Art in the Age Releases a Whiskey Made of People — Sort of

Graverobber Unholy Rye / Photograph courtesy of Quaker City Mercantile

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. There’s not a huge amount of big news happening in the scene this week, but we do have a few quick things to get through, including whiskey made from graveyard trees, a cool “Guate-zalan” collab from one of my favorite (and recently departed) restaurants, the first move in an approaching cheesesteak expansion, and two Philly restaurants getting some big-time national attention. But let’s start things off this week with something spooky to get you pumped for Halloween.

I Drink Dead People

Art in the Age is known for doing some really unusual things with liquor, but when Halloween approaches, they roll out the seriously weird stuff.

To wit: Graverobber Unholy Rye, the annual autumn release from Tamworth Distilling and brought to our fair Commonwealth courtesy of AITA. It’s a smooth, warm, sweet 80-proof rye whiskey with three years in the barrel, softened by the addition of maple syrup tapped from a bunch of creepy old trees grown among the graves and human remains of a Colonial-era cemetery on Great Hill Farm in New Hampshire.

“Graverobber is a wickedly delicious spirit, with a haunting story about tapping graveyard maples, a process that has long been feared for risk of disturbing the dead and is much taboo in New England,” according to Steven Grasse, founder of Tamworth Distilling and Art in the Age Spirits. “Luckily, we don’t scare that easy!”

So, that’s kinda messed up. But also totally metal. In a weird, circle-of-life kinda way, human bodies are part of the terroir of this weird whiskey. The bottles of rye have been a cult sensation (see what I did there?) at AITA since 2019, but last week — on Friday the 13th, naturally — they had their seasonal release party (at Martha). And going forward, Graverobber is going to be available year-round.

Previously available only in 200-ml bottles, they’re now selling Graverobber in 750-ml format for $31.99. You can order yours online right here. Graverobber will also be available in select bars and restaurants (including Martha, for the time being) across the city.

Now what’s next?

After Nine Years, Martha Is Closing (Eventually)

Martha / Photograph by Ted Nghiem

The news broke a couple days ago on Instagram, and people spent the weekend wrapping their heads around the idea that Martha — one of the foundational bar/restaurant operations of the Fishtown scene — was shutting out the lights for good.

Before Cheu, before Pizzeria Beddia, before Suraya, and long before Kalaya, Middle Child, Meetinghouse, Post Haste, or Picnic, there was Martha — Jon Medlinky, Cary Borish, and Mike Parsell’s East York Street neighborhood gamble. It was a bar that celebrated local spirits (and kombucha) before either one was cool. It was a restaurant that operated without a hood, focusing on hoagies, fresh vegetables, cheese, and charcuterie plates. And the neighbors loved it, possibly because of the big patio, possibly because there just weren’t that many other options at the time (other than Johnny Brenda’s, the original Kensington Quarters, and a handful of other spots), but also because Martha was awesome and cool and conscientious and really cared about the food and booze it served.

That care got them a James Beard Award nomination in 2017. They were big into the natural wine movement, tried to reform the tipping model in restaurants (in the middle of the pandemic), and served a lot of pickles. But last week, they announced that Martha would be closing.

“Martha has always strived to be a community space, an ethical business, and most importantly: a solid neighborhood bar. We share, with a heavy heart, that Martha’s last day will be Sunday, November 9th of 2024.”

So … yeah. It’s not like you don’t have some time to get in there and say your goodbyes. But still, (almost) any loss in this industry is a sad one, and Martha will absolutely be missed. Though Fishtown now offers plenty of options for the neighbors, Martha was special to a lot of folks. So while Borish and Parsell have plenty to keep them busy (they’re partners at Sally, Mr. Rabbit, Pizza Shackamaxon, and Pizza Richmond which I just reviewed a couple months back) — I’m sure all of us can make time to drop by Martha one last time.

Just be sure to tip your servers.

Philly Restaurants Snag Two Spots on Bon App’s Best New Restaurants List

The bar at Meetinghouse / Photograph by Kae Lani Palmisano

Bon Appétit magazine, one of the fanciest food glossies still in the dead tree business, came out with its annual list of the best new restaurants in America last week. And this is important for two (kinda three) reasons.

First, the picks.

After six months of eating everything, everywhere, Bon App’s editors picked two Philly restaurants that could not possibly be more different while still being kinda exactly the same. Meetinghouse and My Loup got the nod this year.

One, a neighborhood beer bar that took over for the beloved Memphis Taproom on a quiet street in Kensington. The other, a Jewish-Québécois fine dining restaurant in Rittenhouse serving ham croquettes, roast beef au poivre, halibut in tomato butter, and pickled shrimp with packaged saltines. I loved both Meetinghouse and My Loup when I reviewed them, and mostly for the same reason: Both of them operate in a kind of ego-less haze that feels absolutely authentic and a lot like love. These are restaurants that love the food they’re serving, that have assembled their menus with purpose that goes beyond plate cost and maximizing turns, and that serve with no bullshit. Those bare, perfect turkey cutlets on the plate at Meetinghouse are less different than the roasted bone marrow with chanterelles at My Loup than you’d think at first glance. They’re both solid, muscular, simple dishes presented without flourish. They’re food that you eat not because it looks good or sounds good, but because it is good, full stop.

Second, the numbers.

Bon App’s editors picked 20 restaurants for this year’s list. Every city represented appears just once. Except Philly. We got on there twice. Which makes us twice as good as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Columbus, and Lockhart, Texas. Technically, there was one restaurant from Charleston, South Carolina, and another one from North Charleston, South Carolina, but I don’t understand what that shit’s about at all, so I’m just sticking with Philly rules and everyone else can suck it.

Bonus third point (kinda).

Seriously, how cool is it that they picked Meetinghouse and My Loup? I mean, I complain a lot about these big, national lists, either overhyping things that don’t deserve it or completely overlooking the smaller joints that deserve a thousand times the love they get. But this time, I feel like they got it just right. Also, I think it’s worth mentioning again that Philly made the list twice and New York was only on it once. That’s never not gonna feel good.

Now who’s in the mood for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

The Cookbooks and Convos series returns, featuring a full docket of food industry leaders. / Photograph courtesy of Sisterly Love Collective

Gazzo’s Steaks, the food-truck-turned-Instagram-sensation-turned-brick-and-mortar-Pottstown-cheesesteak-shop named after the loan shark Rocky worked for, is expanding. They’re opening a window-service-only operation at 2528 Haverford Road in Ardmore sometime this fall. I know that a couple weeks ago, I told y’all about the hands-down best cheesesteaks available anywhere (Mangia Mobile, now permanently parked at Sunset Hill Brewing in Gilbertsville), but I’m really looking forward to seeing what Gazzo’s can do, too. I’ll report back as soon as I get my hands on one of their steaks.

Speaking of brick-and-mortar expansions, Noelle Blizzard’s micro-bakery and online cake studio, New June, is also getting a real address. This fall, Blizzard and her team will be opening a shop at 2623 West Girard Avenue in Brewerytown. Founded in 2021 as a “baking-as-therapy” pandemic project, the place got legit famous for its cake design, with mentions everywhere from the New York Times to Architectural Digest.

But the best thing about the upcoming location? They’re going to be serving breakfast cakes, which, honestly, is an idea whose time has come. You can check out some of what New June can do on Instagram right here, or just check out our 50th anniversary Best of Philly issue. That cake on the cover of the magazine? That was one of New June’s creations.

I don’t usually cover music festivals here in the round-up, but this weekend, from September 20th to the 22nd, the Making Time music festival will be descending on Fort Mifflin and bringing with it over 100 DJs, live acts, and a pretty solid food vendor line-up. We’re talking Irwin’s, Cantina La Martina, Jezabel’s, Pizzata, Tabachoy, and Zig Zag BBQ, together with booze from Forin, Philadelphia Distilling, Deep Eddy Vodka, Two Person’s Coffee, and more. Sure, you’ll have to listen to 100+ DJs, but is it worth it to be able to get snacks from Irwin’s, Tabachoy, and Cantina La Martina all in the same place? I dunno. That’s up to you.

Meanwhile, on September 29th, the recently shuttered (and sorely missed) Venezuelan restaurant, Autana, is getting together with the crew from the Guatemalan street-food specialist, El Merkury, for a one-night-only “Guate-zuelan” collab dinner in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. It’ll be a four-course, family-style meal highlighting the best of what both of these Latina-owned businesses do. That means sopa de palmito, tequeños, empanaditas, pupusas, a main course of oven-roasted pork rib with heirloom corn tortillas, and churros and ice cream with Tenango rum-infused Venezuelan chocolate sauce for dessert.

Tickets for the dinner will run you $75, and you can get yours here.

Sisterly Love Collective has announced the lineup for its second annual “Cookbooks and Convos” series, with 16 confirmed events running from October 8th through 22nd. There’ll be author interviews, conversations, demos, happy hours, meet-and-greets, and collab dinners — and they’ve got some heavy-hitters in the lineup, too. Rose Previte will be at Ange Branca’s Kampar Kongsi on the 8th. Nini Nguyen will be at Gabriella’s Vietnam on the 9th, and Toni Tipton-Martin will be hanging out at Rex at the Royal on the 22nd. And that’s just to name a few. You can check out the full schedule (and book your tickets) here. (And they’re promising to announce more events later this month, so keep an eye out.)

And finally this week, one more event for you to put on your calendars: meal delivery service Home Appetit is partnering with chef Nick Elmi (Laurel, Lark, The Landing Kitchen, etc.) for its ongoing Chef Charity Collaboration series. Basically, two meals from Elmi will be going onto the Home Appetit menu for a week (Tuesday, October 1st, to Friday, October 4th, with meals delivered on October 7th), and a portion of that week’s sales will be donated to the charity of his choice.

The meals Elmi picked are a grilled bistro steak with shallot rings and pistou and pommes darphin — which he chose because his kids love them. And his charity is the KB Foundation, which is a Philly-based nonprofit that creates learning experiences and group mentorship for kids with a real-world experience model — with the help of athletes like Jalen Hurts, chefs like Elmi, and more.

So it’s good food for a good cause, and it also means that you don’t have to worry about cooking dinner that week. So it’s win-win. You can learn more about Home Appetit here, and if you’re interested in ordering, you can do that right here.