I think I heard about this event through Food in Jars, but I can’t find the twitter to prove it. But somehow, news came through the ether than Philadelphia has a new food thing going - where completely amateur chefs can take over a professional kitchen for one night only and serve amazing food to 70 people or so. Just say, “Open Chef-A-Me.”

How could I resist? So I bought a subscription (since no matter how bad it could be, it would definitely be completely different the next time).

Last Monday was the first one. I switched my work schedule to daytime hours and I hopped on a bus over right after work… and found the venue, Ava with plenty of time to spare.

A little wandering around South Street (and, more interestingly, Bainbridge) later, and I popped back in only 20 minutes early. And there were still only a handful of people. I ended up randomly joining a couple at a table and having one other woman join us later. As one of the guys of Chef-A-Me explained, that’s part of what’s cool about the way Chef-A-Me is framed - with tables large enough that probably at least two groups of people end up merging and talking to each other, but small enough that you can form actual conversations. This is one of the rare events that has made a conscious decision to chose smaller venues even though demand for their tickets has been increasing.

So let me tell you about my nifty dining companions first, and then I promise I’ll get to the food and the chefs. There was an architect, her techie/literary husband, and a freelance writer, who writes a bit for CitySearch. Turns out the other three had all done graduate work at Northwestern, and two of them in the journalism program. While they were discussing the various merits of alumni associations, I praised the Johns Hopkins one, which I have quite enjoyed even though I didn’t attend the school. And then it turns out that three of us had all participated in their youth nerd camp! It really was a joy to get to meet my dining companions.

And the chefs:

• Tim Crowe, of Eating Crowe, was loud and enthusiastic and eager to be the center of attention. Clearly, he was having a lot of fun.
• Sarah Feidt, who leads adventure tours, just struck me as someone really nifty. She was strong and competent, with a much quieter and subversive sense of drama.

Langoustine Buzara (from Tim): Here’s a picture of the serving, but a lot of the yellow tones are washed out. It looked much tastier, and I ate at least 4 of them! It had lovely tender flesh with a slightly muskier taste than lobster. I tried sucking on the biggest limbs, but that plan didn’t work. Each serving also came with a basket of garlic toast on a lovely sesame crusted bread, which soaked up the juices beautifully. I didn’t have a lot of luck sucking on the heads, but scooping them out onto the bread worked well. The light tomato and onion broth was, also, just as tasty and promised. And I did use up a few more bread pieces soaking up the sauce - and then spent a decent amount of time worrying whether I’d be able to fit the rest of the meal in my stomach. Here, have a recipe that is not at all dissimilar

Shrimp Guacamole (from Sarah): So the introduction to this dish was confusing, with Jesse (the spokesman Chef-a-Me guy) saying that it was flavored with shrimp juice and Sarah clarifying that it was flavored with the liquid in which the shrimp had been marinated and that her vegetarian friends thought this was still okay for vegetarians to eat. If it’s just the same ingredients as the marinade, sure - but if it’s the actual liquid in which raw shrimp have been sitting then not only does that not sound vegetarian to me, but also it sounds a bit dodgy food safety-wise. And the guacamole did have a distinct flavor of shrimp. That said, and having heard the spiel, I ate it anyway and loved it. I think shrimp-flavored guacamole is a wonderful, beachy sort of delight. And what a perfect touch with the roasted poblanos - it hit exactly on the line of tingly without being spicy. It was served on top of a tostada, and was plated close enough to serving that it stayed crispy all the way through eating. And it was topped with a single shrimp. If Tim’s part of the first course had not been so extravagant, the single shrimp would have been too few, but for that meal it was plenty. The tequila part of the marinade was not particularly noticeable.

Second Course

Braised short ribs with grilled corn, pepper, and onion relish (from Tim): Okay, so the corn relish? That was amazing, and I wish the recipe were up on his food blog for me to steal. It was spicy, lively and versatile. It was, perhaps, not the best pairing for the short ribs, however, because it made the ribs seem to have less flavor in comparison. Don’t get me wrong - the ribs were distinctly tender and delightful, but it was hard to single out the joy of their particular seasoning and sauce with the roasted corn salad jumping up for attention and love.

Spicy Quail (from Sarah): described as quail marinated and glazed in brown sugar, soy sauce, clover honey, jalapenos, and garlic and then roasted. It was not spicy hot, but it was spicy flavorful - and so beautifully caramelized, it was just a minute or so short of burned - apparently consistently, because all I heard was joy from people eating it. Half a quail was just the right portion, and luckily we had abandoned table manners back with the langoustines so I could just pick up the little legs and gnaw the meat off. It was served on top of a slice of crusty bread topped with what seemed like fig and balsamic vinegar jelly, but I could be wrong. It was tasty, though, so I’d love to know the real answer. And then it was served with chickpeas cooked down with lime, purple onion, cracked pepper, and lots of thyme. \o/!

Dessert

The two chefs had to collaborate for the dessert course, and Tim generously told the story about how he had insisted on making something showy and made it rather hard to come to a balance that would showcase both of their talents. But the end result was delicious!

Strawberry Shortcake-esque - Tim make the base out of tres leches cake, and Sarah added both the freshly whipped cream and the strawberries, having been marinated for 24 hours in basil and brown sugar (though not much brown sugar because they were not too sweet). The end result was gooey and melty and awesome.

Oh, and I have to thank my dining companion Tara, who brought wine from Norton vineyards, which she had learned about while traveling in Argentina. Their Chardonay was unlike any I’d had before - it had a deeper, round taste that was as if the grapes had been harvested just before they would have been too ripe. But this odd wine went well with every course, from the seafood to the ribs to the dessert - strong work!

The next one will be August 24th, and I suppose I might see you there.

ETA: Philly.com has a behind the scenes article on the event here with some of Tim Crowe’s recipes.

I try to participate in Dining Out for Life every year, but I often end up too busy or distracted.

Well, this year I managed to go out for both lunch and dinner!

Oddly, however, there must have been a shortage of volunteers this year as neither venue had someone stopping by the tables to talk about the event, nor were there envelopes with the check to encourage you to donate even more to HIV research.

Lunch - Pod
I had been there once before for dinner for a Dining Out for Life and had ended up with mediocre sushi off of their conveyor belt. But I tried it again because it really is quite convenient to where I work. (I have been told since that other people manage to really enjoy their sushi and that my experience was unusual.) This time, I ordered from the menu.

Despite being told that the mushroom fried rice was exceptional, I was distracted by the Thai Chicken Salad (Thai chili dressing, avocados, peanuts, oven-dried tomatoes and egg with shredded lettuce and napa cabbage). I ordered it with the dressing on the side, and it ended up delivered dressed - but the dressing was well balanced and the salad didn’t feel wet at all.

Oh, and I also could not resist the chicken potstickers. The dough tasted oddly like a perogie (perhaps it had been cooked down with onions?), but had a nice amount of browning and it was a delicious (though I’m not sure intentional) fusion. There wasn’t regular dipping sauce, only mustard aoli. I was surprised that I did not mind the substitution at all. Yum! If I hadn’t gone with a friend, I would have been tempted to order a second round of the dumplings they were so good.

Dinner - Lemongrass Thai
This was my first time going, and I went with two friends.

We ordered thai iced teas, and this might be the sweetest one I’ve ever had. I’m not saying it was bad, but I did ponder asking for a little more tea to even it out (did not ask, though).

The menu is laid out weirdly: first regional specialties, then chef specials, other entrees, vegetarian options, and then more specials hidden away at the back.

I ordered the Eggplant Stinger (marked with three chili peppers for spiciness - Steamed Thai eggplants lightly sautéed until golden brown, then braised with chicken, garlic, hot chili peppers and fresh basil). It wasn’t spicy at all, but the eggplant melted in my mouth and the overall dish was quite good. The flavors were a bit more muddled than the best Thai places I have been to, but it was very tasty.

One of my friends ordered the Salmon Supreme (fillet of salmon wrapped in grape leaves and grilled to perfection, served with mild Tamarind fruit sauce). The chicken was cooked quite thoroughly, which we both liked and it didn’t have a texture of being overcooked at all. The grape leaves were theoretically edible, but I picked them off of my bite, as they were rather thickly wrapped. It felt as though they should have been using tobacco leaves or something sturdier and smokier. And then the tamarind sauce was lovely - I am taking quite a shine to light/sweet-ish tamarind sauces these days.

And my other friend ordered the Masaman curry* with chicken (rich red curry peanut sauce with coconut milk, onions and potatoes - and three strips of red bell pepper). I think this was probably the best dish of the meal. The cocnut really sang, and it was worth eating until we were overfull.

After the fact, I went and read some other reviews online, and several of them complained about the service. I don’t know what to say about that… our servers were reasonably attentive and my water was refilled frequently, but it was oddly not quite friendly. And they ended up asking my party to leave so that they could seat another party even though we were looking out at a mostly empty room (not the only dining room) and we had only been there an hour and a half (i.e. we were leisurely, but not obscenely so). So I’m not sure on that point.

*note: for more reviews of Masaman curry in the Philadelphia area, it’s a dish that Mac & Cheese talks about.

So I have some leftovers from the Catladies event that really need to leave my house. I have an incredibly tasty loaf of vegan challah I have been devastating (and have sliced and frozen more than half of it, like a responsible person.

And I have two ramekins of flavored butter: honey butter (a little too weak) and chipotle butter (a little too strong).

And I have a pint of heavy cream. From the farmers’ market. From happy cows. *clings*

I really must not eat all of these on my own.

However, for the foodbloggers potluck, I think I shall be making more cabbage/beet shred that was so tasty and healthy.

Can you think of anything else I could make that would use up a lot of dairy products? Without also making bread to go with it because baking is not my forte, and while I’ll go it in front of friends, I am not going to do it for food bloggers.

And I just don’t think a spicy, buttery bread pudding would work too well. …huh.

Okay, so if you got a tough multi-grain bread… like the spelt from Metropolitan Bakery, perhaps… and then cream, eggs, honey, dried cherries, and vanilla from a bean. Brown the butter? Ooo… kind of like with the toasting?

That’s an insanely complex recipe for bread pudding. And it’s something that I’d have to be able to take to work and still have tasty at the end of the day.

Right, so no experimental bread pudding for the pot luck. Does anyone else want to experiment and try a spicy heart attack of joy sometime? The butter can keep, but the heavy cream won’t last more than a month I don’t think.

So west philly people… If you wanted to host a dinner party, let me know. I actually have two additional 5-course-type vegetarian dinners sketched out.

And I would love to find a host for one in April to benefit the Mazzoni Center for their Night of a Thousand Friends.

If you know of anyone interested, please let me know.

So I cooked lots.

I was scarily organized.

I made a time line, and almost everything happened to or ahead of schedule - scary, I tell you.

And everything was labeled.

Also, I hear it was pretty tasty.

The carrot soup had a little bit more peanut butter than I wanted, but no one else knew that - and the rice turned out a bit overcooked, but that’s because it was a gas stove and it’s brutal trying to cook rice on a gas range (plus I forgot to time it and kept having to take it off the heat and put it back on again because the stove was working best for me with only one live burner).

The desserts I persuaded my co-worker and Sara Strickland to make were amazing!

Thank you to Laura for the loan of a hand blender with which to make whipped cream.

And I was even able to suavely pretend there was no such thing as a last minute vegetable stock crisis because Jude was online and able to supply all of my last minute stock needs with only an hour’s notice. Seriously, we were arranging pick up just as I was finishing loading my car to relocate my entire kitchen to lxbean’s. MY HERO!

Oh, and the lovely two people who staying until midnight to make sure all of the dishes were washed that night! I didn’t wash a single dish, and it was pure luxury.

I got the general impression that everyone thought the food was awesome.

And we raised a bunch of money to help kitties.

And there were fun conversations

Because some of the guests were kind enough to do the dishes, I was able to go over this morning for coffee tea and pick up everything that needed to be schlepped over to my house.

Even the aftermath was surprisingly painless. By the time I left for work, everything was put away and tidy. Well, in the kitchen, at least. Now I have to put my laundry into drawers and vacuum the carpet, but that doesn’t count for this gloating post.

So I am calling it 100% successful.

And I want to do another one.

The people attending Cooking for Catladies will get to meet this adorable cat (ETA: I lied. You’d only get to meet his sister, Lucy, also CH. Cav was adopted to a forever home - still cute, though):

Awww! The head bob with the hat at 1:14… *flail*

Note from original poster, lxbean:

It’s Cav and his new buddy, Ollie.

(Cav, for those of you who are new to the story, was born with cerebellar hypoplasia, which means he’s missing the part of his brain that smooths motor coordination. It doesn’t affect anything else, and as you can see, he’s wringing every last bit of fun out of life. And don’t worry: he doesn’t care if you laugh at him. In fact, there’s a good chance he’s laughing at you.)

ETA: More Caverly videos from when he was just a wee CHitten being fostered:
Cav’s sister twirl walks
CHittens playing with tinfoil
Cav and the leaf
Breakfast of the CHittens
Cav demonstrated progress

This is big, so I’m being super-organized to keep track…

Tuesday, March 10th1:00-9:00pm - work
9:30pm - transfer last batch of leftovers into compatible containers
9:45pm - make chipotle butter
dinner = salad w/ beef and beets
wash dishes?
go to parents’

Wednesday, March 11thCollect from parents’:

• leftovers
• soup bowls
• hot sauces
• fancy olive oils

1:00-9:00pm - work
9:30pm - roast garlic, 3 sweet potatoes, 5 tomatillos
9:30pm - start vegetable stock
9:35pm - wash dishes
10:00pm - make sweet hot garlic sauce (requires: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 3 Tablespoons finely minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon sambal olek)
make tomatillo salsa
experiment with savory mashed sweet potato recipes
dinner = sweet potato stuff
*set meusli to soak*

Thursday, March 12thguess what I forgot? —> breakfast = meusli
full day; no prep work
9:30pm - put coffee on to soak and yogurt to drain (not together)
At work - make label cards with ingredient lists of all the dishes. Make a few extra blank ones. Put nocounterspace URL on each.
dinner = pasta

Friday, March 13th8:00am - call out sick from work
8:00am - go to Studio34
8:30-9:30am - pilates
10:00-11:30am - vinyasa
1:00-2:30pm - go to Produce Junction (pick up
3:30-6:00pm - vegetable stock’s slow simmer
3:30-4:00pm - press coffee, pour off, clean press, put more coffee on to soak overnight
4:00-4:30pm - pickle carrots & cucumbers (requires: 3 cucumbers, 4 carrots, 1 purple onion, sugar, rice vinegar)
4:30-5:00pm - make tzatziki saice (requires: 1 drained quart yogurt, 1 cucumber, minced garlic)
6:00pm - strain vegetable stock
6:00-8:00pm - make pita chips (requires: pita, olive oil, ground coriander, paprika, ground cumin, powdered garlic, thyme or oregano, za’tar that has been ground smooth in a mortar, nutmeg, pepper, smoked paprika)
7:00pm - set kidney beans to soak (requires: 3/4 lb? kidney beans & water)

Saturday, March 14th10-11:30am - yoga
11:45-12:45 - pilates

1:00pm - put sweet potatoes in the oven to roast
1:00pm - accept delivery of vegan cookies and chocolate cake!!

press coffee, pour off, clean press

make curry black beans (requires canned black beans (5 cans?), onions, garlic, ginger, jalepeno flesh, red bell peppers?, vegetable stock, bay leaf, thyme, and curry powder and garam masala)

make chili kidney beans (requires: onion, garlic, pinch of salt, cumin, bay leaf, soaked kidney beans, canned tomatoes, dried onion flakes, chili powder, paprika, oregano, masa harina)

make - spice mix for carrot soup

poach pears

make salsas out of some of the fruit from Produce Junction

make thai-ish chickpeas (requires shredded fresh coconut, purple onion, garlic, ginger, jalepeno, cilantro stems, thai green curry paste, chickpeas (5 cans?), lime juice, lime zest, bay leaf, vegetable stock, water)

Save some minced purple onions

make salad dressing - southwestern ranch (ketchup, mayo, sour cream, packet of taco seasoning, maybe some drained chunks from salsa for seasoning

experiment with salad dressing - (I was thinking last night about cumin. Specifically whole cumin seeds all dry roasted in a pan. And how much I like that with honey. And mushed up roasted garlic. Only it needs more liquid, and I haven’t decided yet what will be the best sour note.)

Buy salad greens and tofu

Make savory mashed sweet potatoes

Slice tofu and marinate (requires: lemons, cumin, chipotle, oregano)

Sunday, March 15th10:00am-noon - Forrest yoga
12:30pm - load car and drive to ’s
1:00pm - set someone to peeling carrots
2:00pm - set someone to peel and halve (lengthwise) the sweet potatoes
2:00pm - make carrot soup (requires: peeled & chunked carrots, full fat coconut milk, asaphoetida, ginger, spice mix, low fat coconut milk, vegetable broth, lime, creamy peanut butter) (1st burner!)
2:30pm - Make beet/cabbage shred (requires: 2 beets, 1.5 purple cabbages, 1/2 purple onion, 3 jalepenos, sugar, minced garlic, minced ginger, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, juice of 3 limes, ground pepper, fresh cilantro)
3:00-3:30pm - slice sweet potatoes into spears, toss in a bag to olive oil (requires: peeled sweet potatoes, bag, olive oil, cumin seeds, powdered garlic, ground coriander, ground black pepper, ground chipotle, and ground thyme)
3:00pm - set someone to slice onions and bell peppers
3:30-4:00pm - toast almond slivers for soup (3rd burner - brief)
4:00pm - set someone else to brush tortillas with water and olive oil and make packets for warming in the oven
4:00-5:00pm - cut up fruit into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temp out of the way (requires: fruit)
5:00-5:30pm - put bread fixings into bread machine(s)
5:15-6:00pm - wash and cut greens
5:30pm - heat oven to 400F
5:55pm - put first batch of sweet potato spears in the oven
6:00pm - put vegetable stock on stove to heat (2nd burner!)
6:15pm - transfer batches of the carrot soup to a blender, containers with finished soup, rinse soup pot, put soup back in pot and adjust the seasoning
6:30-6:50pm - Make Mexican rice for main course, set aside still covered (requires: 1 cup rice, 2 tsp turmeric, 2 cloves, jar of salsa) (3rd burner!)
6:25-6:35pm - take out first batch of sweet potato spears? and put in the second batch
6:45pm - put onions and bell peppers in a skillet over slow heat (requires: onions, peppers, penzey’s fajita seasoning) (4th burner!)
6:50pm - shred lettuce, dice tomato, mince onion, slice hot peppers, cover plate with plastic and pop in the fridge
—————————
7:00pm - guests arrive
7:00pm - put legumes and sweet potatoes in the oven to heat (requires: 4 casserole dishes. I have 2)

7:00-7:20pm - Appetizers - (standing up and mingling)

• pita chips
• fresh pita in wedges?
• tzatziki
• smashed chickpea salad
• Sweet Potato Spears
• Sweet hot Garlic Sauce

7:10pm - don’t forget the second batch of sweet potato spears. Turn oven down to 350F

7:25pm - halve avocados
7:30pm - pull butters out of the fridge
7:30pm - Soup (seated)

• Curry Coconut Ginger Carrot Soup (required: soup, toasted almonds, chipotle)
• Spicy broth (requires spicy broth, beautiful slices of avocado, marinated tofu)
• Fresh bread? No fresh bread? Oddly, I think it might be better with the salad course

7:30pm - take reject avocados and make guacamole (requires: ??)
7:35pm - Have someone else shred Cheddar Cheese
7:40pm - warm tortillas (requires: 3 baskets and cloth napkins)
7:45pm - cook greens (Kenyan collard greens requires: washed & cut collard greens, vegetable bouillon cube, 5 spice powder, 2 fresh tomatoes, diced; Asian kale requires: Alexine!) (carrot soup burner and rice/almonds burner)
7:50pm - Main Course

• Mexican rice
• tortillas
  • corn
  • wheat
  • whole wheat?
• Curry Black Beans
• Chili Kidney beans
• Thai-ish Chickpeas
• Kenyan Collard Greens
• Asian-ish Kale
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Beet/Cabbage Shred
• Sauteed Onions & Peppers
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Queso Fresco
• salad toppings
• Sour Cream
• Salsas
• Guacamole

8:10pm - rinse greens and set to dry
8:12pm - Make balsamic vinaigrette (requires: balsamic vinegar, mustard, red wine, (honey, if no one objects), ground pepper)
8:30pm - Salad

• large bowl of mesclun (bring colander to give it a quick rinse before serving)
• Replate leftovers from dinner into smaller bowls for salad fixings - esp. sliced tomato, onion)
• salad dressings
  • southwestern ranch
  • garlic/cumin thingy?
  • balsamic vinaigrette
  • fancy balsamic vinegar & fancy olive oil
• Fresh, hot bread (hopefully) - w/ butter, honey butter, and chipotle butter

8:50pm - whip cream (requires: 1 qt heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar)
8:55pm - microwave poached pears (just to take the chill off)
8:55pm - put a kettle on to boil
9:00pm - Dessert

• Put out cookies
• offer platings of cake and/or muffins?
• big bowl of fruit
• big bowl of whipped cream

9:05pm - offer coffee or tea (requires: coffee concentrate, teabags, sugar, honey, fake sugar?, demerara sugar?, heavy cream, lighter dairy?, soy milk?)

—————————

Still unscheduled
- pick up dessert items from lj person

—————————-

Things for the sous chef to cut up on Sunday (in order)

• peel all the carrots
• peel and halve (lengthwise) sweet potatoes
• slice onions and bell peppers
• wash and stem greens

Last Sunday, I decided to attend one of the Philadelphia Beer Week events: the Fifth Annual Brewer’s Plate.

It was held in the beautiful venue of the University of Pennsylvania’s Art and Anthropology Museum, so it was a fairly easy walk away.

short tangent: I grew up in the suburbs, and it is such a revelation to me to be able to go to alcohol-oriented events where I can walk home, or take a bus home. As someone who usually goes to events on my own, I would never be able to do half this stuff (legally or safely) out in the suburbs, where you have to drive everywhere. I love city living.

Statement of bias: Oh, right, and I’m not a big fan of beer. I love the stuff, but I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as I am, say, about scotch. So my descriptions will be rather vague and highly personal. When I am in a new location with new beers to try, I tend to just tell the bartender that I am looking for something brown and with flavor - and that’s mostly what will make me love a beer.

Upstairs there were tables where local restaurants offered fancipants food with right beside them stands where local breweries offered fancipants beer to match. There were around 20 such stations. And then downstairs, the VIP area had a few additional food and drink stations, and an area talking about beer and food pairings - and most importantly: chairs and tables. Sitting down was such a relief.

But I started upstairs, so let me try to do this in order:

Abbaye
637 N. Third St. (Fairmount Ave.) Philadelphia, PA 19123

Chicken pate with braised onions on a cracker - wow! They do chicken pate perfectly. There’s no overwhelming pepper or booze taste that is so common with restaurants trying to apologize for their chicken livers. Nope, this is just well made and creamy and unapologetically rich and tasty.

Country pate with mustard on focaccia - not as impressive. It’s pretty standard and would not be out of place in a fancy picnic basket, but more out of obligation than true love. Stick to the chicken livers.

And the beer pairing was Sly Fox Brewing Company’s Saison Vos

A Belgian style Saison (or Farmhouse Ale) brewed with German Pils malt and hopped with East Kent Goldings. Fermented with a special proprietary yeast which imparts its dry, spicy character.
14.5 OG | 32 IBUs | 6.9% ABV

Tasted like your standard light belgian style which is not my thing. But it was light and tasty and easy drinking.

Alfa Bar
1709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Pulled pork sliders on a mini-brioche - Carolina barbecue style (i.e. mustard/vinegar sauce). It was decently tasty, but not exciting. It is perfectly decent barfood.

And the beer pairing was Troegs Brewing Company Dreamweaver Wheat

Combining four wheat types with Munich and Pils malts, noble Saaz hops, and a yeast strain that imparts a spicy, peppery, clove taste with a slight hint of bananas
14 IBUs | 4.8% AbV

very hoppy, without quite enough flavor to back it up.

Bar Ferdinand
1030 North 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19123

Cheese Soup (made with Cricket Hill’s East Coast lager) with a Meatball (made with Cricket Hill’s Paymaster Porter) - The chef, who seemed very impressive, very generously highlighted his representative beers, so I’m not all that sure I know much about the menu at the actual venue, other than that it is made thoughtfully. The cheese soup was light and thin, but tasty and not oily. It was salty, but not too much so, and I’m guessing that means a hard cheese base. Other than that, I have no idea. I also have no idea what went into the meatball, but is was a decent meatball. Really, people raved about this dish, but I just ate it and moved on without much fanfare. I was most impressed by the guy serving the food, but I have (again) no idea how affiliated he normally is with the restaurant.

So the beers. From Cricket Hill Brewing Company (in Fairfield, NJ) - East Coast Lager

an easy drinking “golden” lager with a wonderful balance of crisp malt flavors and flowery hop finish. Built specifically with very low bitter aftertaste

Well, it sure is gentle…. My notes read, “weirdly light.” But, if you like that sort of thing, this is perfect. When I want that sort of thing, I drink water.

Paymaster Porter (apparently being phased out for the summer season)

Dark brown Ale with major coffee flavors but no burnt aftertaste. The background is slightly chocolate with wonderful candied undertones

Sorry, Cricket Hill. I do not like coffee flavors at all. :(

The Belgian Cafe
21st & Greeen, Philadelphia, PA

Roasted broccoli and caramelized onion frittate with mornay sauce - Well, they were one of the very few places who had a vegetarian offering. But it was cold and boring. And their pairing beer didn’t show up, which is sad because it sounded like it would be different and exciting (Ludwig’s Revenge Rauchbier from the Roy Fitz Brewing Company = supposedly smokey tasting)

Betty’s Speakeasy
2241 Grays Ferry, #1, Philadelphia, PA 19146 (also, *flail*, I am so thrilled they finally have a physical location!)

Had a mix of four tasty fudges and 1 brewed cupcake. The only one that was less than exciting was Fred, the pretzel fudge, because it was a bit chewy when it should not have been. But the rest were just as exciting as their standards usually are.

And then I skipped their beer because there was a bit of an awkward traffic moment by them (probably because they had two breweries, offering 2 beers each).

Blush
24 North Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Tempura tilapia with crispy onion strings - this was one of my favorite offerings. The fist was seasoned with lemon and the tempura batter makes for a lighter fried fish than usual. And it didn’t hurt that they had the frier right there and people were eating the fish as quickly as it came out. If only the table at the restaurant would come with a frybaby right there.

Paired with Flying Fish Brewing Company’s Belgian Abbey Dubbel

features an immense head with a fruity nose and a generous body. Malty in the middle, the beer features a clean, almondy dry finish and a slight alcohol warmth
Malts: Two-row pale, Munich, Special B, Chocolate, Demerera Sugar
Hops: Styrian Golding
Yeast: Belgian Abbey Ale
16.4 OG | 7% ABV

Cantina Dos Segundos
931 North 2nd St (2nd & Poplar), Philadelphia, PA

Gorditas con tinga des res - The gorditas were split and stuffed with delicious, tender short ribs (and chorizo, popato, and chipotle) and then grilled cripsy. They were topped with shredded napa and a fresh cheese of some variety. Delicious. This made me want to go to the restaurant and try it sometime.

Beer pairing - Triumph Brewing Company’s Jewish Rye Ale, which didn’t have as distinctive a flavor as you’d expect. Though maybe it would have stood out more paired with some pastrami and mustard.

El Camino Real
1040 North 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19123

Smoked beef/pork sausage and bean chili - was hearty and tasty and managed to be both comforting familiar and unlike any chili I’ve had before.

Paired with McKenzie Brew House’s Biere d’Hiver - bitter and acceptable.

Capogiro Gelato
many locations

Were offering 4 flavors: Dulche de leche, Bitter Chocolate, Stracciatella, and Pistachio. I had not had the pistachio before, so I tried that - delightfully salty and toasty. Much more appealing than most pistachio-flavored things. I’m convinced.

Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant
several locations

Doing their own beer and food pairings, they matched up Soft chicken tacos with yellow tomato-habanero salsa, jicama slaw, and queso fresco (meh. not spicy, and tasted like it had been invaded by neighboring El Vez’s mahi mahi tacos) with their Ironbound Ale

medium-bodied beer has been overwhelmed with hop additions. Brewed as an American pale ale, it’s a celebration of American hop varieties: Cascade, Crystal, Centennial and Chinook.
OG: 1.050 Color: 8 L IBU: 30 Alc by Vol: 5.1%

Meh

And then they paired they Chocolate Imperial Brownie (a very respectable brownie) with the Bourbon Russian Imperial Stout

aged in bourbon barrels with whole vanilla beans.
OG: 1.095 Color: 35 IBU: 75 Alc by Vol: 8.6%

And right here was the beer who single-handedly demonstrated the genius of this whole event. On first taste, the beer was a bit hard to swallow and just too dark. But once you were also eating the brownie, both tasted better! The beer became smooth and heady (in the sensuous way, not the foamy way) and the brownie became darker and sexier. This right here was a work of brilliance. I applaud you, Iron Hill.

The Choptank Oyster Company
6035 Castle Haven Road, Cambridge, MD 21613

This isn’t a Philadelphia restaurant! It isn’t even a restaurant! And yet, they are totally forgiven for that - and they consistently had a huge line. And deservedly so. This was the best raw oyster I have ever eaten. It was amazing. And now I have no idea how to get it again. But, wow.

And then it was paired with some beer, but that also had a line and just one table over was a Philadelphia Distilling table with vodka, gin, and absinthe. And don’t you know that absinthe and oysters go perfectly together? Okay, so it was totally a guess on my part based on their sometimes pairing with Pernod, also licorice-flavored. So, yeah, it totally worked. This was my first time trying absinthe, and there was just the right amount of sugar added to it wasn’t puckery and yet also wasn’t sweet enough to cloy and taste like candy. I was surprised by how pure the licorice taste was, since I had always guessed it would be smokey or in some way more complex a flavor. But, yeah, crossed that off my list.

Pub & Kitchen
1946 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146

Ale House Cassoulet - beans and stuff all cooked down and ending up satisfying and delicious and perfect for a cold winter evening.

Southwark Restaurant
701 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Southampton Double White braised beef tongue on wild mushroom & roquefort spelt cracker with picked vegetables - Was also one of my favorite dishes. This was amazing. Not only was the tongue tender, but the flavors really made it stand out as extraordinary. And the beer, in which it was braised, is also intriguing because I would have guessed wine fron the flavor of the tongue. I want to try this restaurant now. (Ooo… but looking at the website, it looks like I’ll need to save up and go for a special occasion)

And I sampled it with Southampton Brewery’s Biere de Mars (which isn’t mentioned on their website)

a fruity, spicy aroma (from the yeast — there are no spices added!) and flavor with notes of pear and honey.
ABV 6.8%

I liked it!

South Philly Tap Room
1509 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145

Smoked beef ceviche with salsa borracho, radish salad, and cotija cheese - delicious! I ended up stealing a second. It was just fresh and light and delightful to eat after all of the heavy things people did with beef.

paired with Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Kenzinger Beer

golden session ale - ABV 4.5%

Not my kind of beer, so moving right along.

Terrain at Styer’s
914 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, PA 19342 - really! at the garden center! Awesome!

Red wine braised short ribs with brown butter mashed potatoes - this was one of the last things I tasted, but I squeezed room because people had been saying nice things about it. And I suspect it’d be hard to have your short ribs be so noticeable in a room so bizarrely full of shortribs. They were cut so that the fibers were a little too long, so it got a bit stringy. But it was very tasty nonetheless and deserved the praise. And the mashed potatoes were pure delight. I mean, how could you go wrong? Good choice.

Paired with Lancaster Brewing Company’s Strawberry Wheat (which sounded vile, so I skipped) and Shoo Fly Porter

made with Lancaster County molasses, eight different malts and grains, and four different styles of hops. This beer has a deep, rich, brown color, medium to full body, and finishes with a smooth mouth feel.

Supposedly it tastes sweeter when it is served warm. For all the molasses and malt and stuff, it was a surprisingly simple and drinkable beer.

Tinto (oh, Tinto, I love you)
114 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA

Braised shortrib bocadillo - so split a dinner roll in half, then grease up the inside. Add shortribs. Add frisee (a type of lettuce, I dislike), and then top with some dressing. And the result is delicious and amazing. I did not mind the frisee at all. Om nom nom. No, really.

Paired with Nodding Head Brewery’s Grog. This was my favorite beer without a question. And I am very worried that it isn’t represented on their website. But it’s dark and tasty and delicious and smooth. I could drink a case of this beer, which I don’t say about many beers.

Tria
1137 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19101

Tria convinced Jasper Hill Farms to make a special Winnimere cow’s milk cheese washed in Victory’s Baltic Thunder and encircled in spruce bark. And it was something I wish I could run right out and buy. It was gooey and awesome. It just oozed out and said, “Why hello there,” and I wanted to take it home.

They also had a Boerenkaas that went even better with the beer. Another one I hope to buy, but this one I might actually be able to.

Paired with Victory Brewing Company’s Baltic Thunder

Baltic Thunder represents the Baltic Porter style admirably. Exhibiting the enticing, toffee roast of the British porter that originated the style in the 18th century, and the soothing, subtle fruit nuance of contemporary brews that flourish from Helsinki to Vilnius today
Hops: European whole flower
Malts: imported German 2 row and roasted malts
ABV: 8.5%

Molasses and coffee. yep, coffee, which means I automatically don’t like it. But the cheese was good.

and Hopdevil

powerful, aromatic punch of whole flower American hops backed up by rich, German malts. HopDevil Ale offers a roller coaster ride of flavor, coasting to a smooth finish
Malts: Imported, German 2 row
Hops: American whole flowers
Alcohol by volume: 6.7%

Fizzy and bitter.

White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Spicy Lamb Bolognese - yep, pasta with spicy meat. Filling, but not fancy.

And then it came with two beers from the River Horse Brewing Company:
Double Wit (not on their website)

Classic Belgian Wheat Beer combining banana, clove, and citrus flavors.
8.0% ABV

while it was white and light and not my usual thing, it was delightful and just packed full of flavor. But by all means, do not eat it with the spicy bolognese! Go back to Betty’s Buttons and get some fudge because this is a beer that went well with a bit of buttery sweetness. This would be nice to savor on my back porch in summer.

Dubbel Honey Weizenback (also not on their site)

dark german lager brewed with Munich and caramel malts. This robust wheat lager is rounded out by orange blossom honey.
7.5% ABV

This one went very well with the spicy food and was the one they recommended as a cold spring day beer. It was also very drinkable. Yum

And the people representing the brewery were very friendly, too. I think I’ll suggest to my parents and we go exploring and tour their facility.

~*~

And then down to the VIP area. With chairs. Did I mention the joy of getting to sit down?

Right in the door, John and Kira’s Chocolate
no retail address, but they are in negotiation to be carried by DiBruno Borthers

their chocolates are tender fluffy mouses covered in the thinnest later of ganache.

• La Vigne Lemongrass - a lovely palate cleanser, the flavors were definitely present, but not overpowering.
• Glen’s Strawberry - why is it so hard to make the strawberry flavor in chocolaes appealing?
• Lavender Honey - if you like these flavors, then the execution was superb. They clearly have an amazing hand with keeping the levels of the flavors perfectly balanced.
• Papohaku Ginger - this one is delightful, but despite working laboriously with fresh ginger, I found the taste reminding me more of powdered ginger. Delicious powdered ginger, but still. Then again, it was at the end of a lot of tasting.
• Drunken Chocolate Figs - Oh, yes. These were quite tasty.

Fork
306 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Cured Salmon with quinoa - surprisingly disappointing. I regretted picking this one up.

paired with Victory Brewing COmpany’s Golden Monkey

richness of German malts and Belgian yeast are tempered by a sparkling approach and overall light body. Considerable depth of character with abundant herbal, fruity notes
Malts: 2 row German malt
Hops: European whole flowers
Yeast: imported, of Belgian origin
Alcohol by volume: 9.5%

ended up being surprisingly good.

DiBruno Brother’s cheese selection was surprisingly disappointing.

And then Marnie Old had a huge table where she had beers and various flavor types to talk about the science of beer and food pairings. It was fairly similar to the excellent class on wine I took from her through the Walnut Hill Restaurant School. She was also pushing her book, “http://www.marnieold.com/shop/marnie_books_plus.html”>He Said Beer; She Said Wine, which is probably good… but I won’t buy it because it pushes my sexism buttons. That said, she was taking on the beer event regardless of the book title.

And then there was a bag of swag - a copy of Imbibe magazine, a sample of Sapphire gin, and a pint glass from Victory.

Also, I met up with a gut with a blog called Beers of Legend, and he was all, “You should totally promote yourself more. Here, have a business card. I get a press pass that let’s me go to all of these events for free.” Hmmm… maybe I’ll run it up the flagpole next year, but I suspect it won’t go particularly high because a) this is not a beer-centric blog and b) by then there will be more food bloggers than real press asking for those passes. But, hey, he gave me a card and made, “We should make an arrangement,” gestures, so I have linked to him dutifully.

…so I hear next week is Foie Gras Week.

Dishes completed so far:
Chipotle Butter
Honey Butter
Tomatillo Salsa
Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce
added 2 more habanero peppers to the pineapple salsa

I think everything else needs to be fresher or needs produce I’m buying on Friday.

Om nom nom