In the Metro today check out where you can find locally farmed foods in the city, and some local beer too. Local happy hour tonight at Southwark and at Good Food, Good Beer and the Rest Is History under the shambles at Headhouse Square this Saturday. Xochitl, Zot and Bridget Foy’s among others will participate.

Also there are rumors of a mutiny at the Rum Bar. Arrrgh Matey!

The Bite: City gets Fresh [Philadelphia Metro]

The 3rd Annual Good Food, Good Beer and the Rest Is History event is taking place on Saturday July, 21st under the Headhouse Square shambles at 2nd and Lombard from 5:30 to 8:30 PM.

This Buy Fresh Buy Local food and beer tasting event will include food from Bridget Foy’s, General Lafayette Inn, James, Run for the Hills, Rx, White Dog, Xochitl and Zot. Brewers will include Dogfish Head, General Lafayette, Sly Fox, Stoudt’s, Triumph, Troegs, Victory and Yards.

The Philadelphia Convivium of Slow Food and its local partner Farm to City are co-sponsors of the event. The event is a fund-raiser for Slow Food.

Tickets are $30 for 5 sample food plates or $22 for 3 sample food plates. For advance tickets, call Slow Food at 718-260-8000 and ask for The Rest Is History event. Tickets will also be available at the entrance (cash only).

Local Food Philly [Official Site]
Slow Food Philly [Official Site]
Farm to City [Official Site]
White Dog Cafe Foundation [Official Site]

Cool down with a summer drink that is light and has some zip. Try Xochitl’s Michelada. Described as “My Frozen Beer,” the Michelada is a delicious concoction of draft beer, lime slice and spicy tomato juice, served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass. Think of it as a Bloody Mary crossed with a beer. it’s light, refreshing and finishes with a kick.

Xochitl [Official Site]

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Philadelphia Magazine climbs aboard a stool at the bar at Xochitl and enjoys the “fresher, lighter versions of Mexican classics” that chef Dionicio Jimenez cooks up at his Headhouse Square restaurant.

FOOD: A-
SERVICE: B+
ATMOSPHERE: A- (bar) / B- (dining room)

Holy Mole [Philadelphia Magazine]
Xochitl [Official Site]

When talking about South Street’s 8 Days of Eats we’ve heard some snide comments about South Street restaurants kind of well, sucking, but au contraire, South Street has been seeing a bit of a resurgence with spots like Gayle, Xochitl and Zot having opened in the last year or so.

8 Days Of Eats [Official Site]
Gayle [Official Site]
Xochitl [Official Site]
Zot [Official Site]

Blogalicious takes an early look at Chick’s Cafe & Wine Bar and walks away with tales of naked ravioli, short rib and fried calamari. [blogalicious]

Mac & Cheese dines at Xochitl and suggests you “clean your mental slate, and enjoy the fresh flavors that Mexico and Xochitl has to offer.” [Mac & Cheese]

Well if you’ve been asking yourself who has the best Mexican food truck in University City, you have to try Tacos Don Memo on 38th between Walnut and Sansom. [Metroblogging Philadelphia]

Dave Moore dines at Bistro 7 and has a wonderful meal and of course excellent wine [Moore Bros. Blog]

The food was only one of the great things of the evening as the treatment from the staff at L’Angelo’s really shone. [Moore Bros. Blog]

PhilaFoodie profiles the burger at 707, where the burger itself is the star. [PhilaFoodie]

A couple of years ago Food & Wine Editor Dana Cowin made a comment that Philadelphia was a boring food city. Later she created a list to define a great restaurant city and now she planned on applying that list to see if Philadelphia stacked up. What she found was great food, even if it didn’t fulfill every point on her list.

These enormously satisfying, small new restaurants made me reconsider everything I’d thought about what makes a great food city. When I looked back at my seven criteria, I realized that Philly performed poorly in many categories, but it’s still an outstanding place to eat. The neighborhood restaurants, better than many of the top restaurants in smaller cities, allow you to have a good meal any day of the week—and to befriend the chef. Would the food scene be better if there were more fabulous destination restaurants? Perhaps. But birthdays and anniversaries come around only a few times a year. I love a city that inspires palates every day and brings a sense of fun to the adventure of eating out.

What Defines A Great Food City [Food & Wine] via blogalicious

With Cinco de Mayo just about upon us we have just one question.
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Craig LaBan tries out the creations of chef Dionicio Jimenez at Head House Square’s Xochitl and finds the best of them are “vivid and stunningly original.”

At their best, Jimenez’s creations are vivid and stunningly original. That seviche, for example, takes one brilliant pairing – scallop and watermelon – and hones it to its most elegant presentation, with a nearly translucent layer of sliced raw scallops laid atop a paper-thin round of pink fruit. The contrast of textures and flavors – the juicy crunch and sunny sweetness of watermelon against the buttery slip and gentle marine tang of the scallop – was subtle but so startlingly good I can still taste it.

Jimenez has a noticeably light touch, but can also indulge in some of the lusty, rustic flavors of his native Puebla. Among the best is his chile en nogada, a plump poblano pepper stuffed with ground beef, toasted almonds and dried fruit that comes glazed in a pool of walnut cream jeweled with rubylike pomegranate seeds. The richness of the dish, with an exotic whiff of cinnamon to the meat, gave way to a swelling tingle of chile heat.

Two Bells Very Good

Xochitl [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Xochitl [Official Site]

Sunday Craig LaBan will be reviewing Head House Square Mexican Xochitl this Sunday.
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