First our gal J. Manning peaced out to become the editor of Tasting Table. Now comes word food editor Ashley Primis is saying bon voyage to the regional mag for the Director of Special Projects position at the recently James Beard-nom’ed Starr Restaurant Organization. Successors for Manning and Primis have yet to be named. Food writers, start your resumes.
Avenue P’unks rejoice! The beer gods have heard your prayers. In early 2010, former Temple classmates Gena Montebello and Michele Aquino will open the Bottle Shop on 1941 East Passyunk. The 26-year-old self-proclaimed craft beer geeks, Northeast and South Philly natives, respectively, are in the final stages of the liquor license transfer and have already signed the lease for the 1200-square-foot space they plan to trick out with 10 to 15 fridges they’ll fill with beers from as far as Japan and as close at Delaware Avenue. There’ll be beer-friendly snacks, too: gourmet popcorn, spiced nuts, cheeses, panini. Montebello and Aquino are aiming for “late February, early March,” to which we say, hurry.
Just received word that chef Steve Cameron has resigned from his position of executive chef at Noble American Cookery on Sansom Street. Just last week, a rumor told us this was imminent. Was it the tepid reviews? Or something else? Either way we'll miss his braised short ribs over sweet onion risotto. At least cocktail wizard Christian Gaal is still behind the bar.
Philadelphia restaurant critic and blogalicious friend and neighbor Joy Manning launched her fly new blog today, the Oyster Evangelist. We approve, as we're down with all thing oyster. The blog features thoughts on food and easy recipes like the one for this improvised lunch based on the Incan supergrain, quinoa. Knowing Manning, who coauthored cookbook Almost Meatless with Tara Mataraza Desmond, we expect to get lots of great meals out of this blog.
JohnnyMac, you mind reader, you. The chef of Pub & Kitchen has tapped into our food fetishes twice in one week! First came these warm, gooey Rice Krispie treats the good folks are serving at University City’s candy apple-red Hubbub Coffee truck. Second was today’s announcement of a special izakaya menu Mac is doing at P&K this weekend starring our favorite heel-stinging sea critter, uni! If you’ve never swooned over the buttery, briny roe, then this is great opportunity since the two-course menu only costs $37, including Hitachino Nest’s zingy Ginger Brew. Menu below.
Japanese Pub Dinner - $37
STARTER
SEA URCHIN & SCALLOP SASHIMI
quick pickled cucumber, radish,
turnip, seaweed broth & toasted chili
MAIN
“PORK & BEANS”
TON-KATSU STYLE PORK CHOPS
miso braised white beans,
sea urchin mayo & edamame coleslaw,
& sweet soy bbq sauce
BEER
hitachino nest ginger brew
Photo: LaoCook
O draconian devil! O lame saint! On Monday, September 28, Passyunk ristorante Le Virtu will host Azienda Agricola Dino Illuminati, a cutting-edge vintner in Teramo’s burgeoning Controguerra wine country. Chef Luciana Spurio—who served us a simple but mesmerizing tagliolini with lemon and prosciutto the other night—is doing five courses for $75 per person (see menu below), including wine pairings by Anna Illuminati, who’ll be on hand to discuss the family juice. Peep the menu below, but on the drinking front expect Costalupo Controguerra DOC, a regional Trebbiano blend; Campirosa Cerasuolo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, a signature rosé; Riparosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Illuminati’s take on Montepulciano, the wine rated by Wine Spectator as one of the "top 25 best-value red wines in the world"; and Zanna Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, the award-winning Montepulciano powerhouse chosen for the recent G8 summit in L’Acquila. Call for reservations.
The grass-fed burgers from Elevation might be better for the environment, but driving way up 76 to Wynnwood is not. Such is the catch-22 of the eco-minded burger connoisseur living in Philly proper. But hark! Word comes today from general manager Dan Marino of the Main Line outpost--we interviewed him for our awesome upcoming Burger Smackdown in PW--that the company is six to eight months away from a Center City location. Marino (the Overbrook native and former GM of Il Portico, not Nutrisystem spokesman and vendetta obsession of Ray Finkle) says a Rittenhouse address is locked down "on Walnut Street," though he wouldn't go more specific than that. Par for the course for Elevation; they're also all CIA about the provenance of their beef. Ironic considering sustainable eating was founded on the notion of transparency.
What do the Parc baguette, Claudio’s smoked mozzarella and Stock’s pound cake have in common? Yes, they all landed in Philadelphia Weekly’s recent Must Eats package, authored by yours truly and fellow PW food dudes Tim McGinnis and Brian McManus. But those ingredients will also be turning up at the Philly Kitchen Share on Saturday, October 24 for Must Eats: The Event. McGinnis and McManus will be cooking a nine-course dinner inspired by and including several Must Eats gems. In addition to being two of the funniest writers in Philly, both Mcs are talented chefs and founders of collaborative culinary event company Spinal Tapas. McGinnis attended Johnson & Wales, studied in France after graduation, cooked in Providence and Delaware and currently holds down a day job as a high school culinary instructor. PW music editor McManus studied culinary arts at Houston Community College and juggled restaurant work with his indie band for seven years in Tex. The dinner will double as a meet-the-brewer event; Yards brewer Tim Roberts will be there to talk about Brawler, included in the $90 per person price. Only 16 reservations are available, so keep an eye on Philly Kitchen Share’s website, where the tickets will be sold via PayPal. Check out tentative menu below.
Yesterday, the enigmatic Shola Olunloyo leaked on his Twitter feed details for the Sweet Corn Modernista dinner he’s doing September 4th and 5th. Modernista, according to the Nigeria-born and London-raised chef’s blog Studiokitchen, refers to the Spanish aesthetic in art, architecture and literature popular from late nineteenth century through WWII. How does that zeitgeist translate to the $150 per person 10-course menu? If it means scrambled corn with Santa Barbara sea urchin; lemongrass-scented chilled corn soup; and corn pound cake perdu with frozen chocolate, then viva la Modernista! Hunter’s Farm in Riverton, NJ is lending the ears for the dinner, a true celebration of the season. Stay on the Studiokitchen blog; there’ll be a reservation link tomorrow. Proposed menu below:Lemongrass Scented Chilled Corn Soup . Pink Grapefruit . Hamachi . Combava Lime Gelee
Silver Queen Ice Cream . Lime Struesel . Blis Smoked Steelhead Roe
Scrambled Corn . Santa Barbara Sea Urchin . Iceplant . Lemon
Corn Juice and Ginger Polenta . Summer Truffle . Castelmagno Cheese
Dayboat Scallop . Crushed Marcona Almond . Sweet Corn-Miso Broth
Chitarra Pasta . Sweet Corn "Carbonara" . Meadow Run Egg . Grated Benton's Ham
Slow cooked Pacific king Salmon . Peanut-Corn"somme" . Chanterelle Mushroom
Australian Grass fed Lamb . Corn-Shisito Relish . Yellow Watermelon . Spicy Yuzu
Neal's Yard Dairy "Duckett's Caerphilly" . Edamame-Piquillo "Succotash"
Corn Poundcake "Perdu" . Chocolate Frozen Cold Cool
Photo: Studiokitchen
Hungry? Check out Must Eats, the PW cover story we coauthored with fellow food writers/culinary bad-asses Tim McGinnis and Brian McManus. This ain't your mom and pop's top 50--unless your folks are into lamb tartare, oxtails, banh mi and whole roasted kid goats, of course. And once you've salivated your way through the whole story, peep Must Eats: The Contest. First reader to eat all 50 items on the list wins $100 in awesome restaurant gift certificates (and not the corny spots your fam from Jersey gets you for Christmas). Grab the entry deets on the site, and then busy eating. 
Christopher Lee, former four bell-winning Striped Bass chef and current big fish at NYC's Aureole (we really just want to keep calling it Aereola), spoke to us last week about his experience on new Bravo series Top Chef Masters. Dude had some interesting things to say.
After dinner at sushi newbie Aki (see the PW review in two weeks), blogalicious hit Capogiro as we often do for a second dessert: orange-cardamom sorbetto and chocolate malt gelato on a slender, brittle, waffle-ironed cone. Across the street, Lolita was jumping, and we could help but notice Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran’s fifth concept, the just-reported flower/chocolate shop Verde (it means 'green' in Spanish and Italian), looks like it’s nearly ready to spring. Not much to add to initial reports, except that we dig the logo and that the cacao side of the biz is named Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates. Space looks sweet.
Maybe one day, somewhere, somehow, some way, Philly will have a waterfront worth spending time on. While other metro areas (Chicago, Vancouver, New York) have capitalized on their harbors and riverbanks, we’ve been content to gaze at ours from the Ikea cafeteria rather than risk life and limb Frogger-ing across Delaware Ave. Penn Treaty Park, seemingly serving as the village green for Fishtown/Kensington/NoLibs, is a good (but rare) example of life along the River. The conversion of Pier 11 is another step in the right direction. This summer we hear of OCTO Waterfront Grille, setting up shop in the old Rock Lobster. When we were kids, we remember thinking Rock Lobster was the pinnacle of sophisticated grown-up entertainment. We were stupid kids. 
We’d very much like to tell you we didn’t cream our pants when we heard Capogiro was opening a gelateria on East Passyunk, but that would be a big fat lie. The thought of not having to venture into Center City for Cap absolutely boggles the mind of the downtown addict. It’s like in season three of The Wire, when the cops round up all the drug dealers in one are and let them sling with impunity. This is going to be dangerous; having to schlep to Rittenhouse or Midtown Village was pretty much the only deterrent that kept us from a 24/7 gelato coma. With ciocolatto scurro, baby kiwi, blood orange, Saigon cinnamon, Thai coconut milk, ricotta and tangerine gelati and sorbetti right in our backyard, it doesn’t look good for us, kids. But enough about us; here’s what Stephanie Reitano, who owns Capogiro with husband John had to say about moving to P’unk Ave.:
On April 6, a deadly earthquake crushed the Abruzzo region of Italy. L’Aquila, the inspiration for East Passyunk’s Le Virtu, was one of the worst towns hit, and owners Francis Cratil and Catherine Lee are hosting a benefit for the quake victims on Tuesday, April 28. “L'Aquila … was home to Cathy and I—and our Jack Russells—or six months in 2001,” says Cratil. “We go back every year and have done so since 1999. All our friends there are homeless. We have little information about the shopkeepers and neighbors we knew. Many of the villages, including the villages of the Campo Imperatore, have suffered terrible damages and death. L'Aquila changed our lives: there would be no Le Virtù without it and its people.” The benefit will be $40 per person (you can donate more if you wish) and will include traditional Abruzzese buffet—hopefully with their airy sage-and-mozzarella-stuffed pizza fritta (above). Proceeds from admissions as well as all alcohol sales will go directly to the victims of the L’Aquila earthquake. Doors open at 5pm, rain (Cratil and Lee are planning on tenting the patio if the weather doesn’t cooperate) or shine.
Good grief, Chip Roman. You’re on this blog more than Miley Cyrus is The Soup. (It’s Chip!) Still, on a day like today, the Margate sea hags seem so close we can smell their Panama Jack and Marlboro Reds, and it makes us happy to mull over what we’ll order at Blackfish at the shore, recently relocated from Avalon to Stone Harbor in the old Henny’s spot on 9628 Third Ave. We’ll be starting with the cute-as-a-button Cape May salts—you know their story, right?—then follow up with the foie gras terrine (real Sicilian pistachios?! Yes!) For entrees, it’s a toss-up between the rib-eye and the dourade. We have a sweet spot for sweet Jersey corn. Come correct, Chip, and make summer ’09 one to savor.Gazpacho, crushed avocado, opal basil
House Smoked Scottish Salmon, crispy potatoes, deep fried egg, crème fraiche
Tuna Tartar, spicy kimchee, micro greens
Baby Arugula Salad, Bulgarian feta, local blueberries, walnut vinaigrette
Jersey Tomatoes, handmade mozzarella, local basil
Hudson Valley Foie Gras Terrine, sour cherry, compressed Anjou pears, Sicilian pistachios
Cape May Salt Oysters, carbonated Meyer lemon, watermelon, pink peppercorn
***
Dry Aged Rib Eye, summer vegetables, red wine sauce
Roasted Scottish Salmon, lentil salad, lemongrass emulsion
Dourade Royale, sweet corn, soybeans
“Surf and Turf”, glazed beef short ribs, day boat scallops, parsnip puree, horseradish
Roasted Free-range Chicken, morel mushrooms, white asparagus, ramps
Bouillabaisse (seasonal fish poached in a saffron broth, crusty bread and rouille)
Photo: BuyStoneHarbor
This month's issue of Details is worth a look not only for the shots of the everyone's favorite amnesiac major league doper--so poignant we had to choke back fake tears--but also for the round-up of America's best dive bars. The drag show and $3 "borderline-irresponsible" (ha) JB-and-PBR dealsky land South Street's Bob & Barbara's a mention. Even more borderline-irresponsible: letting a photographer shoot pictures as you kiss yourself in a mirror. We'd post the shot if we weren't afraid it would turn you to stone.
