Philly Beer Week moving to June

Next year's Philly Beer Week will be held on June 4 - 13, 2010. In its first two years, it had been held on the first weekend of March. Joe Sixpack opposed the move but outlines the reasons for the change on his site. The move makes sense -- St. Patrick's Day, the weather, competing festivals, the flower show, etc. are all challenges in March, but Phood Addict kind of liked having something to look forward to in March (sadly, we are too old for the Erin Express). Plus, June offers its own challenges (the shore, the Manyunk Bike Race and Arts Festival, etc.)

The World's Largest Cheeto

Gizmodo, our favorite techno-geek blog, recently had a post that caught the attention of PhoodAddict contributor, Murph: someone eating the world's largest Cheeto over the world's most expensive keyboard.



Someday, we at PhoodAddict hope to have the type of pull to do this sort of thing.

$35 Dinner at Le Bec Fin!

So, I got an email from my close personal friend, Georges Perrier, today announcing his Spring 2009 three course Prix Fixe. This menu is the first of four seasonal three course menus, and the beginning of an exciting time at Le Bec-Fin and Bar Lyonnais. A little over a year ago, the famed French chef announced he was giving back his 5 stars in the Mobil Travel Guide and focusing on creating a new Le Bec Fin with a lighter a la carte menu and more casual atmosphere.

This $35 three course is certainly a marked departure from the Le Bec Fin of years past. Here's the dinner menu, available Monday through Friday:

Appetizer
(Choice of 1)

Rabbit Terrine
Rustic Toast, Moutarde Violette

Braised Red Beet Salad
Goat Cheese, Candied Walnuts and Citrus Vinaigrette

Soup du Jour

Field Greens Salad
Tossed in White Balsamic and Walnut oil Vinaigrette

Main Course
(Choice of 1)

Organic White Feathered Chicken
Roasted Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Lamb Bacon,
Sherry Vinegar Sauce

8oz Prime Rib Eye
Pomme de Terre, Carrot Confit, Sauce Bordelaise

Olive Oil Poached Scottish Salmon
Braised Belgian Endive, Toasted Farro,
Zinfandel Beurre Rouge


Dessert Cart
Your Choice of one dessert from off our
Award winning dessert cart

Vegetarian Options Available Upon Request


Phood Addict is all over this -- hopefully reservations aren't too hard to get during the week. Keep watching this space for a full review of the new Le Bec Fin -- now affordable for mere mortals!

Abruzzo Earthquake Relief Benefit on East Passyunk

For a long time, I've been wanting to try Le Virtu, a swanky looking Italian restaurant at 1927 East Passyunk that specializes in Abruzzese cuisine. It's pretty close to home and it's gotten a lot of great reviews. This event seems like as good a time as any to check it out: on Tuesday, April 28th, Le Virtu will hold an event to benefit victims of the earthquake in Abruzzo. A $40 minimum admission will be charged with all proceeds going to victims' relief. Guests will be treated to an Abruzzese buffet, including various antipasti, pasta, grilled and roasted meats and one complimentary glass of wine.

Le Virtu

1927 East Passyunk Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19148

(BETWEEN MIFFLIN & MCKEAN STREETS)

Phone: 215.271.5626

Home of the Fatty

The PhoodAddict Worldwide Headquarters recently received a take out menu that intrigued the entire staff. Pizzi Pizza recently opened at 6th and Oregon. Most of the menu is pretty standard stuff -- pizza, hoagies, cheesesteaks, etc...but the back cover declares Pizzi Pizza as Home of the Fatty and offers a variety of super-gluttonous sandwiches only a true Phood Addict could love. (Check out their website for the complete menu)

After perusing the options, we eventually settled on the Fat Jamie (Chicken or beef cheesesteak with mozzarella, meatballs, mozzarella sticks, tater tots & marinara sauce) and the Fat Reese (Chicken or beef cheese steak with mozzarella sticks, fries & marinara sauce) as our inaugural selections. Everything is chopped up and stuffed in one moderately large sandwich.

My initial impressions: First, the sandwich looks a bit like it was regurgitated. Everything is chopped up and mashed together, which is not what I was expecting. From a practical standpoint, this probably makes it much easier to eat than if all the ingredients were separate, but still, the pre-chewed look might not be for everyone.

Second, the roll was a little stale, but overall the taste was good. Definitely a good option when you're hungover and just want to sit on your couch in your boxers, stuff your face with greasy food, and watch a House marathon on USA...not that I do anything like that.

Third, it's a filling sandwich but not overly so, at least not enough to deserve the Fatty moniker. One PhoodAddict associate, let's call him "Murph," declared that he could easily eat two in one sitting. I don't know that I could do the same, but if you're going to call your sandwich a Fatty, it should be more difficult to finish. Still, $6.25 is a pretty good price for what you get.

One more thing, the website offers the Fatty Challenge: a discounted price of $15 gets you 3 Fattys of your choice. You then have 20 minutes to consume all 3 fatty sandwiches. If you succeed, you will receive:

• 2 Free Large Cheese Pizzas
• One of our own "Home of the Fatty" T-Shirts
• If you choose, your name will be listed on this website

Even Murph didn't think he could do this. Twenty minutes is just not a very long time.

Yum Yum Dim Sum

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people from New York talk about how things there are bigger, better, etc. than in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, dim sum is one instance where they are correct. Dim sum is far superior in New York -- Queens to be specific.

For those who don't know, dim sum is a Chinese meal comprised of many small plates. Typically, carts with various dishes are pushed around the restaurant. When you order, the server marks a card that is on your table. At the end of the meal, the cashier calculates your bill based on the number and size of dishes you ordered. It is a format that is much more enjoyable with a larger group of people, since you get to try a greater variety of dishes. It's also perfect for the true Phood Addict -- they push carts of food to you! You can try endless varieties of Chinese food! You want to have fried squid, shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, rice porridge, sticky rice, rice noodles, and more all in the same meal? No problem! And it's cheap (a recent dim sum outing for 9 people cost just $74 plus tip)!

Phood Addict recently visited East Ocean Palace in Forest Hills, NY. This restaurant was vastly superior to anything found in Philadelphia as far as quality, variety and service. The picture above is just a small portion of what was ordered. The standards were all there: shrimp dumplings (har gow), rice noodle rolls (cheong fun), sticky rice...but there were also numerous specials, including shrimp dumplings coated in sticky rice (talk about best of both worlds), clams in black bean sauce, and innumerable varieties of dumplings, plus some wackier fare like fried durian dumplings (I know, durian is stinky, and honestly I didn't enjoy this that much but I liked that it was available as an option), and pickled pigs feet (which were meaty and fantastic).

Now compared to East Ocean Palace, Philadelphia's Imperial Inn is just nothing special. Don't get me wrong, it'll do when you need a dim sum fix. But there's not much variety in the dishes and carts can be infrequent. Unfortunately, it's about the best out of the options available in Philly's Chinatown. I've been to Joy Tsin Lau, HK Golden Phoenix, Ocean Harbor, and a couple of places on Washington Ave, but still haven't found anything special. Any PhoodAddict readers out there know of a superior dim sum place in Philly?

New high-energy plankton wafers

Sometimes you're not in the mood for a hot lunch. Sometimes you want to try something completely different. I recently found something new to try at the local grocery store -- these great green wafers made of high-energy plankton. I've tried the red and yellow varieties, which were okay I guess, but this new recipe is delicious! You should definitely check it out.