William Mulherin's Sons- Fishtown

We love Fishtown.  This old residential enclave recently underwent a Renaissance to make this neighborhood appealing to those who seek the trendy.  This is not the first neighborhood to pursue fine dining but some of the notable Philadelphia restauranteurs already made their mark on Frankford Ave. with Fette Sau and Frankford Hall.  A few blocks from the bustle of the Frankford and Girard corner is William Mulheron’s Sons, a 6-month old restaurant with Italian inspirations.  The restaurant is situated next to the el and right across from one of the best dive bars, El Bar.  There is quite the contrast between El Bar’s famous $3.50 whiskey shot with PBR can and the grappa selections of WMS that are upward of $20.  

First things first, this place has a cocktail special, which is something more places should apply, but the nightly cocktail menu is very interesting as well.  The servers are incredibly knowledgable about their libations, even knowing the specific quantity of liquor(s) poured into each drink. 

We kicked off our dinner with a few small shared plates which initiated with a hamachi crudo.  A solid, fresh, citrusy fare, there is nothing to boast or diminish about our raw fish appetizer.  

Next up were dates were stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped in speck (Austria’s version of prosciutto). The speck gave it the meaty flavor and a nice texture. The flavors were okay but it begged for something extra-mint maybe? Sounds crazy, but it was the first thing that came to mind. 

The home made angel hair pasta with black trumpet mushrooms, garlic, fava beans, and parmesan was nothing short of amazing perfection. As the special pasta of the night, we could not pass it up. One of us got flavors of pierogies, the other of lipton pasta packets. You don’t have to think real hard on who came up with each.

Our main courses were a grilled lamb steak with waxed barlotti and roma bean salad.  The steak was relatively flat and reminiscent of a ham steak.  It was well seared and still exhibited the prototypical lamb flavor.  The steak was seasoned, perhaps too much, which gave it a very salty flavor overall. 

A real winner was the suckling pig.  The cut and preparation of the pig was reminiscent of a well prepared belly; nice crispy sear on the outside with some molten fat and tender meat in the middle.  Heirloom shell beans added some earthy hardiness and grappa braised peaches (which were amazing on their own) lent some sugary sweetness to the naturally salty meat.

Something must be said of the outstanding service here, being knowledgable, friendly, patient, and enthusiastic. Outdoor seating is loud with the el right there, but still nice on a warm night. The inside is well decorated and nicely done. A new brand of hand soap/lotion was discovered here (cowshed) that was nothing short of life changing for one of us who is obsessed with herbal and citrus scents. 

Pizzeria Manninos- Pitman, NJ

Having grown up in Pitman, NJ, I have long been accustomed to eateries and businesses opening and closing in Pitman’s famous and ‘historic’ downtown.  The turnover of restaurants in this town seem to be like the changing a calendar each year.  There was little room for success in this conservative dry town notorious for “rolling up the sidewalk” and ending business hours prior to 8PM.  Then, earlier this year the borough counsel approves for Pitman’s first Brewery, Kelly Green, due to a loophole in state laws.  Pitman was able to legally sell alcohol for the first time in its history and the brewery has so far taken off in popularity.  Subsequently a second brewery will open its doors about 30 feet up Broadway from Kelly Green.  To add to the sustenance and libation trends in the region, Pitman witnessed the opening of Pizzeria Manninos in a decades-old corner building on the edge of Broadway. They are piggy-backing on the success of the brewery, staying open on the weekends an hour later than the brewery.

Pizzeria Manninos utilized a wood-fire oven and ages its dough is a style very similar to accomplished and authentic pizzerias in Philadelphia and New York.  On our first visit to Manninos we opted for three selections on the menu:  pesto, boardwalk and rustica. The boardwalk seemed to be the group favorite, being a standard cheese pizza with the exception of cheddar cheese as well as mozzarella. The cheddar didn’t seem overly noticeable, but more of a texture thing. The sauce is the standout of this pizza being the perfect amount of sweet (I hate when a sauce is too sweet but also hate it when its too acidic). The pesto was a nice white pizza  with oven roasted tomatoes. The pesto was plentiful but didn’t take away from the cheese. The over roasted tomatoes had a nice meaty flavor to them that was surprising. The rustica was still good but the least favored of the 3. The ricotta was amazing but the italian sausage didn’t’ seem to mesh as well with the cheeses as the other pizzas did.

Top to bottom:  Pesto, Boardwalk, Rustica

The last thing worth mentioning is a nice gelato selection, including affegato, a combo of vanilla gelato and espresso (also known as dessert heaven). They have multiple selections of homemade flavors worth trying, including a pretty awesome hazelnut.

Overall, this is a great spot for Pitman. Good pizza with even better hours of business in a place where business fails because of poor hours. More importantly, gourmet pizza is not a thing renown to South Jersey, so this is a place to be proud of.

Philly Style Bagels- Fishtown

“No toaster on premises” is written on the bottom of the chalkboard menu as you enter this corner bagel shop in Fishtown.  It turns out that a lack of bagel toasting is quite alright at Philly Style Bagels, winner of Philadelphia Magazine’s best bagels 2016 and Bon Appetite Magazine’s best new sandwich in the country.  The outside of the bagel is nice and crispy with a soft doughy interior- truly unlike any other bagel I had while living in the Philadelphia area.  This contrast creates a perfect balance that requires no further toasting.  

The menu options are pretty standard:  bagel selections, cream cheeses and bagel sandwiches.  The ‘Classic Lox’ bagel recently won ‘Best New Sandwich’ in Bon Appetite Magazine.  Our order of the ‘classic’ exhibited a perfecto portion of salmon, tomato, cucumber and red onion complimented with the rich cream cheese but textures of the bagel (in this case an everything bagel) stole the show.  

Classic Lox Bagel

Philly Style Bagels has predominately morning hours and will close early when the day’s stock is all sold.  A line out the door and up the sidewalk can be common even at 9AM on a Sunday. However, the quality of the bagels, cream cheese and sandwich options will definitely call for multiple return trips, even if it requires a 30 minute wait. 

Lincoln- Portland, OR

Portland is a great city for food enthusiasts.  The city is a melting pot of influences from Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and of course the Pacific Northwest.  One can find fare of most any nationality in upscale, casual or food truck grab-and-go dining.  (The city boasts the most food trucks of any US city; and these are the modern form of a food truck from trained chefs, not the classic coach you find on a city street corner during business hours.)  

During our trip to the Pacific Northwest we opted for one nice, pre-planned meal on our entire trip since most of our days were planned last minute and spent much time outdoors. We wanted to find something that embodied the vibe of Portland and carried a wide variety of food options. Complete your food choice with a pairing of local wine, spirit (craft distilleries are numerous in the NW and making their way east) or beer (the most craft breweries of any US city per capita).  Pair this with a philosophy of simplicity and local sustainability and you discovered the workings of Lincoln in Portland’s Northeast neighborhood.

We started with grilled dates and macrona almonds and wow were they amazing. Served on toothpicks in lime sauce and sea salt they were so savory but small and light so just one bit with a total of six pieces. Next was the asparagus hummus with shrimp. Now one of us likes asparagus and the other hates it so this was concerning. And for no reason. The hummus was amazing with light accompaniments that allowed the creamy, earthy texture to shin without being too much like asparagus. The shrimp added a briny flavor that was unexpected as it seems like it would not fit with this dish. But it totally did. Lastly we had the heirloom tomato salad. I have little to say about this as it was by far the most underwhelming dish of the evening. Seriously, not even close. The tomatoes were good, I guess?

Grilled dates with macron almonds (top) and asparagus hummus with local shrimp

The first entree was the spatzli with lardo, morel mushrooms, and pickled persimmon. The sauce was thicker than expected, giving it more of a feel of very savory and fatty mac and cheese. The lardo was more present than I would have expected but was well balanced with the mushrooms. The portion was definitely plentiful and I was unable to finish it all although I made serious attempts to do so. 

Spatzli with lardo

The second entree was a special made up of pan-seared sockeye salmon, wild rice and greens.  This was hands-down the best salmon I ever tasted.   While the flavor was a mild “salmon” flavor, the preparation was virtually immaculate.  The sear was perfectly executed allowing the skin to be edible and crispy with some rendered fat underneath to provide extra flavor and a butter-like texture.  

Pan-seared salmon

We opted to forego dessert on this evening as our appetizers and entrees provided more then optimal nourishment.  Overall, Lincoln serves as a representative of the trending food culture of Portland while an award-winning and published chef (Jenn Louis) is at the helm.  There was nothing exotic about the menu options or preparation but a professional way of presenting locally sourced and fresh ingredients. 

Salt and Straw- Portland, OR

Full disclosure- we are not ice cream people; we like it but who doesn't?  However, we do not bend over backward to attend ice cream parlors or make it a part of our daily, weekly or even monthly lives.  There are exceptions such as Bassett's or Franklin Fountain in Philadelphia.  On our travels to Portland, Oregon, we specifically marked the very popular ice cream shop Salt and Straw.  This is not completely traditional ice cream flavors such as vanilla, chocolate or strawberry.  Instead, you have gin spiced blackberry jam with chocolate chips, Stumptown Coffee & Burnside Bourbon, and an occasional ice cream derived from bone marrow.  During our (first) visit to Salt and Straw bone marrow was not on the menu, but it is berry season in the Pacific Northwest.  We opted for a "flight" of ice cream and sampled 4 flavors.  Traditional cups or house-made waffle cones are also available.  Our flavors were honey lavender, Portland Creamery's goat cheese with marionberry & habanero, Arbequina olive oil, and pear with blue cheese.  

We disagreed only slightly on our favorites. The top two for both of us were the honey lavender and pear with blue cheese. Lavender is a popular crop around here and the honey in the ice cream is made from local honey apiary, Bee Local. Both flavors were well balanced, with lavender being a little more prominent but not in your face. The pear and blue cheese was not a smooth ice cream but rather had chunks of both in it. The pear was intensely sweet but the blue cheese was a good balance for this.

Foreground - background:  Honey Lavender, Olive Oil, Pear & Blue Cheese, Goat Cheese with Marionberry & Habanero

We both listed the olive oil and the goat cheese ice creams as less favored. That doesn't mean we disliked them, we just didn't like them as much as the others. The olive oil was pretty strong flavored, which is nice if you like the oil and cream combo. The goat cheese was prominent in that scoop with the marionberry and habanero being sadly more mild that expected with only a little sweetness and spice to it at the end. As it was the only limited edition ice cream we tried, I think we were hoping for a little more from this one. 

The beauty of Salt and Straw is not only the out-of-the-box thinking for ice cream flavors but the passion and focus to utilize local provisions and businesses as the backbone of their ingredients.  When browsing inside the parlor there is a shelf dedicated to the purveyors of the ice cream ingredients with their specific products (i.e. the olive oil and Bee Local Honey) for the consumer to purchase. While this symbiotic relationship between small businesses is not unique should be praised and admired.  It is, after all, the first time we've seen this when it pertains to ice cream.

A Little Blurb About Us

Sometimes this blog seems so impersonal because all we ever write about is food we eat at other places. We never actually talk about foot we make ourselves. This needs to change. After we get back from our trip to the Pacific Northwest (currently on the plane there!) we will start working on writing about our own dishes and meals. We have no intention of turning into a recipe blog, but rather writing about dishes that we make and what we like and don't like about cooking and food. 

We tend to try to do more dishes from scratch in a farm to table fashion, locally sourcing our veggies from either our garden (very local) or from our crop share (Jack’s Farms Pay-as-you-go crop share-link at the bottom of the page). We try to locally source the meat as best we can and have some favorites. We try to be creative with new things but have some standard dishes that we do on a consistent basis. Ethnic dishes from both our backgrounds tend to be the most interesting to make, mainly because we are both the most critical of these. 

I (Cassie) have also taken up canning and pickling with Rob helping with this occasionally. I love doing it as much of it comes from our garden or our crop share and is completely fresh. And its nice to be able to make your own tomato sauce, jellies, peppers, and pickles that will last a whole year. 

So more on these things in the future. Will likely bunch things together in categories. Excited to try something new!

A couple stops at Pike Place Market:

In a corridor off the main street in Pike Place Market lies Oriental Mart, a family-run Filipino lunch stand that whips up homemade traditional fare including salmon tip soup.  Salmon tips are usually discarded and rarely available for public purchase.  The tips include the meat and anatomy around the gills and pectoral fin and includes some more fatty (and therefore tastier and very tender) pink salmon meat.  Served in a sour lemon grass broth with a tamarind and tomato base, the consumption process may take some patience and dissection but the pay-off is well worth the effort.

A block away from the main hub of Pike Place Market is Seattle Coffee Works.  We knew that Seattle folk take their coffee very seriously but SCW takes their coffee making to a new scientific level.  Enter the vacuum pot, a device that utilizes vacuum filtration to make your pot of coffee.  The result is a light-bodied, mellow, and drinkable cup (or carafe) of coffee.  The barista refers to it as "coffee tea" which is entirely accurate. Once this coffee is served it is meant to cool which unlocks some of the natural flavors of the coffee; in our case, mild berry, dark cocoa powder and a slight metallic (in a good way) aftertaste.