Posts Tagged ‘Review’

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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Art In Bars – Steph Cisso

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

 

Steph Cisso

Steph Cisso

Tritone is that bar on the West side of South Street. It’s got that handicap ramp that leads up to the door and behind that door are blood red walls. Usually the walls are sparse. There’s a chalkboard menu here or a demonic painting there, but mostly blood red walls. Occasionally there’s a piece of art that goes up that doesn’t fit the decour so I was surprised to see this 8″ x 10″ beauty during one of my visits.

I don’t know who Steph Cisso is but I’m asking her to prom. I’m sure she will agree to my idea of having a tuxedo made entirely of black leather while she sports the Carrie White look covered head to toe in fake blood. I don’t care what grade she’s in or if she’s pretty ’cause this chick’s rad. My favorite part of this collage is the outline of the center figure that creates frame within a frame, and the pink makes a slick contrast to all the black. I’m sure Steph Cisso didn’t learn any of her techniques from Mrs. Harpers art class – unless I missed the day her lesson was on skulls and death.

Tshombe

Tritone 1508 South

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Terry Mcall at Atlantis: The Lost Bar

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Terry Mcall

Terry Mcall

The sculpture display at Atlantis: The Lost Bar is called Gear Forms and it is right on the money. The glass and metal gear pieces fit the bar nicely. Most wall mounted mirrors are flat and two dimensional but these tough looking cylinders stand out three to five inches from the wall. These few inches make a big difference because it gives the impression that the wall is sturdier than what it is. The three mirrors, 10”, 13” and 17” in diameter pop out at you instead of becoming a part of the wall. Even though they are the size of regular mirrors they are in no way regular themselves. The colors give the viewer a nautical feeling. All the navy blues, fire engine reds with the silver and gold imply porthole rather than window.

The artist Terry Mcall is my kind of craftsmen. Rugged and stylish is always a good way for an artist to go. The piece Black and Red Flange seems like it was a spare part of some industrial plumbing that was assembled to make a simple room look tough. There are about ten of these mirrors and I’m wondering if they’re anymore. Can Terry Mcall churn out ten of these in a week or fifty a day? I don’t know but I do know I want one – or two or three.

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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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Art Review – Brad Carney

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Drinking in the right environment is very important. This is no bullshit. Think about that can of beer you had at that party on that roof deck. When you were drinking under the stars you probably did that thing you do when you grip the beer can at the top with your fingertips. Now, think about that can of beer you had at that gallery opening. When you were standing next to those abstract streaks and squiggly sculptures you held that beer on the side of the can and swung your pinkie finger out like a kickstand. My point is that a change in the place you’re drinking can affect how you drink.

Brad Carney - cell phone shot of the art

Brad Carney - cell phone shot of the art

I was at the Lost Bar again (it’s becoming my new favorite bar) and they  have changed the art on the walls. Before, this bar had some pretty cool art up. It was a bunch of colorful paintings with chicks on them. That’s chicks the baby birds, not the derogatory word for adult women. Although either would make me feel like I’m in a fun bar. Now shit’s changed with the art of Brad Carney. Brad Carneys’ work makes the Lost Bar a little fancier. The colors in the painting are more muted, giving the place a fine dining kinda feel. They have purple, pinkish and burgundy lines that remind me of something biological. (ED NOTE; the word you’re searching for is “yonic“) Carneys’ stuff comes with short horizontal lines that imply ribbed things in your body, like your throat or duh, your ribs. Other paintings have big round swirls that give me the idea that I’m looking at the monitor of one of those mini cameras doctors cram into different orifices.

The paintings are well done; I would buy one, but I couldn’t help but scoot a little bit away from the wall when I sat down. Maybe I thought the vortex like circles would suck me into the colorful insides of a bigger life form. I felt like I would have to drink the rest of my beer inside someone; like in that movie Innerspace with Martin Short or Osmosis Jones with Chris Rock or that old movie Fantastic Voyage. Maybe it’s the colors, maybe it’s the placement of the paintings, but I also wanted to drink with my pinkie finger out  That is some artist that can creep you out a bit with abstract lines, but still make you feel like you in a fancy joint without using chicks.

Atlantis: The Lost Bar
2442 Frankford Ave.

Tshombe

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An exercise: stretching my skillz

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Way back when I was a callow youth, my friends used to play a game with me called “why is this art?” They would pick some random object (or confluence of objects) and ask me to explain what it means, why it could be considered art. I love this game. I probably invented this game and forced my chums to challenge me. They probably hated it, as I can go on and on. I had no idea how well this game would serve me when I arrived at college. And once I started dipping my toes in actual aesthetic analytical theory and history? There was no stopping me. I wish I could write fluff for academia forever, but there’s not exactly a market for crafting nearly indecipherable text. (No, you can not pay me to write a paper for you, even though I would like to. Your professors will know you did not write it.) I like it even better if there is actual intent or meaning in the images, but I occasionally try to stretch my brain by playing the why is this art game with myself.

Goal: take the images from my previous post about the FOB tags at Starr Garden and write about in an academic art critical manner. Warning: over 2000 words. (more…)

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Art Review – Luisa Opalesky at Soy Cafe

Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Luisa Opalesky - Untitled

Luisa Opalesky - Untitled

Seeing the photographs by Luisa Opalesky on display at the Soy Cafe is like stumbling on to an old picture album of you parents, providing evidence that they used to be nudists in the 70s. Featuring pairs of female zaftig (or is it just normal-bodied) nudes in various draped poses, the cerulean and ochre color fields dominate the dark compositions of these photographic prints. Frequently the photographs are intentionally blurry. As if the moment the artist intended to snap alluded capture. Much akin to peaking around doorways, the photographs offer the slight titillating thrill of voyeurism, although the reveal is anything but salacious. The nudes do not care that you are admiring them.

(more…)

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Water Closet Review – 12 Steps Down

Monday, July 20th, 2009

12 Steps Down

12 Steps Down

12 Steps Down is a fake dive bar in South Philly, in the Italian Market area. I say fake because yes, 12 Steps Down has a never ending stream of surly bartenders and it’s kind of dark in there. But in reality the drinks are not cheap (except “brunch” specials and a weekly beer special); the beer selection is very impressive and they serve real food. These are not bad things at all, just not dive-y.

Interesting tile there

Interesting tile there

Anyway! On to the bathroom. The bathroom at 12 Steps Down is very clean; soap, hand towels and toilet paper are all there. Two locks on the door. The walls are painted in textured faux stucco with a light and dark green and a white. The floors tiled, with a brownish color. The door seemed to be the only place with graffiti, some of it carved into it. In fact, the only strange thing about the bathroom is the toilet itself. It runs, and it has been running for years; I know because I tried to fix this toilet at least once before. But, sadly, I couldn’t because it is a real industrial toilet. And I’m no plumber. This is all very good news, in the bathroom world. Clean, fully stocked and colorful with locks on the doors. Not too much to ask; and for 12 Steps Down, it’s not too much to give.

12 Steps Down
9th and Christian

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