• Trey Popp says you gotta booze up at Apothecary.

• If they say the biggest sign of gentrification is the opening of an Indian restaurant, than Fishtown is crazy gentrified.

• "Turkish coffeehouse" is not a euphemism.

• Philly's best all you can eat deals.

• Bar Ferdinand is turning two.

• Rich people will pay a lot for bottled water. Then, self-conscious environmentalists will criticize them for it. It's the circle of life, people!

• How to make homemade ice cream.

• The Inky will gladly explain veganism to the non-30, non-hippie daughter having demographic.

• Today is the day that Cafe Estelle fell into the good graces of the Weekly.

• Food tips for foodies.

• Inside Seven Stars Farm.

When we picked up our copy of the Daily News this morning (well, when we looked at it online), we could hardly believe there was an article on Mister Softee. That's because everyone's favorite ice cream truck company is going after bootleg Mister Softee trucks. The Mister Softee company, based in Runnemede, NJ, is taking court action against multiple faux-Softees:

"Everybody acts like it's not that big a deal, or say, 'Oh, it's just ice cream,' " said Jim Conway Jr., the company's vice president. "My cousin and I paid millions to buy Mister Softee. It's more than just ice cream."

Last month, Mister Softee filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit in federal court against three ice-cream vendors operating out of New York and New Jersey.

The suit is one of about 15 that Mister Softee has filed in the past eight years to protect its 400 franchise dealers against copycats. It has never lost a case."

With that said, let's just add that it's unbelievably awesome that you can rent Mister Softee trucks for parties.

For Mister Softee, it's not just ice cream [PDN]
Mister Softee [Official Site]

[Image via A Brooklyn Life]

Well, it seems like everyone loves Kanella. The newest convert is Rick Nichols over at the Inky, who has gone ga-ga over the good thing they do with rabbit:

" Rabbit shows up with artichoke salad and later (with different cuts) in a stew. There are sublime Greek-style meatballs called keftedes, aired out with shredded potato and onion, and seasoned with a dash of cinnamon. (Pitsillides' love affair with cinnamon - which he uses with restraint - continues in the ice creams and flan, glazed in the French style with apricot jam.)

Pitsillides was schooled in classic French technique. That training is evident in the red-wine deglazing of the rabbit stew, and in the sourcing (of his lamb and other meats, for instance) from D'Artagnan, the specialty foods purveyor. But his seasoning is unmistakably Mediterranean."

Mmm.... rabbit.

Go east for good eats [Inquirer]

[Image via Eric Mencher/Philadelphia Inquirer]

Deep in South Philly lies a Mexican restaurant called Los Jalapenos. The Daily News recently paid it a visit and found quite a few good dishes worth trying out:

"A good appetizer dish for sharing was the Queso Fundido ($6.50). Think a little grilled cheese, a little fondue, all topped off with spicy chorizo sausage. Rip off pieces of tortilla and dig in. The accompanying flour tortillas were light, with just enough chewiness for texture.

The Pico de Gallo Nachos ($4.50) also made my list of favorites. A mound of crispy tortilla chips was covered with beans, cheese, pickled jalapenos and sour cream. [...]

Another sauce hit at Los Jalapenos was the salsa. I have heard a rumor that it regularly inspired thievery at an Italian Market watering hole when a bartender would order a delivery for his break. He would often find this spicy, tart, chunky tomato-cilantro concoction had gone missing, along with the tortilla chips.

I will say, it is good enough to let one's moral compass wander."

You hear that, people? Good salsa.

Los Jalapenos masters most Mexican dishes [DN]

[Photo: Christina Mazza/Daily News]

• Meet Cuba, the restaurant, not the country.

• The Art Museum 'hood has a new gastropub.

• It's City Paper vs. Union Gourmet.

• Bastille Day blah blah blah. En Francais.

• Pit stops for the PIGLFF.

• Yuppies have to ruin everything. Even camping.

• Inside the Market at Comcast Center.

• Stephen Starr's new French bistro, Parc, is opening Monday.

• Center City's new Greek Cypriot restaurant Kanella is pretty damn amazing.

• Go visit some local farms.

• An interview with Landon Cucinotta of Sidecar Bar & Grille.

Robble robble. A Pennsylvania thief is stealing pipes and sewer covers from Philadelphia-area fast food restaurants. Metal commodities are reaching near record highs — copper sold two weeks ago for a staggering $4.06 a pound — and criminals are looking for easy sources of metal.

The same McDonalds in Upper Gwynedd was hit twice. After first being robbed on May 2, it was robbed again in May 5. Several Burger Kings were allegedly hit as well.

The first recent incidents were in May at four Montgomery County fast-food joints, East Norriton Detective Jean Morrison said. After targeting a McDonald's in Upper Gwynedd on May 2, the brazen thief apparently went back to the same place three days later and stole the replacement piping. Only the plumbing for toilets and urinals in men's rooms has been targeted, Morrison said. "He'd probably draw attention to himself if he went into the women's room," she said. "Or maybe not; you never know." Police believe that fast-food restaurants are targeted because a thief can get in and out quickly without being noticed.

The scrap metal thiefs, many of whom are in the "business" to subsidize their drug habits, have also been stealing everything from manhole covers to copper wiring to whole-house-unit air conditioners around the Delaware Valley in recent months.

Pipes, sewer covers swiped as price spikes [Inquirer]

Amazing. Craig LaBan went on a systematic tasting of Jersey Shore high-end restaurants to find the perfect goods. Apparently, he's all about Jay's on Third over in Stone Harbor. Damn this stuff sounds good:

I could taste a glimmer of talent in the promptly served appetizer course, which signaled an appealing Asian-fusion bent. Beautiful scallops came over a creamy chowder sauce rimmed with the orange heat of chile oil. Tender duck confit shreds in an Asian barbecue glaze came mounded into brioche slider rolls with house-pickled pineapple. The "bamboo beef" skewers were a fun Japanese take on satay beef.

But then the glad-handing started, and as Hippen did his endless rounds, the already flustered service fell apart. We couldn't get bread. We couldn't get water. And where was the main course? It appeared, after a long wait, with the marks of a harried kitchen.

The red snapper was seared to an unpleasantly tough, fishy chew. The halibut was slightly better, but at $26 seemed awfully lonely in a bowl of miso broth with nothing but three tiny clams beside it, one of them with a broken shell. The well-roasted chicken was a highlight, plump and juicy, with braised oyster mushrooms and good mashed potatoes.

However, LaB said the desserts aren't that good. But that's why God invented Rita's.

Wild Food Days [Inquirer]

• South Philly's Nicholas' is an awesome Italian restaurant.

• Former South Street paleopub Cheers to You is now officially The Wooly Mammoth.

• The official verdict on Goodburger's burgers is that they are But, hey. Most of the other food is pretty good.

• Sidecar's Rich Freedman knows his meat.

• All hail Chase Utley butterscotch krimpets.

• It's time for the Jose Pistola lobster bake.

• Philly's best exotic egg dishes. Mmm... shakshuka.

• It's the great Inquirer hot dog taste test of 2008.

• Aw, Philadelphians discover how to grill fruit.

• How to select a good watermelon.

• The Jersey Shore's cult favorite tuna salad sub.

• Finally! Minar Palace is reopening in August. Hopefully.

Yesterday we bought you the heads of America's presidential candidates rendered in hummus form. Today we bring you something a bit more local from the Fancy Food Show — a complete list of Delaware Valley and environ businesses who showed up. We added reps from the Poconos and Amish country as well, cus hell... they're our hoagie eating cousins too, right?

Here's who we encountered:

• Acapella Foods (Berwyn)
• Asher's Chocolates (Souderton)
• Bewley Irish Imports (West Chester)
• The Bread Dip Company (Philadelphia)
• Brittle Bark Company (Mechanicsburg)
• Chocolat Michel Cluizel (Pennsauken)
• Curdelicious (Lititz)
• Dutch Gold Honey (Lancaster)
• Fox Run (Ivyland)
• Foodworks International (Blue Bell)
• The Glenroy Group
• Grand Specialties (Lampeter)
• Herbal Water (Wynnewood)
• Keller-Charles (Philadelphia)
• My Boy's Baking (Allentown)
• Schiff Ribbons (Quakertown)
• Real Chef (Bryn Mawr)
• Savello (Wilkes-Barre)
• Simpson Imports (Jenkintown)
• St. Dalfour Et Cie (Philadelphia)
• Stichler Products (Reading)
• Twin Hens (Atlantic City)
• Wolfgang Candy Company (York)

In other words, a damn fine turnout from the Philly area. Of course, by the time we got back from the Fancy Food Show we were weighed down by tons of samples. So it goes.

Additional highlights from the show tomorrow because we're playing it out for all it's worth.

Fancy Food Show [Official Site]

• Ten bets the owner of Quahog's Seafood Shack likes Family Guy as much as he loves his clams. Either way, the food is awesome.

• Restaurant eats for the Transformers 2 cast.

• Aw... The head chef at Pearl cooked dinner for his mom.

Main Line Today's annual Best of the Main Line list is out. Most of the winners are pretty expected (come on - you know Maia was going to get love and Whole Foods would be mentioned at least once), but some of the winning choices were creative ones. Here are some of our favorites:

• Bulk teas: The Head Nut
• Burger: The Wooden Iron
• Cheesesteaks: Vic & Dean's
• Fried calamari: 333 Bellerose
• Ice cream: Handel's
• Highbrow pork sandwich: Newtown Grill
• Neighborhood bar: Flying Pig Saloon
• Pastrami sandwich: Landis Deli
• Reason to become a carnivore: Main Line Prime
• Vodka selection: Riverstone Cafe

Best of the Main Line [MLT]

Kaffa Crossing, a small West Philly coffee shop, also happens to serve a whole lot of Ethiopian food. In that, it's like a number of other Philadelphia Ethiopian and Eritrean establishments. Center City's Almaz Cafe is also a coffee shop Ethopian and Brewerytown's Era hides top notch Ethiopian behind a neighborhood bar.

But, boy oh boy, Craig LaBan is crazy for Kaffa Crossing's food. Especially the raw beef:

Tasting the kitfo raw is the ultimate barometer for the level of an Ethiopian kitchen - where the true quality of its meat and the chef's mastery in spicing are put on naked display. And Kaffa's kitfo was an adventure eater's delight. The finely chopped beef, mounded over injera next to some pleasantly bitter steamed collard greens, was so fresh it was almost like an exotic melon. Glossed to a deep ruby hue by clarified butter infused with a musky spice called "mitmita," a complex and traditional seasoning blend, each bite rang with shades of ginger, cloves, cardamom and a finishing snap of chile spice.

It sounds like this coffee shop will have a lot more customers in the future, if the LaBan effect is any indication.

Kaffa Crossing [MenuPages]
crazy for Kaffa Crossing's food [Inky]

• How to choose wedding gifts.

• Syndicated articles will teach you all you need to know about cheesecakes.

• Some ex-Charlie Trotter's vets are opening a restaurant in ChesCo.

• Here's the official word from CP regarding Ludwig's replacement Time: It's eh.

• Get your new restaurant news.

• University City Indian buffet standby New Delhi is celebrating 20 years. Bless.

Eating Philadelphia: The Hour Tour [Epicurious]

(Photo: Fisher's Pretzels via Epicurious)

• Can a salad bar be a gourmet eating destination? Ask Union Market.

• Meet the beer lass.

• An outdoor dining guide for Philly.

This week, Northern Liberties' Swallow got the Craig LaBan treatment. However, our man LaBan got a bit snarky. Snark highlights, you ask?

1: "What's left on this menu has been far less reliable, and simplistic to the verge of boring."

2: "I liked the delicate crisp of the fried frog's legs, but they so lacked seasoning that the cool cucumber salad showed them up. They were also so nakedly presented on a white plate, all those little ankles crisscrossed as if doing a jig on their final leap, that they were not for squeamish eaters."

3: "The shrimp risotto with peas and mint was the only total disaster."

Now, here's the thing. We ate at Swallow before... and we liked it. Even if they're still learning the ropes, Swallow's a good addition to the Liberties Walk Bar Ferdinand/A Full Plate Cafe scene. Here's hoping their next review will be a more positive one, because they've got some adventurous chefs in the kitchen and a good setup.

Swallow [Inquirer]

• Your new pretentious food trend: micro-farming.

• Sansom Street Oyster House, RIP.

• Inside Philly's newest BYOB.

• Know the Cajun goods at Les Bons Temps.

• Melograno's replacement is almost here.

• Hamifgash knows their falafel.

• It's time for the dragon boat festival.

• It's time to think abuot Time.

• John Grogan, food, something something.

• Goat cheese, Chester County-style.

Okay, so this week the restaurant Craig LaBan targeted in his review is new Asian nightspot/eating establishment Pearl.

Here's how it went down:

1. Pearl got a respectable (though not impressive) two stars.

2. LaB misses the Little Pete's branch that previously occupied the space.

3. The wine list? Good. The "obscene markup"? Not so good.

4. "The excellent desserts may have been their easiest sell. There was a citrus-tanged yuzu cheesecake topped with rhubarb over a buttery crust of fortune cookies. A chocolate chip cookie sandwich pressed around toasted coconut ice cream was the perfect combo of warm chew and frozen cream. Chocolate-dipped bananas came with the salty Asian sweetness of a miso-caramel dip. And the cocoa pot de creme was the epitome of chocolate pudding finesse, the especially silky custard turned exotic by a spice-box foam of powdered ginger and five spice."

Pearl [Craig LaBan]
Pearl [MenuPages]
Pearl [Official Site]

Here's a story for you:

The New York City Food Film Festival kicked off on Saturday night at Water Taxi Beach in the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City. Now, remember Saturday night?

It was raining hard. It was raining two animals of each species hard. So we didn't go, given that the films were being screened outside and all. We figured it would be cancelled.

So we stayed home. That meant we missed the New York premiere of This is My Cheesesteak. It also happened to be the film that kicked off the festival — and we heard from reliable sources that reps from, among others, Tony Luke's and John's Roast Pork traveled to New York for the premiere.

It turns out that we were mistaken and the proceedings took place under an "enormo-tent." That's life, right?

But anyway... If you'll be in the neighborhood, there's a full schedule of upcoming festival flicks. Shows wrap up on Friday, but here are some of the upcoming films we're stoked about:

• Best of the Wurst: Dir. Grace Lee - Lee takes you on a journey to find the best Currywurst - Berlin's beloved street food. (2007 NYC Food Film Festival selection that was rained out last year)

• Donut Day: Dirs. Amy Levine & Dhera Strauss - A day in the life of a Michigan donut shop.

• The Sloppiest Burger in Malaysia: Dir. Adly Rizal, Mohd - Malaysian gonzo food reportage to the max. Watch out Bourdain.

• Holy Smoke Over Birmingham: Dir. Max Shores - A solid overview of the barbeque joints of Birmingham, Alabama.

• From The Ground Up: Dir. Su Friedrich - Director Friedrich follows the production of coffee from the trees of Guatemala to the street vendors of Queens, NY.

A clip from Cheesesteak is shown above.

New York City Food Film Festival [Official Site]

Sweet. The Daily News decided to stop by new Center City Cajun restaurant Les Bons Temps... and liked it:

"One of Mim's contemporary twists is the Eggplant Beignet appetizer ($8). A combo of fried eggplant and the signature doughnut of New Orleans. With a dusting of powdered sugar and a hit of Tabasco hot sauce, these are a fun concept with great execution.

Another winning twist was the Duck Jambalaya Croquettes with Creole Sauce and Tasso Ham ($9). Once again, perfect frying created a crunchy crust that yielded to a soft interior."

Sounds good to us.

A Taste of New Orleans [DN]
Les Bons Temps [MenuPages]

• Rick Nichols goes to Maia.

• Fuggedabout watching the detectives. Now you can watch the chef.

• Zanzibar Blue successor J.L. Sullivan's Speakeasy is... different.

• Everyone loves the Memphis Taproom, especially CityPaper.

• Tre Scalini Ristorante is now Da Vinci Ristorante.

• The Rum Bar is kicking off the Philadelphia Mojito Olympics.

• Lots of food-related events for y'all.

• Philly's best unknown picnic spots.

• Inside the Memphis Taproom.

• Verily, it's Vidalia Onion season.

• Speaking of Vidalia onions...

New York Times cheap eats guru Peter Meehan just went on a comprehensive tour of America's ballparks to find the best stadium eats around. Hell, the poor bastard even had to sit through a few Cardinals games and even try the abomination known as a "Dodger Dog."

(A note to our readers, should they ever go to Dodger Stadium: Sell out to the chains and get a Carl's Jr. It'll help you make the best out of a bad situation.)

But the important thing is that he is all about Citizen's Bank food:

shburn Alley is home to hoagies, Chickie & Pete’s crab fries (French fries dusted with Old Bay seasoning) and two of the city’s respected cheese steak purveyors, Rick’s Steaks and Tony Luke’s. Tony Luke’s had the better cheese steak of the two (though their other locations are notably superior). Even better is Tony Luke’s juicy roasted pork and provolone sandwich, dressed with tender broccoli rabe, as good a meat sandwich as there is in the majors.

Also not to be missed is the Schmitter sandwich from McNally’s, an outpost of an 87-year-old Germantown tavern at the end of Ashburn Alley. It’s not named for the Phillies legend Mike Schmidt, but rather, I was told, after a long-gone McNally’s customer who always ordered it with Schmidt’s Beer, the now-defunct Pennsylvania brand.

The Schmitter packs, from top to bottom: melted cheese, a generous squirt of a “special sauce,” griddled salami, more cheese, sliced tomato, fried onions, griddled steak and another slice of cheese, just to help keep the beef in place. It was the unhealthiest thing I encountered on my cholesterol-gathering trip, an unholy alliance of meats, cheese and mayonnaise tucked into a Kaiser roll. It was also impossible to stop eating after the first bite.

Mmm... heart attack on a plate.

Baseball Park Food Reaches Big League Status [NY Times]

• The Devil's Den has a new menu and CP is there.

• Time for new restaurant openings.

• Inside the 215's only Malian restaurant, West Philly's Soleil De Minuit.

• How to find absinthe in Philadelphia.

• This week's food related events.

• A beer list for the summertime.

• Sweet tea wooder ice? Why the hell not.

• Aiight. It's strawberry season.

• The Inky finally jumps on the acai bandwagon.

• Did we mention it's strawberry season?

• So an American moves to France and (shock!) likes the food...

• Lots of new suburban restaurants are opening up.

• The Weekly went to the shore to check out a restaurant in Wildwood. We're strict PPB partisans, so fuggedaboutthat.

• Friggin' brilliant. A guide to Philly's best cheese plates without any bad punnage.

• Celebrities in Philly eat at restaurants yadda yadda.

• How to make MX-style queso blanco.

This week's Craig LaBan review pick is Dream Cuisine, a new French restaurant in Cherry Hill. Yes, a French restaurant in Cherry Hill. Owner Vincent Fanari, the former executive chef of Plough & the Stars, has created a damn good menu loaded with specialties from his native Nice.

Here's what we learned from Craig LaB's review:

1) The food critic doesn't like chain-styled Italian restaurants:

When the food arrived, the smell of seafood in garlic butter and tomato sauces piqued with Nicoise olives wafted up invitingly. I inhaled the aromas and poised my fork for a taste of Provence, when . . .

"Happy birthday to you!!!"

The recorded music was being piped out of Toscana, the cheesy Italian restaurant a dozen yards from our table. And it blared across the pedestrian plaza of the Village Walk for what seemed like the fourth time that hour. The reverie was broken, yet again.

2) French pasta doesn't have to stink:

I'm pleasantly surprised by Fanari's homemade pastas, but they are a reminder of Nice's proximity to Italy. Delicately spun capellini come beneath a tender chicken breast topped with melted Gruyere and the soft folds of pink prosciutto - a simple dish that I've lately come to crave.

Important lessons both.

Dream Cuisine [Official Site]
Dream Cuisine [Cherry Hill]

Fun fact: Eric Ripert of New York's legendary Le Bernadin and Philly's 10 Arts has a fleur-de-lys tattoo on his shoulder:

Unbearably suave and handsome in a chiseled, French sort of way, Ripert just opened his first Philadelphia spot, 10 Arts, at the Ritz Carlton.

He's best known as the acclaimed, 3-star Michelin chef at New York's Le Bernardin, with more casual eateries in the Caymans and Washington D.C. And at 43, he just got his first tattoo.

"I never really thought of it," said Ripert. "I have never been necessarily interested in having one. But I was in New Orleans and saw some beautiful tattoos on one of Emeril Lagasse's cooks. We went for lunch, he knew a very good tattoo parlor, Electric Ladyland, and I thought, why not?"

Ripert decided to get a fleur-de-lys, the symbol of both New Orleans and France, inked on his shoulder. "It's not about the Saints football team. The fleur de lys represents royalty in France, and enlightenment. It's also a flower that grows in the spring under the snow, and suddenly sees the light. I liked that idea."

Now that it's a done deal, Ripert wishes he'd gone bigger. "I'm thinking of having another one," said the chef. "Maybe a lotus flower - also a symbol of enlightenment. It's a flower that grows in muddy water, then one day just reaches to the light."

We learned this in a fun little Daily News piece on the tattoos of Philly chefs. Al Anderson of Johnny Brenda's is profiled, as is Mark McKinney of Cantina Los Caballitos/Royal Tavern, Matt Davis of Global Dish Caterers, John Strain of Valanni and David Konkyk of Zocalo.

A few months back, we wrote about a DC-area chef's pork-themed tattoo. Do you have a food/dining-related tattoo of your own? Let us know.

Food isn't local chefs' only art [DN]

[Photo: via PDN]

• Inside Le Virtu.

• When a Lebanese family buys a Jewish deli in Bala, it's fun for all.

• Malvern's Restaurant Alba makes some damn good agnolotti.

• Center City has a new Mexican restaurant.

Legendary South Philadelphia shack John's Roast Pork is famous for some of the best cheesesteaks and roast pork in the city.

The Inquirer just broke it to the general public that JRP's chief operator, 42-year-old John Bucci Jr., is battling agressive prelukemia and is receiving a bone marrow transplant:

Just a month ago, Bucci was pumping his fists and giving a teary-eyed acceptance speech after winning a cheesesteak competition run by Glen Macnow, a host at WIP-AM (610) who, after eating at 44 other places, declared John's "the greatest cheesesteak I've ever had."

And that was only the latest honor. Under Bucci's watch, this 78-year-old pork shack, a humble truck stop for most of its years, has been catapulted into the city's pantheon for destination cheesesteaks. The Inquirer chose John's as its ultimate cheesesteak in 2002, and articles in Gourmet and Esquire and a James Beard Foundation Award as an "American Classic" followed.

Yet as Bucci competed in the final WIP cook-off, his spleen was swelling with cancer. His bone-marrow cells had just acquired a second DNA mutation, Klumpp said, that showed Bucci's condition, chronic myeloproliferative disease, was rapidly heading toward acute leukemia, which could become lethal in weeks.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bucci and his family.

John's Roast Pork [MenuPages]
John's Roast Pork [Official Site]
The tender and the tough

[Image via Philadelphia Inquirer]

When we first read in the Inky about a remarkably popular Jamaican food truck near Philadelphia Community College, it only took us a number of seconds to get hooked:

The oxtails are that good. They rest overnight in a moist rub of onion, garlic, fresh thyme and allspice ("pimento" in Jamaica), and are stewed for two hours in the morning, giving up a sweet, rich, fragrant brown sauce.

In the $6 "small" container, they are heaped over gravy-drenched rice and beans, with a side of collard greens or, well, I always gravitate to the buttery, translucent steamed cabbage. (It, too, is seasoned with onion, scallion, herbs, bell pepper, and an extra sweetener, shredded carrot.)

C'mon people, that sounds amazing.

Real flavors of Jamaica, curbside in Philly [Inky]

Kenzo made it into the New York Times — all thanks to one of the its urban farms. Kensington's Greensgrow was just profiled in the New York Times:

The farm, in the low-income Kensington section, about three miles from the skyscrapers of downtown Philadelphia, also makes its own honey — marketed as “Honey From the Hood” — from a colony of bees that produce about 80 pounds a year. And it makes biodiesel for its vehicles from the waste oil produced by the restaurants that buy its vegetables.

Farm founders Mary Seton Corboy and Tom Serduk started Greensgrow in 1998 as part of a plan to grow lettuce for Center City restaurants. After setting up a deal with the city of pay rent for $150 a month, they successfully managed to turn a hardscrabble former industrial site into a thriving farm.

Even if all this talk of urban farming isn't your thing, please check out their FAQ page. Can we say that the thing is snarky as hell? Because it is... and we love it.

Greensgrow [Official Site]
Where Industry Once Hummed, Urban Gardens Grow [NY Times]

The folks at the Daily News, aka the 'People Paper', asked a selection of Philly restaurateurs for their hamburger secrets:

Nick Tsolous, Goodburger: 83 percent meat, 17 percent fat mix. "It should be to the taste[...] Not too much fat, but it needs just enough to cook right."

Chad Williams, Amada: "The ratio is important. We go to Esposito's [in the Italian market]. Lean meat is not delicious. You want some fat there to keep it moist and juicy."

Ellen Yin, Fork: "There's nothing like a homemade brioche roll for a burger. You need that - and some crispy fries."

Be a burgermeister [DN]

[Photo: Lance Silverman of Sabrina's via Alejandro Alvarez/Daily News]

• Trey Popp has gone gaga for Swallow. Viva le fried frog legs!

• More on Eric Ripert's 10 Arts.

• Inside the resurrected Jin House.

• It takes nerve to open a restaurant/internet cafe in Logan.

• Is another dollar hot dog night at Citizens Bank Park coming up? Yes it is.

• How to find killer eggplant dishes in the 215. Thank god the CP gave props to Villa di Roma's eggplant parm — one of Philly's underrated culinary classics.

• What's scarier? Tastykake Pancake Krimpets or vegan snails?

• Did you know summer is "the mayonnaise season"? Us either.

• Rick Nichols takes on Goodburger

• Meet the cheese queen of Pottstown.

• Is Blackfish opening up a Jersey shore location? Is Murray's Deli in Bala Cynwyd going Lebanese? Will Philly's game of chef musical chairs ever end? Michael Klein has all the restaurant gossip.

• It's a hamburger battle royale when Goodburger faces off against Five Guys.

• More on Aliza Green's class on herbs over at Foster's.

• Yes, artisan cheeses are made in Montgomery County.

And we're aware that by using "Southern Comfort" in the headline, we just committed journalistic cliche atrocity...

The new Southern fried incarnation of Marigold Kitchen was the proud recipient of the Craig LaB treatment this week. We've covered their goings-on before, but suffice to say they do an amazing modern incarnation of southern American cooking. What chef Erin O'Shea does over there is similar to what you'll find in high-end restaurants in, among others, Charleston and Savannah — and can't even really be found in NYC for chrissakes.

Tell us this doesn't sound awesome:

Mashed sweet potatoes come tucked inside mustard-scented pasta raviolis over peppery mustard greens scattered with crisp fried okra. Smoky trout salad mounded in the center of a bowl mingles with a silky puree of asparagus soup poured tableside. Bright buttermilk vinaigrette and fried green tomatoes add a vivacious spark to olive oil-poached salmon touched with a whiff of mesquite smoke.

And great cured sausage from Surry County, Va., lends just the right switch of country swagger to a sophisticated roulade of chicken stuffed with pears and cornbread. Paper-thin shavings of velvety Wigwam ham add a salty luster to the sweet cornbread pedastal topped with creamy collards and a sunnyside-up egg which, when broken, becomes a sunny sauce.

TELL US.

Marigold Kitchen [Inky]
Marigold Kitchen [MenuPages]
Marigold Kitchen [Official Site]

[Photo: Michael Bryant/Inky]

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]

• 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.