Philly Food Events

Qdoba's Summer Savings
WHAT: Philadelphia residents can enjoy their favorite Qdoba entrées for only $6 with Qdoba’s Summer Savings Pass. Qdoba guests can print their Summer Savings Pass by visiting the Qdoba Philadelphia-area Facebook page and use it an unlimited number of times through Sunday, July 8.
WHERE: All of Qdoba’s Philadelphia-area restaurant locations. To find the Qdoba closest to you, visit here.
WHEN: Monday, June 11 – Sunday, July 8, 2012. Hours of operation vary by restaurant location.
COST: $6

Tiki Restaurant Pop-up
WHAT: In honor of the PMA's summer exhibit "Gauguin, Cezanne, Matisse: Visions of Arcadia," STARR events and Granite Hill restaurant host a tiki feast appropriately including a whole roasted pig, Hawaiian coffee-smoked baby back ribs, butterfish and macadamia pesto wrapped in banana leaves, molokai sweet potato with caramelized onion and cinnamon rum butter, and pineapple upside down cake. Make reservations by calling (215) 684-7990.
WHERE: The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s East Terrace, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
WHEN: Thursday, June 28-Sunday, July 1, 6-9 p.m.
COST: $48 excluding tax/tip; 10% off with museum membership

Wawa Welcome America! Presents The Taste of Philadelphia 2012
WHAT: Enjoy food, live music performances at the city's annual event. Feast on dishes from restaurants around the city (i.e. Darling’s Diner, Gigi Restaurant & Lounge, Keatings River Grill and Marabella Meatball Company) and city food trucks (i.e. Sweet Box, Lil Dan’s Food Truck, Say Cheese, Gozen Yogurt, Gigi & Big R’s and Vernalicious Lunch Truck). Wine from Blue Mountain Vineyard and beers will also be available for purchase.
WHERE: Penn’s Landing, 201 S. Columbus Boulevard
WHEN: June 29, 5-10 p.m.; June 30, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; July 1, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
COST: Free admission, food costs between $1-$5






Ommegang Hop Chef Competition
WHAT: The third annual Hop Chef Competition is back, featuring Joe Cicala of Le Virtu, Scott Schroeder of South Philly Taproom, Stateside’s George Sabatino, Jason Cichonski of Ela, Rittenhouse Tavern’s Nick Elmi and Jon Cichon of Lacroix. Each chef is required to create and prepare two dishes using Ommegang beers to be judged on five pairing principles: simple pairing, incorporation, mimicking, story telling and experimental.
WHEN: Tuesday, July 10, 7-10 p.m.
WHERE: World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street (upstairs)
COST: $57.92 with service fees

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Summer Farmer's Markets

One of the absolute best things about summer has to be the revival of the local farmers market. While many areas have farmer’s markets year round, it is no exaggeration to say that the produce literally explodes in the summer. In my native Louisiana, the local growing seasons are often slightly different from other places in the country.  By June, strawberries have come and gone and blueberries have just started to emerge. But if there is anything that early June is good for, it’s the start of eggplants and the glory of tomatoes. Louisiana has some of the most delicious tomatoes in the form of “Creole tomatoes” which can only be grown in certain areas in the state. They are famous for the distinct shapes and meaty flavors. I’ll confess that I spend a good part of the year dreaming about what these real, summer tomatoes taste like and can hardly contain myself when the season rolls around.

On my recent visit to the Baton Rouge Red Stick farmer's market I also saw eggplants of all shapes and sizes. There were small ones, long ones, fat ones, tall ones. Eggplants come in all shades from deep purple to lavender to even white.  Louisiana also has other interesting produce, like the cushaw. The cushaw is a variety of squash native to Louisiana and best eaten sweet, cooked in sugar and butter. I had never seen one before but was excited when I found them in abundance at the market.  Farmer's markets provide the chance to find all kinds of these local treats, no matter which state you’re in.

Regardless of where you live and eat and cook, summer is the ultimate time to find and take advantage of local farmers markets.  If you’re in Philadelphia you’ll find that there is a farmer’s market almost every day of the week in the summer (see below). To find a farmer’s market anywhere in the nation look here.

Farmer’s Markets in Philadelphia:

Tuesdays: Rittenhouse Square, 10 am – 1 pm

Wednesdays: University Square (36^th and Walnut) 10 am – 3 pm

Thursdays: Clark Park, 3 pm – 7 pm 

Saturdays: Rittenhouse Square, 9 am- 3 pm, Clark Park 10am – 2 pm

Sundays: Headhouse Farmers Market (2^nd and Lombard) 10 am – 2 pm

--Post and photos by Leyla Mocan

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A Reason to Shout "Opa!"

Move over, Greek Lady: Uncle Nick's in New York, NY, proves that Greek cuisine is so much more than gyros and souvlaki.

Nothing much has changed since Uncle Nick's first opened its doors in the 1980s, vowing to bring fresh, moderately priced Greek food to the island of Manhattan. The menu boasts a mix of familiar and exotic Greek specialties with plenty of carnivorous and vegetarian options to boot. Family-size portions are large and can easily be shared, making this a true "big fat Greek" experience!

While the meat selection--sliced directly off the spit or pulled straight from the grill--is succulent and flavorful, Uncle Nick's does its seafood best.

Since the true stars of this meal take about 30 minutes for the kitchen to prepare, appetizers are key. Swirling tentacles and chunky rings of barely-dusted baby squid take a dip in the fryer, ready to be popped into your mouth at a moment's notice; the accompanying marinara sauce is an unnecessary addition to these light bite-size pieces. The inherent smokiness imbued in the tender grilled octopus harmonizes well with the sweet and tangy notes of an inky balsamic dressing. Thick slices of fried peppers and eggplant grace the top of a heap of scordalia dip, a a savory potato- and garlic-based blend studded with kalamata olives. The biggest spectacle by far, though, is the Saganaki-Tiri, a wedge of sharp goat's milk cheese that is lit on fire before being placed ceremonially on your table. Perhaps more for theatrics, the cheese is still decadently rich and the perfect warm, creamy spread for the standard bread basket.

What makes the seafood at Uncle Nick's so special is--perhaps surprisingly--the inherent simplicity: your fish of choice for eating; lemon, oil, salt, and pepper for taste; and a charcoal grill for cooking. Fillets and steak cuts of fish are readily available (and excellent choices), but the best way to experience Uncle Nick's is to truly "order a fish": head to tail, skin, bone, and all. As if that wasn't enough food, the gargantuan platter of fish is joined by plates of potatoes, mixed vegetables, and rice. Picking the buttery-soft flesh from the fish bones is half the fun; simply dine on the meat on one side, cleanly remove the spinal cord, and finish it off! For a true delicacy, nosh on the fish's cheeks, which offer the most tender and succulent meat. Devouring the delectable feast makes up the other half. Each bite evokes images of Greece's cerulean coastline, brightened by a sunny sparkle of fresh lemon. The species of fish also contributes its own unique flavor, from the the mild and delicate red snapper to the robust and hearty swordfish.

After cleaning your plate, you surely won't be left hungry, but you'll be ready to come back and try another of their authentic dishes. With two locations in New York (one in Hell's Kitchen and one in Chelsea), there's no excuse to not check out Uncle Nick's.

Check this out for more pictures from my dining experience!
















~~

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Homemade Pizza

When I was little, my family used to regularly make pizza together on Friday nights. My mother would make the dough from scratch and would give me a little bit to “knead” which, as a three year-old, really just meant playing with it like Play-Doh. As I got older and life got busier we eventually let go of the ritual of Friday night pizza. On a recent visit home, however, my mother and I once again made pizza from scratch together. Though this dough recipe is not the one that we used when I was a child, we were both really pleased with the results (as were our guests who shared the meal!).  Homemade pizza is also incredibly fun because of the opportunity to use any topping that you can dream up. (The pizza pictured features fresh mozzarella and caramelized onion.) Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza (adapted from Rocco Dispirito)
Makes 2 pizzas

Ingredients:
½ tsp molasses
 ¾ cup warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
 ½ tsp salt
1 ¾ cup flour (I used half whole wheat and half white)
1 can Muir Glen pizza sauce (I think the canned sauce is good but you can use homemade tomato sauce as well)
Fresh mozzarella (or any other cheese you like)
Other toppings: caramelized onion, olive oil, basil, fresh tomatoes, artichokes, other vegetables, sausage etc.

Directions:
In a bowl, dissolve the molasses in the warm water. When the water is cool enough to keep your finger in but still warm, add the yeast and mix. Let sit for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast starts to bubble. Add the salt and mix. Add the flour and combine with the liquid. Then, remove the dough from the bowl and turn onto a floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth like a baby’s bottom. Lightly coat a bowl with olive oil and place dough inside. Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place for about an hour or until dough has doubled in size.


Divide the dough into two equal sized pieces.  Roll into a ball in the palm of your hand and then place each ball onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until it doubles again, about 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone inside to heat. Let sit for about 20 minutes until the stone is nice and warm. On a lightly floured surface take the dough and roll it out as thin as possible. Place onto the pizza stone, prick the dough in several places with a fork and then put into the over for 2-3 minutes. Flip and bake for another 2-3 minutes until the crust is nice and crisp.

Remove crust from the oven, take several tablespoons of sauce and spread to the edges of the crust. Add all your other desired toppings. Place the pizza back into the oven for 6-10 minutes or until the cheese is well melted. Let sit for one or two minutes then slice and serve!

--Article and photos by Leyla Mocan

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Chez Yasmine

Because food trucks are such a large part of Philly’s food culture, it’s always exciting when a new one pops up. Chez Yasmine isn’t so new anymore, but it is certainly one of the newer ones, having only been around for a few months. And it’s on Penn campus, which is even more exciting because it is so accessible to students. So when I received an email about it from the Penn Gastronomy Club, I searched the food truck online, looked over the menu, and finally decided to check it out.

The owner, Jihed Chehimi, was extremely friendly. He welcomed me to the truck with a warm smile, while continuing his conversation with the three people ahead of me in line and putting together a sandwich. He chatted with regulars as if they were old school friends, knowing what they wanted and addressing them by name. He also explained to newcomers the inspiration behind his truck; both the names and the ingredients of each dish represent the places he has lived, worked, studied, and traveled— like Tunisia, France, and Philadelphia. After he finished preparing each customer’s order, he told them to pick a fruit and a mini water bottle to make their sandwich or salad a meal for no extra charge. He then took a picture of his new customers. I honestly found the photo a little strange, but he said he wanted it for a keepsake.

Unfortunately, the food wasn’t as outstanding as the service. I ordered the Wistar: Brie, sautéed mushrooms, avocado, basil/walnut pesto, and herbes de Provence on a baguette. When I got it, I thought it would be warm, like a French twist on a grilled cheese sandwich. But it wasn’t. So the brie was cold, not soft and melted. It was tasty, as well as smooth and creamy. But the rind was left on, which gave it a very pungent flavor. Although the rind is edible, I personally think it overpowers the flavor of the actual cheese, especially brie because it has a mild flavor. However, the mushrooms were seasoned well and the texture was agreeable because they were cooked. But again, I think that they would have been better warm, especially because they weren’t raw. The avocado would have provided a nice cool contrast to the warm, melted brie and mushrooms. However, since the cheese and mushrooms were as cold as the avocado, there was no variation in temperature. Also, the avocado was not evenly distributed, but randomly placed throughout the sandwich, providing either a mouthful of smashed avocado or a mouthful completely void of the ingredient. Finally, the baguette had a nice crunch on the outside, but the inside was a little tough instead of soft and tender. To fix this, I think the bread should have been toasted. On the other hand, the pesto sauce was tasty. It had a bold garlic flavor and was distributed evenly and generously. But the herbes de Provence shaken on top of the pesto sauce were overwhelming. There were too many, providing a grainy texture on your tongue, and tasted heavy on the thyme. Overall, I think that the Wistar is the right blend of ingredients, sans the herbes de Provence, but would only make me come try it again if the mushrooms were warm, the brie melted, and the baguette toasted.

At Chez Yasmine, the food truck experience was much better than the food itself. I would go back only because I would like to support Mr. Chehimi since he seems so good-hearted. You can tell that he really puts his heart and soul into his enterprise. Perhaps something other than the Wistar would be more satisfying. After all, the dishes are very innovative, which I admire. For now though, it is really the owner that has left an impression on me, not so much the food.

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Seattle's Best

Ever since Starbucks' global explosion, Seattle has become synonymous with coffee. But there is more to the city than the purveyor of burnt beans and Norah Jones. A longtime tea lover, I asked friends for suggestions on where to truly find Seattle's best coffee, in the hopes of becoming the stereotypical Seattleite: a java-drinking bean snob. While I didn't succeed in the latter, I still managed to discover three fantastic Starbucks alternatives.


Lighthouse Roasters



Lighthouse Roasters is located in Fremont, the quirky Seattle neighborhood that calls itself "The Center of the Universe". Among the many oddities found in Fremont include a Soviet-era statue of Lenin from Slovakia and an eighteen-foot troll statue under a bridge, clutching a real Volkswagen Beetle in his hand.  In comparison, Lighthouse Roasters seems quite tame. The shop is open, spacious, and sparsely decorated. As it was a balmy day, I ordered an iced Americano. It was rich without being overpowering, and not even a bit acidic. Usually I have to add sugar and lots of cream to make coffee palatable, but with this Americano I added only a splash of half-and-half and that was all I needed.

Lighthouse Roasters roasts their beans daily in small, vintage cast-iron roasters. You can order their blends and varietals from their website.






Stumptown Coffee

First let me add a disclaimer: Stumptown isn't a Seattle-based coffee shop. It started in Portland, before opening two locations in Seattle and one in Manhattan. I'm still a bit sore about that, since when it comes to Northwest subculture, Seattle is often overshadowed by its hipper city to the south. And for good reason, Portland has Powell's Books and Voodoo Donuts and even inspired the comedy-show Portlandia. I was really hoping Seattle could beat Portland with coffee, but I guess not.

Despite its "Portlandishness", many Seattleites believe that Stumptown has the best beans in the city, and they certainly win for their sheer number of varieties, from South America to Africa to Indonesia.
 When I stopped by the Stumptown on Capitol Hill, I was feeling a bit over-adventurous and ordered a con panna, an espresso shot topped with whipped cream. Big mistake. I'm not very good at stomaching incredibly bitter things, even in small quantities. I was about to call my trip to Stumptown a failure, when the barista mentioned they were roasting beans in the basement if I wanted to go see. Turns out I had also arrived just in time for a free cupping, where a barista walks you through the roasting process and lets you try some of Stumptown's different blends. Mission Stumptown: success!

You can order Stumptown's coffees online, or if you're on the East Coast check out their Manhattan location at 29th and Broadway.


Local Color

Another disclaimer: I had already been to Local Color. In fact, it's my favorite coffee shop in Seattle, and I always make sure to hit it up when I'm in my hometown. No, they don't roast their own beans. However, their ambiance and location can't be beat.

Local Color is located within a stone's throw of the original Starbucks in the Pike Place Market, one of the nation's oldest and largest public markets. I think it's this proximity to Starbucks that keeps Local Color practically devoid of tourists in one of the city's top tourist destinations, making the experience at Local Color "local" indeed.

However, I hold Local Color near-and-dear to my heart for two other reasons. Firstly, it's also an art gallery, and I always enjoy looking at the selected artists works displayed in the back. Secondly, they serve my favorite coffee drink in the city, their Aztec mocha. True, I don't like their Aztec mocha because of the quality of their coffee, but because of the added chocolate and spices (add enough chocolate and spices and I'll drink anything!) Nevertheless, all my friends have agreed the Aztec mocha is quite decadent, and certainly worth trying if you're ever in the great tourist-trap Pike Place Market.

-Elliott Brooks

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Northern Liberties Night Market

I had the pleasure of kicking off my summer with the Philadelphia Night Market! One Thursday a month, May through October, food trucks, bands and beer stands colonize a Philadelphia neighborhood for the ultimate summertime experience. This month the market was held in Northern Liberties at 2nd and Market. When my friends and I arrived we were overwhelmed with all the people and activities (not to mention long lines!) because the Night Market draws quite a large crowd.


While we were walking, we got to sample some Frobana. As we were all trying to figure out what flavor of ice cream we were tasting, the lady handing it out shocked us all by informing us that it was not ice cream but was actually frozen banana with nothing else added! Indeed, they were putting frozen bananas through a machine on the spot and offering it with chocolate and other toppings.

The only complaint that I have about the whole experience was that the lines were excruciatingly long. There were so many choices of food trucks - from kabobs to tacos to wood oven pizza - all with long lines of people waiting to grab a bite.

Because two of my friends had recently lived in Chile, we decided to wait for over half an hour in line for the Delicias food truck (normally located at 34^th and Market) which makes Chilean and Venezuelan fare. We ordered a chorpian and a sweet plantain arepa. The choripan was basically a sausage sandwich with spicy chorizo, caramelized onions and some pico de gallo.  The sandwich had just the amount of spice and the pico de gallo was a nice and refreshing addition. The arepas were little sandwiches made from corn patties and different fillings. Ours was filled with sweet plantains and a cheese that tasted like a crumbled queso blanco. I thought the arepa was more interesting than the choripan – sweet, a tiny bit salty, and extremely satisfying. Even now, a few days later, we've been scheming to get back to the food truck and have such tasty treats again. The combination of having the spicy and then the sweeter sandwich while sitting on a stoop was a perfect pair for a surreal summer night.

Don't miss the next Night Market on June 28^th at 9^th and Washington!

- Leyla Mocan

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Spiga

Spiga (1305 Locust), the casual Italian restaurant brainchild of chef Brian Wilson and partners Skip DiMassa, Giuseppe Sena and Anthony Masapollo, all formerly of Le Castagne, opened last week. Penn Appétit got a chance to sample their fare before the public grand opening. Upon entering the restaurant we were welcomed by the smell of smoke from the wood-fired brick oven. Along with the smoke, the exposed brick wall and the low-lighting created an atmosphere that was both cozy and rustic.

Assagi

Brittney's Take
The Assaggi course had one of my favorite foods of the night: a white bean, rosemary and truffle spread. The spread was creamy with an addicting truffle flavor that made it hard to stop eating. I couldn't really taste the rosemary, but that did not subtract from the deliciousness of the spread. At first I spooned the white bean spread onto the polenta fries and bread, but eventually began eating it all on its own. The polenta fries were very tasty; I am not usually a fan of polenta but it seems the philosophy that "everything tastes better fried" held true in this case. The smooth garlic aioli that was served with the polenta fries was tangy and garlicky without being too rich, and also tasted good with the shoestring fries that we were served shortly thereafter.

The wood-fired eggplant caponata was another pleasant surprise. In addition to the eggplant, the caponata contained grapes and peppers and made a nice contrast in both texture and taste with the white bean truffle spread and garlic aioli. The Spiga fries (Yukon gold shoestring potatoes with parmigiano cream) were salty and tasty. The menu described them as "spicy," but I found them to be very mild. Finally, the caprino croccante (crispy goat cheese served with red beet dip) was an interesting innovation on their less classy cousin, the fried mozzarella stick. The goat cheese coupled with the red beet dip was a flavorful combination, but I found the sheer amount of goat cheese contained in each croccante to be a little bit more than I wanted of such a strongly flavored cheese.



Elliott's Take
I too was a fan of the white bean dip. The truffle flavoring added an unexpected richness to a traditional dip, making it downright addictive. In comparison, I found the eggplant caponata a bit lacking. Normally a lover of the deep purple nightshade, I found Spiga's caponata a bit too tart and thought the peppers overwhelmed the eggplant flavor. However, the Spiga fries more than made up for my disappointment over the caponata. They were thin and soft (not crispy, as one might expect), and spotted with melted cheese. They reminded me of a sophisticated, gravy-less poutine, and I admit I ended up munching on far too many throughout the evening.











Pizza

Brittney's Take
The two types of pizza that we sampled occupied radically different ends of the pizza spectrum: first, we tried a classic Margherita pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. The pizza was cooked in Spiga's signature wood oven, which lent it a crispiness and woody flavor that enhanced the other ingredients. The other pizza we served was like no other pizza that I have ever tried before: it was topped with strawberries, balsamic onion and robiola cheese. At first glance, I felt doubtful about whether this was a pizza that I could eat. Strawberries seemed too much of a divergence from the savory pizza toppings that I was used to eating. However, the combination of strawberries, balsamic onions and robiola cheese turned out to be surprisingly yummy. The acidity of the strawberries and the balsamic onions was balanced by the creamy and mild robiola cheese, and the crunchy pizza crust made the perfect platform for this interaction to take place upon.




Pasta

Brittney's Take
As a self-declared pasta lover, I was thrilled with the two pasta dishes that we sampled. The first was gnocchi with porcini sauce, and the incredibly tender gnocchi coupled with the warm and finely blended porcini mushroom topping melted in my mouth in a symphony of savory comfort. The other pasta dish, a much lighter composition of oricchette with robiola cheese, basil and tomato, was a welcome contrast to the warm and heavy flavors of the gnocchi. The tomato and basil created happy bright bursts of flavor in my mouth, and the robiola cheese was applied only sparingly. My only wish was that they would have included more tomatoes in the dish because by this point in the meal I was ready for some more vegetables.



Entrées

Brittney's Take
For entrées, we were served a pork chop with peperonata and pecorino cheese sauce as well as a whole Branzino with roasted garlic oil and lemon. While I was a little intimidated by the Branzino (not being much of a fish-eater), my dining companion assured me that it was excellent. The pork chop was perfectly done; it was incredibly tender and the peperonata topping was a nice textural contrast. The peperonata topping, a mix of peppers of varying spiciness, also provided a nice bite with the sweetness of the pork chop. I tried a little of the pecorino cheese sauce with the pork as well and it helped balance the spiciness of the peperonata, but by this point I was not sure how much more cheese I could take (not that the cheese was not COMPLETELY delicious; I was just starting to reach my personal saturation level).


Elliott's Take
Both entrées far exceeded my expectations. Having been served far too many dry, bland pork chops as a child, I had put them on my "never order" list. However, Spiga's pork chops made me reconsider. They were remarkably moist although, like most pork chops, not incredibly flavorful. Spiga remedied this with their peperonata topping and cheese sauce which, when combined with a morsel of pork chop, was quite delicious.

However I abandoned the pork chop the moment the branzino (European sea bass) was set on the table. My Pacific Northwest snobbery has lead me to believe that I will never find decent seafood for affordable prices in Philadelphia. But the branzino was, indeed, delicious. It too had been wood smoked, making the skin perfectly crisp and charred. The lemon slices slipped into its belly rendered the tender white meat quite flavorful. I beheaded and deboned with gusto, absorbed in my own little seafood heaven.


Dessert


Brittney's Take
The desserts provided a delightful end to what was a wonderful meal. Despite my stomach being at the point of bursting, I found room for the sweet treats that were served. I enjoyed the fig and mascarpone pizza immensely; the use of the mascarpone cheese demonstrated yet another tasty incarnation of this diverse type of food. The cannoli were also wonderful: the shells were the perfect thickness and the delicious fillings coupled with the powdered sugar sprinkled on top left me happy and, if possible, ready for more.





The Bottom Line

After this first experience at Spiga, we definitely plan on returning. The restaurant was opened with the goal of providing "simple, yet excellent" food and in our opinion, they have succeeded.

-Brittney Joyce and Elliott Brooks

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Second Annual Cupcake Smash: A Smashing Success

What annual event lets you sample this captivating collection of creative cupcakes?

Only at the Cupcake Smash! The widely-attended cupcake contest and tasting event celebrated its second year on Saturday, April 28, drawing crowds to the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties. A collaboration between chief cupcake coordinator Melissa Mae Templeton, Philabundance, and Tommy Up of PYT, the competition pitted 15 amateur bakers and 15 professional bakers against each other for an elusive spot on PYT's menu.

The charity event raised an astounding $7,600, more than doubling donations from last year. All proceeds benefited Philabundance, Delaware Valley’s largest relief organization dedicated to fighting hunger by providing meals for those in need in Philadelphia. The funds raised will provide more than 15,000 meals for those in need. As Marlo DelSordo, Philabundance's Director of Marketing and Communications, observed, "It's not just a middle-aged businessman writing a check. There are people of all ages and interests donating not only money, but also their time and talents."

All cupcakes were based off of PYT's utterly unique menu, with unusual ingredients like fried pickles, tater tots, bacon, caramelized onions, and jalapeño peppers. The competition was fierce, but who eventually came out on top as cupcake king?

The People's Choice award was bestowed to That's Forking Good's "Fruit Loopy Cupcake." The colorful Fruit Loop-flavored cupcake with a Loopy Vodka buttercream frosting was inspired by PYT's "Adult Cereal" menu option (Froot Loops cereal with whole milk and Three Olives Loopy vodka). I'd certainly be content eating this for breakfast in the morning. (Read more about her experience as a contestant on her blog!)

The Judge's Choice in the Amateur division was Batter Up Baker. These talented cupcake creators designed the "Chocolate Covered Pretzel," inspired by PYT's "John Toffey Crunch Adult Shake" (a black-and-white shake with crushed Heath bar chocolate-toffee candy, kahlua, Three Olives chocolate vodka and crushed pretzels). Batter Up Baker's version similarly had a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese filling and a pretzel crust, topped with caramel icing and smashed toffee candy. This was one of my favorite cupcakes at the competition and I'm so happy that they won!

In the Professional division, the Judge's Choice was AMR Catering. Another cupcake inspired by PYT's "John Toffey Crunch Adult Shake," AMR's "Pretzel.Toffee.Crunch.Buzz" featured vanilla cake studded with Joe’s Coffee Porter & Kahlua Syrup, dark chocolate ganache spiked with Three Olives Chocolate Vodka, house-made pretzel butter toffee bits, Kahlua-infused bruleed meringue icing, and chocolate-toffee pretzel garnish. The different textures and intense flavors complemented each other quite well, resulting in a winning creation.

The “Pretzel.Toffee.Crunch.Buzz” cupcake will be featured on PYT's menu for the month of May, so be sure to stop by and indulge in dessert after feasting on one of PYT's funky burgers!

Read on for a further recap of the event, accompanied with plenty of tantalizing pictures.

Judges Tony Luke Jr. (Tony Luke’s), Leah Kauffman (Philly.com), Drew Lazor (City Paper), Wendy Rollins (Radio 104.5), and Tommy Up (PYT) have a tough decision to make.

These tropical “Everythin’ Come an’ Curry, Mon” Cupcakes were inspired by PYT's "Bananas John Foster" shake (vanilla ice cream, a whole banana, sailor jerry spiced rum, banana liqueur and maple syrup topped with whipped cream and banana slices). Love the diagram!

"The Charmer" by Sweet Affairs certainly brought out the kid in all of us; the vanilla cupcake had a Lucky Charms crust, was filled with "Milk" sweet cream, topped with whipped cream, and sprinkled with the classic marshmallow charms. This number was based off PYT's Cereal Killer shake (vanilla ice cream, Tito's handmade vodka, and Lucky Charms-infused cereal milk topped with whipped cream and Lucky Charms).

What do you call a nosy pepper? Jalapeño Business! Zynnie Bakes' creation took PYT's Jalapeno Popper Burger and combined the flavors of jalapeno and pineapple for a sweet-spicy flavor blast.

These excellently-crafted "Root Beer Float" cupcakes tasted exactly like their namesake; samples were even served topped with tiny scoops of rich vanilla ice cream.

There's nothing like a cupcake to finish off a meal... but cupcakes and donuts? Now you're just spoiling me! The "Cupcake Sundae" (inspired by PYT's "Krispy Kreme Sundae") took a vanilla cupcake and adorned it with vanilla "ice cream" buttercream, chocolate covered bacon, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and shaved chocolate.

No competition is complete without bacon coming into the mix! These savory-sweet cupcakes delivered a punch with bacon toffee nestled in the frosting.

Inspired by local town carnivals where everything and anything is fried, the intense "CarniCake" created by Cammy Cakes riffed off PYT's "Cookie Monster Adult Shake" (vanilla ice cream, vanilla vodka, irish cream liqueur and crushed Oreos). The Oreo cupcake was dipped in luscious funnel cake batter, deep fried, drizzled with Irish cream and melted chocolate, and dusted with powdered sugar.

These Neapolitan-hued cupcakes by Team dee*Lish were based off the classic Banana Split and accordingly coined their name as "This Split is Bananas!" With a touch of banana liqueur blended into the trifecta of cake flavors, the cupcakes were topped with a whipped cream vodka flavored buttercream frosting, playful rainbow sprinkles, and a bright red cherry on top.

All in all, this year's Cupcake Smash was a smashing success. Kudos to all those who made this event happen! I'm already looking forward to this incredible event next year!

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Knocking It Out of The "Parc"

Picture-perfect Parc.

A glimpse of the authentically Parisian menu.

Bread basket, rye, sourdough, baguette

Bread basket, cranberry walnut bread

Wild Mushroom Tart, truffled fondue

Warm Shrimp Salad, lemon beurre blanc, avocado

Croque Madame, grilled ham, fried egg, sauce mornay

A picture truly paints 1000 words, as these snapshots from my experience at Parc indicate. Stephen Starr is an expert at creating the immersive experience, evoking particular atmospheres and transporting the diner to a new environment. I honestly felt like I had taken a trip to Paris over the course of one lunch outing. To start the experience, guests can choose to dine al fresco with a gorgeous view of Rittenhouse Square (especially perfect with Philly's sunny springtime weather as of late) or inside the airy space of the bistro. We opted for a mix of both, sitting inside next to a window overlooking the street.

The complimentary bread basket is delivered to your table as soon as you order. From the French baguette with its crisp crust to the hearty cranberry walnut bread laden with its namesake ingredients, there is sure to be something to please a variety of taste buds. My companion and I went on to share the Wild Mushroom Tart, a sizable hors d'œuvre with layers upon layers of flaky pastry dough. Its redolent aroma intoxicated both of us. The flavors of the creamy truffle fondue were intense, but not overpowering, complementing the tender, earthy 'shrooms quite nicely.

The croque madame was served open-faced, with mornay sauce in place of the usual slices of Emmental or Gruyère cheese. The sauce was a bit too rich for my taste and thickened rather quickly upon being served. (It may just be my personal taste, though.) Fortunately, the savoriness of the salty, thickly-cut ham countered it nicely, as did the soft toasted brioche. The classic French sandwich is usually accompanied by a small side salad, but the waiter was kind enough to sub in the pommes frites I had heard so many good things about. Indeed, they were some of the best fries I've had in Philly: long and thinly-cut, with a crisp exterior and just enough potato interior, perfectly complemented by sweet ketchup. The refreshing shrimp salad was also well-received: it was an excellent balance of flavors, combining the tang of the lemony emulsified butter sauce with the richness of the buttery avocado, and textures, from the lightness of the leaves to the meatiness of the plump shrimp.

In short, Parc indeed knocked this meal out of the park.

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