Archive for the ‘American’ Category

Honey's Sit 'n Eat

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

honey's sit n eat
Friends and colleagues have been telling us about this NoLibs spot forever and we finally got our Center City butts up there, thanks to a thank you gift from our dear fried Cheri of Not My Mother's Kitchen. We trekked through a heavy December snowfall to make it up there (and we have some serious snow on the ground now too so it's like this review was written in a timely manner!) and entered what seemed like an oasis in the desert of white fluffy snow. The immediate vibe we got was awesome. Our eyes lit up as he saw the cozy interior — it just felt so homey. Their two-sided menu [.pdf] boasts tons of choices, but we were just there for lunch.

honey's sit n eat
Messy started off with a big mug of delicious hot chocolate which had some subtle undertones that were reminiscent of pumpkin pie spices. It came out with some freshly whipped cream (a real hearty plop, not that watery stuff that dissolves right away!) and a slice of strawberry. Honey's touts itself as a big supporter of the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign and we found it odd that they had these superfluous slices of out-of-season strawberry (there were more later).

honey's sit n eat
Everything in the place looked cozy and fun. Here, a table to our left which had yet to be cleared.

honey's sit n eat
Picky especially liked the little condiment caddy. Cream, ketchup, salt and pepper, hot sauces including a big bottle of Siracha. Dovetailed ends and several compartments so things didn't slide around too much. Everything fit perfectly.

honey's sit n eat
Messy had a vegetarian chicken fried steak (Honey's has lots and lots of vegetarian choices) which came with a buttermilk biscuit and two sides of Messy's choice. She went with mac n cheese and slaw [$8]. It was all quite tasty and the portion was huge. The chicken fried steak tasted wasn't what Messy was expecting — the best way to describe it is to say it tasted like the insides of a samosa heavily fried in a pancake — but it was good. The only off note was the sauce, which tasted like a bland nutritional yeast concoction. In addition to all of this delicious carbs and cheese, Messy ordered a broccoli casserole appetizer which was fabulous — is there a better way to eat broccoli than smothered in delicious, gooey cheese and topped with French fried onions?

honey's sit n eat
Picky had Bubby's Brisket Sandwich on brioche with Swiss, sauteed spinach, mushroom gravy and a side of horsey mayo [$10]. He had heard good things about it and it's supposed to be one of their stellar dishes. The brioche was thick, toasted and sesame seeded. It seemed like too much thick, dry bread for such dry brisket. Sadly, the brisket was dry. Why is meat ever dry? The horsey mayo didn't make up for the dry brisket, it was also pretty dry, not creamy at all. (The consistency was somewhere around very cold, hard cream cheese.) Picky tried a hunk of brisket by itself — it was under salted, too. Enough to make all of the Jewish mothers and grandmothers in Picky's hometown back in NY would cry. A stronger cheese would probably have helped. The side of hand cut fries [$2] were tasty – on the undercooked side, but nice and salty. If you need more salt, they have nice mini Ball mason jars of salt and pepper at the ready in those lovely dovetailed condiment trays at each table.

honey's sit n eat
For desert, Picky was able to scarf down a blueberry cobbler [$5] a la mode [$2.50] with Bassett's vanilla ice cream. Messy helped, but she was really too full to make a solid dent. Spoonfuls of custard and pear dipping sauces circled the ramekin of cobbler along with more slices of strawberries and a big spearmint garnish. White-centered strawberries in December? We like to wait until the summer for deep red hearted local berries. The cobbler top wasn't rich enough for Picky's tastes, but it was pretty. Given the cakey cobbler top, you definitely want to go for the ice cream on this one.

After all the complaining from Picky — Messy enjoyed every part of her meal — he'd go back. He doesn't say this often, as there are just too many great spots in town to go back to a place that didn't sing the first time, but what can we say? Something about Honey's just felt so right.

Messy ****
Picky **

The final word: The food was a mixed bag, but the cozy, cool vibe invites us back for more.

Honey's Sit-N-Eat
800 North Fourth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
215.925.1150
M – Sa: 8am – 10pm
Su: 8am – 4.30pm

Recreating a Southwark Entree

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

recreating southwark's Barbequed smoked pork belly, baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce
Above is an in-house recreation of what was Picky's favorite entree he has eaten all year: Southwark's Barbequed smoked pork belly, baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce. But we made the pork part vegan and kept the blue cheese sauce.

southwark entree
Above is a shot from our dinner a few months ago which we recapped here. It was some seriously good eats. It was so good, we kept the thought of Picky's entree rattling in our heads to recreate, but so that Messy could enjoy as well. We've become seitan fiends over the last few years and we've settled on Ray's Seitan as the real deal, hands down, best we've had. One day, we'll get around to making our own wheat meat, but that's another story. Ray's is available all around town in places like Fair Food in RTM, Whole Foods, Essene, among others. It's an incredibly flexible meat alternative which can take on flavors, but it's got tons of flavor and not much like tofu which relies more on soaking up flavors. The texture is close to shredded pork.

We use a shake and bake (actually, fry) recipe from our friend Liz comprised of nutritional yeast, flour, garlic salt, salt and a liberal grind of pepper. Dredge the seitan after squeezing out some water and toss in a container. Fry up in some oil – we prefer it in a cast iron skillet. Add in a pour of your favorite BBQ sauce and let the sauce carmelize. For the rest of the dish we used sauteed savoy spinach (with salt and pepper and garlic in oil, from FFF), a can of beans from TJs (yeah, yeah), and 1/4lbs. of bleu d'auvergne (from Salumeria in RTM) reduced over low heat.

Plated, it looks pretty similar. As similar as you're gonna get without the piece of "meat" being a single, huge, 9" slab of delicious belly fat. The taste was, as you guessed it, not the same. But – it was fantastic. We can't think of a way to vegan up a blue cheese sauce, but if you've got a recipe, let us know.

Satellite Cafe

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

satellite cafe
I used to work over at the firehouse at 50th & Baltimore Ave out in West Philly a few years back. I was up on the 3rd floor of that drafty old firehouse. It creaked, it had roaches, but I must say, it was charming. Located where PhillyCarShare HQ used to be is Philly Community Acupuncture and Dock Street Brewery is now on the ground floor [I hope they got a really good exterminator up in there]. On the second floor is Firehouse Bicycles. But on the first floor is a little gem: Satellite Cafe.

Decorated with coffee sacks hanging from the ceiling, broken tile mosaic tables, stacks of boxes by the coffee condiment stand and well-worn chairs, it feels cozy and homey when you walk in. This spot, which can hold about 25 inside and another dozen or so outside when it's nice, can get busy in the mornings, especially so when there's just one person behind the counter. Lunch time can get hectic too with the panini press running all the time.

satellite cafe
At the start of many cold work days, I'd trudge up the 3 flights of outdoor stairway, boot up my computer and then head back downstairs, mug in hand, to get some maple tea and a muffin. Oh those muffins. Nothing like a fresh muffin to start your day. And Satellite has the goods. The one muffin I eventually settled on was the apple, raisin, walnut muffin. It's got a nice crust to it with a very moist inside helped by all the apple bits. The baked goods eventually made their way into the refrigerated case later on in the day, but they're on top of the counter at the start.

satellite cafe
You can see here just how filled with stuff the muffin is. I was back in the area a few weeks ago and I couldn't help but stop in and grab a muffin for old time sake and I wasn't disappointed. It's been about 3 years since I've been there and the place hasn't changed. This little neighborhood spot still has the goods. The place was the same down to the "We need $1s" sign made out of an old index card just like old times.

Since I'm not a coffee drinker, I can't help you out on that front, but they do have a wonderful selection of teas and baked goods. They've managed to stick around for a good while too so they're surely doing it right. If you're passing through the area or live around there and just never got around to venturing in, give it a try.

Satellite Cafe
701 S 50th St
Philadelphia, PA 19143
(215) 729-1211

Southwark

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

southwark
The local, seasonal eatery Southwark has been on our radar for several years. After hearing so many good things about it, we finally had the chance to dine there and experience it for ourselves, thanks to a generous engagement gift from Picky's family. (By the way, Messy and Picky are now officially engaged! More on that later.) Picky has become friends with Sheri and Kip, the owners of Southwark, through working at The Farmstand — making the outing all the more special, as we were able to support their hard work.

southwark
We walked inside the cozy spot and were greeted by a lovely dark wood bar with Kip serving up drinks. We made our way to the dining room which seats about 30 (with room for another 25 or so in the garden when it's nice).

southwark
Freshly made potato bread with little strips of parmesan and rosemary baked in made its way to our table with two pearl-onion-sized spheres of butter. Since Southwark is very conducive to drinking, we figured we might as well live it up and order drinks. We kept it old school with a Tom Collins for Messy and an Old Fashioned for Picky. We chatted with our supremely helpful server and ordered up a good amount of grub off of their menu. (We went in the fall so what you see might be different.)

southwark
Messy started off with the soup du jour: pureed late summer vegetables with cold olive sour cream. It was delicious.

southwark
Messy, not having too many non-meat options, decided to order up a series of small plates instead of the one vegetarian entree. We shared the heirloom tomato and buffalo mozzarella caprese with purple and green basil, another one of the daily specials, which are dictated by what's available from the farms in the region.

southwark
We split the grilled peach salad – charred red onion, baby greens, mascarpone, honey-mint dressing. Cut into wedges and reformed into a whole with mascarpone stone – ingenious! Messy ordered up a Domaine Lafage "Novellum" chardonnay (2007 Côtes Calalanes, France) after finishing her Tom Collins. Picky stuck to the rye and ordered up another Old Fashioned.

southwark
A surprise came out as a secondi: seared salmon with a watermelon and ahi tuna ceviche. Picky has become a big fan of ceviche as of late. Light and juicy, it gave away perfectly while slicing into the crispy, seared skin of the salmon.

southwark
Messy's main course was the goat cheese – baked Shellbark Hollows Farms goat cheese with herb and parmesan crust, poached apple, pepper-rosemary lavash, buckwheat honey. It was absolutely delectable, but clearly insufficient as a main course. This is not Southwark's fault — Messy shouldn't have shared her other small plates.

southwark
Picky's entree was the probably the best plate of food he's had this year. Barbequed smoked pork belly, baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce. The on-the-bone slab of bacon (let's face it: that's what it is, folks) was tender and intensely flavorful. The pork was not masked by the BBQ, but thoughtfully enhanced. Picky dutifully dipped into the Birchrun blue cheese sauce with each bite and did his best to keep Messy's fork from stealing scoops of sauce. The beans were undercooked, but after talking to some friends, that seems to be the current style, for some reason. They did provide some contrast to the tender pork, but Picky wasn't expecting an almost-crunchy bean. Of course, when Messy pointed out the near-crunchiness, Picky informed her that for non-vegetarians, "the beans really aren't the point."

southwark
And for dessert — yes, we had room for desert — we got one apiece. Chocolate Pot de Crème topped with whipped cream for Picky, whose sweet tooth can't resist a rich chocolatey finale to a meal. It didn't disappoint. More of a cold ganache than a custard, but Picky wasn't complaining.

southwark
Messy's chocolate shortbread mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich with fresh spearmint ground into the ice cream was shockingly flavorful and fresh. The homemade mint ice cream was unlike any either of us has had. Bits of real spearmint (not some flavoring) spiced up each mouthful. If only a six-pack of these were available to take home, we'd eat them every night.

southwark
Southwark is just plain classy. It's classy when you first walk in. It's classy after a few drinks. It's classy when you roll your full self out of there. Our meal was fantastic and so was our server (we're so sorry we forgot his name — we did have a few drinks!) which makes the experience so much better.

Southwark
701 S. 4th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.238.1888
Food: Tu – Th: 5.30p – 10.30p
F – Sa: 5.30p – 11.30p
Su: 11a – 5p
Bar: Tu – Sa: 5p – 2a
M: Closed

Sonata: Fall Menu Tasting

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
We were invited to a fall menu tasting media dinner for the new Liberties Walk eatery Sonata, a two-month-old venture by Philly-local Chef Mark Tropea. Walking into Sonata, we immediately saw Tropea's attention to detail and love of music. There were elevated votives, flatware with gentle curves, elegant straight lines decorating the tables and wide-plank wood floors. Splashes of color popped from a quintet of paintings on the far wall. A single table for eight was set up on this dreary Monday night— an intimate candlelight dinner for food lovers.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
A flute of champagne was poured for each guest to celebrate the new menu and to compliment the amuse bouche: oyster / passion fruit gelée / champagne cream. Neither of us do bicuspids so we were along for the visual feast indicating what was to come, while our lucky neighbors got double the bouche. They liked it. We had to look up amouse bouche: a single, bite-sized hors d'œuvre. Amuse-bouche are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are according to the chef's selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served as an excitement of taste buds to both prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking. This was a creative, modern take on the classic half shell and it seemed to be a crowd-pleaser.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
The soup: rabbit andouille gumbo / polenta crouton was a hearty introduction to the crisp autumn in store for Philadelphia. Nothing staves off the cold like a hearty soup and the gumbo did not disappoint. Shredded rabbit provided the deep savory while the chive-topped crème fraîse provided the clean calming cooling. Unfortunately, the polenta crouton was a little mushy. Perhaps it sat at the bottom of the gumbo too long. Moving it atop the dish with the dollop of crème fraîse would do the trick.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
Our second course of fish: potato-wrapped black cod / nappa cabbage / chicken of the woods mushrooms / sweet onion cream was regally presented. The crispy potato wrapper gave way to flaky cod which soaked up a sweet onion cream that could stand alone as a soup. The meaty mushrooms ( if you've ever taken a walk through the woods, you've seen them!) gave the dish added body. Everyone at the dinner loved the sauce so much we asked Tropea for the ingredients/process and he obliged: sweet onions cooked down in butter reduced with heavy cream and then pureed. There ya go – go forth and make your own, but be sure to invite us over to sop up your plate with some bread.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
The second entree was a meat dish: stuffed pork chop / savory apple bread pudding / golden raisin purée / calvados reduction. The prettiest of the dishes which were all gorgeously plated – other eateries in town could learn a thing or two from the simple with a touch of flair presentation we took in. We love brussels sprouts. Love them, love them, love them. We were not let down. They were the first of the season for us and it was Picky's favorite part of the meal. The finely diced bacon didn't hurt and the golden raisin purée provided a different sweet touch. The pork, which Tropea told us was sous-vide, was unfortunately dry. Picky had his own and Messy's serving and only a single corner of the four pieces of chops were tender and juicy.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
The cheese / salad course menu placement after the entrées was a nice touch. The Shellbark Hollows Farm goat cheese tart / grilled pears / frisée salad / spiced pecans with dashes of balsamic vinegar was a nice mix of traditional and deconstructed. The "crust" was fantastically flaky and easily absorbed into the sharp chèvre. This dish was so delicious, we could have easily eaten a larger quantity as an entree. As this was the single course which Messy could fully enjoy, Picky remained oblivious and greedily munched down his portion; he apologizes after the fact.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
Our final course was a trio of desserts: mocha cappuccino mousse cake / chocolate profiteroles with chocolate hazelnut ice cream / warm chocolate beignet. We were warned that the beignets were filled with a warm chocolate by a whiz of a Sous/Pastry Chef Krystal Weaver, but Picky still bit into it as chocolate squirted out. The second beignet was tucked securely into his mouth before chomping down. It was the most inventive baked dessert we've had in a good long while.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
The profiteroles were a tad hard as was the ice cream, but the flavoring of the homemade and not too sweet hazelnut came out well. The mousse cake was light in contrast to the decadent beignet. A final half dome of milk chocolate filled with caramel and sea salt came out as a nouveau after dinner sweet. Messy, who did not partake in the meat dishes, was surprisingly full and satisfied on the goat cheese tart, wine, dessert and cappuccino. But those are four of her favorite things, so other non-meat eaters might feel differently. We're told Sonata had a vegetarian entree on their summer menu but we forgot to ask if one was coming up for fall as well.

sonata restaurant fall menu tasting media dinner
Sonata's wonderfully appointed dining room, with seating for 40, is inviting and cozy while allowing for enough space between tables to not feel the crunch of a typical 30-or-so seat restaurant. It's a young restaurant with room to grow, but on solid footing. The forced overall feel of Liberties Walk and the Piazza might push you away, but trust us, Sonata is as welcoming as a warm hearth come wintertime. Thanks to Chef Mark and the rest of his gracious crew in giving us a wonderful evening.

Sonata
1030 N. American St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 238.1240
Hours:
Tu – Th: 5pm – 10.30pm
F – Sa: 5pm – 11pm
Su: 5pm – 10.30p
M: closed
Fall 2009 menu

DiNic's: Pulled Pork Sandwich

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

dinic's pulled pork sandwich
Now I know in my last post about what is one of the best deals in Reading Terminal Market, I lamented on the $8 sandwiches that are all over the place. But the $8 sandwich pictured above is what I will crown simply as The Best of the Best. The Italian style (not BBQ) pulled pork sandwich with sharp provolone and two heaping tablespoons of horseradish from DiNic's is so full of flavor you'll be wondering how you ate lunch prior to your first bite of this sandwich.

Slow cooked every day and cut/pulled to order. Served on your typical soft bun which nicely soaks up the salty juices. It's all so tender and juicy you'll be wishing you could be hungry enough to eat it for lunch every day, but it's just too much sandwich to eat every day. Believe me, working at RTM 4 days a week, I'd love to have one of these every day, but it just can't be done. You've really gotta be hungry to eat one of these. Or you could split one with a friend if you don't want to commit to the full monty. Many order this sandwich with broccoli rabe, but I say pass on the greens – but that's just me and to each their own.

dinic's pulled pork sandwich
I've been meaning to try most of the other offerings, but like a moth to a flame, I order up the pulled pork time and time again. I've had the roast pork sandwich with provolone and broccoli raabe, (and for a limited time, hot peppers!) which is delicious, but it's going up against this monster pulled pork at the same stand and it just doesn't stand a chance.

But a warning: the lines will be very long at peak lunch time which is roughly 11.30a – 1.30p. I usually take a late lunch around 2p so I can either grab a seat on one of the stools at the counter, but sometimes, I like to take it away and sit in a corner of the market and chow down. Tommy, Joey and the rest of the gang keep everything moving quickly, but they're happy to shoot the shit. Just be aware they've got 20 hungry people waiting in line for most of the day.

But another warning: the pulled pork is the first thing they run out of every day so you kinda have to roll the dice and go late or suck it up and wait in line. There's a trick to beat the line, but I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to share that secret. I'd have to kill you before you could blog, facebook update, tweet, yelp or text any of your friends about it. Sorry.

And one final note: they don't accept plastic so have your cash or RTM gift certificate at the ready.

DiNic's
Reading Terminal Market
12/Arch
7 Days: 8a – 3.30p
(215) 923.6175

PYT

Monday, September 21st, 2009

I headed to the much hyped PYT to watch the Giants v Cowboys game with my friend Vince. It was my first time there, but Vince is just about a regular. I'd heard good and bad things about the place, but I figured I'd give it a try myself as I've recently been on the hunt, more than usual, for actually cooked to temperature medium-rare burgers and nobody hypes their own burgers like PYT's Tommy Up.

I met Tommy Up about 3-4 years ago while I was sill at PhillyCarShare. His street team handled a guerrilla marketing campaign which went well and one isolated incident; it happens. When I heard he was opening up PYT at The Piazza in Northern Liberties it piqued my interest. The incessant hyping by him and everyone else on a social network was off putting. But hey, I still went (and not even for a freebie!). It took a few minutes to get a seat at the medium sized bar (about 30' long with 3 booths on the opposite wall), but I got through to an unobstructed view of one of the 2 50"+ Samsung sidescreen TVs mounted into the barside walls. Your typical selection of brews for a medium sized bar with a few local brews (PBC, Lager) a few standards (HighLife, MLite, Guinness) and shockingly missing was Euro Bud: Stella. Walt Whit it was for me. But onto the menu.

If you haven't heard all the gratuitous descriptives for the PYT burgers, consider yourself lucky. The PYT Burger: Cheddar, bacon, tomato, lettuce, sauteed onion special sauce on Martin's potato roll & topped with Kettle chips is what you get for $8. Want 2 patties – that'll be a Royale with cheese for $10. Three would be a Big Mic for $12. I don't do Thousand Island-like special sauce (that's how Vince described it to me) so I went with the Plain Ol' Cheese Burger with blue cheese instead of cheddar for $6. And let me apologize right now for the lack of photos, but I was there for the game and biked over for it sans camera. Keeping up with the Pulp Fiction theme, PYT also does a $5 Milkshake which is topped with sprinkles. Sprinkles? Taking it a step further, their $10 Adultshakes add some liquor with the Jack Rabbit Slim tipping the scales with vanilla or chocolate ice cream and Maker's Mark.

If Messy were with me, she would've had a few choices of Bogus Burgers (what PYT calls meatless burgers). Locals fawn over the portobello burger, but Messy's not a porto burger fan. I think she would've opted for the California Burger: Seared white bean, basil, tomato, garlic and bread crum homemade patty on a Martin's potato roll. Both Bogus Burgers cost $7.

Out came my burger with side of fries, $3, which are also much hyped (seeing a pattern?). I opted to not go for the 'Probably Best Onion Rings You Ever Had' for $4 as I saw about 5 came out in an order. The burger just didn't look like much. Granted, this is supposed to be one of those Cali burgers. I'm a NYer and lifetime east coaster and that's just not the kind of burger I'm used to. I'll give credit where credit's due and say that it came out cooked to temperature at medium rare: a nice sear and pink throughout. Wasn't quite a red center, but I'll take it. I should've opted for the Royale, hold the housemade Thousand Island. The chips came out on the side instead of on top of the burger (good move), but in my book, burgers are served with fries or nothing at all; chips are for sandwiches.

The fries were fries. Not great, not bad, not burned. They had some herb or spice I couldn't identify as I wasn't paying enough attention to the fries while the Giants were in a tight game (shouldn't have been that tight). Before I knew it, I was done with the fries. The burger was decent, but just not filling. Which, I guess, it's not supposed to be if I'm understanding the Cali burger theme. A nice soft bun, but I would've loved for it to be grilled a little harder. The bacon was extra crispy and just not how I like it. The crispy bacon was almost granular and too much of a texture shift to the burger.

But the most annoying part of my evening was my bartender. I was sitting at the bar with an open tab and he didn't come back to refill my beer for over an hour. I had 1 beer before I sat down and 1 beer with the burger and that was it. Just sat there watching the game as he walked by me a few dozen times and never bothered to check in. The bar was busy, but not packed and there were 2 bartenders and a barhop behind the counter; they were far from overworked. Sure I could've been pushy and called him over or simply screamed at him like many of the extremely obnoxious people did that night, but I didn't as he knew he had my card. Blech. That's the kind of service that gets you a sad tip from me plus a note on the receipt.

Maybe he thought I looked like a guy who stole his girl. Maybe he thought I looked like a guy who stiffed him the other night. Maybe he thought I looked like a bad tipper. I don't know. What I got was some lame service at a far from busy bar. I'm not in the area very often, but I won't be heading back there. The Standard Tap is right down the street with a better beer list and stellar burger. That reminds me, I gotta get back and review that place…

At the end of the night, the Giants eeked it out with a last second field goal to save the game. Unfortunately, PYT didn't have any late game heroics up its sleeve.

People who loved their PYT experience: Burgatory, uwishunu, fwts, Fidel Gastro, unbreaded, Foodaphilia, kitchenplay. So I'm well in the minority of Philly's bloggers here.

Messy not there
Picky * 1/2

The final word: I wouldn't come hungry as it's a Cali burger of Delaware proportion.

PYT
The Piazza
1050 N. Hancock St.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 268-7825
Hours
M – F: 5pm – 2am
Sat – Sun: 12pm -2am