Jen of the always excellent 1000 Times No podcast just recorded a new episode featuring Jonathan Coulton and Paul Storm, performing live at Milkboy Coffee. Coulton is one of the finer nerd-rock troubadors on the scene today and, as for Milkboy, we feel confident in saying they have some of the finest coffee on the Main Line. Milk Boy just opened a new location in Radnor as well, the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe.

1000 Times No [Official Site]
MilkBoy Coffee [MenuPages]
Milkboy Coffee [Official Site]
Milkboy Acoustic Cafe [MenuPages]

Continuing our Simpsons-themed posts: Mmm, beer. That's all we had to say after coming across the Wine, Beer And Spirits Festivals And Events Calendar from gophila.com. Highlights of the year?

• In April, we've got the Philadelphia Wine Festival in Center City and the Brewfest at the Manayunk Brewery.

• Down in Phoenixville, we've got that puzzling Deutschland tradition, the Sly Fox Goat Race & Bock Festival in May.

• The Grey Lodge is doing another one of their well-loved Friday the Firkinteenth celebrations on July 13.

• September means the Chester County SPCA Wine and Beer Festival.

• This fall, the Union Club is opening their doors to the public for a Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza.

Wine, Beer And Spirits Festivals And Events Calendar [GPTMC]

Philadelphia is Wawa's home turf. We're proud of that. Wawa's lemonade-and-iced tea? A caloric bit of heaven. Their hoagies? A guilty 3am just-got-home-from-the-bar pleasure. So we're aware that 7-Eleven runs a distant second in the Delaware Valley convenience store stakes.

Still, it is damn cool to find out that 7-11 is converting 11 stores around the country into Kwik-E-Marts as part of a promotional campaign for "The Simpsons Movie."

How Kwik-E-Mart will the Kwik-E-Marts be? Pretty Apu-riffic, actually. Their exteriors will be done to replicate the Kwik-E-Mart and 7-Eleven will have special items like Krusty-O's, Buzz Cola and iced Squishies for sale. No word yet on whether any will open in the Philly area.

Real Kwik-E-Marts? Woo-Hoo! [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

The Daily News' Chain Gang skipped their usual fast food and casual dining fare in favor of getting lunch at Smith & Wollensky. Consensus is that it's not among the most expensive lunch options in Philly and that, though pricy, it could make a good spot for client lunches. Recommended dishes? The mozzarella and tomato salad, the Wollensky salad, the seared tuna salad and a "Prime Rib Dip." However, opinion is that the $16 steak sandwich (yup, as in cheesesteak steak) is just a bit too expensive for what it is.

A mighty tasty - and filling - lunch [Daily News]
Smith & Wollensky [MenuPages]
Smith & Wollensky [Official Site]

The island of Taiwan has some interesting culinary traditions. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the retreat of the Nationalists to the island, Taiwan became a melting pot for migrants from throughout mainland China. In the ensuing years, mainland cooking styles mixed with pre-war Taiwanese cooking to create contemporary Taiwanese cuisine. Food blogger Mei put together a list of her top ten Taiwanese quick eats. Our favorites are the xiao long baos (dumplings), the Taiwanese-style shaved ice and the beef flatbread wraps (a riff on the Beijing-style sesame pancakes with meat found at NYC's Dumpling House), but they are all pretty much delicious.

Taiwanese food is a bit thin on the ground in Philadelphia. Chinatown restaurants have traditionally served Hong Kong, Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, while the new crop of immigrants over the past 10 years has been mostly Fujianese and Overseas Chinese. Nonetheless, there are a few Taiwanese restaurants in and around Philly. Ray's Cafe is a pan-Asian tea house/lunch counter with a menu section dedicated to Taiwanese specialties. The nearby Serendipity plays mostly to a teenage crowd and has a few Taiwanese items on their sushi-heavy menu. Then there's Empress Garden, a venerable Chinatown restaurant with a Taiwanese-heavy menu mixed in with Northern Chinese items.

Taiwanese Cuisine [Wikipedia]
Top 10 Taiwanese Tucks [Mei Eats]
Dumpling House [MenuPages]
Ray's Cafe [MenuPages]
Serendipity [MenuPages]
Empress Garden [MenuPages]

With all the talk of a expanded Whole Foods in Callowhill, we thought we'd shift directions and head to New York for a moment.

Inside the new Whole Foods on the Lower East Side, there's a full sushi restaurant. Sushiya (pictured above) is going to be serving up a full menu of Japanese favorites with seating... and a conveyor belt delivery system. The Whole Foods itself clocks in at a staggering 71,000 square feet of shopping space. Besides Sushiya, there's also an in-house coffee shop (Allegro) and Italian restaurant (Rustica Minardi). As they're want to do, Gawker liveblogged the supermarket's opening.

Sushiya at Whole Foods Bowery [Eater]
Whole Foods Bowery 2007 [Gawker]

[Photo: Eater]

Open House, the housewares/home furnishings shop that's part of the Lolita/Grocery mini-empire, just got a mention in Food and Wine. Open House got props for their "hip, affordable pieces" in a "design-starved city." Of course, space was also dedicated to Lolita and Grocery as well. But the real news here is that owners Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney are considering opening an Indian restaurant on 13th Street. You heard it here, folks.

Great Design Shops for Good Cooks [Food & Wine]
Lolita [Official Site]
Lolita [MenuPages]
Grocery [MenuPages]

· Celebrate Passover the Inquirer way.
· Maple syrup taps in Bucks County? Yup.
· It's dandelion season.
· Bridgewater's Pub at 30th Street Station has llama meatballs on the menu.
· Upcoming restaurants for the greater Art Museum district: new locations of Sabrina's Cafe and Monk's.

· The latest trend hitting the suburbs is meal-assembly franchises.
· Food critic Trey Popp was disappointed with ChriSteven's.
· Meet Philly's cake artisans, Truli Confectionary Arts.
· Zocalo has their own take on the martini, the Pablotini.
· There's going to be a food art show at Space 1026.
· Arr! The pirate-tastic Misconduct Tavern is reopening.
· A guide to vegen cheesesteaks in the PHI.
· Who has Philly's best jobs for foodies?
· How to get drunk at South Philly's 1601.

New Brunswick's great contribution to the world of dining are grease truck sandwiches. Served from food trucks on Rutger's Campus, these specialties are subs filled with multiple toppings. There's the Fat Darrell—a chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, french fries and marinara sauce sandwich. There's the Fat Cat—two cheeseburgers, fries, lettuce, tomato, ketchup. Then there's even the Fat Koko—cheese steak, mozarella sticks and french fries on a roll. Here in Philadelphia, Little Nicky's makes New Brunswick-style grease truck sandwiches. Our favorite is the very un-PC "Fat B****h", with pizza steak, mozzarella sticks, onion rings and chicken fingers. It's a bit of a heart attack meal and we like it that way. Well worth the trip to Northeast Philly.

[Photo: nj.com]

Little Nicky's [Official Site]
Grease Trucks [Wikipedia]

· Kirsten Henri on L'Oca: "Italian BYOBs multiply like eager little rabbits."
· There was a night of Cretan cuisine at Drexel and you weren't invited.
· Now you can make tzatziki the Cretan way.
· Tequila's now has grasshoppers on the menu and there's a new (grasshopperless) Hendrick's and honeydew cocktail at James.

Center City's Patou is offering a Provencal cooking class. Chef Patrice Rames is teaching how to cook the "Tastes of the Cote d'Azur" on Thursday, April 19. The cost is $80 per person and includes wine (one glass pared with each dish), tax and gratuity. It's not a interactive class per-se; the gist we get from Patou's press release is that guests will be offered a cooking demonstration by Rames of each dish being served. Still, regional French cooking classes of any sort are thin on the ground in Philly and it's worth a shot. For reservations, call (215) 928-2987. On the Provencal tip, Patou also offers house rentals in Provence.

Patou [MenuPages]
Patou [Official Site]

Over at 333 Belrose in Radnor, the bar menu is now half-price on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We will be adding the bar menu to MenuPages shortly—it includes dishes such as blue cheese quesadillas, cheeseburger slides and Korean chicken wings. There is also a half-price wine special on Tuesdays: All bottles of wine under $100 are half-price when purchased with dinner in the dining room.

333 Belrose [MenuPages]
333 Belrose [Official Site]

A longtime tenant of the food court at New York's Grand Central Station has relocated to the Main Line. Adriana's Caravan is now open at the Ardmore Farmer's Market. Philadelphia magazine recently visited the new suburban spice stand and praised their "coveted Tiger Tiger Asian condiments, French mustards and Lebanese jams" while giving extra attention to the store's new collection of South African groceries like bobotie seasoning and SA-style chutney.

Adriana's Caravan [Official Site]
Eat This Now: Exotic Spices [Philadelphia]
Lower Merion/Haverford Restaurants [MenuPages]

The Phillies and the Center City District are teaming up for Paint the Town Red Specials from March 26 until April 2. A slew of Phillies-related restaurant discounts are of interest to foodies. At the Reading Terminal Market, there is a special Phillies Tomato Pie at By George and Termini Brothers are offering Phillies cupcakes for $1. Bootsie's is offering a "Red Plate" lunch special of a Kobe beef hot dog, yukon gold french fries and a soda for $5.95. D'Angelo's is offering a Phillietini and Penne and Meatballs in Red Sauce Red Plate (alliterative) special. All red wines at Prime Rib are $1 off. And Davio's, Le Castagne, Bliss and Meritage are all offering a "Phillietini".

Paint the Town Red Specials [Center City District]

Let's welcome new restaurant bloggers phillyfoodguys.com to town. Authors Bill, Tush and Sue Z. are doing original entries and, best of all, podcasts about local restaurants.

First off is a Tiffin podcast (audio) and a post about said restaurant. Tiffin, founded by a Penn graduate who cooks some of the town's most authentic Indian food, specializes in cuisines from around the subcontinent:

Once we settled in, the three of us were faced with a number of delicious-sounding food choices. The menu offers a variety of different regional cuisines without being overwhelming. See the entire menu here. After some discussion, Patti and I deferred our selections to Tushar, who went with a variety play; Fish Kali Mirch (Western Coastal Cuisine) and Peshawari Naan (Northern Indian Mughlai bread stuffed with dried fruits & nuts) for appetizers and Badami Chicken Tikka (Northern India), Dal Makhani (Northern Indian street food) and South Indian Shrimp Curry for entrees.

Northern Liberties' Indian Surprise [phillyfoodguys]
Tiffin [MenuPages]

A profile of Mitch Omer, the chef of the excellent, Ralph Steadman-decorated Minneapolis restaurant Hell's Kitchen was just posted over at Salon. Omer, a self-described "manic-depressive that was treated for alcohol abuse", proud gun owner, former Iowa State football player and ex-security guard for Waylon Jennings, opened Hell's Kitchen several years ago—well before Gordon Ramsay's TV show. Hell's Kitchen has been praised by Jane and Michael Stern of Roadfood for "huevos rancheros of the gods" and "the best peanut butter we have ever sampled." For anyone who has ever worked in the kitchen of a restaurant, this piece is a must-read. And damn that porridge sounds good.

Tastes Like Hell [Salon]
Hell's Kitchen [Official Site]

A user on Chowhound posted in 2006 about the origins of Philly pizza. It might be a few months old but it's well worth reading.

As we get it, the gist of things is that Philadelphia pizza largely escaped the Italian style of thin crust pies normally associated with New York City and New Haven. Instead, Philadelphia pizza owes more to Greek pizza—a method of pizza making that emphasizes a thick, chewy crust, sweet sauce and cheese that oftentimes mixes in cheddar alongside mozzarella.

Greek-style pizza is also the dominant variety of pizza in Boston, another city with a significant Italian-American population. Our personal guess is that this has a lot to do with the popularization of pizza as a "non-ethnic" food after WWII; given that Greek immigration to the States and mass openings of restaurants only happened after the war, this may well be the case.

Chowhound poster mbetoni mentioned several classic (and quality) pizzerias in Philadelphia:

Family Style Pizza in Southwest Philly is the "pizza that probably epitomizes the Philadelphia-style. Celebre's by the stadium is some of the best pizza in Philly and is even better when pies are ordered well-done. Marra's, meanwhile, is the "best pizza in Philly, hands-down".

For Xplanted New Yorkers - pizza that tastes like pizza [Chowhound]
Greek Pizza [Wikipedia]
Family Style Pizza [MenuPages]
Celebre's [MenuPages]
Marra's [MenuPages]

Philly is giving birth to a new food-related television show. Philebrity reports that One for the Road is premiering on WHYY in April. Hosted by Owen Lee of the late, great Cibucan, the show's going for a Latin American journeyman kind of vibe. One for the Road "travels throughout the Americas in search of the people, places and style that enrich Latin culture and influence the world today."

The first episode premieres on Sunday, April 1 at 1:30pm.

Congrats, Owen. Sounds like a hell of a gig and we're sure you'll make us proud.

Foodies On The Run [Philebrity]

Lobster macaroni and cheese. It's one of those items that has appeared on dozens of restaurant menus over the last year (cue Continental Mid-Town, Gypsy Saloon, Blush. But why all the love for this one combination? On Chowhound, they're debating the origins of lobster mac 'n' cheese. The consensus is that it's an outgrowth of dishes like Lobster Newburg and Coquilles St. Jacque. One poster traced the origins of lobster mac to the French Laundry cookbook and a recipe for lobster with pasta in a mascarpone sauce. But then, you see, there are the traditionalists who view any kind of cheese with seafood or fish to be an abomination. Then there is the question of American cuisine's love with Lobster Newburg, Mornay sauce and, of course, the Filet-O-Fish with cheese. So it's not that easy.

What's up with the lobster mac 'n' cheese? [Chowhound]
Maine Lobster Macaroni Cheese with Truffle Oil [Food Network]

[Photo: Food Network]

Phillyist journeyed down to 10th Street and the ever-expanding Jefferson Hospital to try the pizza at Milano's. Milano's, in the former Jake's Pizza space, won raves for a slice that was "a generous size, [with a] sauce [that] was in better proportion to the cheese, although it seemed to have a bit too much oregano." However, reviewer G.W. Bridge piled lots of scorn on Jake's. At various times, Jake's is compared to hospital food and to having cheese that tasted "like a coal tar byproduct". No love for Jake's? Although we never sampled the food at the 10th Street location, the Broad Street Jake's made an amazing barbecue chicken slice. To each their own, we suppose.

Milano's Pizzeria & Grill [Phillyist]
Milano's [MenuPages]

This year's nominees for the James Beard Foundation Awards have been announced. Philly did well for itself, all things considered: Jose Garces (Tinto, Amada) was nominated for best Mid-Atlantic chef and the New York incarnations of Buddakan and Morimoto are in the running for Outstanding Restaurant Design and Outstanding Restaurant Graphics, respectively.

James Beard Foundation [Official Site]
James Beard Foundation Announces Nominees [Foobooz]

Craig LaBan went to L'Oca in Fairmount this week. The Italian BYOB specializes in the same Northern Italian upscale fare that has been becoming more and more popular in American restaurants over the past few years. LaBan's review, distilled to a few talking points?

1. L'Oca means "the goose". Get the goose stew. It's good ("tenderly braised meat cloaked in a tomato gravy that has an almost buttery richness.")

2. Chef Luca Garutti, recently of Ristorante Panorama and La Locanda del Ghiottone, is a native of Lombardy. Lombardian specials like bagna cruda and mushroom/goose liver pate are good here.

3. The restaurant's decor is "glassy corner bistro" and "casually sophisticated."

4. The gnochetti (dumplings of semolina bechamel, with tiny bits of minced mushrooms, asparagus and prosciutto inside) are really, really good.

5. Like game? Try the venison.

6. Seriously, just try the gnochetti.

L'Oca [Philadelphia Inquirer]

[Photo: Philadelphia Inquirer]

We just got word that uber-popular BYOB Pumpkin just opened a new market. Pumpkin Market is a gourmet market/sandwich shop that received raves from Joy Manning over at Philly Style:

With an array of house-roasted and freshly sliced meats, the sandwiches are some of the best lunch fare in town. Artisan bread, avocado slices and bacon set Pumpkin’s turkey club apart from the diner variety. Chicken salad is studded with halved white and purple grapes that lend sweetness to the perfectly seasoned sandwich. Sides like potato strata and bacon-speckled roasted Brussels sprouts provide ideal accompaniments to any lunch or dinner item.

The Joy of Dining [Philly Style]
Pumpkin [Official Site]

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, just did an interview with Leite's Culinaria. It's an interesting talk that touches on everything from Pollan's feelings on Whole Foods to organic produce at Wal-Mart and even boar hunting. Pollan has been a favorite as of late among the food intellectual set. Despite his book's overbearing emphasis on the eating habits of the upper-middle class at times, it's still a damn fine read and we strongly recommed this interview. If for nothing else, give it a read for his feeling on "outstanding artichokes".

Hungry for the Truth [Leite's Culinaria]

Newly reopened South Philly creole/soul spot Warmdaddy's is offering several discounts of note. Most intriguingly, the restaurant is trying to spur mid-week traffic by offering 50% off all food items on Wednesdays between 5:30pm and 7:30pm. There are also two all-you-can-eat nights: Tuesday for baby back ribs ($10.95) and Thursdays for fried shrimp ($15.95). For blues fans, there's a packed music schedule including Australian blues singer Fiona Boyes tonight.

Warmdaddy's [MenuPages]
Warmdaddy's [Official Site]

OK. Xochitl, the much anticipated Headhouse Square Mexican joint from the owners of Marigold Kitchen, has been getting a lot of love lately. This week, both the CityPaper and Philadelphia Weekly sent their reviewers to Xochitl. Basically, here's the gist of the reviews:

Kirsten Henri at the Weekly: "Sombrero-free" service (!), "Xochitl is confusing to pronounce and Google-defiant", good sopes and queso fundido, Vetri influences courtesy of Chef Jimenez's work at said restaurant, pork shank "falls off the bone in moist, flavorful shreds" and the chipotle ice cream gets points.

Elisa Ludwig at the Citypaper: "The liquids are as serious as the solids at Xochitl", "an enticing place to tie one on", "focus squarely on Pueblan cuisine", "five different ceviches on the menu", "a Fred Flintstone-size braised pork shank", and "pechuga de pollo rellena [is] a thin-pounded, sesame-crusted chicken breast rolled up then sliced in cross-sections that show off its plump filling of more spinach, pine nuts, and a mother-and-child-reunion combination of huitlacoche and corn".

BTW, it's pronounced "so-cheet".

Mexicali Rose [CityPaper]
Watching the Toltec-tives [Philadelphia Weekly]
Xochitl [MenuPages]
Xochitl [Official Site]

[Photo: Philadelphia Weekly]

Morrissey Extends US Tour [Pitchfork]
Mann center for the Performing Arts [Official Site]

It's always good to have corporate sponsorship when you go on your international yachting trip. Artist Bruce Smith managed to get his yacht trip from Seattle to the Caribbean sponsored by the Bahama Breeze chain of restaurants. Smith is blogging the trip along with his wife Jan—there's even a Myspace page.

Bruce Smith's Voyage [Official Site]
Bahama Breeze [MenuPages]
Bahama Breeze [Official Site]

(Thanks Philliesnation!)

· Craig LaBan tries the "treacly sweetness and frills" of Cebu.

· Hey, freshly baked bread is simple and sensual.

· Forget minestrone. Ribollita is the new Italian bean soup.

· Loofahs aren't just for the shower anymore.

· Lots of news over at Table Talk. A new "global restaurant-lounge" is opening in the former Lula space at 12th and Locust owned by the ex-owner of Woody's, Bill Wood. Tinto is now requiring reservations for seats at the bar (because, damn it, everyone loves Basque food) and chef Jose Garces' next Philly restaurant will be Chilango in West Philly. Misconduct Tavern on Locust Street is reopening; The Soy Cafe in Northern Liberties is reopening in the former Pond space with expanded hours and a new Marathon Grill is opening in the former Yogi's space at 10th and Walnut. For airport travelers, Chickie's & Pete's is expanding to PHI.

· And, lastly, Rick Nichols is getting a new kitchen.

Forget the Good Morning Burger: The real hipness is deep fried sliders. That's sliders as in White Castle cheeseburgers. A minor league team in Illinois, the Gateway Grizzlies, is selling the deep fried treats at their concession stands. A two-pack of the "Baseball's Best Sliders" sells for $4, with cheese sauce costing $1 extra. This isn't the Grizzlies' first foray into fast food zaniness: The chain sold a "Baseball's Best Burger"—a bacon cheeseburger that used a sliced Krispy Kreme donut for a bun—last year.

For the record, CNBC deems it "great" and like a "onion ring burger". There's even video.

Here in Philadelphia, we have our own hometown variation on the slider: Barclay Prime's kobe beef slider.

Gateway Grizzlies Go For Burger Madness Grand Slam [A Hamburger Today]
Deep Fried Sliders & Dancing With The Stars [CNBC]
Gateway Grizzlies [Official Site]
Barclay Prime [MenuPages]

· Elisa Ludwig goes to Xochitl. Highlight: "If you've never had the pleasure of eating corn smut, consider this your chance."

· There are a million reasons why CP thinks you should buy game from a proper vendor. Top among them: bloody meat.

· Drew Lazor welcomes Smith's and Uzu to town. Mmm... Raising Arizona rolls.

· I have no idea where Macungie, Pennsylvania is. But apparently they're the home of the Barista Bowl, sponsored by Murky Coffee.

· Hey, tea is good for your health.

· CP's bar of the week, West Philly's Dee's Hideaway, has a strict policy of only serving drinks to the 30+ crowd.

In our experiences, buying fresh eggs is always one of the best benefits of shopping at farmers' markets. The slow food-centric Eat Local Challenge blog just wrote about what you need to know about buying eggs. Basically, it all comes down to finding a place whose eggs have consistently good yolks and sticking to it. Why yolks?

A good clue to the nutritional content of an egg is the color of the yolk. The deep orange color often seen in a naturally produced egg yolk is related to the chickens’ diet. If the diet includes yellow and orange plant pigments called xanthophylls, the yolk will be deep yellow-orange. If the diet is low in these pigments, the yolk can be almost colorless.

The yolk holds all of the egg’s vitamin content including six B vitamins, as well as vitamins A, D, and E. The yolk also contains the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin and trace amounts of carotene, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium.

What You Need To Know About Buying Eggs [Eat Local Challenge]
Reading Terminal Market [Official Site]
Italian Market [Official Site]
Firehouse Farmers' Market [Official Site]