A guide to eating well, drinking well, and entertaining the best of company.
I am not a man without my vices. I am a regular consumer of macchiatos. I have a chocolate habit. Certain garlicky scents stimulate the withdraw-wallet autonomic response. I occasionally attend raves. I’m completely opposed to smoking, but if they are before me, I do have a pack a day habit:
Pocky.
Tonight I was craving delicious food, but had some leftovers to dispose of. Pondering this, I came up with a wonderful solution for the remainders left from a recent sushi party.
(Yes, .25lb of ahi tuna and a julienned carrot are what constitutes “leftovers” in the Jovialism household from time to time) Read more »
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the word class purveyor of delicious chocolate and mixed drinks (*) has finally opened at the location I mentioned back in July. Despite having a smaller location, they have a surprisingly complete selection of nudos, cupcakes, all our favorite chocolate drinks, truffles, and even the little containers of savories. What a great way to start a Monday!
-Jovialist
* “Mixed drinks”, as in, chocolate mixed with chocolate and chocolate.
Pasta with pine nuts, a nibble
As you no doubt know, I love cooking. It takes time and effort, and more often than not involves at least a bit of a mess, but the payoff of being able to tailor your meal to precisely the flavors and textures you are in the mood for is priceless… And once you know the others you serve well enough, you can cater precisely to their cravings as well.
Earlier this week, I had some spare ingredients sitting around the house. I was finishing up some stuff at work and had started contemplating dinner. Knowing I had some spinach, scallions, portabella mushroom caps, and various basics, I was inspired and rushed off to the grocery store to pick up some more ingredients. Dinner this evening would be off the cuff, and the result of a number of fascinations I merely haven’t had an opportunity to experiment with yet.
Copper Bistro's logo
It was a dear friend’s birthday, and I had some definitive plans lined up for where we were going to enjoy dinner. It became evident on the morning of, however, that these plans weren’t going to be viable, as an additional four people wanted to join in on the festivities. Well, tossing another four onto our reservations wasn’t very well going to work for what I had in mind, so it fell to me to get reservations for six… The day of the event. On a weekend. Somewhere respectable. Where certain tastes needed catered to.
Nothing on my Go-To list was appropriate, and I don’t have the benefit of Ask Jovialism like you do. What does Jovialist do when he needs to make last minute, impeccable plans, and none of his meticulously prepared contingency plans are viable for varied reasons? He asks The Internet, of course. Indeed, the very medium that brings you lolcats is also quite capable of facilitating last minute dining decisions. Some judicious searching on various boards and some of the various entries on my blogroll revealed Copper Bistro as the evening’s selection. Reservations made early afternoon, we headed up to the Northern Liberties in the evening. Read more »
Sometimes there is a sudden need for celebration: Perhaps a baby is born, a proposal has been made, something lost has been found. Maybe someone is stopping by this evening whom you haven’t seen in ages, or maybe you’ve been blessed with something you have been waiting a long, long time for. There are an infinite number of things to celebrate at the drop of a hat, but a decidedly finite time to put such a gathering together. It can seem like an awful lot of pressure, but keeping such joy to yourself would be a disservice to your friends and loved ones! Read more »
Stephen Starr has launched another high-style outpost in Philadelphia, this one on Rittenhouse Square. Staring through the trees at The Rittenhouse Hotel and Lacroix, Starr has transformed the old Bleu space into a French Bistro behemoth with ideal placement in the city’s nexus.
As a rule, I’m not much of a devotee to Starr’s thematic constellations. His restaurants are certainly reliable, with good food, great drinks, and intriguing (or overdecorated, depending on the perspective) interiors. In my opinion, however, the food is only good, and for the price I could probably find a great meal elsewhere in the same general style. What Starr gets right, in my opinion, is the reliability factor. Just as you can trust a Ruth’s Chris to provide a good steak and good experience in an unfamiliar city, you can depend on Starr’s assorted establishments to be duly impressive and unique, particularly to out- of- towners.
Read more »
Lacroix is one of those places that, while it may have found it’s way onto my “Go-to” list, I never expected to actually go there. Too special. Too nice. I would just have to let the rave reviews and mouth watering descriptions linger in my memory and have the reference ready for other people, should they have need of going somewhere very nice.
And then it came time to celebrate the departure of our 4th roomate pro tempore, someone who was staying with us for just a little while. He needed a place to stay for a bit, we happily supplied and are now sad to see him go. What better way to celebrate the time we spent together than go to a fantastic restaurant that is so very close to our normal paths, and yet seems so far away?
So, I got the reservations a couple weeks in advance and began to eagerly look forward to the date. In moments of impatience, I perused reviews. Rave reviews. Most foodies who have been there love it. LaBan gave it four coveted bells. Let me give you a little idea of the history, and then I’ll tell you about the experience. Read more »
I don’t spend much time in the Northern Liberties, but lately this hasn’t been for lack of options. A Saturday night devoid of plans led to a bit of wandering that dropped us at a place I’ve only been once, but am fond of: Bar Ferdinand. Spanish food has really taken off of late, and Bar Ferdinand is a cheaper alternative to Amada for those who might like to partake more regularly.
Bar Ferdinand is, of course, a tapas bar. I’m amazed by how well the tapas bar concept has done, though over here in the States it differs from the true Spanish style. In Spain, one can spend many consecutive evenings tapas bar hopping. The various bars and restaurants will each have some tapas that they specialize in, and perhaps a certain selection of wine and beer. Once you find a seat or a place at the bar, you order your drink (which is typically smaller than what we’re served over here in the States), and they ask what small plate of food you would like to accompany it. Very frequently this is included in the price of the drink, though not always.
This is a great combination, since you’re never drinking without eating, and the portions are smaller. You can proceed through an entire night, enjoying the sardines at one bar, the calamari at the next, the pork at the third, the excellent olives at the fourth, and the fantastic potato tortilla at the fifth, without drinking yourself into a gutter. This can go on rather a while, and often costs no more than €5 per bar. Outside of Spain, the experience ends up being more equivalent to a Spanish dim sum, minus the cow tendon and people wandering around with carts.
Yet more delightful news. Jon Myerow, founder of Tria I (18th and Sansom) and Tria II (12th and Spruce), is planning on opening a third Tria (A Tria troika? Tria trio? Tria-o?). Unfortunately for him, the postulated location at 6th and Bainbridge didn’t work out, but I’m not that sympathetic. His alternatives are Fairmont, Bella Vista, and Graduate Hospital.
Boy would I like to see that happen. Tria I is easily one of my favorite places in town. I’ve not been to Tria II yet (I try not to go into the Gayborhood unarmed, and there haven’t been any ladies willing to lock elbows with me to venture in that direction of late) but I hear it is about as good.
Mr. Myerow, if you’re listening: G-Ho needs a place like this! Fairmont has London Grill and so-on, Bella Vista has any number of delightful places for wine and cheese… Please give us a den of fermented delights!
Details at CityPaper.
-Jovialist
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