The pride and joy of Northern Liberties, the new Silk City Diner, was recently featured on an episode of Diners, Dine Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri. Check it out.
Diners, Drive Ins & Dives: Silk City [YouTube]
Silk City Diner [MenuPages]
Silk City Diner [Official Site]
• Can truly authentic Southwestern food be found in the Northeast? [MP: Boston]
• One Chicago hotel restaurant has gone buck wild for pastrami-smoked salmon. [MP: Chicago]
• File under "strange interpretations of regional specialties": vegetarian scrapple. [MP: Philadelphia]
• Rest in peace, airline bags of peanuts. [MP: San Francisco]
• Let's all go to Buenos Aires! [MP: South Florida]
There's an amazing news item making the rounds on the interwebs about this Atlanta-area woman who can feed a family of five on as low as $10 a week by being the world champion of clipping coupons:
The family's grocery bill was $200 to $250 dollars a week. She began clipping coupons, trying to match them up with sales in the weekly fliers from grocery and drug stores. As Crissy's husband Joe puts it, "At first it kind of blew my mind because she'd bring things home and I'd be like is this legit or what? Are we going to get in trouble?"It was legit alright.
And it took a bit of research and work. It still does.
Crissy says it takes her about an hour a week to get ready for her shopping trip, a trip that takes three to four hours and involves three to seven stores in the area...
Over the course of the article, Crissy buys $140 worth of household stuff at the CVS for less than $5 and about $50 worth of groceries at the Publix for about $15, using coupons combined with sales and promotions.
This kind of extreme money-saving discipline is very impressive, especially with the price of staples like rice skyrocketing lately. But is it worth it? This kind of lifestyle necessarily means being subjected to the whims of retailers and their stock. As much as we hate shelling out $6 for in-season asparagus, we would hate more to feel like we couldn't buy that asparagus this week because it wasn't on sale. But then, we don't have three kids.
Another troublesome thing about this shopping method is the amount of time and travel it requires. Crissy drives all over town. Did you catch that part where she spends about five hours a week at this and hits three to five stores per trip? We simply wouldn't have the patience or the gas money. Though, the idea seems to be you do this extreme money saving shopping so that you can have gas money.
Would it be way too San Francisco hippy of us to suggest that Crissy ditch the car and ride her bicycle to the farmers' market to buy cheap, in-season stuff, then do her extreme money saving at the CVS on the way home? Probably. Not everybody can live like that, we know.
But doing errands sans car is more feasible than it sounds, we learned when our car died in 2006. We never replaced that ancient Saab, and the combination of a large messenger bag and 16-speed Fuji has served us fine ever since. Why pick up another reliance (on coupons) to pay for the gasoline reliance you may not need anyway? Divorcing the car has left us free to spend more money on higher quality goods in other areas. Like $6 asparagus in May. No, that's still ridiculous.
Coupon queen spends $10/week on family groceries [Boing Boing]
If I Didn't See It With My Own Eyes... [11Alive]
[Photo: Jimforest/flickr]
File this under things we didn't know: In Pennsylvania, you can spend your benefits at the beer distributor. Says KYW:
"David Reed (R-Indiana County) says the state Liquor Control Board already prohibits the use of welfare electronic benefit cards at state liquor stores, but he thinks the law needs to go further.Now, the House Liquor Control Committee has approved a measure, sponsored by Reed, that would expand the ban on the use of welfare benefit cards at state stores to include child support payment cards, and would also prohibit the use of those benefit cards to buy alcohol at bars, restaurants, and beer distributorships:
“This was brought to me by case workers at my local county assistance office who had started to notice a growing trend of -- especially with the child support payment cards -- those being used inappropriately at state stores.”
Reed says the benefits are intended to give adults a second chance and to provide for children, and should not be used to purchase alcohol."
Err, alcolicious?
News [KYW]
• Shh don't tell anyone, but global food prices fell in April [BBC]
• Bush farm bill veto to fail; BigMac, Bama & Billary miss the vote [WaPo]
• Blind item: which country on the brink of civil war faces starvation? [NYTimes]
• Wal-Mart to bravely start serving food in its small-format UK stores [Reuters]
• Food purveyors too economically fragile to display at restaurant show [Trib]
• Dry dog food has been identified as a potential salmonella vector [FOX]
Of the many tragicomic sidelines to the 2008 election, two bargain-basement bourbon makers are fighting a publicity stunt "war" over presidential candidates.
Connecticut's Jeremiah Weed Bourbon, a cult favorite of United States Air Force fighter pilots, recently accused fellow bargain whiskey Evan Williams of playing favorites in the 2008 election by sending complementary bottles of bourbon to noted shot lover Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Via the "Mr. Jeremiah Weed Speaks" blog, the distillery accused Evan Williams of trying to sway Kentucky voters:
"It has now come to my attention that my good friends at Evan Williams Bourbon have sent bottles of their product to Senators Clinton and Obama in the hope that they will be seen drinking Evan Williams when they come to Kentucky in the coming weeks for the Presidential primary election. [...] Evan Williams bourbon is clearly distraught over the fact that in Indiana, Senator Clinton chose to sip a whiskey that was not Evan Williams bourbon. This obviously caused Evan Williams to resort to political ploys to try to win the favor of Senators Obama and Clinton when they visit Kentucky, and in turn, unfairly influence the fine citizens there."
Naturally, Jeremiah Weed decided to launch a Bourbon Primary that happened to ignore Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark and... err... every other brand of bourbon besides Jeremiah Weed and Evan Williams.
So how did Evan Williams fire back? They decided to dismiss Jeremiah Weed's salvo as "erroneous and disingenuous":
"Craig Beam, 7th generation Master Distiller at Heaven Hill, America's largest independent family-owned spirits producer, recently sent bottles of Evan Williams, America's second-largest selling Kentucky Bourbon, to Democratic Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. [...] Mr. Weed, or the blogger that assumes his identity, accuses us of trying to 'unfairly influence' Kentucky voters by 'trying to win the favor of Senators Obama and Clinton' [...] They fail to mention that we also sent a bottle of Evan Williams to Senator McCain, specifically to make the gesture evenhanded and bi-partisan. So clearly the only favor I'm trying to win is preventing the appearance of a bottle of Canadian Whisky on the Kentucky campaign trail. This also all sounds a bit suspect, considering that the folks with Jeremiah Weed also sent bottles to the candidates, according to their spokesman in an April 17th article in Advertising Age."
In case you're wondering, Craig Beam is descended from Jim Beam's first cousin. And the Advertising Age article can be found here, complete with a taste tester calling 100-proof Jeremiah Wood "sugary-sweet" and "girl bourbon."
So, yes, it's all very stupid and reeks of publicity stuntdom. But these two drink makers are going to the bank on it.
Jeremiah Weed [Official Site]
Evan Williams [Official Site]
Does that stand for public service announcement or a punishing stomach attack? We don't know. Probably a little of both. Point is, there are two fast food giveaways today.
First, McDonalds is trying to drum up interest in its new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, basically a copy of Chick Fil A's chicken sandwich: a fried fillet, buttered bun and pickle slices. They're giving these things out until 7 p.m. with the purchase of a medium or large drink. They were also giving out the breakfast version this morning — basically the same sandwich but on a biscuit — but it's too late for that.
Also today, Dunkin Donuts is giving out free iced coffees. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. you can get a free 16-oz. iced coffee at participating locations.
So now you know. Do with this information what you will.
McDonald's Giving Away Chicken Sandwiches; Dunkin' Donuts Handing Out Iced Coffee [Serious Eats]
Dunkin' Donuts Keeps America Running With Second Annual Free Iced Coffee Day On May 15 [Press Release]
Free Southern Chicken Today At McDonald's [Freep]
McDonald's Nutrition Facts [Official Site]
[Photo: McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich via pcopp001/flickr]
• Your newest food trend: compassionate carnivores.
• Farmers market prices are expected to rise.
• Collingswood has a brand-new Italian/Albanian restaurant.
• Over on Passyunk Avenue, Le Virtu is breaking the Italian red sauce barrier.
• Philly's got restaurant openings.
• Chinatown's Potluck Cafe specializes in offal-based "Mandarin-style cusine." Country-style pork tongue, anyone?
• It's time for the Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers' Festival.
• Philly's best high alcohol content beers.
• In the who woulda thunk it department, Johnny Rockets is offering free veggieburgers in collaboration with PETA.
To celebrate, we're going to suggest a few spots in each of your respective cities in which to indulge in foie gras tonight.
• Foie gras is all over New York City menus, but if you want just a taste of it, try a tapa-sized version with five types of onions at Casa Mono.
• In Miami, head over to Michy's, where there are two foie gras appetizers offered: one with cherry jam and brioche crisps and another with a corn pancake and maple syrup.
• Boston's much-celebrated O Ya offers an appetizer of foie gras with balsamic chocolate kabayaki, raisin cocoa pulp and aged sake, which sounds pretty amazing.
• Michael Mina in San Francisco serves seared foie gras with huckleberry gastrique and endive, plus some sauces of pickled strawberries and poached rhubarb.
• Philadelphia's Le Bec-Fin has a pressed foie gras terrine on the menu, with artichokes and a small salad.
Chicago overturns foie gras ban [Chicago Tribune]
Photo, from the 2006 farewell to foie gras dinner at mk: brady frequent traveler and eater/Flickr
• It's an adventure in NoLibs dining with Swallow.
• Apothecary is officially open.
• Quote of the day: "Giving chef Jose Garces and his restaurant Tinto (114 S. 20th St. 215.665.9150) mad props is a little like impregnating a Spears sister … It’s easy, it feels good, but it’s been done before."
• House passes lumbering Farm Bill with 75%, for better or worse [NYTimes]
• Foie gras prohibition ends in Chicago; it was sort of fun [Tribune]
• BS: Bush admin's claim of biofuel's small role in global food crisis [AP]
• High prices force non-poor people to eat cheap fatty foods [ABCNews]
• Cookie-pushing girl scout unloads record 17k boxes on lardy MI [USAToday]
Here's how this went: We were going to tell you about this weird plan in Britain to secretly videotape everybody who buys cigarettes and alcohol. Creepy! But then we got distracted looking at these adorable pictures of penguin-shaped dumplings, and almost immediately started wondering what penguin meat actually tastes like. Ever seen it on a menu? Yeah, us neither.
There are a lot of joke sites out there regarding penguin meat. Apparently people think it is funny to eat the little creatures, and granted, it sort of is. After sorting through "press releases" from the Goliath Corp and the embarrassingly named Bud Ice Freedom Fighters, we discovered that penguins are actually protected and United States citizens are specifically prohibited from eating them.
But that doesn't mean people haven't. This account of an early Antarctic expedition cites Dr. Fredrick A. Cook, ship's surgeon of the Belgica, a Belgian ship captained by Adrien de Gerlache, which sailed from Antwerp in 1897: "If it's possible to imagine a piece of beef, odiferous cod fish and a canvas-backed duck roasted together in a pot, with blood and cod-liver oil for sauce, the illustration would be complete."
Another account, of the 1902-1904 Scottish Naval Antarctic Expedition aboard the Scotia, gave a more optimistic mention of penguin meat: "Once the unusual taste of penguin meat had become familiar, it proved to be a great favourite: fried and stewed, or as a basis for soup and curry."
Overall, though, penguin doesn't seem to have caught on in the least with those not on Antarctic expeditions. That's fine by us. They sound gross and impractical. We'll take a balut any day.
London Supermarket Secretly Videotapes Alcohol/Cigarette Buyers [Boing Boing]
Photo Of The Day: Penguin Dumplings [Required Eating]
Penguin latest food - available in abundance soon [Goliathcorp]
Antarctic Explorers: Adrien de Gerlache [South-Pole.com]
Voyage of the Scotia 1902-04 [Glasgow Digital Library]
Photo: Men with dogs and a cage of penguins at the bow of an ice-bound ship, 1902-1904 [Glasgow Digital Library]
• Farm bill vote expected today, veto expected tomorrow, neither good [Reuters]
• Food aid bill: by the way, poor countries, you have to use GMO seeds! [Tribune]
• UK's Minister of Climate Change undermines Ramsay's food mile claims [Mirror]
• Undocumented immigrant worker bust at big Kosher meat plant in Iowa [NYTimes]
• Your sugar preferences, consumption may be a genetic predisposition [ScienceDaily]
• North Korea has a predictably interesting take on global food crisis [RedOrbit]
• ADB to African countries: please cool it with the food export bans! [Reuters]
• Should pet foods have calorie listings? What's Spot's RDA, exactly? [DMN]
Time for Americanized bento boxes: Center City's Solefood is offering "lunch boxes" that sure sound like bento to us.
Here's the official word from the restaurant:
The “Lunch Box” at SoleFood will satisfy the soul and mid-day cravings without leaving the diner stuffed. Offering four individual-sized items that lunch-goers usually eat during the mid-day meal - soup, salad, sandwich and chips, the “Lunch Box” draws upon Chef Thomas Harkins’ food inspirations of the day. The “Lunch Box” theme changes daily, depending upon the season and ingredients available at the market. Sample offering would include: grilled cheese with truffle, tomato, fontina, an arugula salad, roasted tomato soup and fingerling chips; tuna slider with wasabi honey aioli, tofu Caesar salad, black bean soup and yuca chips; shrimp po-boy with Creole mustard, tomato salad with maytag blue, fish chowder and vegetable chips. The “Lunch Box” is presented on four, four-inch square plates atop a larger 10-inch square plate.
Sale price is $16.
