Village Whiskey

Opening one new restaurant is tough. Opening two? That’s crazy. But Jose Garces (who, I think, must have access to both a jet pack and a time machine what with his sudden explosion of interstate restaurant openings) will, come April, be opening three new restaurants, in Atlantic City, all within 14 days.

Then, when he’s done, he’s going to ride his bike from A.C. to Paris, fight Mike Tyson and eat the entire moon in a single sitting.

The Details

A truck parked outside of Village Whiskey in the morning is not an uncommon sight. We often spot the Garces Trading Company truck unloading supplies. But for the fourth time in a little more than a week we’ve spotted this truck parked outside of VW. Why is a truck with ads for Atlantic City’s Diving Horse Cabaret (and by cabaret we mean gentleman’s club) now routinely parking where the Garces truck did?

Is it moonlighting as a delivery van in the slow winter months? Are there pole dances offered within? Is it shuttling employees to Jose Garces’ Revel Casino restaurants? We want to know.

Puh-lease. We needed another consumer gaming site as much as we needed someone else to yak at us about eating better. And now, thanks to a new site called Foodzy, we have BOTH–all rolled up into one fat tootsie roll of post-Michelle Obama guilt.

Foodzy is a website that rewards you with badges for eating healthy foods. When you sign up, you input your age, weight, height, country of residence and other vitals. Every time you eat something (say, Village Whiskey’s duck fat french fries with Sly Fox cheddar sauce), you report it to the site, which then spits out information like nutritional content and how it’s contributing to your weight loss or gain. You know, just like your annoying cousin Rhonda who’s perpetually relying on Weight Watchers to help her vanquish her ass fat.

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So this was a big week. What with the Best of Philly hitting the stands (along with Worst of Philly), the competing reviews of Talula’s Garden, the big news rumors from Jose Garces and more openings than you can shake a stick at (Crumbs! Nomad! Aksum and Milkboy!), I can understand how you might’ve let a few things slip past you here at Foobooz.

But that’s cool. We’ve got you covered. Check out the mix-tape of this week’s greatest hits.

Adsum Shuffle: Meet the New Boss Not quite the same as the old boss…
Jose Garces Goes On A Spree The rumors say 5 new restaurants in two new towns.
News For People Who Like Bad News Fires, closures and a shipwreck
Milkshakes at Village Whiskey They’re better (but no less embarassing) than you think
Human Jell-O No, really. HUMAN JELL-O

Several weeks ago I was at Village Whiskey for something to eat (and drink) after a rather informative cruise down the Schuylkill River (which is worth checking out). On the menu–below the belly busting burgers and hedonistic duck fat fries–was a section for milkshakes. And not just any kind of milkshakes, but liquor-enhanced Irish Car Bomb shakes and a strawberry rum version as well.

I tweeted that VW was serving Irish Car Bomb shakes. I expected backlash. I expected at least a couple, What is Jose Garces doing? That’s disgusting. I expected some sense of outrage that this very grown-up bar was stooping to sell Irish Car Bombs of any kind. But instead I received yums,  OMGs and I have to try thats.

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Jose Garces is a busy fella. Man is an Iron Chef to start. He’s got his brand spankin’ new farm to worry about (called Luna Farms, located on 37 acres in Bucks County). He has events to attend, appearances to make, a cookbook out in the world and just debuted a new catering arm of his Garces Restaurant Group (called, of course, Garces Catering). And it’s not like he’s short on actual restaurants in his portfolio, either. Right now, he’s got eight houses up and running–seven here, one in Chicago, and some of them are numbered among the best restaurants in Philly. I’m exhausted just reading about all the things Garces does, and while you’d think that all of that, plus eight kitchens to supervise, eight dining rooms to worry about, eight crews to boss should be enough for anyone, apparently that’s just because you’re a lazy, shiftless slacker like me.

Because it’s not enough for JG. Not enough by a loooong stretch. Because from what we know right now, it looks like the man is going on a spree.

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Everyone with a mouth will recognize the above image. It is, of course, the official USDA “Improved American Food Guide Pyramid”–that charming graphic which, since 1992, has stood as the gold standard for healthy eating.

Kinda.

Actually, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the food pyramid. Before that, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the USDA’s “Basic Four Food Groups” (which guided us in our eating from 1956 until 1992). There was even more controversy when a fifth basic food group was added in the 1970′s that included sugars, fats and alcohol, thereby making two Twinkies, a spoonful of lard and a martini a perfectly acceptable breakfast.

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May is National Burger Month and local food bloggers have been out chowing down on some of the best patties around. And  burger madness doesn’t end with May, next Saturday check out Rob Wasserman’s (Rouge and 500º) Burger Brawl.

Bridges, Burgers and Beers downs his first Churchill Burger at Pub & Kitchen and finds the medium-rare beauty actually stays together as he eats it. [Bridges, Burgers and Beers]

Philly Phoodie revisits Sketch Burger on Girard Avenue and has us salivating with his report. [Philly Phoodie]

BB&B’s Brian also gets a lunchtime OH Burger from Oyster House. Turns out the seafood restaurant can make a tasty burger too. [Bridges, Burgers and Beers]

Foodzings gets the Village Burger at Village Whiskey and enjoys it but refrains from any superlatives. [Foodzings]

Does this burger talk have you wanting more burgers? Well then you’re in luck as next Saturday at the Burger Brawl presented by Rouge’s Rob Wasserman.

Contestants will include:  Chef Marcie Turney of Barbuzzo, Bindi and Lolita; Chef Matt Levin of Adsum restaurant;  Top Chef contestant Chef Jennifer Carroll of 10Arts;  Fairmount legend London Grill; Chef Daniel Stern of Midatlantic and R2L;  Chef Chris Scarduzio of Table 31;  Butcher & Singer;  Pub & Kitchen;  Good Dog;  North Third; Alfa;  Royal Tavern;  Ladder 15;  PYT;  Paesano’s;  and of course, Rouge, home to one of GQ’s 20 best burgers in America;  and their sister restaurant, 500?.  Top Chef and Top Chef All Stars contestant Spike Mendelsohn will also be on hand with the famed burger from his Washington, DC restaurant Good Stuff Eatery.

Tickets are $60 online and all proceeds go to William M. Meredith Elementary School in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood.

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The wait to get into Village Whiskey has been a bit legendary since its opening in 2009. Three-hour waits on Friday nights aren’t uncommon and the smug denial of the hostesses have rankled more than a few.

Now there’s an app to help with that wait. Pittsburgh based NoWait helps hosts and hostesses manage the wait list using text notifications to alert guests that their table is ready.

What NoWait promises that a pen and paper cannot is the chance to further market to a visitor. Customers can be offered a special deal or to opt-in to the establishment’s mailing list via text message.

Village Whiskey General Manager Rob Scully says NoWait can alleviate some of the frustration for waiting for a table and it’s the kind of ‘refresh’ we need after 2 years in business.”

NoWait [Official Site]
Village Whiskey [Official Site]

With Village Whiskey and Pub & Kitchen battling in the finals of the Philadelphia magazine Best of Philly burger bracket we’re pleased to see the rhetoric heating up. Pub & Kitchen threw down the early gauntlet offering free Churchill burger sliders from 4 to 6 p.m. tonight.

Jose Garces chimed in on behalf of his Whiskey King declaring, “The King bows to no one. Vote Village Whiskey.” We don’t know if Garces has any other tricks up his sleeve, but with free burgers already offered by P&K, the bar has been set.

Best of Philly Burger Bracket [Philadelphia Magazine]