summer recap: zombie-infused feast unfolds at zahav

This summer, James Beard award-winning Chef Michael Solomonov hosted his annual“Down the Shore” soiree, where he—for 2012—transformed his restaurant, Zahav, into a night of the living dead party with blood thirsty guests and more importantly, an incredible lineup of Philadelphia acclaimed chefs. 

I recapped this forever-memborable bloody bash over on OpenTable (click here to read the full scoop), where I may have forgotten to mention that the deadly affair concluded with zombie "burlesque" dancers (read: strippers; yes you read that correctly).

While I apologize for not snapping shots of them (I'm lying), I will leave you with some glimpses from the living dead party below.

philly food & drink blogger meetup at supper

My first brunch experience at Supper was wonderful and well thought out—specifically on January 1, 2011. Following an awful, awful evening packed with a series of unfortunate events, B and I decided to journey into Philadelphia on New Year's Day and while heading to South Philly on this particular day of the year may be either insane or mandatory (whichever sort of person you are), I had some fun-infused festivities to make up for and kindly, Supper did not let me down.

We played the late-morning/early afternoon brunching cards right, handpicking all the perfectly darling dishes speckled throughout the farm-forward eatery's menu. Aside our friends LeeAnne and Ryan, we loaded up our tabletop with everything mouthwatering, from pumpkin pie french toast and red velvet waffles, crispy apple beignets and cornbread hush puppies, a three egg frittata and a Supper Benny, wild mushroom toast and of course, a Supper Dog (see below). 

While, from just rattling off our menu items, it may appear as though we ordered the entire brunch lineup, and I wouldn't have wished for a better start to the new year. Since the year has so far followed with loads of blissful scenarios (thank goodness), when I recently was invited to a food & drink writer meet-up at Supper, I easily became giddy over revisiting.

On Saturday, April 2, many enthusiastic food lovers piled into the gorgeous upstairs setting at Supper, B and I included. With the lovely, vibrant second-floor as our backdrop, it was a pleasure attending such an event (thank you Wendy for organizing it). It was marvelous to mingle with several locals who I have shared tweets with in the past, and even more so, meeting a bunch of new friends who I hope to share drinks with in the future.

lovely blogging ladies with Supper's  Jen Prensky

cheesy photo with my cheese-loving comrade

 B admiring the Supper dogs

Of course, a midday soiree for a grub-loving gang would not be complete with unforgettable snacks, and this time around at Supper, I was happy to lengthen my list of lovable dishes I have sampled. We can skip my in-person gushing over the red velvet waffles and Supper dog (again), and speed to my Saturday favorites: the Dock Street pancakes topped with candied apples, vanilla foam and housemade crack jacks; and the Dixie Biscuit, big sandwich bites bursting with two scrambled eggs, country ham and pimento cheese.

Dock Street Pancakes 

Dixie Biscuit served with grits & housemade pickles

I can't wait to go back and binge of the best of Supper's brunch—time and time again. I will—without a doubt—continue to pair the brunching experiences like I had the past 2 times, with many, many marvelous mimosas. Also, a big thank you goes out to Jen & Mitch of Supper: Your hospitality, welcoming atmosphere and incredible bites made our blogger bash a success!

right this hunger-craving second ...

I am off to enjoy a mouthwatering brunch amongst fellow food and drink bloggers of the Philadelphia area. While, in all honesty, I have been an awful blogger for Apples and Cheese, Please as of lately, I am on a mission to pop by more often--even if my main source of writing (seen here) can get hot-and-heavy/slightly time consuming.

But really, there is no better way to spend a Saturday than heading to Supper (where blogger meetup happens to be) for their Red Velvet Waffles, which are delicately topped with an airy cream cheese frosting, pecans and insanely-addicting bourbon-soaked cherries.

Mitch and Jennifer Prensky (chef/co-owners; seen below with pup Bennie) offer a welcoming and casual, farm-to-table experience right off of South Street, which always hints at sheer perfection, whether I'm looking for an upscale dinnertime tasting menu or several fine brunch bites.

Visit Supper at 926 South Street of Philadelphia or online at supperphilly.com.

cheers to another year!

As I couldn't be anymore giddy over 2011 being among us, I would like to wish all of you wonderful cyberspace comrades a happy new year! I hope your end-of-year celebrations allowed you to sweetly sail out of '10 with a beautiful bang, enabling you to embrace the ever-present fresh start that comes with every January. Cheers to many more years & of course, several more beers.

(Above photos are from our New Year's Day in South Philly, as we attended Lappy New Beer festivities at Ms. Woods and Mr. Lapierre's place.) 

an extenstive dive into pa dutch dishes

 (photo by mark stehle)

PA Dutch is full-blown into my heritage's hearty blood, but who knew that the city of brotherly love would satisfying begin to sneak my traditional fare into their finely-constructed dinner options. From pig parts to pickles, fried dough to fritters, more and more eateries are serving PA Dutch dishes in ways both old-school and unexpected.  In Philadelphia City Paper's recent Dish magazine, out last Thursday on newsstands, I trumped 'round urban eateries to find out who's doing it best. Shall you share some bites, too? Here's where you should consider.

successful top chef stop in philadelphia

 

Coin me a complete food nerd, if you will, but I am a self-acclaimed addict for Top Chef. Hooked season after season, the majority of my television watching peeks only during these weekly cooking competitions, and I sadly, sometimes can't even slip into sleep if I am not up-to-date on who most recently packed their knives and went.

So, obviously in connection with my cheesy Bravo Network-specific obsession, I tend to jump at any chance to savor the flavors of my most beloved cheftestants. Most recently, I deliciously devoured Jen Carroll's roundup at 10 Arts, and when I caught wind that several other Top Cheffers were rolling into town, my tastebuds didn't skip a beat.

Lucky for me, my dear friend LeeAnne nabbed several reservations for the tasting tented outside City Hall today, and I obviously accompanied her as we skipped away to their noon session. Equally as awesome was the fact that the Philly spot on the recently-premiered Top Chef Tour landed the darling, petite chef team of Jamie Lauren and Nikki Cascone.

Whether you prefer Ms. Lauren's scallop-spiked enterprise or Nikki's fresh pasta-pleasures, neither suggests their on-air repertoires are truly what their cooking styles are about. Together, the females, both merely over five feet, prepared an almond gazpacho that had been pulsed from a grape juice-soaked sweet baguette. Finished with a smoked paprika-oil and topped with freshly-steamed clams, I can now proclaim that I have tested three examples of female-crafted excellence from celebs reborn on Bravo.

Their "soup," structured with a garlicky slur (Jamie is a confirmed garlic-addict), offered slightly-spicy slurps that were also suggested to be superb if paired with sausage. Easily concocted from a blend of soaked bread, almonds and olive oil, I now feel capable of capturing their simple, yet fantastic star-worthy staple.

After the friendly females demo-ed their light-heartened 'pacho, the now-kitchen stars allowed for a question and answer session, which included J's mention of her recently being awarded the honor of soon cooking for Pink. The public participation period eventually ended when the ladies dialed the egotistical Stefan on speaker phone, where he tip-toed around making any uncanny statements.

AND, in the midst of an afternoon peppered with an extreme Top Chef blabfest, I have to admit I am pretty pumped about the upcoming season, to premiere June 16 from Washington D.C. I hear the challenge where the fresh chefs embark on the eats of Washington Nationals Stadium will be a must-watch.

scenes of saturday's sweet treats

Hope y'all were able to swing by the scrumptious setup of sweet treats seen yesterday in front of A Full Plate Cafe. If so, THANK YOU! Your generosity is greatly appreciated in assisting Share Our Strength!

support saturday's national bake sale at a full plate

This weekend a bunch of fabulous area food bloggers are banning together to host their gorgeous goodies in bake sale, all to benefit Share Our Strength.

It's Philly's first year participating with the Great American Bake Sale and we'll alluringly set up shop in front of A Full Plate Cafe on Liberties Walk in No'Libs on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Appropriately, I will be vivaciously crafting whole grain apple pie pockets for the sale (similar to what you see below), some pumped with the deliciousness of toasted almonds and some without.

For an overview of what other online scribers are trotting, swing over to Foodaphilia's recent post.

Love to see y'all come out and support the lil' ones in need of good-for-you foods! Those who can't make it, but would love to donate, may visit here.


A Full Plate, 1009 N. Bodine St., Philadelphia, PA 19123

crafting celiac awareness through cupcakes + cocktails

For those of you who have never tried my baked goods, here's a lil' known fact: I obsess over the idea of sneaking my sweet treats with all things healthy, always keeping in mind I will not compromise any of my flaunt-worthy flavors for lesser-worthy ingredients. 

An adoring fan of vegan baking, one of my most prized baking books is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, finding never-ending inspiration from the green-goodness goddesses Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Luckily, Philadelphia has recently had an energetic emergence of vegan sweet treat boutiques, as well as those promoting limited diets like gluten-free and allergen-friendly, so it seems now everyone can have their cake and satisfyingly eat it, too!

Conveniently, last week at APO Bar + Lounge many of the area's niche bakers, including many newbies, gleefully gathered together to whirl awareness for celiac disease (those suggested for a gluten-free lifestyle). Inevitably so, the pinch-percent couture of their cupcakeries flooded the front space of the dimly lit bar, as the 13th Street locale offered pairings of sweetly swirled cocktails.

My cocktail choice? The Pear Bear, which as seen above, splashed pear vodka, orange bitters and sparkling wine amongst squeezes of fresh lime and squirts of agave nectar. Two petite glasses of this fruity freedom had me pleasantly giggly like a schoolgirl, but that could have also been posed from my multiple cupcake-infused coma.

The delicate bites of the lady-friendly affair were provided by the pretty participants of Sweet Freedom Bakery, A Cupcake Wonderland and Virago Baking Company, and I have to suggest that the gorgeous galore of mini-cakes paired with my tart punch crafted an enjoyable evening for all, limited-and-not-so-limited tastebuds included.

All proceeds benefited the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. 

fascinating face fur in philly

Excuse me as I don't blab about food for once (a shocker!), but I attended an evening affair that cannot go without being mentioned!

Last week, as a scribed about Philadelphia's First Annual Beard and Moustache Competition, held at Studio 34, I pined to experience first-hand the energy one room could possess when filled with furry gentlemen.

What I wrote of the March manliness was this:

Anchorage, Alaska, may be the notorious nesting ground for seasonally appropriate, fascinating face fur, but that doesn't mean it's the only locale capable of capturing the artfully unkempt in a rousing beard-praising competition. Roo Vandegrift (see his icy beard below) and Mica Baum-Tuccillo, the Beard and Moustache Competition co-originators from West Philly, encourage all of the area's urban hillbillies to flaunt their fuzz in an energetic battle of the beards. Vandegrift, proudly unshaven for more than six months, invites fellows and females to contend in five non-gendered, audience-judged contests over natural and free-styled full and partial beards, 'staches, fakes and much more — all while boozing on beastly homebrews inspired by Fu Manchus, mutton chops and the scandalous Salvador Dalí.

After partaking in the exhilarating eve of beards, 'staches, mutton chops, goatees, and all things alike, I was also enthused that several members of the Lancaster County Bart und Schnauzer Friendship Society participated in the roused contest, which of course, led me to tap tap on my keyboard about a recap of the event.

 

You may view that anxious retelling here. Leon Lutz, who I mention in detail in that link, is seen below during his small speech admist the mustache category he competed.

And now, several snapshots from the evening:

A Brooklyn-based participant of the full beard category, energizing his fellow comrades to "long live the beard," as did his furry friend below.

And Roo, the emcee of the harried event, also provided me with the following photos of several individuals who were victorious in having the best face fuzz.

AND, the marvelous Molly Eichel over at City Paper also posted a perfect slideshow of photographs from the evening, all done by the graceful Greg P. Check them out here.