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Archive: September, 2011
Isabel, from the owners of Fairmount's Trio (2624 Brown St.), will open to the public this coming Monday, Oct. 3. Swung by the Mexicali BYOB, in the ground-floor restaurant space of the 2601 Parkway condo complex (2601 Pennsylvania Ave., 215-472-8088), to snap a few pics.
Brahim Ighladen's Marrakesh Express (4407 Chestnut St.), which opened in the fall of 2009 and unexpectedly closed in May of this year, is back, and this time the chef is taking the "Express" part quite literally — in about two weeks, Ighladen will roll out a food truck at 40th and Locust, situated right next to the mobile Pure Fare we've been telling you about. The base menu will feature pita sandwiches — falafel, marinated vegetables, lamb (above), chicken, baked fish — and the Casablancan will also offer street-food-friendly versions of his well-liked traditional dishes, like couscous and tagines. The plan is for Marrakesh Express to operate Monday through Saturday, with Sundays left open for special events.
Early fall is a busy time for the South Philadelphia social calendar. Two weekends ago was Annunciation's Padre Pio carnival, last weekend was wine celebration Vendemmia in Girard Park, and this coming Sunday, Oct. 2, St. Nicholas of Tolentine hosts its annual Italian Festival on Ninth Street between Moore and Morris. The festival begins at noon with a good old-fashioned procession of relics (and we don't mean the wheelchair-bound granny in the Snuggie), followed by benediction on the church steps and eating and drinking till 9 p.m. Mamma Maria is braising tripe, Termini's is stuffing cannoli and Anthony's is brewing coffee. There’ll also be plenty of meatballs, 'scarole and beans, tomato pie, broccoli rabe, roast beef, porchetta, zeppoli and all other manner of red-sauce cookin'. Come hungry.
Photo: stnicksphila.com
Tequilas (1602 Locust St.) is welcoming a milestone — a quarter-century in business — with events and specials running through Oct. 2. Joe Raffa of Oyamel in D.C. and Danny Mena of Hecho en Dumbo in NYC have added a few additions to the menu for the week to go along with full lunch and dinner deals coming in at $15 and $25, respectively — opt for new dishes like red snapper ceviche, shrimp soup cooked in chile guajillo, crisp corn tostadas, roasted kid goat and pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. Tonight, get your Thirsty Thursday on as master mixologist Junior Merino, aka The Liquid Chef, makes a special appearance behind the the bar, shaking up concoctions to go with dinner. Using tequila from Siembra Azul, the Mexican distillery owned by Tequilas head honcho David Suro-Piñera, he's preparing drinks with names like Wild Passion, Future Traditions, Deseo and Winter's Warmth. Call 215-546-0181 for reservations.
Tonight, MidAtlantic (3711 Market St.) is taking a fowl approach to pairing food and drink — starting at 6 p.m., the West Philly restaurant will host Birdies, Beer + Booze. Teaming up with Dock Street and Philadelphia Distilling, Daniel Stern's restaurant will provide eaters with a slew of poultryfied dishes, each matched with a beer and a cocktail. Start off with hors d'oeuvres, like pot pie soup dumplings and chicken-fried "oysters," paired with a drink combining Dock Street's OMG Pale Ale and Philly Distilling's Bluecoat Gin. From there, enjoy four more courses (quail, duck, egg custard, etc.) with two drinks a pop accompanying. It's $35 for just the food and an additional $25 to take care of the booze; full menu after the jump (click to enlarge). Call 215-386-3711 for rezzies.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Friend of Meal Ticket MS submits this shot of a mystery venue from which he procured a "bomb-ass breakfast sandwich." Can you identify it?
- It's a mellow hello at the new Sawatdee, which critic Adam Erace believes is too comfortable in its neighborhood-Thai-BYO role to branch out and take risks with bold flavors and dishes.
- When you think fried chicken, you don't necessarily think about Pakistan. But West Philly's Wah-Gi-Wah can easily help you out on that front with its sick rendition of Lahori Chargha, deep-fried bird with South Asian spices.
- In What's Cooking: a local not named Jose Garces battling on Iron Chef America, a 13th Street food/booze fest, one pumpkin extravaganza to rule them all and more.
- In Icepack: A.D. Amorosi chats with Jennifer Carroll, who's stepping away from her gig at 10 Arts next week. He also has early notes on Arts Bar, developing in the Wolf Building.
- In Agenda: Word on this weekend's RiverCity Festival, which will feature grub from Bubba's BBQ and Hinge Café, plus a volleyball tournament that will pit local bar staffs against one another.
Photo: Neal Santos
Meal Ticket recently filled you in on A Play, A Pie and a Pint, a new Knight Arts Challenge-funded initiative combining three things Philly does exceptionally well — live theater, pizza and craft beer. Though the stage schedule and beer provider (Yards) have already been locked in, the edible element of the equation was still up in the air as of last week — but today, organizer Emma Gibson tells us Kennett (848 S. Second St.), purveyors of that excellent porchetta pizza, among other pies, has signed on to be a part of it all. "Their food is local and sustainably sourced and they are active in the local community," says Gibson, "so it feels like a good fit." Can't argue with that. A Play, a Pie and a Pint kicks off Oct. 4 at Society Hill Playhouse (507 S. Eighth St.).
UPDATE [30sept11]: To sweeten the deal, Kennett's offering 15 percent food discount to anyone who produces a ticket stub from A Play, A Pie and a Pint.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Recently, I learned about a new product Nabisco is rolling out: the Double Triple Oreo. It's a bastardized cookie endorsed by pro athletes — Shaq, Venus and Serena Williams, the Manning brothers, Apolo Ohno — who probably never consume Oreos in real life. The Double Triple consists of a classic Oreo cookie wafer, a layer of vanilla cream, another wafer, a layer of chocolate cream and another wafer. Each one is 100 calories and contains 4.5 grams of fat.
I filed mental note of the cookie away with eventual plans to pick some up for a Delicious or Suspicious, but then the boyfriend and I went to the supermarket and there they were. Cue music, cue sonorous angel voices rejoicing, cue Oreogasm. We bought them. I wasn't concerned with my stepping over the excess border into gluttony land because I just knew it would all be worth it.
Jill Weber's Jet Wine Bar (1525 South St.) has updated its menu dramatically for the fall, fleshing out the food offerings at the vinohead's destination to include more sharing plates, more charcuterie and more vegetarian options. All of that finger-friendly fare jives with Jet's unconventional glass and bottle lists, but the menu (snag a PDF here via Jet's site) also marks Jet's movement into more of a restaurant — they've also made room for seafood (in the form of daily-rotating ceviche and mussel specials), plus regular entrée specials.
Photo: Drew Lazor
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