Year In Review: August

We’ll be looking back at the year in Foobooz. August, 2009,

News

• We ask the question, does Chick’s Cafe have the city’s most expensive beer list?
• We map all the Best of Philly food winners.
• Phiadelphia Weekly nails it with their Must Eats cover story.
• One of the trends of  2009 has to be bartenders becoming stars. We profile several.
• Jennifer Zavala was out from El Camino Real before her sole episode of Top Chef aired.
• Starr closes his Tangerine.
• We still don’t understand how Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora of Talula’s Table cannot get a loan.
• Meritage received a welcome redo.
• Gayle closes for good.
• Craft beer defies the recession.
• Nick’s Charcoal Pit impresses Holly Moore and Drawing for Food.
• We bring on Anthony Sica to chronicle 2009’s moment in the TV sun for Philadelphia chefs.
• What’s the most buzzing corner east of Rittenhouse? We say its 10th and Spruce.
• Distrito rolls out big changes with a Distrito Cantina menu concept.
• A tragedy unfolded above Monk’s Cafe as a fire escape gave way sending a man to his death.
• We lay out the Legion of Perrier as an infographic.

Dish of the Month

Braised Pigs’ Feet at Bibou

For the more adventurous diner, there were the braised pigs’ feet ($25), served deboned and rolled in a light breading. The dish’s rich flavor and gelatinous texture was enhanced by a bit of foie gras stuffing and a bed of tender French lentils. – Dan Saltstein, New York Times

Smackdown of the Month

“My luck was no better with the grilled pizza, whose toppings change daily. The glory of grilled pizza is a crispy crust that holds its shape, but I could have hung the one I tried over a towel rack.” – Trey Popp, City Paper

Notable Openings

Cantina at Distrito, Fond, Kong, Meritage, Verdad

Notable Closings

Carambola, Loie, Marigold Kitchen, Tangerine