In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, we must tell you: At any given time, there’s a good chance that something you’ve read on the site has been written by someone who’s been drunk or fed at National Mechanics in the previous 24 hours. The Mechanics folks are our friends, co-conspirators and very often, hosts: For instance, we’re doing the 4th Annual Philebrity Belle & Sebastian Dance Party there on Satuday night. So we’re happy to announce that National Mechanics quietly launched their new brunch last weekend, and yea, it is Good.
Highlights include: Bloody Mary Seafood Cocktail with Plantain Chips — we really, really loved this one for the obvious reasons — Steel Cut Oats, and the lightest, fluffiest Blueberry Pancakes we’ve seen in quite some time. The menu’s after the jump, but watch this space next week for some very fun upcoming brunch stuff Phoodie.info will be presenting at National Mechanics. Now more than ever, it really will be the safest place in Old City.
Continue reading ‘National Mechanics Launches Brunch; Team Phoodie To Partner For Shenanigans’
National Mechanics Launches Brunch; Team Phoodie To Partner For Shenanigans
Aired May 9th, 2008 on Exclusive, Events and Brunch. 0 Comments
· Our list of Places We Really Must Try Out In The ‘Burbs just had a new one jump to the top of the list: Maia, in Villanova, opening today. According to Daily Candy, it’s a two-story breakfast/lunch/dinner/drink/market place that does not seem to be kidding around:
The second floor takes fine dining to a new level with bars made of 500-year-old petrified wood and carved onyx, and a babinga wood communal table with a bottom-lit, sunken-ice trough that will serve as both raw bar and martini glass chiller.
Can you say “business juice”? With Terence and Patrick Feury (Nectar, Striped Bass, Susanna Foo) at the helm in the kitchen, it’s looking like the food’s gonna be all business, too. It’s business time. [DailyCandy]
· Speaking of business, let’s let you in on a little secret you probably already know: When any publication in Philly does a “dining guide,” it’s pretty much a smash-n-grab to get food-related advertisers to upgrade. We’re saying this to highlight the fact that beast is inherently flawed, but here’s the rub: Kudos to City Paper, whose “Dish” guide returns this week and is actually really well-thought out and fun to look at. Huh. Who knew it could be done? [CP]
· And finally, if YOUR business is, well, not so good, don’t be embarassed: Lots of other folks aren’t doing so hot, either. In Philly alone, there are now about 329,000 households receiving food stamps — a 13 percent increase in 10 years. Thanks again, Bushy! [AP]
Philadelphia Continues To Be Named In Food Related Articles Without The Word Cheesesteak In The Headline
Aired May 8th, 2008 on Uncategorized. 0 Comments
We already know that Jose Garces is the chef’s chef. In our gastronomic landscape, the man is walking legend. Daniel Stern has left an indelible footprint on our fair city as well, Exec Cheffing at Le-Bec Fin, owning Gayle and his latest homerun, Rae (get the Smoked Rabbit Nachos). Conde Nast’s Traveler Magazine recently named Tinto and Rae on its Hot List for 2008. This ain’t no U.S. list. This is WORLDWIDE, son.
Home to The New Yorker, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and GQ, publisher Conde Nast knows a little something about the finer things in life. And now their readers know a little more about two of the finer things in ours. Congrats boys.
Aramark, for those who do not know, is a Philadelphia-based company that has 250,000-plus employees doing business in nineteen countries. Aramark, most known for their success in the food-service industry, feeds the patrons of Citizens Bank Park at the Phillies’ games as well as fourteen other Major League stadiums nation-wide. 320 food service workers at two racetracks in southern New Jersey are in the process of renegotiating their contract and they are primarily seeking job security. Aramark had the option to lock workers out starting Wednesday May, 7th but no one has reported if the lock out ever happened or if the contract issues were resolved. Union workers are close to agreement with Aramark on every other aspect of the contract with the exception of job security. Aramark workers in Houston started striking today in the pursuit of worker’s rights. The workers are demanding better wages, health care, and other concerns about work conditions.
This certainly is not the first time Aramark has had trouble with workers’ rights. Earlier this year hundreds of cafeteria workers went on strike in New York in early Febuary, March and then again in April because of low wages. Not to mention the numerous strikes last year. Gosh, you think these workers are trying to say something? Maybe a pay increase is due?
Pennsylvania’s Wine Week is kicked off every year by the Philadelphia Wine Festival. Happening Saturday, May 10th for the low, low price of $125, this ultimate alcoholic cocktease is definitely love/hate here at Phoodie.
A veritable Murderer’s Row of grape juice to be sure, but since we CAN’T PURCHASE MOST OF THESE WINES EVERY DAY, why should we shell out the cash to see how the other half lives? Because we need to fill that gaping chasm in our life marked Culinary Cultural Significance that the PLCB is hell bent on destroying with every case of Clos Du Bois they sell.
There will be bottles with foreign names like Krug, Beaucastel, Haut Brion, Ornellaia, and Antinori that mean jack shit to Pennsyltuckians, but are the building blocks of private cellars around the world. This might be your only hope for a more pleasurable drinking life without driving to Delaware, New York, and dare we say it: NEW JERSEY. That’s right, the AXE Body Spray community have options we just don’t have.
So get your drunk on with the faux-sophisticated Plebians that pretend to know shit about wine this weekend. We can’t fucking wait.
Up until last year, if you wanted a fresh mangosteen — a creamy, citrus-y fruit that we like to call, today, a “space mango” — you’d have to go to one of the countries where it’s grown: Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Burma, Colombia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. (Wikipedia says there is a possibly apocryphal story about Queen Victoria offering a bounty for anyone who could score her some back in the day.) But there’s good news: Last July, the first irradiated mangosteens (so treated as to kill exotic fruit flies that could mess up our entire economy, oh wait) were allowed into the U.S. They’re still kind of a find, but increasingly, they’re showing up in Asian groceries and high-end food sources (Joe the produce guy at Whole Foods on South Street says they do get them in from time to time) and they fetch a pretty penny: Mangosteens are selling for up to $10 per pound. (They’re also said to help cancer patients greatly.) But the believers rhapsodize about them like they’re some miracle combo of pure opium and angel food cake. The guy in this New York Times video actually kinda scared us with his fruitgasm. Nevertheless, we’ll try anything twice: Mangosteens, here we come.
Wikipedia: Behold, The Mangosteen
NYT: MangosteenTV
FriedasProduce: Mail Order Mangosteens
Readers Cameraphone: What’s The Quickest Way To Turn A KFC Into A Starbucks?
Aired May 7th, 2008 on Readers Write. 1 Comment
Answer: With a whole lotta brown paint, the wishin’ and hopin’ of a realtor, and a cringing sense of inevitability. Spotted on Girard between Frankford and Front.
Seeing a new place opening or closing in your ‘hood? Cameraphone that ish to phoodie[at]gmail[dot]com.
Related: Fresh Fruit And Vegetables Spotted In Fishtown For The First Time In Over Four Decades
Food Blob: Um, That Is Not What That Song Is About
Aired May 6th, 2008 on Uncategorized, Food Blob, Phoodies and Openings. 0 Comments· New in the salad dressing section of your grocer’s freezer: Spank Rock (video above). [BestWeekEver]
· KYW hooks up with Rae/Gayle’s Daniel Stern, he of perverted ice cream flavors such as oil-poached shrimp with curry, and octopus/tuna with horseradish. Which shows a valuable and time-honored Phoodie lesson: Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you have to. [KYW]
· And lastly, some openings: The much-hyped Zahav in Society Hill Towers opened last night (we’ll have a full report next week), and already, their hummus recipe is on the street; and Apothecary (we’ve got some scoop here) has a soft-opening tomorrow night. [TasteDaily/TheClog]
It’s Vintastic! Crossing Vineyards Viognier
Aired May 6th, 2008 on Wine and It's Vintastic. 0 Comments
After the jump, Collin Flatt considers a worthy white, Viognier.
Continue reading ‘It’s Vintastic! Crossing Vineyards Viognier’
Phoodie Exclusive: Former Smoked Joint Owner Casts Off Old Frat Boy Vibe To, Um, Become The Next Bobby Flay
Aired May 5th, 2008 on Phoodies, Exclusive and BBQ. 0 Comments
Remember The Smoked Joint, the well-regarded BBQ spot in Center City that nonetheless just couldn’t shake its own juvenile, fratty vibe? (Go ahead, click that link. You know you wanna.) Seems that ex-Joint co-owner Adam Gertler, pictured, is entering his second act in public food life as one of the contestants on The Next Food Network Star, which debuts its fourth season on the Food Network on Sunday, June 1. And Gertler’s audition video — check it here – is Flay-ish indeed, to the point where it gave us flashbacks to this Philebrity classic which we still cannot believe you haven’t clicked on. Anyway, like we said, schaden-frat-fruede aside, we had always heard good things about Gertler’s chops, so we’re looking forward to not just his recipes (which foodnetwork.com is promising to post as episodes roll out) but also for the inevitable moment when he becomes an actual Philebrity and Alycia Lane deems Booker just soooooo immature and falls for Adam, the man once behind the slogan, “smoked joints. nobody beats our meat.”
FoodNetwork: Beat The Meatles
