Fasnacht-a-palooza

The past week marked Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and the start of Lent, neither of which we really acknowledge. However, there is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that involves cleaning out the pantry of anything indulgent- lard, butter, sugar, etc. Throw these ingredients together and what do you get? Donuts.A & I were invited to a "Fasnacht" party this past weekend, hosted by two PA natives who have several years of experience in the art of making...

Read More

Cooper's Brick Oven Wine Bar

In the outskirts of Philly lies the "suburb" of Manayunk, known for its Main Street and ubiquitous twenty-somethings. I have completely recovered from my original surprise at its name- now it blends in with all of the other Native American monikers in the area. It is actually considered a Philadelphia neighborhood (with a Philadelphia address), but visiting requires a twenty minute train ride from Center City. As you may know, we aren't particularly...

Read More

Garces Trading Co.

A & I, as Philadelphia citizens (well, not legally- we still have Florida drivers license's...) have been very exposed to the Philly Food God that is Jose Garces. Even though he's become a little bit "overdone" (a little too commercialized, ie Stephen Starr), we still are fully aware of his amazing capability to put together restaurants with great atmostpheres, great food, great service- overall terrific eating experiences. We've eaten at Amada,...

Read More

Snow Baking Part Two

J and I did a little birthday shopping for ourselves, and came across a set of quiche pans (like these tartlet pans, but slightly larger) at Williams-Sonoma. We figured we could not only use them for making individual serving size quiches, but also for mini tarts and pies! Yes, we were trying to justify the $26 price tag (for a set of six).Our mid-week snow day gave us a good chance to give them a test run, and quiche making commenced. We had...

Read More

Paesano's "Two"

Finally! After many months, we reunite with the deliciousness that is Paesano's. J and I have been to the original Paesano's on Girard Avenue only once, but I literally dream about the experience... if I was to be featured on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," the only problem I would have would be deciding WHICH sandwich from Paesano's I liked better. This tiny sandwich shop (counter seating for 6-8, although most of the business is...

Read More

Snow Baking

A & I had a few plans for this weekend- checking out the new Paesano's, doing a little shopping for new kitchen implements, and a few other errands- but Mother Nature had other plans. With the accumulation of a foot and a half of snow, much of the city has closed down, and the trek to the Italian Market seemed fairly formidable. Stuck inside (sort of..), our alternative plan was to bake! I've been on a recent lemon kick (LemonZest Luna bars...

Read More

Zavino

I had the tough job of picking a restaurant for my birthday dinner date with the boyfriend. I started with some criteria: I wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been before that was fairly inexpensive and somewhat romantic. Running through recently opened restaurants, I came upon Zavino- a new pizza and wine bar on one of Philly's up-and-coming "restaurant rows"- S. 13th Street. The area surrounding Zavino is chock full of awesome little places- Lolita,...

Read More