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A Full Plate’s 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off

September 2nd, 2010 · Full Plate Cafe, NoLibs

It’s my favorite time of the year again, A Full Plate’s 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off! I was a judge at last year’s cook-off and it was a blast.This is the best kind of cook-off because for just $20 you get to sample all the competitors food as well as enjoy awesome sides from A Full Plate Cafe. Their famous mac & cheese and my very favorite slaw are on the menu.

It’s a day full of awesome. After you stuff your belly, enjoy the Northern Liberties Music Festival which follows the cook-off.

One last personal remark, I will be running the judges table so I get to finally wear this!

Here are the official details!

A Full Plate Cafe is again hosting the best cook off in Philly. Our 4th annual Rib Cook-Off contest is on September 11th. Doors will open at 12pm. Judging begins at 2pm and winners announced by 3:30pm. Professionals and
Amateurs alike will compete side by side to garner the title of “Best Ribs in the Philadelphia Area”

A Full Plate’s Rib Cook-Off is directly followed by the Northern Liberties Music Festival. These two great events working together create an entire day of amazing abundance for the Northern Liberties neighborhood and Philadelphia.

This year’s particulars include:

Professional Division. You can expect last year’s winning teams to be out grilling such as Koo Zee Doo, Sonata, and Q BBQ. North Bowl is claiming to take home “Crowd Favorite” this year.

All teams can compete in 3 categories of grilling. We are going to have all teams compete by grilling ribs, whole organic chickens, and a vegetarian item of their choosing.

Location. Location Location. We will have all teams cooking at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties. The Rib Cook-off is directly followed by the Northern Liberties Music Festival. The park is at 3rd and Wildey.

Guests are charged $20 at the door. The $20 gets you samples from all the contestants, both professional and amateur. To compliment all the BBQ, A Full Plate will be providing their famous vegetarian sides like mac and cheese, roasted beets, and southern slaw. You can enjoy sweet treats from The Flying Monkey Patisserie. While sampling all of the amazing food selections, guests can vote for “Crowd Favorite” and enjoy music and atmosphere. Judging will take place on the premises. The judges are the who’s who in the Philadelphia food blogging scene. The winners will be announced throughout the day.

If you are interested in participating in the cook-off, you still have time to sign up. They are still taking teams until Sept. 4th. You can sign up with this form.

A Full Plate’s 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off

Liberty Lands Park – 3rd and Wildey

September 11 - $20

Doors open @ 12:00

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Pecha Kucha Night: Philadelphia, Volume 6 – August 28th

August 26th, 2010 · burgerbaroness, shameless self promotion

Hey! Want to see me attempt to not be as long winded as usual? I’ll be talking about burgers and probably embarrass myself at the Pecha Kucha Night this Saturday. It’s going to be great. I’m sure the majority of you are asking what is a Pecha Kucha. Might I direct you to this page, on the interwebs, to explain it to you.

Pecha Kucha Night Volume 6

Saturday, August 28th @ 7:30

Studio34 – 4522 Baltimore Avenue

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Meg and I ate every donut in the city

August 24th, 2010 · donut, friends, teh internets

Meg might hate me for posting this picture but I think she looks totes adorbs. I was lucky enough to benefit from her epic donut bike ride, which she wrote about here. She got yelled at and I got to eat all the donuts in Philly. Yes all of them, there are none left.

A lot of donut related content here recently. Might have to change the name of this blog to Fries with that Donut or Donut with that Shake. Mmm sounds delicious either way.

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Video: George Motz Makes a Smashed Burger | A Hamburger Today

August 23rd, 2010 · AHT, George Motz, burgasm, burger, swoon worthy, video

Video: George Motz Makes a Smashed Burger | A Hamburger Today

This is why George Motz is the man. The awesome sideburns don’t hurt either. Swoon.

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BCP Report Card #14 – Johnny Brenda’s

August 23rd, 2010 · Burger Club, Fishtown, Johnny Brenda's, Report Card, burger

OVERALL GRADE: B+

Johnny Brenda’s

1201 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19125
(215) 739-9684

New BCP rating system:

Let’s get right to business! First, I would like to introduce you to the new official report card of the BCP. I must give major thanks to E for putting this together. She is so much smarter than I! If you would like to read up on how the new scoring system works please see here.

I already like this scoring system much better. It’s more focused. It’s all about the burger. With the previous system it seemed that some restaurants got a better score because people considered other dishes besides the burger in their scoring of their experience. This should no longer be a problem. BCPers can still include some of their overall impressions but they won’t be as lengthy as they used to be. I will continue sharing them with you.

My summary:

Man I was just patting myself on the back about how great my pictures had been turning out and then I took this. Sorry JB’s, you’re burger looked so much better than this. So we visited Johnny Brenda’s last month for Burger Club. I was a little nervous. Their burger has been one of my favorites in the city and I was a little afraid to share it with my burger eating buddies. Fortunately, the burger held up to it’s expectations. Most of the top scores for this burger came in the appearance and taste categories.

They switched up this burger since the last time I had it. As you can see in this post, they used a heartier sesame seeded bun. It remains one of my favorites. They are now using Martin’s potato bun, well at least sometimes. Later in the evening I saw some burgers served with the old bun. I’m pleased either way. The potato bun makes this less of a gastropub style burger and into a much simpler burger. I believe they also changed the onions they put on the burger. It wasn’t a whole red onion slice with grill marks instead they seemed to be sauteed and chopped into smaller pieces. I still enjoyed them very much. I don’t think anyone in BCP would have recognized any of this but I’ve spent a lot of time with this burger so these are my own observations. I enjoyed the changes. The patty was just as flavorful and juicy as I remembered it. It’s still a damn tasty burger. Oh and they served a malt vinegar aioli with the fries and it was AMAZING! I never want to eat fries with anything else ever again. EVER!

Hits and misses:

I don’t think I’m going to do the top hits and gripes for the report cards anymore. If you really liked them and will miss seeing them, let me know. This is all a work in progress. Instead I will try to summarize some of the hits and misses of this burger from the BCP report cards. As I stated above, most of BCP primarily enjoyed the taste and appearance of this burger. Folks commented on how juicy the burger was and found the patty to be well seasoned. They also enjoyed the potato bun. BCPers who got bacon on their burgers were very happy. I definitely need to do that next time I visit this burger. Some members who ordered their burger medium-rare found it to be cooked closer to medium. I think the burger suffered in the creativity portion of the rating system because people were expecting a more gastropub style burger. This is a tough category for more simplistic burgers because simplicity can often be mistaken as boring. That’s just my own take on it, you all know I’m a simple burger kind of gal. I was surprised to see low ratings for value/affordability. I believe the burger is priced at $9.50, which I find reasonable for a burger and fries but if folks found this burger to too simple and basic then they might also feel this is a couple of dollars too much.

Do you see what is on the plate in the picture above? WHOOOPPPPIIIIIEEEE PIES! Not just any whoopie pie but Baker E whoopie pies. She was kind enough to send over my favorite dessert to celebrate my birthday. Everyone in Burger Club enjoyed them. Before I forget, it must be noted that that staff at JB’s are the best! Seriously, our servers were super great. Also a big thanks to the kitchen staff at JB’s. To get out 17 burgers as quickly as they did and in the tiny space they are dealing with, they are heroes to me.

It’s funny how as I write these that I am reminded of how awesome Burger Club is. I’m not patting myself on the back, it really isn’t me. It’s the members of Burger Club who make it so great. So give yourselves a round of applause, you rock! Remember anyone can join Burger Club, just follow along with this blog or join our Facebook group and come to a meating! It’s that easy. While you are Facebookin’ it up, please stop by the FWTS Facebook page and give a it a like. Yes I totally need social networking sites to validate me.

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PYT BOTW – Korean BBQ short rib burger

August 15th, 2010 · BOTW, NoLibs, PYT, burger

This was one hell of a burger. Bursting with so many different flavors and yet I still enjoyed the juicy beefiness of this burger. It would be easy enough for this burger to be overwhelmed by the spicy Asian inspired mayo or the kimchi topping the burger but it was not. The patty was the star of this burger. Tommy Up and Co. should be very proud of themselves. I want all of my burgers to be made with short ribs. The kimchi added great texture to the burger. I loved it so much, I could have used an extra side of it. The spicy mayo had a good dose of heat which I enjoyed. Also great for dipping the fries in.

Using Martin’s Big Marty’s bun was a stroke of genius. This is one of my favorite store bought burger buns. This is already a pretty big burger with a lot of different components so the bun needed to be substantial enough to hold together the juicy burger but not add to the heft of it. Big Marty’s did the trick.

There is no gimmick to this burger. It’s inventive and perfectly executed (how Top Chef of me). The only bad news about this burger is that it’s available for a limited time only. I think you’ve got the rest of Sunday to get over there and check it out! I strongly suggest you do.

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Neil Hamburger and the hamburger bed (by Heather Leah…

August 13th, 2010 · Neil Hamburger, burgasm, burger, comedy, hamburger bed

Neil Hamburger and the hamburger bed (by Heather Leah Kennedy)

The existence of this picture means I can die happy. So much Hamburger.

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Current obsession: Frangelli’s

August 13th, 2010 · Frangelli's, Watch me eat, burgerbaroness, donut, favorites, south philly, video

Let’s start this good and angry. Where the hell were you people who knew about Frangelli’s when I complained about the lack of good donuts in Philly? Were you keeping it all to yourselves? Huh? WERE YOU? WHY WOULD YOU BE SO MEAN? Well your secret is no longer safe because someone tooted about these once and it stuck in my head. THAT’S WHAT DONUTS DO TO ME, THEY STICK IN MY HEAD. So be warned when you discuss, via social networks, your favorite donut spot. I WILL TRACK IT DOWN, EAT THEM, OBSESS OVER THEM AND THEN WRITE ABOUT THEM.

Now to a happier place, Frangelli’s! Look at this cute sign! I was immediately smitten when E and I pulled up here on the morning of my 32nd birthday. She is a great friend, have I mentioned that recently?. After we enjoyed my birthday breakfast, I mentioned remembering a donut place, being tooted on Twitter, in South Philly but I couldn’t remember from who or the name of said donut place. So I put it out to Twitter asking where this place was and the wonderful and kind Polianarchy led me to the promised land of glazed and jelly donuts. The rest, as they say, is history.

Frangelli’s is more than just donuts. They’ve got cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes on top of all the delicious donuts. Whatever you’re sweet tooth desires, I am pretty certain that Frangelli’s will have something for you.

But it is the donut that I am obsessed with and more specifically, the glazed donut. I love a simple glazed donut. It is a part of my childhood, having grown up in Southern California where I believe the best donuts live. This might just have to do with the fact that they are the first kind of donut I had and I believe that many of your earliest food memories inform what kinds of food you enjoy later in life. Blah blah blah, where is this going? DONUTS! So the donuts of my youth were light and airy with a little bit of chewiness to it. I did not find the donuts of my youth at Frangelli’s but I still loved them nonetheless. Frangelli’s is straight up South Philly and I enjoyed every part of it. The glazed donut is less cakey than most of the donuts I have had in Philly, like for instance the ones you will find at Reading Terminal. I obviously prefer them this way. It also has the chewiness I enjoy in a donut. I loved this donut. It’s my favorite glazed donut in the city. I couldn’t even wait to get into the car once I got one in my grubby little hands. I ate it right on the street.

I really can’t explain what happens to me when I eat something amazing. All I can say is that it involves a little dance, moaning and a lot of cursing. So if you found yourself near 9th and Ritner, on the morning of July 14th, I am sorry for all the commotion.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed their jelly donut as well. I can confidently say that this is the best jelly donut in the city. Why is that? BECAUSE THEY USE THE BEST JELLY EVER, BLACK RASPBERRRRRYYYY! It is such an upgrade from the neon red jelly that fills the majority of the city’s jelly donuts. I would gladly never eat any of those again now that I have gotten a taste of what awesome jelly can do. They also generously fill the donuts so you don’t have to worry that you’ll get a bite of donut without it.

I am terrible to my friends. Here is E, who kindly took me to Frangelli’s and then I do this to her. I did get her permission to post this but still. I’m the worst. She is pretty adorable eating this chocolate eclair style donut.

UPDATE: I should mention that I believe Frangelli’s is going to be closed for a couple of weeks, starting this weekend. Sorry!

Bonus round: watch me eat something awesome

E and I recently made another trip to Frangelli’s and purchased something besides a donut. I thought it would be funny to make a video* of myself eating it. I wasn’t even drunk when I did it. WARNING GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF ME EATING SOMETHING RIDICULOUS. I might even talk with my mouth full. You have been warned. This could be an ongoing series if you all aren’t totally disgusted by it.

*So clearly my video making skills are DIY at best. If you are a person with ok to great video making skills and interested in making fun and silly food videos get at me via the email machine.

Frangelli’s Bakery

847 West Ritner Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148-3747
(215) 271-7878

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A cavalcade of sandwiches at Johnny Brenda’s

August 10th, 2010 · Fishtown, Johnny Brenda's, sammich

Ok maybe not quite a cavalcade but here are a couple of delicious sandwiches I ate recently. Sometimes this lady wants a sandwich that isn’t a burger. Just sometimes. When that happens I often find myself at my most favorite bar, Johnny Brenda’s. The menu changes at JB’s pretty regularly so both of these sandwiches may or may not be on the menu. It’s a fun surprise! I believe they are on current rotation. Keep your eyes out for them.

Fried fish sandwich

Breaded and fried catfish topped with guacamole, a spicy harissa mayo, cilantro and pickled carrots on a sesame seed roll. Nice substantial sandwich that doesn’t feel heavy. Perfect for the summer. There is an enjoyable level of spiciness to the sandwich which is then cooled down with the pickled carrots and avocado. Also the bun might look familiar because it can be found on JB’s burger and it is one of my favorite sandwich buns.

Bologna sandwich

Bologna and Lebanon bologna are grilled and served with melted Swiss cheese, red onion, lettuce and tomato. This was actually ordered by a friend but I ended up eating a very significant portion of it. I really enjoyed this sandwich. I never had Lebanon bologna before but I am a fan now. It’s the bologna that looks a bit like salami. It’s a little heartier for a summer sandwich but won’t weight you down . I also enjoyed the bun on this sandwich, more substantial than the seeded bun and less squishy but didn’t overwhelm it.

Both sandwiches come served with JB’s fries, which are wonderful. Not go out there and eat a sandwich!

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