It's called feeding my creativity
Some Philly highlights from summer (mostly food)
It’s been a little over 2 months since I wrote a Philly specific letter, but in an effort to give you something useful, I feel inspired to bring it back today. These sends also feel easier for me to write when I’ve sat with what I’ve been doing in and around this city for a little bit longer.
There’s also been a lot of - sorry - noise regarding diaristic writing on here lately. I’m pro personal essay and think you can glean a lot from the first-person. I thought Arden Yum’s essay summed it up nicely here. The general point I align closest with is reveal just enough, but never too much.
*Apologizing up front because some of these are random recs/thoughts and not necessarily hyper specific to Philly. It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to ….. inserting my cute little Canva-made icon here anyway.
Irv’s was good but not great. I went there twice, unexpectedly, in one week. I got coffee ice cream with Oreos one night and butterscotch budino with caramel drizzled on top the other. The butterscotch had huge chunks of those caramel candies in it, which was not a super blissful experience for the teeth in the middle of the street let me tell you. I appreciate that they make everything in house, and I’m certainly not writing them off.
caramel ice cream, caramel sauce, caramel August I had a really lovely experience booking a grazing board from The Gathering Table, a Philly-based artisanal charcuterie business. If you need a spread that’s equal parts aesthetically pleasing and seriously delicious, reach out to Sharon!!! You will be wow’d, your taste buds will be thankful, and you will be grateful for the timely email communication.
a delight! Speaking of the five senses, I (kind of) updated the dcm playlist. Not groundbreaking but a lot of funnnnn.
Speaking of music, why is everyone singing about ego death rn?
The cinnamon roll at Loretta’s is absolutely worth the hype, calories, line, etc. etc.
Podcast episode recommendations for those who regularly get outside in the middle of the work day to preserve a sense of self: Ben Barna, Executive Editor at Interview Mag, on Canal Street Dreams. I’ve hyped up this podcast before, and I enjoy it because I love hearing people just yap about industry stuff, restaurants, media, and creative process. Christina Kirkman, who’s hilarious and candid, unpacks how to get out of a rut. A Sami Spalter solo episode on Transform. Hunter Lewis, EIC of Food & Wine, on This Is TASTE.
Something interesting is happening to my pizza preferences as I get older: I’m partial to the square kind. Emmy Squared, Square Pie, Circles + Squares — it’s an obsession. In my life, pizza is basically a food group, so I would never bash the triangular slice, but a square doesn’t feel as utilitarian; it’s more, it’s the ultimate indulgent meal. I tried Village Square Pizza in the East Village last week, and it didn’t quite hit the same as Square Pie on a Friday night with a bottle of red, but it was pretty fantastic.
I went to My Loup last night, so yes, in this moment, I am better than you! It was my first Shulman/Kemp experience, and if my wallet will allow, definitely not my last. My favorite bites: the baked clams with bacon and the peach & raspberry mille-feuille, which obviously reminded me of Marie Antoinette.
the corn crème brûlée was also stellar It felt mildly wrong to be in the Two Robbers Lodge in the middle of August. This new outpost was primed for winter: the fireplace, the comfort-forward menu, the deep walnut furniture, the feeling that a cowboy might enter at any minute, pistol still smoking, saying something like “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!” I’m just grateful to see that smashburger on the menu.
There are a lot of Reddit rabbit holes to fall into, but one of my personal favorites is where to eat good Italian food in this city. Depending on what kind of researching mood you’re in, there are about a dozen sub-genres in the Philly-Italian food category. Do you want old school fancy (Dante & Luigi's) or old school casual (Ralph’s)?1 Do you want Italian with a twist whose flavor combinations would shock your grandparents (Tulip Pasta & Wine Bar) or coastal Italian with a twist whose prices would probably also shock your grandparents (Bastia)? Maybe an impossible reservation that’s worth keeping tabs on OpenTable for (Fiorella)? Or really good ambiance with a really good complimentary bread basket (Giuseppe & Sons)? Happy to say I’ve been to all of these and more, and have never really been disappointed. It’s all about what Italian vibe you’re in the mood for and which box (or boxes) you’re trying to check (food quality, byob vs. bar program, bang for your buck, setting, story, historic vs. innovative). Maybe more on this soon…
i’m a tough meatball critic and Dante & Luigi's were very good I didn’t realize it was a Philly brand when I impulsively picked it up at Herman’s, but Sunny’s Hot Chili, a Lao-style chili oil, is superior!!! If you’ve also been on a tuna-for-lunch kick all summer, this adds exactly the heat you need.
Give me a water metaphor relating to how someone turned their life around any day. ‘the sea does not give a shit about you’ is a great essay by Emily Ash Powell.
THANK YOU FOR READING. It’s almost pumpkin spice seasonnnnnnnn.
'casual’ may be up for debate, but I mean it more in the unfussy sense versus takeout sense.