Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

Tee-Shirt Review – Sugar Mom’s

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

We interrupt this message to bring you a warning: There has been a large tentacled monster attacking Old City Philadelphia. Thanks to the new t-shirt at Sugar Mom’s we now have an idea of what the beast looks like. Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea should be on the look out for a fifty foot squid like monster. The shirt shows us a pointy toothed, baby faced menace swatting at buildings that spell out the word Sugar while the streets run white with the name Mom’s.

The Bar that ATE Olde City

The Bar that ATE Olde City

This is the bar t-shirt I’ve been waiting for. The monster is strange, the lettering is unique ,and the subject is engaging without being complicated. I’m also relived that this isn’t a shirt that says “Property of Sugar Mom’s” on it, or have a silly little logo in the breast pocket area. Most Irish Pubs shirts have letters in some sort of Celtic style but because of this they become standard and end up looking boring. Most people realize that a Paddy’s shirt is no different than a Brownies’. Now, Moms’ shirt has nothing standard about it. If another bar has a t-shirt with a disaster scene on it I will be forced to consider it a rip-off.

What’s the reason for this scene anyway? Is it to scare the good citizens of Old City in to drinking at Sugar Mom’s because Sugar Mom’s is a hungry beast? Maybe the shirt tells everyone that the patrons of Sugar Mom’s enjoy 1950’s style horror movies. Marvel, at the tentacles whipping around the periphery of the bulbous batboy head. Cringe, at the super creepy shadows created by its black and white design. If you want a bar t-shirt with an original design run, don’t walk to Sugar Mom’s but beware of THE THING THAT ATE OLD CITY.

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Restaurant Review – KONG

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

I feel like the food blogulous was all a twitter upon the opening of KONG, the Asian restaurant in NoLIbs, and then there was this newspaper backlash to counter the buzz.  When we first went with friends, I was expecting small plates at high prices, a la Bar Ferdinan, and was pleasantly surprised to find the prices affordable, the portions almost too large, and the food delicious. The décor is also beautiful – you feel as though it was some interior designer’s dream project with the birdcage lamps, graphic photo wallpaper, and distressed walls.  I’ve since been back several times, as one can reliably find a seat at the eatery even late at night on a First Friday, unlike some of the neighboring gastro-pubs.

Recently I stopped in for lunch, lured by the placard promising a $10 3-course 30-minute meal. The place was empty when I entered, although a few diners came in as my meal progressed. This lunch deal is a solid one – a choice of soup, one of five vegetable sides, and a large entrée, almost too much food. Choices are varied, and feature items on the regular menu.

For lunch I had Pork Wonton Soup; slippery delicate folds of noodle with two little spheres of pork, Steamed Butter Lettuces with Crispy Shallots (I’ll get to that later), and Crispy Tofu with Spicy Tofu Sauce and Pickled Beans – a amazing dish balancing sweet and hot, spicy and fermented, crunchy and smooth.

One of my favorite items sounds like it shouldn’t work – the steamed lettuces with crispy shallots and oyster sauce. Surely, I thought the first time I ordered the dish; they must mean boc choy or some other green, not butter lettuce. Lettuce brings to mind the limp slime on the bottom of a plate after a hot sandwich has set atop, or peeled off a disappointing burger. But it is lettuce and the texture and fresh green flavor is a revelation, off set by the sweet brown sauce and savory crunch of shallots. I cannot stop thinking about this simple dish. To quote the internet: noms.

I am frankly puzzled by some of the negative reviews and the apparently lack of traffic in Kong. Although I didn’t care for the wings, for the most part each dish I try is delicious, with nuanced flavors and interesting textures and spices. The mixed drinks are most certainly pinky-out, with the cutesy names to match, but the beer is right on the price point (I hate paying $7 for a local beer at a fancy join). My partner is enamored with the pork three ways dumplings, I’ve enjoyed several of the noodle dishes I’ve sampled, and with the lunch special one is able to experience several items very inexpensively. You should check it out for yourself. Watch out though; the website yells at you.

KONG
702-704 North 2nd Street
www.eatatkong.com

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Review – Earth Bread and Brewery

Friday, January 15th, 2010

earthI remember reading about Earth Bread and Brewery (most likely from Suzanne Woods) when it first opened and being curious to try it. It sounded a lot like a professional version of what my partner does for fun – making craft brews and baking bread. With the additional excuse of having friends who live equidistant, and who aren’t often able to come to the city, it still took a year to get out there. But get out there we eventually did.

The menu is not extensive, but it doesn’t pretend to be. Flatbreads – pizza really – is the focus of the menu. They are large and delicious. Six people split three flatbreads and there were left overs. I liked it better than Stella. A cheese plate was also ordered, which had the most amazing made in-house vibrant green basil cheese.  They are very upfront about their environmentalist / local foods bent, from a perspective that is obviously sincere, rather than the green-washing that has become de rigeur. They also seem passionate about their beers, offering several varietals for disparate palates, although having sampled around the table all the brews on draught,  there was an undercurrent of sameness (same grains? one yeast strain?) to the different beers. 

The menu (but not the website) had most passive-aggressive green-guilting I’ve ever seen, even given what I knew about their philosophy. It said something along the lines of we hope you drink our draft beer because it has a smaller footprint, unlike those bottled beers that have to be trucked in from far afield which damage the earth. Being from Portland, I am used to this mentality and took it in stride. I always drink what the brewery’s brewing, and their beers are good. Currently they are featuring a FreeTheHikers Scotch Ale, the proceeds of a fundraiser will go to the families of the three Americans hikers currently detained in an Iranian prison since accidentally crossing into the country last summer. More information at freethehikers.org.

Colin Keefe from the Mount Airy Contemporary Artists Space recently hit me up to inform me that I had the listings wrong. It’s not JUST this month that EB+B is showing members of the Northwest Artists Collective, but rather they always provide space for the artist collective on their walls, sometimes featuring specific members, other times creating thematic group shows, the hangings switching up every two months. Good beer, good food, ethical causes, supporting local artists, what’s not to love? I hear they even have table tennis Tuesdays. We’ll definitely be back, and it’s nice to be reminded that quality establishments of course aren’t limited to places I can walk to in Center City.

Earth Bread and Brewery - 7136 Germantown Ave www.earthbreadbrewery.com

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Tee Shirt Review – Woody’s

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Presentation is very important when selling merchandise. Instead of a discussing the design elements of a particular bar t-shirt, here are some ideas on how t-shirts are displayed. It’s hard to make any piece of clothing look good when it’s dangling from a knob, or a pipe from the sprinkler. Most bars just put their t-shirt on a white plastic hanger behind the bar. I believe a t-shirt is the canvas of a graphic artist and the bar is the gallery space where they mount their art. Bars should frame their shirts and hang them right above the bar like some famous guys’ sports jersey. Since bars t-shirt designs have sports themes anyway, it wouldn’t be out of place. Or they can get busty mannequins; they could always put on one of those girly shirts with the capped sleeves. Or they really shouldn’t be mounted at all; there should be a t-shirt gun at last call every night.

Woody's Tees

Woody's Tees

Woody’s the bar/club on the corner of 13th and Walnut has a kind of merch table. It’s a glass display case with t-shirts in different styles. It’s nice idea ,but I couldn’t get a shirt. The bartender told me he didn’t have a key to the case and to come back at four. I came back at four. Still no shirt. They told me to come back at night and that made sense because at night Woody’s is a humpin’, pumpin’ and bumpin’ club and that’s when you’d get a t-shirt. I returned the next night and didn’t go in because Woody’s is a humpin’, pumpin’ and bumpin’ club and the line was too long.

Some of those shirts were pretty cool too. One said “Woody’s” all Sailor Jerry-style inside a ribbon, across a red heart. The rest of course had a sports theme. I came back to this place three times and still didn’t get a shirt. Maybe Woody’s has the best t-shirt because you gotta work for it.

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Fall Beer Tasting Pt. II

Friday, November 20th, 2009

When the AiB contributors gathered at my house a few weeks back to sample the pumpkin beers, I also procured several ambiguously labeled “fall beers” to round out the mix-six pack. We sampled these after the Pumpkin beers, and although we used the same grading system, it clearly was confusing, so I’ll just provide a round up of the tasting notes.

I can not stop laughing at this label
I can not stop laughing at this label

Lancaster Oktoberfest was the first beer in the lineup – described as a “hearty” beer it clocks in 6.50% and you can smell it on the nose. It has perhaps one of the strangest / most hilarious beer labels I’ve ever seen showing someone who is perhaps too excited about drinking, drawing in a loose style. A drunk drawn by a drunk. Although the label amuses, the taste is of apple cider, fruity, although tasters found it “musty.” “Can’t believe this was what they were going for.” Was one comment. Ouch.

I was very excited to taste the Abita Pecan Harvest, and was not disappointed, enjoying it’s filling, pleasing mouthfeel and graphic retro bottle design. It was decided that this beer “smells like fall” and tastes nutty, with slight hoppy bitterness. One note simply said “love this beer.” Interesting, point of view, nutty, malty, but well balanced. Will definitely seek out this beer again.

The Fall Beers
The Fall Beers

The Weyerbacher Autumn Fest felt very autumnal. The aroma was likened to apples, pears, and “walking through an orchard” meeting expectations to what a fall beer should be. It was a clean, warm, golden beer with very little aftertaste. “Would order it again” was noted. If you’re averaging $5 a pint in this city, with so much to choose from, being deemed worthy of a repeat is a high complement. Clean, interesting, fallish but not too heavy.

Southern Tier Harvest Ale was also described as clean, although with a very surprising palate. Tasters detected pineapple and grassyness, and were disappointed, noting that it was “not a fall beer, more spring.” Not that it was a bad beer, but rather failed to fulfil the ideal of a harvest beer.

The final beer sampled was the Abita Fall Fest. “Love it!” With aromas of apples and “interesting” it is a warm golden colored beer, with sweet tones. I personally really liked this beer, and not just because it came at the end of 12 other beers. It was a rich interesting golden with light grain undertones, fruity high notes, hops for grass cleanliness. I’ve been trending towards malty beers lately, and found the Abita to be a perfect fall beer.

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T-Shirt Review: Fergie’s

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

You can’t wear the t-shirt of the bar you’re in. This rule was explained to us in the 1994 movie PCU. Jeremy Piven’s character said that people can’t wear the t-shirt of the band they’re going to see. The rule also applies here. Yes, you will look like a dork but you will also defeat the purpose of wearing a bar t-shirt.

fergiestshirtweb1Speaking of the 90’s it was super cool to be Irish then. House of Pain was the bomb, henna tattoos were made into shamrocks, and no one bar hopped – they pub crawled. If you lived around Center City Philadelphia you’ve probably crawled to Fergie’s Pub @ 1214 Sansom Street. I stepped into Fergie’s to check out their t-shirt.

The t-shirt is a black, cotton, Jerzees brand short sleeved shirt. The front has a 3″ x 1″ logo on the left hand side that says Fergie’s Pub. I personally don’t like the small logo off to the side, it reminds me too much of a uniform. The best part of the shirt is really the back. I love graphic tees with the graphic on the back! I’m going to wear this shirt when I have to go to crappy bars. You know – crappy bars that have too much light and too many televisions. I’m going to sit at the bar with my back to everyone and show that I drink at a better bar through my shirt.

fergiestshirtweb2Although the purpose of this shirt is to be an advertisement, I have no problem displaying a 7″ x 11′” image for a good bar. Fergie’s shirt does a good job being an ad. The three repeating shapes on back are Celtic Knots that draw the viewer to the name of the pub. It’s easy to read the address and phone number under the ancient Irish symbols, because it’s just white printed onto black. This shirt doesn’t look unique, but from what I understand Celtic Knots were used as a charm to ward off sickness. Maybe if I wear my new shirt while drinking a forty it will ward off hangovers.

Fergie’s Pub
1214 Sansom St

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Tee Shirt Review – Bob’s Happy Hour

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Bob's Happy Hour

Bob's Happy Hour

A t-shirt is a piece of Art. The graphic tee is a powerful piece of art in America. A t-shirt can be a billboard for a business or organization. In the 7-UP campaign in the late ’90’s the slogan was : Make 7-Up Yours. Then oops, something must have gone wrong in the Ad Department. On the front of the shirt it says “Make 7″ but on the back it just says “Up Yours.” In the case of the “Stop Snitchin’” shirts in the early 2000’s a t-shirt enraged whole communities and made people question how much they trust the police. Don’t underestimate the power of a t-shirt as art.

I went to Bob’s Happy Hour at 2301 Frankford Avenue to review their t-shirt. The shirt says Bob’s Happy Hour on the front. The white on hunter green makes a good contrast. The Notre Dame fighting Irish leprechaun brings the whole Irish American theme together. If I get some orange pants I could stand next to any St. Pattys’ Day float. The leprechaun is the focus of the design. His turn of the century bare knuckle boxing stance gives the viewer a sense of motion. The texture of this cotton shirt is incredible. When it was sold to me I was told it wouldn’t shrink and I believe it. Wearing a t-shirt with this type of knitting makes me feel like I could repel lazer blasts.

One of my favorite forms of artist expression is repetition. The name Bob is repeated twice. Once on the front in the name then again on the sleeve. The sleeve simply states in cursive “In Loving Memory of Bob Harris.” This brings me to the coolest part of the shirt. There is a big white number 19 on the back! The 19 does double duty as a players’ number and as Bob Harris’ birth date. Bobby Harris was a good friend of the Philadelphia Phillies and former owner of the bar. Bobby played with the Phillies during training. There are photos in the bar showing him in his uniform throwing his famous pitches. The true beauty of the shirt is in the sentiment. Sure, the oversized logo makes it unique but it’s not just a wearable sign for a bar but memorial for a recently lost family member.

Bob’s Happy Hour Bar
2301 Frankford Avenue

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Water Closet Review – Tattooed Mom’s

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Mom's Bathroom

Mom's Bathroom

Starting with the negative; the bad thing about Tattooed Mom’s bathroom is that there is only one. One ladies room for the whole downstairs bar, in a bar that can get packed, and the line to the ladies room can become the stereotypical stereotype.

The bathroom is pretty clean. This and almost every other time I’ve been in there.  Maybe the staff cleans it on a schedule or maybe there is a certain level of respect for the establishment. You are in Tattooed Mom’s for Christ’s sake!

The bathroom itself has green tile all around the walls with a light tan tile as the floor. It kind of feels like you are in a 1970’s hospital. Two rolls of toilet paper at all times, paper towels and plenty of soap. Very spacious and well lit. A working lock on the door and the mirror is large and clean and usually has fliers for upcoming Mom’s events and weekly specials.

On this visit, the bathroom was a little overflowing with paper towels. But at least there was no garbage on the floor. Tattooed Mom’s: clean, cheap, comfortable, great all around!

Tattooed Mom’s
530 South Street

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Places I love: Tattooed Mom’s

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

What's that out the window?

What's that out the window?

How can you not love Moms? Granted, there are two, Sugar Mom’s and Tattooed Mom’s, both both share an affinity for feeding you free lollipops, giving your toys, and looking the other way when you write on the walls. Sugar Mom’s in closed two days, and located in a basement of an apartment building in an alley in olde town, and Tattooed Mom’s is on dirty, dirty South Street, and is divided by and upstairs / downstairs dynamic that rivals Victorian England. Both fill with die hard locals on the off hours, have some of the best bar tenders in the city, and fill with headache inducing out of towners (both the Jersey and suburb variety) on the high hours. Either way though, you have to be a stone cold bastard and jerkass if you don’t like Mom’s.

Ah, yes. Terrifying trash monsters.

Ah, yes. Terrifying trash monsters.

Seriously, what kind of ass are you to not like Mom’s? What is wrong with you?  Tell me in the comments.  Seriously, what could you have against the places? Granted, much like my own  mother (and probably yours) Mom’s has flaws. And not just subtle flaws, but proud, glaring, heart-on-the-sleeve flaws. Those flaws aren’t for everyone, but you have not love in spite of, if not like for, flaws. But with those flaws comes great love and rewards. (more…)

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Water Closet Review – McKenna’s

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Just for the Ladies

Just for the Ladies

McKenna’s Tavern cares about the ladies!

Not only is there a separate bar entrance for ‘ladies’; but there is one of the most awesome and strangest bathrooms I have ever seen. When you walk in everything is a crisp, fresh white. White tiles, white floors, toilet, sink, and hand dryer. Everything is also marvelously clean. Empty trash can and full toilet paper, a little scrub brush next to the toilet. One positive thing I’ve noticed with reviewing these bathrooms the drain in the middle of the floor. If a bathroom has a drain in the floor then I’ve found it is more likely to be clean. Probably because it’s just easier to mop up. This restroom has a drain.

Shot of one toilet, as seen from the other toilet. Weird.

Shot of one toilet, as seen from the other toilet. Weird.

As I’m looking around, I turn the corner of the wall behind me and what do I find? Another toilet! This other toilet is just to the left the first toilet, around a corner. No curtain, no door, just maybe 5 inches of wall that separates you from the other toilet. So, if you really wanted to, you could lean forward and just start chatting with the other person in this restroom and see you are talking too! [Ed note: This happens a lot when drinking at McKenna's. For a while there was no lock on the outside door so peeing with someone else was bound to happen. No separation while on the toilet leads to fast bar buddies. Hi, Barbie, if you're still alive!] Very odd! I mean odd for a ladies room. I know you guys deal with this kind of design all the time, but for a ladies room—weird. The other toilet stall area is equally as clean as the first one.

Note the high-quality soap

Note the high-quality soap

The most impressive thing about the bathroom is the soap. Philosophy’s Grace. You know exactly what I’m talking about. That’s awfully fancy for just a neighborhood bar. Very clean, fully stocked and fancy soap! This is why you’ve gotta admit—McKenna’s Tavern cares about the ladies!

McKenna’s Tavern
24th and Brown Street

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