Greatest Hits and What You Missed: Vegans, Tastykakes, Whiskey and Flies

“Just when we started hearing some things about the Farmer’s Daughter at Normandy Farm in Whitpain Township (former site of a restaurant from the missing-in-action Jim Coleman, who disappeared from there, WHYY’s Chef’s Table, and World Cafe Live all in 2010) that made us actually consider making the awful drive up to that part of Montgomery County, we find out that Corey Fair, the bull-riding Texas-born chef that started to turn things around for the property, is gone.

Although the original tip that came in at the end of last week suggested that this was a sudden departure (to the effect of: ‘something happened last night, and the chef is gone’), both Fair (pictured) and the folks behind the so corporately named Normandy Farm Hotel and Conference Center say that’s not the case…”

Want to know the real story? Check out “Chef Flees Farmer’s Daughter For The Big City, But Promises ‘A Flawless Transition‘” for the truth.

“Horizons, Philadelphia’s well-regarded vegan restaurant is closing. Owner Rich Landau tells us the building has been sold and the restaurant will be closing around July 4th.”

Word is, it’s going to become a brick-oven pizzeria. Read all about it right here in “Something New On The Horizons“

“The company had already dropped 70% of its value in a year, deliberately skipped one debt payment (which is the corporate equivalent of that game you play with the credit card companies when money gets tight, calling up the service center and saying, “Dude, no… That check is totally in the mail.”), and following a jump in the price of flour and a move into an expensive new facility down in the Navy Yard, Tasty Baking was, in the technical parlance of the financial sector, just totally and completely fucked. There was a very good chance that, without this 11th-hour buy-out by Flowers, Tastykakes would’ve simply vanished into a black hole of bad debt and bankruptcy negotiation, leaving the world (or at least this corner of it) all the poorer for its lack of unusually-spelled snack options.”

From “Tastykake Gets Sold (Which, Believe It Or Not, Is Good News)“

“Aimee Olexy’s and Stephen Starr’s Talula’s Garden opens tomorrow on Washington Square where the restaurant will serve as Olexy’s stage in her return to downtown Philadelphia…”

And for everything you ever wanted to know about the chef, the space, the food and the wine, just check out our “Tale of the Tape” for Talula’s grand opening.

“I’d done just about as much time sitting behind a desk as I could. I’d filled out paperwork, tried (and failed) to memorize a dozen new phone numbers and passwords, made potentially life-altering decisions about medical coverage, accidental death and dismemberment insurance and what I want it to say on my business cards (Jason Sheehan: Amateur Pie-Eating Champion, ex-Fry Cook, Professional Sonofabitch), and I’d had enough. Officing has never been my strong suit. There always seems to be something more interesting, more vital, more not-sitting-on-my-fat-ass-and-staring-at-a-computer-y that I could be doing. There was a whole city out there filled with fried chicken, dumplings, dirty-water hot dogs, tacos, cheesesteaks, ice cream and foie gras, and I’m stuck in here trying to figure out withholding allowances? Fuck that. It was time to go.”

From “On The Ground, Day Two: Raining Whiskey From Very Far Away“

“I just can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered a nice, dirty martini and been surprised to find a big hunk of pork floating in it…

No, wait. That’s never happened to me. And yet every time I see something about vegan or vegetarian cocktail parties and liquor tastings I have to sit back and wonder: does this kind of thing really happen a lot? Am I just asking for the wrong drinks when I go out? Because seriously, there have been nights when I really wouldn’t have minded my two fingers of Jameson to come with a nice side of bacon.

But anyway, that’s not the point here. What is the point is that the folks behind Khyber Pass/Cantina Dos Segundos/Cantina Los Caballitos/Royal Tavern are throwing another Vegan Cocktails Philly party (this time to benefit the Food Trust) and planning another night of animal-friendly boozing and snacking for vegans, vegetarians and those who love them enough to tolerate a night without cheeseburgers (which, frankly, puts me right out of the running).”

From “Vegans Need Booze, Too,” which (unsurprisingly) started a small brushfire war in the comments section

“The other night, I visited Front Street’s Catahoula for some food and drink. The duck jambalaya, crawfish boil, and Gouda grits were all quite tasty, and I suggest you give them a try. The ice cold shrimp remoulade was also good, assuming you don’t mind eating those black intestinal tracts, which were not removed from the crustaceans. I must admit to eating a few. My companion declined. Then he pointed out the fruit fly gathering behind me…”

You’ll never believe the results of the poll attached to “It’s What’s For Dinner: Feces and Fruit Flies“

“For all you serious Frog-humpers and Francophiles in the crowd, we have this reminder: Tonight is the final night that the 11 chefs brought in from Paris and Lyon to cook with their Philadelphian partners will actually be in the kitchens, preparing dishes from the menus on which they collaborated. Most of the restaurants will continue serving the special menus for the duration of the festival (places like Le Bec-Fin and Rouge will not), but if you’ve always wondered how Terence Feury at Fork would get along with Simon Lacassin from Prefecture du Rhone in Lyon, or what might come of a one night stand between Daniel Stern (of R2L) and Babette De Rozieres (of La Table de Babette, Paris), tonight will be your last chance to find out. The way the schedule looks, the French contingent is being given Saturday night to get weird in Philly all on their own, but they’ll be on a plane come Sunday and headed back to their own kitchens.”

From “PIFA Report: French Invasion, Wolfgang Puck and the Death of A Trend“