Food : In The News

Chef Marc Vetri is bringing his 'Eatiquette' school lunch program to the People For People Charter School.

It sounds more like a restaurant order than a school lunch menu: baked ziti with a side of roasted fennel salad and, for dessert, cinnamon apple rice pudding.

But that's one of the meals offered in the cafeteria at People For People Charter School in Philadelphia. And it's served family-style. Students pass serving dishes around circular tables, where they eat off plates, not cafeteria trays, and use silverware instead of plastic utensils.

People For People is one of four schools participating in the "Eatiquette" program, which was designed by local chef Marc Vetri to provide nutritious, low-cost lunches in a setting that reinforces social niceties and communication skills.

Original source: The Associated Press
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The New York Times' Mark Bittman wishes his city could cultivate a large indoor market modeled after Philly landmark Reading Terminal. He's eyeing the former Fulton Fish Market.

There is nothing like a grand urban food market, which can anchor a neighborhood and even a city. Think of the 120-year-old Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia; the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which 10 years ago helped revitalize the Embarcadero; and the ever-popular Pike Place Market in Seattle. Even much-maligned Los Angeles has a permanent mid-city market, in business since 1934.

New York … well, the grandest market “we” have is 80 miles away, in Philadelphia.

Original source: The New York Times
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These days, if there's a donut list, local favorite Federal Donuts will earn a spot. This Saveur run-down of the country's 50 Best Donuts is no exception.

The donuts at this ambitious newcomer include the Appollonia, served hot and rolled in cocoa and orange blossom powder. The other specialty? Fried chicken.

Original source: Saveur
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The City of Brotherly Love (and pie!) claimed the number four spot on Travel & Leisure's list of "America's Best Cities for Pizza." Personally, I think Santucci's and Gennaro's Tomato Pie also deserved a mention.

Pizza may not have been part of the founding fathers’ diet, but it is the voters’ favorite food in present-day Philly, which ranked in the top 5 for its great museumsand cultural attractions. History meets pie at Pizza Brain, the “pizza museum” in Fishtown that serves thin-crust pies and houses more than 500 pizza-related artifacts. Meanwhile, at purist favorite Nomad Pizza, they slice your pie at the table, to prevent sogginess, and show a movie every Sunday night.

Original source: Travel & Leisure
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Eater put together a list of the country's most underrated dining spots, and Passyunk Square favorite Fond (fresh of its move to a new corner location) made the cut at number 22.

You hear about Marc Vetri's places, you probably hear about Zahav and about Sbraga, but you should give what Lee Styer has been doing at Fond for the past three years a look. It's "sophisticated French-influenced seasonal cooking" and is less expensive than most places in its category. Just last year, local critic Craig LaBan upgraded the restaurant from two to three bells, ranking it among some of the city's best.

Original source: Eater
Check out the full list here.

Granola is having its moment in the sun. Local oats maven Aimee Olexy (of Talula's Garden and Talula's Table) earns special mention in this New York Times trend piece tackling the erstwhile hippy fare.

Granola has traded in the bulky sweater for a little black dress. All over the country, small-batch entrepreneurs see granola as a booming growth sector, while chefs view it as an elegant and wide-open canvas for culinary experimentation... [Aimee] Olexy runs a restaurant in Philadelphia, Talula’s Garden, and Talula’s Table, a country store in Kennett Square, Pa., that morphs into a showcase for an expertly wrought tasting menu in the evenings. At both spots you’ll find "lots of granola," she said. She might make it with coarse black pepper or chunks of bittersweet chocolate; she might marry it with goat cheese or a torchon of foie gras.

Original source: The New York Times
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A Bon Appetit interview conducted in conjunction with a collab dinner between Philly transplant Peter Serpico and Chris Painter managed to ruffle some feathers. Local blogs and Twitter hummed with complaints about Serpico's characterization of his new city -- he is preparing to open a restaurant on South Street with Stephen Starr. Zagat tackled the controversy, which involved comments about Philadelphians' knowledge of Asian cuisine and the city's dining landscape.

"In Philly, there are those huge, big-box restaurants," one question began. Um, what big-box restaurants? We don't even have a Cheesecake Factory yet (though one is planned). The writer later clarified on Twitter he was referring to Stephen Starr restaurants. He also noted in his article that he'd never eaten in Philadelphia - or even visited Philadelphia - until the one-night collaboration dinner Serpico put on recently at Il Pittore (which happens to be a decidedly non-big-box Starr restaurant, one designed around a chef with seating for just 80).

Original source: Zagat.com
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The national food blog Eater -- which also has a local chapter, Eater Philly -- recently released a list of the "25 Hottest Burgers in America Right Now." Hickory Lane and Spot Gourmet (a food truck!) made the cut. This description of Hickory Lane's entry has us drooling.

Former Rouge chef Matt Zagorski is cooking really nice food at this Fairmount Avenue restaurant. But the burger, as critic Craig Laban will tell you, is the way to go: "10 ounces of custom-ground brisket, filet, and deckle, seared to a cast-iron crisp and then snugged in the embrace of a brioche bun between delicate folds of bibb lettuce and a molten lid of tangy Cabot cheddar. It’s hard to imagine a burger this tasty as a burden. Then again, it’s so good that it’s also become clear: No change of scenery or molecular tricks will ever let Zagorski truly escape. The power of his patty is simply the best reason to visit Hickory Lane."

Original source: Eater
Read the full list here.

The Washington Post profiles a wave of transplant chefs invigorating Philadelphia's excellent dining scene.

Wooed by affordable real estate, the city’s neighborhoody vibe and strong ties among fellow chefs, these new boldface names include Josh Lawler, formerly of New York’s acclaimed Blue Hill at Stone Barns, who has gone the BYO route at the Farm and Fisherman in Washington Square West. Greg Vernick, an alumnus of the Jean-Georges Vongerichten empire, has opened the splashier Vernick Food & Drink in Rittenhouse Square.

The New York Times tackles the eternal rivalry between Sheetz and Wawa convenience store partisans. Sheetz might have a stronger state-wide prescence in Pennsylvania, by Philly folks know the real deal. Wawa 4 life!

"I think that Sheetz people are probably a little perkier than the Wawa people," said a regular named Doug, who was making his second visit of the day to the Sheetz in Selinsgrove. "It might have to do with we’re up here where people are just a lot friendlier than they are down there."

"Down there" is Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, where Wawa fans can exude a whiff of cosmopolitan disdain. The crowd-sourced Urban Dictionary includes unflattering definitions for "Sheetz," like "a convenience store/gas station where hicks from Lititz, Pa., like to hang out all night, every night."

Original source: The New York Times
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Grub Street's comprehensive list of the best American pizza pies includes a bunch of Philly favorites, including Osteria, Stella and Garces Trading Company. What, no Tacconelli's?!

Why hasn't anyone in Chicago reinvented deep dish the way Jose Garces has? Admittedly, Garces is a Chicago native and this dish is billed as a tribute to his hometown, but maybe it took the distance to Philadelphia to allow him to rethink deep dish from the outside (a thin, delicate crust made with duck fat) to inside (oven-roasted San Marzano tomato confit, a mix of fresh mozzarella and Gruyère, and toppings ranging from boquerones to chorizo).

Original source: Grub Street New York
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A writer from the New York Times spends "36 Hours" in Philadelphia, hitting up the Philadelphia History Museum, Johnny Brenda's, 13th Street and one particularly spicy spot: 

Across the Schuylkill in University City, the newest location of the locally beloved Han Dynasty (3711 Market Street; 215-222-3711; handynasty.net) has a wide-open dining room with modern lines, rough-hewn wood and a kitschy cocktail list. Bucket-size drinks like the Scorpion Bowl and Singapore Sling are $5 during happy hour. But the food is the real attraction. Plates come one after the other in family-style portions — dan dan noodles ($7.95), double-cooked fish ($17.95) and spicy, crispy cucumbers ($6.95), each rated 1 to 10 on Han’s hot-or-not index.

Original source: The New York Times
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The New York Times takes note of urban success stories in the war against childhood obesity. Philadelphia is among the most promising cases, mostly thanks to school-based initiatives. 

Philadelphia has undertaken a broad assault on childhood obesity for years. Sugary drinks like sweetened iced tea, fruit punch and sports drinks started to disappear from school vending machines in 2004. A year later, new snack guidelines set calorie and fat limits, which reduced the size of snack foods like potato chips to single servings. By 2009, deep fryers were gone from cafeterias and whole milk had been replaced by one percent and skim.

Original source: The New York Times
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Local food-centric blog Foobooz releases its annual list of the city's best bars. It's no surpise that the top ten are dominated by spots with serious beer programs—top-shelf suds have become Philly's calling card. Pub & Kitchen takes top honors, up from no. 10 last year.

If you want to be number one on the Foobooz Top 50 Bars list you had better bring it every day. And Pub & Kitchen does just that, with excellent food, a well curated beverage program plus excellent and dare we say, attractive service.

Source: Foobooz
Check out the full list here.