Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

Chew Man Chu

Occupying the space formerly known as DuJour at Broad and Pine, Chew Man Chu is a welcome addition to the foodscape on the Avenue of the Arts.

Kristin was my perky guide to the menu and she let me know that the portions were fairly large and would be served as the kitchen prepared them rather than in courses. She approved my selection of Ox Tail Soup Dumplings and Chicken Satay Salad.

I was attentively hovered over for the 20 minutes it took for the food to come out. The chicken was grilled in a very sweet sauce and presented on skewers with a generous helping of sweet peanut satay. The 'salad' portion was a pile of crisp sliced cucumbers and red onion.

The four golf-ball sized dumplings were served in an over-large bowl and swam in a tarragon, wine, vinegar and ginger broth.

The dishes were nicely prepared and presented, but the chicken was overly sweet. There was no easy way to eat the large cuts of chicken without a knife to cut them up. I thought the use of the word 'salad' was a bit of a stretch.

The meaty dumplings were quite good, but varied a bit in temperature. The savory broth was an excellent counter to the chicken.

The place is owned by the same group that owned the predecessor restaurant. They have remodeled a bit, adding a full bar with 6 seats featuring wine, bottled beer and cocktails.

Overall, Chew Man Chu is worth a look. The food and ambiance are quite chic and there is nothing like it in the area. The staff is friendly and helpful and you get a good bit of food for your money.

New on South Broad Street

Chew Man Chu is set to open this week at Broad and Pine at Symphony House. The space has been vacant only a month since the closing of DuJour. Chew Man Chu appears to fix the prior outlet's error of not having a bar.

Things look a little harried and hurried today, but I will have a review when they open!

Let's Get It On!

Wild-Caught Shrimp - Check

Fresh Snow Crab Legs - Check

Hand-Squeezed 1800 Margaritas - Check

Fresh Guacamole - Check

Phils SPank the Dodgers - On Deck

Let's Go Phils!!!

Friday Fantastic Four

Earlier this week you might have seen the post I had about the display celebrating the coming of Autumn in front of Marc Vetri's restaurant on Spruce Street.  There was an array of flowers, a dozen or more pumpkins and a box of apples for passers by to sample.  Sadly some cretins smashed the pumpkins and stole the apples and we are left with only the flowers.

This pisses me off.  You've got a guy trying to do something nice for his neighbors and the community and some clueless jerk shows us his true colors by destroying it.  Classy!

So this leads me to this week's Fantastic Four:

What four things piss you off the most?

1. Senseless destruction - this one tops it all for me
2. People who spoil secrets. - just plain old mean
3. People who don't clean up after their dogs.  How about I come over and take a dump on YOUR lawn?
4. Littering - you can't wait until you get home to toss your Big Gulp cup? You gotta throw it out the window?

A bit of a downer way to start the weekend, but please go forth and enjoy!

It Must Be Fall

Marc Vetri has the pumpkins and apples out in front of his eponymous Spruce Street restaurant, so it must be fall!

Iron Hill Maple Shade - First Impressions

I'm a 'beer guy.'  I like a good brew and I enjoy having beers that are made locally if at all possible.  I'm not saying I pound the beverages back - I prefer quality over quantity, and brewpubs are the best place to get a good variety of fresh beer.  I live in South Jersey now and one of the things this area has lacked is a brewpub.  There's one in AC,and one in Princeton, but nothing in the meaty part of South Jersey. 

Thus, I've been looking forward to the opening of Iron Hill's new location on King's Highway in Maple Shade, not far from Another Delco Guy's HQ.  I've been watching the construction and was happy to read recently that the brewery end of things was already working.  Last night, we saw the 'Now Open' sign and stopped by for a tour and dinner with the family.

Talking Beer With Tom Peters

I wanted a really good burger at lunchtime today and I work two blocks from a great burger place, so over to Monk's Café I headed. Yup. I said Monk's. Not only do they have the best selection of Belgian beers and ales this side of Belgium, but the also make some of the best burgers in Philadelphia.

So I ordered a St. Bernardus Wit and an Abbott burger and settled in for an hour. About 5 minutes later, I was talking beer and New Jersey taxes with Tom Peters, who owns Monk's with partner Fergus Carey. It was a great way to spend the rest of my lunch.

He only knows me as Chris, so he may be surprised that I was interviewing him for Another Delco Guy's much-anticipated and recently neglected series of food and drink articles, but what the heck.  It was a great conversation and i don't think he would mind if I share. It turns out that Peters is a resident of Collingswood, just like Jersey Shore Jen, and also like Jen has frequented The Pourhouse, the PJ Whelihan's re-creation of Dockhopper's. 

I noted that Another Delco Guy had also made a Pourhouse stop one recent child-free Saturday, but that I found that I favored the beer selection at The Blue Monkey in Merchantville.  Peters had not yet hit the Monkey yet, but promised a trip would be in the offing this spring.   As we chatted, the conversation wandered though his leardship in establishing Philadelphia as a beer town, the great work Matt Guyer and his BeerYard have done to open up the Main Line as a great beer locale, and the impending opening of Varga Bar at 10th and Spruce.

Peters has a very ecumenical approach to beer bars, noting that he thinks there is plenty of room for more good beer destinations and that he generally thinks that the more places that serve good beer the better things get for his place.  Bartender Jodi, Peters and I got a chuckle talking about the beer goofs that customers sometimes make, coming to the bar and ordering Coors Light much to the mirth of the seasoned regulars.

As a point of disclosure, I will say that Peters bought my beer, but I remian objective.  If he would like to buy me more beers, I will evaluate my objectivity at that time.

Considering Coffee

How much would you pay for a good cup of coffee?

I am a Wawa man myself and pay $1.29 if I am not brewing at home from the Kona beans my brother put me on to.  The coffee down in the UArts cafe, run by 12th Street Cantina is pretty good and only costs a buck.  Occasionally I will splurge and hit up Starbucks for a Pike Place.  That runs me around $2.50.

Nothing prepared me, however for the coffee story I read today.  Kopi Luwak beans are from Indonesia, nothing unusual about that.  The unusual part comes in the harvesting and umm processing.  An animal, the Asian Palm Civet eats ripe coffee cherries and well, processes them.  The resultant waste is rather interesting.  The beans are seperated from the poop and washed. 

The beans are the most expensive in the world and sell for about $190 a pound.  Here's the shocker.  That's only about $6 a cup.  Oviously there's some SERIOUS markup in the retail coffee game, even at The Wa.

It's alleged that the resulting coffee is very full and rich, one commenter describes it as 'like drinking a fine cigar.'  Umm ok.  I think I'll pass

Memphis Taproom

Last night the kids headed to their cousins' for the night so we headed out for dinner!

I was in a beer mood and looking for something outside our normal Center City haunts.  I have been hearing good things about Memphis Taproom for a while now, so we headed over the Betsy Ross Bridge and ventured into "Port Fishington," an area north of Northern Liberties, east of Kensington and South of Port Richmond.  It was worth the trip into the unknown.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room

Another Delco Guy uses Center City Restaurant Week to visit places that are generally a bit pricey for him, or occasionally to go out on a culinary limb for a night.

The Philly outpost of The Oceanaire Seafood Room chain is in the first category.  First off, its a BIG room.  The main dining area is 75 feet by 40 feet, with 30 foot ceilings.  It's generally unimpressive, lots of ceiling tile and rounded-edged, bland faux-deco design elements.  There's a sweeping staircase up to private dining areas above.  The staircase sets off the main room for the bar and lounge area and the raw bar.  There was a bit of a stale, fishy odor as you walked out of the reception area into the dining room that made me worry for a moment that the place wasn't as high end as the menu indicated.

The bar was a cool spot to get in from the biting cold and learn a bit about the place.  Michael was behind the bar with two other friendly barmaids.  He made a darn good rye Old Fashioned and we enjoyed his discussion of various places he recommended in the City in addition to his home turf.  The ri 1 whiskey was new at the bar and I got a nice pour on the rocks at the bar for $7, but the price for the Old-Fashioned at the table was a steep $14.  Michael reports that they have a fair share of Washington Square regulars for Happy Hour and he's always looking for new folks to talk to.

Before we get to the dinner description, let me put in a few words about the service.  Restaurant Week service is generally nothing special and can often be downright terrible.  We sat down at 6, a bit early, and the great service we got from the host and at the bar carried over to the dining room.  Darius was affable and knowledgeable as he worked our table.  He's one of the best waiters we've had in some time.  He was assisted by John who did a great job keeping us stocked up with bread, pickled herring and water.

The $35, three course menu was a bit light, offering choices of Caesar salad, New England Clam Chowder, and spicy fried calamari to start, followed by crab cakes, planked salmon or Barnegat Bay scallops.  Desserts were Key Lime Pie, banana bread pudding and the ubiquitous chocolate mousse.  Searching for a bit of oomph, I added 6 oysters to my Caesar salad and my dear (girl) friend had both the chowder and the calamari to open up.

The calamari were crisply fried and covered with a pair of sauces, one creamy and the other scorching hot.  The hot one was too much for me and I retreated to my Old Salts and Blue Points, each one a perfectly fresh reminder that I stand at the top of the food chain.  The salad was not nearly as good as the one I had a few weeks back at Kitchen 233.  It lacked any zest and was only a fair approximation of a true Caesar dressing.

My crab cake was sold well by Darius, who proclaimed it '90%' Maryland crab meat with just a bit of bread to hold it together.  While his math was a bit off, it was one of the best crab cakes I've had outside the Chesapeake, with clean crab flavor blended well with spices and a bit of pepper.  The scallops were served over a ragout of kitchen-cured bacon, which tasted very similar to sweet pulled pork.  Both were very good on their own, but the strong flavors clashed and the dish was ultimately not a satisfying combination.

The room had filled up a bit by the time dessert arrived, but Darius and John still had plenty of time to chat.  Darius gave us a card and seemed to genuinely mean it when he said that he had enjoyed talking to us though the night.  My chocolate mousse was the normal piped dollop of whipped chocolaty sweetness, neither interesting or particularly well-presented.  My compatriot's bread pudding was far better and had a caramel sauce that I would have loved to have been on the mousse plate.

Ultimately the night ended up a success in large part because of The Oceanaire staff.  On a night where we were just another of 200 or more guests they would see, Michael, Daruis, John and everyone else made sure we felt special.  While the service was great, on a normally-priced night, I might have left unhappy given the food was just a bit better than average.

Best Meal In a While

Man Dinner
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

A nice big rib eye, a bottle of Bonarda, some broccoli rabe, some sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Not a bad night. I wasn't even hungry for breakfast in the morning.  The steak made excellent fajitas the next evening as well.

I've even managed to clean up the Christmas lights you can see in the background.

A Night in Westmont - Kitchen 233

I've just come in after digging out from the huge amount of snow dumped overnight here in South Jersey by that massive storm that paralyzed the region yesterday and last night.  Well.  Not really.  I'm really nibbling on chocolate chip cookies and thinking about what a great dinner we had last night.

We spent last night at Kitchen 233 on Haddon Avenue in Westmont.  We went there a few months ago for drinks before heading out to another Westmont spot.  As I left, I vowed to come back soon, having enjoyed a well-made absinthe cocktail and after looking longingly at the full page of entrees.

It's a stylish spot featuring top end seafood and steaks in a busy but surprisingly quiet dining room.  I started with a very smooth California Zin that wasn't too much for the perfectly prepared Caesar salad.  The dressing was the perfect blend of tangy and savory and the greens were crisp and freshly cut. 

A large serving of medium-rare Maine scallops were advertised as 'day boat' and 'porcini dusted.'  I'll assume the day boat part was true, but the dusting must have been microscopic, because I didn't see any.  The flavor though was perfect and the texture was firm but not rubbery, and had a nice buttery braising on the outside.  I generally eat everything put in front of me at a restaurant, especially one charging these prices, but the serving was large enough that I was full before the last scallop.

My companion raved about the seafood fra diavlo (too spicy for my palate) and our friends noted the excellent wild mushroom soup and the perfectly prepared signature salmon dish.

The table shared a huge trio of sorbets for dessert that had a bold mango, astringent lemon and sweet raspberry.  I had held onto a bit of my zin to see how it did with the desserts and it held up very well, pairing surprisingly well with the mango and raspberry.  Espressos all around prepared us for the ride home.

We lingered over dessert and chatted with our friends and were not bothered to move on.  The staff was unobtrusive in setting up the room for the next day.  The final bill with drinks and a 25% tip came to $205.  That's a special dinner night for sure, but not a bad number for four people who felt well-served and happy with the evening.

We were among the last out at 9:45 but the warm bar area was still busy with folks drinking martinis and wine.  The crowd was well-dressed, but had a local feel to it.  I think it's a destination bar, not a place people come to on a regular basis, but I could be wrong.

This is a very good place for a special dinner.  At the top end of the PJ Whelihan's empire, the folks running this place have worked out the kinks that Craig LaBan found in 2007.  The Yelp reviews are all over the place, but when you weed out the odd experiences, the basic theme of pricey but excellent food shines through.

My final comment is that it was a night that was about being with friends and we all had a great time.  The food and drinks paired well with the conversation and we headed out into a cold. wet night filled with warmth.

Wrapping Up The Weekend

Sunday Snack
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

As a follow-up to the earlier post, I'd like to report that there are a few more things you can do on an Eagles Bye Week. You can watch your fantasy football team roll until your big pickup Steven Jackson gets injured. You can go pay $2.63 a gallon for gas at Wawa. You can go take some autumn in the 'burbs photos.

And you can come home to a nice afternoon snack of fresh mozzarella and tomato with a glass of red wine.

MMMMM!

Sunday Morning Breakfast

The GF wanted me to make breakfast today and she was hungry NOW, so I had to whip something up  pretty fast.  I've also been feeling like I need to take a bit more control of my health, so i wanted something good for me.

So I ended up making waffles infused with raspberries and covered in a blueberry-raspberry champagne sauce.  The sauce was a little thick and tangy, so I cut it with orange juice and added a bit of honey for sweetness.

I served the waffles covered in confectioner's sugar with a good-sized mimosa to get football season started right.  (Kids are at mom's).

Not bad for 15 minutes.  And I got to use three different kitchen appliances!

A Serious Omlette

Mmm! Bopper did a great job with the three eggs, three slices of cheese and about a half pound of filet on this baby!

Friday Fantastic Four

The kids and i are home today being lazy and enjoying a leisurely breakfast.

Sooo....

What are your four favorite breakfasts?

1. A bowl of cereal with lots of fruit and some cold milk
2. Some hearty bread, toasted medium covered with a bit of butter and some good blackberry jam
3. Manhattan Bagel ham, egg and cheese on cheddar
4. Pecan-encrusted Jack Daniels French Toast - with good Madagascar vanilla

Ok - so what's on your favorite morning meal plate?

Saturday Breakfast

Another Delco Guy is running a bit late on his return to The Haven to help Lil Bro out, but the siren song of Manhattan Bagel stopped me cold.

While the service at the Maple Shade location is delsutory at best, the ham egg and cheese on a cheddar bagel is a personal favorite.

Add a vanilla nut coffee and I'm flying!

Friday Night at Home

Another Delco Guy is finally home for dinner and what a dinner it is! We had a wonderful selection of cheeses for an appetizer. Then a nicely marbled ribeye cooked over a real charcoal fire, parsley potatoes, and sauteed snow peas were joined by a 2004 Sterling Merlot.

Now we're watching the Phils and enjoying the unseasonably cool and dry August weather.

Pretty soon I've got to get to get to bed since I am due at Matt's house tomorrow to help with some home improvements.

Have a great weekend!

A Brewhouse!

In a quest for normally-priced food and beer that approaches drinkability, we left the Disney complex. We have stumbled on a BJ's Brewhouse on Osceola Parkway. It can't be worse than anything we have had so far. Hopefully the Amex holds up!

News Flash!! On The Border Sucks!

Another Delco Guy ordered fish tacos. Imagine Mrs. Paul's fish stix chopped up with cheese and cheap salsa on top. Gooey re-fried beans and dry Spanish rice finshi off the bad Mexican trifecta here on Route 73 in Mount Laurel.

I will say that the 1800 Margaritas with Cointreau are superb.

Go to the bar. Skip the food.

Crab Fest Prep

Matty has bought the crabs ($128 for a half-bushel of #1s) and some steamers. I have the beer on ice, Char made the deviled eggs and Carin is making her house ready for the invasion.

More later from the scene!

Good Afternoon!

Another Delco Guy and the GF are enjoying an aternoon at Monk's Café in Center City Philly. I am enjoying a HUGE old Scotch ale called Harviestoun 30. It was aged in Highland Scotch barrels and has a ton of smoky potentness, but ends with a sweet finish. We are getting two different pots of mussels ad looking forward to them!

The Food Network Lies!!

A few months back, sometime around Christmas, I saw a Food Network show - I think it was Unwrapped - about candy from "back in the day." One of the candies featured was Cherry Mash, a confection from St. Joseph, MO that the wrapper says originated in 1918.

The Food Network guy made it seem like this stuff was the food of the gods. So when I saw it for sale at Nixon's General Store in Tabernacle, NJ for $.89, I grabbed one.

The short review is that it's a super-sweet grainy pink cherry filling that tastes as artificial as it looks. They cover that in cheap milk chocolate with small peanut chunks. Not worth the price, and I will never eat one again,  but I am still oddly happy I bought it!

Friday Night In Philly

Last Friday Another Delco Guy and The GF needed a night out after a long week, so we decided to hit a few different spots in Philly to enjoy, relax and unwind. 

We started at our old standby, Valanni, where we sat at the newly expanded bar and gawked at how different the crowd is.  Char wanted a drink the P.I.N.K Vodka rep had pushed at Valanni's grand opening, but got something entirely different. There seem to be differences between the P.I.N.K version of Pink my Ride and Valanni's.  Not good.  I sacrificed and drank it and she had a Blanche de Bruxelle from the cool frozen cobra taps.  Good beer was spoiled when we were surprised by a former colleague sitting down next to us.  She doesn't work for me anymore.  It was simply awkward to have someone sitting next to you ignoring the situation. Brecian helped things with a healthy pour of Maker's Mark, but Fired Fraulein and her date ordered food.  We paid and left.  Not a good night at the Big V.

I had heard some good things about the new pub Devil's Den, so we headed to South Philly.  After nearly walking by the place since it only has a chalk board on the street as a sign, we were pleasntly surprised to find 16 beers on tap and old friend and fellow Delco Guy Randy Walker behind the 15 seat bar.  After trying a few of Randy's suggestions, Char passed on a Hennepin in favor of an EXCELLENT Ayinger Brau Weisse and I went with a Maredsous 8.  Anytime you can get two beers of this quality on tap, things are looking good.

Then we ordered the Mussels au Lager.  We should have stopped with the beer.  Char's second shell creature was so bad it made her gag.  I had a few good ones before I had to admit some were good and some were just plain awful.  It seemed as though a good batch was mixed in with an old batch.  I soldiered on, while Char ate the very good fries while passing on the below-average side of mayo.

The mussles necessitated a trip to the very nicely done bathroom, and we paid up and headed out.  While I loved the location, ambience, beer selection and HD TVs,  bad mussles and good beer is a combination I can find lots of places.  Given that friends had a similar recent experience at Devil's Den, I'm not sure I can recommend the food.  Do drop in and see the proud new papa behind the bar though!

I was itching to fill my newly-emptied stomach.  As cliched as it is, we headed to Oregon Avenue and Tony Luke's Beef and Beer Sports Bar.  Our chatty and speedy waitress Gina was a wonderful little slice of South Philly, exclaiming "Now we're talking baby!" when I ordered my roast pork with sharp provalone and brocolli rabe.  Char had what she said was the best cheesesteak of her life, with American, mushrooms, sauteed onions and long hots.  I paired mine with, what else, a Yeungling and Char had a Blue Moon Belgian Wheat that couldn't hold a candle to the two awesome Belgian-style whites she had earlier.

The sandwiches were perfect.  The rolls had just enough body to soak up the juices from the perfectly cooked meats.  There was the dead-on mix of cheese and broc rabe on mine, while Char just kept going "MMMMHHH! MMMMMMMMHHHHH!!!!," so I can only assume it was good too.  She wouldn't let me near it.

The place ain't pretty though.  It's situated in the shadow of I-95, the bathroom has no hot water and the interior decor consists of a concrete floor, TV sets and neon beer signs. You don't come here for the looks, though.  It's the food that made the original place across the street famous and the food is the reason people come to the new joint.

At the end of the night, we'd been to three very different Philly food and drink experiences.  First, an established Center City place stuggling to decide if it's a chic cocktail joint or a serious restaurant.  Second, a fairly new place in South Philly that shows promise as a beer hall but has yet to work out the menu kinks.  Finally, the beer-serving extension of a venerable sandwich shop.  Each had its positives and negatives, but at the end of the night I was left wondering, "Where SHOULD we have gone?"

Chips Guacamole and Fresh Margaritas!!

Ole! Char made the guac, I squeezed lemons, oranges and lotsa limes, blended them with 1800 tequila, a touch of Grand Marnier and ice. And now we'll enjoy the evening!!

Conference Lunches

I go to three or four conferences a year and one area that always seems to need improvement is theconference lunch. Invariably I am left to wonder "What kind of chicken will it be today?"

Today at Portland's Holiday Inn By the Bay (not close to the bay) we have a small grilled chicken breast over penne pasta and a parmesan cream sauce. At least the lemonade is good!

Ch-Chh-Cha-Changes

  The New Valanni 
  Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

After a particularly intense meeting dragged on too late to let me get to John's baseball pictures yesterday, I decided I may as well stay put in the city and headed to the Grand Opening Party at the all-new Valanni.

The party was a lot of fun, with lost of small food to nosh on, flowing wine and free drinks from the kind folks at Jose Cuervo and Jason at PINK Vodka.  Everyone was there from regulars like me to Kinky Jen, DJ Jon Gill and a million people I have never seen in the place.  It was wild.  The GF and I enjoyed the evening.  Free booze is NEVER a bad thing.

Regular readers will know that Valanni is the spot I hang out at in the city when I don't have kids to care for or games to attend.  It's always been a fun spot with excellent food.  Last Fall, owner George Anni leased the space next to the 40 seat restaurant and began renovations to double the size of the restaurant and bar.

The renovations are complete, the new beer taps are flowing and the menu has been re-done.  There's a party room in the back and 2 more bathrooms and you can't turn around without running into a new staff member.  The matte black, faux-gator flooring is chic, the brushed aluminum chairs are beautiful (but rough on the back), and the decor is Stephen Starr like.

Change is rough on regulars of bars and restaurants.  We come there because we lie the place the way it is, we're not looking for anything new.  But Valanni had gotten a little shabby and it was time for renovations.  The size was a problem too, with the bar crammed at happy hour and no place to host a group gathering.  Anni saw that he had to adapt or die and like most restaurant owners, he saw bigger as better.

I love with the physical changes.  I am sure Chef  will make the new menu zing.  The new staff will take a bit of getting used to.  Long-time bartender Laurentiu Muras has moved on to open his own place over near Rittenhouse.  Alex is headed back behind the bar.  Staff turnover always happens as spring turns to summer. 

All in all, it's still a great place for a meal, but we'll have to see how comfortable the bar is after the newness wears off.

The End of an Era

  Le Bec-Fin 
  Originally uploaded by sweetgoddess71

Apparently the magic has run out at Philly's 5-star Le Bec Fin.  Channel 6, WPVI-TV is promoting a "blockbuster" announcement on the Georges Perrier attraction that started the restaurant revolution on Philadelphia.

Philly.com is reporting that the story is that the Walnut Street flagship will likely close.  Recent reports have noted fairly small dinner crowds and the end of the $100 price fix lunch.

I've never had dinner there and I am sorry to have missed it, but the lunches were something very special!

UPDATE

Le Bec Fin won't close, but Perrier will acknowledge that restaurant dining has changed.  He's giving back his stars, going to an a la carte menu, dropping the lavish table trappings and shooting for a younger crowd.  Lighter fare will also be part of the overhaul.

The last time Perrier did an overhaul, he spent $1 million to re-make the Center City jewel in his restaurant crown and became the only chef ever to win back a lost star from Michelin.  My guess is that this set of changes will be less successful, but will save the Perrier flagship.  I'll try to get there soon to let you know first hand how the changes come off.

Ewwww!

Preparations are under way for today's egg hunt and tonight's turkey dinner Emma notes that we are giving the turkey a bath. John just said 'Ewwww!' I am sure the turkey will taste WAY better than it looks now.

New Beers on Tap At Valanni

Here's a photo I took last week of the new cold tap systems at Valanni that deliver clean, fresh cold beer to the tap without wasting a drop.  That's ice actually froze over the tap from condensed water vapor!!!  I'm not a fan of over-chilled beer, but I have to say the new system looks awesome and the beer tastes perfect. 

They've added a Dog Fish Head 60 Minute IPA, a Sly Fox, a great licorice stout from Michigan, as well as Chimay Red.  A new Blanche de Blanche is on the way too!  Stop in and enjoy.

Monkey Bread Cooking

 

We're making breakfast here at Another Delco Guy. The monkey bread is in the oven and the breakfast pizza is ready to go in next! Things smell pretty good around here.  Emma helped me make the pieces for the monkey bread while John prepared the caramel sauce.

I can't convey how excited Emma is about the monkey bread, though she is a bit flummoxed because she 'doesn't like monkeys.'

The GF gets the credit for the breakfast pizza.  Ok! Time to eat.

Good Coffee Harder to Find

Tonight, Wawa will close its Rittenhouse Square store in Center City Philadelphia.  It marks the fifth closure of a Wawa in Philly's downtown since I started working here in 2005.  There's another Wawa only a few blocks away in the Rittenhouse neighborhood, but I still mourn the loss that leaves us only 3 places that make good coffee as well as soup in the area bounded by the rivers and Market and South Streets.  And one of them is in the congested mess that tis Columbus Boulevard.

While I can still pick up a coffee and a Sizzli in South Jersey on my way in, I do like the cozy corner Wawas in Center City.  When I worked down here in the early 90s, there were 3-4 within walking distance for a coffee break or lunch run.  Now it damn near takes a taxi to get to one and back in an hour.

It's the largest of the recent stores to close at almost 3900 square feet, but you can't put highly profitable gas pumps in The Dorchester, and thus the closure.  One would assume that the rest of the mini-stores in the city are all doomed at this point.

I understand Wawa's position that the company is dynamic and has to change with market forces.  Transportation costs make it less and less cost effective to send truck to the lower-volume stores on a daily basis.  Philadelphia (and Chester and Camden) stores are also more likely to be a target of crime than the new mega Wawas going up with gas pumps in Cherry Hill, NJ and Williamsburg, VA and the rest of the suburban crossroads locations Wawa has favored in recent years. 

The company's website shows prototype designs that require a minimum of to road frontages with a square lot no smaller than 365 feet on a side.  They're also looking for traffic counts of over 25,000 cars per day.  the minimum size for the store itself is 4,800 square feet, ranging up to a mammoth 7,400 square feet.  You've got to be able to park 50-75 cars and accommodate 6-12 gas pumps.

That just won't happen in Center City.  Maybe there is room for this kind of development in Northeast Philly, but for the most part the rest of the city doesn't have the site space and/or traffic count to make it happen.  Sure there are places in West and North Philly that are available, but I don't see Wawa jumping into that market any time soon.

I'm a big fan of the company.  I simply prefer that in its growth quest, the company remembers its roots a bit better.  They grew up in the retail business competing with 7-11 and Cumberland Farms, beating them at their own game.  I know the world has changed and easily-walked-to neighborhood stores cant bring in the profits that the drive up behemoths promise, but I miss the old Wawa a bit.  And don't get me started on the "have to drive everywhere" model of suburban consumerism that drives today's retail outlets.

The signature Wawa scent of sandwich oil, coffee and newsprint.  The green and beige terrazzo, stepping around piles of Sunday Inquirers or bags of rock salt.  These are the things that addicted me to the brand as a teen and cause me to drive out of my way every day to go to the small Moorestown store.

But I know the Moorestown store is doomed like the old Brookhaven and Medford Lakes stores and that soon all the Wawas will be devoid of the reminders that they grew out of the Delaware County deli and sandwich shop tradition that I hold so dear.  So while I acknowledge the inevitability of the future, let me mourn the past just for today.

I'd like to thank Flickr member Morton Fox for today's photo.  Flickr is being Flaky so I couldn't link directly.

La Campagne

I have to say that I was doubtful when my girlfriend told me that she had made Valentine's Day reservations at La Campagne in Cherry Hill.  I had been there years ago for brunch under the previous owner and chef and was non-plussed at best.  I didn't share this with my date though, as it WAS Valentine's Day and I am not a TOTAL moron.

It's a BYOB, so I picked up a nice bottle of Prosecco and we headed off for our 8pm seating.  I prefer later seating on Valentine's Day since you are less likely to be rushed out the door.  At a lower quality restaurant the food takes a dip late in the evening though, so you have to be careful.  As it turned out, we had nothing to worry about on the quality side.

The menu was a 7 course, $75 per person presentation that showcased the kitchen's ability to present small dishes with big impacts. It was one of the best nights of food I have had in years and if they can do this well on a crazy Thursday night, imagine what they can do on a sedate Tuesday or Wednesday.

The preliminary course was an amuse bouche or "mouth fun" of a ricecake-like wafer with a vegetable topping and an herb butter glaze.  It set the evening up nicely.  A lobster broth-based king crab chowder followed, not too spicy with generous hunks of crab.  While the both was physically thin, it had a wonderfully powerful set of flavors.

A duck sausage wrapped in cabbage over an argula salad followed.  The sausage was excellent, the greens in wonderful shape, but the vinaigrette was virtually all oil and left a tiny bit to be desired.  However a shotglass full of blood orange sorbet garnished with pomegranate seeds dried the tongue and prepared the way for the main dish, a surf and turf interpretation.

The roast beef tenderloin was prepared between rare and medium rare, perfect for me, but my date noted that she was surprised it was that red given that some might object.  I didn't.  The meat was well-herbed on the outer edge and cooked to the point that the fats melted and the whole thing virtually disappeared the second it hit my tongue.  It was amazing.  The Baby lobster tail was fried almost tempura style, leaving the lobster flavor intact wile imparting a nice crunch.  The butted lobster claw was simply outstanding, bringing to mind the summer sights and flavors of coastal Maine without the smell and mess of the lobster pound.  I ate every delicious morsel of the potatoes that were lightly flowered and hinted of earthiness.

Six course into the evening we were filling up, but luckily had left enough room and a bit of bubbly for the wondrous dessert course, featuring seven small but hugely flavored sweet items to finish off the evening.  The dark chocolate pieces filled with fruit and nuts respectively were the best of the group, offering immense flavor in tiny bites.  The lemon bar was unexpectedly delicate and flky, both sweet and bitter at the same time.  I didn't care much for the interior of the rum ball, but the cocoa powder on the outside was mouth=puckeringly tasty.

We lingered over tea, not wanting our evening at La Campagna to end.  Liz and the rest of the wait staff did a great job all night and made sure we felt comfortable right up until we headed out to the car.  Chef/owner Richard Benussi has done wonders upgrading the quality of the food presentations as well as the flavors.  It was an interesting blend of flavors and styles, thoroughly American, but with broad French and Italian influences.  It's a four star place with the possibility of more to come!

Sunday Night In Santa Fe

Cool 80s rock playing in a slowly filling bar. A manager who played Pine Valley last year. An excellent smooth oatmeat stout. Very good fry bread taco. A crisp alt to finish the meal. And a bartender named Tiffany.

The Blue Corn Café and Brewery has all that. It's also about the only thing going on in a town that seems to go to bed early. The food here is pretty good authentic New Mexican fare with some pub favorites thrown in. The stout was sweet and smooth, just begging for a second pint. The alt is going down spicy and hoppy, cleansing the grease from the heavy fat bread taco.

The food and the staff are fun. Stop by the next time you're in Northern New Mexico!

Great American Pub - Wayne

 

I spent a few hours in Downtown Wayne, PA catching up with Cabrini buds Matt Hodlofski and Lou Monaco.  In between ripping the Mets and discussing our hatred of both Superbowl teams, I enjoyed a few beers and some  grub at The Great American Pub.

The food wasnt bad and the company was excellent.  I had a Blue Moon and a Seafood Gumbo to start.  The gumbo had great flavors, small Gulf Shrimp and nicely done sausage bites.   Matty H recommended it and I appreciate the good work.  After an hour or so, a few Yuenglings and a $10 parking ticket, I had a Spinach, Crab and Artichoke dip that had no discernible crab and TONS of gooey excellent melted cheese. 

The food was pretty good for afternoon bar fare.  The staff was pleasant and kept the food and drinks coming.  The space has been improved greatly in the 14 years since the Wayne Tavern and DQ closed.  The door and the bathrooms are still in the same place, but everything else has changed.  The beer selection and bathrooms aren't as amazing as Teresa's Next Door Bar up the street, but the food and room are better on balance.

Oddly Addicting

I could drink Vitamin Water all day. All the flavors are great, but I think I could exist purely on Power-C (pictured) and Energy.

Wonder what they put in this stuff that keeps you needing a fix of it?

Long Lines for Alcohol!

I am in line for champagne at Martin's liquor in Mount Laurel with 75 or so other procrastinators. I hope you have your happy juice by now!

Everyone party safely and Happy New Year to you and yours!!

The Men's Lunch is Upon Us!!!

As Family Week rolls to a conclusion and folks from all over head back to wherever the heck they came from, I take this moment to note that it's the last Sunday of the Year and that means .... The 11ths Annual Men's Lunch!!!

 

This blessed event combines, drinking, football, wings and ribald conversation in one robust afternoon.  Oh and did I mention that it's traditionally held at Hooters?

For over a decade now, the men of Southern Delaware County and our friends have gathered on the final Sunday of the year to basically be MEN.  We sit around, drink, eat and scratch ourselves.  And look at orange-clad butts.  We compare notes on who is married and divorced now, who won in fantasy football, who saw MRGG last, and the relative merits and educational backgrounds of our waitresses.

It's a blast and I am headed there now.  so if you're in the Route 1 and 202 area, drop by Hooters.  We'll be the group of 30 something guys watching football.  Oh ..well ... It might be hard to pick us out in that crowd.

See ya!

Cookie Day!

Grandma is here and the kids, grandma and the GF are working on the first batch of chocolate chip cookies with pecans. Oatmeal cookies up next!

XIX

Tuesday was the GF's birthday. A celebration was in order.  In August she had taken me to XIX, the Park Hyatt's re-done version of the Bellvue-Stratford's Founder's Restaurant.  In August the food was wonderful, the sunset amazing and the service solicitous.  So it seemed that a return for her birthday was in order.

XIX (pronounced nineteen) is named for its placement on the hotel's 19th floor.  It's probably better known as a quiet, rather elegant cocktail spot for the folks who occupy the commercial space below or visit the upscale hotel above.  On none of my visits has the dining room been particularly busy.  This may have to do with the circuitous route that you have to take to get to the place, going up an elevator 19 floors, wandering through corridors and rooms and past the bar before finally being seated.

Or maybe people have gone there, had our waiter Chuck serve them, and decided never to go back.

The food was very good.   I had three Melpeque and three Raspberry Point oysters to start.  They were fresh and wonderfully flavorful, but had been inexpertly shucked and had were still attached to the shell in places.  The GF ordered her usual calamari, which was lightly battered, crispy and tender at the same time.  The dipping sauces are nothing to write home about, (Homemade cocktail sauce is usually more than unmixed ketchup and horseradish.  I guess they meant make it yourself cocktail sauce) but the  appetizer course was moderately successful.

A word about the cocktails.  This place us known as a good bar with well-made libations.  I ordered my usual winter drink, an old-fashioned,  I got club soda with a splash of whiskey, a ton of bitters and a cherry.  No sugar, no orange.  Drinking a club soda and bitters is definitely an odd experience.  The GF's apple martini was well-received if the shortest we saw at our 3 stops that night.

For dinner I had the recommended "clay pot," a  medley of seafood in a coconut milk and lemon infusion.  The flavors were intense and unexpected in the cold of December, and the seafood was prepared perfectly.  One large scallop, two mussels, a lobster claw and two pieces of snapper was $34.  The GF had veal cheeks that were exceptional.  Surrounded by root vegetables and a massively flavorful reduction sauce, the veal was tender and without a hint of fat.  They were far better than the Monk's Cafe version.  The portion size was very nice for $28.

All in all this would have been an excellent meal if not for Chuck.  He alternately glowered at us or ignored us.  I was left to hear abut the specials from his recitation at the next table.  Luckily runners brought us good bread and kept the water glasses filled or we might have had to get it ourselves.  When the appetizers where served, he hovered nearby , stopped table side for a moment, grunted and moved on.  Yes Chuck, everything here is fine, thanks for asking!

He wasn't a bad waiter.  I watched him give very good service to the table next to us.  He just didn't like us. Can't say what was up about that, we were properly dressed, had reservations, they knew it was a special occasion.   He was enough of a distraction that we skipped dessert and coffee. We didn't let it spoil the night, but maybe if you go you should think about specifying another server.

PS - I am definitely NOT allowed to talk about the fact that the GF is totally hilarious after 3 martinis!

Great Soup

I have to post about the really great soup I had last night.  I was on the run to my dad's house to see how he is doing since his discharge and needed something fast to eat.  I stopped into Valanni on Spruce Street, one of my regular haunts to see what I could get on the run. 

Chef Even Turney convinced me to sit down and relax for a minute and have a bowl of his soup special for the evening.  I am thankful he took the time to slow me down.  The soup was worth its weight in gold.  Deep brown broth filled with caramelized onions and mushrooms, a piece of toasted French bread floated in the middle.  I sat at the bar and relaxed as the bowl of hearty goodness warmed me and settled me down from a long work day.  The magic was worked.

This is the second week in a row I have had a great bowl of soup at Valanni.  Last week, Turney put out a wonderful butternut squash puree with lump crabmeat and grilled asparagus.  I thought that would be hard to beat, but this week's Monday soup special blew me away!  The onions fell apart in my mouth and the veal-base was perfectly salty and robust for the windy evening. 

I eat out a good bit.  At least once a week.  As noted earlier, I eat at Valanni a good deal too.  The reason is simple.  The food is unfailingly excellent.  There are other reasons too, but that's the basic one.  Excellent food gets my attention all the time.  The staff is top-shelf and it's easy for me to get in and out of there, but it's really the great stuff that comes out of the kitchen that ranks it at the top of the restaurant scene for me. 

While he food is always wonderful and the place is fun, last night deserves a special mention.

PS - for all those who have asked, Dad is home and doing well.  Thanks for your support!

Thanksgiving Food and Drink Reviews

As I bloatedly recline on the couch and prepare for a busy day of watching college football and encouraging my kids to be quiet, I reflect on the bounty that crossed the tables yesterday.

First, thanks to Wawa for getting the day started with a 20 ounce cup of java yesterday.  While it wasn't up to the usual standards, Roy of the Moorestown store served it up and got me moving after my Wednesday night out with the boys.  Not a bad way to start the day.

The GF served up a tasty mid-day snack of a very basic ham and cheese on multi-grain bread with sliced tomato sprinkled with fresh ground pepper and sea salt.  Sounds simple, but the execution was perfect and it got me though until dinner.

Late in the afternoon, it was time for the turkey feast at the GF's mom's house.  The Company was great as always, and the food was top notch.  A few specific items deserve note.  The perfectly prepared dark meat of the bird hit the spot for me.  I just wish I had some more now for a cold turkey sandwich.  The GF's cousin made an amazing macaroni and cheese that was EASILY the best I have ever had.  Need to find out how she does it.

Also of note at the first gathering of the evening was the marshmallow ambrosia that the GF's grandmother made.  It took me back to the holidays with my own grandmother.  It was darn near the same thing in my memory!  Marshmallow, cherries, coconut and mandarin oranges.  MMMMMMM-MMMMMM!  The Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio provided by GF's little sis was also excellent!

Then we packed everyone up and headed over to PA and my sister;s house for dessert.  We arrived at the perfect time, as they were finishing their meal and in time for dessert!  I headed right for the fridge, as my brother Matt had tipped me that he had a selection of great holiday beers for my sampling.  He did not disappoint.  The Anchor 2007 Christmas brew is their usual big, bold bottle of hoppy brown excellence.  But the beer of the night was Dogfish Head's Olde School barley wine.  Weighing in at 15% abv, Matt and I split this one.  Caramel, citrus and a bit of hops on the end.  Very nice!  My sister sure knows how to make a pumpkin pie.  The flavors were fresh and complex and it was one of the best in my memory.  I don't do crust, but many raved about it.  Kudos to the chef!

We all had a great day eating and drinking and enjoying each other's company.  I hope that you all did too! 

Hair of the Dog 2008

As many of you know, I like to get dressed up and go out.  While I am perfectly comfortable eating pizza and drinking Yuengling in my Jeans for Ellie's First Birthday (at Carin's last night), I also like to don the tux, grab a flute of bubbly and escort the lovely GF to a formal ball.  One of the best every year is Hair o' The Dog. 

I've been a few times over the years and will make a return this year on Saturday night, January 12, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Penn's Landing.  Headlining the event will be my favorite local band and my good friends, Mr. Greengenes.  Something tells me Bryen will skip the tux.

It's a cool even, usually with good food and plenty to drink.  In the past ladies rooms have been an issue, but i have been assured that the organizers have this one under control this year at the Hyatt.  The crowd is wide-ranging from young hotties to The Guv.  In my (ahem) mid-30s, I am solidly in the heart of the age range. It's black tie for the guys and the ladies come SERIOUSLY dressed up. 

I won't say it's cheap.   At $125 a head, it's at the top end of prices for Philly charity events, but it's worth it.   The event benefits PAWS - The Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society this year.

I'd recommend you get your tickets early, especially if you are thinking about the VIP section option.  I've waited in the past and been disappointed.  Let me know if you are going, or what the other hot dates for the winter ball season are.  I'll see you there!

In Philly For Brunch!

The lobster-cheddar omlette at Valanni was excellent, but we wanted something special for dessert so we headed to S. 8th St. and the original Termini Brothers Bakery.

A dozen ricotta stuffed cannoli should hold us for a while.

Go Birds!

A Good Day

It's a DAMN good day.

A major project wrapped up at work.

The boss taking me and the staff out for thank you drinks.

A night at The Bank watching the Phightins' scratching and clawing their way tot he top of the NL East.

I'll be down there... drop me a line if you will be too.

Out and About In Philly

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but it's been a rather crushing week or so at the job.  While the project isn't complete yet by any means, the finish line is on the horizon and I can at least THINK about other things.

On the positive side, I have had a couple of very good meals this week since I have been too tired to cook.    On Monday, the GF whipped up a great Italian sausage sandwich made with turkey sausage.  Very good!  Tuesday was 12th Street Cantina pizza at work - actually very good stuff!

I was a big fan of the meal Thursday night at Alma de Cuba.  Lobster and Crab ceviche was tasty and there was a good-sized portion, not something you can always say about a Stephen Starr appetizer.  While I think it wasn't a true ceviche, it WAS finished in a very nice citrus sauce.  The sugarcane tuna entree was very good, excellent rare tuna with a coffee and sugar searing that was
a nice change to the usual tuna preparations.  Their caipirinha  was more sour than I usually have, but still very good.

Friday, we tried the newish Mexican Post outlet at 1601 Cherry.  I love the hot, cramped, noisy 2nd Street location.  But they should have stopped there.   While it was a Friday, you should still be able to get decent service and good food.  You can't.  The 2 high-end margaritas I had differed widely.  We were largely ignored in our corner of the dining area and the food was not up to the Post standards.  Skip it unless you're looking for a happy hour crowd.

The King Tut exhibit at The Franklin Institute afterwards was very interesting and had some wonderful and exquisitely detailed work, but lacked a "WOW!" centerpiece.  It's amazing how well-preserved the 3200 year old relics are, but the splendor associated with the words "King Tut" was absent.

Last night, the GF and I met the parents in the city for a visit to Sotto Varalli.  I've eaten here a good bit and the one thing I will say is that these guy know how to make risotto.   I started with six Malpeque oysters on the halfshell that were good-sized and salty. I had the seafood risotto as an entree, filled with excellent littleneck clams, some middling mussels, shrimp, half a lobster tail and a huge hunk of crab.  A+!!!  The GF's chicken risotto was also well-received.  My parents raved about the Maine-inspired corn and crab chowder and the colossal crab appetizer.  I had mango mousse for dessert, the ladies had bread pudding and my dad had creme brulee.  All the desserts were tasty, but basically average.  The house chianti was terrible at best, but the pinot noir was smooth and easy to drink with the seafood.  Service by both our new server and the experienced Eddie was top-notch.

We finished the night at my usual haunt, where Laurentiu was making a surprise appearance behind th
e busy Valanni bar.  I celebrated my recent decision to remain at UArts with a healthy pour of Lagavulin 16 year old, which I had last with my brother to celebrate his promotion last year.  It's still damn good stuff.   The GF had a Laurentiu creation that tasted spot on like a watermelon Jolly Rancher.

Today I am going to join the Great American House Hunt, looking around the area for new digs.  Also planning to try to catch some of the Phils and Eagles games.  Enjoy the day!

Some Simple Things Are Still Perfect

  BLT - Food of the Gods! 
  Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

The bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich is a perfect thing.  In all its incarnations, it remains excellent.  I like mine with no mayo and plenty of pepper on the tomatoes.  Plenty of people slather them with different varieties of mayo or even baby greens instead of true lettuce. 

The photo is from this weekend's BLT event following the Eagles game.  Fresh Jersey tomatoes from the Flying Feather Farm in Moorestown, turkey bacon (cholesterol is getting high), and California romaine lettuce.  Plenty of McCormick Peppercorn Blend freshly ground pepper and a tiny bit of salt on toast.

I had two ... with a Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale.  What a combination!!!

It almost made me able to relax after the Birds muffed the game.

Breaded Pork Medallions and an Italian Red

I had a nice relaxing dinner at home last night with the GF.  She had the day off and boy, did that work out for me, as it gave her the time to put together a really great meal! 

I'm going to make a sweepingly broad generalization, but here I go ... Gosh, Italian women can cook.  I don't think that there is any coincidence that I have gained about 20 pounds since my divorce 18 months ago.  (The Ex, obviously, was NOT Italian.)

The GF created a nice evening with seasoned, breaded pork medallions that were both tender and flavorful.  They were nicely complimented with grilled corn and sauteed potatoes.   I added a bottle of 2004 Stella & Mosca Cannonau Sardegna Riserva, a Sardinan red made from the Grenache grape.

I capped off the meal with chopped cherries on Turkey Hill Chocolate Pretzel ice cream.

Not a bad night at all!

hat tip to Heidi for her inspiration to me in getting me to write about food!

New Photo Sets

After much work trying to learn Photoshop CS3, I have posted three sets of photos from my recent vacation on my Flickr site.  The Boys Night at Fenway is memorialized, including shots of the rain, the Green Monster and us in the bar waiting.  One of my favorite places on earth, Cape Porpoise is caught in a photo shoot.  I got a chance to shoot one of the best sunsets I have ever seen in Newport, RI is recorded in another set.

There will be a bunch more pictures coming, as I have plenty more from that trip and several others I have taken recently.

Look, comment and Enjoy!