HughE Dillon: Michael Solomonov Hosts a Foodie Exchange

Plus Dave Matthews at the Franklin Institute, a fresh seafood dinner, a change for The Career Wardrobe, and yogurt wars on Walnut Street

To kick off the July 4th weekend, Chef Michael Solomonov hosted a Down the Shore party at Zahav with a lot of his chef friends from various restaurants in the city, and it was a lot of fun. Originally I had planned to start my “vacation from photographing” Thursday, but after an e-mail from Jennie Hatton (Profile Public Relations) and the promise that I would see a lot of my favorite food bloggers, I grabbed my new Lumix camera and was off to shoot the gig, grab a bite and gab a bit.


No one was sporting the Snooki look. The mullet trumped the snooki ‘do, bringing with it a history of hair don’ts, cult status and bad memories of John Hughes films and Emilio Estevez.


The theme of the night seemed to be Boogie Nights meets Matt Stone in Orgazmo. ABOVE: Anne West rocked her best Madonna meets Debbie Gibson while Ben Logue rocked his, well, Matt Stone mullet. Where’s your hairnet buddy?


Daisy Dukes-clad Tori McNally says the lemonadas are delicious, even if I think they look like split pea soup.  Ingredients: Jim Beam bourbon, mint, lemon, verbena, and simple syrup.


ABOVE: Todd Grube, Arthur Etchells (Foobooz) and Michelle Cassidy (AnEmptyFridge) are looking forward to a low-key holiday weekend just enjoying each others’ company and maybe a BBQ or two.


ABOVE: Brandon Silverman, who here kinda reminds me of Nicholson in Easy Rider, wearing his good-luck soccer jersey with Let’s Get Physical headband and looking forward to a few beers with Alisa Padon.


ABOVE: Holly and Collin Keefe (Grub Street Philadelphia) with Jennie Hatton and Scott Baver. Also spotted: our own Restaurant Club editor Kirsten Henri, Meal Ticket’s Drew Lazor, Philadelphia Weekly’s Adam Erace, Joshua Skaroff, Yelp’s Felicia D’Ambrosio, and Ryan Beck. At 8 p.m. the place really got rockin’ as a Journey cover band took the stage. Unfortunately, I had to leave but rocked out to Anyway You Want It on my way out the door.


The chefs from various restaurants and their dishes of the evening—in no particular order: Pierre Calmels (Bibou): French fries; Terence Feury (Fork): Fried clams; David Katz (Mémé): Hamburgers; Erin O’Shea (Percy Street Barbecue): Ice cream sandwiches; Lucio Palazzo (Xochitl): Crab boil; Michael Solomonov (Zahav): Pizza; John Taus (formerly of Snackbar) and Andrew Wood (Fork): Hot dogs; and Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette): Popsicles.

This event was open to the public, and tickets were only $25 with a cash bar. But it sold out weeks ago. I hear they have these types of cooperative cooking events two times a year, and I would highly recommend the experience.

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Speaking of unique experiences: Chef and fisherman Terence Feury will take guests on a chartered fishing expedition that leaves from Atlantic City on July 17th; in the evening, he and his guests return to Fork, where he prepares and serves the day’s catch. Cost: $200+ taxes and tips. For more information about the Summer Fisherman’s Trip and Dinner, visit forkrestaurant.com

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Yesterday I checked out the new space of The Career Wardrobe, which moved to a new location at 21 South 12th Street to accommodate the growing demand of their services for women making their way back into the workforce. With the dressing suite doubling its size, the organization will be able to accommodate more appointments for women in need of an interview wardrobe and mentoring. Donations are accepted there, as well as at their store at 1822 Spring Garden Street. ABOVE: Kristen Kuipers and Sheri Cole are wearing jewelery recently donated by Joan Rivers. The bags behind them were also donated by Joan Rivers and were once available on QVC.

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Alert: Yogurt Wars on the 1300 Block of Walnut Street!


Soon there will be two yogurt stores competing for your business near the very popular 13th Street corridor in Midtown Village: Sweet Ending at 13th and Walnut streets—they have another shop at 18th and Chestnut—and Tutti Frutti at 1315 Walnut Street. The race to open will be won by Tutti Frutti as owners Shane and Kevin tell me that opening day is Monday, July 5th. There are more than 45 rotating flavors of the self-serve yogurt, including Birthday Cake, Death by Chocolate, Blueberrilicious, Strawberry Field and Vanilla. Price is 49 cents an ounce. Hours: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. Inside Tutti Frutti is the Small Oven Bakery, which will sell Japanese cream puffs known as “shu cream.” There are three booths for seating and three small tables for a total of 20 seats inside. The Sweet Ending owners tell me they are looking for an opening at the beginning of August. I saw the inside of their store yesterday and it’s huge, seating about 50-80 people in two different rooms. Maybe they’re thinking about a birthday party room?

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Yesterday before his show at the Susquehanna Center, Dave Matthews was seen at the Franklin Institute. Just Dave, the Franklin told me.

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Check out my personal blog PhillyChitChat.com for daily posts or follow me on Twitter @iPhillyChitChat for up to the minute info on events and who’s doing what where.