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• Celebrate the birth of marshmllow fluff with MP: Boston!

• Celebrate the comparison of food to geopolitics with MP: Chicago!

• Celebrate a real life hamburglar with MP: San Francisco!

• Celebrate the year of the steakhouse with MP: South Florida!

Northeast Philly regionialisms. We know all about the cult of panzarottis, Irish-themed sports bars (that don't serve Guinness!), wooder ice and complaining about the traffic on the Boulevard. Today it's our turn to scope out what Uwishunu says about square pizza at Santucci's:

I work for R5 productions (concert promoter) and when our “Near” NE Philly friends are coming down for a show, we often request that they bring us the coveted pyramid. Three descending sized boxes of this amazing tomato pie. Often you can see us chowing down at the door reluctantly taking money and stamping hands as we put back slice after slice. This is the classic Philly style cheese on the bottom pizza or tomato pie, not to be confused with the cheese-less tomato pie. Santucci’s pies have a thicker gooier crust than Tony’s Place’s circular tomato pie, if you are familiar.

Pyramid of Pizza: Santucci Brothers [Uwishunu]
Santucci's Original Square [MenuPages]

If we were you, we'd reconsider eating buffalo wings for the time being. It turns out that an enterprising businessman was selling chicken wings to area pizzerias and restaurants... that he processed in his garage:

"It wasn't a chicken processing plant. It was a garage behind a Philadelphia row home. Inside, a barefoot worker could be seen cutting wings that might have been served up at your favorite restaurant. It was hot. Flies were everywhere. NBC 10's cameras spotted chicken dropped in the water on a sloppy floor. At one point, the wing was picked up and tossed back in the pile. "He's got blood in that water, plus the ice, and it's just bacteria," the deliveryman said. They were chopped down into Buffalo wings, party wings, wingettes and the distributor resold them for a profit."

An investigation by NBC10 into the illegal chicken wing operation on Northeast Philadelphia's Tabor Avenue found fly baits on rotting pieces of chicken, fly strips and an utter lack of sanitation and temperature control in the garage where the chicken was stored.

Uhm, ew.

Distributor Found Selling Chicken Wings In Dangerous Way [NBC10]

News-of-the-weird website Fark.com is holding an open thread for their readers on fast food restaurants of the past. Which was your favorite?

What was your favorite chain restaurant that is no longer around? [Fark]

We recently came across this review of West Philly hippie/punk-loving caffeine joint Satellite Coffeeshop and had to share it:

Having grown up with crusty punx; I barely noticed the customers draped in filthy costumes that are more patches than clothing. It is curious, but hitherto unremarkable that the number of the kids covered with paint is disproportionate to the amount of painting going on in the city. What cinched it for me was the second time I noticed a girl drinking coffee from a pseudo-Mason jar.

I’ve seen a slew of people bring their own travel cups or mugs into all manner of cafes. That is reasonable. In fact, Satellite knocks 50 cents from the price if you bring your own mug. The distinction here is the types of vessels which Satellite clients choose to bring: former containers for peanut butter, beans, or bruschetta. Drinking coffee from a glass jar is preposterous posturing beyond all rationality.

There is a reason that coffee mugs are porcelain or ceramic: thermal conduction. This lesson is not missed by these jar-drinkers, based on the method of gripping the jar by the rim with two finger tips they have developed to avoid a scalding wake up call.

I’ve never spoken to anyone at Satellite, so I merely can presume the motivations of these people. The only purposes I can imagine, based on the political positioning of the typical West Philly Kid, are matters of thrift and of ecology.

Satellite Coffeeshop [Cafe Tableaux]

A few openings, rounded up over at the Inquirer's Food and Drinq blog:

• Pei Wei Asian Diner, P.F. Chang's budget spinoff chain, is making a concerted effort to break into the Philly market. Locations are opening up in Springfield (October 8) and on City Avenue (October 22). Can anyone explain why the Philadelphia 'burbs are in love with chain restaurants that have all the soul of a cardboard box?

• Old City Belgian gastropub/potential mussel haven Beneluxx Tasting Room is aiming for an October 5 opening. Right now they're sorting out some issues with the LCB.

• A new steakhouse might be opening near Washington Square.

Odds & Ends [Food & Drinq]

New York blogger Jason Kottke just came across the very first restaurant review the New York Times ever published. Check it out in full.

First NY Times Restaurant Review Circa 1859 [Kottke.org]

Philly's Latino bakeries just got the Daily News treatment, with a look at the Colombian Bakery:

It's a Saturday morning around 10 at the Colombian Bakery, and Angela Benitez could use another set of hands. Customers are lined up to the door in this tiny storefront, which serves authentic Colombian and Mexican breads and pastries to a largely Hispanic clientele. Benitez, a Colombian native, has worked at the bakery since it opened five years ago. And business is good. A tray of warm triangles of puffed pastry stuffed with cream cheese and guava makes it to the counter, but barely. With most items priced between $1 and $3, and the coffee as dark, strong and potent as you might imagine, breakfast hours are a busy time here. Benitez works efficiently, smiling brightly and calling most of her customers by name or amor ("love" in Spanish). The atmosphere is warm and convivial, and the customers seem to hail from all walks of life, from landscapers and contractors to business people sitting at tables in the back with their breakfasts reading Spanish-language newspapers amid all the hubbub. A happy toddler with a smear of guava jelly on her face wanders underfoot.

Only... the DN forgot to mention where the Bakery is. The Colombian Bakery is located at 4944 N. 5th St. Check it out.

Aroma of home [Daily News]

[Image via Daily News]

Talk about a special delivery! Police arrested the manager of an Andorra pizza shop yesterday after they found that he was using his delivery men to run a drug operation on the side. Undercover cops spent several weeks studying Giuseppe "Joe" Stellato and the extra toppings he allegedly peddled while he worked at Argento's Pizza, said Narcotics Capt. Chris Werner. Stellato, 36, of Erial, N.J., was charged with drug possession and possession with the intent to deliver. Werner said investigators confiscated $5,000 worth of prescription drugs, including Oxycontin, from Stellato's car, which was outside the pizza shop on Henry Avenue near Port Royal Avenue. "Basically, he was directing drivers to his car, where he kept the narcotics, and they would make drug deliveries while they were out on their routes," Werner said.

Meanwhile, the health inspector bandit is finally going to trial:

Former city Health Inspector Clarence Morris was supposed to be checking the place. But according to witnesses, he did more than look around the North Philly Chinese take-out eatery last July.

Witnesses said Morris swiped $1,200 from the restaurant, assaulted a store employee, then ran over the foot of a female witness as he attempted to make his getaway in his city-issued vehicle.

Yesterday, Morris, 33, was held for trial on charges of robbery, simple assault and reckless endangerment after a preliminary hearing before Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan. Wearing a charcoal, pin-striped suit and pink shirt, Morris sat motionless during the hearing, occasionally leaning over to whisper into his attorney's ear as the restaurant employee testified through a Mandarin-speaking interpreter. As she identified Morris from the witness stand, the employee told Assistant District Attorney Evangelia Manos that she became suspicious of Morris when he warned her husband not to follow him around the Erie Express Chinese Restaurant, on Broad Street near Venango. "He went to the front, middle, back, everywhere," she said of Morris through interpreter Alex Wong. "After he walked around the refrigerator [where she stashed the money in a box], I couldn't see the money anymore."

Cops: Pizza shop 'sauce' of drugs [Daily News]
Ex-Health aide faces trial in theft, assault [Daily News]

It's official: After a long round of votes, the cheesesteak BLT at Vesuvio has been named the best sandwich in America by the Today show:

So I took a bite ... forget about thin slices of pressed steak — this sandwich actually cooks an individual filet mignon, slices it thick and piles it on a ciabatta with provolone, sauteed onions, bacon, lettuce and tomato and a special mayo. Its more of a meal than a sandwich ... and while I still love Pat's, these two sandwiches can't even be fairly compared as the quality of the ingredients at Vesuvio clearly separates it from the traditional cheesesteak!

Today's tasy sandwiches of America [NBC]
Vesuvio [MenuPages]
Vesuvio [Official Site]

· Meet Larry Rossi. The Bucks County resident is dedicated to breeding the pawpaw. What's the pawpaw? You'll just have to read the article to find out.

· Check out the Jewish food exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Mmm... pastrami on rye.

· What's the deal with the new Vango Lounge from the owner of Byblos?

· Ellen Yin, congrats. We love ya and it's awesome that we get to celebrate 10 years of Fork.

· Meet your new food master, Stephen Starr. He's taking on a massive boutique hotel project in AC called the Chelsea Hotel (no relation to the Sid Vicious/Dylan Thomas/whatev one) and opening several new restaurants in Philly for '08.

· Awesome. The Astral Plane, which closed in July, will be reopening under a new owner.

· It's fall, so why not make a list of Philly's best pumpkin dishes?

Philadelphia magazine put together a list of the city's best eggplant dishes. Making the list: The lasagna with eggplant mousse and pistachio-onion confit at Horizons, Osteria's eggplant pizza and the eggplant salad at Phoenixville's Thai L'Elephant.

In Search of: Eggplant [Philly Mag]

It turns out that the Weavers Way Food Co-op has a really good blog. Who knew?

Straight from the Farm [Official Site]

Saturday is the Midtown Village Fall festival. While we don't know about "Midtown Village" as the new, hip name for the neighborhood south of City Hall and north of the Gayborhood, the events scheduled seem pretty interesting. Ludwig's Garten will be throwing their annual Oktoberfest, Fergie's is setting up a 40-foot-long outdoor bar, Robin's Books will be selling books by the pound, Tbar is setting up a "Kids Korner" where children can brew their own custom blend teas and Sailor Jerry is bringing in local hardcore band Clockcleaner for an in store performance. Good times.

Midtown Village Fall Festival [Midtown Village]

A new sports bar named The Field House will replace the shuttered Independence Brew Pub at Market East Station. The Field House will be operated by the folks behind Public House. Expecting openi0ng date is November 15th.

Big new sports bar is on deck [Daily News]

It warmed our hearts when we opened today's Inquirer and found out that restaurants are standing up for the right to serve foie gras. Nearly 20 establishments in the Philadelphia area have teamed up for a week of exposing the public to foie gras. "Freedom Foie for Five" will offer lunch and dinner portions of foie gras for $5 at restaurants including Vetri, London Grill, Rylei and Le Bec-Fin. Participants are receiving foie gras at cost through an agreement with the Artisan Farmers Alliance.

Foie gras has been under fire in Philadelphia lately. A bill is in the works at City Hall that would ban foie gras and animal rights protestors have been using thuggish tactics against restaurants serving the dish. There are claims that the production of foie gras, which involves force feeding ducks, constitutes animal cruelty.

For our part, we can't understand how with Philly's massive homeless problem and the miseries of "Murderdelphia", how activists can focus on... ducks. Do the right thing and buy one of the London Grill's t-shirts (pictured; available at bar).

A full list of partcipants is available at Food & Drinq.

A bargain for loves of foie gras [Inquirer]

· Over at Coquette, the food is epicly delicious and unhealthy:

A lyonnaise salad—the bistro classic that pokes fun at the health-conscious by wrapping itself in bacon and poached egg—was a pleasant mix of textures. The crispness of the bacon, the silkiness of the egg and the soft, salty addition of sauteed cubes of potato made the discipline of tough, bitter frisee seem necessary. Links of boudin blanc sausage were as velvety as custard and served alongside a generous portion of sliced cornichons, tangy mustard and lentils.

· Nodding Head and Grey Lodge Pub are honoring the memory of Michael Jackson with a National Toast on Sunday night. That's Michael Jackson the prolific beer writer who recently died of complications from Parkinson's Disease, not Michael Jackson the creepy fake-nosed pop star. Just FYI.

· Inside the brave, healthy world of artisan tofu.

• Wanna undertake a security check to sling lattes at irritated travelers all day long? Than this job as a barrista at Philadelphia International Airport is totally for you.

• Lacroix has openings for a line cook and morning bussers/servers.

• Pita Pocket needs a grill person.

• Self-explanatory: shot girls/beer tub girls" target="_blank"> for "one of the hottest nightclubs in Philly."

• Because we love the 'burbs too... California Pizza Kitchen has openings at King of Prussia for hosts and servers.

Mount Airy's Geechee Girl Rice Cafe is a unique restaurant. The majority of the menu is based on the cuisine of the Gullah, an African-American people who live on the Barrier Islands of South Carolina. We just stumbled on this article on Gullah cooking over at Gourmet:

Over the last few years, though Gullah culture has been under attack from the forces of real estate development. The islands of St. Helena, Daufuskie, and Edisto--historically Gullah strongholds--are rapidly being transformed into vacation destinations. However, it's still possible to find traces of Gullah culture, especially if you're willing to look in out-of-the-way places. On the island of St. Helena, Frogmore stew--a boil-up of assorted seafood, pork sausage, and corn on the cob--is still popular. It's named after the town of Frogmore, a crossroads of the most visible Gullah settlement on the island.

Forgotten Cuisines of America [Gourmet]
Geechee Girl Rice Cafe [MenuPages]
Geechee Girl Rice Cafe [Official Site]

Epicurious has been putting a ton of old content from Bon Appetit and Gourmet online, including this 2003 story on the beers of Wallonia. Wallonia is the southern, French-speaking half of Belgium. It's recently been in the news over fears that Belgium will dissolve, but beyond geopolitical issues... it's a beer drinker's heaven:

Perhaps because the area's largely rural character necessarily makes for small marketplaces and contained villages, Wallonia's brewers have typically been of an artisanal bent. Like their Flemish neighbors to the north, they prefer to brew fruitier, rounder-tasting ales rather than leaner, crisper lagers, and they like their beers strong. However, they are less constrained by the classic beer styles of the north—such as the Belgian wheat ale (known as "white" beer), the lambic beers (fermented by wild, airborne yeasts), or the wood-aged Flemish red and brown ales. Wallonian brewers also tend to be a bit more experimental in their approach, often spicing their ales with great enthusiasm.

Here in Philadelphia, Walloon beers can be found at, among others, Monk's Cafe and Zot.

Drinking Beer in Wallonia [Epicurious]

This is pretty cool. TMZ reports Philly native Patti LaBelle is launching a line of hot sauces:

The 63-year-old vocal powerhouse is getting into the condiment business, by coming out with a line of five different hot sauces and relishes. Available later this year, the flavors will include Sweet Hot Jalapeno, Rich Red Blended Cayenne, and for all you menopausal women out there -- Hot Flash Blended Habanero & Jalapeno sauce!"

Then there's her new cookbook and DVD too.

Patti LaBelle Is a Salsa Queen [TMZ]

Chow has gone to the trouble of compiling some of Julia Child's best quotes. Here are some of our favorites:

· “If you’re afraid of butter, just use cream.”

· What would she have done if she hadn’t gone into cooking? “I would have married a Republican banker and become an alcoholic.”

· “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.”

· When a sommelier asked her to name her favorite wine, she replied, “Gin.”

The wit and wisdom of Julia Child [Chow]

Over at the Inky's unfortunately named Food and Drinq blog (Tierney, stop with all the cuteness!), there's the news that a number of popular Philly area restaurants are now offering BYO nights. Among the restos named: Carmine's Creole Cafe, Happy Rooster and Bistro Cassis. Being able to drink affordable wine with your dinner = pretty awesome.

If you can't lick em... [Inquirer]

[Photo via Gerald S. Williams/Philadelphia Inquirer]

• MP: Boston is all about Godfather references.

• MP: Chicago is ga ga for fish tacos.

• MP: San Francisco is going behind the scenes at the Mission's only Michelin-starred restaurant.

• MP: South Florida is setting off metaphorical fireworks in honor of the year of the steakhouse.

Over at Blogalicious, Adam got a sneak peek at the interior of yet-to-open French Italian spot Le Virtu on Passyunk Avenue in South Philly. Look for an October opening.

Look Inside: Le Virtu [Blogalicious]

If you've ever watched Andrew Zimmern's show Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, this is the story for you. The Times of London sent reporter Matt Rudd on the trail of the world's wildest delicacies. Check out what it's like to eat the exotic ortolan:

Considered by the French as the ultimate gastronomic experience, and by the rest of the planet as the ultimate cruelty, ortolan-munching was banned in 1999. It’s not hard to see why: putting a napkin over your head and scoffing a petite and endangered songbird, bones, beak and all, could be construed as unnecessarily nasty. Not long before the ban, François Mitterrand didn’t set a good example, requesting ortolan to be served to him and 30 guests at a final banquet, eight days before he succumbed to cancer. This month, the French government agreed to enforce the original ban after campaigners revealed that an estimated 30,000 birds were still being poached each year in Aquitaine. Tastes like crunchy hazelnuts with a brandy aftertaste – not surprising, as the unfortunate birds meet their death in a glass of armagnac. I can think of worse ways to go.

Yeah, that's kind of disgusting.

The world's wildest delicacies [Times of London]

Hey! It looks like everyones favorite sixth borough partisan Jessica Pressler just wrote about the new Silk City Diner for the New York Times.

Notes:

1) Of course, the word "jawn" had to be explained for a non-215/610/856 audience.

2) Pressler stopped by for the white hipster-friendly 1990s rap night "Mo' Money Mo' Problems."
Songs played included the Stereo MCs' "Connected" and the Wu-Tang Clan. Hey... just like high school!

3) "The new owners have changed the menu - Thai spareribs and mojitos have replaced the scrapple and milkshakes."

4) Yes, Diplo was quoted for the article.

The Bar Car is Rocking [NY Times]
Silk City Diner [MenuPages]
Silk City Diner [Official Site]

[Image courtesy New York Times]

New Main Line Belgian spot Teresa's Next Door just got the Craig LaBan treatment. It sounds like our kind of place:

The folding chalkboard sign perched in front of Teresa's Next Door beckoned to passersby with an unexpected pitch: "WARM BEER, LOUSY FOOD! (We're new... What did you expect?)"?

It was just the right wink for a new Belgian bar trying to turn heads in downtown Wayne, an old-line martini zone if ever there was one, where the offbeat beer crowd downing Kwaks and sour ale stands in sharp relief to the native preppies. Then again, those two worlds have converged happily at this handsome pub, where I saw not one, but two Mohawk-topped punks bopping amid the paisley, pink and green. That alone was worth the visit.

Recommended dishes: The mussels (of course), the fried tomatillo appetizer and the waterzooi.

Teresa's Next Door [Inquirer]

[Image courtesy Inquirer]

Over at the Inky, Michael Klein reports there's an opening at Philadelphia mag:

"Philadelphia Magazine is hunting for a restaurant critic, since Maria Gallagher left to help care for her mother. Front-runner seems to be Jason Wilson, who contributed a few reviews to the mag in 2003. I have a photo of Wilson, but really, now. What kind of publication would show the face of another publication's restaurant critic?"

Nice LaBan joke there, Mike.

Inqlings [Inquirer]

At the Reading Terminal Market, we've passed by Basic Four Vegetarian before. We never stopped by, though... Because, we admit it, we're carnivorous. Give us a roast pork with greens sandwich from DeNic's or turkey with all the trimmings at Dutch Eating Place anytime. But it turns out that we were missing out on some damn good sweet potato fries at Basic Four:

Regular french fries don’t do much for me, and I always rub the oversized salt granules off of my soft pretzels. However, the beautiful thing about these fries is the perfect balance of salty-outside and sweet-potato-inside. They have just the right amount of crispiness too.

French Fries, Sweet Potato Style @ Basic Four [Uwishunu]

[Image via Uwishunu]

Doesn't this food look good? These pictures are from Mac & Cheese Review's recent visit to NoLibs tapas spot Bar Ferdinand.

Bar Ferdinand [Mac & Cheese]
Bar Ferdinand [MenuPages]
Bar Ferdinand [Official Site]

• It's a September trend piece explosion: School lunches - are PB&Js still the best?

• How to make a damn mean meal sized salad.

• Rich Nichols declares war on City Grange.

• The London Grill is taking on anti-foie gras protesters with t-shirts.

• Inside the new owned-by-Monk's Belgian Cafe near the Art Museum. Also, Goodburger is coming to Philly. Awesome!

• The cuisine at Coquette is pretty good... and it might be spearheading Philly's french renaissance.

• Damn that's quirky. Meet Sant Gardez Pan de Vida, a hidden coffee-and-Korean joint.

• A guide to gluten-free Philadelphia.

• South Philly's new French BYOB Cochon is almost ready to open; ditto for the new pizzeria in the former KFC/Taco Bell space on South.

• Welcome to CP's list of the best burritos in town. The hidden quasi-Mexi treasure: Mugshots' breakfast burrito.

• Where to take the parents if you're a college student.

Due to an internet outage, we weren't able to post yesterday. But, hey... we're back!

Thanks to Neatorama for this great photo.

"Starbucks" In Goa, India [Neatorama]

So you go to Drexel? Cool. Posters at Chowhound are debating cheap eat options near the school. The following all got shout outs:

• Dock Street Brewing Company (50th & Baltimore)
• The Magic Carpet food truck
• The Koja (Korean-Chinese) food truck
• Pattaya
• Mad Mex

Phila University City - (Drexel) cheap eats [Chowhound]

Something funny is going on behind the scenes at the Silk City Diner. Departing chefs, vicious rumors, high drama... you name it. Philly mag food blog Taste Daily reports that David Katz and Mark Bee are at each other's throats:

September 12, 2007: Mark Bee leaves me a voicemail, stating that “crazy” Katz just threw a frying pan at him. I call him back. He said he was just kidding. I have dinner at Silk later that night with Katz still in the kitchen, though he hints that all is not well.

September 19, 2007: David Katz e-mails me, explaining that his last day at Silk City was Monday, September 17th. He complains that Silk is heading in a direction too similar to Applebee’s, that the kitchen was “out of order,” and that Bee is “strange.” Reached on his cell phone, Bee says that Katz was “unreasonable,” that he “dismantled the menu too fast,” and that “he always said ‘no way’ instead of ‘no problem.’” Dunmire will be helping out temporarily, but Bee expects a replacement within a week.

For those keeping track at home: Mark Bee is Silk City's owner. David Katz is the former Restaurant M chef who was hired by Silk City to replace Peter Dunmire, who is now the chef at Bee's other restaurant North Third. Confused yet?

Breaking! The Silk City Soap Opera [Taste Daily]
Silk City Diner [MenuPages]
Silk City Diner [Official Site]

We've found what might be Philadelphia's best tomato salad... and it's at an Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant. Here's the word from Uwishunu on Dahlak:

The difference between a tomato and a tomato salad is all in the seasoning. Seasoning that emphasizes fresh-tomato-yness rather than covering it up. The tomato salad at Dahlak is drizzled with olive oil, onions, lemon, parsley, and green chili peppers– a brilliant combination.

Dahlak’s original twist is that the chopped tomato is poured right onto the spongy injera bread, which soaks up the spicy cool oil and perfectly complements the flavor of the tomatoes. The Eritrean dishes there are delicious too, but the temptation to always order them paired with the tomato salad is so strong that I’ve yet to overcome it.

Green chili Olive Oil meets the Tomato at Dahlak [Uwishunu]
Dahlak [MenuPages]
Dahlak [Official Site]

Today's Daily News is going all out in the inner ring 'burbs with a guide to Upper Darby. While they talk about the 69th Street shopping strip, Tina Fey, Todd Rundgren, Jim Croce and all the rest (what, no FOD?), our interest is in the food.

Upper Darby is an ethnic dining heaven. The DN gives shout outs to a bunch of local joints, including La Marqueza, Sabor Latino, Sohna Punjab (6937 Ludlow St.), Little Saigon, Sol del Peru (57 Garrett Rd.), Chung Woon Gark (29 Garrett Rd.) and Bona Cucina.

There's even a seperate feature on the ethnic food offerings at U.D. Korean supermarket H Mart.

A guide to global grub in immigrants' haven [Daily News]
A Seoul-food grocer near Terminal [Daily News]

• The consensus on Sabrina's Cafe & Spencer's Too: Stay for brunch but skip the dinner.

• Both Panorama Ristorante and Bar Ferdinand are offering upcoming Spanish wine nights.

• All about infused vodka.

• Going to school in a Main Line suburb? Dujour is looking for an evenings/brunch server.

• Morton's is hiring line cooks and dishwashers.

• London Grill is still searching for a floor manager.

• Get your food in the door of the Marc Vetri mini-empire with a p/t bartender gig at Osteria.

• Penn/Drexel kids take note: Pod is hiring servers.

Slashfood's Marisa McClellan recently traveled to the Chester County Restaurant Festival in West Chester to try out the specialties. One of them was Barnaby's of America cheesesteak egg roll (served with a side of cheez whiz). Unhealthy, artery-clogging... and so, so delicious.

Cheesesteak Eggroll at the Chester County Restaurant Fest [Slashfood]
Barnaby's of America [MenuPages]
Barnaby's of America [Official Site]

[Image via Slashfood]

The Kitchen Confidential author is ranting about food trends over at Radar. Check it out.

Anthony Bourdain's Overrated Menu [Radar]

Haverford gourmet meals-to-go and cafe spot Dujour will be opening a Center City branch in early '08.

The new Dujour will be located in the Symphony House, the new 32-story condo that's being built at Broad and Pine. It will offer a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Also in the Symphony House will be a reopened version of Italian longtimer Girasole.

Hot news Du Jour [Inquirer]
Dujour [MenuPages]
Dujour [Official Site]

A little over six years ago I crashed on my bicycle and broke my neck. As a result, I’m what medical folks call a C-4/5 tetraplegic (which is the more linguistically accurate way of saying “quadriplegic”). I use a power wheelchair to get around these days. By no stretch am I what anybody would call a foodie, but — like most people — I enjoy going out with friends. I have several favorite places in my neighborhood (I live in Chicago) where the entrances are easily navigated, the restaurants are clean, the food is good, and the staffs are friendly. Going beyond these known quantities, though, is generally a crapshoot. In our local papers, you’re pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t claim to be accessible, but experience has told me that what that means is wide open to interpretation. In many cases, it means that there are steps up or down, but busboys & waitstaff can be enlisted to carry you over such obstacles. (This, though, is a nonstarter for someone like me. My wheelchair alone weighs in at over 300 pounds. Throw my 130 lb. frame on top of that, and something’s going to give — either a poor worker, or some hardware on my chair.) In other cases, it means you can dine alfresco, but don’t expect to be able to get to the restroom inside.

Issues of Accessibility [NY Times]

[Image courtesy Hiroko Masuike/New York Times]

The Food Network is offering up a "Food Lover's Guide to Philadelphia" video online. It's a bit old (hell, Toto is featured and they closed years ago!) but several Philly landmarks get the nod, including Villa di Roma, Pat's King of Steaks and the Down Home Diner. There are even recipes. Want to make the Mayfair Diner's pot roast and vegetable gravy? Or Le Bec-Fin's galette de crabe? Or even a simpler-than-it-sounds gianduja chocolate fondant with Devonshire ice cream from the Ritz-Carlton chocolate buffet? Well then... today's your lucky day.

Food Lover's Guide to Philadelphia [Food Network]

If Philly Skyline can be believed, Center City Teuton standby Ludwig's Garten is on its way out in favor of a new condo development.

Bummerumor [Philly Skyline]
Ludwig's Garten [MenuPages]
Ludwig's Garten [Official Site]

Ramadan, the holiest month on the Muslim calendar, started last week. Observant Muslims are required to fast from sunrise to sunset and a special meal called "iftar" is eaten at night. Several restaurants around Philadelphia will be serving food for iftar, including Kabobeesh and Saad's Halal.

Saad's Halal [MenuPages]
Kabobeesh [MenuPages]

[Image via Midtown Lunch]

Al Yeganeh, the inspiration for Seinfeld's beloved "Soup Nazi" character, is in trouble. His chain, The Original SoupMan, began a nationwide expansion blitz, which includes a Cherry Hill Location. Only, as the Associated Press and the New York Times' City Room blog report, there are problems in soupland:

At least eight of the company’s roughly 40 stores failed within the first two years of the launch of the national company. Some franchisees told The A.P. that they want to be released from their contracts because of poor profits or bad relationships with the company; several others have sent the company letters threatening to sue... Some franchisees had also complained that the company did not have a plan to handle the summer months, when soup sales decline. Mr. Rarrick said Original SoupMan has struck a deal with Cold Stone Creamery to create hybrid stores that will sell soup and ice cream.

Our advice to Mr. Yeganeh: Get an outside advisor and work on a revised business plan. Fast.

SoupMans Expansion Effort Stumbles [CityRoom/NYT]
The Original SoupMan - Cherry Hill [Official Site]

If you ever wondered what kind of food they serve over at Graterford, have no fear: Slate TV is reporting from the Prison Food Convention.

Prison Food Convention [Slate TV]

Northern Pennsylvania is an interesting place. Just take what happened at a Carbon County restaurant when hunters illegally killed a black bear... who was the restaurant's mascot:

A black bear that regularly attracted gawkers during its forages through a restaurant's Dumpster in Carbon County was illegally killed with a crossbow, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said. The bear, weighing nearly 600 pounds, was at least 10 years old, wildlife conservation officer Dave Allen said. "It's a senseless waste," he said. Customers and employees of the High Elevations restaurant in Kidder Township had seen the bear for years and had nicknamed it "Teddy." Patrons often called to ask what time the animal would appear, employee Lisa Fisher said. "He was so calm and big. People would sit in the parking lot or watch him from the windows of the restaurant," Fisher said. "He would eat out of the Dumpster, but he never caused a problem." The bear made its final visit to the garbage bin Wednesday, when it was shot with a crossbow, stumbled 25 yards, and collapsed in a parking lot, wildlife officials said. "Whoever did it knew we are closed on Wednesday," Fisher said. "Everyone is very upset here."

Related: Wilkes-Barre has an AP Bureau?!

Popular bear shot at eatery [Inquirer]

Craig LaBan hopped the Ben Franklin bridge to try out some fine dining, New Jersey-style. Collingswood's Blackbird Dining Establishment offers up a French and Italian menu courtesy of ex-Brasserie Perrier chef Alex Capasso. The food is great and the ex-hardware store location is funky:

Where once his neighbors went to buy shovels and cut new keys, Capasso is now spinning pasta "love letters" tossed with braised rabbit, frothing "cappuccinos" steeped with figs, and working wonders with baby goat.

A welcome homecoming [Inquirer]
Blackbird Dining Establishment [Official Site]

[Image via Inquirer]

• MP: Boston found some damn good profiteroles.

• MP: Chicago dredged up an embarassing cartoon from Phil Collins' past.

• MP: San Francisco is celebrating the downfall of Starbucks.

• MP: South Florida found that a good samaritan waiter was fired for fighting off a carjacker. Restaurant boycott starts in 4... 3... 2...

We just found out that South Philly Italian Vesuvio's cheesesteak BLT is a candidate for the Today show's favorite sandwich.

here's their description of the cheesesteak BLT:

A take on the Philly classic, Vesuvio's Cheesesteak BLT features sliced filet mignon topped with provolone, sautéed onions, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, finished with sriracha mayonnaise and served on a ciabatta roll.

Users can vote for the sandwich at Today's website until September 19th September 25th. In honor, Vesuvio's offering the sandwich for half-price at lunch from Wednesday the 19th until Friday the 21st.

Vesuvio [MenuPages]
Vesuvio [Official Site]

The Corner Deli, Germantown Avenue and Hortter Street in Mount Airy.

Photoist [Gothamist]

[Image courtesy alankin]

Quizzo-master Johnny Goodtimes is going to have a fatwa taken out on him by the Iggles Army. From his recent column in the Metro:

"OVERRATED: The cheesesteak. Rude service, a xenophobic owner, long lines, messy to eat and, according to many, the big name Philly steak shops are declining in quality. Philly cheesesteaks have become little more than a cliche and a tourist trap, especially the ones made by the Big Two.

UNDERRATED: Roast Pork. George’s in the Italian Market, John’s in South Philly and DiNic’s in the Reading Terminal, all make an incredible pork sandwich. And they all understand that Philly- style service can be fun if it’s loud and intense, but that it doesn’t have to be downright rude."

Goodtimes File: My Philadelphia rating system [Metro]

Over at Gridskipper, there's a fun little guide to vegetarian friendly dining options in Philadelphia. Recently mentioned vegan joint Horizons gets a nod, as does Azure, the newly opened Machismo Burrito Bar, Reading Terminal Market, Singapore, Gianna's Grille and Govinda's Gourmet To Go. To that list, we'd also like to add the gloriously messy veggie sandwiches at Tony Luke's and the vegan-friendly red sauce Italian at Vesuvio.

Top Picks: Going Veggie in Philly [Gridskipper]

This is damn depressing. Philadelphia restaurants are having so many problems with drunk college kids that they're enacting anti-student policies. Center City Texican El Azteca II is making all groups of six or more sign a contract to abide by restaurant regulations... with cash punishments. For instance, guests have to pay $50 if they throw up in the restaurant. There's a reason for that:

"A few people puked at the table last year, and one guy punched a hole in the wall of the bathroom," said Oscar Agular, a manager at El Azteca. College students "are pretty out of control when they start getting drunk. We needed to protect ourselves."

Meanwhile, University City's Ajia Japanese Fusion requires groups of six or more give both the credit card numbers and drivers license numbers before sitting down. The worst part? Penn students don't even get their free birthday sombrero at El Azteca anymore. Blasphemy, yo!

"I once had to chase people down the street for not paying the bill," Agular said. "People started taking our sombreros off the wall; some people started to steal our pitchers." [...] Finally, the birthday sombrero and ice-cream pie, once complementary, are no longer free.

And not everyone is happy about that.

"That's no fun. It's too bad you have to make a down payment to eat in a restaurant," said College senior Katie Duncan. "The whole point is the free sombrero."

[...]

"Penn students in particular take things for granted. They go to this restaurant and don't think about the consequences of their actions," Wharton sophomore Dennie Zastrow. "It ruins the fun for everybody."

Remember, kids: Puking in restaurants is bad.

Everyone's favorite expensive vegan restaurant, Horizons, just got written up in the NYC-based blog SuperVegan:

"Once I got over their new age hippie meets IKEA decor and burnt coffee, I realized that my meal there was really the best meal I've had in a really long time. It indeed was worth dropping $20 (and risking my life) on a Chinatown bus to get down to Philly to try it. The yummy deviled oyster mushroom fritters served over a purée of creamed spinach and English pea bursted with savory, buttery, and earthy flavors. Their grilled seitan was unforgettable - juicy, smoky, and perfectly charred and easily rivals (if not better than) the seitan at Candle 79. And I embarrassingly licked clean the dish that their heavenly saffron crème brûlée was served in."

Horizons in Philadelphia [SuperVegan]
Horizons [MenuPages]
Horizons [Official Site]

It's the Philadelphia Inquirer. Let's welcome Food and Drinq to the neighborhood.

Food and Drinq [Inquirer]

Sometimes PR newsletters can end up being pretty damn helpful. We like this collection of soup recipes from Center City restaurants put together by Center City Restaurant Week, for instance. Recipes include Alma de Cuba's avocado soup, Brasserie Perrier's roasted tomato bisque with goat cheese and basil pesto quenelle and El Vez's habanero-calabaza soup.

Fall 2007 Soup Recipes [Center City Eats]

Good news for Philly's sugar junkies. We just got word that longtime Reading Terminal Market bakery/chocolatier Andro's now has his own store space. Andro's Sweets & Treats just opened at 2056 Pine Street. Go get some bread pudding for us and take it out to Rittenhouse Square for a very unhealthy (and delicious) lunch, alright?

Andro's Sweets & Treats [Official Site]

• Hey, we might finally be able to rejoin the rest of civilization and be able to buy six packs of beer without going to one of the ten delis in Philly that will let us!

• Good news for the troubled 52nd Street strip. A massive new Caribbean restaurant is opening at 52nd & Walnut. Added bonus: The menu will include Trini classics like macaroni pie and doubles. Also on the world cuisine front, a Paraguayan restaurant (!) is opening in NoLibs.

• Wanna have a mole pizza? Why the heck not.

• Sampling dinner at Honey's Sit & Eat. "If something is deep fried at Honey's, you should order it."

• This Monday, XIX is hosting the Argentina Masters of Food & Wine USA Tour.

• Jamaican food: It's good.

• A diamond in the rough pizzeria serves Roman-style pies in deep South Philly.

• Previewing fall's restaurant openings.

Over at Blogalicious, a loving tribute to South Philly's Acapulco:

"Near the open kitchen, a second-hand TV showed a Telemundo game show that consisted of a flamenco dancer in drag and Latino families dressed up in enormous duck costumes racing along a backwards-running conveyer belt for approximately 25 minutes. We watched while sipping a pineapple Jarritos and snacking on a freebie bowl of perfectly crunchy tortilla triangles with verde, tomato, and black bean salsas. Next up, a trio of carnitas tacos, succulent roast pork snuggled in double layers of soft flour tortillas and sprinkled with bright cilantro. The pig was all pig should be, tender and juicy, shredded and riddled with the occasional lacing of pure fat. The price: $7."

Carnitas Tacos & Mexican Game Shows [Blogalicious]
Acapulco [MenuPages]

• The consensus on newish Center City Indian resto Palace at the Ben is not so good.

• If you're going to Jose Pistolas, for the love of God, please order the swordfish tacos.

• Fringe festival, meet food. Food, meet fringe festival.

• Jonathan's American Grille is hiring servers and bartenders out in Jenkintown.

• Ortlieb's Jazzhaus needs a hostess for weekend shifts.

• If you have the chops, Lacroix wants you to be their new pastry chef.

• Wanna be a line cook? The place to call is Southwark.

• Bonte is hiring additional baristas for their stores.

Ask MenuPages is an irregularly-featured feature dedicated to answering readers' Philadelphia food questions. If you have a question regarding Philadelphia's dining scene or restaurants, contact us at philly_editor@menupages.com (and let us know if we can use your name or not). As long as its a question we're able to answer online, We'll be glad to offer our knowledgable assistance. After all, we're the ones sitting here working with menus all day.

"I was planning on going to a show at the Liacouras Center on Saturday ("Super Stomp 2007" -- national stepping championships), and I figured you would be able to tell me where some good places to catch an early bite beforehand might be. I might end up eating in Center City and then just taking the train up, but if there's someplace up around Temple that you recommend, I might want to check it out."

After the jump, good eats at Temple.

When it comes to Temple University, the budget option is the best — the Temple food trucks. While it's totally up in the air which will be open on weekends this year, we heartily recommend a stop at the barbecue truck directly across from Progress Plaza or the crepe truck located near Temple's Communications School on 12th Street. A bit of a walk away from the Liacouras Center, but still.

But there are a few sit down options as well. The Draught Horse has solid, if unspectacular, American food and is less than a block from the Liacouras. With that said, they do a mean hamburger. Qdoba has a Temple University branch located in the new complex across Cecil B. Moore from the Liacouras Center as well. Alternately, the Girard Avenue strip on the North Philly/Fishtown/NoLibs border (Tiffin/Modo Mio/Johnny Brenda's) is just a quick cab ride away.

Draught Horse [MenuPages]
Draught Horse [Official Site]
Qdoba Mexican Grill [MenuPages]
Qdoba Mexican Grill [Official Site]
Tiffin [MenuPages]
Tiffin [Official Site]
Modo Mio [MenuPages]

Over at the UK Guardian, Graham Holliday of Noodlepie writes about a food crisis in UK school cafeterias and makes us jealous that we didn't grow up in France:

The French don't have a Jamie Oliver and let's face it, they probably don't really need one. Beyond an unfathomable obsession with the big "McDo", a good diet has never been much of a problem to your average Jean Pierre Bloggs. If the lunch menu at my son's state run pre-school in Toulouse is anything to go by, that education starts early. Sardines, ratatouille, melon and paella all get a look in during the first week of school. The same week the Liberal Democrats tell us the British school meal service is in "meltdown".

Look at that menu. Just look at it. Did you eat that well in elementary school?

Back to school [Word of Mouth/Guardian]

[Image via Noodlepie]

It's the trend that's sweeping the nation: all you can eat sections at stadiums and arenas. Now it's here in Philly too. All-you-can-eat sections are opening up at the Wachovia Center for all Sixers and Flyers home games:

* The Flyers are selling 352 upper-bowl seats per game at $66 apiece that feature the all-you-can-eat concept. Last year, the same seats cost $47.50 without food and drink.

* The Sixers will make available for each game 932 upper-deck seats at the Wachovia Center's north end at $28 for groups and $31 for individuals.

* Beer is not included. The packages include hot dogs, popcorn, chips and salsa, and soda.

* Two concession stands, situated behind sections 218 and 220 on the mezzanine level at the center, will be dedicated to all-you-can-eat patrons. They will receive a voucher and bring it to the game, where they'll redeem it for a wristband at the designated concession stands. Patrons will be limited to four items per visit.

But if it's only four items per visit, is it really all-you-can-eat? We smell a Homer Simpson-style lawsuit brewing.

Flyers, Sixers Offer All You Can Eat Plans [Daily News]
Other Sports Cities: Chew On This Idea [Daily News]

Hmm. Maybe we misjudged sandwich chain Potbelly Sandwich Works after all. It turns out Food & Wine just waxed rhapsodic about Potbelly's 215 branch, even putting it in the same category as Osteria and Tinto:

"I had a few hours to while away before a good friend’s wedding festivities and would have loved to try any (or several) of the restaurants on my Philly wish list—namely, Marc Vetri’s Osteria and any of Jose Garces’s spots. I even salivated at the sight of Potbelly Sandwich Works, the ultra-cheap sandwich chain that Chicago star chef Grant Achatz told me he’d go to once a week if he could."

In other Potbelly news, Taste Daily just did a feature on them as well.

Potbelly Sandwich Works [MenuPages]
Potbelly Sandwich Works [Official Site]
Top Philly Import [Food & Wine]
Potbelly Sandwich Works [Taste Daily/Philly Mag]

[Image via Taste Daily]

Over at Philadelphia mag's Taste Daily food blog, Ashley Primis went to the trouble of rounding up Philly's top potato skins. The winners:

Taylor over at Mac & Cheese Review recapped the food offerings at Greenfest Philly and found food that was pretty eh:

"The only – only – food stand was Cosmic Catering, a local caterer that used fresh, local ingredients. I could have ducked into Whole Foods, but decided to give Cosmic Catering a go, since they bothered to represent. The tofu veggie burger had plenty of vegetables incorporated in the patty, but squished out the back side of the bun when bitten into. I think if they weren't so swamped and had more time to cook the burger, the patty would have set up a little better. No condiments were offered. Boo."

Greenfest Needs Food [Mac & Cheese Review]

Our friends at Chow are offering a Persian food primer. We recommend you check it out and learn about one of the world's great cuisines:

"Both exotic and familiar, many Persian dishes overlap with Greek, Turkish, and Indian food: naan-like flatbreads, kebabs, and stuffed vegetables, for instance. But Iranian cuisine’s aromatic spice combinations are instantly recognizable and uniquely their own. Kebabs are marinated in saffron and lime-infused yogurt, making them both succulent and perfumed. Fowl is stuffed with rose petals. An herbal stew is studded with floating dried limes, giving it a mysterious sweet-tart flavor. Fresh herbs like mint, basil, and tarragon are lead players. And many dishes, unusual for most Americans, are revelations: stews and dips made with the classic Persian combination of walnuts and pomegranate, for example, simultaneously rich and delicate. Tasting Persian food for the first time is like eating your first great Indian thali. You’re thinking: "Where have you been all my life? And when can we meet again?"

Here in Philadelphia, we like to head to Chestnut Hill and the nearby MontCo 'burbs for the Germantown Avenue/Germantown Pike strip of Caspian Grille, Persian Grill and Shundeez.

Persian food [Chow.com]

[Image via Chow.com]

A modest wholesale bakery in Northeast Philly supplies pastries to some of Philly's top restaurants. Wild Flower Bakery has a nice little thing going:

In the light of day, on a cafe table at the edge of Rittenhouse Square, the challah roll strikes a pose, clasping in its jaws the 13-ounce Rougeburger, one of the town's undisputed jefes.

And over at the Grill off the rotunda of the Ritz-Carlton, a longer golden roll enfolds the luxe lobster salad, garnished with shaved radish, tomato and pea tendrils.

And here and there - perhaps at Ansill or Marigold or Snackbar or other trendy rooms, or the occasional country club, or catered affair or, on Sunday mornings, the farm market at Head House Square - a cheese plate is finished with tiles of sour-cream crackers, baskets bulge with black-olive flatbreads, or an exotic, soy-seasoned, peanut-crusted focaccia may make a memorable debut.

But they're selling to the public now. Which is a good, good thing. Wild Flower Bakery has a stand at the Head House Farmers' Market that is open from 10am to 2pm on Sundays.

Top-shelf bread rises first in U. Holmesburg [Inquirer]

[Photo via Inquirer]

Poor 707 got savaged by the recently-unmasked Craig LaBan:

Certainly the well-trained staff is in a good mood, though their tableside delivery is so dramatic they could be auditioning for the Walnut Street Theatre nearby. Our first waiter caressed every syllable of his menu descriptions with such mellifluous cooing, it sounded like phone sex for foodies. In recounting the elaborate seasonings visited upon the burger, he had me at the "dehydrated onions." Had that burger been even half as tasty as the description, I'd be whistling a happier tune. But it wasn't: The 10-ounce patty was too finely ground, so overworked and tightly packed, that it had the texture of pate. And too many other dishes seemed to be the beneficiaries of more concept than careful cooking.

But on the bright side, LaBan dug the "marvelously fresh" funnel cake.

707 [Inquirer]
707 [MenuPages]
707 [Official Site]

• MP: Boston is getting excited for Boston Fashion Week and its food related events and brings the news that Todd English is now a consultant for Delta Airlines.

• MP: Chicago samples the Turkish cuisine of Nazarlik (raw meat!) and explores Chi-town's sushi options.

• MP: San Francisco gets into the legal tussles behind a new Starbucks and profiles Slanted Door maestro Charles Phan.

• MP: South Florida checks out Danny DeVito's limoncello and mourns Howie getting kicked off Top Chef.

Korean fried chicken is, in a word, awesome. The secret first got out when the New York Times did a piece on NYC's (freakin' extensive) selection of Korean fried chicken restaurants:

"In the New York area, Korean-style fried chicken places have just begun to appear, reproducing the delicate crust, addictive seasoning and moist meat Koreans are devoted to.

“Food in Korea is very trendy,” said Myung J. Chung, an owner of the Manhattan franchise of Bon Chon Chicken, a karaoke-and-chicken lounge that opened in December. “Other trends last two or three years, but fried chicken has lasted for 20 years,” he said.

Platters of fried chicken are a hugely popular bar food in South Korea — like chicken wings in the United States, they are downed with beer or soju, after work or after dinner, rarely eaten as a meal... Korean-style chicken places here serve mostly wings (true connoisseurs can specify either the upper “arm” or the “wing”) and small drumsticks. The chicken is typically seasoned only after it is fried, with either a sweetish garlic-soy glaze or a hotter red-pepper sauce that brings the dish into Buffalo wing territory.

But do not look for blue cheese and celery sticks, or even biscuits and gravy. The typical accompaniment to Korean fried chicken is cubes of pickled radish and plenty of beer or soju; the combination produces an irresistible repetition of salt and spice, cold and hot, briny and sweet, crunchy and tender."

And there's Korean fried chicken in Philly too. A Chowhound tipster reports that a branch of Bon Chon Chicken is now open on Cheltenham Avenue. Fried chicken lovers, rejoice.

Soho Korean Restaurant - Fried Chicken [Chowhound]
Koreans Share Their Secret for Chicken With a Crunch [New York Times]

Awesome. Somehow we missed that Anthony Bourdain is now doing a blog for Bravo's Top Chef. In the annals of corporate PR blogs, this is a good one: Check it out.

If that's not enough, there are gratuitous Clash references too. The guy obviously has good musical taste.

Anthony's Blog [Bravotv.com]

Legendary beer writer Michael Jackson passed away last week. Although a resident of the United Kingdom, Jackson was a regular visitor to Philadelphia. His annual beer tastings at the University of Pennsylvania Museum regularly sold out and Jackson was an annual speaker at Monk's Cafe. Over in the Daily News, Joe Sixpack offers up a tribute to Jackson:

"Over the years, Michael and I rarely talked about beer. He was a newspaperman at heart, and when we got together, more often than not, we rhapsodized about tabloids and groused about our editors. The best I can offer is this: Read his books. Two in particular deserve a place on every beer lover's shelf:

_ "The World Guide to Beer" (Running Press, 1977). A bit dated, but this tome is an essential primer examining every aspect of brewing. "A man who doesn't care about the beer he drinks may as well not care about the bread he eats."

_ "Michael Jackson's Beer Companion" (Running Press, 1993). An examination of classic beer styles, focusing on the history and culture of the breweries that produce them. "Beer deserves to be treated as a civilized drink."

Last call: We remember Michael Jackson [Joe Sixpack/Daily News]

Around Philly has put together a list of their favorite brunch spots. Passyunk coffee shop Black N Brew gets a shout out for their (admittedly awesome) grape-and-goat-cheese salad; Sabrina's Cafe scores for both the "morning after impress brunch" and the "morning after regret brunch" and Lacroix is the place to go for expensive-y meals.

Brunch Back [Around Philly]

A great nostalgia piece showed up in Salon today about Taco Bell & childhood. We'll be the first to admit we had an intense pre-teen love for the Taco Supreme and the Enchirito as well:

They were good. Or, at least, I remember them that way, in defiance of my gastronomic superego's insistence that Taco Bell food is a dismal simulacrum of the real thing. That's the perversity of memory: No matter how sophisticated my palette has grown, nor how politicized it has become, I still feel a nostalgic fondness for Taco Bell tacos, triggered by sense memories of that first bite, when the shell would disintegrate into a heap of tortilla shards and meat on the orange wrapping paper that doubled as a tray. The sublimity of that crunch, the sensuous contrast between brittle, ultra-thin shell (worlds away from the chewy, chamois softness of the griddle-warmed tortillas served by Tijuana taquerias) and moist, spicy-sweet meat: Taco Bell tacos combined the delights of Pringles chips and sloppy Joes. For a kid in the late '60s and '70s, what could be better?

Remembrance of tacos past [Salon]

A new restaurant has opened in the Philadelphia Art Alliance space, replacing the late Le Jardin. The new eatery, run by Restaurant Associates (Museum Restaurant), is a lunch-only spot named Gardenia. We'll have a menu shortly.

Inqlings [Inquirer]

• Time for... yet another review of the Silk City Diner.

• The new branch of Tria on 11th & Spruce is just as good as the original edition.

• Inside Ly Michael's 2.0 now that Billy Wong has taken over and redone it Vietnam-stylee.

• Johnny Brenda's is about to open a sidewalk cafe — just in time for summer! Oh... wait. Also, Mizu is opening an Old City location.

• It's Williamsburg beer nerdery in Philly when the Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver speaks at Di Bruno's.

• Aesthetics go wild when the Citypaper rates restaurant uniforms.

• Get that pack of Camel Lights over at Wawa and go wild — Citypaper is listing every bar in Philly you can legally smoke at.

• It's Fork 10th anniversary... and the restaurant, founded by Ellen "Chinese girl from Central Jersey" Yin is celebrating. Cheers.

• Rick Nichols pays tribute to the picnic.

• Rosh Hashanah is around the corner, which means only one thing: It's time to call in the caterers.

• The founders of Woody's just opened the new Gayborhood restaurant Knock. That's not all either; Monk's Cafe is opening their new Belgian Tavern in Fairmount and the new Urban Saloon is opening nearby. A new Italian BYOB (shock!) is replacing Meze and the Philadelphia Java Co. is opening a location at 2nd & Christian. Yeah, it's crazy restaurant opening time!

• New "local American" restaurant City Grange looks nice, but has some issues when it comes to the food. [Around Philly]

• Warmdaddy's: So-so food, so-so service, but damn the music is good. [Foodzings]

• Talking about Elvis' love for peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches in French = Genius. [La vie a Philadelphie]

• Celebrate Philly's rich heritage of sandwiches that will give you heart attacks at Sarcone's Deli. Mmm... Junk Yard Special. [Uwishunu]

Some more play for the Philadelphia mag/Craig LaBan pic/Chops story: Epicurious just ran a piece on the reaction to Craig LaBan in the local food press. David Snyder of Philafoodie, Art Etchells of Foobooz and Holly Moore of patriarch Holly Eats all weigh in.

Philly Bloggers on LaBan [Epicurious]

[Image via What's Cooking America]

Philadelphia Health Department, dudes, dudettes... What's up with this? We just read in the Daily News about how you let one of your restaurant inspectors work only one day a week so he could collect a second paycheck as a Washington, DC health inspector.

Apparently, George J. Zameska, an environmental-health administrator in charge of food inspections, collected a $86,047 annual salary from the city of Philadelphia while only working one day a week. Reports obtained by the Daily News indicate that Zameska took a new job with the DC Health Department last year with a salary of $88,545. Zameska had a retirement party in Philadelphia last year... and remained on Philadelphia's payroll. As the News puts it:

It appeared they facilitated the dual employment by providing Zameska with a one-day-a-week work schedule that did not conflict with his duties in the nation's capital.

All in all, Zameska made nearly $175,000 a year thanks to the Philly Health Department looking the other way. Stay classy, Philadelphia.

Inspector got full pay working 1 day a week [Daily News]

• Plucky Queen Village standby Little Fish gets the review treatment with all its seafoody goodness.

• Mmm... garlic hummus.

• A field guide to Philadelphia's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches including Mugshots'' PB&J with bananas and bacon rendition.

Congrats to brothers Patrick and Terency Feury of the upcoming restaurant Maia. Before they even opened, they got a writeup in the New York Times for their November-skedded Main Line restaurant:

In Villanova, Patrick Feury of Nectar, with Terence Feury, his brother, who was executive chef at the Fahrenheit restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, will open Maia, a restaurant, market and cafe using local goods, in November.

The menu will draw inspiriation from "the rich culinary traditions of Scandanavia, Alsace and the abundance of natural resources afforded by the East Coast's fertile soils." Dishes include Tuna and Hamachi "Checkerboard," with lemon oil, nori flakes, maldon salt, pink peppercorns and puffed rice; a Baby Bibb Salad with bleu cheese, peppered slab bacon and Dijon dressing; pork cheek dumplings with radishes and green garlic sauce; roast shrimp with quince salad, almonds, haricot verts and cilantro emulsion and a steak with braised oxtail, baby carrots and pistachio oil.

Those Points North, South and West [New York Times]

• The Marlton branch of P.F. Chang's has plenty of jobs available. Staff departure? Hmm.

• Franco's Trattoria in East Falls is hiring servers.

• The White Dog Cafe is hiring for a host.

Courtesy of Serious Eats, let's take a look at Dante's descent into hell as illustrated by cookies.

Dante's Tea Break [Slashfood]

There are museums for everything. Philly has a Three Stooges Museum and the world has more than its share of food museums. Chow put together a list of the world's best food museums. There is Spain's Ham Museum (which makes us want to stop by Amada again), the Mount Horeb Mustart Museum, the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, Seoul's Kimchi Field Museum and even a Museum of Pez Memorabilia. God bless.

Please Do Not Eat the Displays [Chow]

In a city filled (no, positively saturated) with Italian BYOBs, Modo Mio has been a hot ticket for more than a year. Maybe it's the novelty of the location, on a rapidly gentrifying strip of Girard Avenue? Maybe it's the pan-Italian menu that avoids all traces of Italian-American red saucery? Or the complementary Umbrian bread served with olive oil and ricotta cheese? Either way, it's popular and Craig LaBan seems to dig it:

As the name Modo Mio ("My Way") implies, McAndrews delivers personalized takes on traditional Italian ideas. Homemade ravioli pouches plumped with pureed artichoke and mascarpone (actually agnolotti) shine with sage-infused brown butter and toasted almonds. Crisply "panelle" squares of creamy-centered chickpea cakes lie beneath shrimp sauteed with a zesty sweet-and-sour pepper relish. Sweet little scallops tumble with crumbled sausage over linguine in a carbonara-style froth enriched with yolks and pecorino cheese.

Modo Mio [MenuPages]
Modo Mio [Inquirer]

[Image via Philadelphia Inquirer]

Northeast Philly's unglamorous Bustleton Avenue strip has been racking up the interesting ethnic restaurants lately. As Russians, Filipinos, Vietnamese and Mexicans move to Northeast Philly, they've been bringing their cuisines with them. It's no exceptions for the Turks either — a new Turkish joint just opened on Bustleton. Called "Fish & Grill", here's the word from the Inky's Rick Nichols:

"The grilled whole fish (we had a sweet, white-fleshed Mediterranean branzino, and royal dorado, moist and full-flavored, but bonier) are served with "fresh color way greens" - his way of saying a palette of baby arugula and shredded carrot. The tender grilled, marinated baby lamb chops, and perhaps the most luscious rendition of kofte - the herbed Turkish-style grilled beef and lamb patties - that I can remember encountering, are served with a vivid, vitamin-rich arugula-yogurt sauce."

The restaurant should be popular with Philly's Russian community as well - owner Riza Canca cut his teeth at the Brooklyn seafood restaurant Liman, which was popular with Russians looking for a taste of their old vacation food.

Mediterranean fare and a family's care [Inquirer]