Philly Vendy Awards 2012

This past Saturday, July 28th, the 2nd annual Vendy Awards rolled into Philadelphia's University City section to honor the best in mobile cuisine while supporting the Food Trust (who run all the great Farmer's Markets in the city as well as the Night Markets). For those of you who don't know, the Vendy Awards were started back in 2005 by the Street Vendor Project in New York City as a way to appreciate some of the 20,000 vendors who pour your coffee, sling your hash and squirt mustard on your dirty water dogs on a daily basis. The awards have now moved on to Philly and Los Angeles where the popularity of food trucks is rapidly increasing. 


This year's finalists were comprised of 8 regular food trucks competing for People's Choice, 4 dessert trucks competing for Best Dessert, and all participants competing for the grand prize - The Vendy Cup! 

BYOF: Bring your own fork 

Once inside the lot, we bee-lined for Little Baby's Ice Cream, as we figured most people would save the dessert stuff for last. Little Baby's has delicious, handmade ice cream in a variety of fun flavors from Bourbon Bourbon Vanilla to Early Grey Sriracha. Currently they've been scooping out around town on these awesome little tricycle carts, but they are opening their "World Headquarters" Friday, August 3rd at 2311 Frankford Avenue in Fishtown. 

Their logo is totes adorbs!

Red Velvet Spodee Chocolate swirl. It had little bit of red velvet cake mixed in and was surprisingly delicious, even though I'm not a big red velvet fan.

Next, we headed for Tacos Don Memo, which already had a rapidly growing line. I'd never been to Tacos Don Memo before because they're usually set up in University City during the day so it's too hard to get out there. I love mexican food though, so this was clearly already the winner in my mind.

They were serving up carnitas tacos and chicken burritos, some of the best I've tasted in a long time. And their sauces were super tasty! 

We followed up tacos with more dessert: flavored pops courtesy of Lil Pop Shop. These ain't the pops you remember as a kid! They have an awesome variety of flavors like Goat cheese & fig and Vietnamese Iced Coffee (my fav!).

In addition to their cart, they also have a storefront in West Philly.

Next, we hopped on line for the Smoke Truck, which was also starting to draw a big crowd as they were serving up BBQ pulled pork and some savory mac & cheese. 

 

 I could have eaten this all day!

Right next door was the Vernalicious truck. I've always seen them around but never got a chance to sample their stuff before. However, grand testimonials have been made among many Philadelphians declaring their pulled pork grilled cheese as a gift from the Heavens.But they were also serving up a tomato & mozzarella sammich that I was very excited about.

 

 

 

adorable froggies! 

 

Tomato Mozz Pesto on left, Pulled Pork Grilled cheese on right

 

 

We'd made it to about the halfway mark and I was feeling pretty full now. I was determined to at least try a bite from every truck. Could I make it to all the stops? We moved on to the Delicias truck, who had a pretty slim menu for the day. They are another University City truck that I'd never been to before and was interested to try their arepas. 

 

I'd never had an arepa before so I'm not sure what it was supposed to taste like, but I didn't really like it. While the pork loin was tender, it was didn't do anything for me. And the arepa was dry, topped with black beans and kind of flavorless.

Following that, we checked out the macrons at Sugar Philly. 

They had ice cream ones! Like little mini ice cream sandwiches. Way cool. 

 

Rounding the final stretch was the Foo Truck, another truck I had been wanting to check out. On the menu today was a braised meatball "foowich" and Thai curry quinoa "foowich".

Thai Curry Quinoa on the left; braised meatball on the right

I tried the Quinoa first because I like quinoa salads, but sorry, I did not like this sandwich. The taste and the texture just did not work for me. I also took a nibble of the meatball one which was ok; it probably would have been better if I didn't already feel like I was going to explode. 

Sweet Box Philly was out of all the really good cupcakes by the time we got there, plus I just couldn't fit any more food in me. I waived the white flag at this point and in doing so, also missed out on Yumtown Truck, Lil Dan's and King of Falafel. (I'm sure I'll catch them around town)

Finally, the awards ceremony! Drumroll, please....

And the winners were: 

People's Choice - VERNALICIOUS!

Best Dessert: Lil Pop Shop (yay, I voted for them!)

And the Vendy Cup goes to: SMOKE TRUCK! 

photo courtesy of http://www.bridgesburgersbeer.com

And for my final course of the day:

Mmm! Indigestion!

I'm looking forward to doing this all over again on September 15th when NYC holds their 8th annual Vendy Awards. So stay tuned for future coverage!

Bobby's Burger Palace

In more "crossing state lines to eat at various burger joints" news, not only did I recently chow down at Shake Shacks in the Philly and CT areas, I also ate at 2 different Bobby's Burger Palaces: The West Philly/University City location (There's also a location in Cherry Hill, NJ for those of you willing to pay a toll) and at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. 

(Photo credit: BBP website)

 Palace, you say? Sounds fancy!

If you've never been, it's pretty much a fast-casual style restaurant: You put your order in with a cashier, get a number, take a seat, and eventually your food comes out to you. The counter set-ups are pretty cool, with funky lighting and "Lettuce Green" swivel seats. In addition to their regular dining room, the Mohegan Sun location also has a separate bar area with a kind of "sports bar" feel.

 (Photo credit: BBP website)

Both locations have the same menu offerings - with the exception being that the Philly location gives you the option to get your Philadelphia burger "Wit Wiz". And also, pricing: Burgers cost the same, but booze is a little bit more at Mohegan (probably because it's in a casino), but they also offer an extensive bottled & draft beer list as opposed to just bottles in Philly. In addition to the regular burgers on the menu, BBP also offers a "Burger of the Month", which, as I'm sure you can already guess, is an off-menu burger that changes on a monthly basis. You can also opt to have your burger "Crunch-ified", meaning they just pile a bunch of crushed up potato chips on top. That's not really my thing, but it's there if you decide it's your thing!

 (Photo credit: Pentagram.com)

There's also a special chart at the cashier when you're ordering that shows you the levels of Pinkness! The Cashier even verifies with you when you select your temperature if that's how you're sure you want it done. (ie. 'So you want that Medium, which is warm with a pink center?') 

 They aren't playing around either. When they say Medium, they mean Medium!

At BBP-Philly, I ordered the L.A. Burger, which is topped with Avocado Relish / Watercress / Cheddar Cheese/Tomato. Put avocado and cheddar cheese on just about anything and I'll eat it. And even though it sounds weird, the watercress tastes great and makes you feel like you're being really healthy about this delicious, juicy burger that you're eating.

LA Burger.

At BBP-Mohegan, I ordered the Dallas Burger, which is spice crusted and topped with coleslaw, Monterey jack cheese, BBQ sauce and pickles.This is my Dad's usual go-to at BBP. He loves BBP because he thinks it tastes just like a burger that you would make at home. It's got a nostalgic, sesame seed topped bun and that slight, off the grill char while still being flavorful and not greasy.  

Dallas: Pickles on my top, Pickles on the side

I also usually get the Frozen Cactus Pear Margarita. I have no idea what a cactus pear is but it's pink and there's booze in it and it's delicious!

They've also got fries (regular and sweet potato) and the biggest friggin onion rings ever. I actually took one of the onion rings and put it on top of my Dallas burger and all I could think was "Why does it not already come like this!?" Mouthgasm.

Hopefully this run-down helped ease the fears of any of you who may have been skeptical because it's a Bobby Flay place, but it's actually really good, reasonably priced and the burgers are delicious. So get on over to BBP and crunchify yo'self!

If this Shack's a rockin'

If you're unfamiliar with Shake Shack, it's a rapidly growing chain of fast-casual burger joints with origins beginning in NYC's Madison Square Park, where there was literally just a shack that served burgers, shakes and fries. It has since amassed 6 NY locations (Including the Mets' own Citi Field), South Beach/Miami, 2 locations in the DC area, Westport, CT and even overseas in Dubai and Kuwait!  

Most recently, Philadelphia got it's very first on the corner of 20th and Sansom, leading to long lines of eager Philadelphians looking to get their very first taste of a Shackburger. (The comparable option up until this point had been Squareburger in Franklin Square, which you'll recall I was not happy with upon my visit.) Seating was limited when I went, but they are supposed to be opening up outdoor, cafe style seating soon!

I myself braved the line on a Saturday afternoon after their opening, a line which surprisingly moved pretty quickly. Of course, once you've ordered, you still have to actually wait for your food, and so each patron is given a little buzzer device that vibrates and flashes to let them know to come on up to the Shack! 

I saved you guys the trouble of going and ate all the things!

Normally, I wouldn't be such a glutton, but on Saturdays, the special custard of the day "Coffee & Donuts" contains donuts from Federal Donuts - so I basically had to do it, right? 

"MMMMM - Donut." - Homer Simpson

Another Philly exclusive for Shake Shack is the Smoke Shack Burger, the first burger at any of the Shake Shack locations to ever be topped with applewood bacon! (Also comes topped with cherry pepper relish and shack sauce.) I thought the peppers gave it a nice little kick & the bacon was delicious!

Peppers playing Peek-a-Boo!

But this wasn't my only Shake Shack visit in recent weeks; I'd also stopped at the Westport, CT location on my way home. It's HUGE compared to the Philly location! (But I guess that's one of the benefits of being in the middle of Suburban CT) 

  Plus this awesome sign out front gives it the ol' road side burger joint feel.

I just stuck with the basics. I don't recall the shack sauce being quite as ZINGY! on my first visit to the UES location, and not even so much present on the Smoke Shack burger, but BOY OH BOY! My allergies had been stuffing me up all week and this really cleared me up! They must've put extra horseradish or something because it was a doozy! 

Oh yeah, you can totally see all that sauce!

Now if Philly can just get a few better pizza & bagel joints, a more extensive subway system, a baseball team with a higher payroll and a Uniqlo, I might never wanna move! 

( Just Kidding.)

Burger Time!

Hello once again, friends! I apologize for neglecting you, but I have been so busy eating all the delicious things and working on sharing them with you, as well as mingling with other burger lovers in the Philadelphia area such as Bridges, Burgers and Beer - and the infamous Burger Club Philly (who hold meetings on the last Wednesday of every month to enjoy delicious meat between two buns). I visited over a dozen different burger spots from the end of March to the end of May. And in case you didn't know, May was National Burger Month, which gave me that extra nudge to put a dent in my burger quest. I won't overwhelm you with all my burger picks right now - I know we're just getting back into the swing of things - so we'll take it slow with two.


Let's start with the March edition of the Burger Club Philly meeting at Grace Tavern, sponsored by Google Philadelphia (which was pretty awesome. Free burger & beer - can't beat that!). I ordered the Kelly's burger and while at first skeptical about the charred exterior and small-ish looking patty  presented on the bun, I was pleasantly surprised! I ordered it medium and it was perfectly pink on the inside - a sign of a well seasoned chef! Considering the kitchen was trying to accommodate all 25 of us by bringing out our burgers relatively at the same time, and cooked to order, it was pretty remarkable to see that despite the grill marks, it was exactly what I was expecting on the inside. 


I also made several pilgrimages to one of my favorite burger spots in the city, Sketch. An unassuming, colorful storefront at the far end of Girard Ave holds the key to one of the best 8 oz patties in the city. Their walls are covered in patron-provided burger-themed sketches (See what they did there?) and each table has a stack of paper and crayons so you can relive the day of waiting for your food at casual dining restaurants during your childhood. I've ordered their Cyclops burger, which is topped with bacon and a fried egg, and fallen in love with it on multiple occasions.

As you can see, I've gotten it both sunny side up & over easy. On my first visit, I wasn't really sure how the egg thing worked. The waitress asked me how I wanted my egg and I said, "Um, cooked?" She told me "No no - you don't want a scrambled egg on top of your burger. Get it over easy. Trust me." So I did. There was no turning back. When my burger appeared, there was a delicious fried egg on top with delectable looking bacon peering seductively out at me from underneath. On first bite, the yolk broke, blending - NAY - melding in the warm, delicious, perfectly medium burger sandwiched between two lightly toasted brioche buns. I was in heaven. If the clock had struck midnight and the world ended that evening, at least I would have died knowing I had just sampled the best burger I'd ever tasted. 

Grace Tavern's burger was decent, giving me definite backyard BBQ vibes. Rating?: "B"

Sketch gave me the ultimate mouthgasm and ousted London Grill as my #1 burger crush. Rating?: "A+"

Philly's Best Burger? Part 4: London Grill

There's nothing quite like the meal you eat after a night out of drinking. Your alcohol induced state brings your taste buds to certain a level of "OMG" when anything edible touches your lips that you could probably eat a deep fried shoe and it would taste like a filet mignon. This past weekend was no exception. After a Halloween party, I was craving something fried and delicious, preferably from a diner with bad lighting and waitresses with thick Philadelphia accents and white Easy Spirit shoes. Instead, my friend suggested going to London Grill in the Fairmount section of the city. He was talking up this amazing burger on an English muffin with..... a fried egg on top. Well, that fucking sold me!

So we headed on over to London Grill, which just won best burger in Philly in the first-ever city wide 'Burger Brawl'. I was worried and excited at the same time. Would it be able to measure up to my standards? Would this be it? Would I finally find the best burger in Philly?

The answer is both yes and no.

Yes, the burger was fucking amazing. I got mine topped with avocado, fried onions and boursin cheese. Cooked perfectly medium: Juicy, moist and delicious - everything I could ever ask for! The toasted English muffin reminded me of a home-grilled burger; no pretentious brioche buns here! (They forgot the fried egg, sadly, but I couldn't complain.) And with crispy, handcut fries on the side, the London Burger was a steal at $11.

But I still have a long way to go on my Philly burger quest. I can't just crown the winner right now when I've only hit the tip of the ice-burger! So for now, London Grill will hold the title and we'll see if it can be defeated.

My rating?: "A+"

Banh Mi - Oh My!

In case you're not familiar with Banh Mi, it's a Vietnamese sandwich typically served with grilled pork or tofu on a crusty, french baguette. It can be topped with a variety of things: most notably cilantro, which gets used a lot in Vietnamese cuisine, as well as cucumbers, carrots, jalapeno peppers, spicy chili sauce, sometimes a Sriracha & mayo-like concoction - it really depends on where you're going. Bahn Mi has really gained popularity recently and many restaurants and sandwich shops offer all kinds of variations (and bastardizations) of this sandwich.

Here in Philly, everything that is on a roll is referred to as a "hoagie". I hate the word hoagie; it just sounds so vulgar. Growing up in New York, I'm more familiar with terminology like "sub" or "hero", or even from my short time living in New England, "grinder". So hearing a Banh Mi called a "Vietnamese Hoagie" here kind of made me cringe a little bit.

The first place I ever tried a Banh Mi was at Cafe 900, located at the corner of 9th & Arch in Chinatown. Oh sure, QT is the famous place in these parts, but I was intrigued to see what else the area had to offer. This place offers one of the cheapest "hoagies" around; $3.50 compared to QT's $5.50. It was flavorful and delicious. Good amount of toppings. Definitely didn't disappoint for the price of breaking my "Banh Mi virginity".

The second sandwich I had was at this little place inside of an Asian grocery mart in Houston - somewhere near Minute Maid park and I can't recall the name right now. A friend and I split a vegetarian banh mi which contained lemongrass tofu. O.M.G. If I thought my first time was good, the second time was amazing. There's a lot to be said for tofu. It can either be really bland or really delicious and in this case, definitely delicious. The moisture of the tofu mixed perfectly with the crustiness of the bread and had just the right amount of toppings and sauce. I wish I could remember the name of it, but maybe it's best that I keep that place my little secret.

A few months later, I decided to take a trip to the reknowned QT Vietnamese sandwich shop, located at 10th and Arch st. Some people love it, others hate it. Which side of the fence would I fall on? I decided to go with the lemongrass tofu banh mi since I enjoyed it so much in Houston and I was extremely disappointed. This proved to be one of those instances of tofu being extremely bland. I could barely even taste the lemongrass and it was overwhelmed by an excessive amount of toppings and hardly any condiments that would lubricate the dry bread to help it go down easier. Luckily I had order a Thai tea (amazing!) to wash it down, but even still it was difficult to swallow.

My sandwich from QT: Lemongrass Banh Mi

Next, I decided to go the traditional route, classic pork banh mi, on a trip to the now defunct Tyson Bee's food truck (Formerly located in University City across from the Penn museum.This summer they parted ways with business partners and I never got to return. It was rumored that the truck would remain in it's spot but I haven't heard anything about it since.) This time, I was not disappointed. The bread had the right amount of crunch, right amount of sauce & toppings, flavorful meat; so delicious & juicy, I even got a stain on a brand new shirt and wasn't even pissed about it. The sandwich was that good. Plus, their Thai tea was the perfect compliment and not just a remedy for jamming an overly dry sandwich down my throat.

Lastly, I went the bastardization route. I read over on Midtown Lunch that a rotisserie place had just opened on 21st and Chestnut that was offering Chicken Banh Mi - and that it was actually good! So I decided to go on over and check it out for myself. Skeptical at first because it was already pre-packed in a cardbox container, once I opened it and tried it for myself, I was pleasantly surprised. Even though the overall look of it wasn't much different then a cold chicken sandwich, the chicken was flavorful, as was the cabbage and pickles with a delicious sriracha mayo sauce on top. Paired with a side of their homemade mac & cheese, I definitely came back the following week for round 2.

Chicken Banh Mi & Mac & Cheese from Rotisseur
(Pic from Midtown Lunch since I forgot to take my own)

Since this type of sandwich has increased in popularity (I've seen it offered on several menus around town), I'm sure I'll get around to trying it at a few other spots and give you guys my feedback!

Philly's Best Burger? Part 2: Good Dog

Much fanfare had been given on the Internet about the burgers at Good Dog, a bar located on 15th street between Walnut and Locust, especially in regards to their Good Dog burger which comes stuffed with Roquefort cheese.

I opted for their traditional burger, prepared medium - which is how I ask for all my burgers. Medium gives you just the right amount of pink for it to be juicy, but not still mooing. I came during the lunch hour on a Friday, so it was full but not packed and I sat at the bar. And waited. And waited. When I was at the point of gnawing my arm off I was so hungry, my burger finally arrived on - SURPRISE! - a brioche bun! (But that was on the menu so I guess I already expected that. Plus, I could tell by everyone else getting served their food before me.) Their fries came with a side of their housemade aioli for dipping. It was kind of like a watery version of the onion ring sauce at Burger King.

I prepared to dive into this delicious burger, my palate poised to receive the succulent, juicy meat. But, lo and behold after first bite, I realized not only was my burger not even the slightest bit of pink in the middle (it was hard to tell at first in the dim lighting of the bar), but it was dry, overcooked and charred - lettuce, tomato and ketchup used as an attempt to cover up the grill marks. I was starving so there was no way I was sending it back at this point and so, I trudged on and chewed through the meat like a dog chewing on rawhide. I was extremely disappointed. No flavor, just the taste of burnt beef in my mouth. And let's not even get into the brioche bun being used yet again in a completely unoriginal attempt to fancy-ify this overpriced bar burger. ($11?? Seriously??)

Regardless of how busy your kitchen is, the least you can do is try to prepare food to your customer's request. I can only imagine what would have happened if I ordered a steak there (if they even serve steak; I have no clue.) Or if I had some kind of food allergy. (I actually think I did have some allergic reaction to whatever was in their aioli after I left. I've never known myself to have food allergies before, but my throat felt like it was closing up and made it hard to swallow.) I guess they just figured it was better to overcook my burger then undercook it, and that does not a good burger make. Bad dog, very bad dog. My rating: "D".

Philly's Best Burger? Part 1: 500 Degrees

Since moving to Philadelphia a little over two years ago, I've done the cheesesteak thing and am decidedly over it. Every place in Philadelphia claims to make "Philly's Best Cheesesteak". Quite frankly, I'm partial to some Steak-Ums and a nice Italian roll made in the comfort of my own home and without all the waiting on lines, excessive grease and hours spent in the bathroom later on that evening. But what I really wanted to know was, where can I find the best BURGER in Philadelphia?

I'd read some local blogs and started doing a little research. It seems the 'best' burgers are all somewhere in the $14-$18 range and served at fancy, upscale restaurants. Is that what we've come to - backyard BBQ fare being served a ridiculous markups and touted as being 'the best'? Eventually, I will probably make my way to some of these places. (Village Whiskey, Butcher and Singer and Pub & Kitchen, just to name a few.) But in the meantime, I've been checking out the low to mid-range offerings Philly has to offer and am coming up short handed. Maybe those blogs weren't kidding after all.

One of the first places I checked out was 500 degrees, a little burger joint on Sansom St (between 16th & 17th) that touts truffle fries and thick milkshakes, as well as being owned by one of the restaurants in town with a high-end burger, Rouge. I ordered their classic burger, medium with cheddar and a side of their 'famous' truffle fries. I was definitely impressed. The cheddar was oozing and delicious, the burger itself succulent and with all the trimmings (lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayo), all encompassed by a glazed brioche bun. The truffle fries definitely helped make the meal - slender and crispy and I could barely finish them all. I passed on the milkshake as I knew I'd already be full without it. I left there satisfied and confident that this burger was already ahead of the pack. However, on a follow up trip a few months later, I was disappointed. Where was the juiciness of the burger I had previously had? The brioche bun tasted stale, dry and falling apart as I ate, my meat was slightly overcooked and too much truffle oil was tossed on my fries. Overall, I would give their burgers a "B".

I would soon come to learn that the brioche bun was not just a special treat; almost every burger place I visited after that offered a burger on a brioche bun - sometimes to compliment a juicy delicious patty but mostly just to trick you into thinking you were getting a beefy masterpiece while masking a truly terrible burger.