local roasted, people focused: a visit to one village coffee

As I reached for what's left of my Sulawesi Toraja coffee beans this morning, a fantastically-roasted bag of caffeination from One Village Coffee, I developed an instant ping of sadness. 

The moment you realize you are grinding the last petite batch (well, "last" until I go to the store for more) of a coffee blend that you would go into a frenzy for is an earth-shaking moment. The adoring feelings I developed for Sulawesi, a blend conceptualized by their Chief Roaster/coffee guru Woody (seen below), followed similar suit to the crush I didn't keep pent up of another one of their varieties, the Smart Blend.

While the Sulawesi marvelously mashes together cocoa and clementine, the Smart is profound amongst its rushing of blueberry, dried fruits and cocoa. However, both are perfect for different days and my work days seem far better suited by having both on hand.

And, being a coffee fiend, I was honored to visit their HQ in Souderton on a Tuesday morning a few weeks back. While the intention for that visit was a feature for here and here (which I will link to in the coming weeks), I couldn't help but share a few scenes of my deliciously intoxicating morning, which also hosted a favorable meet-and-greet with the lineup of their personable staff who devised the coffee operation 4 years back.

You may source One Village Coffee for yourself in Philadelphia coffee shops (and in my 'hood, in Artisans Gallery & Cafe), as well as in Whole Foods markets and various other wonderful independent businesses. Click here to grab a bag or two online, too!

And please do, you'll be in for a beautifully-roasted treat! 

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.

the girl behind the pink door: deliciously diving deep into the cakes and candies by maryellen

Only steps away from the hustle and bustle of West Chester Pike, a pretty-in-pink sign hangs on one of the petite highway shopping strips reading, vibrantly, “Cakes and Candies by Maryellen.” As an edible labor of love for a former occupational therapist who cherished the flavors and aromas of her afternoons spent in her grandmother's kitchen, Maryellen Bowers began embracing her hereditary skills as an artisan baker and confection creator almost 16 years ago, but it was only in 2009 that she considered taking baking orders full time.

“My Nanny would watch my brother and I, and she would seat me in a booster and I would sift sugar on all the Chruscikis [Polish fried cookies] she had made,” said Bowers. “She would bake everything and I would always help. Every time I came home, I looked like a ghost.”

Influenced by the heartfelt moments of her past, Bowers always embraced baking and candy making as a hobby, clinging to the kitchen trades as an escape from her full-time therapist career. But, with the constant growth of her word-of-mouth baking business over the last several years, she knew that her self-taught craft (some of which sourced from her grandmother) would lead her to soon peddle her bountiful baked goods and confectioneries in her own dessert boutique.

amy marie strauss, in 30 pictures

While haunting around my usual lineup of regularly read blogs, I came across a few bloggers who recently tackled the "30 pictures" assignment. I know, I know, it is such a task that may come across similar to surveys scribed by teens, but trust me -- it is a thrill to comb through your photographs and retell important pockets of memories of your past.

01 / someone i spend a lot of time with:

 02 / a picture of myself:

 03 / a picture of someone in my family:

 04 / a picture of something that makes me happy:

05 / an old picture of myself: 

06 / a picture of my sibling:

 07 / a picture i never posted on my blog before:

 08 / a picture of a person i miss:

09 / a relative of mine:

10 / a picture of my favorite place:

victory brewing company celebrates 15 years, releases new beer

Last week, Tuesday, February 15, marked the official release of Victory Brewing Company’s anniversary beer, the Headwaters Pale Ale.

Victory Brewery, co-founded by Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet 15 years ago on this specific day, decided that if they were to offer a beer to commemorate their years in the making, it would be one that could be shared by many and did not follow “big beer” suit seen in many anniversary releases. (And, in recent trends of barrel-aging and upper-end ABV releases, it’s refreshing to have a full-flavored, yet simple session beer on the market.)

Headwaters, at a slim 5.1%, pays homage to one of the Downingtown-based brewery’s major assets, the pure water they receive from the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek. Concocted all-natural, with malted barley and Citra and Centennial hops, the solid pale ale packs an aromatic nose and never lacks in flavor, sip after sip. 

While I could continue gabbing about this above-par year-rounder, I'm tossing over the reviewing to where this writeup initially appeared, on Downingtown Dish, where I detailed what my beer-writing comrades, who attended a tasting preview of Headwaters with me last Sunday, February 13. For the full report, click here.

Above photos included Ryan Hudak of In Search of Beer, Mary Bigham of The Town Dish, Lew Bryson of Seen Through a Glass and Jack Curtin of Liquid Diet.

And, you can't have just beer for brunch (which I would be OK with). Follow the jump to take a peek at what we had for breakfast at Victory's brewpub.

finger lakes ladies' week: ithaca beer company

It has become part of our traditions, since age 23, that my best friend and I flock to the Finger Lakes of New York, at least once a year. Our first visit, which we tagged along with her experienced parents, concluded with a laughable crock of stories, and a fine case plus more of fine wines that I cannot typically find in my local state shops.

Last year, however, we planned two trips, because I suppose it seems that age 25 has just been a hard one, and we get giddy sharing our trips to upstate New York with new wine trail trekkers. Back in November, we packed up our traveling boots and invited my cousins to a mid-week excursion, with the first-stop of the whole journey being at Ithaca Beer Company in Ithaca, New York.