Yes!! Finally, just what needed to happen on TV. Someone, Anthony Bourdain, chef, author, and TV personality of No Reservations, found the infamous real-life badass and hard-c0re character on HBO’s the Wire, Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, and they ate.
Seafood, Obama’s and dope talk. Check it here.
If you haven’t watched the Wire, all I have to say is shhhhhiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!
BigBite’s 4th Annual WING KING is coming to a neighborhood near you!
Check out the recap of the 3rd Annual Wing King Here!
STAY TUNED CLUCKERS!
What’s better than a little afternoon Moroccan Mint Tea? How about a Moroccan Mint Tea AND a nicely prepared Shawarma from Marrakesh Express!
This restaurant-turned-food-truck is definitely doing the shawarma right! What’s a shawarma, you ask? Much like our favorite late-night snag in Germany, the doner kaboab, a shawarma is a pita wrap stuffed with rotating roast meats, usually lamb, beef or chicken. The meats are roasted on a rotating vertical poll that is then sliced off to be stuffed in your shawarma wrap with a range of condiments and veggies. There are age-long discussions about the difference between a doner kabeb, the shawarma, and even the gyro…but I’m a lover, not a fighter, so I’m not getting into it. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all delicious!
I checked in with Marrakesh Express, the awesomely yellow food truck stationed at 40th and Spruce in West Philly. This halal, Moroccan food truck has a straight-to-the-point menu: they mostly have shawarmas, so get a dang shawarma!
Upon my arrival, I was offered Moroccan Mint Tea by the very nice gentlemen operating the truck. I would definitely recommend grabbing this tea with your meal, as it provides a nice flavor balance with a shawarma. Earthy, sweet and refreshing! Great for our global-warming influenced spring days here in Philly.
So, for today’s Bite This! series, I invite you to bite into the Marrakesh Express Chicken Shawarma. Served with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles (nice surprise) and a yogurt sauce, this succulent, perfectly-sized and seasoned, Moroccan banger will definitely make you want step up your Moroccan cuisine game!
-Ryllis
After having the age-old “What would your last meal be?” conversation with a few friends while watching Top Chef last week, I coincidentally stumbled across this really awesome series of photos by Herny Hargreaves that recreates some famous last meals served to inmates on death row. Thanks to Consumer Behaviourself and Dripbook for the heads up.
British photographer James Reynolds had the very same idea but took a more minimal approach. See his photos here. Also, the Wikipedia page on Last Meals provides some interesting historical context and even lists some famous last meals as well if this post strikes your morbid curiosity. The stand-out “Last Meal” listed on that page has got to be Thomas J. Grasso’s (who was apparently sentenced to death for strangling an 87 year old lady with her christmas tree lights in order to steal $12 and her TV):
“Two dozen steamed mussels, two dozen steamed clams, a double cheeseburger from Burger King, half-dozen barbecued spare ribs, two strawberry milkshakes, half a pumpkin pie with whipped cream with diced strawberries and a 16-ounce can of spaghetti with meatballs, served at room temperature. However, he issued a public statement complaining that he had requested SpaghettiOs, not spaghetti.”
-e
If you are like me, the Whole Foods Salad Bar is simply not an option. Wooed by all those healthy options, you saunter inside in your healthy mood, willing to pay a little extra for some healthy stuff, you get your little cardboard bowl thing and you spend a half hour strategically picking things that make feel like you are eating healthy, things that look like they might not taste like cardboard, things that don’t weigh much and maybe even a few spoonfuls of something that actually looks tasty. Proud of yourself for hooking up the most random, hardy, 8ish(?) dollar salad ever, you hit the cashier only to find out…It’s $15! WTF! Somehow those curry lentils must have been heavier than you thought, or maybe it was that teaspoon of beet salad? that square inch of tuna steak? Whatever the case you’ve lost hope( and more money) at whole foods. Here are a few quick tips to hold you down.
1. Breakfast Oatmeal. I know, oatmeal is dirt cheap how could it be a deal? Peep game: you get steel-cut oats, you know they have the little crunchy pop consistency, and you help yourself to the fruit bar for $1.99. Say what you want about Whole Foods but their blueberries are sweeter than the ones at Pathmark.
2. Head for the Boarder, or just the edge of the prepared food counter where they have the taco display. You get three tacos( veggie steak, real steak pulled pork, grilled chicken, black bean or fried fish or that equivalent of meat on a bed of rice and beans for $6.00 bucks!!
Bonus: Talk to the cheese people, they know stuff. Not only will you get tasters and of whatever you point to, they can also tell you which cheeses are on sale( often only because they were new and less known) that are tasty.
If you have your own tips for winning at Whole Foods hit us on twitter at @BigBitePhilly and let us know 😉
Before yesterday I had only tasted churros at great adventure when I was 10. I know, pathetic. In my defense, a warm, authentic, freshly made churro can be a rather illusive beast here in the mean streets of Philadelphia …unless… you go to Las Lomas Pasteleria!
Just north of Washington on Ave on 9th you can actually follow your nose to warm churros at 8:00am or 3:00pm(en punto!!!) Mon. – Sun. If you are like me and are new to the churro game, churros aka “funnel cake’s shapely brown cousin”, are thick, cinnamon sugar covered fritters of fried doe.* This Mexican treat is not for the health nuts.
Insider tip: You have to get there within an hour of the times listed above. They will run out.
#Federaldoughnutswithouttheline
Las Lomas Panaderia y Pasteleria
1034 South 9th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 (Map)
(215) 551-1808
All that competition, and what do they win?? Here is what the 3rd Annual Philly Chili Bowl winner will take home! OOOOHHHH YEEEAAA (Randy Savage voice)
1. BRAGGING RIGHTS FOR THE YEAR!! A whole year!!!
2. 2 tickets to the hottest and ONLY foodie kitchen-classroom in Philly, Audrey Claire COOK
3. And this bad boy right here. The staple BigBite tradition, the home-made trophy!!
Now that’s sexy…
NOTE: 2nd and 3rd Place winners as well as the People’s Choice winner will take home awesome prizes. We love ya’ll too! Stay tuned for those prizes as well! #suspense.
Nuff said people! GAME ON!!!
Checking in with the contestants of the 3rd Annual Philly Chili Bowl. Info, stats and predictions.
“Food isnt just the way to a man’s heart; its the way to anyone’s heart”
NAME: Alex Newman
AGE: 23
NEIGHBORHOOD:
Rittenhouse
HEIGHT: 5′ 9
WEIGHT: thin
CHILI NAME: Dear Chili
ATTEMPTS: First time competitior
HEAT : It starts off with a lot of flavor and ends with a little kick
CHILI PROFILE: “Dear Chili,” is a basic recipe with good flavors and the perfect amount of spice. If needed, take it down a notch with cheese, rice, sour cream or corn bread, but try it plain and you won’t regret it. Venison’s one of the leanest meats you can eat, so enjoy my chili and don’t worry about your waistline. The deer meat comes from my home town of Lancaster, Virginia that my dad brought up from a recent hunt.
QUOTE: “Food isnt just the way to a man’s heart; its the way to anyone’s heart”
Checking in with the contestants of the 3rd Annual Philly Chili Bowl. Info, stats and predictions.
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. —Virginia Woolf
AGE: What do you think?
NEIGHBORHOOD: West Philly
HEIGHT: 5′ 2
WEIGHT: …
CHILI NAME: Smouldering Masala Goat Chili
ATTEMPTS: My first time at a BigBite competition
HEAT : Like embers of wood stoking the firewood into a full-blown camp-fire: a heat that builds up with time from warm to spicy to a zapping fire-cracker bang.
CHILI PROFILE: Adding a distinctive Indian flavor to the traditional chili, this dish takes goat, the star of Indian non-vegetarian dishes and infuses it with Indian spices to add a unique warmth and brightness to the much-beloved, ultimate American comfort food.
QUOTE: One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. —Virginia Woolf
PREDICTION: My chili will definitely stand out as something unique and a never-before-had experience in the chili-realm, you might even think, “This is the best damn chili I ever had!”. That’s what I am aiming for, and that’s what I shall achieve.
FIND ME AT: Temperedspice.com
Checking in with the contestants of the 3rd Annual Philly Chili Bowl. Info, stats and predictions.
You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is ‘never try’
NAME: Cat Downs & Erik Humes
AGE: 29/27
NEIGHBORHOOD: East Passyunk
HEIGHT: 5’9” without slouching/ 6’2” with slouching
WEIGHT: Weightless! (in outer space)
CHILI NAME: Black and White and Chicken All Over
ATTEMPTS: We’re virgins! (in this competition)
HEAT: Medium
CHILI PROFILE: A non-traditional chili with spicy roasted chicken, BACON, black and cannellini beans, and about 30 other awesome ingredients that you wouldn’t be able to guess, but you can try.
QUOTE: “You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is ‘never try’.”
PREDICTION: Even though we’re a last minute entry team, we have the guts of an early entry team! We will win all the awards!
FIND US: catattacks.tumblr.com guess I should probably update that now.
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