Revisiting Miran Korean Restaurant

March 10th, 2010 by Messy and Picky

miran korean restaurant
We first tried Miran Korean Restaurant back in 2005 and enjoyed our meal there. But for some reason, Picky convinced himself that his review was incorrect and he didn't actually like his meal, causing him to avoid it ever since. Messy corrected him a couple weeks ago while we were jonesing for some Korean food and he happily obliged a trip back. He was happily reminded of the deliciousness that is Miran. After sitting down in a mostly empty space (we got there for a late lunch), we were greeted by a bevvy of traditional Korean panchan, complimentary appetizers. Front and center are merruchi, dried anchovies in a sweet and spicy sauce. Oh how Picky loves him some merruchi and it was all for him!

miran korean restaurant
For his entree, Picky opted for his standby at Korean restaurants: dol sot bibimbap, the hot stone bowl of mixed rice topped with a fried egg. The bowl is crazy hot and you mix in the hot pepper paste – he asked for a second plate of it – and the rice gets nice and crispy and the veggies cook down a bit while in contact with the scalding hot stone bowl. This is a shot of the dish before the paste is added.

miran korean restaurant
Messy really wanted the jajang myung, buckwheat noodles in brown sauce with freshly chopped veggies, but they were all out, so she opted for the tofu chige, soft tofu soup in spicy broth. It ended up being a little too spicy for Messy's still-adapting-to-Picky's-heat-tolerance-after-seven-years palate. She added in the bowl of rice to bring down the heat to a more approachable level. Although she found it a little too tofu-heavy, the dish did well to warm her up for the rest of the afternoon of errands about Center City.

miran korean restaurant
Here's a shot of Picky's halfway mixed bibimbap after adding in the hot pepper paste. He gobbled this up quickly and had plenty of room to have about a quarter of Messy's soup.

miran korean restaurant
A shot of the empty restaurant as we were about to leave. By that time, it was when they were getting ready to change over to the early dinner crowd. Usually, there are much more people in there.

Messy ***1/2
Picky ***1/2

The final, final word: Authentic, spicy Korean food at a nice price.

2034 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 569-1200
Mon – Sun 11am – 9pm

Posted in BYOB, Center City West, Korean | 3 Comments »

Philly Mag's Philly Cooks 2010

March 8th, 2010 by Messy and Picky

philly cooks 2010
The good people at Chase Sapphire were kind enough to extend us two VIP passes to this event. We, of course, said yes, got out of our requisite blogger PJs and headed off to the Loews Hotel for the big bash. Above is a shot of the new Italian restaurant up in Northern Liberties, Apollinare [1001 N. 2nd St]. Chef Andrea Scatacci won for Best Dessert that night and we can verify that they were delicious and fun to watch being prepared. He's mixing up fresh ice cream with liquid Nitrogen for a quick freeze sans ice cream maker.

philly cooks 2010
We made it over to the Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse table (where we're getting married!) for another dessert. The event had 40 restaurants and a ton of them had desserts, making it especially friendly for vegetarian Messy — there weren't any meat pie desserts that we saw.

philly cooks 2010
Eventually, we stopped by the Chase Sapphire Lounge where we walked by the velvet rope with our badges. No, we didn't do the Wayne's World bit of flashing it all over the place (but maybe we should have?). We checked in at the table to pick up an awesome schwag bag. A signed copy of Susanna Foo's Susanna Foo Fresh Inspiration: New Approaches to Chinese Cuisine, Max Brenner's Chocolate: A Love Story: 65 Chocolate Dessert Recipes from Max Brenner's Private Collection (Brenner was there, but we didn't catch him in time to sign), a mini bottle of Cîroc vodka, a Chase labeled Built wine tote, a coupon book to all 40 participating restaurants, a bag of Melitta Blanc et Noir coffee and a copy of the latest Philly Mag all in a nondescript black tote bag. Yes, we got two bags. Commence hating.

philly cooks 2010
And here's Chef Foo signing books in the lounge. We got one signed to Messy's dad who loves to cook Asian food. While in the lounge, Picky helped himself to a Cîroc cocktail. It was a Cîroc Cobbler. He can't remember exactly what was in it, but Messy noted that it reminded her of the sweet, strong drinks she had in college. Picky can't argue with that assessment.

philly cooks 2010
There was so much to eat and see and we could barely make it to every table just to see what was being offered. In addition to the main room, there was a hallway full of tables and an additional room with more delicious offerings. We had a delicious tiramisu from what we think might have been The Dining Car.

philly cooks 2010
And while we didn't get our picture taken in front of the Philly Mag backdrop to be all up in the society pages, Picky did get Messy to (grudgingly) pose for a frame. Check her out with her exclusive access badge and fan-cay bottle of Perrier!

Thank you again, good people at Chase Sapphire! And now, how about hooking us up with one of those big willie status credit cards?! Kidding, kidding. We're having a grand old time paying off our debt as it is!

Posted in Events | No Comments »

Quince Fine Foods

February 22nd, 2010 by Picky

quince fine foods
My friend Tenaya over at Madame Fromage, your one stop shop for all delicious things cheesy, has been doing these cheese tastings over at Quince Fine Foods that got me curious about the shop itself. I had passed by the shop several times, but it was usually closed as I was around there at odd hours. But I finally got a chance to stop in while running errands one Saturday afternoon last month.

quince fine foods
It's a cozy spot on Girard where you can warm up and grab a bite to eat or a treat to take home.

quince fine foods
They have hot and cold drinks and small batch items ranging from cured meats to baked goods and cheese. Stop in for lunch to try out one of their sandwiches on whole wheat or baguettes or a salad.

quince fine foods
This classy joint even has cubed sugar for your hot beverage of choice.

quince fine foods
Everything about this spot screams cute. They have lots of local fare too. Goods from my favorite blogger and baker Foodaphilia and treats from Metropolitan Bakery are what I can remember from my quick stop into Quince.

I left the store with a little bag of dark chocolate covered cherries which I happily munched on while riding the El back to Center City. Quince is definitely worth a browse when you're up in Northern Liberties and one day, I'm gonna make it out for a cheese tasting with Mme Fromage herself as my cheesy guide!


set on flickr

Quince Fine Foods
209 W. Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123
215.232.3425
M – Fr: 8.30am – 6.30pm, Sa: 10am – 6pm, Su: 12pm – 4pm

Posted in Fishtown/N. Liberties, Specialty Foods | 1 Comment »

EMU EGG

February 16th, 2010 by Picky

emu egg
Above is a photo of real, unfossilized, non-dinosaur eggs in 2009 (yeah, I didn't get around to posting until the next round of eggs came in this year). They come from the emu, a huge, flightless bird native to Australia. But these eggs came from a Boody Emu Ranch in Sewell, NJ – about 30 minutes south of Philly. The eggs can be found at Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. Now, in that photo, there's no true sense of scale to the photo. Sure there's the words 'eat me' inscribed on the shell of the particularly chalkboard-green one like it's some kind of Easter time Valentine heart or something, but there's no 3" piece of yellow chalk next to it. Well, they're about 9" from tip to tip, a foot in circumference and they're heavier than they look roughly 1lbs – 1.6lbs apiece.

emu egg
Here's a shot of me from last year taken by my friend Thad. You can get a sense of scale from this shot. From a distance, and close up, they look like giant avocados. The color will range from a lighter chalkboard-green to an almost black green. The texture will vary from smooth to deeply pebbled. Apparently, each emu lays a particular looking egg so the farmers can identify which eggs were laid by which bird, pretty cool! These emu eggs are roughly equivalent to 8 – 10 regular chicken eggs, so, you're looking at brunch for 4 with one egg.

But this egg will taste a little different than your average farm fresh egg with their bright orange yolks. Emus have a different diet so they're going to have a different taste and look. The emu egg isn't as rich as the other eggs at the Farmstand from Meadow Run, Natural Meadows (my favorite are the rainbow dozens), Lancaster Farm Fresh… The yolk to white ratio is crazy – the yolks are HUGE! The ratio is closer to 50-50 instead of roughly 1/4 – 1/3 yolk to 3/4 – 2/3 white. The whites of the emu eggs are thicker as they have less water content – this will make for fluffier eggs.

emu egg yolk
And there you go, an emu egg cracked into one of those large soup mugs with my hand and a quarter for scale. That sucker is GIGANTIC. The yolk is roughly the size of a donut. What in the world does one do with such a large egg? You can make a serious frittata or omelets. Make a custard or some quiche. Bake a cake. Messy is terrified of the gigantic eggs and refuses to go near them.

emu egg
A closeup shot so you can see the texture of the eggs.

A gigantic emu egg can be yours for $10 at Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. They're going for $30 at Whole Foods in NYC according to Serious Eats NY. Get them before spring settles in (can you remember ground without snow on it?!) as they'll stop laying and that'll be it for emu eggs until next March. If you want one for Easter, don't worry, grab one now. The shells are so thick that they'll last for months on your counter unrefrigerated and a good 6 months in your fridge. What makes eggs go rotten are actually hairline cracks in the shells. Thicker shells mean hairline cracks don't let air into the inside of the egg so no rotting! And if you're feeling especially adventurous, you can blow out the inside of the egg and save the egg for art like these people.

Posted in Fresh from the Farmstand, Reading Terminal Market, Specialty Foods | 3 Comments »

Honey's Sit 'n Eat

February 11th, 2010 by Messy and Picky

honey's sit n eat
Friends and colleagues have been telling us about this NoLibs spot forever and we finally got our Center City butts up there, thanks to a thank you gift from our dear fried Cheri of Not My Mother's Kitchen. We trekked through a heavy December snowfall to make it up there (and we have some serious snow on the ground now too so it's like this review was written in a timely manner!) and entered what seemed like an oasis in the desert of white fluffy snow. The immediate vibe we got was awesome. Our eyes lit up as he saw the cozy interior — it just felt so homey. Their two-sided menu [.pdf] boasts tons of choices, but we were just there for lunch.

honey's sit n eat
Messy started off with a big mug of delicious hot chocolate which had some subtle undertones that were reminiscent of pumpkin pie spices. It came out with some freshly whipped cream (a real hearty plop, not that watery stuff that dissolves right away!) and a slice of strawberry. Honey's touts itself as a big supporter of the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign and we found it odd that they had these superfluous slices of out-of-season strawberry (there were more later).

honey's sit n eat
Everything in the place looked cozy and fun. Here, a table to our left which had yet to be cleared.

honey's sit n eat
Picky especially liked the little condiment caddy. Cream, ketchup, salt and pepper, hot sauces including a big bottle of Siracha. Dovetailed ends and several compartments so things didn't slide around too much. Everything fit perfectly.

honey's sit n eat
Messy had a vegetarian chicken fried steak (Honey's has lots and lots of vegetarian choices) which came with a buttermilk biscuit and two sides of Messy's choice. She went with mac n cheese and slaw [$8]. It was all quite tasty and the portion was huge. The chicken fried steak tasted wasn't what Messy was expecting — the best way to describe it is to say it tasted like the insides of a samosa heavily fried in a pancake — but it was good. The only off note was the sauce, which tasted like a bland nutritional yeast concoction. In addition to all of this delicious carbs and cheese, Messy ordered a broccoli casserole appetizer which was fabulous — is there a better way to eat broccoli than smothered in delicious, gooey cheese and topped with French fried onions?

honey's sit n eat
Picky had Bubby's Brisket Sandwich on brioche with Swiss, sauteed spinach, mushroom gravy and a side of horsey mayo [$10]. He had heard good things about it and it's supposed to be one of their stellar dishes. The brioche was thick, toasted and sesame seeded. It seemed like too much thick, dry bread for such dry brisket. Sadly, the brisket was dry. Why is meat ever dry? The horsey mayo didn't make up for the dry brisket, it was also pretty dry, not creamy at all. (The consistency was somewhere around very cold, hard cream cheese.) Picky tried a hunk of brisket by itself — it was under salted, too. Enough to make all of the Jewish mothers and grandmothers in Picky's hometown back in NY would cry. A stronger cheese would probably have helped. The side of hand cut fries [$2] were tasty – on the undercooked side, but nice and salty. If you need more salt, they have nice mini Ball mason jars of salt and pepper at the ready in those lovely dovetailed condiment trays at each table.

honey's sit n eat
For desert, Picky was able to scarf down a blueberry cobbler [$5] a la mode [$2.50] with Bassett's vanilla ice cream. Messy helped, but she was really too full to make a solid dent. Spoonfuls of custard and pear dipping sauces circled the ramekin of cobbler along with more slices of strawberries and a big spearmint garnish. White-centered strawberries in December? We like to wait until the summer for deep red hearted local berries. The cobbler top wasn't rich enough for Picky's tastes, but it was pretty. Given the cakey cobbler top, you definitely want to go for the ice cream on this one.

After all the complaining from Picky — Messy enjoyed every part of her meal — he'd go back. He doesn't say this often, as there are just too many great spots in town to go back to a place that didn't sing the first time, but what can we say? Something about Honey's just felt so right.

Messy ****
Picky **

The final word: The food was a mixed bag, but the cozy, cool vibe invites us back for more.

Honey's Sit-N-Eat
800 North Fourth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
215.925.1150
M – Sa: 8am – 10pm
Su: 8am – 4.30pm

Posted in American, Northern Liberties | 5 Comments »

Recreating a Southwark Entree

December 3rd, 2009 by Messy and Picky

recreating southwark's Barbequed smoked pork belly, baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce
Above is an in-house recreation of what was Picky's favorite entree he has eaten all year: Southwark's Barbequed smoked pork belly, baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce. But we made the pork part vegan and kept the blue cheese sauce.

southwark entree
Above is a shot from our dinner a few months ago which we recapped here. It was some seriously good eats. It was so good, we kept the thought of Picky's entree rattling in our heads to recreate, but so that Messy could enjoy as well. We've become seitan fiends over the last few years and we've settled on Ray's Seitan as the real deal, hands down, best we've had. One day, we'll get around to making our own wheat meat, but that's another story. Ray's is available all around town in places like Fair Food in RTM, Whole Foods, Essene, among others. It's an incredibly flexible meat alternative which can take on flavors, but it's got tons of flavor and not much like tofu which relies more on soaking up flavors. The texture is close to shredded pork.

We use a shake and bake (actually, fry) recipe from our friend Liz comprised of nutritional yeast, flour, garlic salt, salt and a liberal grind of pepper. Dredge the seitan after squeezing out some water and toss in a container. Fry up in some oil – we prefer it in a cast iron skillet. Add in a pour of your favorite BBQ sauce and let the sauce carmelize. For the rest of the dish we used sauteed savoy spinach (with salt and pepper and garlic in oil, from FFF), a can of beans from TJs (yeah, yeah), and 1/4lbs. of bleu d'auvergne (from Salumeria in RTM) reduced over low heat.

Plated, it looks pretty similar. As similar as you're gonna get without the piece of "meat" being a single, huge, 9" slab of delicious belly fat. The taste was, as you guessed it, not the same. But – it was fantastic. We can't think of a way to vegan up a blue cheese sauce, but if you've got a recipe, let us know.

Posted in American, Recipes | 5 Comments »

City Paper's David Snyder

November 24th, 2009 by Picky

city paper food reviewer david snyder
I'm proud to call the City Paper's food reviewer David Snyder a friend of ours. We met through food blogging, he escalated the ranks via PhilaFoodie where he demonstrated his passion for food and drink while paying excellent attention to detail in his prose.

I can't stand wine snobs and while Dave loves his wine, he's no snob. He's the first guy I can actually listen to talk about wine. He's excited about it, generally enthusiastic. I still vividly remember meeting him for the first time at a food blogger potluck when he brought a few bottles of vino for the gang to taste test. He didn't tell us how much each bottle cost or it's Wine Spectator ratings. He simply poured glasses, asked us what we tasted and refined our words with hints of this and notes of that inviting us into the conversation through each wine's bouquet and terroir.

We love telling friends about David's enthusiasm for wine and direct them to his reviews which almost always include PLCB numbers for easy access to what he's describing. Dave knows the limitations of PA's arcane liquor laws, but he makes the best of it.

He's busy with some stuff concerning his day job right now, but be on the lookout for a Snyder review. And if you're seeing this post form somewhere out in Yinzerville, Dave's hometown magazine is running a story with the same photo as above. Dave came over to our place, bottle of deliciously mushroomy vino in tote, for a photoshoot. We had a good time setting up shots shielding his mug with a CP. I thought it would be funny to stick a big old honeycrisp apple in the middle of a table setting, complete with bottle, in the shot.

Posted in Announcements | No Comments »

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