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Archive: March, 2011
Jonathan Waxman, widely considered one of the most influential chefs in American cooking, will visit Marc Vetri and Jeff Michaud at Osteria (640 N. Broad St.) on Monday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. to cook a wine-paired tasting. The chef/owner of the West Village's Barbuto (you might also know him from Top Chef Masters, where fellow contestants bowed to his Obi-Wan Kenobi-like skills) is releasing his second cookbook, Italian, My Way, next Tuesday. Guests who pony up the $150 all-inclusive price will receive a signed copy (we had a chance to devour an advance and it's a definite must-add to the cookbook shelf). Tix are all-inclusive, and half of the proceeds will be donated to Osteria's upcoming Great Chefs Event, benefitting Alex's Lemonade Stand. Head here to reserve.
Photo: barbutonyc.com
- You want these. You want these really badly: crunchy little Cheetos dipped in chocolate. The Cereal Baker can take the blame. Enjoy keeping the orange off of your fingertips in the best kind of way!
- Several familiar fruits, veggies, and spices we mindlessly imbibe on a daily basis are actually lethal. Lethal, deadly weapons. I mean, it's really just about what part of the tomato you eat (stay away from those fragrant leaves), or the amount of time you cook your lima beans (less than 10 minutes and you could be consuming cyanide!). Read Foodista's breakdown and inform yourselves.
- I back this. I back this hard. Some resident in Waco, Texas are deeply offended by — while others are flocking to — a new burger stand indiscreetly named Fat Ho Burgers. Every sandwich be a ho, too, with cheese or without, but always supa fly. Have a sense of humor.
- ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS? Oh my goodness, there is finally hope for you! CNN reports that there is a still-in-the-works patch — much like a nicotine patch — to desensitize, and possibly cure, your intolerance. PB&Js for all. It's just a little weird that these researchers are testing it on their allergic children.
- Philadelphia's sugary baby, Tastykake, has gone gluten-free. They've released chewy — and, according to Gluten Free Philly, "pretty good" — chocolate chip cookies. There are also chocolate chocolate chip. Let us gluten avoiders chant together in anticipation of the unveiling of a GF peanut butter Kandykake or butterscotch krimpet.
- Um, friends ... rats are running amok in Center City restaurants. Don't be so surprised; we live in a city where filthy rodents swarm. Let's just hope these particular unfortunate joints take care of the issue.
- Turn that frown upside down and watch this video right now. The whole thing.
Stephen Starr's Franklin Square burger shack SquareBurger (Sixth and Race) opens for the warm-weather season tomorrow, April 1, at 10:30 a.m. Ralph Archbold, everyone's fave Ben Franklin impersonator, will be in the house to open the stand for the coming months. In addition to the requisite burgers, fries, tenders, shakes and whatnot (April's "Shake of the Month" is orange creamsicle), they've added a few new treats, like a crispy chicken sandwich and something intensely dubbed a "Birthday Bonanza Sundae" (to mark the Square's fifth birthday). Seasonal hours of operation after the jump.
- Adam Erace visits Cantina Feliz, the Fort Washington Mexican restaurant from Distrito veterans Tim Spinner and Brian Sirhal. The food wows, even if the spot is situated at the corner of "GPS and Required" for all us city dwellers.
- Soil Kitchen, which we touched upon in our March 17 spring food issue, kicks off Friday. The FutureFarmers-helmed art installation dissects the topics of sustainability and urban agriculture through the whimsical lens of Cervantes' Don Quixote. There is also soup!
- Feeding Frenzy features details on four new openings: Gunners Run, Indian Restaurant, 1518 Bar & Grill and a new location for Erawan Thai Cuisine.
- Lots to do in What's Cooking this week: Laurel Rose Purdy shares info on a Japan benefit at Elixr, a swanky charity benefit honored Georges Perrier, Amis industry night featuring Prune's Gabrielle Hamilton and more.
Photo: Neal Santos
The first batch of XXX Shine, the white whiskey from Philadelphia Distilling we told you about in our March 17 issue, will officially ship out on April 20, says PD's Andrew Auwerda — but that doesn't mean us here in Philly will be able to toast to 4/20 with a lil' jug of the brand-new spirit. The distillery has no control over when the PLCB will give the official go-ahead for the moonshine to spread throughout PD's home state, "it may be weeks before it's fully distributed around [Pennsylvania]," says Auwerda. We'll keep you posted; familiarize yourself with the triple-X hooch in the meantime.
Photo: Jason Varney
Philly's restaurant community clearly is Twitter-obsessed — just check out a few of the chefs all up on it. Naturally this had led to a number of anonymous accounts — Twitter really is the best medium for such a thing — blasting out short/sweet updates from deep within the bowels of the biz. (Follow @mealticket for a nice little gateway into it.) The skinny on three such users after the jump.
To some, spring means opening day at Citizens Bank Park, or the chance to finally bust out last year's cargo shorts and flip flops. To others, it brings the advent of HOT DOG SEASON.
Dock Street Brewing Co. is ringing in this precious time of year and firing up their grill for a special hot dog and beer dinner hosted next Thursday, April 7, at East Falls' Fork & Barrel (4213 Ridge Ave.). $35 buys you a four-course gourmet hot dog feast (no mystery meat here), including a speck-wrapped duck hot dog topped with sour cherries and a dog slathered in Far East-influenced lemongrass salsa. Each course will be paired with a carefully selected Dock Street craft brew. The adventure in hot doggery concludes with an ambitious dessert dog, topped with chocolate-covered bacon chips, caramel, coconut and sea salt. If you're up for it, spots are limited, so reserve ASAP: 215-848-1990.
Summer Love Ale, which Victory developed for Philly's ubiquitous Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) in the summer of 2010, is coming back as soon as the weather breaks. The Downingtown-based brewery is widening its net for 2011, too — the beer, brewed with pale malts, German hops and Brandywine Creek water (same as Victory's tasty new Headwaters Pale Ale), will soon be available at bars and stores in 29 states beginning this May. Locally, it'll be poured on tap (keep an eye on visitphilly.com/victory for a hit list) and available in cases at beer distributors.
Though we'll miss the Doug Funny-like depiction of Billy Penn on the OG label, the new baseball-themed branding is charming in its own right.
"I wanna get my hands in some dirt." So says chef Lynn Rinaldi, who, with business partner/co-chef/main squeeze Corey Baver, is drawing up plans for a self-irrigating garden on the 800-square-foot roof of her restaurant, Paradiso (1627 E. Passyunk Ave.). With guidance from Ian Brendle of Green Meadow Farm, the king and queen of East Passyunk are installing raised beds on the top of the three-story former furniture factory over the next two weeks. Once the weather breaks, in will go the heirloom tomato plants, microgreens, herbs, berries, even a fig tree — a runs-a-cool-K investment that will yield "$7,000 to $8,000 in produce if we have a good season," Rinaldi estimates. "In the summer, each week we go through at least $700 in tomatoes alone." She's particularly psyched to try her (green-thumbed) hand at the rare Queen Anne raspberry, a golden variety and personal fave she hopes to use in summer tarts.
When the Swift Half Pub closed its doors for good after New Year's, it left a gaping void in the Piazza at Schmidts' eats scene. After only three short months, though, Gunners Run has come in to pick up the baton. Slated for an official grand opening this coming Thursday, March 31, the bar/restaurant — owned by concert promoter Bryan Dilworth, booker Tim Borror, Old City Tattoo's Jason Goldberg and chef Shawn Sollberger — has been completely done over (think old English hunting lodge gone NoLibs). They offer 10 beers on tap, including many local options, plus a big botle list. Notable menu items of Sollberger's include chicken-fried chicken (breaded in panko), the trademark "Bad Luck Burger" and an awesomely retro-sounding "70s Salad," which consists of an iceberg wedge topped with Russian dressing, bacon, eggs, onions, and shrimp. You can take a look at the entire menu here; check after the jump for more shots of the interior.
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