Beets, Burger and Booze c/o Village Whiskey

In bygone months, A.S. and I spoke at length about the necessity that was her getting to try a Village Whiskey burger. But, as things often do, the reality of this necessity remained unmet. What? We did, however, rekindle the idea when I saw her at her b-day celebration. And, not losing that momentum, we planned for a date soon thereafter. I left work a little early and began my walk, picking A.S. up at the end of her work day. After that we walked to Village Whiskey, where there were still plenty of places to sit since it was so soon after 5. So that, my friends, is the trick to Village Whiskey. I don't know, nor care, about any 'hipper scene' (or is it a tourist scene? I really can't tell) that may or may not go on in the place at trendier hours of the day. I know that I don't like waiting for longer than half an hour if I absolutely must wait for anything, so, you know, my point is to just go early on a weekday. Ha. Or 3 on a Sunday would work too. Anyways I recently got my tax refund and you'll be noting I've gone a little super crazy with my not-at-home food intake. Soon enough you'll see that I am capable of making food for myself. For instance, the amazing salad I made myself, and never to be documented (except actually tasty) red pepper and cheddar mini quesadilla, and smoked salmon and delice bourgonne too ... with capers as well, and a spritz of lime. But, right now, it's all-out not-in food. The point is I decided to switch things up and order the pickled beets instead of the tomatoes. A.S. went with the pickled green beans and shallots. She also ordered the deviled eggs and was kind enough to let me try one. I really couldn't say they wowed me with their awesomeness to the same degree that the tomatoes or their burger have managed. But they were good, and the light through the blinds really made me happy.
I began my meal with a 'De Rigeur,' which, funnily enough, has been my 'de rigeur' drink when dining at the establishment. It's a good drink.
I ordered the standard burger with cheddar cheese and fried long hots; medium rare.
Midway through my burger I ordered the Ginger Rogers. It was really a nice thing, this drink. Fizzy. Sweet. Tart. I liked it very much and tried to savor every sip.
I was just reading Oyster Evangelist's thoughts on Village Whiskey and I so felt like she and I - and so many others - had shared the same experience and felt similarly in wonderment of the burger. Or I was projecting. Anyways, the point is this was a burger of excellent caliber and only reconfirmed - with its pink but still warm center, oozy cheese and (perhaps slightly too enthusiastic) pile of long hots - my assertion that this is the best burger I've ever had. I took some of the peppers off, but the remaining combination was just - ugh. It's hard to explain how the Village Whiskey burger can make you feel, though for some it might just make you feel unimpressed (or sick for those vegetarians out there) ... if you're some kind of wack burger hater. I mean, I can't imagine someone could be unmoved by the excellence of this burger on a completely right day with the best expectation and realization of a taste combination. That really didn't make a lot of sense. I'm just saying that if you know your tastes and choose wisely, and that the guy making your burger isn't sleepy or mad at anybody, this thing is going to blow your mind.

Burger c/o Village Whiskey

While I was in Maryland, A.S. texted me and wished me a happy birthday. She suggested, also, that we get together upon my return for celebratory burgers at Village Whiskey. That's the kind of plan you agree to with absolutely no reservations; which is fitting since Village Whiskey doesn't take reservations. We both started with our preferred jar of pickled wonder. For me, that is their pickled cherry tomatoes, which are still so sweet but with a little kick of vinegar and spices they become something entirely new. And they go great with the toasted slices of crusty bread, olive tapenade and whipped ricotta (?) that accompany them. A.S. went with the pickled green beans and shallots, which were also so totally a cut above. I had a very long internal debate about what to eat for my main meal. Part of me was tempted to branch out, to try the chicken sandwich or pulled pork. Perhaps order the fries with cheese and a salad. But eventually I came to terms with the fact that I wanted the burger and then had another round of deep introspection to determine exactly what the toppings for said burger would be. Cheddar and bacon? Caramelized onions and blue cheese? Truffled mushrooms and chevre? Oh yes, it was the mushrooms and chevre that did it.
I asked for my burger medium rare and it came out just as I liked. Oh me. Oh my. A tasty treat indeed. A.S. and I both cut our burgers in half, as they are incredibly unwieldy things. The bread generally is up to the task of soaking up the juices of the burger, the shrooms and the special sauce...but they can only do so much before everything's sliding around a little bit. This is a hands-on burger. Or, alternatively, this is a burger that could in some ways benefit from being consumed with a knife and fork. I ended up doing both - eating the first half all handsy, then being a little deconstructionist with my approach to the second half. At some point during our meal two dudes sat down at the table next to us and they seemed like they were somehow famous or something. Not famous. If they were famous I would have known who they were. Semi-famous. Philly hip hop promoters or some such thing. A.S. had the angle to really look at their faces, but she didn't recognize them. A mystery.
We each had two cocktails. My first was the Ginger Rogers (not pictured) and to round out the meal I had the Ward 8 - or I thought that was what it was - rye, orange and lemon with a touch of grenadine. I liked it very much.
It was good to catch up with A.S. and to enjoy a fine burger meal on a weekday. We went early enough that we had a good table and no wait, which really is the key to making the most of VW and is harder to do past 5:30 pretty much any day of the week. Huzzah!

Cocktails and More Cocktails c/o Tank Bar and Village Whiskey

Last Saturday was a mix of obligations (buying cat food and litter) and hedonistic tendencies (two cocktails at brunch), which only continued as evening came along...and perhaps moreso than I intended. The evening commenced with drinks at Tank Bar with MP. MP is a good friend of C&T, whom I met at C.'s bachelorette party years ago and again at C&T's wedding. A few weeks back MP got in touch with me saying she had recently moved to Philly, so we basically went on a first 'friend date.' I enjoyed gin and tonics and eventually ordered the pate plate while MP enjoyed a burger...she enjoyed it, but did point out that it wasn't cooked to her specifications. I think the meet-up went pretty well, and vowed to share the Village Whiskey burger experience with MP at some later point in time.

After we said our goodbyes I was tipsy. I got on a bus to take me back to the neighborhood and texted LW about having one last drink at McCrossen's before calling it a night. This text was met with a 'I'm already in Center City' text. LW was with her good friend K, whom I have never met...so somehow the thing to do was to hop back off the bus and join them at El Rey. Except we promptly left El Rey, tried the Ranstead Room (wait was too long) and ultimately ended up at the bar at Village Whiskey. If I had known, I would have invited MP along, though I imagine she wouldn't have wanted to try yet another burger in the same night. In any case, we sat at the bar and K and LW enjoyed the duck fat fried french fries.

I really dug the Bee Charmer:  LAVENDER/CHAMOMILE INFUSED GIN,
YELLOW CHARTREUSE, LEMON, HONEY. It was just delightful. I was very enthusiastic about it and may have had more than one. Not cheap, but mmmmmmmmm.

The night got a little away from me after that. We ended up at yet another bar with more folks that LW and K. kind of knew. I got home significantly later and drunker than I meant to, which was not exactly the way considering my need to pack for my Tennessee trip and show my apartment to a prospective roommate the next morning. Oh, yeah, if you know any non-crazy but not uptight folks looking for a place in Philly, please leave a comment because I'm still looking (the guy that day seemed like an excellent fit...but he went with another place that had laundry in the building. Womp womp.

Cocktails, Tomatoes and Burger c/o Village Whiskey

The same weekend as Bar Ferdinand found me getting a hair cut in Center City. I knew this in advance, of course, and thought it might be nice to meet up with some peeps and have a burger at Village Whiskey. BC and LW were in it to win it and so a plan was born. I had thought that around 3 would be a good time to go, and that there wouldn't be quite as much of a wait on a Sunday afternoon. This didn't turn out to be entirely true; we ended up having to wait about 45 minutes. This wasn't so terrible because the weather was amazing and the establishment is kind enough to have a bench outside for those waiting to enter their magical beef wonderland. When we were seated we first ordered drinks. The cocktail menu is different that in times past, and for a minute I was confused about how to proceed. I was not deterred for long, finally deciding on the Chinook, a cocktail consisting of rye whiskey, cynar, punt e mes, maraschino and muddled grapefruit. Delicious and oh-so-pretty. LW and I split the pickled cherry tomatoes, which remained revelatory in their simplicity.
How a skinned tomato in a light pickling concoction can be so mouthwateringly awesome is beyond me. Or perhaps not. I think this may be the summer I FINALLY get around to fiddling with pickling.
BC ordered a side of duck fat fries with beer cheese dipping sauce. I hadn't tried their fries or the sauce before, and must say that I was not surprised to find them both to my satisfaction. I love melty cheese in pretty much any form, but this was definitely a step above the wiz. LW and I both ordered burgers with medium rare while BC went with medium. BC's burger was perfectly cooked from the look of it, but LW and I were a little disappointed with our own burgers, as they didn't have that oozy pink juice center that one expects with medium rare. We quickly debated the pros and cons of sending them back. I worried that the kitchen would judge us, even though I knew that the burgers really weren't cooked to our specifications. LW pointed out the disappointment she (and I) would inevitably feel if we ate burgers that weren't exactly what we had been looking for. So we sucked it up and asked our server if we could have a re-do. She warned us that it would take extra time, and we relayed our willingness to wait. Meanwhile, BC ate her burger and the server gave us a complimentary second set of fries to tide us over. The wait, which wasn't too long, was 100% worth it. Our new burgers were nice and pink and juicy and wonderful.
A fine afternoon meal with friendly faces.

First Ever Shake Shack

I think it's been a couple of years since I first heard about Shake Shack, which I believe transpired during the days when The Girl Who Ate Everything  posted more frequently (yup, seems very likely). But on none of my NYC visits did I quite make it into Manhattan to give the burgers a try. I was curious, but I was also happy to hang out in Brooklyn and eat other things. So when Shake Shack opened a location in Philadelphia, I was happy about it and knew that I wanted to give the establishment a try. Unfortunately I've been a little strapped for cash lately. My finances and the purportedly long lines for a burger kept me away. I figured I'd let the hullabaloo die down and then try it out, which is pretty much what I did, finances be damned! So last Sunday I walked into Center City fully expecting an hour wait. Instead I had about a 5 minute wait in line and then perhaps another 10 for the food to come out. The place bustled, but it wasn't bat-shit crazy. I was even able to sit outside on quite a beautiful and sunny day in order to get my first taste of the well hyped burger. I ordered the SmokeShack, attracted especially to its chopped cherry peppers. And, hey, who doesn't love bacon? Lots of people, actually, but that's not the point I was trying to make. I also ordered a side of fries and a Arnold Palmer (which they simply referred to as a half n half).

So what did I think? Pretty good. My burger was a little sloppy in its construction, and the bun a little soggy. Now the sogginess was of a better standard than, say, McDonalds or Burger King, but I like my bun to at least have a moment or two of being relatively intact before going to the squish side. Good, but not quite the life changing experience of, say, a Village Whiskey burger. But they're not really trying to be the same thing. Shake Shack, as I understand it, is focused on being a high quality fast food burger, made with better produced ingredients than the average chain. And that they certainly have down. But as far as extra love and care? Or doing some sort of voo doo magic to the meat that makes you want to close your eyes, grab a table and just become one with the burger? Well that's still VW's territory, and it comes with a heftier price tag. It's good, too, that they serve slightly different purposes and markets, considering the fact that Shake Shack is located directly across the street from Village Whiskey. I didn't try a 'concrete' (ie: shake), but I also found it curious that they decided to open up a burger and shake joint across from the aforementioned VW and Capogiro, which specializes in gelato. It seems calculated. Like they could siphon off the people who get tired of waiting for either establishment. Makes sense, but is still a little weird.

The fries were nice and crispy with a lovely creamy center. I forgot to get ketchup, but enjoyed them regardless.

I had planned on going to Shake Shack and then meeting up with a few of my new dart team members (I am now the captain of my own team, of course I am). But due to the lack of line, I had far more time to kill than I expected, so I walked to Rittenhouse Park, sat on a bench, and read Tolstoy. Because I'm classy.

Village Whiskey Burger and Tomatoes

At some point in early January, ish, L. texted me and asked if I wanted to head into Center City and get a burger from Village Whiskey. I had only a bit more work to do, and found this the perfect incentive to get it done efficiently. We sat along the back wall area, which isn't quite as nice as a table by the window, but could be worse. I thought about branching out and trying a different pickled offering, but decided I liked the tomatoes too much to deviate. I did, however, try a new drink. It was a cold day, so I ordered a hot toddy. A much simpler version than the fun house style toddies I've turned to in recent years, but warming.
This time I went with the mushrooms and goat's cheese. Pleasurable. That's what this burger was.

Burger c/o Village Whiskey

My return to Philadelphia was short, as I headed back out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. That said, I did manage to get a dinner with L. into my abbreviated week back. We went to Village Whiskey early enough that seating wasn't too terribly hard to get. I already knew that I love their De Rigeur cocktail and didn't want to really explore, so I didn't.
I did try their pickled cherry tomatoes as an exploration and they were like magic crack in jar form. Not as vinegary as I thought they might be, they were just fresh little explosions of surprise in every bite. Now I want to go back and eat them right now, and try their other pickled options.
For my meal there was also very little to decide, as the burger was the name of my game. Though I did go in a different direction with toppings. This time I went with the fried egg and cheddar cheese. This was still a fantastic burger but I actually didn't enjoy the egg element as much as I thought I might. While often I feel disappointed when a fried egg is cooked so its yolk doesn't run at all, in this situation the opposite was true. Simply putting the top of my bun on the burger and gently pressing the meat, tomato, cheese, egg package together led to a mess, and forget about actually picking the sandwich up without getting yolk all over your fingers. This is not a complaint of any sort of epic or grumpy proportion, just that the taste of the egg and cheese with the burger wasn't worth the hassle. Next time I think I'll go back to the mushrooms but maybe add goat cheese.

This was L.'s first visit to the establishment. I worried that I had over hyped the burger and she wouldn't be all that impressed. My worries were unncessary; she was impressed. I threw back a couple of De Rigeurs while L. went with beer and we ended our dinner in good spirits and full bellies. We went on and had one more drink elsewhere but I didn't take photographs to prove it. Thanks to L. for a lovely dinner!

Cocktails and Dinner c/o Noble, Darts c/o the Bards

Two Fridays ago I found myself with a weekend in front of me. A weekend without travel or any plan, and I decided I wasn't taking it lying down. Well, maybe I wasn't that militant. I just didn't want to tool around my house wondering what could have been if I actually left a two block radius of my house while staying in Philadelphia. Does that make sense? This summer I have regularly traveled distances to be elsewhere, but when I'm actually in the city I have an impressive tendency not to go anywhere or do anything. I was over it. I wanted to go out. So I asked L. about her plans for the evening and expressed my interest in going to Village Whiskey. She was amenable to joining me, so we planned to meet up and have ourselves some fancy pickled food and bourbon drinks. Unfortunately, Village Whiskey had no room for us, so I still don't know what I think of it. Instead we went on down to Noble, another place I'd been meaning to check out. While more wholesome people can go out without the desire for cocktails, I am simply not at that point in my life. It's debatable whether I ever will be. We sat at their outdoor window area...L. faced out toward the sidewalk while I sat on the sidewalk-side looking into the restaurant. We saw Kevin Nealon walking down the street to the nearby comedy club, but didn't speak to him. I ordered a 'The Check is in the Mail,' which was a combination of vodka, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup, and house-made ginger beer. Refreshing.
For my actual meal I ordered the scallop appetizer: Barnegat Light Sea Scallops with toasted farro risotto, uni, and orange-saffron vinaigrette. They were definitely enjoyable, though they didn't look this yellow in person. They were nice and tender, though I almost wished for just a little more seared-ness on the outside. I have come to terms with the fact that I don't really appreciate the taste of straight-up uni in sushi, but the uni angle of this dish actually worked for me. L. ordered the burger and liked it, though it wasn't rare as she requested (at first she thought it was...but that was just a beet).
We both ordered second cocktails. This time I went with the The French ‘75, a combination of gin, sugar, lemon juice, sparkling wine, lemon peel. It was to my liking, I think more to my liking than the first. It was a good.
L. took this photograph and likes it because of the movement all around me. I like it because I don't look fat. Do not contradict me on this point, thanks.
After dinner we were both up to more of an evening. L. suggested we go to one of her favorite spots on earth. So we went. One of the reasons L. likes this place so much is because of the convivial atmosphere of those who come regularly to play darts. She has actually spent a fair amount of time there, getting better at the sport. I knew I would be awful at the darts, but I like playing games of all sorts and drinking while playing games. I only hope I didn't embarrass L. in my poor playing (we were, with one exception, always a team...and lost every time) nor aggravate her buddies by continuing to play even though it was clear I was no match for their almost-division-1 skills. (I think it went okay, really).
That said (that = I know I was bad) I had a few good throws. This, for instance, was my board...as much as L. wanted it to be hers when she looked at the photographs later.
See? Two bulls-eyes. I am good. I am good. I am good-ish. I am lucky. Whatever.
Then the part of the evening in which we have photographs of ourselves happened.
We put lipstick on together...well, this was actually moisturizing gloss.
L.'s dart buddy J.H. was very patient with my poor playing, and this is the photograph that does not represent that truth at all, but is a very funny photograph.
A lovely evening that completely satiated my need to get out into the world and mix things up a bit. Thanks to L. for being a willing participant and facilitator, even with an apartment move imminent.

Best of 2010, Meal Edition

This year hasn't been particularly kind to me in many respects. The loss of my mother remains a reality I must adjust to and I continue to be stymied by the rules of romance, but in spite of the terrific loss of this year and my own ineptitude, I managed to still have quite a good year when it came to good food and company. And that is not something to under appreciate. As always, I could have gone crazy and listed a lot more meals and experiences I valued over the last year, but I tried to narrow my favorites down a little. My final count is 11. And without further adieu, here they are, in rough chronological order.

My second visit to Modo Mio with L. was even better than the first in terms of food, service and company, and these scallops were particularly pleasing.
L.'s spring visit to Philly was a delight in and of itself, but our meal at Tinto and the wondrous properties of their chicken skewers definitely made a lasting impression.
There were many contenders for good times and great food from my many visits to J. and J.'s house over the year, but he-J.'s seafood paella and the spirits we were all in on that night made it to the list...though the gnocchi and sauce almost took over.
My spring visit to Seattle to see M. and A. and C. and T. was chock full of great times and delectable food, but the evening featuring fancy champagne, truffle cheese and coq au vin was one of my absolute favorites.
Most years dim sum gets a general nod in my round up, but this year it was the specific dim sum experience I had with T. and C. to which it is worth raising a ceramic cup of jasmine tea. The dumplings were larger, fresher and just altogether fantastic (I really only have three adjectives that I can use).
While my extended stay in Nashville in the spring wasn't under the best of circumstances, to say I didn't have any good meals during that time wouldn't be true. For example, eating rotisserie chicken from Calypso Cafe by the parthenon makes the cut. That chicken was delicious.
The soup and osso bucco I enjoyed at Miel with my father was another positive eating experience that took place in Nashville.
The surprising complementary properties of pairing strawberries with radishes became my go-to treat in the early days of summer.
Driving out of my way and searching for Bubby's Burrito's new location was absolutely worth the delay and effort. Bubby's burrito, I heart you.
While Supper didn't live up to my or Mr. Ass's expectations, the charcuterie plate at James easily exceeded my already rather high bar of what a charcuterie plate should be. Their selection of pickled veggies was a great touch.
My impromptu meet up with L. after a hair cut led to my introduction to a whole new level of burger , and a drink that I could happily sip upon for hours. Thank you Village Whiskey, for giving me the best burger of my life.
And that's a wrap. It has been eventful, this year of food. I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring! Feel free to look back at past years' 'best of' experiences: 2009, 2008.

Cocktails c/o Franklin Mortgage and Trust

I hadn't seen A.S. in a bit, so we made plans last week to meet up for cocktails at Franklin Mortgage and Trust. I'd heard about this place from time to time over the last couple of years, but never quite got myself down to the establishment. Down literally because it's in a lower level space, basically unmarked unless you know what you're looking for. Trying to put a slightly speakeasy feel on the whole place, I believe is the point. I met up with A.S. by her work place and we got to the bar by 6, which meant that the process of being 'bounced' was not an issue because it was too early for there to be any critical mass of folks waiting to be let in. There was a special set of happy hour drinks featuring a certain bourbon I cannot remember and a bartender from Chicago whom I similarly can not tell you much about. But this cocktail, whatever it was, was a potent tasty thing.
We stayed for two drinks. My second was the Coal Cracker Cocktail, which consisted of Wild Turkey rye, Galliano, house blackberry syrup, angostura bitters, and sarsparilla tincture "served on a rock." Of the two, this was my favorite. I had expected it to be sweet due to the blackberry/sarsparilla aspects, but it wasn't really. But it wasn't really sweet in a good way. An interesting way. A pleasing way. And the zest of lemon did something magic with my olfactory to tongue connections.

We noticed that others were getting small plates brought out to their tables, so we investigated. Turns out they have a small number of cold food items supplied by Supper. I decided to try their pickled vegetables thinking that it would be similar in tastiness to Village Whiskey's offerings. But, like my long ago snack meal with Mr. Ass at Supper, while it sounded really, really good, I found the actual product only ok.
It was lovely to catch up with A.S. while trying a new place and cocktails of a slightly higher standard (and the price tags to match) level of quality than I typically sip. By the time we left the place was a bit more busy. I'm not sure I'd wait around for seats if none were to be had when I arrived, but on off-peak times, definitely a spot to check out.