love, Fishtown.

I spent Saturday night at the Cantina, enjoying some relatively cheap brews and splitting a mahi-mahi burrito with some friends. As usual, it was OK -- nothing more, nothing less. On Sunday, I hopped over to my new favorite place in the world: Teri's Diner & Bar. The vegan cowgirl fries were a heaping pile of cheesy endorphins, and I dug a Copper Crow's Philadelphia Pilsner (though it's the sort of drink you can only really have one of). 

Ended the weekend with a late-night trip to Circles, a Thai takeout, which is currently my second favorite place in the world. Eat their tofu pad thai immediately.

Started off Saturday with some Cafe Lutecia brunch. Shared the tomato bisque (universally known as THE JAM), the cream of spinach and some sandwich action. The food was good, obvs, but the best part of breakfast was listening to the douche behid us (Sample convo: "She said, 'Whip out your checkbook.' And I said, 'Sure, but the checkbook is what I call my penis." Shudder.)
 
Was pleasantly surprised by both the price and taste of the Loving Hut (the vegan place at about 8th and South). Had the chow mein (plenty of faux chicken!) and shared the spring rolls. Plus, the ladies at the counter were super sweet.
 
Similarly surprised by the pesto breafast sandwich at La Va. The ingredients aren't crazy (just egg, pesto and cheese) but the flavors there are always interesting. Good job, Israelis.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Drew Lazor, SSWBA, Meal Ticket, Meal Ticket and others. Meal Ticket said: Latest NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Read and share your notes in the comments! http://ow.ly/36qvM [...] 

[...] know I mentioned trying to make Marc Vetri’s tripe stew recipe from Amis in last week’s NFTW installment, but I kinda messed it up so decided to go v2.0 on it Friday night. This round was a smash. [...] 

[...] - Notes from the Weekend: Nov. 8 [08nov10] [...] 

[...] a rousingly successful Soup Swap organized by Friend of Meal Ticket Amy R. back in November (read up on that here), the next [...] 

[...] I’d never tasted it before. Though I’m not one to discriminate against mystery meats (I’m a shameless fan of Spam), whenever scrapple comes up on a menu, people always seem to be wrinkling their noses. [...] 

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Eric Smith, Eric Smith. Eric Smith said: Notes from the Weekend (and one from Thursday): Nov. 1 http://bit.ly/bDlw3J [...] 

Ants pants is always great.  I order the dill scrambled eggs with feta every time! I loooooove their honey wheat toast

Ants pants! Their sweet potato fries with sour cream & thai sweet chili garlic dipping sauces are AWESOME

Screw Northbowl and Lucky Strike. Erie Lanes is where it's at, mainly because they have those huge gumball machine-lookin' beer dispensers that hold something like 140 ounces of brew for $17. They're only $15 at Locust Bar, but they don't have bowling there. Followed up that up with the flatbread pizza at Swift Half, which I'm sure would have been better if I had actually read the menu and learned that it was fancy pizza, opposed to the normal pizza that I really wanted. Saturday had several jello shots made to perfection from recipes off My Jello Americans (myjelloamericans.blogspot.com). Recovered from said jello shots (and a lot of ill-advised Jim Beam) with The Greatest Hangover Cure of All-Time: the egg, ham and brie sandwich on a croissant from Ant's Pants.

Momofuku Noodle bar! Amazing ramen and smoked wings. Also had the great lardo pizza at Barbuzzo.

Does solid tomato soup allow you to perform the same tricks as solid potato salad? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mVpGmoES3w

Fried and true, I'm crazy about the fryer my wife got me for xmas a couple years ago.

This weekend we bought a deep fryer. So that's what we ate...deep fried everything in the grocery store. The highlights were the wings-huge juicy, super crunchy pieces that were twice coated in a flour and spice mixture. Sauce was your typical hot sauce/butter combo doctored with cayenne, paprika, and garlic. Unreal. We also made mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and fried ravioli. I feel disGUSTING but oh so satisfied.

Word to Rachel for pimping the Devil's Den brunch. There's never anyone there and it's the perfect place to get good and day-drunk. I should know, considering my post-Den Saturday. Also tried out the quesadillas from Veracruzana, which I'm sure would have been better if I had eaten them there, but they were still delicious (queso blanco mmm.....) and worth two meals. Capped off the weekend with my new Sarcone's obsession: The CC. I only ate half and I didn't need to eat the rest of the day. Then again, I got up at 2 so there wasn't that much day left.

I want to see/judge a country pate contest between Lee Styer of Fond and Jim Burke.

I am SUPER curious about that Coq Au Vin.

Friday I had the open faced Reuben at City Tap House or whatever the hell it's called out on Walnut Street. Brisket, pickled red cabbage, Gruyere, and Russian dressing. Remarkable. Desserts not so much (the bread pudding was dry), but at least they were gratis courtesy of my friend's friend who worked there. I had a few Left Hand Chainsaw Ales for $6 at 9.5% abv. I left a happy and dazed girl.

Saturday for lunch we went to our favorite sandwich place EVER-Lenny's on Ridge Ave. I got the chicken parm with roasted eggplant and roasted reds, and the boyfriend got the home-plate special: Italian spicy roast beef, pepper jack cheese, spicy cajun mayo, tomato, lettuce, red onion. Their bread is what makes the sandwich so incredible. 

Sunday was leftover sandwiches for lunch, and then I made meatballs and sausage with my best batch of red sauce yet. I think the key was accidentally buying a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos, along with the whole peeled San Marzanos. Gave it a good kick. That and I used a shit-ton of garlic. Usually I put in just an assload.

Friday night: At least five cocktails -- mostly perfect rye Manhattans and something fun Mr. Prestone made for me that was mostly bourbon -- meant even though I had eaten 2 lbs of homemade fried rice at 4pm, I absolutely required fried chicken at Adsum around 11pm. 

Saturday: Worked DracFest for the Rosenbach Museume & Library on behalf of Yelp.  Facepainting for the kids and Dracula photo booth at the DIY craft event in the evening.  Did I eat?  Hmmmm... some passable sushi from Food & Friends mid-afternoon and then Los Gallos delivery on the couch, watching the Phils end their season.  At least the quesadilla los gallos was its usual juicy, porky self.  Looking at you, Ryan Howard. 

Sunday: Hit up Headhouse Farmers Market promptly at 9:55 to beat the browsing idiots who clog it by 11am.  After filling bags with Hosui Japanese apple-pears, Three Springs Honeycrisps, Birchrunhill Experimental cheese and a rainbow of mushrooms from Queen Farm, hit up Bodhi Coffee and really dug on their new Paradise Green tea.  

Sunday afternoon was spent cleaning my grotty house with frequent snack breaks.  Mikey P excavated a quick tomato sauce recipe from the Babbo cookbook and we put some of our produce to work on a easy dinner.  Ah Sunday.

Circles thai is pretty great, after reading that now I want some

Friday: I stopped by Bella Vista Bev. for a case of Phoenix Pale Ale. While being rung up, I remembered that the Bottle Shop had just opened. Went there next and picked up a couple mix sixes of porters, baltic porters, imperial stouts and other strong brown beers in anticipation of firing up the fire pit at home. Ordered a bunch of stuff from Circles Contemporary Asian Cuisine at 15th and Tasker. Good stuff, especially the cheesesteak spring rolls. Got drunk, ate too much and never got around to making the fire. 

Saturday: On the way to the supermarket, stopped off at Beer Heaven and picked up a bunch of big bottles, mostly harvest ales. Back home, we fired up the grill in advance of the Phillies game. Grilled up giant bacon cheeseburgers and Hatfield beef franks. The wife made cole slaw with cabbage from our CSA. The pack of Phillies brand hot sausages we picked up never made it to the grill. I blame that for the Phils' loss. Sorry. Paired the burgers and dogs with PBC's Harvest from the Hood. After dinner, we paired a Victory Baltic Thunder with John & Kira's chocolates. 

Sunday: Black coffee and whole wheat toast striped with Sriracha for breakfast. Laundry. Errands. After an exhausting sneaker shopping expedition on South St., stopped in Woolly Mammoth (we were looking for a place we'd never been to) to wet our whistles. I was thrilled to find Lagunitas A Little Sumpin' Wild on tap. Drank three of those and split chicken wings, cheesesteak eggrolls and old bay fries with friends. Pit stop at the Royal Tavern. Forgot what I ordered there. Back home for dinner with the neighbors. They made spicy beef stew and mashed potatoes. Drank more beer.

Word to Rachel for pimping the Devil's Den brunch. There's never anyone there and it's the perfect place to get good and day-drunk. I should know, considering my post-Den Saturday. Also tried out the quesadillas from Veracruzana, which I'm sure would have been better if I had eaten them there, but they were still delicious (queso blanco mmm.....) and worth two meals. Capped off the weekend with my new Sarcone's obsession: The CC. I only ate half and I didn't need to eat the rest of the day. Then again, I got up at 2 so there wasn't that much day left.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: New NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND is live. Share your notes in the comments! http://ow.ly/2Zcvg [...] 

I second all of Danya's Bloktoberfest comments!  Here here for daytime drinking--they had a killer beer list (which people were clearly loving since they killed 50-something kegs!)  I for one was happy to get a brief respite from the hubbub to get some Washington Ave pho.  Made a return trip to Wash Ave on Sunday to hit up the fast food tofu shop mentioned in last week's Snack Time post.  The lemongrass/chili version lived up to its delicious description and was cheap (5 pieces for $1!).  Their GREEN soy milk (made with Pandan leaves) is also very yum.

Ate some Sampan apps before heading the Wilma for "Macbeth." It was either a testament to how much I liked the play or how I wasn't so into the food, but I can't really remember anything mind blowing that I ate there. Their version of whiskey sour on the other, was fantastic. Hit up Cooperage to watch the game on Saturday and enjoyed my fair share of $2 Lagers and Red Breast whiskey, on the rec of our awesome bartender who looked way too young to remember the last 1980 World Series.

Kibby are you deliberately leaving out the name of that mislabeled wine so you can have all of it? Greedy

Heh, it actually was my first pie EVER and it turned out pretty great. I used a basic recipe with a few twists-5 large honeycrisps and 2 large granny smiths (for a texture contrast, since they tend to give more bite when cooked), then orange juice/zest and lemon juice/zest within the apple mixture. And the pie crust itself is from the American Test Kitchen Cookbook for morons. I was really thrilled since I never bake, I think next time I'll add some fresh cranberries. For funsies.

friday a friend got it in his head to go to village whiskey at prime time. I put my name in for a group of 6 and we hunkered down at o'sheas to drink away the TWO HOUR and 20 MINUTE wait. i'd do it all again. pickled cherry tomatoes and that kentucky hot brown's still got me dreamin. love that place.

saturday - green eggs cafe had a steak and eggs special that was out of control huge and delicious. many mimosa's consumed and the staff handled our big, loud group awesomely. 
after green eggs we rode over to the block party and it hadn't hit fever pitch yet so was able to try  a few beers pretty easily but didn't bother with the food lines after Rachel disappeared looking for tacos. dipped out and had everyone over my house. i think some of us ended up at jose's but it was a long ass day.

Friday night, went to Pub & Kitchen and split the Churchill burger and new regular Burger with cheddar.  The Churchill was outstanding, juicy and one of the best in the city easily.  The other burger was good too but the combination of burger and toppings was a notch below the Windsor.  Agree?

Saturday, made it to Atlantic City and watched the game at Tun Tavern.  Good calamari along with pretty filling chicken cheesesteak.  Dessert of cheesecake hit the spot.

Sunday, watched football at the fine Tropicana Quarter establishment, Hooters.  Good wings.

Thurs: JG Domestic Soft opening, everything was good, suckling lamb, "Bourbon" dessert, and fondue stood out

Saturday: Blocktoberfest: I got there early and ate at Coup de Taco and Koja with no lines, the event was really unorganized, when we got there at the advertised start time, nothing was set up at all, the food trucks did not dissapoint though, Thai chx taco and Spicy Pork Bulgogi

Also hit up Green Aisle for more Russian Lox and picked up some Ric's bread (below)

Sunday: Made "Overnight" french toast with Ric's Cinnamon swirl bread from Green Aisle, i dont think its fair to call this breakfast, more like dessert

friday night at north third, saturday night at black sheep, but the highlight of the weekend was dinner on sunday at barbuzzo... the goat ricotta, beet salad, fideua, octopus... everything, even the atmosphere... i will go back!

Love the juxtaposition of Adam's oatmeal & Rachel's smorgasbord. I come down on the side of the fairer sex on that one.

Friday: Opening day happy hour at JG Domestic. I do believe this was my first time stepping inside the Cira Center Centre. Worth it. Fried-chicken-score-keepers, definitely consider the Jidori Chicken, juicy & crunchy with a cornflake crust & chicken liver gravy. 

Saturday: To Blocktoberfest complainers (I've heard several, not just Rachel): The first rule of daytime outdoor autumn festivals is you do not EAT at Blocktoberfest, you DRINK at Blocktoberfest. And you get there early. Daytime drinking, folks! Enjoyed a ton of beers like Weyerbacher Autumnfest and a new Victory Pils, the exact name of which I don't remember b/c it was my 4th beer, and it was free.

[...] Someone went hiking and took Conshohocken Italian Bakery rolls. [...] 

Had a three day weekend this week. Mostly stayed in and cooked, but Sunday being as gorgeous as it was, I hit up Sedgley Woods for a little disc golf action followed by lunch at the Kite and Key. Have never been there and barring a family with kids they couldn't control (and looked like they could barely care about anyone around them) it was a great experience. got the Kite and Key burger cooked medium. Nothing better than a damn good burger with blue cheese and bacon on top. My girlfriend got the chicken tacos which were very tasty as well. Enjoyed my new fangled obsession with a pint of Spaten Oktoberfest and called it a day.

My weekend started on Thursday when I came home from work and discovered a present from my cats in the form of a dead mouse in my apartment.  Since this was the 1st night of Drew's epic camping trip with my family I had to take care of the ravaged little beast myself.  So I took action and called Lou, offering him copious amounts of beer in exchange for handling the situation.  Off to the Sidecar we went drinking beers and gin until last call.

Friday I worked late coming home around midnight with enough time to have one glass of red wine and watch an episode of The Office before going to bed.

Saturday meant Bloktoberfest with friends, I will agree it was a little ridiculous.  We waited over an hour for 2 tacos each, and I opted to not use my last beer ticket because at that point the beer lines were just as ridiculous as the food lines.  We headed back to his house where we drank more beer, played UNO attack, watched the Phillies and I ate some garlic knots before heading home for the night.

Sunday I had brunch with my mom at Cafe Lutecia, her 1st time there, which she loved because they serve Orangina and delicious soups.  My seitan cheesesteak for dinner was just ok, but I still look forward to going back to Blackbird to try more menu items.

Drew, kudos to surviving the weekend without a bodega. The thought of me trying that makes me uncomfortable.

[...] put together some scrambled eggs and sugar-cured Virginia country ham that I copped during my camping trip last week. Sooo salty and good. [...] 

Friday night dinner at Mercato - always tasty and crowded, tried some of their fall items like the butternut squash and mushroom risotto, but we had a general consensus that everything used to be slightly better there.  

Saturday dinner at Tweed where the Philly Film Fest had taken over the downstairs bar, we sat upstairs which was a calm oasis.  Loved their pumpkin bread brought to the table.  Drinks at Field House for the Phillies afterward, meh.  Sunday taco truck at Headhouse Square! And made dinner with from-the-market acorn squash with white beans and tomatoes and the best sourdough baguette from Wildflower.

Stayed in on Friday night and had a few friends over for dinner. We ate broccoli and cheese soup (topped with mini goldfish!!) and little ham and mustard toasts. Yum.  
Saturday was spent antique mall shopping.  I had the unfortunate luck of getting a crazy headache right in the middle of it but a quick stop by a Turkey Hill convenience store to grab excedrin, coconut water and beef jerky made everything ok.  Plus, I got some sweet cat art in the antique shop. That night, in the wake of my headache, I ordered Circles Thai again.  I cannot get enough of that place! 
For Sunday dinner I tried to use up stuff that I had in the kitchen and ended with a kind of strange but also pretty tasty quesadilla thing stuffed with kale, roasted sweet potato and feta.  Definitely have eaten worse things.  Washed it down with my favorite budget wine, that is currently mis-priced at the state store.  The big bottle is marked as the same price as the regular sized one.  Score!

Friday night: Stayed in and made wild mushroom agnolotti, with some Morning Star ground fake meat in there, plus some onions, jalapenos and crimini mushrooms. Had a jarred marinara sauce that I kicked up a little with #3 heat level bhut jolokia tomato hot sauce from WMD on South Street, plus a little Hop Devil. It was really good. Only bummer was that I didn't have any cheese ... it made me feel sad.

Saturday: Worked, then came home, made turkey wraps and watched Glee begrudgingly.

Sunday: Closed at work, came home, knocked back two shots of 100 Proof Grand-Dad back to back and then chilled on a pounder of Four Horsemen, that weird lager business from Germany. It was a long day...I deserved it.

Jule, a honeycrisp apple pie sounds brilliant. Was it a traditional apple pie or did you do something different with it given honeycrisp's general amazingness?

Aww, no strikethroughs in comments? This is discrimination, I tell ya.

It was tough but I made it!

On Friday night I went to Blackbird Pizzeria, the all-vegan pizza and sandwich shop on 507 S. 6th St. It was AMAZING. My friends and I ordered the 16" "South Philly Pizza," which is a red sauce pie made with seitan sausage, broccoli rabe, fennel and eggplant. The best part, though, was the Daiya soy cheese. I've eaten a lot of soy cheese in my time, but nothing melts like this stuff. It's phenomenal, for real. Get here quick!

Friday-made meatloaf with a spicy glaze, roasted Brussels sprouts, and baked potatoes for the boyfriend. 
Saturday we went to Lee's Deli on the corner of 47th and Baltimore for our ritual breakfast-for me a provolone omelet, crispy home fries and bacon, for him a scrapple egg and cheese sandwich. Saturday lunch we ate samosa and lamb chaat from Desi Chaat house, and for dinner he made us linguine and clams and I made a honeycrisp apple pie.
Sunday was dinner at Mom's-hoagie dip, crab and shrimp bisque, chicken stuffed with provie and spinach, and my scalloped potatoes with thyme and caramelized vidalia onions. She also made her epic Heath bar cheesecake.

I have to eat salad for the rest of the week.

Friday night was a chill night, drank some Brawler after I got done work.

Saturday afternoon was spent looking around various neighborhoods at places to reside, which always leaves me with one thought: Time for beer!  We went to SPTR and I had the steamed clams for the 1st time and man were they awesome! Also, I think it was my first time having a breakfast potato there and they tasted like they were deep-fried in hot sauce- amazing! Saturday night was the fun outdoor movie party with delicious minestrone soup and plastic skull rings.  I second the awesomeness of the hot cider-Jim Beam-Snap beverage combo, I could drink that all winter long

Sunday at the Sidecar is always a good time.  Love that margherita pizza and the Sidecar staff.  Dinner Sunday night was great, so good I had leftover Swiss chard for lunch and Provencal stew for dinner!

It was a shiroboshi. Thank you wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_sumo_terms

Circles Thai is delicious!

Friday night my housemates and I made veggie korma for my visiting Indian friend -- there is nothing better than plump raisins. We used the leftover coconut milk with crushed pineapples and tequila to make our own riff on a pina colada. We ended the evening with Apples to Apples and chocolate covered oreos.

Saturday started off with apple cider donuts from Fitler square farmers market and a variety pack of mushrooms.  After our appetizer of sugar, we crafted cilantro scrambled eggs with side of local tomato slices, seared mushrooms and toast. After 2 hours of thrift shopping, the lady and I scarfed down an Italian hoagie from Shank's Original Uptown -- holy long hots! Second best italian hoagie I've had, second to Gooey Looies.  Took the 3 hour drive to Long Island and inhaled Basil Tofu from Tiny Thai before finishing off with Hagen-Daaz vanilla bean. 

Sunday morning we made chocolate chip pancakes for the 14-year old bday boy ("1 chip per cm!") that were fluffy and buttery and gone in 2 minutes. More afternoon shopping made possible by Panera greek salad and black bean soup.  Visited Bertucci's after a 4-year hiatus with 15 14-year olds -- thankfully we were seated at the adult table. Split mussels in white wine sauce with capers and roasted garlic and a chicken chopped salad. Not bad Bertucci's. Gas station cokes and white cheddar popcorn got us back to Philly safely by 1:30 am.

On Saturday, had SPTR's new open-faced chicken sandwich with mashed potatoes and mushroom sage gravy. It was right, man. Also, got spectacular coffee across the street from SPTR on Sunday (I just moved dangerously nearby the two eateries) at Brew, which I'm fairly certain only admits attractive people onto its premises. As it should.

Great article on food this weekend!!!  Want to try that pizza crust from Whole FooDS!!!!!
I'm dying to try Betty's Speakeasy!!  Thanks for the tip!
I had a great food weekend!
Sazon on Saturday http://foodrulez.com/2010/10/10/sazon-restaurant-cafe/
More Than Just Ice Cream for bumpin' cheesecake on Sunday http://foodrulez.com/2010/10/11/fall-for-desserts/

Blackbird Pizzeria just opened up on 6th and South, taking the place of the old Giovanni's.  Not you're average pizza shop (maybe above average though, especially for vegans), I was super excited to check out the place.  Blackbird serves up some seriously killer all-vegan pizza and subs.  The food was so surprisingly good Friday night that I came back for more on Saturday evening.  I'd say go for the nacho pizza, a slice equipped with jalapenos and creamy sliced avocado.  Daiya "cheese" replaces standard mozzarella, adding a little extra creaminess but to my pleasant surprise, no repulsive soy/vegan cheese flavor.

The fresh cut fries were great too, as was the vegan cheesesteak, filled with super thinly sliced seitan smothered in cheese, along with fried onions, mushrooms, and peppers.  The vegan cake rocked as well....the peanut butter mousse chocolate "bomb" will literally bomb your stomach, but it was definitely worth going into food coma for.

I could go on about the new vegan joint that filled my weekend nights with wonderful food, but then I'd be making myself really hungry and I want to go to sleep.  I reviewed Blackbird in further detail on my blog if you want to read more about the place.

http://foodfitnessfreshair.com/2010/10/10/blackbird-pizzeria-review/

Gorgeous photos as usual! 

Saturday: Went on a double-date-turned-freelance-gig to check out/write up the "Fright and a Bite" dinner package at Eastern State Penitentiary. Went to Jack's Firehouse for a Halloween-themed dinner that came with a VIP ticket to the haunted house. Fun, but way expensive. Good: crispy roasted chicken leg over mac and cheese; a caramel apple dessert with a deconstructed pie vibe. Both total comfort foods. Bad: a legit MOUNTAIN of (very dry) pumpkin risotto, slow service, sugary $10 cocktails.

Sunday: Jumped! Out! A! Plane!! Worked up an appetite skydiving, then brunched at Cafe Con Chocolate. Savory molletes with fried eggs and mugs of the namesake, cafe con chocolate (basically a rich hot chocolate with espresso).

Oh, and if you are near Union Square in New York City and you don't go to Artichoke Pizza, you clearly hate all things good and wholesome.

Did you know they do two-for-one drinks ALL THE TIME?!

Tell us more...

Adam, I love the shore as much as you do (I grew up there and intend to move back one day), but I have to say, the people who catch "the early flight to Boca" and treat servers disrespectfully are those who visit from their main homes in the Philadelphia region. If you want to see how lovely the locals are, spend a rainy weekend in November there. I love this blog and I especially like to see where you eat in my hometown, but I think dogging on the people there takes something away from your writing.

Went to Kraftwerk to eat for the first time (rather than just booze), and it honestly didn't blow my socks off. I enjoyed my veggie board (chickpea foie = heavenly) and the ricotta dumplings but I'd rather just go to Sidecar. I know, I know apples and oranges...

But clearly the most delicious thing(s) I ate this weekend was at Chili's. Did you know they do two-for-one drinks ALL THE TIME?!

Had friends in town this weekend, so do what any Philly host would do: ATE THE ENTIRE CITY.

Saturday lunch: Pizzeria Stella. We started with Victory Festbier (surprisingly malty-sweet, very tasty); hit up responsible-person grilled octopus (which was mint city, in a good way) and a nice lemony arugula salad; split two pizzas (Mushroom and Sausage) among the three of us; and got a little bowl of house-made stracciatella gelato to round things out. 

Saturday dinner: Le Virtu. Drinks included sweet white wine and various Ommegangs; for apps, we ate antipasti mixti (including the fatty insides of an Italian sausage), fried/stuffed olives, a sausage/polenta dish and yet another arugula salad (greens!); for entrees, two of the four of us tried the smoked gnocchi, and ... wow. Eat this immediately, f'real. 

Saturday after-dinner: Lucky 13 for a quick round followed by Watkins Drinkery for a longer round and dessert (hello, pumpkin funnel cake). Remembered my love for Leffe Blonde.

Sunday brunch: Cantina los Caballitos. Chocolate chip pancakes and coffee. Wanted bacon but thought I had already reached my limit for fatness for the weekend. (O how wrong I was.)

Sunday dinner: Was planning on going to Izumi for some quick sushi (health food!), but forgot it's the start of Neighborhood Restaurant Week, so we ended up going with the $30 tasting menu. Between two people who like to share, we had tuna sashimi, pork gyoza, shrimp tempura maki, a bunch of sushi, pork belly with congee, salmon with bok choy, chocolate bread pudding with ginger crema, and coconut rice pudding with pineapple. Oh, and a large bottle of Dogfish Head Fort that we didn't realize contained 18.5 percent alcohol until after we were totally drunk off it.

Today: atonement.

Friday dinner was the ridiculously good La Rosa pizza (half plain, half potato-rosemary) and a bottle of my favorite Malbec, Layer Cake.

Saturday brunch came courtesy of Old City Cheese Shop's little garden cafe.  It was really cute with a nice flat rate ($12.95!) for fruit, a muffin, juice, and your choice of 4 or 5 entree options.  I had the eggs benedict which were good but not great.  After some Old City shopping/not shopping/"oh my god, that's so expensive", it was off to Grace Tavern to visit Andi, the bartender, and get my favorite sandwich there, the tuna steak sandwich.  
Saturday night was the same party as Mr. Lazor.  Truffle Honey, good lord.

Sunday was a trip to Artisan Boulanger Patissier for coffee, frosted almond croissants, and a little bit of heaven:  cinnamon crusted brioche french toast sandwich with bananas and Nutella.  
Sunday dinner was a trip to SPTR where I tried the open faced roast chicken sandwich.  It comes with mashed potatoes in it.  Enough said.

As always, your food pictures make me swoon.

My weekend was slightly epic, although most of it was situated in Southern Jersey. The epic, yearly gorge fest of The Greek Agora in Cherry Hill was the weekends food focal point. My dad is from Greece so as a kid we went to this every year. This year I brought an entourage to experience it's brilliance. We all got dishes from classic Greek dishes like Mousakka, Pastitsio and the gyro and souvlaki sandwiches. I also stormed the cheese mart and got two blocks of imported Feta and Kaseri cheese as well as some kalamata olives. The desserts were a highlight this year with the baklava melting in your mouth and the sleeper hit galaktoboureko. I haven't eaten that much since last Thanksgiving.

Friday was a food hangover to the max. After a day of work and Detox tea, I was able to prepare for the party of the fall: Wear Your Own Brew. Essentially you come as your drink of choice. This year I was Old Rasputin. Other great costumes included Glenn Beck's, Yard's Brawler (with both a pugilist and satan himself in attendance) Molson Canadian (representing a Canadian Tuxedo) and Left Hand's 400 Pound Monkey IPA. Some great pictures abound from this amazing beer homage event. There were plenty of Boo Berry and Count Chocula based desserts as well.

Sunday was low key home cooking night with some marinated chicken grilled, a rice, black bean, corn and peppers combo on the side. Mmmmmm. Funds were low after the Agora so cooking at home was the perfect way to end an epic weekend.

friday night was Ekta and rewatching LOST! Saturday we went to Tyler state park to hike around, but then put the calories right back on from Sonic on the way home. that night was the amazing movie party with an incredible cheese plate, soup with goldfish, pumpkin beers, and neon glow bracelets!!

Holly, since I saw you outside as I was exiting Brew/Ultimo this weekend, I will assume that means that I am attractive. THANKS!

brunch at cafe lift, finally! frittata, french toast, huevos rancheros, oh my!

Sumo came through big time

That makes me laugh for some reason. SUMOOOOOOOO

Does Thursday count as the weekend? (If you're over 21, of course it does.)

Korean Fried Chicken at Meritage. Go get it! $25 for a whole bird's worth of gooey, sweet, crunchy perfectly tender chicken plus a mound of slaw and one of potato salad. And 2 Sapporo beers. Didn't use a fork once.

I was super sick with a cold this whole weekend but managed to somehow have more activities lined up than I ever do when I'm healthy.  Friday night I had take-out from Circles Thai.  I went with crab pad thai and was a little worried that it would be "krab" but, No! Delicious pad thai with huge chunks of lump crab meat.  Amazing.  We also got some dumplings and massaman curry- all fantastic. I really appreciate the attention paid to presentation even though it's just a take-out joint.  Every dish we ordered was so pretty. 
Saturday was spent coughing, blowing my nose and maniacally running errands around town to get ready for a party I was hosting.  I was fueled by several cans of Target's Archer Farms brand grapefruit energy drink which is starting to fill the huge hole in my heart left when Tab Energy was pulled from shelves years ago (whyyyyyyyyy?????).  The party was, by all accounts, very successful despite my illness.
Sunday was a day of much needed rest.  Drank a ton of Vita Coco.  Good for both the hangover and the cold.  That night my parents came up and took me and the bf out to Mr. Martino's which is just such a sweet, charming little place.  I love it there.  The balsamic chicken special is always my default if they have it.

Hey Sarah, no disrespect to the Jersey-bred locals at the Shore. Those peeps are the best, and in my experience anyway, the ones that own and work at these bars and restaurants. The tough customers I'm talking about are the later-in-lifers that have retired to the Shore, new locals, if you will, but definitely not real ones.

Friday I had people over for the Phils game and we picked up an array of sandwiches at Paesano's. They elevate sandwiches to the level of art and their new cheesesteak was instantly one of the best I'v e ever had (and I've had my share). The bolognese (meatloaf) and arista (roast pork) were my other two favs of the evening. 

Saturday finally hit up the Fitzwater Cafe, which I'd been meaning to do for years. I've always heard good things and wasn't disappointed. Great service, great coffee and great omelets. The portion size on the potato side was small, but I was fine with that, I never eat all of my hash browns anyway. Went to a party where they were serving Mom's Bake At Home Pizza and Fat Tire(!!!).

Sunday had a great brunch at the Standard Tap. Loved my corned beef hash. Also at the table was the burger and duck salad, two Philly staples that never disappoint. Later that night we got delivery from Sumo Sushi. We had heard mixed reviews and were wary but Sumo came through big  time. Three great rolls and very good cuts of yellowtail sashimi. We'll be hitting them up again.

[...] - Notes from the Weekend: Oct. 11 [11oct10] [...] 

All cooking endeavors were spent creatively using up the veggies in my CSA share:

-sweet potatoes: silver dollar-ed and roasted with cumin and cinnamon, eaten with quick grilled skirt steak and...

-collard greens: had 2 huge bunches that I braised with onions, stock, maple syrup and vinegar 

-baby (or say, toddler) eggplants: copied one of my Japanese student's recipes, sauteed then 5-min boiled in some Hon Tsuyu soup base that I picked up at Hung Vuong on 11th and Washington

-dinosaur kale: fairly boringly but always deliciously steamed with a touch of bacon fat (yes I save it in a container in my fridge), made for a great Sunday dinner with a roast Griggstown poussin and new potatoes

A.S. -- Chili's represent! 

Anyways, Ant Pants' Eggs Benedict is scrumptious, even when it becomes all smushed because of take out.

I can back the occasional chain-restaurant meal, ease up haters! Taco bell, chipotle, and  waffle house are all fantastic. Wait,those might be considered "fast food"....

Oh Paesano's, stati-ooch sandwich, I will day dream about you until I can have you in my life once again.

Kibby, I was also at our cheers (aka POPE) on Saturday, shocker, right? For a brief moment they had Southern Tier Pumking on Draft. By brief moment I mean I had one glass. :(

[...] going to head to the Cheesecake Factory on Friday, but the wait was too long, so I took the lead of DL’s notes last week and headed to Villa di Roma (936 S. Ninth St.) for a late dinner. People talk about the chicken [...] 

Friday, I went to Sugarhouse casino for the time and it was total sensory overload.  We went early before it got too busy and were able to flag down the cocktail girls for free beers at least three times.  Pretty great.  I also won big ($30) on a slot machine called KITTY GLITTER.  Come on people who hate Sugarhouse-- what's not to like??? Left with my winnings and went to Kraftwork for the first time.  It was good! I love the beer sampler option- it is a seriously great deal at only $8.  I asked our server to just give me some random beers of his choosing for my sampler and he returned with what he called "the sampler of his heart".  I cannot remember what the beers were, but they were all awesome! (good story). After that, went to the new store on Columbus- Beer Heaven- and picked up a few six-packs.  The selection was good and the couple running it is sweet and adorable.  Go there, please! 

Saturday, my bf returned home from a cruise and we went to our homebase, aka the POPE, to discuss how he cheated on me by kissing a dolphin (and has photographic evidence) over a couple bottles of J.K Scrumpy cider.  That stuff tastes just like slightly carbonated apple juice and is so, so delicious.  

Apparently, I only drank this weekend?

AS needs to apologize for dining at the "giant chain restaurant with a pepper for a logo" and thinking its ok to write about. Weak.

Fun fact I learned about the "Stati-ooch" (turkey hoagie): It's slang for an Italian from Staten Island

Correction: your girlfriend had an egg white om., with spinach, mushrooms and cheese, 86 the sausage:)

I don't think I said that, I'll blame it on the recording secretary. 

Also, forgot to mention the newest 007 was at Lansdowne Road when we were there. I did not say hello to Daniel Craig though because I was afraid of being rendered unconscious via a dart shot from a cuff link.

The Fall festival was fun.  Did the usual eating, drinking and passing beers to festival workers in need of the sweet respite of a beverage. I was totally amazed at how delicious my saag paneer was from Bindi.  I enjoyed it so much that I chose it over conversing/catching up with a friend we ran into (good to see you Fran!). 
 
The cappuccino at Nana Petrillo's was perfect.  I recommend that place to anyone who finds themselves in the Northern Liberties area with a craving for sweets and caffeine.

The Eagles game was a disaster so I was more then happy to vacate the premises and head to an early dinner.  Villa was definitely food coma-inducing.  Why, oh why did I feel the need to consume both the cheesy garlic bread & fettuccine alfredo?  

After trying the nacho slice at Blackbird I am really excited to go back.  We also got a slice of the peanut butter bomb cake and let me tell you, if I hadn't bought it myself I would never believe its vegan-ness.

Oh, and Rubicon was awesome this week!

We hit the brand new candlelit, Euro-style gastropub Fork & Barrell out in East Falls and were pretty roundly impressed: They've got a bottle and draft list that rivals any I've seen in the city, including a killer selection of sour beers and rare bottles. Had the lamb burger, which was divine; the chicken and waffles were mouthwatering. 

They don't have a web site up yet, but the beer list at the owners' Tap & Table in Emmaus should give you an idea of what they're going for. Highly recommended.

had the eggs benedict florentine at sabrina's (sorry drew, but it was my first time there!) for a super late brunch saturday (4pm, starving, but at least we didn't have to wait). the weather was perfect and so was the hollandaise. followed by a super late dinner of homemade steak-frites (http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect-mcdonalds-style-french-fries.html ! they really were just like mcdonalds, which i am so down with). more cooking on sunday -- creamy tomato soup (with help from mark bittman), a baguette & pesto pork sausage from whole foods. decided that this weather means rich soup all the time.

Whoa slow your roll, sometimes chain restaurants happen.

On Sunday, I started my day at Gleaner's (double red eye) and then went to Cochon for brunch. I ended up not getting anything too crazy, just sunnyside up eggs and bacon and sausage. Nice and crispy bacon...sausage was AMAZING, extra-crispy and bursting at the ends with fat. Then I had Paesano's for lunch: Stati-ooch, hold the mayo, extra onions.

Friday at 2:15 p.m., we got to 30th Street Station on the tail end of Tropical Storm Nicole. Fearing delays in both ground and rail travel, I was pleasantly surprised at our swift journey from the Illadelph to New York. Checked into the Hotel Metro and before leaving, discovered the roof deck facing out at the Empire State Building with an outdoor bar stocked with three kegs still tapped and awaiting the end of the night. 

Made our way to The Back Half for a feast weeks in the making. They had a whole roast pig waiting for us, but before that was grilled calamari that was out of this world and salad. The pig was presented to the guest of honor before serving, then brought back into the kitchen and delivered to the table completely butchered. We then tore into the most excellent pork anyone ever had in their lives (it came with collard greens, pork fat-cooked beans, an excellent gravy and AWESOME bread). Delicacies such as the ear and the cheek were consumed with sheer fucking awesome *Homer Simpson drool* gusto. We ate everything. We ate its face. We ate it all, man. It was definitely a brutal, intense meal — not for the faint of heart in some ways, but absolutely delicious and something I'll never forget. The dessert of brownie and ice cream was sublime. 

Then we went to the Marshall Stack, an awesome bar with great music and the best Who poster I've ever seen (and I've seen them all). Victory was on tap and some Troegs. Flash forward to shaking off a hangover and taking advantage of the hotel's continental breakfast with my girlfriend, actually very good. Then headed to lunch at Don Giovanni's Brick Oven Pizzeria. Had a so-so caprese salad and an excellent pizza with mozzarella, goat cheese and ricotta. I fucking loved it. After a special performance of American Idiot featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, went to a bar called Lansdowne Road. Excellent chili nachos and buffalo wings ... it took me a long time to get back on the train. Made it back to Philly at 9:40, watched some Team America, passed out, woke up, finished Team America, went to the triumphantly resurgent Teri's Deli in the Italian Market. I had a freshly made waffle and well-grilled sausage, just the breakfast I was looking for. My girlfriend had a sausage/egg white omelette that was perfectly cooked. Then to a friend's house for NFL Sunday, where we ordered Ms. Tootsie's: fried chicken wings, candied yams, collard greens, cheesy cheesy mac 'n' cheese, iced tea, cornbread, chocolate cake and coconut cake. 

Definitely one of the best eating weekends in recent memory. Screw Flanders.

I want to win big on Kitty Glitter!

Friday night was Teenage Fanclub at the Troc, which was sparsely crowded. A shame as it was a great show, but I was a tad bit sleepy. Why you ask? Good Dog Burger. That burger is easily one of the best in the city. Had a few Lagunitas IPA's as well, so I don't think that helped. Saturday was a Mad Men themed cocktail party. Ate dinner at home, but enjoyed some Bulliet Bourbon, High Life and other finger foods care of our gracious and lovely West Philly host. Sunday was recooping from Mad Men and Eagles time. Enjoy a Gaetano's Cheese Steak, easily the only cheese steak to get in SoJo.

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