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Tomorrow: Celebrating Women In The (Professional) Kitchen

Posted by Tara Nurin on May 3rd, 2013

Like never before, sistas be doin’ it for themselves in the commercial kitchens of Philadelphia. Tomorrow, the local Les Dames d’Escoffier chapter will fete them with an all-day event at the Restaurant School. The highlight of CUISINE, CULTURE & COMMUNITY: A Global Celebration Of Women & Food will be keynote speaker, Grand Dame Nathalie Dupree, a cookbook author and TV personality who’ll sign copies of her new book, Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking.

Throughout the day there’ll be breakfast, lunch, a reception, panels on women and minorities in the kitchen, gluten-free and Cuban food cooking demos, mixology workshops, oil tastings and additional book signings, all led by notables like Georges Perrier, Charlotte Calmels, Katie Loeb, Chef Tia Maria of the Vetri Foundation, Jason Roberts from The Chew, and more.

The affair is designed to raise appreciation of the region’s female food leaders and to raise money for the organization’s scholarship, education and sustainability initiatives. Tickets are $105.

Les Dames d’Escoffier Philadelphia [Official]

This Weekend: Wine In Atlantic City

Posted by Tara Nurin on May 3rd, 2013

Just as advertisers once pounded slogans like “Just do it,” “Just say no” and “Where’s the Beef” into our heads so consistently they became as mentally ingrained as our phone numbers (before speed dial and caller id, of course), marketers in Atlantic City are hoping that by flashing their “Do AC” mantra before our eyes in every cab and during every commercial break, we’ll be drawn like drones to go spend money in the city that’s always turned on.

But just in case your agoraphobia and strict Luddite outlook have kept you locked in a dark room for the past few weeks, you may not have seen the latest Do AC ads that promote the resort town’s first Boardwalk Wine Promenade this Saturday and Sunday.

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Side Tour Hits Philly

Posted by Tara Nurin on April 5th, 2013

So you know that friend who’s like, really crafty? And the one who always knows the hottest drinks at the hottest new speak-easy style bars? Well, now there’s a way for them to formally show off their talents while making a little money off ‘em, as well as a way for you to learn some skills or get some behind-the-scenes interactions with your favorite chefs.

Introducing Side Tour, a Time magazine “Company to Watch” that’s just added Philly to its list of cities that so far covers NYC, DC and Chicago. Side Tour is an experiential “tour” company with a twist. Anyone who can demonstrate and provide participatory engagement in an activity can market it on Side Tour, which then takes a cut of the fee. So for example, in a few weeks Russet chef Andrew Wood is going to welcome me and a few Side Tour custies to his restaurant to teach us how to make charcuterie using a suckling pig as his demo model. After he gets his hands elbow-deep in pork guts, he’s cooking up the animal for a four-course feast. And it’s all for $65.

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Former Food Network Chef Opening Restaurant In Camden

Posted by Tara Nurin on April 2nd, 2013

Food Network host and Camden native son Aaron McCargo is planning to open a bistro and bar in downtown Camden with the help of a city grant. We just learned that McCargo will appear tonight before a city council caucus to present his plans for a restaurant at the intersection of 3^rd and Market Streets in a currently vacant building that has previously housed several other eateries and bars.

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Brews, Tunes and Porn at Atlantic City Beer Fest and Beer Week

Posted by Tara Nurin on March 22nd, 2013

The eighth annual rendition of what may be the nation’s second-biggest beer fest is happening once again in Atlantic City on April 5^th and 6^th and this time there’s some seriously kick-ass music. Rusted Root, Reverend Horton Heat and The Bouncing Souls are headlining the AC Beer and Music Fest, which spans three sessions Friday night and Saturday. Hundreds of brews will be there for the sipping, and the illustrious and mustachioed promoter, Jon Henderson, expects 24,000 attendees, plus the Brazzers Girls (ask your husband–trust us, he’ll know). New this year is the Mustache Lounge, a relaxing side room where brewers and incredibly smart, talented and smoking hot experts from the beer world – who, me? – will lead mini beer demonstrations with food and chocolate.

More Beer

Save The Date: Philly Farm & Food Fest 2013

Posted by Tara Nurin on March 22nd, 2013

Fresh off the success of the Brewer’s Plate, Fair Food Philly is gearing up for its second annual Philly Farm & Food Fest the afternoon of April 14 at the convention center. Partnering again with the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Fair Food is debuting a few features this year. Most interesting among them (to us boozehounds here at Foobooz, anyway) is the Local Libations Lounge, which is worth the $15 supplemental ticket for a tutored tasting of Victory beer, Dad’s Hat rye whiskey, Frecon Farms’ new “Early Man” hard cider, and the first-ever “Pennsylvania Martini” pairing Philadelphia Distilling’s Bluecoat Gin with Subarashii Kudamono’s Asian Pear Dessert Wine.

Also at the fest–in addition to a few hundred local farmers, artisanal food makers and restaurateurs (Josh Lawler among them)–are new events like a Judy Wicks book signing, cooking demos using sustainable ingredients (again, Josh Lawler), kids’ activities and workshops, including business lectures for commercial farmers and business owners, and for the aspiring urban farmer, presentations on beekeeping, canning, growing alternative crops and an overview of Mayor Nutter’s food policy.

Tickets are $15 and the fest runs from 11 AM to 4 PM.

Philly Farm & Food Fest [Official]

McCrossen’s Tavern’s Post-St. Patrick’s Day Irish Whiskey Dinner

Posted by Tara Nurin on March 15th, 2013

If you’re someone who doesn’t agree that “Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” we have the perfect post-St. Paddy’s event for you. Eschewing the mayhem of the actual holiday, McCrossen’s Tavern is hosting a grown-up celebration a few days later. On Tuesday at 6:30 PM, chef Townsend Wentz and his talented beverage staff host A Totally Awesome Irish Whiskey Dinner. For $40, diners can sample four Irish whiskeys paired with cheeses and Wentz’s not-quite-Hibernian dishes.

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From The Bookshelf: Judy Wicks Doing Signings For Her New Book

Posted by Tara Nurin on March 11th, 2013

There are a few (though not many) universally admired citizens of Philadelphia. Sister Mary Scullion. Jose Garces. Meryl Levitz. Milton Street (that was a trick to see if you were paying attention). And Judy Wicks. Wicks is more than the founder of Fair Food and White Dog Café — perhaps the city’s first farm-to-table restaurant, and one of the few to provide health benefits to waitstaff. She’s a founder of the international locavore movement who counts world-famous sustainability pioneer Alice Waters as a fan.

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This Weekend: It’s “A Shore Thing”

Posted by Tara Nurin on March 8th, 2013

With snowstorms blowing up half the country and cold rain drizzling on what should have been a week of balmy, sunny days, it’s hard not to miss the summer and the shore. And after Hurricane Sandy, it’s hard not to miss it even more, considering the storm made it so we can’t quite go home to many of our beachhouses ever again.

Sensing our gloominess, Cherry Hill plastic surgeon Dr. Susan Hughes is throwing “A Shore Thing” from 10 AM to 2 PM this Saturday to raise money for Governor and First Lady Christie’s hurricane relief fund while recreating the feel of summer and the tastes of the boardwalk. Playing off the fact that Hughes’ practice specializes in getting beach-shy bodies ready for summer, her staff is transforming a Cherry Hill warehouse into a summer day, where you can first get fatter by stuffing yourself with cotton candy, make-your-own funnel cake, hot dogs and boardwalk fries. Beach arcade games enhance the mood and raise additional money for storm victims, as do raffle tickets good for Tory Burch goodies and cosmetic procedure discounts.

RSVP’ing in advance earns you $50 off your next treatment of $250 or more.

DeSimone Building, 6 Esterbrook Lane, Cherry Hill
856-324-8056
http://hughescenter.net/specials/open-house-march-9

Today: Official Opening of Victoria Freehouse In Old City

Posted by Tara Nurin on March 8th, 2013

Replacing bubbly with “bloody,” the Victoria Freehouse officially opens today (after a couple days of unofficial soft-opening) in the former home of Swanky Bubbles in Old City. The second location for the owners of Haddonfield’s The British Chip Shop, the Victoria Freehouse serves traditional English fare for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch.

And traditional it is. The menu reads like a Monty Python sketch satirizing an SNL skit mocking British, uh, “cuisine”: mushy peas, potted gammon, country fish pie, sherried liver parfait, and with dessert refusing to be upstaged, a blackboard that broadcasts the pudding special of the day. What is that stuff and why do they eat it?

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Author Archive

Tomorrow: Celebrating Women In The (Professional) Kitchen

This Weekend: Wine In Atlantic City

Side Tour Hits Philly

Former Food Network Chef Opening Restaurant In Camden

Brews, Tunes and Porn at Atlantic City Beer Fest and Beer Week

Save The Date: Philly Farm & Food Fest 2013

McCrossen’s Tavern’s Post-St. Patrick’s Day Irish Whiskey Dinner

From The Bookshelf: Judy Wicks Doing Signings For Her New Book

This Weekend: It’s “A Shore Thing”

Today: Official Opening of Victoria Freehouse In Old City