Philly Weekly put out a Must Eats issue at the end of the summer profiling 50 of Philly's finest edible things. I gave it a read and was checking off the tasty things I had already tried and mentally oogling all the things listed I had yet to feast on. The masterminds behind the list: food reviewer (now boutique East Passyunk Ave grocery store owner) Adam Erace, Tim McGinnis and Brian McManus decided to put together a menu recreating some of those dishes and Must Eats: The McEvent was born. Tim invited me to come along and I graciously accepted and brought my friend Landon along for the ride as the menu was quite meat-heavy and non-Messy friendly (her loss!)
I hailed a cab from work at RTM in the pouring rain in late October to head to Bluecoat gin (by Philadelphia Distilling) sling: lemon, thyme infused simple syrup, sparkling mineral water and a big lemon slice; their take on a gin fizz. These were good. It had a nice tang to it with sugary sweetness. Landon and I had 3 or so of these by the end of the [long] night – they were so easy to drink.
But the gin fizzes weren't the only alcohol on tap for the night. We had a keg of Yards Brawler on tap with Yards brewer Tim Roberts pouring away. Tim was seated to my left with his lovely wife across from him. Every time our Bell Mason pint jars were about half empty, Tim would top them off and refill the pitcher. Our other tablemates Drew Lazor from City Paper and Foobooz himself, Art Etchells, were putting away pints as quickly as Tim could refill them. I think I had about 6 pints to go with my 3 gin fizzes. I was tanked when I got home even with all the food we downed.
There were some pickled cucumbers (full sours, bread & butter) tomatoes and beets on the tables for everyone to nosh on before the courses started pouring out. Landon previously did not like pickled beets or bread and butter pickles. After trying these he changed his mind about the beets but not the bread and butters. I'm picky about my pickles (duh) and the full sours were good and pickled tomatoes are something I've recently been introduced to and definitely like. Above, the chefs for the evening. From left to right: Chef Tim McGinnis, Chef Brian McManus and Chef Brad Jennings aka, the Baldy Fella (Tim told me to call you that!).
The first course was Suzuki Peruvian ceviche (black sea bass, citrus, tamari romesco sauce, rice cracker) served in one of those pho spoons. I took mine down in eager 2 bites, first with the cracker and then without. Ceviche is one of those things I'm now branching out into eating; I've recently vowed to eat more adventurously. Landon was a fan of the rich and oily spoonful.
Next up were Tempura green beans (blackening spice, cajun remoulade). Our table of 8 got 2 baskets and we ripped through them like drunks at a bar. They were good, but they had us wanting the versions at Grace Tavern or Prohibition Taproom. Landon suggested that if the spices were incorporated into the batter and not added afterwards, it might have changed his opinion. It should be noted that Landon is a frying maestro. He and his housemates hold an annual Fry Fest – I went this year, it was awesome.
The shrimp pho cocktail (Vietnamese court bouillon, tiger shrimp, Asian slaw, Thai basil, hoisin, peanut) was something I was really looking forward to as I had never had pho outside of a hole in the wall Vietnamese spot. I had my spot in NYC I used to go to and now I have my spot here in Philly. But a fancified version?! Landon thought the shrimp had a really wonderful flavor from the fennel rich broth that it was cooked in, but the peanut sauce was a little too much overwhelming the shrimp. I thought the sauce was a bit thick especially considering the portion. The noodles had a great heat to them.
Chefs Jennings and McGinnis slaving over a super hot grill top preparing the next course.
The next few dishes were a trio of sliders. The reuben (house-brined brisket, Sriracha 1,000 Island dressing, Gruyere, homemade rye) had me worried as it could've been the one thing I didn't want to eat since I'm not a fan of 1,000 Island dressing. Landon took a lick of the toothpick holding it together and, before taking a bite, thought it was a winner. He assured me I'd like it and the dressing was light. Grilled hard, the strong, flavorful rye held up well. The dressing was light and was barely noticeable as Landon promised – I think everyone had at least 2 (or 3).
Fiorella's sausage being grilled.
Our next slider was a Fiorella's sausage (fennel and fig mostada, taleggio, arugula, Parc baguette). Hunks of fig/fennel mostada and bunches of rocket filled out the slider. Landon liked building these little sandwiches, they had to give us at least a little something to prepare since we were sitting in the kitchen. He wishes that the fennel and fig mostarda lived in my fridge his home. I gotta agree, the fig and fennel mostada was great. I might not dislike fennel so much anymore.
The final slider was my favorite part of the meal lamb shoulder (lamb and veal demi-glace, Parc baguette). Afterwards, Landon said that the simple pairing of the lamb shoulder with tarrgon was unexpected and delicious and I couldn't agree more. These and the Brawlers just kept coming and they were really complimentary. Landon felt like one could perpetually eat these little guys so long as there was a fresh Brawler in hand, but alas that theory did not pan out as he passed out promptly after dinner. Messy can attest to me passing out promptly after arriving home as well – I think I had 3, maybe 4 of these? They'd come around with a little wooden cutting board full of sliders and egg us on to just have one, two, three more.
What's a polpo pizza(octopus, marinara sauce, Claudio's smoked mozzarella) I wondered when I initially read over the menu, and then there it was. I'm not a big fan of octopus but this marked the second time this year I'd had it. Landon would've opted for simply having the chunks of octopus and smoked Claudio's; I would've opted for everything but the octopus. Unless it's cooked just a certain way, I just can't get into it. I'm also not the biggest fan of pizza that's not simply by the slice, but this was good. Claudio's has Messy and Picky's favorite mozzarella in the land.
And for dessert – what? Dessert?! – was Stock's pound cake with pear and mint applesauce and Capogiro's Fior di Latte gelato [Milk gelato. Milk from an Amish family's single herd of hormone free, grass fed in Lancaster County. Crazy good.]. Stock's is a bakery in the NE and, apparently, they have the goods when it comes to pound cake. It was heavy, but not too buttery. Landon thought it was good but after a meal that inspired several references to "just one mint, it's waaaafer thin," pound cake, gelato, seriously. His taste buds and stomach were worn out – too stuffed to appreciate dessert even though he ate all of it. Growing up in a family that owned a Carvel ice cream store, I always have room for ice cream. I downed it, but was also feeling the heft of the entire meal.
We thought that was it, but there was one more treat. Apparently, Market Cafe is also a PKS user and they left a big tray of their caleles for us to enjoy with our meal. I had heard about these for some time. Some of the other diners hadn't heard of them. I've had the ones Metropolitan Bakery makes which are lovely, but these were that much better. Smaller, denser, with more of a crust to them. The creamy center makes you contemplate your life pre-canele for a bit.
I can't thank Tim, Brian and Brad and their crew of significant others and friends who rounded out the crew for having us. Tim mentioned that they're thinking of doing more of these tasting menu events in the future – perhaps even an all veg affair!
