Make your own Porchetta Sandwich with Esposito's and Sarcone's

Esposito's has been selling their porchetta from a tiny store front for years. I had no idea what to expect, and was not even sure I was in the right place; it did not exactly look like a place that was open and ready to sell me some meat. But, through the red door we went and they were so ready. Esposito's sells huge whole porchetta pigs which would be a pretty impressive addition to any party.

We were here to get some serious sandwich material. We picked up a pound of sliced porchetta for $9 and half a pound of sliced provolone, they also sell roast beef for $10 a pound, both come with gravy. The guy working there saw how excited we were at his products and gave us a tour. I probably would have cried if I had forgotten my camera.

The inside of the freezer is filled with vats of chopped garlic, and then there are these beauties- already covered in the garlic and rosemary and ready for their 8 hour spa treatment in the oven.

"hey, sup?"

That was the pig head, staring right at us, from deep inside the super old oven.

Here is our sandwich recipe in photo form (it feeds about 4 people):

pound of sliced porchetta and 1/2 pound provolone

plus a loaf of Sarcone's bread

= one of the best sandwiches you can get in Philly

Esposito's

1627 S. 10th Street

Taste of Philly!

Wendesday's Taste of Philly was a great time.

(Thank you to the Phillies for causing a diversion and limiting the attendees; the lines were minimal, it was the perfect sized crowd)

Drinks were more than plentiful, Victory brewing provided 3 beers, including Golden Monkey, which went well with pretty much all the food.

For favorite food item of the night, our group consensus went for the oysters at Snocky's.

Which is kinda not fair, because you can't possibly go wrong with fresh briny raw oysters.

My second favorite dish and one of the more impressive drinks came from Mango Moon, in Manayunk. They offered their tea infused gin and a house made sausage that was one of the more flavorful bites of the night. I was very impressed and their actual menu has so many tasty and creative plates that make them stand out from the standard Thai restaurant.

I was surprised at how good the Tir Ni Nog's risotto was, theirs included crab

and white truffle.

They also provided an ice luge for shots. How thoughtful!

Kibbitz Room sliced up their signature corned beef and had a whole tray of pickles.

I have been meaning to check out Tastee D's. I could not for the life of me hear what the name of the dish they served was called, it was kind of like a tasty tamale though and I liked it.

Instead of your typical bar wings, Monk's got a little funky and dished out frog's legs with whipped cream cheese and gorgonzola.

Prive did a trio of spreads;

the garlicky tzatziki was most notable.

The JNA Institute of Culinary Arts put out a tasty bite of duck confit; I found out they do a $25, 4 -course prix fixe (and I heard students can get 20% off), with the sample menu they displayed, this is an amazing price for what you get.

Bebe's BBQ cooked their pork for 16 hours for us and topped with either a vinegar or tomato based sauce.

The Swift Half's version of a Bloody Mary was so refreshing and spicy, I loved it. And I am glad I got to their bacon fudge before it ran out. The drink and small bite has me intrigued about this place.

Archedream for Humankind provided the trippy entertainment that looked like this...

Thanks Philadelphia Weekly, for entertaining me and getting me both full and tipsy on a Wednesday night! I look forward to it next year.

Are you going to this? I am

Taste of Philly is on Wednesday, dishes from Philly restaurants are prepared for us under one roof.

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/event-series/PWs-3rd-Annual-Taste-of-Philly-39798937.html

$6 pizza pies in the Italian Market

Lorenzo's makes a cheap ass halfway decent pizza pie. A small is $6 and comes with 8 smallish slices. The crust is crisp, and the cheese level is spot on, the sauce has a good flavor but is a tad sweet and is missing that coagulation with the cheese that in my opinion can only be found in New York... but really though, very worth picking up. I have had far more abysmal slices in this city; this pizza was fully enjoyable.

They serve battered broccoli, which I would be interested in trying on a later date.

They also have the ever so important instructions on where to order in many languages and a pizza making version of Tickle me Elmo.

900 Christian St

Candied Ginger at The Spice Corner

The Spice Corner in the Italian Market is a nightmarish timewaster because of its captivating supply of every spice imaginable and other fun things you might realize you absolutely need in your kitchen. I could not pass the $1 bag of candied ginger sitting by the register. There are endless possibilities for this cheap little luxury, as a garnish for a savory dish, maybe over ice cream, but so far I have just nibbled on it.

Burmese food at Rangoon

I would definitely recommend a dinner at Rangoon, a medium sized Burmese Restaurant in the Chinatown area.

I ordered my usual favorite Burmese apps and all were to my liking; the roti canai tasted exactly as it should, with flakey bread and curried up dipping sauce I would have liked to drink.

Burmese style tofu is so completely different from your regular tofu, being made from chick pea, that I always wonder why it shares the same name. Either way, its worth ordering, not only just to try something new, but because of the subtle flavor of the mushy insides contrasted with the crisp fried-but- not- too -greasy outside. (the menu claims they are made from lentils, but I am almost positive that is an error)

Rangoon's version of the tea leaf leaf salad was a little more

sesame-ish than tea leaf-ish,

which was still ok by me because sometimes that tea leaf flavor can come on too strong.

For the entrees, the whole banana leaf fish was perfect with its fragrant curry sauce and crispy fried flakey fish.

This noodle dish looks nice, but it was kinda funky. I can't remember the name of it ( it may have been the Rangoon House Noodle) but the menu said something about it being the best noodles ever, it sadly wasn't. But one miss out of many dishes, is allowed.

Rangoon serves wine and beer and has a corkage fee for byo.

112 North 9th Street

Speaking of Pickles: 2-day Pickled Broccoli and my new pickle necklace

Did I mention that I was obsessed with pickles? And more importantly, do you pickle your broccoli stems? Because you really should. The NYTimes once mentioned a basic recipe for doing this and since then I have pickled all the broccoli stems left over from when I make broccoli, which gives me even more of a reason to make broccoli in the first place. Its a quick pickling process and so easy to make.

The first step is to get rid of the harder outer layer with a veggie peeler. Cut it up to your desired shape; sometimes I do long spears, but this week my broccoli was shorter so I went with round pieces. Put them in a container and cover with salt, shake it up to coat it.

Refrigerate over night. In the morning drain the water and add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, ground pepper, chopped garlic and any other spice of your choice- I like mustard powder for example.

By dinner time, your broccoli should be ready enough to enjoy.

Lookie, what came in the mail this week- my pickle necklace I ordered from roscata.com. I am a happy fashionable pickle lover now. Check out her most adorable food jewelry.

$5 Corned Beef sandwich at Kibitz Room

Foobooz pointed out this awesome October deal at the Kibitz Room: Corned beef sandwiches for 5 bucks. Normally their sandwiches cost over $10 and come with a lot more meat, but this sized more than filled me up. As expected they have a full array of Dr. Brown's, this included Cel-ray, which made me happy.

If you sit down and eat you have full access to... the pickle bar.

I like most bars, and this one was particularly to my liking, given my fondness (ok, obsession) with pickles. I tried the cucumbers (nice as a side to all that meat), sauerkraut (nice to put on your meat), spicy pickles (not my favorite), and the sour garlics (pretty good, not enough snap). I was sufficiently satisfied with Philly's version of a Jewish deli; go for the sweet deal, stay for the pickle bar.

1521 Locust

Chicken Pudding

Of all the odd things I have eaten, chicken pudding may be the most odd. I can't recall a moment where I have been more hesitant to lick my spoon. A Turkish friend had been telling me about this typical dish of his homeland for a year now, and when he brought a vat home that was cooked by his mother I invited myself over to have some. I think the basic idea is that chicken is boiled down beyond comprehension and mixed with things like sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, almonds, and milk. Yes, this is a dessert, and an apparently ancient one at that. I am not trying to explain the recipe here (there are plenty online) just trying to give you the general picture of what I was dealing with. Anyway, I couldn't exactly get into this; I couldn't get past my views of chicken not being dessert. It really was puddingy, with a texture like a watered down jello vanilla pudding, but with chunks of chicken in it... I let the Turk finish my bowl.

He meant well...

Thanks for sharing Emre!

Nice Buns

At this unassuming Chinatown bakery, I saw a bun behind the counter that I had never seen before- pork jerky with spring onion. This turned out to be a fancy way of saying dried pork and scallion bun. But it was absolutely delicious and under $1.50. Don't forget to zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to get in the maximum flavor zone.

New Hong Kong Bakery

917 Race st

Sidewalk Sticky Rice

A few weekends ago, while walking through Philly's Chinatown, I came across some ladies selling food on the street under an umbrella in front of Ming River. They had sticky rice, tofu, and other things I couldn't 100% identify- maybe some red bean paste? I picked up a container of sticky rice, they offered the standard wrapped in the banana leaf version, but I wanted to try the other because it looked different than what I am used to.

Now I don't really know what the hell was in that rice, but it was very tasty. I bought some chinese sausage to cook and added it in. And with at $2 , I am hoping I see these ladies again.

107 N 10th st