Archive for the 'Food' Category

Mom is a Chestnut Hill native who’s been a stylist to the stars, daughter is a Temple film grad who and Miss Pennsylvania 2007, together they’ve created Soul, a modern Creole restaurant in Chestnut Hill.

Mom-daughter duo stirs culinary zing, creole style, in Chestnut Hill [Philadelphia Daily News]

Mac and cheese is all the rave right now and Craig LaBan traverses the Delaware Valley taking in everything from the simple to the haute.

LaBan calls Deborah’s Kitchen’s rendition of mac ‘n’ cheese his soul food favorite and 10 Art’s “creamy, ham-studded macaroni is my absolute favorite of the new lot.”

Also included in the article are recipes for versions of mac ‘n’ cheese from 10 Arts, Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar, Lacroix and  Talula’s Table.

Chic comfort [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Beer enthusiasts certainly get excited about Nugget Nectar, a hoppy Imperial Amber Ale from Troegs. This year’s batch is making its debut tonight in the form of a firkin at the Standard Tap. Show up at 7pm to see what hype is about.

Then at 10pm flip the TV to BRAVO where Stephen Starr is a guest judge on Top Chef.

It’s just about 6 weeks until Philly Beer Week 2009 and there are already over 5 major festivals and 100 events posted on the Philly Beer Week calendar.

There are ten days of events featuring the best local breweries plus an impressive array of national and international brewers coming to town and the area’s best bars and restaurants..

Figure out what days you’re going to be “sick” now.

Philly Beer Week [Official Site]

Philly chef-turned-Food-Network-Star Adam Gertler hits the big time tonight with the debut of his very own show Will Work for Food. Since it’s cold and it’s Monday and tomorrow is full of inauguration activities, why not stay home and check it out? It premieres at 8:30pm on the Food Network. A description from the official website:

The series exposes Adam to the world of little-known food jobs as he fearlessly puts his life – and mouth – on the line to try them all! Whether taking honey from three million bees, sculpting ice with a chain saw, foraging for truffles, or digging a wine cave, Adam will do anything in the name of food.

Will Work for Food [Food Network]

This weekend, the New York Times discovered that THERE IS A MAGNIFICENT CRAFT BEER CULTURE IN PHILADELPHIA! Of course, we have known this all along, but getting a shout-out in the Times makes it more likely that our out-of-town friends will actually believe us when we tell them about it.:

Much of the upswing can be attributed to Philadelphia’s bubbling night life. The new breweries, said Don Russell, who as Joe Sixpack writes a weekly column about beer for The Philadelphia Daily News, “are filling a need that’s out there being created by the local bar scene. Every single bar that has been opening up has a multitap system and is featuring microbrews.”

Combine that robust tavern scene with cheap real estate in emerging neighborhoods, and you’ve got the ingredients for a beer blast. In recent years, a half-dozen breweries and specialty pubs have opened in Philadelphia, ranging from boutique breweries that make micro batches to green-powered plants looking to become the city’s next biggest thing.

We knew that cheap real estate was good for something. EBB, Yards, and Dock Street are all name-checked in the article.

Breweries of Brotherly Love [NYT]

The White Dog, which is now run by restaurateur Marty Grims and chef Ralph Fernandez, shut down for a week and has reopened with new menus, which you can view after the jump.

White Dog [Official Site]

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Ding ding ding! That’s the sound of Craig LaBan bestowing three rapturous bells on one of his old favorites, Melograno, which has apparently survived its relocation to Sansom Street with its mojo intact. The C-Dawg concludes:

“This restaurant has built a following on its gift for making a familiar Philly concept, the Italian BYOB, as good as it can be. I’m just thrilled to know this little gem survived the move to larger quarters, and that [chef-owner] Gianluca Demontis didn’t forget to pack his pinch of magic.”

There are more references to magic, plus much waxing poetic on snail soup, re-imagined spaghetti carbonara and house-cured pancetta.

Melograno [Inquirer]

Joe Sixpack checks out a couple of Philadelphia’s newest gastropubs, West Philly’s Local 44 and East Passyunk’s Lucky 13. 

You’d be lucky to be local to either. 

New pubs just a few hops from Center City [Philadelphia Daily News]

We’ve been quite fixated by good pizza recently. There’s our ongoing affair with Earth Bread + Brewery’s Seed flatbread, our transforming experience at Franny’s in Brooklyn (maybe there is something in the water) and just this week we were told that maybe the best pizza in the country can be found in Phoenix. And now Craig LaBan taunts us with his description of the Chester County Pumpkin Pizza at Sovana Bistro in Kennett Square.

GoodTaste [Philadelphia Inquirer]