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

The menu for the night with donuts donated by Krispy Kreme:

• Original Glazed Donut with PBC's Joe Porter in a classic breakfast staple inspired mash up
• Cinnamon Bun Donut with Yards' Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale
• Pumpkin Spice Cake Donut with Weyerbacher's Verboten, a Belgian style pale ale

The pours will be 8 oz. each with more on tap if you like what you're having.

Devil's Den has quickly become our new favorite neighborhood hangout. Why? They have an awesome beer list with 17 rotating taps and a gigantic bottle list. Happy Hour (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) means half off all drafts which normally range from $4 to $8. (Um, $2 to $4 for a really good beer? We are so there!) Their higher ABV brews get the 10.5 oz treatment. Also, it seems to be our demographic—seriously, every one in that bar seems to be in the same ten year age span— it's lively but no one is there to get hammered. The jukebox is usually rocking some awesome 90s music. The food is tasty and well portioned (except for the figs, don't get the measly figs!) with the giant cheese plate holding down the best deal spot so far from what we've sampled. Also, there's a fireplace!

The good people at Neff Associates, who have invited us to the event, suggest making a reservation to what they bill as Philly's first beer and donut pairing event. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. so there will be plenty of time at lunch, after work, before dinner, after dinner and before bed to come on by!

Devil's Den
1148 S. 11th Street @ Ellsworth
215.339.0855

Whoa, that Whole Foods is crazy. The aisles in there were literally wide enough to fit a Jeep into them, especially the frozen foods aisle. As you can see, we came away with a nice haul. Several bags full of goodies to keep us going along with a box of six wines our fantastic friend Lindsay gave to us. The wine gift basket was from My Wines Direct and yes, they do ship their CA wines to PA!

Picky just happened to have a relatively clear schedule during the promo and went on a few adventures while Messy was toiling away in her office. With his smart phone loaded with music and plugged into the sound system, he rolled through some parts of North Philly in search of graffiti. He found a few good walls, but this was his favorite spot after backing up the Jeep onto the sidewalk and next to an abandoned lot. He couldn't figure out what exactly that loading dock-like structure was for in the background. While tempted to put the Jeep into full 4×4 and storm the lot, he moved on.

Way down in South Philly is FDR Skate Park, one of those spots photographers flock to like a moth to a flame. Every once in awhile, you just gotta drift down there. With the Jeep, Picky was able to hit a lot of spots around town quickly as opposed to the usual combo of foot/bike/SEPTA. It was midday and the place was fairly empty other than a small photo shoot and a handful of kids. The half pipe stands a few yards from the main run. An imposing sight for most. For a little fun, Picky dropped the Freedom Drive II into full-time 4WD and gunned it through the rough dirt lot full of who-knows-how-deep fresh puddles. With 19" of clearance, it has enough to get over most things. You can cruise over the biggest of speed bumps without a hitch.

Before picking up Messy, he stopped off at another South Philly landmark, Frangelli's Bakery at 9th and Ritner Streets. They make delicious yeasty donuts. They're more like a layer of condensed croissants than a Dunkin Donuts cake donut. Fantastic. The donuts were so good that he went back a few days later only to see that they had just shuttered their doors for the rest of the summer. But rest assured, they've reopened their doors as of today, September 8th.

For a special treat, we went up to North 5th Street into Koreatown. A place nearly inaccessible to car-less Center City residents. Sure, you could take a bus up there, but that would take forever. While it's still a trek from Center City in a car, we made it out there and chowed down at Jong Ka Jib, a soft tofu soup specialty house. Highly recommended by everyone who had ever eaten there, we walked in with high expectations and out with extremely full and content bellies.

Over the weekend we took a last-minute trip to the beach with some friends. We buried our feet in the sand, swallowed enough seawater to remember our childhoods all too well and took in some mid-summer sun.

On our way back from the shore, we had to take a pit stop at Weber's for some root beer floats. One of our passengers mistakenly asked for out drinks to go so we didn't get the full drive-in experience, with the frosty mugs in a tray clipped to our windowsill, but such is life. We still enjoyed our floats! (Weber's also sells their awesome, slightly spicy root beer in 1 gallon glass jugs for those who want to enjoy it at home.)

The Jeep was plenty roomy for the two of us and three of our friends. There was enough room for a run to IKEA to get some much needed shelving for Messy's records (now hanging in our living room!). The city gas mileage lingered at around 14mpg which was abysmal. The 2.4L I4 DOHC 16V engine seemed to like the highway much better where the mileage jumped up to the rated 28mpg.

During our test drive, we clocked nearly 800 miles in the pouring rain and the searing heat. The Jeep handled any puddle we threw at it and the dual-climate AC worked like an ox at all times. And finally, a quick clip showing off one of the very cool features of this fully loaded model: remote start!

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.

View Larger Map

We thought maybe we'd take a look at their special happy hour menu [above] and order an app or two to nibble with our drinks. Yet somehow we ended up having a full-blown meal at the bar after our man behind the bar, Kip, handed us the full dinner menu packed with seasonal delights. For drinks, Picky ordered up his prized Bitches Brew (a steal at $6/glass for the 5p – 7p happy hour) and Messy left herself in the hands of Kip who suggested a Corpse Reviver #2 as a pick-me-up (gin, cointreau, lillet, lemon, absinthe, $11). By the time we finished our first round, the management had to send a server outside to serve as doorman as the space was at capacity. Everyone wanted a piece of the Dogfish + Southwark action. We got there just in time.

Picky ordered up the chicken liver terrine with beer bread [$5 happy hour special menu]; he's become a fiend for anything offal-y in the past two years. Dollops of vinegary whole grain mustard adorned the plate. The whole grains were a strong textural complement for the medium-rare, soft (but deliciously heavy in taste!) liver.

Messy went with a tried and true favorite, the roasted potatoes with fresh herbs and roasted garlic aioli [$6], which always make us happy. Chef Sheri never skimps on the accompanying dips— you never need to ask for a second one and if you don't feel like you need it, nobody's holding a gun to your head, so put it aside. After Messy was finished with her cocktail, Kip offered up a delicately rose-tinted Pinot Gris (Prentice "Ramato" 2008 Victoria, Australia). The color comes from the skins being left on the grapes after pressing for awhile to meld with the juice, Kip informed us as he gave Messy a taste.

Red and gold beet carpaccio and ricotta fritters with gigante bean and lettuce salad [$19].

It's just not right to pass up ribs with a bourbon mustard glazed baby back ribs, kidney bean and potato salad, spicy greens [$23], right? That's exactly what Picky thought. A delicious crispy exterior with a just too dry interior. Picky likes his ribs super succulent (but not just sauced). He wasn't complaining though. He was too busy licking his fingers to sip down the mocha-scented, rich Brew. Some say that the summer is not the time for a Russian imperial stout; Picky licks his thumb at thee.

Post carnage: Picky's a good eater.

Dessert was a difficult choice. The always awesome homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich with homemade chocolate shortbread cookie [see here] was on the menu, but so was a ginger pound cake with lavender caramel [$7], strawberry-rhubarb profiterole with fresh whipped cream [$10] and then their homemade ice cream offering of strawberry and peanut butter swirl [$6]. After some guidance by George, the GM and barman as you can see up top, we settled on the ice cream. Another Bitches Brew was needed to round out the night and what a perfect pairing with ice cream! (Normally, we would have ordered up more cocktails, like Picky's favorite Old Fashioned in town, but it was a special night for a special brew, which will hopefully see the light of day once again in the future!) As the sundae glass made its way over to us, one of the servers, Laurie, said she was a fan and thought it tasted like a PB&J. Spot on. It was like an ice cream PB&J, but not like anything you grew up with. The hunks of peanut butter didn't swirl uniformly, but it left for delicious chunks at odd bites amidst mouthfuls of creamy vanilla bean caviar-speckled ice cream.

Sheri came out to say hello and we gushed over the awesomeness of the ice cream (and everything else we gobbled up). By 7.15p, the happy hour was over and there was some breathing room at the bar once more. Sheri said it was a nice beer week with a bunch of special events. We heard the Country Time pork night went well Thursday night and PBC night was a packed house the night before.

And here are two of the hardest working people in Philly, Sheri and Kip Waide taking a breather after the rush. Kip's old boss, Fergie, was at the bar having a few brews with the Dogfish Head crew along with Curt from Nodding Head. As chance would have it, we sit in these seats at the end of the bar pretty much every time we're here. It's a great place to observe the inside workings of the restaurant, and a great place to say hi to all the folks who stop by. Picky had to introduce himself to Dogfish's Wendy, whom he followed around, event after event, for the week. After nearly three hours at the bar, we took off for home, fully stuffed after a fantastic meal with the added flair and madness of Beer Week added onto it. It being mid-June, it was still light outside, which made the night that much more awesome.

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

Pics from Philly Beer Week 2011

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:

And here it is being made with red hot rocks:

Pics from Philly Beer Week 2011

• Red & White
• Black & Blue
• Festina Pêche
• Namaste
• Bitches Brew
• Hellhound
• Worldwide Stout
• Burton Baton
• Sah'tea
• Paolo Santo
• 60 Minute IPA
• 75 Minute IPA Firkin

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

Pics from Philly Beer Week 2011

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!

Pics from Philly Beer Week 2011

Playing loose versions of themselves, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reprise their hilariously fictionalized roles from TRISTAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY and reunite with acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE) for an acerbically witty, largely improvised ride through the English countryside. Tapped by The Observer to review fine restaurants throughout the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, Steve (Coogan) finds himself without a traveling companion after his girlfriend decides not to go at the last minute. After being turned down by everyone else he knows, Steve extends an invitation to Rob (Brydon), and together the pair attempt to navigate the winding back roads of rural England, impersonating popular celebrities such as Michael Caine, Woody Allen and Liam Neeson (among many others) and bickering along the way. Over the course of six different meals at six different restaurants, the ultimate odd couple tests the limits of their friendship, questioning what is most important to them and along the way discover the limits of what they are and are not willing to give up for fame.

The trailer…

So here's the deal: the screening is on June 14th at 7.30p at the Ritz East (125 S. 2nd Street). Leave a comment below, with your email in the proper field (don't worry, nobody will see your email except for us), about why you think the Brits are funny, or a funny Brit, or even somebody who does a funny impression of a Brit. We'll pick fifteen, yep, fifteen, winners at random and they'll be notified by email on Monday. The cutoff will be Sunday at 11.59p. Each winner will be able to bring a guest to the screening.

A note on the screening: while your name will be on the list, it is a fist come, first served event so you'll have to get there a little early to check in and get in line (or as NY Picky would say, "on line") to get a decent seat. Another note: they will be checking for any recording devices and that includes phones with cameras.