The Philly They Don’t Know
No one is happier than me when the national media spotlight falls on the Philadelphia food scene. I was ecstatic last year when food editor April White lured Dana Cowin of Food & Wine magazine to town, resulting in a multi-page editorial about the pros and cons of dining out in our city.
But Ms. Cowin and company had local insiders leading the way. So often it seems out-of-towners make some commentary about the Philadelphia food scene that’s wildly off the mark. Just last week, The Washington Post announced to the world that Philadelphia has “subs” other than the cheesesteak. The Post writer dissed John’s Roast Pork, the holy grail of Philly street food. Maybe his dissatisfaction stemmed from choosing the wrong size, small, which comes on a lackluster round roll.
Last year, Esquire magazine chose the Friendly Lounge as one of America’s best bars. Are they kidding? The Friendly Lounge isn’t even the best bar off the Italian Market. Who doesn’t prefer 12 Steps Down, which is similarly dive-y, but with respectable beers on draft and decent bar grub? But the most clueless of all clueless picks had to be when Today crowned Vesuvio’s cheesesteak best sandwich in America. The sliced filet on that sandwich is more like the tragic mistranslations of the cheesesteak you see elsewhere around the country than the genuine article found on every other corner in the area. And while these strange claims to fame do get under my skin, it is nice to think that our best bars and sandwich shops might remain hideaways just for us. The New Yorkers are invading fast enough as it is.
Image, Gee Whiz, Cheesesteak Isn’t Philly’s Best Sub [Washington Post]
No one is happier than me when the national media spotlight falls on the Philadelphia food scene. I was ecstatic last year when food editor April White lured Dana Cowin of Food & Wine magazine to town, resulting in a multi-page editorial about the pros and cons of dining out in our city.
But Ms. Cowin and company had local insiders leading the way. So often it seems out-of-towners make some commentary about the Philadelphia food scene that’s wildly off the mark. Just last week, The Washington Post announced to the world that Philadelphia has “subs” other than the cheesesteak. The Post writer dissed John’s Roast Pork, the holy grail of Philly street food. Maybe his dissatisfaction stemmed from choosing the wrong size, small, which comes on a lackluster round roll.
Last year, Esquire magazine chose the Friendly Lounge as one of America’s best bars. Are they kidding? The Friendly Lounge isn’t even the best bar off the Italian Market. Who doesn’t prefer 12 Steps Down, which is similarly dive-y, but with respectable beers on draft and decent bar grub? But the most clueless of all clueless picks had to be when Today crowned Vesuvio’s cheesesteak best sandwich in America. The sliced filet on that sandwich is more like the tragic mistranslations of the cheesesteak you see elsewhere around the country than the genuine article found on every other corner in the area. And while these strange claims to fame do get under my skin, it is nice to think that our best bars and sandwich shops might remain hideaways just for us. The New Yorkers are invading fast enough as it is.
Image, Gee Whiz, Cheesesteak Isn’t Philly’s Best Sub [Washington Post]
Okay, I’ll admit it. When it comes to early mornings, even I run on Dunkin’. But my daily dose of hazelnut — skim milk, one Splenda, please — packs some unpleasant side effects: jittery hands, mid-afternoon crash, not to mention that cardboard aftertaste. That’s why I’m hoping to turn coffee breaks into tea time, and I have my eyes set on 
So you already make an effort to buy organic, and you’ve got — and use — those cute reuseable grocery bags from Whole Foods. Good news is, the green doesn’t have to stop there. 
Benny Lai, chef-owner of the Chinatown gem, 
In this, the annual season of denial, we appreciate anyone who defines the word diet as “what you eat” instead of “what you shouldn’t eat.” Smart, intuitive food choices — don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food — were the focus of The Omnivore’s Dilemma author Michael Pollan’s discussion at the Free Library last week. In addition to reading from his new book In Defense of Food, which suggests a sensible diet of nothing but, well, food, Pollan offered the at-capacity crowd one diet guideline he thought of after penning this “eater’s manifesto”: “You can have as much fried chicken and French fires as you want — as long as you make them yourself,” Pollan said.
“Eat food.” Seemingly obvious, the first two words of author Michael Pollan’s new book In Defense of Food are actually a startlingly complex directive. Need proof: Try reading the ingredient list on the back of, well, almost anything in your pantry. Then ask yourself if you want to dine on those unpronounceables. For Pollan, whose Ominvore’s Dilemma made him a poster boy for the country’s increasing awareness of food politics, understanding food is an eater’s responsibility. Learn more when he discusses In Defense of Food at the Free Library on Thursday.
Good food and good buzz don’t always equal good business