Monday, February 29, 2016

Treylor Park

115 E Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 495-5557
Website

I took a long weekend trip to Charleston and Savannah recently, and you will see some food from those trips coming up, because boy, did I EAT. Treylor Park was a hip bar that had a good beer selection, great prices, and some amazing waffle fries.


Even in February, you could sit outside (man I love The South), and they had a back alley entrance to an outdoor bar that was separate from their general dining area.


With a Fernet bike hanging, I knew what my after dinner drink of choice would be.


The Treylor Park Nachos Grande consisted of waffle fries, pickles, fried chicken, bacon, cheddar, chive ranch dressing and a balsamic gastrique. My god. These were some of the best nachos/smothered fries I have ever had. The ingredient list reads like my death row menu. And the fries were perfectly crispy, and made for perfect scooping vessels.


Bits of fried chicken, surrounded by ranch and bits of pickle? Heaven.


I was surprised with how well the balsamic went with the plate. It makes sense to have the vinegar cut the fat a bit, and I would not change a thing. It was indulgent perfection on a plate. The bartender said if he was only getting one thing, it had to be the Nachos (I was on my way to dinner). He was right. And then he bought me a shot of Fernet.


Next time I visit Savannah, I'll be hitting Treylor Park again for sure, maybe between lunch and dinner so I can take my time and really get deep into the other menu options. To be continued...

Monday, February 22, 2016

The Philly Showcase of Wine and Cheese Ticket Giveaway Contest! WINNER- Carmen Howard! Please email for tickets.



WINNER - Carmen Howard! Please email for tickets.

The Philly Showcase of Wine and Cheese has asked us to spread the word, and are offering a free pair of tickets to two lucky readers who will have the opportunity to attend this amazing event, a $100 value. Not only will you get to gorge on hundreds of cheeses and wines, there is live music, gourmet food tastings, and a silent auction. Even better, the proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia. Win win! If you don't get lucky enough to win, I highly encourage you to grab some tickets and take a date. Or just go by yourself and wear sweat pants. Either way, you will have a blast, and experience vino-lacto overload. I'll also be there, so who knows, you might get to meet Philly Phoodie, in the flesh!

Contest details:

Who - one winner will get two tickets to The Philly Showcase of Wine and Cheese (April 8, 2016 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center)

When - the contest will run from the time of posting (today 2/22) through Friday, February 26 at 12PM Noon ET

How - leave a comment on this post letting us know your favorite wine and/or cheese memory (eg- a time you had some amazing cheese at a dairy, that time you drank high end wine out of a Spaniards navel, etc)

How to Win - all valid comments (no spam) will be given a number and the winner chosen at random

Don't forget - if you comment anonymously, email me your contact info so I can get in touch if you are the lucky winner

Good luck!

#PHLShowcase
Showcase Tickets
Showcase Website
Showcase Facebook

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Hunt's Annex Lounge

1311 MacDade Boulevard
Woodlyn, PA 19094
(610) 833-2344
Facebook

If there is one thing we know the 'burbs consistently does WAY better than the city, it's wings. No contest. I got the word that Hunt's had some of DelCo's finest, and stopped in to verify. One thing to note – you can smoke in here, which usually would be an issue for me, but they did a really good job of keeping the place aired out and I barely noticed it.


Like many great Delaware County bars, this place is basically a giant wrap around bar. I love this design, because it assures maximum bar seat real estate and exponentially increases the people-watching capabilities.


Although these are certainly not cheap wings (priced at nearly $1 a pop), they offer so many sauce choices it was hard to criticize. Also, who wants in on a group buy for a thousand? Any takers?


The spicy honey were first up, as they were highly recommended by both the bartender and a regular I was sitting next to. I ordered them extra crispy, as usual.


These were well rendered wings, nicely crisped, and the sauce was spicy but not too hot. I couldn't taste too much of the honey, but that wasn't a big deal. They are also quite large, which I imagine is at least part of the reason for the price tag.


Next in line were the dry rub. I am a big fan of dry rub wings, as they tend to retain their crunch a lot longer than their sauce soaked brethren. Probably because they are not drenched in liquid? I don't know, I was not a science major. These wings were salty, hot, and slightly sweet due to some brown sugar in the rub. I believe there was also some mustard powder in the mix.


Again, they were well fried, and the skin stayed crispy. Good stuff.


As I am watching my waistline these days, I decided to offset the wings by ordering some curly fries with cheddar sauce and a bud light. Good fries, nothing fancy, from a bag. The cheese was perfectly artificial and delicious. As expected.


Hunt's would probably be a great spot for wing night, but at regular prices, they are a bit on the steep side. I would certainly come back if I were in the area, but I would not rush to return.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Carribean Corner

4948 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630) 541-8641
Website

I was visiting family in the Chicago area and stumbled upon the Caribbean Corner. Touting the "best Cuban in town" (Downers Grove), I figured it was worth a try. Though I was somewhat concerned about the robustness of the Cuban scene in a town with a 5.2% Latino population.



I started with some chicken empanadas. These were well fried, and had quite a bit of shredded chicken inside. The carrots and corn inside looked like they came from a frozen bag, but overall they were quite serviceable.



The sandwiches, while lacking in visual appeal, all had hefty flavor profiles. Cuban pictured below.


The pork was tender, the bread well griddled, and the general consistency was where it should be.


The shredded beef sandwich was similar to a torta or a bocadilla. The beef was tender and had a nice smack of meat to it. Sloppy, but quite good.


I like my bread to hold up a bit better than what you see here, but overall the flavors were pretty fantastic.



The shredded chicken was just like the shredded beef. But with chicken. Again, pretty sloppy, but tasted just fine. A good offering for the Chicago burbs, but I would not be breaking out the linen suit and a bottle of rum while rushing to eat here.