Typically the cured or smoked belly of a pig, America’s favorite breakfast meat also lends itself to grown-up, dinnertime dishes.
BACON AND SCALLOPS
Though a kosher nightmare, there’s something about the combination of bacon and scallops. We’re just glad the Oceanaire Seafood Room on Washington Square finally decided to unwrap the duo.
BACON AND DATES
The dates at Chick’s Café & Wine Bar off South Street, stuffed with intense Valdeón cheese and all wrapped up in succulent Niman Ranch bacon, are a right-thinking start to any meal. Or just graze at the bar with a glass of Dehesa de Rubiales Olaia.
BACON AND PEACHES
At Pottstown BYOB Funky Lil’ Kitchen, regulars ask for chef Michael Falcone’s house-cured, thick-cut, pan-seared bacon atop summer-perfect peach compote.
Who says tavern tidbits have to be limited to (frozen) chicken wings and (stale) nachos with cheese sauce? Here are three of our favorite bar bites.
Baked Clams The buttery, briny baked clams at Delaware County’s venerable Original Clam Tavern are still served on trays custom-made by a metal shop that once stood around the corner. And at $8.95 for a rack of 12, they’re a true bargain.
Fried Smelts A little-known fact about the Standard Tap is that while the meaty, manly dishes are outstanding, the fish is where it’s at. The fried smelts are no exception. (With the smaller smelts, you won’t even notice the tiny, edible bones.
Scotch Egg At The Whip Tavern, a charming beer-only pub in Chester County, the Scotch egg — a sausage-meat-encrusted deep-fried hard-boiled egg — is eaten with Scotch ales. Traditionally, the egg is used to prevent a hangover, so you’ll be one step ahead of the game.
Curry may have its roots in the Indian subcontinent, but the term has come to describe a wide variety of saucy dishes, from Japan to the Caribbean.
Indonesian
Foodie-adored South Philly hole-in-the-wall Hardena kicks out some serious (and seriously cheap, at $5 per platter) Indonesian cuisine, including the traditional curry, beef rendang — succulent morsels of beef shoulder long-simmered in coconut milk with fragrant spices and a snappy hot sauce.
Thai
Don’t let the inclusion of crushed pineapple fool you. A Little Thai Kitchen’s “Special Curry,” mixed seafood in coconut milk with green beans, panang curry paste, lots of coriander, lemongrass and chilies, is much hotter than it is sweet, the pineapple merely providing a temporary and deceptive foil.
Forget the vegetarian and white-chicken kinds. We’re talking manly, stick to your ribs stuff, perfect with a beer in the dead of winter. (Don’t be fooled: it is the dead of winter, even if you were dining al fresco yesterday.) Our favorites:
On Fire
Firefighter-owned, firefighter-themed SmokeEaters Pub has (natch) an award-winning smoldering, slightly sweet sausage-and-bean chili (pictured). Though the beer lineup’s impressive, they recommend a Miller High Life with the chili. Hey, it is Mayfair. 7681 Frankford Avenue, 215-338-4188, smokeeaterspub.com.
With the (no doubt) impending and numerous Snowstorms of the Century, we sent our scouts out to dozens of cafés from Bucks to Gloucester County in search of this winter’s hottest drinks.
Caramel Cream Dream: The “Dream” at Old City’s Double Shots may keep you up: steamed milk, pure vanilla extract, caramel, and two shots of espresso. 211 Chestnut Street, 215-351-5171, doubleshotscafe.com.
I think English muffins are the perfect quick breakfast food. It gives my carb-addicted appetite its much-needed fix, without the danger of overstuffing that a doughy bagel poses. (Plus, bagels here suck — but that’s another posting). But it wasn’t until I had a sweet, large, plump Portuguese muffin at the Fountain Restaurant at Four Seasons that I realized how many breakfasts I’ve wasted on Thomas’s.
It never even crossed my mind that there was something else out there. So, I went hunting for a better muffin, one that didn’t shrink when toasted, that was heartier, had more surface area and didn’t taste like cardboard. My search of Portuguese muffins failed, but I was pleasantly surprised by the house brands that Whole Foods and Wegmans are putting out (the regular and whole wheat). Both are larger, saltier, and nook-and-cranny-er — all the better to hold your topping of choice. (If you care: cream cheese and jelly for my husband, cinnamon, sugar and butter for our food editor, and straight-up whipped cream cheese for me.) Even if you are a dieting spray-butter-er, I promise you’ll never go back to Thomas’s again.
Image, wikimedia.org
In honor of Thanksgiving, one of the few holidays we can all agree on, three versions of the turkey sandwich, all fit for gobbling
So Special: Main Line Jewish-deli stalwart Hymie’s offers the belly-busting Schlemiel, piled high with thickly sliced roast turkey breast, mounds of slaw, and a generous schmear of Russian dressing, perfectly accompanied by garlic pickles from the relish bar.
Say what you will about the Brits and their culinary contributions — they did give us fish and chips
Whip Tavern owner K.C. Kulp says the beer batter drowning the fish and chips at most stateside English pubs is an American bastardization of the real deal. At the Whip, there’s plenty of beer, just not on the fish — two cod filets, lightly battered and fried till golden, served with thick-cut, skin-on, brined steak fries.
To see more local fish and chips variations, click here.
Photo: Rouge’s Matt Zagorski’s style of fish and chips. Photography by Stuart Goldenberg
Tired of the greasy, mushy and generally bland eggplant parms that pervade this city’s red-sauce spots, we fanned out to find worthy uses of the versatile vegetable, in season locally through October.
Vegetarian (shown)
“Eggplant is a vegetarian cliché food,” says Rich Landau, chef of vegan-friendly Horizons. But Landau updates it successfully with a savory lasagna featuring smoked eggplant mousse, layered with a pistachio onion confit between wide noodles with a creamy porcini sauce.
Typically the cured or smoked belly of a pig, America’s favorite breakfast meat also lends itself to grown-up, dinnertime dishes.
Curry may have its roots in the Indian subcontinent, but the term has come to describe a wide variety of saucy dishes, from Japan to the Caribbean.
Forget the vegetarian and white-chicken kinds. We’re talking manly, stick to your ribs stuff, perfect with a beer in the dead of winter. (Don’t be fooled: it is the dead of winter, even if you were dining al fresco yesterday.) Our favorites:
With the (no doubt) impending and numerous Snowstorms of the Century, we sent our scouts out to dozens of cafés from Bucks to Gloucester County in search of this winter’s hottest drinks.
I think English muffins are the perfect quick breakfast food. It gives my carb-addicted appetite its much-needed fix, without the danger of overstuffing that a doughy bagel poses. (Plus, bagels here suck — but that’s another posting). But it wasn’t until I had a sweet, large, plump Portuguese muffin at the 
In honor of Thanksgiving, one of the few holidays we can all agree on, three versions of the turkey sandwich, all fit for gobbling
Say what you will about the Brits and their culinary contributions — they did give us fish and chips
Tired of the greasy, mushy and generally bland eggplant parms that pervade this city’s red-sauce spots, we fanned out to find worthy uses of the versatile vegetable, in season locally through October.