Kong

The idea behind Kong is Chinese street food. I don't know if it really lives up to that ..the offerings were a little bit "safe" compared to what I might expect on the street in Hong Kong, or even Philly's Chinatown. But this is coming from someone who actually wants to eat blackened fermented chicken gizzards and durian shakes, so take it with a grain of salt..

Anyhow any issues I had with the concept were gone as soon as I ate the food. Went with a large group and I think we went through half the menu. Everything looked great..The crab & rice omelette with chinese sausage and splattered with sriracha was gone in 2 minutes. Simple and awesome... the kind of thing I would make at home with leftover rice. Sauteed longbeans were also nice & simple. Softshell crab was kind of lost in a big salad, I dont think I got any crab but I just might have been the last person to get to the bowl. Lamb / pine nut / eggplant dumplings were also delicious.






We also tried the short rib buns, really good, there was a kind of "slider" thing going on with the presentation, and we passed around various noodle and rice bowls, I think I had about 5 different styles of pork belly and chinese bacon- crispy, star anise braised, etc etc.. - that were all terrific. Oh and the pork ribs were great. And the tofu / edamame dumplings, surprisingly good for vegetarian stuff, nice texture, etc. Velvet corn soup - really wanted to try it but it was kind of warm out still... next time.

So even though I wasn't exactly transported to a busy market in China - you can't seem to go wrong with anything on the menu, I believe the noodles are all made on site, the prices are reasonable and the beer is cold, good service... good deal.

KONG
702-704 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia PA

Hot Dog Of The Week- Half Smoke

Washington DC's delicious Half-Smoke. I had one at Ben's Chili Bowl in January. What the hell is a half smoke? Read the full article at Serious Eats.

Aritisan Boulangerie

I don't think I ever posted about this amazing gift from Andre at Artisan Boulangerie, but it was unexpected and of course I had to heat the entire thing up in the oven and consume it in one nite. It was salmon with creme fraiche wrapped in pastry dough shaped like a fish with coffee bean eyes. It was amazing.

Jose Garces

Here is an illustration of Jose Garces for Eat Beat in the Philly Weekly this week. I can't wait to eat at whiskey tavern, which combines my 2 greatest food fetishes, pickled things and mason jars.

Meal Ticket Interview

Drawingforfood did a short interview with Drew Lazor over at Meal Ticket, the Philadelphia Citypaper's food blog. Part of their new Good Word column highlighting local food type people. Instead of answering the questions with words we did drawings. Except I had to throw in some rambling nonsense, mostly because I couldn't decide on "most beautiful thing I've ever eaten".

Read here!

Hot Dog Of The Week - Charlie's Pool Room

Some of the best Dogs I've had, in probably the coolest Hot Dog Joint I've ever seen. Charlie's is hidden in western New Jersey, across the river from Easton PA and a few miles south in the town of Alpha. Hard to find it but it's so worth it.

The Fencz brothers who run the place are terrific hosts and you'll learn the history of the place while you wait for your delicious hot dogs. Check out the hand lettered signs, read some chick tracts and play some pinball. The pool table no longer seems to be in operation as people come mostly for the dogs these days.

Read my full review on Serious Eats.





Charlie's Pool Room
1122 East Boulevard, Alpha NJ 08865

Abner's BBQ

Who knew that some of the best BBQ in the Philadelphia Area is in a strip mall in Jenkintown? I've read about Abner's a few times but couldn't believe that it could be that great. Figured people in the burbs just like it because there's nothing better.

And Philly's just not a big BBQ town. Mediocre chains and a few old joints that are hit or miss. Apparently the good stuff is all in trucks and makeshift roadside smokers in North Philly. Although I haven't been to Bebe's in the italian market. Hopefully things I will eat soon.


To my surprise walking into Abners I was hit with the smell of real smoke. The chatter of BBQ dudes in dirty aprons shootin' the breeze and hacking up huge slabs of meat. A big condiment island with pickles, different homemade sauces, and lots of napkins.

Since first going to Abner's a few months ago I went back last weekend for more (and pictures). All the meats are ultra-slow smoked with a mix of oak, hickory and sugar maple. Dry rub on the ribs and probably the brisket but maybe not on the chicken.

Authentically served "dry" you can add sauce yourself if you choose. The brisket is so moist is doesn't really need it. Pulled pork and smoked sausage, equally amazing. Ribs and 1/2 chicken, delicious, fallingoff the bone & all that. The sauces are really good though, great vinegar mustard sauce and two different tomato based sauces, one spicy & one sweet.





Sides are decent but definitely not the star. The baked beans and cornbread were really good though. Plus they have awesome classic southern desserts that change (weekly?) like pineapple upside down cake and banana cream pie. Good thing my folks (who live in Jenkintown) like it too, because I plan to stop at Abner's every time I visit. (Note the table setting and Pepper Cabbage are my mom's, not Abner's.)

Abner's Authentic BBQ
505 Old York Road (Jenkintown Square)
Jenkintown, PA

Shank's Original

Shank's and Evelyn's Roast Beef has been on 10th street in South Philly since 1962. I tried to go a few times after everyone told me it was the best, but they always seemed to be closed. Not open on my day off (monday) and breakfast & lunch only. It's sad to have never made it to the original location... which recently closed for good when they opened up Shank's Original on 15th & Sansom.

Still primarily a lunch operation, the new Shank's has that great "chrome and signed picture of Bob Saget" atmosphere that we know and love here in Philadelphia. I'm told it doesn't hold a candle to the "old italian guy in the back room smoking a cigar and playing penuckle" authenticity of the old location, but hey I bet they're paying the bills these days.

At first a bit dissapointed that my Roast Pork came on a kaiser roll. I was thinking the "regular size = italian hoagie roll / large size = 2 foot long loaf of bread" system that many delis operate with. But after tasting it - who cares. I've had a lot of mediocre roast pork sandwiches at some pretty famous places lately, and Shank's blew them all away. Big pile of meat, nice and moist, good flavor, love the longhots that weren't overcooked into mush.

The italian hoagie was suprisingly good. Super premium meats, prosciutto and I think mortadella, sopresseta... and this isn't a "specialty" hoagie, just the standard italian. Pretty much the best sandwiches in center city.

I'm a big fan of south philly institutions moving to center city, i think the Chestnut Dibruno's is the best thing to happen here in years. On one hand it's unfortunate to lose the italian market atmosphere, but it's also amazing to be able to grab some fresh mozz and a real hoagie on the walk home from the post office.

Shank's Original
120 South 15th Street
Philadelphia PA

Depression Dog

Latest Hot Dog Of The Week on Serious Eats. The Depression Dog is a minimalist Chicago-style dog that's piled high with french fries, almost like a North Jersey- style Italian hot dog, and served in overstock mcdonald's bags at awesome out-of the way hot dog joints with bullet holes in the signs.


Check out Titus Ruscetti's blog for more on Depression Dogs: chibbqking.blogspot.com


I haven't been posting all of my hot dog of the week illustrations here so if you missed any be sure to check them out. Last week I did the NYC Papaya Dog, and before that Hawaii's Puka Dog, and the West Virginia Slaw Dog.

Nick's Charcoal Pit - Again

Chau wrote about Nick's maybe a year ago and kept telling me how great it is. Finally gave it a shot and it was awesome. Now for the purists, some of the stuff on the menu says "BBQ" but this is not smoked, traditional southern bbq at all, but charcoal grilled ribs, chicken and even filet mignon slathered in BBQ sauce. They also do burgers and philly-style sandwiches on Sarcone's bread packed with everything from grilled sausage to tuna steak.

The ribs were really good and tender, wings better than most.. but my favorite thing was the char-grilled, split hot dog covered with bacon and cheese whiz on a kaiser roll. Amazing.

Nick's Charcoal Pit
(Take Out & Delivery Only)
1242 Snyder
South Philadelphia

Hot Dog Prints!

Prints available now! 4 different designs from my Hot Dog Of The Week series. I think they came out fantastic, thanks to the kind folks at Silicon Gallery Fine Art here in Philadelphia.

These are 11 x 14, high quality giclee prints on acid free, archival paper. 27 bucks a pop plus shipping from my website.

Initally produced as illustrations for an ongoing series of hot dog articles for seriouseats.com. I really don't know who wouldn't want one of these in their kitchen.

BUY PRINTS HERE

Dinic's at the Navy Yard

Didn't even know this was here! A real steak and hoagie stand smack in the middle of the Philadelphia Navy Yard. I'm assuming it's somehow related to the other Dinic's- the roast pork stand in the Reading Terminal Market (always terrific and one of the best things about the reading terminal) and the tavern on Snyder (never been there..looks amazing, hope it's still open).

Busted up old picnic tables, dockworkers and union guys... you know it's going to be good. Cheesesteaks and Roast beef on the same menu. The chicken cutlet was delicious. Cheesesteak hoagie with longhots was decent, although I hear the hoagies are the way to go.
Lunch only, closes at 4pm!

Dinic's
15 Kitty Hawk Avenue
Philadelphia Navy Yard
(map)

Kline's Restaurant

On the way home from camping we were hung over and dying for some diner food. Stopped in Cumberland, MD but the only place open didn't serve breakfast, and when we asked the waitress where to go she told us "Mcdonald's". Kind of hard to believe that an old mining town in the middle of nowhere full of old guys in VFW hats doesn't have a diner. Anyway it took an hour but we found the real deal about a mile outside of Cumberland on route 40.

Kline's restaurant is by the railroad tracks under a giant cliff. The "Lover's Leap Lounge" is to the left when you walk in and was filled with previously mentioned old dudes drinking beer at 10:30 on a Sunday morning. The restaurant itself was packed to the gills looked like the real thing. Everything on the menu was around 5 dollars and the food was incredible.



I had country ham & eggs with texas toast and noticed "gravy...75 cents" on the side order menu. Had to see what that was all about and she said, "Oh hon, that's not what you think it is, it's sausage gravy".. even better. Strange because there is no biscuits or biscuits and gravy on the menu. The food hit the spot, real slices of ham, amazing sausage gravy, even the home fries were fantastic and definitely made from fresh potatoes. In fact I'd guess most if not all of the food here is made from scratch.

Kline's Restaurant
1068 National Hwy (US route 40 ALT)
Cumberland, MD 21502

Man Camp Cookin'

Just got home from 5 days of eating meat and drinking whiskey in the mountains. This year we went to Abrams' Creek in West Virginia, way up in the Alleghenies and frequented by people named "Lightning Wolf" and "Rainbow Spider". There's a geodesic dome and bonfires complete with wild drumming and fire dancing.

Also some of the most amazing mountain country where the closest town with more than two buildings is 20 miles down crazy winding roads. Super awesome but you'd better be prepared because it really sucks if you forget supplies and have to go back and hour and half for ice or paper towels or something.



We built a 3-tiered cooking pit with some grill grates from Home Depot jerry-rigged with some stuff from a metal shop. Didn't think it was going to work at all but it did the trick. The first night I put a rub on some ribs and cooked them on the top tier for 2 and a half hours, totally expecting them to be either raw or overcooked and dry but they were right on. The 10 LB pork shoulder was a bit trickier, that thing was cooking for like 6 hours and still raw in the middle, can't win them all I guess.


We also brought a rotisserie and some whole chickens from a farmer's market in the middle of Pennsylvania, poured beer and whiskey all over them, bacon under the skin, stuffed the cavity with onions and celery (and a can of beer towards the end) . Dunked into the vanilla-bourbon barbecue sauce and that was probably the best thing I've eaten in 5 years.



Later that night we were feeling extra awesome and decided to stuff a banana with marshmallows, dump whiskey on it and throw it in the fire wrapped in foil. The marshmallows foamed up and melted into the whiskey and banana like a pudding. Unbelievable.

Martie's Hot Dogs - Keyser, WV

Martie's was our last hot dog stop on the drive from Philadelphia to West Virginia. Located on the struggling main street of Keyser, it's easy to miss because the sign out front is from a frame shop that closed a few months ago. The inside has a counter and stools, filled with old signs and hundreds of hot sauce bottles.

First thing we noticed were the ice cold bottles of beer for $2 a pop. Second thing we noticed was the smoke filled Video Poker lounge in the back room full of dudes in wildlife t-shirts. Definitely a local hang out, there were newspapers and ashtrays everywhere and self service cups of coffee for 50 cents. The proprietress (Martie?) was super friendly, Instantly knew this place was going to be a winner.



The dogs were grilled to order and piled high with spicy chili and creamy slaw. I've read about west virginia's sweet hot dog slaw and figured it couldn't be much different than anything I'd had before, but it was. Also for a near ghost town i was surprised at how fresh everything was. Possibly the best dogs of trip.

Learn more about Martie's and West Virginia hot dogs in general at wvhotdogs.com.

Martie's Hot Dogs
96 N Main St
Keyser, WV

Curtis' Coney Island Famous Weiners

Curtis' Coney Island is in the old mining town of Cumberland, located in the narrowest western part of Maryland right between PA and West Virginia. It's been on Liberty St. since 1918, originally called Coney Island Lunch. George Giatras & his soon to be wife worked at the stand when it first opened. Their son Louis bought the business in 1969 and opened a second restaurant 5 doors down the block, and ran both places for at least 30 years. Lou's son Gino is now running the business at the newer location.

When I saw the lettering on the windows I knew we were in the right place. Amazing. You can see the dudes making the dogs right in the front window. Sit at the counter and watch the game (pittsburgh teams out here) and check out all the old signs & stuff on the walls. There's also booth seating (which was packed) and tons of people coming in for take-out. Super friendly & fast service too. This place isn't going anywhere.



The dogs here are "Coney Island Weiner" style which is pretty much the same as a "Texas Weiner" but without the greek flavors in the sauce. Also the dog was not split - as seems to be the custom in Philly and Central PA - but grilled whole. The actual dogs were super flavorful here. Side of crinkle-cut fries and Cherry Smash soda, awesome. They also do a fried fish tail sandwich and a chocolate rickey which I was informed is "just chocolate milk with ice cubes in it".




Cumberland was a little more "quaint" than Chambersburg but has a ton of amazing old signage and plenty of neck tattoos.
Check out some shots on flickr if you're interested.

Curtis' Coney Island Weiners
35 N Liberty St
Cumberland, MD 21502