Making cheddar

I couldn't think of anything better to do on a Saturday in early March other than making my own cheddar cheese.

Whole milk curds after 36 hours of molding in a strainer

After drying over 4 days a rind forms 

The final product after a tedious waxing process

The cheese will age for at least 2 months.  We'll consume it in May unless the mold consumes it first.

Cafe Y Chocolate- South Philadelphia

Nestled in the midst of South Philadelphia is a Mexican coffee house/cafe that serves one hell of a hot chocolate.  Recently recognized by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a destination for fine hot cocoa, Cafe Y Chocolate boasts a menu of traditional Mexican desserts, entrees, tacos and brunch.  Hours are limited to breakfast, lunch, and early dinner (closing is at the odd hour of 6:30pm). With seating for only 30 people, expect to wait. Its not a “Honey’s Sit-n-Eat kind of wait” but a wait nonetheless.

Choosing the right hot chocolate can be hard as it all sounds and looks amazing once we take a look at the menu. The two chocolate drink mainstays are the cafe con chocolate and chocolate Oaxacan. The former is cocoa mixed with coffee with a lighter chocolate taste. The Oaxacan is full on cocoa no holding back. Both have cinnamon sprinkled on top but it works with the Oaxacan better. 

Bahn Mi and Bottles- 7th and South Streets

I’ve been on a bahn mi kick recently.  The Vietnamese street food version of our hoagies offer a variety of protein options, both meat and vegetarian (tofu is a common alternative), a flaky roll and savory, spicy pate.  The sandwich itself is a scaled down version of our regional lunch delight, offering less meat and accoutrements and substituting the usual lettuce, tomato and onion with cucumber, cilantro and carrot.  The sandwich is less daunting due to reduced volume and the price is usually under $10 per sandwich.  If you look close enough you can find bahn mi for around $5 per sandwich.  

With that said, we have had Banh Mi & Bottles on our radar for a while. Craig LeBan has written about it recently and the combo of vietnamese street foot, huge bottled beer selection, and a great cocktail bar had us move it up to number one. Located on 7th and South St a couple doors down from a regular haunt of ours, Bauhaus Schmitz, it is a nice combo of diner feel with a more modern decor. The music they play is a nice touch. For the majority of the time we were there it was reggae. 

The cocktail menu is split into two parts: the written menu and the secret menu. The written menu is meant to go well with the food and the secret menu is meant for a more adventurous sort of experience. You can be handed the secret menu to look at, but the servers seem to prefer the idea of asking you some questions and building a surprise cocktail based on your answers. We decided as it was our first time to stick to the regular menu getting a gin and tonic and a cold brew old fashioned- mainstays for each of us when it comes to cocktails. 

The starters make it hard to choose as there are plenty of options ranging from traditional spring rolls to tamarind wings. We went with traditional spring rolls with two sauces, a vinegar based dressing and a peanut sauce. Both were good with the flavors and the spring rolls were pretty standard, having both shrimp and pork.

We decided to split a banh mi sandwich so as to allow us each to get our own pho for a main course. This turned out to be a good idea. We got the super deluxe banh mi with pork, pate, and cold cuts. 

Bahn mi & Pho

Lastly we finally got to our pho and we each got a small. I wish it came in an extra small because even the small was too much at that point. But we pushed through.  The pho is served with the usual accompaniments and also with a spicy and sweet pickled onion.  The broth was the winner.  I must admit, we’ve only been to a handful of pho restaurants in and around Philadelphia.  However, amongst all the places we’ve experienced, I’ll rate this quality of this pho on the top of the list.  The options are fewer and less adventurous (chicken & beef, no tendon or tripe options) but their product is absolutely top notch.  If you’re not in the mood for hot soup there is a couple great cold vermicelli and rice bowl options to cool you off.

Eulogy Belgian Tavern- Old City

A classic haunt perhaps a bit ahead of its time, Eulogy remains a standard amidst the ever-changing scene on Chestnut Street in Old City.  The dank old tavern is a great place to take in a cold snowy winter night and that’s exactly what we did.  This was not our first time at Eulogy, far from that.  This was, however, our first time back in at least 2 years.  Nothing much has changed.  The bar, 2nd floor dining area, lighting, tables, padded chairs, the strange table with the skeleton all remains unchanged.  Part of the charm of this place is its unwillingness to bend toward trends in decor or food. 

While Eulogy isn’t winning any awards for modern interior design, it definitely makes up in fare and beer.  Lots of beer.  Over 400 different selections.  There are about 25 draughts but most of the selections are bottles.  The beer menu ranges from local to national craft breweries but it really flourishes with European, namely Belgian ales.  That’s kind of the genius and appeal of Eulogy; you're offered multiple selections of small-scale global and national breweries all before the recent craft beer revolution.  

On the solid side of the menu you have they usual pub fare with salads, sandwiches, their famous burger and fries.  Pommmes frites are the way they go-larger cuts of potatoes that are perfectly crispy on the outside and served with a spicy aloi.  The burger is still tasty with its incorporation of herbs and a plentiful selection of toppings.  The menu highlight is certainly the mussels.  This is a must-have if you’ll only visit Eulogy once.  One or two pounds of large meaty shellfish with signature broths range from classic red tomato to mustard and Hoegaarden.  Any broth will do, especially when you have a roll for dunking.  

Eulogy's sausage trio & traditional burger

Inexpensive take on Asian street foods at Streetside Cafe in Fishtown.  Among the menu items include bahn mi, spring rolls and pho; most of which are under $7.

Lemongrass chicken bahn mi at Streetside Cafe