If you've visited Reading Terminal Market in the last few months, you surely know of all the construction that's been going on. One of the bigger projects in the Center Court area has been the move of DiNic's (which I truly believe makes the best sandwich in the city). The photo above was taken at close of market yesterday. By the time you read this today, it'll be open for business with approximately twice the capacity as the old space.
Robert has some cool info on the signage above the stall in this post.
DiNic's
Reading Terminal Market
12/Arch
Su & M: 8am – 4pm
Tu – Sa: 8am – 6pm
(215) 923.6175
So, this doesn't happen often, but I'm having a little show at a friend's gallery [Gravy] up in Fishtown [2212 Sepviva]. I'd love it if you came out to see an in-progress long term project about the region's food system from the farms to our tables. This show was a bit last minute so please forgive the late notice, but if you're in town for 4th of July weekend, kick it off in Fishtown!
The gallery is called Gravy and it's in an awesome warehouse which is a vintage motorcycle shop [video of the space: youtu.be/VdNEJAFfFLA]. The Berks train stop is a few blocks away. The show runs all month, but the party will run from 6.30p – 10p.
We'll have local brews, a cheese plate from Fair Food, goodies from Flying Monkey Patisserie and vino! There will hopefully be a few farmers on hand, including my cover model Landon who is one half of Root Mass Farm based out of Oley Valley, PA.
I'm thinking of getting drinks over at Memphis Taproom afterward? It's about a 7 minute walk from the gallery and I've wanted to go there for a long time now.
We are very fortunate to live around the corner from DiBruno Bros 9th St. We live, almost, too close, but not really. For Philly Beer Week 2011, they had their grill out all week. Every night they cooked up delicious treats. Some were samples to whet your appetite and the rest were delicious sandwiches and other tasty morsels. To finish off the week, they brought in Dogfish Head Brewery and if you see the pattern which has developed with me and Dogfish Head, you know I was there. Out front on Friday night was my man Ian Peacock manning the grill. He dubbed the night: "The Italian Luau" as he made mortadella poppers, mortadella steaks with Amarena cherries and pineapple, bunless hot dogs and the monster burger you see above. He made a special double whammy for me. Two patties, Bailey Hazen Blue cheese, avocado, pineapple, lettuce and tomato on some buttered and trilled thick rye. I could just barely stuff that sucker into my maw.
Inside were three samples of Dogfish. First up was the Festina Pêche paired with Andante Dairy's Largo, an aged triple cream. I overhead Zeke telling a taster that DiBruno is the only place you'll find Andante's selections east of the Mississippi. I'd love to get a piece of their Minuet which is a goat triple cream for Messy. Second was the Midas Touch and Midnight Moon from Cypress Grove in CA. Bringing up the caboose was a brew new to me: Sah'tea, a proto beer paired with what I think was Comté Marcel Petite. I'll let Dogfish explain this brew:
A modern update on a 9th century Finnish proto-beer.
Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper.
The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sahtea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew with a full-mouth feel.
Even better, here's Sam from Dogfish explaining it all in this video:
I didn't get a chance to sample the famed Dogfish Head Bitches Brew, formulated for the 40th anniversary of the Miles Davis album, when it debuted last year. A co-worker of mine said she had three bottles of it when it was released. What a lucky gal. When I saw that Kite & Key was having a special Dogfish Head Brewery day for Beer Week 2011 with Bitches Brew on tap, I knew I had to be there. Above is a shot of the draft board at Kite & Key from yesterday. An amazing lineup if I do say so myself:
I've never seen that many Dogfish taps in my life. It was a beautiful sight. The people inside must have been happy too, because nobody was complaining about the crowd. It was packed tight. I weaved through the crowd with my small messenger bag on my back, saying sorry as I undoubtedly bumped people along the way to the bar. I got up there and the bartender pointed at me. I called out for the Bitches Brew right into the ear of a lady at the bar. I tapped her on the shoulder and apologized for having to yell in her ear. She said "no problem" and asked why "The Bitch" was such a popular drink that night. I told her about the story of the Bitches Brew and as I was telling it, several people reached over her to order their own glasses of it. She was intrigued. Good times.
As I sipped my Bitches Brew, I had tracks from Kind of Blue Sketches of Spain running through my head. I know, wrong album, but that's what was going through my head. Here's Miles in 1969 performing
There I am at Fergie's Pub on Sansom St, one of my favorite pubs in Philly. I've got the Hammer of Glory [the HOG] in my hands. I'm looking like a pretty happy guy right? I just had a pint of Dogfish Head's 75 Minute Johnny Cask IPA from a fresh firkin. I was one of the first four dozen to order it so I even got a free Dogfish Head glass. All was well until later that night when the heat, my bike and two brews really caught up to me. But for now, a couple more shots from Wednesday! A thank you to Jennie, the lady with the HOG all beer week.
And who came into Fergie's with the HOG? None other than my old co-worker from Philly Weekly Matt Satten. I took Matt's job as he moved onto full accounts on the sales team. I grabbed a shot of Matt with the HOG before I headed out. Matt's pose is way cooler than mine.
So, the 75 Minute IPA. I'm not beer connoisseur, but here are my thoughts… It's toasty, slightly chocolately with a mild citrus hop. I get a medium sour feel on the back of the tongue after the gulp, but it has a nutty finish. Delicious. Dogfish Head makes the only IPAs I can drink.
My final stop on Wednesday was at DiBruno 9th St where Ian and Zeke were grilling chicken, open face burgers and other goodies outside. I'm not sure what Ian put in my hand, but it was on a thick slab of rye with some Scharfe Maxx on top. Stoudt's Brewing Company was on hand pouring samples of their brews which the DiBruno gang were pairing with delicious shaves of cheese.
So, heatstroke. I went home to cool off. I stretched out on the couch, under the fan, to rest. Two hours later, I wake up and feel weird. I was most definitely not drunk, I've drank in the heat before and this wasn't the same feeling. I felt dizzy, my stomach was churning and I took my pulse—100bpm. Mind you, I was just lying down for two hours so there was no reason for my heart to be racing like that. My resting heart rate is around 65bpm. Messy came home with several quarts of thirst quenching beverage and I had an ice pack on my head and cold towel over my eyes for the night. All was well the next day, but oh man did that not feel good when it was all going down. I thought two beers would be fine in the heat, but I guess not that afternoon. You live and you learn. Stay hydrated and enjoy the last few days of Beer Week 2011!
Last night was another fun event during Philly Beer Week 2011 at Percy St BBQ: The Bull Strikes Back—mechanical bull riding night! I got to meet Victory Brewing's own Bill Covaleski last night and I didn't expect to see him at Percy St last night, let alone up on the bull. But I heard his name called out and I sure as hell grabbed by camera out of my bag. Unfortunately, he didn't last long. But almost nobody did. Above is a lovely six-shot, one second glimpse of his glory on the bull. You can just make out his foot in the final frame.
There was one person who truly conquered the bull. The girl above rode the bull for something like 22 seconds.
I was talking to Foobooz's Art Etchells about mechanical bull riding and the one time he did it in Arizona while out for a Birds v Cards game years ago. He said he was on it and got bucked hard just shot of 8 seconds. His pain did get him and his friends drinks. His lady, the First Lady of Yelp, came through with some headbands and he channeled some inner Hulkamania and got up on the beast.
He grabbed the Hammer of Glory before facing his doom.
He charged onto the bull like a pro.
And got tossed like a champ. "You shoudda seen me in Arizona" he later said.
The Four Seasons' courtyard was filled to the brim as lovers of Victory Brewery beer packed the house. uwishunu's Philly Beer Week Beer Garden was a hit and I highly recommend getting to the Four Seasons to take in the gorgeous garden view and enjoy the shade from the trees and the calming gurgle of their little waterfall. The Summer Love Ale, I missed it last year, but had 2 bottles last night, was nice. It's a great, light summer session brew that you'll be able to drink on your porch, your stoop or in the park all day long. The rest of their lineup is too hoppy for my tastes, but from the looks of it, I was most definitely in the minority. People were tossing back Hop Devils and Prima Pils like it was going out of style.
There were bloggers aplenty up in there. You couldn't swing a dead lolcat without hitting a dozen in the head. They'd probably turn around with an angry look if you did that, but not before tweeting it . Always great to see each other instead of simply reading words on a screen. Unfortunately, Messy was held up at work and couldn't partake in the imbibing and in-real-life blogger meet-n-greet.
And the surprise of the night was Eric Berley from Franklin Fountain with his ice cream on wheels. He had a delicious batch of organic strawberry ice cream made with the wort from the Summer Love Ale. The ice cream was fantastic as always. It was fun to catch up with Eric in such a nice setting.
I got to chat up Brewmaster, Founder and President of Victory, Bill Covaleski, before heading home. He's a really nice guy who must be one of the busiest people around for the next week. He was gracious and in no hurry to move the conversation along. Bill, whatever you do, don't listen to my complaining about the hoppiness of your beer. I'm obviously stupid, crosseyed and just plain wrong given the crowds of fans you've amassed. You make beer lovers proud, myself included.
. Always great to see each other instead of simply reading words on a screen. Unfortunately, Messy was held up at work and couldn't partake in the imbibing and in-real-life blogger meet-n-greet.
