• 34th Street takes on the Reading Terminal Market, picking its favorite eats, reviewing the Dutch Eating Place, and listing the top five mac and cheeses
• Under the Button reports that Sweetgreen will open on Tuesday, April 12
• Both The Daily Pennsylvanian and The Feast blog go behind the scenes with the Boba Bros of TBowl
• Check out Penn student Hannah Bender's food blog, Live to Eat - Philadelphia
• Kitchen at Penn is this week's CrowdQuest deal - buy yours before the deal expires on Monday!
Penn Gastronomy Club muses on ice cream sundaes and Pamcakes Cupcakery (check out a Penn Appétit blogger's thoughts on Pamcakes here)
• Midtown Lunch reviews campus establishment Copabanana's many burger options
• Meal Ticket reports on Sweetbox, a new cupcake truck coming to University City
• Uwishunu rounds up their favorite Philly food trucks
• The politics of food: famed food journalist Mark Bittman recognizes Philadelphia as a progressive food city - The New York Times
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Blog Bites: A Round-Up of the Week's Top Food Stories
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Maple Oat Scones
In need of a delicious, homemade and portable breakfast, I decided that I needed to make a batch of scones. Since maple is one of my favorite flavors (and aromas), I settled on adapting a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, combining the sweetness of maple syrup with the texture of rolled oats. It's a straightforward recipe (if you bake at all you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already). If you don't think you'll be able to finish one batch before they go stale, you can also freeze them and they'll keep for weeks.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cups butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut butter into pieces and use a pastry blender to to work the butter into the flour until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add milk and maple syrup to the flour and use your hands to make the dough. You can add additional milk if it feels too dry. Roll the dough into a ball and flatten it into a circle, and then use a knife to cut it into wedges. Lay the scones on a greased baking pan, brush with milk (or egg) and sprinkle with sugar.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Paesano's Philly Style
When my friend invited me on a random Tuesday afternoon trip to an off-campus sandwich place, I jumped at the opportunity. While I love Penn, I’m always happy to take a short break from this microcosm of very stressed-out kids. We headed to ‘Paesano’s Philly Style’ to try the sandwiches that Philadelphia Magazine suggested, “just may be the best sandwiches in the city.”
After arriving in Northern Liberties, we wandered up a lonely, unpopulated W Girard Avenue in search of Paesano’s. Luckily we noticed a little, yellow row house with "Paesano’s" etched in the window. We walked into what almost literally a hole in the wall. The tiny sandwich shop featured a narrow kitchen area adjacent to a countertop with 6 bar wobbly bar stools on the other side. The two cooks chopped meat and vegetables on the smooth stove top and pleasantly bantered with the men, who I assumed to be regulars, sitting at the counter.
A blackboard with the menu hung over the kitchen. My mouth watered as I read the sandwich selection: the Arista with whole roasted suckling pig, Italian long hots, broccoli rabe, and sharp provolone, the Gustario with house-made lamb sausage, sun-dried cherry mustarda, gorgonzola spread, roasted fennel, and arugula...how would I choose? The menu’s list of side orders manifested the restaurant’s Italian roots. It featured potato arrosto, which appeared to be french fries, and crispelle, a crepe with nutella and marmalade.
My friend ordered the Zawzeech sandwich with sweet Italian sausage, caramelized peppers and onions, sharp provolone, and pepperoncino. I decided to go with the restaurant’s namesake and opted for the Paesano. We fidgeted at the counter as we waited, watching impatiently as the friendly cook added layer after layer of ingredients to our sandwiches. Finally, he added the finishing touch fried egg to my sandwich and set it in front of me on a thin piece of wax paper.
My sandwich featured beef brisket, horseradish mayo, roasted tomatoes, pepperoncino, sharp provolone, and fried egg. As I bit into it, the horseradish, egg yolk, and oil blended everything together into a succulent mess. While I ate my savory sandwich my friend enjoyed his sweeter sandwich. I started to guess how many calories I was consuming in one meal, but changed my mind and tallied things in terms of how many calories I was consuming for a small $8 price. This sandwich was a lot of bang for a buck, and it was phenomenal!
After leaving a generous tip, we turned to go and noticed the far wall of the restaurant for the first time. On it hung various photographs: pictures of a large, pink pig lovingly snuggled against people and, much to my horror, a picture of piglets, that would have otherwise been adorable, covered in seasoning and placed in a pan. I quietly said thanks that I hadn’t noticed the pictures before eating.
Nevertheless, I vowed to return again to try more sandwiches and maybe even investigate the story behind the pictures. The small eatery certainly had character and I had just enjoyed one of the best sandwiches of my life.
Paesano's
152 W Girard Ave
Philadelphia PA 19123
267.886.9556
Thursday, April 7, 2011
TBowl: New Eatery on the Block
When I saw that Taglio's would be shutting down, I was pretty sad--I actually liked their rectangularly-sliced, oven-baked pizza. It was pretty inexpensive, too; the prices had been continuously going down throughout its existence. However, I was also quite excited about the emergence of a new restaurant. TBowl was supposed to serve rice bowls and offer bubble tea as well.
It took a surprisingly short time (perhaps 2-3 weeks) for TBowl to open after Taglio's closed down. I went on its opening day around 4:45 p.m. to try the bubble tea. The only flavor offered was the regular milk tea, which was not outstanding, but not bad, either. I went back with a friend two days after to try the rice bowl. First, you can choose between long-grained white rice and brown rice. Second, you choose from the wide variety of veggies. Then, you pick the "protein"--chicken or tofu (I got both). Finally, the you choose the sauce. I chose the ginger sauce, but the server there told us that the most popular once is lemon goddess, which my friend got. The bowl is taken into the kitchen to be stir-fried. The bowl itself is $3.95, the vegetable add-in $0.95/scoop, and the protein $1.95; my bowl ended up being a little over $8. I saw that the restaurant was offering coffee with bubbles now, so my friend and I ordered that as well. Our tab was around $13 each.
My friend and I sat at the table waiting for out bowls to come out, drinking out coffee with bubbles. After finishing half of it, my stomach started to turn--it was way too sweet. Way, way too sweet. My friend felt the same, and when our bowls came out, we were already feeling a little sick. Still, we thought the bowls themselves were pretty good. The ingredients were fresh and the sauce was a great addition (even though initially I thought adding what looked like salad dressing to rice was a little odd). I liked my friend's lemon goddess sauce; it added zest to the dish. I felt that I would have enjoyed the meal better if my tastes had not been partially numbed by the deluge of sugar I had consumed. One of the servers came over to ask how we thought about the coffee, and we told him that it had too much sugar for our liking. He thanked us, said that he is taking various opinions, and that the restaurant will eventually have more flavors for bubble tea.
The portion was very generous--neither I nor my guy friend could finish it, but it could be because our stomachs were not functioning normally at the time after such a strong drink. Then maybe the restaurant took our opinion and made it less sweet. I will be sure to go back again.
TBowl
3716 Spruce St
Philadelphia PA 19104
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Kiwi Froyo Preceptorial- A Sweet Talk and Sweet Treat
There is nothing like a delicious cup of frozen yogurt to brighten up my day. It is the perfect treat for any time of day in any type of weather (yes, I LOVE ice cream/froyo in cold weather!). I particularly enjoy the freedom to choose my own flavors and toppings and make a different creation every time I get a cup. I come from the West Coast where the craze originated, so I’m definitely a froyo connoisseur. I was surprised to find out that the dining halls didn’t have soft-serve ice cream machines (rather, the hard “scoopable” kind), so I was even happier to discover Kiwi while exploring campus one day. My usual cup is filled with their creamy cookies n’ cream, milk chocolate, and peanut butter froyo, topped with pleasantly chewy mochi and refreshing fruit. When I first found out about the Kiwi Frozen Yogurt preceptorial, I jumped at the chance to sign up. In addition to hearing the story behind Kiwi, the talk would conclude with discounted froyo at the Kiwi on 36th and Chestnut. The sweet talk and sweet treat made this preceptorial a sweet deal—I couldn’t wait!
For Ryan and Matt Mealey, the sister-and-brother duo that own Kiwi, entrepreneurship has always been in the family. Their grandfather started a retail furniture company in northeast Philadelphia more than 40 years ago, wanting to offer customers a wide selection of affordable furnishings with the novel concept of same-day delivery. Today, Mealey’s Furniture has five locations in Philadelphia and New Jersey and runs their business with customers as their number one priority. Working at the store helped Ryan and Matt understand how to become successful: “constantly evolve your business model; have steadfast determination, drive, and faith; and ultimately be happy at the end of the day.”
Nowadays, their lives revolve around frozen yogurt. They first realized the opportunities of a frozen yogurt shop when they visited their uncle in California in December 2008, a time when the ice cream alternative was becoming wildly popular. While they initially considered opening a franchise, they wanted a greater challenge; as Matt explained, they “wanted to start from scratch and have the chance to compete with national brands.” Whether they were choosing the location of their first store or negotiating prices for frozen yogurt ingredients, Ryan and Matt experienced many triumphs and hardships in the process. The hardest part? “Choosing the name!” Matt said, “At one point, there were at least fifty potential names.” Ryan later explained that they settled on Kiwi because it was “catchy and short.” Additionally, kiwis are one of the most nutrient-dense fruits, a fact that aligns with the business’ promotion of healthy eating and froyo as a nutritious dessert choice and alternative to ice cream.
It was a long road, but Ryan and Matt finally opened their first store on June 19, 2009, at their Cherry Hill location. Business boomed after their grand opening; Kiwi now operates five locations and plans to open two more in the next year. What constantly drives them is their goal of “creating a unique experience that is fresh, flavorful, and fun for guests while always maintaining a high level of quality customer service.” They are dedicated to making an experience at Kiwi the highlight of the customer’s day; this devotion to their public certainly has customers constantly coming back for more. Ryan fondly recalls overhearing a child at Kiwi’s Collegeville location say, “Mommy, can we please live at Kiwi?”
Kiwi is not just a job to Ryan and Matt—it is a lifestyle. “I go to sleep thinking about Kiwi and wake up thinking about Kiwi,” Matt commented. While they inevitably have to make sacrifices, both Ryan and Matt agree that the experience has been completely rewarding and worth it every step of the way. Matt sums it up the best: “When you open your own business, it’s a greater feeling than anything else. I never imagined that I would one day see people walking around my college campus [at Penn State] carrying cups with the logo of our business. It is absolutely invigorating to start from nothing and create something that countless people enjoy.”
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
On Casual Dining: Beginning
I didn’t grow up going out to eat often. I am the oldest of four, and not of a family wealthy by American standards. We went out to Olive Garden, Bertucci’s, and Chili’s for special occasions, and loved the bottomless breadsticks, salads, and chips. I don’t recall having been to a restaurant that wasn’t a chain before high school. This year, as a Penn freshman, eating out most weekends has been a new and strange experience. I haven’t spent over $15 on food for one yet, and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to brace myself to do so.
From Wawa hoagies to White Dog is a big leap. I haven’t much experience to draw on when discussing food, and I’m not qualified to write a restaurant review. I’m tempted to rag on fine dining sometimes. Rather than doing so, though, I want to argue the virtues of littler, humbler experiences which I think are undervalued and often underrepresented. I want to find the people, restaurants, and places that are using food to facilitate conversation, community, and real life.
Those are the ways in which I first saw food, through my mother’s cooking for my family and for our friends. She does well. She has been known on our block for her desserts since our first summer here, and I’ve always been proud of that. It’s an accomplishment, I think, to surprise and amaze people with average foods. She does chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies like nobody’s business.
Last weekend I took a friend home for a short visit. “I like your house,” she said. “People live here!” It’s true. There are books, shoes, and keys everywhere. “It’s not,” my friend explained, “like Better Homes and Gardens, but it’s not messy. It’s homey.” The books are on shelves, the shoes in a heap, and the keys are never lost. My home, like our food, isn’t careless and it’s not pretentious. It’s unassuming and doesn’t need to be. It’s humble, but it’s nothing ordinary. I want to make, eat, and argue for food like that.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Fathom Seafood House
Fathom Seafood House, the latest venture from Fish and Little Fish chef/owner Mike Stollenwerk, sits on the unlikely corner of Girard and Shackamaxon in Fishtown. It is, of course, totally appropriate to have a seafood restaurant in a neighborhood with so much fishy history, but Fishtown isn’t generally known for upscale dining. Fathom strikes a perfect balance with unique twists on quality ingredients.
Fathom is tiny, containing just a few tables surrounding the sleek and simple bar. The open kitchen lends a sense of continuity and homeiness, and the service corresponds. We arrived during happy hour and our bartender, Amy, worked with the cooks to whip up a couple of $4 oyster shooters spiked with hot sauce. I’ll be the first to admit that oysters make me a little nervous, but I want to like them, so I dove right in – and they were delicious. The other happy hour special is $2 PBR, and Fathom boasts a nice little draft list, including a line dedicated to Harpoon’s rare 100 Barrel series. Fathom’s cocktail list is small but smart, and includes a fantastic Lemon Basil drink, Mint Iced Tea, and a gin-and-grapefruit concoction called the Salty Dog.
Fathom offers several raw oyster selections from both coasts, accompanied by a trio of sauces. We started with Misty Point oysters from Virginia, which were large, plump, and deliciously briny. The New England Tomahawk oysters were slightly smaller and a little chewier, with a clean, bright finish. I ordered a few littleneck clams to follow the oysters; the first one was unusually small and slightly suspicious in flavor, but the others were beautifully, aggressively salty and slid right down with a touch of mignonette on top. We were enjoying our bivalves so much that we added a few of the fantastic salt-poached shrimp onto our order. They were gorgeous, large, tender and perfectly cleaned, with a mild flavor that was neither too briny nor too fishy.
We continued our odyssey through the menu with the lobster grilled cheese, a buttery sandwich of fresh, meaty lobster layered with melted Fontina. Seafood and cheese together can be tricky, but this was sheer heaven. The crispy sourdough did an admirable job holding and complementing the rich, gooey insides. I’ve been dreaming about this sandwich ever since our visit. We followed it with the slightly less memorable smoked marlin tacos; the flavor of the shredded fish was spot on, but the texture was just a little too creamy. I was hoping for more heat from the pickled jalapeños, but then again, I’m always wishing for more spice in my food.
Next came the Crab Louie: large hunks of incredibly fresh, chewy crab, tempura-battered and fried, served with a spicy aioli. The batter was light and crispy, not too greasy, and the flavor of the crab managed to shine right through. Amazing. The kitchen sent us some cod pierogies to round out the meal, a nice touch fit for the neighborhood’s Polish background. The dough was just a little on the dry side, but the cod was lovely, and the little half-moons were accented with sweet onions and bacon. Like so many of Fathom’s dishes, it was a smart, cheeky way to make Stollenwerk’s beautiful seafood a little more accessible.
Fishtown is a bit of a hike, but Stollenwerk and chef Rob Holloway have created a space worthy of a sketchy subway ride. I can’t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu.
Fathom Seafood House
200 E Girard Ave
Philadelphia PA 19125
267.761.9343
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Blog Bites: A Round-Up of the Week's Top Food Stories
• The Daily Pennsylvanian covers the opening of TBowl at 3716 Spruce
• 34th Street lists a few eateries that could aptly supply a spring picnic outing
• ...and photographs some favorite Philly eats
• The politics of food: The New York Times investigates the poor eating habits of Philadelphia children
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Food Events @ Penn
What: MUSE Foodie Week
Who: Marketing Undergraduate Students Establishment (MUSE) and Penn Gastronomy Club (PGC)
Where: Huntsman Hall
When: Monday, April 4 - Thursday, April 7
Cost: Free
MUSE proudly presents an entire week of food events in relation to marketing! Meet locally renowned restaurants including Pat's King of Steaks, Sweetgreen, Adsum, and Sugar Philly Truck throughout the week! Come out and stimulate your taste buds while hearing from some of the most accomplished restaurant owners and chefs in Philadelphia!
Pat's King of Steaks
Monday, April 4, 6 pm, JMHH 250
Start MUSE’s Foodie week with Pat’s Cheesesteaks! Come grab a FREE PAT’S CHEESESTEAK and listen to Frank Olivieri, Pat’s current owner, speak about Pat's overall brand management and marketing campaigns. Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!
Sweetgreen
Tuesday, April 5, 6 pm, JMHH 260
Ever wonder where your food comes from? Come meet Sweetgreen, the newest addition to the Penn eatery scene, and hear about their sustainable ingredient sourcing. Exclusive pre-opening FREE DINNER at Sweetgreen following the presentation.
Adsum
Wednesday, April 6, 6 pm, JMHH F90
Ever wondered what Molecular Gastronomy is? Continue MUSE’s Foodie Week with Matt Levin, who is the executive chef of Adsum. He will discuss his journey from chef to restaurateur and the fascinating world of molecular gastronomy.
Sugar Philly Truck
Thursday, April 7, 6 pm, JMHH 255
HAVE A SWEET TOOTH FOR MARKETING AND DESSERTS? Wrap up MUSE Foodie Week with Sugar Philly Truck's co-founder, John Suh. John will talk about how he has utilized social media to exemplify marketing in the 21st century. You will have a special taste-testing of many of Sugar Philly Truck's delectable desserts!
What: Come and listen to the inspiring stories of the founders of Gia Pronto & TBowl, Kiwi Frozen Yogurt, and Boba Bros as they discuss their startups in the food business
Who: Phi Gamma Nu
Where: Huntsman Hall 85
When: Wednesday, April 6, 5:30-730pm
Cost: Free food samples and bubble tea will be provided
What: a 12 hour event to increase cancer awareness and raise money for research, featuring performances from Penn Masala and Off the Beat and with free food from
Maggianos, Qdoba, Cosi, New Style Pizza, Allegros, Powelton Pizza, and Wildflower Bakery
Who: Penn Relay for Life
Where: Franklin Field
When: April 8-9, 8pm-8am
Go to www.relayatpenn.org for more information.
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Insatiable Journalist Part 4: Time to Start From the Beginning
I didn't have any crazy adventures with Chef Perrier or Chef Elmi or even Patti the PR woman since the last time I've posted. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I haven't been working on "LBF: the Life and Times" - my faux working title until I get a better idea of the story's arc. Quite the contrary. There have been interviews to transcribe and logistics to maneuver for the remaining visits and, oh yeah, a 7000 word story to consider.
Some of the best experiences are (I hope!) yet to come. But as excited as I am, I'm trying to go against character here and not indulge my giddiness by spilling all the details before they're worked out. Instead, I figured it's about time that I gave this crazy guy who flirts uncontrollably and smokes in the kitchen some context, the sort of context that explains why, in spite of those idiosyncrasies, he is one of the most well-respected men in the city.
Local legend remembers him as the man responsible for Philadelphia’s Restaurant Renaissance in the 1970s and since then for maintaining a standard that refuses to let Philly’s food scene be reduced to cheesesteaks and tastykakes. Recent years have seen Le Bec-Fin falter under the weight of economic realities and critics who don’t think people should have to spend a fortune or put on a jacket and tie just to eat out. The young crowd with new money doesn’t want to celebrate the hallmark moments of their lives at the same old restaurant on Walnut with the overbearing chandeliers and gilding that recalls the ballroom on the Titanic, where their parents and grandparents dined out in their best pearls and cufflinks. With the ethos that newer is better sweeping the nation and hot celebrity chefs opening “concept” restaurants it seemed that the short French chef with the even shorter temper might be reduced to a relic, or worse, a joke.
Eventually, despite lightening the dress code and holding promotions to defray the costs of dinning there, even the notoriously stubborn and self-assured Georges Perrier couldn’t ignore that with big names like Stephen Starr, Jose Garces, and Marc Vetri offering patrons a dinning experience that is hipper, younger, and sexier that the once-classic Le Bec-Fin was becoming obsolete. Last July, Georges Perrier announced that after forty years, Le Bec-Fin would be closing the upcoming May. That is, until he changed his mind.
In perfect Perrier style, he announced the non-closing on New Year's Eve to so much fanfare that it doesn’t take much of a cynic to infer why the line cooks rolled their eyes at any mention of the potentially tragic closing. Maybe they knew something the rest of us didn’t and had reason to retrospectively not take the would-have-been loss of a job seriously. But just because the foodies of Philly let out a sigh of relief on January 1st and tsk tsked the rest of the city to respect their elders doesn’t mean the scene is changing. Le Bec-Fin is just as out of place amid the unpretentious BYOs and monthly new Starr creation as it was this time last year. Maybe the threat of closing and the slowly stabilizing economy is the wake-up call the city needs to reclaim her epicurean icon. But if LBF is to last another half a century--as Chef Perrier assures me it will--something’s got to change.
