The New Teri's

My review of Teri's in the Italian Market last year was titled Teri's: Day and Night because the casual lunch and brunch diner did a swithceroo at night, bringing out linens and candles for the padded aqua diner booths that saw the likes of scrambled eggs and sandwiches during the day, to serve up fancy 3-course prix fixe dinners at night.

Teri's has pulled another switcheroo on us with the addition of a liquor license at the beginning of July this year. Gone are the evening linens and thoughtfully prepared BYOB dinners, and in it's place are Megatouch machines atop a new bar and the most basic of late night bar foods. The aqua booths are still there and so is the 7-day-a-week brunch with their 2010 award-winning Bloody Marys. No, seriously, they won an award. The massive trophy is on the bar.You can't fault a restaurant for changing their game plan in an attempt to stay afloat in this economy, and I truly hope that the quirky and casual Teri's has hit upon a good thing with their new liquor license and casual nighttime fare, because there's just something about the vibe going on at Teri's that makes me feel good.
The alcohol seems to have done the trick, along with a later-than-usual happy hour from 6-8pm (more accommodating for me and anyone else that must go home first before hitting the town), as I've never seen Teri's so full in the evening.

Groups of friends were smashed in a booth sharing $2 happy hour cans of Sly Fox, and couples were at the bar drinking $3 happy hour alcoholic frozen drinks from a swirly machine behind the counter. Every 5 minutes some eager soul would walk through the door to buy a six-pack of beer to go.

On weekend evenings, a DJ sets up in the back of Teri's where there is a bit of dead space to create a club-like feel that just doesn't add much to Teri's kitschy Italian Market diner dive bar ambiance, at least for me. I'd like to see that space used for a jukebox and a couple of pinball machines.My strawberry daiquiri was sweet and didn't pack much wallop, so the $3 happy hour price tag was about right. Next time I'll steal the shot from the $4 can of beer and shot of Canadian Club combo to punch up the happy hour frozen strawberry daiquiri, pina colada or margarita.Gone are the chef's producing any food that requires much skill. Onion rings, fries, Mozzarella sticks, and jalapeno poppers are all frozen. A couple salads and tuna salad. Burgers, eggplant or chicken parm sandwich, and a tuna salad sandwich are all that's on the short bar menu.

Word is that the menu is changing soon to include more options, and even more vegan fare. Also, more beer taps are coming to supplement their small-ish (for Philly) inventory of tap, can, and bottle craft beers.
Teri's vegan "tuna" salad sandwich is served on toasted sliced bread along with a dill pickle spear and a small side of food-service coleslaw. I like my chickpea "tuna" salad with a healthy sprinkling of dill or sweet pickle relish to liven up the mash, so Teri's bland salad left me less than thrilled. But I sure would be thrilled to see that sandwich if I were a starving drunk vegan that didn't want to leave my bar seat and search elsewhere.
A tad more tasty is the eggplant cutlet sandwich on a hoagie roll with your choice of cheese and sauteed spinach for an extra $1 (you can also choose red peppers, mushrooms or bacon). Marinara sauce would be a welcome addition to bring moisture and more flavor to the sandwich.

Teri's is no gastropub. There aren't 20+ craft beers on tap. Cocktails don't contain floral essences and seven other esoteric ingredients. Burgers and onion rings are not making anyone's best-of list. Teri's is, basically, now a dive bar that also serves breakfast and lunch.

But Teri's has this unique charm, almost like some diner dive bar you'd find in your favorite small college town — minus the college kids, of course. Next time you want a cheap drink in South Philly, but don't feel like being sardined into The P.O.P.E. or Royal Tavern, give Teri's a try. Just don't knock me out of first place on Erotic Photo Hunt. I spent hours getting there!

Teri's
1127 S. 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-761-9154

Gazpacho

When I think of gazpacho, I think of chilled soup showcasing the freshest summer tomatoes and cucumbers. This soup is thin, refreshing, and studded with chunks of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and onions.

That's not exactly what I received when I sat down to dinner with some friends, the cook a native Spaniard, and an excellent cook at that.

The soup was chilled and did featured summer-sweet cucumber and tomatoes, but there were no chunks of vegetables. Exclaiming that I've never had gazpacho without chunks, my friend goes on to say that they don't put chunks of vegetables in gazpacho in Spain. Or at least where he's from.
Always my go-to guy to hear rants and raves about how Americans bastardize Spanish foods, he goes on to tell me that Americans also load up gazpacho with garlic, which in a no-no in Spain. Or at least where he's from.

Instead the Spanish use onions. But be careful, he warns. American onions are much stronger than the onions in Spain, so be sure to use red or sweet onions and reduce the amount called for.

And as I sat dunking hunks of crusty bread into the vibrant and refreshing, smooth gazpacho, even as a garlic-lover, I couldn't imagine that garlic would improve in any way on what he had made.

And, so, I went home to make my own gazpacho using his advice. The addition of smoked chipotle powder is my own touch, and certainly not authentic. In the end, I did add diced cucumbers, sweet red peppers, and onions to the finished gazpacho as a garnish, because I just like a little crunch in my gazpacho.
Gazpacho
serves 8-10

3-inch-long piece of baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes
10-15 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 medium cucumbers, peeled and coarsely chopped, plus 1/2 cucumber finely diced for garnish
1/4 small red or sweet onion, plus 1/4 onion finely diced for garnish
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon smoked chipotle powder
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 red pepper, finely diced for garnish

• Place bread in a small bowl, and squeeze juice from enough tomatoes over top of bread until bread is thoroughly wet with a small pool of tomato juice sitting in the bottom of the bowl. Transfer bread and tomato juice to a blender and blend until smooth.
• To the pureed bread, add tomatoes, cucumber, onions, salt, paprika, smoked chipotle powder, and sherry vinegar and blend until smooth. The blending will have to be done in batches since not all of the vegetables will fit in the blender, so dump blended batches into a large bowl or pot as you go.
• Strain blended vegetables through a small-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on sides to push liquid through. Discard solids.
• Working in batches again in the blender, slowly drizzle olive oil (divided among batches) into the top of the blender, while the blender is running, until incorporated.
  
• Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
  
• Garnish individual bowls of soup with diced cucumbers, onion, and red pepper before serving.
  

Xochitl: Veggie Burger

This one really came out of the left field, but I've found my new favorite veggie burger!

Xochitl's La Azteca veggie burger — a torta, really — is a dreaded, mushy, black bean burger and doesn't even come on a hamburger bun, but it's flavors are so darn good, with peppery spice and a little intrigue from huitlacoche and corn in the patty, that the mush is forgiven (it helps to make a thin patty like Xochitl did, if you're going the bean route), and I was left begging for more. Chihuahua cheese, avocado, crispy onion, and chipotle mayo round out the torta. Vegetarian entree specials are mostly unheard of, so I rarely pay attention to servers as they spout off their memorized lists. Xochitl realized that the best of the summer season is not meat, but vegetables, and offered an heirloom tomato torta as one of their specials. Meaty, sweet, and so juicy, there was no way the bun was escaping the flood of tomato essence. Pure summer joy.

I'm kinda digging Xochitl's more casual menu redo and interior remodeling from the last time I reviewed Xochitl. The taco and torta-heavy menu is still quality, and not having the table linens crumbed after each course puts me much more at ease.

Xochitl
408 S. 2nd St, Philadelphia 19147
215-238-7280

Popsicles Are Poppin'

Not sure if it's collective consciousness or if it's just the fact that it's the middle of summer and it's hot as hell in most of the lower 48, but popsicle are popping up everywhere. Even in my house!

No, I haven't ditched my beloved ice cream maker, but I have been whipping up pops quite a bit lately. So, much so that I broke down and bought some star-shaped popsicle molds. But little Dixie Cups and wooden popsicle sticks (or plastic spoons, as seen below) will work just fine.
Here's what I like about popsicles: unlike ice cream (which you really do want creamy and smooth, and this means fat), popsicles can be icy (this means no or low-fat) and still have a satisfying consistency. No one ever complained that their Icee Pop had ice crystals!

The other things I like about poscicles are that they're simple to make and the varieties are endless. Have left over smoothie? Pour it in a mold. Have too much coffee? Poor it in a mold. Have yogurt about to go out of date? Pour it in a mold. Have pudding? Pour. It. In. A. Mold.

Ideas from around the web:

Strawberry-Yogurt Popsicles - Strawberries have passed, but summer fruits are at their prime.

Ice Pop Recipes - Check the comments on this Serious Eats thread for ideas.

Sliceable Popsicles in a Loaf Pan - For when you don't even have Dixie Cups.

A Month of Popsicle Recipes - Never get bored.

Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles - Even David Lebovitz, the king of ice cream, makes pops.

Popsicles on Tastspotting - Always a good place to browse.

Hello, Facebook

You can now get MAC & CHEESE updates on Facebook. Hooray!

I recently created a Facebook page for this blog . . . and it nearly made me throttle some one. That's because I've never had a Facebook page so am still figuring things out. Yes, your grandmother is farther ahead of the curve that I am.

A little more than a year ago, I intrepidly entered the world of Twitter, and actually liked it. I also realized that some people prefer to access my blog through Twitter. But I am aware that there are Twitter people and Facebook people in the world of social media, with very little overlap, so finally decided to sign up for Facebook.

Please go "like" my blog, or whatever it is that goes on over at Facebook, so I can figure out just how this whole thing works.

Besides visiting my blog old school-style, you can also get updates with RSS, Email, Twitter, and, now, Facebook.


*That's just some local corn I ate recently. Tastier than a Facebook icon.

Han Dynasty

Two out of the three dished that we ate at Han Dynasty, the much foodie-hyped Philadelphia outpost of Han Chiang's authentic Sichuan restaurant, were not what we initially ordered. With the infamously frank and wise-cracking owner dashing from table to table to ensure all orders go through him in order to guide your decisions, you can expect a similar experience, too.

Honestly, I was a little apprehensive to try Han Dynasty. For one, Han Dynasty is known for their authentically hot spiced dishes that send even pepper fiends into a sweat, and, while I do enjoy spicy food, I do not enjoy setting my face afire and eating in a state of numbness. If you're similarly apprehensive, do not be. All entrees come with a numeric heat scale (1-10) on the menu, so it's easy to steer clear of the dishes that will blow your head off.

Secondly, I wasn't sure how vegetarian friendly the menu was. All of the reviews I've read were about the meat dishes. Also, I could just see Chiang cantankerously telling me a vegetarian life was not worth living, and sending me out the door to reexamine my lifestyle choices if I asked for vegetarian recommendations. No such thing happened, and there are tofu options for many of the entrees, and also a handful of vegetable dishes on the menu.
The appetizer we initially ordered was discovered to not be available after a bit of waiting, so Chiang recommended the Sesame Cold Noodles since it would not take long to come out of the kitchen. Brought to the table by Chiang, he smeared a mountain of garlic on top of the scallion-topped noodles and tossed them table-side with the salty and slightly sweet soy and sesame sauce.

Wow, was there a lot of garlic! Enough to make the Cullen family pick up and move one state over. So much more vibrant and powerful than any sesame noodles I've ever made at home, this dish turned out to me my favorite. Every other table also had a bowl of cold sesame noodles, so these noodles definitely are a crowd pleaser, and probably an easy introduction to Sichuan dishes.
Keeping with the garlic theme, I went a Garlic Sauce Style entree (4 on the spice scale) with stir fried thin strips of firm tofu, ginger, garlic, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, and bell peppers. Certainly spicier than any "spicy" dish at most Chinese American restaurants, the heat was noticeable but very pleasurable. The garlic sauce just covers the tofu without being cornstarch-gloppy, making the dish seem light.
The boy tried to order Hot Sauce Style tofu, which comes in at 7 on the spice scale, but was told without hesitation by Chiang that he couldn't handle it . . . even if the kitchen made it medium spiciness. Not feeling like arguing, nor having the luxury of explaining our heat tolerance in a relaxed, slow dining room (the dining room was too hectic on our visit for Chiang to stop and converse), the boy acquiesced and ordered something else.

Double Cooked Style fish (2 on the spice scale) with leeks and hot peppers cooked in a black bean sauce and chili oil was only slightly less spicy than my tofu dish, and was equally exceptional. Tender, non-greasy, fried fish was enveloped in a light, salty and spicy sauce studded with only a few black beans, unlike thick black bean dishes at most Chinese restaurants.

For a more relaxed atmosphere and better service, especially if it is your first time dining at Han Dynasty and you'd like to converse with Chiang about the dishes, I'd recommend eating on a weeknight. Our Friday night service was slow, with only Chiang and two other servers, literally, running from table to table in a full house. Tables who came in long after us received their food before us.

Clearly understaffed on a busy night, Chiang recognized our long wait with small samples of two dishes, which, unfortunately, he realized we could not eat because they contained meat the minute he set them on the table. And as we got up to leave, a sincere apology for our wait came from Chiang again.

We've only just scratched the surface at Han Dynasty, but have already had some of the best Chinese dishes we've ever eaten. Now that we have a feel for the spice levels and better understand the vegetarian options, I think we can safely move on to some spicier dishes.

If you do eat meat, be sure to make a reservation for the $25, family-style, communal feasts every first Monday of the month where Chiang sends dish upon dish (mostly meat) out of the kitchen to the salivating Han Dynasty devotees that fill the dining room.

Han Dynasty
108 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-922-1888
BYOB

Mexico: Cabo

Just like Mexico City, I had some preconceived notions about Cabo, the Mexican resort and tourist town at the Southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. My ideas about Cabo weren't really preconceived, rather I put no thought into what Cabo would be like since I had no part in planning our Mexico trip. The boy's parents pretty much handled everything. Thanks H and E!.

In my mind, resort town + warm climate + ocean = tropical paradise. Um . . . nope. Cabo is a hilly dessert landscape filled with sand, cacti, and dead scrub trees. You know, the Baja dessert. The irrigated resorts are tropical looking, though. I clearly put no thought into the vacation, but instead succumbed to the flow. It's what you have to do when traveling as a pack of nine.The ocean currents are too strong to swim on the Pacific side of the peninsula, which is where our resort was. And even on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula, the undertow and waves are pretty brutal. Step in above the ankle and your ass is going down. And mine did!

So, what you do in Cabo besides be an annoying American tourist mainlining alcohol and UV rays is go deep sea fishing. Supposedly Cabo is one of the best places to sport fish. So, we did it. And it was pretty awesome. Thanks, Uncle S for the experience!
Six of us loaded into a boat similar to the ones you see here docked at the marina around 7am and headed out to, fortunately, a calm and kind sea that day. It was about 6 or 7 hours of trolling around the seas waiting for a fish to bite. I felt really lame for falling asleep for most of the trip (everyone on our boat did), but, dang, fishing is the most boring sport EVAR! Except for when the fish are biting. Then it's crazy exciting!About one or two hours into our trip with no bites at all, the captain got a report of a school of Yellowfin Tuna, so we hightailed over to the happening location. Once there, the fish were biting non-stop, one fish right after the other. Even though we didn't catch any prize winners, those little guys are nothing but muscle, and take a bit of work to reel in.

Well, after an hour, we had caught the legal limit of tuna (3 per person, so, in our case, 18), then we switched up bait for Marlin and trolled for the next 3 hours or so without a single bite. I was feeling pretty lame about our luck, until we go back into the marina and found out that only 2 of the 7 boats from the outfitter we went out with caught any fish at all.
Back at the marina the fish get thrown straight off the boat into a bucket to be hauled off to an outdoor cleaning area right around the corner. Everyone comes to take a peak at your catch.
This was our haul of 18 Yellowfin Tuna. A couple of guys expertly cut four fillets out of each tuna at lightening speed. Seriously, in about 10 minutes they were done and we were ready to take our bags of tuna away with us.
There was a lot of wasted meat that we didn't get (guess they figure tourists only want fillets), but I didn't feel too bad about the waste because the locals took our remains and cut quite a bit of good meat off the fish.
We took four fillets (one fish) with us to a restaurant where they prepared a large plate of sashimi (pictured above) and a plate of carpaccio.
They grilled the rest and presented us with two huge platters — more than enough to feed eight people.

The rest of the fish was vacuum packed and frozen by the fishing outfitters, democratically divided amongst our group (I didn't get any because I don't eat fish), and came home with us in coolers. I say I didn't get any, but the boy got some because he does eat fish, so we have more than enough über-fresh, hand-caught tuna in our freezer as I write this.

In case it comes up as a question in comments as to how I could fish and not eat fish, the answer is that I have no problem with hunting and fishing as long as the animal is eaten and put to good use. After all that, how about some soy fajitas? Thanks to all the American tourists and their crazy demands, such a thing can be found in Cabo.
And don't forget to pick up a Day of the Dead Michael Jackson figurine to take back to the States!

Mexico: Mexico City

Hi ya! It's been about a week, but I'm back from Mexico where the women are strongly discouraged from throwing Saltine Crackers in the toilet.

Our main order of business in Mexico was to attend a wedding of one of the boy's relatives that lives in Mexico City, and, of course, explore the city. Then it was off to chill and do nothing in Cabo.
With a population of 21.2 million people in the metropolitan area, Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world. I had some preconceived notions of Mexico City — mostly that it would be dirty and super crowded — but I came away very impressed with Mexico City, exclaiming that it was "pretty" every time a native asked me what I thought of the city. The city is filled with trees and well manicured parks and green areas. And, overall, the city was clean and largely devoid of litter (litter is a huge pet peeve of mine), embarrassingly making Philly's streets in comparison look like third world squalor.
Mural viewing was in order, since we were in a city where one of the greatest painters and muralists, Diego Rivera, lived and worked.
Works from various famous Mexican muralists were visited in the gorgeous Palacio de Bellas Artes building, including New Democracy by David Alfaro Siqueiros.
Another Diego Rivera mural, this time a depiction of Mexican history at the National Palace in the heart of Mexico City's historic Zocalo district.
Mexico played a couple of World Cup soccer games while we were in Mexico, and everyone watched the game when Mexico played. Everyone. Every restaurant, bar, shoe repair shop, you name it wheeled in a TV to show the game when Mexico played. Here, the huge plaza in downtown was outfitted with a jumbo TV for the event.Thanks to the keen eye of the boy's father, we ducked into an alley to get a closer glimpse of this beautiful living wall composed of a tapestry of various plants creating a dragon or serpent-type animal. See, I told you Mexico City was surprisingly pretty and green.Doned my first ever evening gown (never did prom or — knock on wood — had to be a bridesmaid) to hit up a Mexican wedding. Mexican weddings are kinda crazy. Crazy because they start at 10pm. Well, 10:30 in Mexican time. Reception and dinner didn't even start until midnight. And the party rolls on until breakfast is served. Even with a double shot of espresso downed while getting dressed in the evening, this morning person could only make it to 3am . . . and that was just when they rolled out the table of after-dinner party snacks.
When in Rome Mexico City, we had to stop by Frida Kahlo's house. What a beautiful pad she had! In a really beautiful and relaxing neighborhood. I liked the neighborhood (Coyoacán) so much that I looked into real estate prices. It's doable!
Oh, this is a food blog, you say. Alright.

Stopped in a huge market and picked up some mole powders. Was temped by the mole pastes in the background, but didn't know how the TSA would react.For lunch in Coyoacán, we ducked into a store front filled with dozens of different vendors.
Got me a mushroom quesadilla that was super hot from coming straight out of the oil and into my hands. Had to pry it open so it could cool down before digging in.
What I really wanted were some vegetables (lots of fried bread, beans, and cheese in Mexico if you're veg), so hopped over to the guy selling corn.
Got a cup of warm esquite, which is corn topped with mayonnaise, lime juice and cheese. Yumalicious!
I absolutely adore the panaderias (bakeries) in Mexico. The selection is always massive, and the system of grabbing your own tray and tongs, perusing the goods, and grabbing what you fancy is pure joy. Normally, food stuff open to the public and their germs skeeves me a bit, but you're just so giddy to be around so many pastries that all is forgiven.
Ate at Bajío, a traditional Mexican restaurant in the upscale Polanco area of Mexico City, and they had this awesome tortilla-making machine that rolls the dough and cuts the dough.
Bajío's black bean and plantain empanada (to the left) was amazing. The plantain wasn't in the filling, but in the dough, creating a subtly sweet envelope for the savory black beans. Bajío also had the best flan of the trip. It was beyond rich and creamy.
Stopped into Lynis for breakfast, a restaurant also in the Polanco area that the boy's Mother used to eat at when she was younger. I particularly like the picture paper menu taking the guess work out of what you're ordering, although I was in company of fluent Spanish speakers and my Spanish food vocab is decent enough to get by. I still had the boy order for me, though. It's just easier. Breakfast burrito minus the pork, please!Before departing Mexico City we decided to just pop down to the hotel restaurant to make life easy. My quesadillas topped with bean sauce turned out to be topped with a fancy-dancy, rich, bean and cream sauce like nothing I've ever had before. Fabulous indeed, but I'm a simple girl that really was just craving some basic, fiber-rich beans not infused with fat.

I ate more, but, really, how many taco and quesadilla pictures do you need?

Next up, Cabo!