Aired January 26th, 2012 on Events. 
On February 5, the New York Giants will face off with the New England Patriots, providing background noise while one of America’s biggest eating holidays goes down right in front of the TV. In honor of the two teams facing off in the background while most of America gorges themselves on pizza and wings, Lemon Hill (25th & Aspen Streets) will be featuring an all you can eat buffet battle royale, pitting one team against the other.
Chef Mitch Prensky is preparing some of New England and New York’s most famous dishes, and for $42, you can decide for yourself which town is better while the game is going on. Some buffet items include:
Pizzas
Brooklyn style sausage with peppers and onions vs. New Haven white clam with garlic
Wings
Pastrami fried chicken wings (pictured) vs. Cranberry chili wings with nutmeg salt
Clam Chowder
Manhattan with rye croutons vs. New England with biscuit croutons
Sandwiches
Coney Island Style housemade mini Supper Dogs vs. Cape Cod Clambake Rolls
Dessert
Boston Cream Pie vs. New York Cheesecake
To reserve your spot, contact Lemon Hill at 215-232-2270. And you know, we really hate to say it, but it looks like New York may have the edge here.
Aired January 26th, 2012 on Food Blob. >>>Little Baby’s got the go ahead from the Fishtown Neighbors Association and East Kensington Neighbors Association Zoning Committee Meeting, while Pizza Brain works on his pizza place next-door. Pizza and Ice Cream as next-door neighbors? Someone should set a sitcom in those locations. [Foobooz]
>>>West Philly’s Roost is on an indefinite hiatus while a new location is scouted. [Meal Ticket]
>>>Marc Vetri‘s new beer pub, Alla Spina, is weeks away from opening. [The Insider]
Aired January 26th, 2012 on Beer and Liquor. 
Guys, City Council is once again up and running, and what is one of the first things on their docket? ALCOHOL!
According to Newsworks, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown has introduced a bill that would, “allow bars to keep serving until 3AM and earmark the extra tax money generated to help Philadelphia’s struggling school system.” We mentioned this last summer over on the Philebs (and most of you supported the idea), but back then it was only an idea. Now, it is a possible reality.
The biggest problem, it seems, would be serving the unruly drinks for an extra hour before unleashing them on the neighborhoods. Northeast Philly resident Sandra Stewart spoke out against the bill, saying (as reported by Newsworks), “This bill if you do not allocate it specifically to the entertainment district you will wreak havoc not just in my district but in the family communities of Northeast Philadelphia where you do not need bars open until 3AM.” Reynolds-Brown said she could add restrictions so not all bars would qualify for the extra hour.
You know, we’re all for the idea of having an extra hour to put some back, and if we can feel like we’re helping out while doing it, then why not? But the idea does came with its setbacks.
ADVERTISEMENT
Aired January 26th, 2012 on Events, Farming and video. Urban Roots Trailer from Tree Media on Vimeo.
Mark MacInnis, the director of Urban Roots, a film about urban farming in Detroit, will be hosting a screening of the documentary at Bossone Research Center (3140 Market Street) on February 7th.
After the film is screened, MacInnis and members of Philly’s urban farming community will discuss, “Philadelphia urban farming, how food grown locally in community gardens and urban farms is starting to make a positive impact for families faced with food challenges even here in Philadelphia, and how to get involved.”
Before the doc is shown, there will be a screening of a documentary short by Drexel alum Clay Hereth called West Philly Grown. Hereth’s film focuses on the Mill Creek Farm, an urban farm at 49th & Brown Streets in West Philadelphia, that grows a variety of organic vegetables, herbs, and fruits in addition to providing educational programs on urban farming.
More information is available here.
Aired January 25th, 2012 on Food Blob. >>>A mouse in McDonald’s is reportedly, “not representative of the standards of cleanliness” of the company. Some disagree. [Grub Street]
>>>Meal Ticket has an inside peek of Rebel Rock Bar & Bites, opening tomorrow. [Meal Ticket]
>>>Travel + Leisure, king of lists, put Garces Trading Company as the #14 best brunch in America. [Foobooz]
ADVERTISEMENT
Aired January 25th, 2012 on Food Porn, Object Of Desire and Pizza. 
For as far as we have come as a food city, sometimes it still feels like whole areas of town are Pizza Dead Zones, where good pizza is seemingly not an option within a certain block radius and out of the delivery zones of various more desirable pizza options. Color us surprised, then, when we realized that Trio’s Pizzeria & Traittoria, perched in what was once a Kentucky Fried Chicken at 4th and Girard, would deliver to parts of Center City (where we simply could not bear to order Old City Pizza yet again or get a very, very old slice at Gianfranco’s). Trio’s has won accolades in the past in various polls and competitions, but where they really shine is putting a better pizza in your door than what you have grown to expect from delivery pizza. It’s like the opposite of the DiGiorno effect.
Take, for instance, Trio’s Rustica pie (pictured), which has been our go-to Sunday night TV pizza for a while now. It’s got a perfect thin, square crust (as opposed to lots of square pizzas, which are usually bad wannabe Chicago-style knock-offs, goopy and regrettable through and through), and blessed with sausage, mushrooms, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. And to their credit. Trio’s aren’t stingy with any of it. With delivery, the pie comes in at less than $20, which some of you in the cheap-ass pizza hinterlands may declare too rich for your blood, but to this we say: You obviously haven’t been to Stella.
Trio’s Pizzeria & Traittoria, 342 West Girard Ave. (215) 627-1000
Aired January 25th, 2012 on Doughnuts. 
The enemy of anyone who is trying to eat well, Krispy Kreme, is trying to tempt you off of your New Year’s Resolution diet by donating money from sales to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Philadelphia.
Until January 30th, 10% of the proceeds from the sale of Prince’s favorite doughnuts (right) will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Philadelphia, in celebration of Mentoring Month. However, Krsipy Kreme doughnuts (especially the addictive glaze) are not exactly “healthy.” And you’re doing so well on your New Year’s Resolution to drop off those extra pounds (we’re proud of you), and you can’t give in now. So we’ve devised a simple solution to this problem. Sure, you could just donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters without buying a doughnut, but that’s no fun. So go ahead, buy some of those purple doughnuts above, but don’t eat them. Stay on your plan, and just stop by Phoodie HQ and give them to us, we’ve already given up our resolutions.
Aired January 25th, 2012 on Closings and Liquor. 
About a week ago, we got an email for a reader asking if we knew why the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store on 41st and Market had closed, apparently for good, on the 14th. According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, the location was closed due to, “issues with the landlord and the physical site.”
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said the PLCB is planning to open another liquor store in the nearby area, but no location has been decided yet. For now, Penn Students will just have to get their liquor elsewhere.
Aired January 24th, 2012 on Beer and Coffee. 
Starbucks is already a go-to spot when you need a caffeine fix, but what if you need something a little … heavier? According to Reuters, the national coffee chain will begin selling beer and wine in some of its chain stores in California, Illinois, and Georgia. Alcohol is already sold at some of the company’s Washington and Oregon locations, where beers are $5 each, and a glass of wine goes for $7 to $9.
According to senior vice president of U.S. Operations Clarice Turner, “the company wishes to create a ‘warm and inviting place” for customers to come and “unwind and connect with the people they care about.’” The plan is also to start selling “premium ” foods such as small plates, thereby morphing Starbucks into more or less a very busy, variable-quality, tapas place.
Only time will tell how far Starbucks will expand this idea, but we can pretty much count Pennslyvania out. We know all too well of our archaic liquor laws tendency to stop things that are legal in most states from happening here.
