Inquirer columnist Karen Heller writes today that it may be time to give up on the divisive cheesesteak and call another sandwich our own.
The roast pork Italian with aged provolone and broccoli rabe is one of the finest treats the culinary world has to offer. An added bonus? I know of not one linguistic threat, court challenge, political snafu or legislative contretemps associated with this remarkable repast.
And if you’re up to it, read the comments, absolutely cringe-worthy.
Craig LaBan discovers a coffee shop where home-spun Ethiopian food is the star. Kaffa Crossing in West Philadelphia is a hit for the 7,000 Ethiopians in the area as well as local adventure eaters like LaBan and company.
But the real double-take came when we asked for our kitfo to be left raw. Essentially, kitfo is Ethiopian steak tartare, a mince of lean raw beef blended with spiced butter. But most local restaurants begin cooking their kitfo, usually without asking, the minute an American places his order - and then it’s little more than a hopped-up sloppy joe.
Tasting the kitfo raw is the ultimate barometer for the level of an Ethiopian kitchen - where the true quality of its meat and the chef’s mastery in spicing are put on naked display. And Kaffa’s kitfo was an adventure eater’s delight. The finely chopped beef, mounded over injera next to some pleasantly bitter steamed collard greens, was so fresh it was almost like an exotic melon. Glossed to a deep ruby hue by clarified butter infused with a musky spice called “mitmita,” a complex and traditional seasoning blend, each bite rang with shades of ginger, cloves, cardamom and a finishing snap of chile spice.
Own a restaurant, bar or other business trying to reach Philadelphia’s best, brightest, thirstiest and hungriest? Then consider advertising with Foobooz. Check these demographics, yo!
Age: 25-34 (64%)
Gender: Male (45%); Female (55%)
Education: College Graduate or Higher (90.5%)
Income: $35,000+ (80%); $50,000+ (49%)
Dine out a month: At least eight times a month. (45%)
I’m sure the folk at Time didn’t think of all the bad plays on words that work when they named their new restaurant. City Paper found Time out of sync.
Friday
Head to Rum Bar to try a couple fresh new mojitos. The refreshing Summer Picnic Mojito (finished 2nd at the Mojito Olympics), made with cucumber-infused rum, fresh watermelon, basil, lime and simple syrup; and for dessert perhaps, the Chocolate Vanilla Mojito, which includes house-infused vanilla rum, homegrown chocolate mint, lime and simple syrup.
Headed to the shore? Pantry Raid StarMichael Schulson’s Japanese pub Izakaya has opened at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
Saturday Manayunk Arts Festival. And if you need ideas for what else to do while in Manayunk, check out Philly 55, it’s a trip.
This weekend is also the Japanese Summer Festival at the Japanese House in Fairmount Park. There will be fun for the entire family with everything from martial arts to Japanese food.
Sunday
The Euro 2008 Soccer Finals are happening Sunday between Spain and Germany. If your favor Germany perhaps you’d like to sip a Sprecher Black Bavarian at Memphis Taproom as you watch. If you favor the Spanish, well we don’t have a great idea on where to go so we turn it over to you our faithful readers. TVs, tapas and football? Anywhere? We’ll settle for passable sangria and soccer.
As part of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s gay tourism campaign, “We Your People,” the fine folk at GPTMC have put together a nice profile on Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney (Bindi, Grocery, Lolita and Open House) and their 13th Street neighborhood. And yeah, no mention of Midtown Village!
Beer has its own page on Philly.com and a video show called appropriately enough, “The Beer Show.” Here’s hoping they didn’t spend too much time coming up with that one. Hosted by Erin Como and Bob Finkenaur the Beer Show looks to be set up much like Philly.com’s wine show, Philly Uncorked. The first episode focuses on summer beers, pouring Sly Fox’s Royal Weisse from a can and sampling Aecht Schlenferla Rauchbier, a smoked beer from Germany. We here at the Foobooz World Headquarters like smoked beers, we think they taste like bacon, others think they taste like car tires, we’ve never drank a tire so we’re not sure about that.
