jägerabend speisekarte


Jägerabend speisekarte, when translated from German to English, is hunter’s evening menu (Google translation). Simply put, it’s a hunter’s dinner.

A five course hunter’s dinner was held at Brauhaus Schmitz last Thursday, featuring local Philly chefs, including Brauhaus’s own, Jeremy and Jessica Nolen. In addition to the Nolens, the chefs cooking were Jen Carroll (Concrete Blonde), Jeff Michaud (Osteria), and Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette). In addition to the dinner, diners were given the option of a wine or beer pairing. I went with the latter.

To start the dinner, an amuse bouche was served from each of the chefs. It is pictured above. Clockwise from the bottom left is: rabbit mortadella with rye beer bread (Michaud); duck confit rillette, orange, crouton (Woolsey); smoked Guinea hen, warm duck fat potato-radish salad (Carroll); venison tartare, spruce oil, toasted barley-hazelnut salad (Nolen). The amuse bouche was served with a Kulmbacher Mönchshof Kellerbier.

The rest of the dinner in pictures:

Carroll's first course: Rohan duck hearts, sea urchin, fennel, cardamom-cherry jus; beer - Schönramer Gold Lager

Woolsey's second course: spiced red wine braised wild boar, crozets in vinegar beurre blanc, Brussels sprouts, blood orange; beer - Weißenoher Bonator

Michaud's third course: wild hare lasagnette, porcini pasta; beer - Ayinger Celebrator

Jeremy Nolen's fourth course: venison medallion, chanterelle strudel, black garlic streusel, juniper beer sauce; beer - Spezial Rauchbier

Jessica Nolen's fifth course: caramel custard, gingerbread crumbs, lingonberry preserve; beer - Schneider Aventinus Eisbock



The food was great and the dinner was a perfect time to try lots of game meats I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to have. I hope they do this again next year!

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foodspotting’s 2nd birthday party


One year ago from Sunday all of us Philly Foodspotters met for the first time at the late Adsum. Two years ago from Sunday, Foodspotting was launched by Alexa Andrzejewski , Ted Grubb and Soraya Darabi.


To celebrate the 2nd birthday, we gathered at Khyber Pass Pub in Old City where they offered us drink specials for the night. In addition to the great food and drink that Khyber offers, our own Philly Foodspotter & Cupcake Karma frontwoman, Jackie Seigle made a Foodspotting cake and cupcakes.


The cake had the Foodspotting logo on top and was made of an almond poundcake with strawberry and buttercream filling. The cupcakes were topped with various Philly food staples such as cheesesteaks, pretzels, and Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets. Two different kinds of cupcakes were made, chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter mousse filling and salted caramel buttercream and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut. Everything was out of this world.

Check out some of the other spots from the event on the Foodspotting guide. Keep up with Philly Foodspotting on Twitter & Facebook.

Thanks a bunch to the Khyber Pass Pub staff and Jackie for the cakes!

*All non-food photos taken by Philly Foodspotter Mikey Ilagan. Thanks Mikey!

Here are some more photos from the party! Check out the rest on Mikey’s Flickr.

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philly area food & drink writer meet-up


Last Saturday, Wendy Kirby, of La Phemme Phoodie, and Philly Homegrown organized a Philly food & drink blogger meet-up at R2L.

lobster mac & cheese


Chef Daniel Stern prepared a menu of several small bites for us to try along with two cocktails. Afterwards, Caroline Bean and Alethia Calbeck of Visit Philly spoke about Philly Homegrown and the new Philly Foodspotting guides. To wrap things up, local photographer, Eric Mencher, gave his thoughts and advice on food photography and how to get better. In the end we had the opportunity to shoot the food at our own leisure before sampling some of the desserts.

amy, ryan, vinny & melissa

*Above picture in blogs (from L to R): Apples and Cheese, Please, In Search of Beer, Zen and Potatoes, and Yum Marks the Spot.

I had a lot of fun at the event. The view from R2L was one of the best, if not the best, view I’ve ever had of Philly. The food was tasty, the speakers were informative, and it was great to meet other fellow bloggers in the area! Thanks so much to Wendy, Chef Daniel Stern & the R2L staff, Caroline & Alethia of Philly Homegrown/Visit Philly, and Eric Mencher!

*Top photo is of a chocolate peanut butter cup.

R2L also serves a burger during weekday lunch hours! Definitely going to try that at some point!

R2L
Two Liberty Place
37th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Here are a few other photos:

crisp risotto over truffle aioli

sidecars

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jen carroll’s goodbye dinner


Last Wednesday was Chef Jen Carroll’s last day at 10 Arts. It was also the Philly stop on the Celebrity Chef Tour. To celebrate Jen’s last day, there was a reception followed by a seven course dinner.


Local Philly chefs and mixologists contributed to the reception. The chefs who helped out were Marcie Turney (Barbuzzo), Mike Solomonov (Zahav), David Katz (Meme), Akiko Moorman (Hapa Kitchen), Kevin Sbraga (Sbraga), and Jeff Michaud (Osteria). These chefs served a variety of canapes consisting of foie gras soup, Wagyu beef, lamb croquettes, and sweetbreads, just to name a few.


A couple local mixologists were present during the reception. Katie Loeb of the Oyster House made an Autumn Fizz consisting of Mango vodka, Laird’s 7 year apple brandy, lime juice, housemade orgeat, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, black walnut bitters, club soda, and nutmeg. Other mixologists in attendance were John Connor (10 Arts), Al Sotack (Franklin Mortgage), Christina Tessaro (London Grill), and Phoebe Esmon (The Farmer’s Cabinet).


Chef Jen Carroll served the first course, a yellow fin tuna with orange, ginger, and white miso. It was paired with The Marquis de Lafayette Cocktail which consisted of Plymouth gin, cilantro shrubs, and prosecco.


The second course was Fermin Iberico pork with California caviar, and Greek yogurt paired with a Segura Viudas Rose. This course was prepared by Chef Victor Albisu of BLT Steak in Washington DC.


Chef Eli Kirshtein, contestant of Top Chef: Las Vegas, prepared the third course of Marvesta shrimp with whipped cauliflower and piment d’espelette. Kirshtein’s dish was paired with a 2009 Domaine Serene Chardonnay.


The fourth course was prepared by Chef Adam Sobel of Bourbon Steak in Washington DC. Sobel served sturgeon poached in duck fat with apples, chanterelles, and baby turnip. The sturgeon was paired with a 2009 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir.


Course five consisted of Lola duck breast, Hudson Valley foie gras, and duck confit crepinette with rhubarb and parsnip mousseline. Chef Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras and New York State Foie Gras prepared this course. It was paired with a 2008 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir.


Chef Scott Drewno of Wolfgang Puck’s The Source in Washington DC prepared the sixth course of Creekstone Farms “szechuan style” filet with kabocha squash puree and caramelized shallot sauce. The filet was paired with a 2007 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon.


The dessert course was prepared by 10 Arts’s own Monica Glass. Glass served a pumpkin budino with brown butter, bourbon, apple, hazelnut, and sour cream sorbet. Dessert was paired with a 2009 Villa Rosa Moscato d’Asti.

jen & monica


It was a fantastic night of fun and delicious eats. I wish Jen the best of luck in the future and look forward to seeing what she has up her sleeve!

If I only had enough in me to make it to the after party. I heard it was crazy…

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2011 meme pig dinner


Last night was the third annual pig dinner at Meme. This year the lineup consisted of chefs David Katz (Meme), John Taus (The Corner), Jen Carroll (10 Arts), Monica Glass (10 Arts), Terence Feury (Fork), Mike Solomonov (Zahav), Matt Levin (Adsum), and Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette) with guest sommelier Michael Madrigale of Bar Boulud in NYC. The dinner consisted of five courses plus hors d’oeuvres and wine pairings.

The following were the dishes served:

blt cocktail


pork terrine, carolina pork bbq, and pork crepenette (L to R)


The hors d’oeuvres were a pork terrine with toasted brioche and a fig & peach mostarda, carolina pork bbq, and a pork crepenette with a port apple jam from Jen Carroll, David Katz, and John Taus (not sure who made which). The hors d’oeuvres were served with a BLT cocktail.

poached blue point oyster with pork rillons


The first course was from Terence Feury which was a poached blue point oyster with pork rillons and had choron sauce, braised lettuce, herbed bread crumbs, and oven dried tomatoes. The wine pairing for the first course was a 2009 Domaine Pinson Chablis 1er Cru, Mont-de-Milieu.

city ham terrine


The second course was a city ham terrine with swiss chard, challah, hard boiled egg, and pickled vegetables from Mike Solomonov and was paired with a 2010 La Columbera Rosato.

bbq pig tails


The third course was BBQ pig tails from Matt Levin with ranch dressing and smoked cornbread. His course was paired with a 2009 Pichierri Negroamaro del Salento.

prune stuffed pork loin wrapped in bacon

The fourth course was Peter Woolsey’s prune stuffed pork loin wrapped in bacon with grilled vegetables, french gnocchi, shallot cream vinegar, and pork jus paired with a 2009 Le Roc des Anges Cotes du Roussillon Villages

melon


Lastly, the dessert course was Monica Glass’s melon with candied headcheese, prosciutto consume, and prosciutto gel served with a 2010 Macarini Moscato d’Asti.

The dinner was fantastic and full of porky goodness. Make sure you don’t miss this next year!

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