Pete and L.A.

Pete is awesome, I used to talk about movies and comics with him when I worked the counter at Petit 4 bakery. Even the days the coffee didn't taste quite right he still came in and hung out.

He sent these awesome pictures of LA's Central Market. Pigs cooking pigs.

Dirty Dish

I apologize in advance for the shameless cross-promotion, but I can't hold it back much longer...
For the past year or so I've been doing a comic strip called "dirty dish" for Notion Magazine (UK) that started out as a comic about working in cruddy rock bar and has since evolved into a charming study of the exotic world of fast-paced restaurant kitchens.
You can see more Dirty Dish on my website.. enjoy.

No More Hot Dogs

So after a few years of eating nothing but Hoagies and Cheesesteaks, I'm trying to eat some healthy food instead of ordering buffalo chicken pizza every night.

I smashed up a bunch of wasabi peas and used them to crust some nice tuna steaks, seared em' and served up with avacado puree and watermelon salad.

Don't know how healthy the omelet is with turkey bacon, pepperoni and loads of cheese inside, but there's no carbs, and some fruit at least.. mostly I just wanted to post this because it looks good next to the newspaper and coffee...

Then for dinner sunday night some chicken kabobs slathered in cilantro/almond/parsley/lime pesto (basically whatever crap was lying around the fridge buzzed up with olive oil).

Bay Area

The Bay Area is full of good food. This past show at Rowan Morrison Gallerygave me a good excuse to eat lots of food in the Bay Area. Here are some picture highlights of the food eating tour around town which of course ended with a huge meal with my family.

Cafe Con Chocolate

Here are the pictures of our delicious mexican breakfast! See below post for the info!

Joe's Birthday

On Wednesday it was Joe's Birthday, and Tim asked me to cook. Since it's been so darn hot we planned earlier in the week to have a light refreshing meal of summer rolls and Shrimp Katsu and make Vietnamese Noodle Bowls with them.


They were yummy! Next Party I will make my Fried Shrimp pops!

Green Mangos

This weekend was hot and humid. While at the asian market I picked up a green Mango. This is what I crave every summer, and the green mango is hard to find in Philadelphia, or in general the mainland. This was a treat my dad and I would eat over the kitchen sink and then my mom would yell at us because she was going to make green mango salad with it, but we ate it all.

We would fill up a bowl with fish sauce, sugar, and crushed thai bird chilies, untill it was this syrupy thick consistency. Combined with the green mango it was this sour cruncy salty sweet spicy treat that gave me a stomach ache everytime. But it's so worth it.

Cafe Con Chocolate

I regret that I forgot my camera, so these pics are off there website, but I will return for pictures!
This place was awesome! Cafe Con Chocolate is a family owned super sweet breakfast lunch place. Not expensive and everything is made there. I had Chiliquiles ( fried tortillas covered in mole....YUM!) and an Omelette and it was delicious! They serve Mexican and Japanese and our waitress Michelle told us her family was from Mexico and her grandfather is Japanese and her grandmother is French. It was the warmest service and everyone in there was great. Oh the tres leche cake is highly recommended.

If you live in South Philly and don't want to wait in line go to this cute place!


Cafe Con Chocolate
On Snyder between 21st and 22nd on Norwood

Brioche and Andre

My friend Nick told me that the abandoned looking pink bakery on Morris and Passyunk, behind the Taqueria, had the best croissants. One day I walked by early in the morning and I saw an awesome display of baguettes and piles of giant beautiful croissants. Finally this hot morning I made it a point to go in there, and I am such a sucker for real pastries.

Metropolitan and Le Bus eat your heart out. Andre I think is a one man show almost, bare bones operation of fresh bread and croissants. Peach croissants, pistachio chocolate, almond, plain, fresh fruit, cherry, cheese, and all the fresh baguettes and brioches.

Delicious.

Oh and the peonies are in my house where I ate 2 croissants.

Artisanal Bakery
On a tiny street between where Morris and Passyunk meet, behind the Mexican Taqueria.
Hours are a mystery

Pie Time

I love pie more than cake. Don't get restless cake fans, I'll still eat up some cake!

But I decided this summer I would learn how to make pies. Pie crust and baking in general seems so daunting to me, since baking is a science and actually requires measuring and time control whereas cooking doesn't. So I admit I was a little wary of what might be the outcome of my learning curve.

But lo and behold thanks to the recipe below, I actually made pie, without any type of machinery or magic.

And the egg wash really does make a difference!

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pâte Brisée)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 to 6 Tbsp ice water

APJ Texas Weiner Restaurant

So in what used to be a hooker and porn choked section of the city (13th and Arch) lies one of the few remaining old school philadelphia hot dog joints.

They even have the "fish cake sandwich" -pretty much the holy grail of philadelphia cuisine, at least for me - which is a deep fried fish cake on a hot dog bun with chili and/or cheese and mustard.

A Texas Weiner with "the works" comes split and grilled with chili, mustard and chopped raw onions on a short & stout roll. It's really messy and really good. Next time you're in the area stop buy and grab one before they tear it down and put in a starbucks.

Memorial Day

There's not really anything better than not having to work and spending the day eating and drinking with friends.
Like every year there was way too much food, two different guacamoles, giant tomato pies from Sam's Italian Market, beer-marinated hot dogs and burgers rubbing against vegetarian "brats" that taste like styrofoam but are pretty good on amoroso rolls and covered in cheese, guacamole, bean salad and mustard.
Also margaritas, chicken, cupcakes and 10 or 12 cases of beer.

Also petty gambling and free "Bodytalk" sessions to clean out the system and "balance the chakras" after 8 beers and 4 chili dogs ( my friend's mom is a professional holistic healer).

Sam's Italian Market
3504 Moreland Road
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

Beer Marinated Hot Dogs
marinate hot dogs for a few hours in beer, onions, garlic, bay leaves, hot peppers, etc. grill and place on bun slathered in "hot dog chili" (ground beef, shallots, garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper, coca-cola, etc but NO BEANS if you want it to taste like the stuff that comes out of the pump at 7-11) and mustard if desired. enjoy.

Yocco's Hot Dog King

Northeastern pennsylvania is a mysterious world of forgotten towns, winding country roads, flea markets, abandoned palace-sized hotels, bikers and pierogies. Yocco's hot dogs has been the "hot dog king" of the Allentown area since 1922.

So I guess I was expecting something short of amazing... unfortunately Yocco's dogs were mediocre at best. I liked the well-done grilled dogs but the buns were all smashed up and there's wasn't nearly enough of the "secret sauce".

The deep fried pierogies were awesome though. And the decor and atmosphere was like nothing else... A giant hot dog statue, floor to ceiling wood paneling, and dedicated locals in Yocco's T-shirts walking out with dogs by the dozen.

Maybe Yocco's dogs are an acquired taste? I might need to spend a week trying every hot dog spot in Northeastern PA -and there's a lot of them..

Yocco's 100
I-78 and Route 100
Foglesville,PA

Yocco's - the original
625 Liberty St
Allentown, PA

Pizza Book!

"The Pizza Book" by Ansley Joe and Gregory Pizzoli is the greatest thing ever and I wish I had done it! Maybe I will do a tiny addition dedicated to sicilian style pizzas.

It's a fully illustrated book about pizza places in Philly, and they are judged solely on the slice. The drawings are awesome and the information is fun to read. 

Highley reccommended to anyone you know moving to a new area of town or to Philly in general. Seriously if I ever move back to the West Coast, I know there will be no comparison pizza wise. And if you don't think there is a difference West Coasters, it's like getting Mexican food here, close but not quite right. 

To get a hold of this gem email: thepizzabook@gmail.com