This is what happens when you google "froyo."
Okay, so fro-yo in Philly might be a little overdone. The frozen fad created knockoff Pinkberrys all over the place, even right here on campus with Sprinkles Kiwi SprinKiwi. But our fair city is taking it up a notch and, according to this article, finally getting a REAL Pinkberry! No word yet on where it’ll be– while the PB website has a “swirling soon” map up, we doubt the middle of City Hall is actually where it’s at.
Edit: Okay, so Grub Street says this is all false and Pinkberry hates Philly (or at least that’s what we get from it). So why the swirling map, PB? Why you gotta play us like that?
The Penn University Club (you know, that place you can’t really go to- except to take a prof to lunch- because you’re not important enough yet) has really outdone themselves this time. All week, in celebration of the Winter Olympics, they will be serving a meal each night from a different participating country (sorry, Costa Rica). Tonight kicks things off with Canadian delicacies such as yellow pea soup and Shepard’s pie… yum.
While we probably won’t get to experience any of it, we’d like to salute the University Club for its pro-Olympic spirit. This only draws attention to a larger issue at Penn- the lack of celebration in honor of this international display of talent, athleticism, and sportsmanship. What gives? Would it be so hard to at least use the PennAlert loudspeakers to blast the Olympic theme song nonstop?
We wrote last week with excitement about the rumored underground Pho King “restaurant” that opened yesterday. First in line tipster Sara Fleischman tells us Pho King is indeed legit, and will be operating Speakeasy-style every Monday in Rodin at 11 p.m. Though last night’s offering included only beef, it seems chicken may be available in the future. Fortunately, she snapped some Pho-tos to whet your appetite.
More tastiness after the jump.
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File this one under our “strange but awesome” category.
According to a Facebook group, there’s a new spot coming to town that promises “insanely cheap, healthy, homemade, no MSG, delicious pho.”
But there’s one catch: after a little investigative research (i.e. emailing the Pho King himself), we found out that this Pho’King place actually intends to become the underground pho hot spot for Penn students.
…what?
Yep, four students—who have mysteriously dubbed themselves “The Four Amigos”—have a dream. The great dream to sell enough delicious, MSG-free pho to book it all the way to Disneyworld. ”With big dreams and little money,” they told us, “we’ve decided to bank on the one skill we have: making a decent pot of pho.”
The grand opening’s set for Feb. 8th but in order to actually get yourself a bowl, the “Four Amigos” are suggesting that students simply “ask around for the location.”
OMG, it’s totally like when those hipster bands decide to play in some random unannounced New York location and Michael Cera has to cab around the city until he actually finds the concert. Saucy.
Five Guys. 840 Calories of Guilty Goodness.
Today’s commencement of Food Week isn’t the only food news to hit the stands. Foobooz reminded us that today also marks the first day that the new Philadelphia Calorie Law goes into effect. Apparently, any restaurant with more than 15 chains is now required to put calorie labels on their menus. Indeed, a victory for the health-conscious. But, for a city renowned for its cheesesteaks and who’s mascot looks like this, critics are skeptical of the law’s effectiveness.
Now, with calorie counts handled–what’s the next food frontier? We hear it’s salt.
Lucky for us, food trucks are exempt from this law–and our guilty conscience. Here we come, Mrs. Bui.
Saying Penn kids take food seriously is an understatement. It’s definitely a top student priority, followed by drinking and breathing, respectively. So we were a little confused when Bon Appetit (the new Penn dining company, for those with a complete mental block courtesy of repressed Commons experiences) decided we needed a week to talk about food. In fact, in their words, “We eat food every day. This week we’ll talk about it.”
You might think to yourself, “I talk about food all the time! I make plans to eat, I offer reviews, and I belligerently scream at Wawa sandwich people.” To that, Bon Appetit would say you’re wrong. Then they’d invite you to Food Week February 1st-5th, promising insights into sustainability, fair trade and all those other things we should probably know about by now.
If this has anything to do with that cool hydroponic garden under Commons (oh, didn’t know about that, did you? It’s awesome), we’re totally in. Check the full schedule after the jump!
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We noticed this large new sign outside Hummus on 4oth and Walnut. We can’t decide if the picture of a massive chickpea is appealing or not.
Sorority tipsters inform us that every day this week, Gia Pronto and Taglio (now offering pizza by the cut!) are offering half-off discounts for the first fifty frat bro and sorority sista customers.
The only catch? You’ll have to prove you’re a Greek affiliate. We hear you can either wear your house’s letters or sing “your house’s song” to identify yourself. Lots of sorority ladies say not all houses have a song, so it looks like you may have to head out in a hoodie or Greek sweats if you’re looking to score a half-off salad. Or make up a song. Which we are probably going to do.
Update: We hear you can also show a listserv email to prove your Greekness. How high tech.
Last month, we got excited about Restaurant Week, and yesterday, while we were busy celebrating B-Frank’s B-Day, the foodies of Philly celebrated the first day of two weeks of foodie fun. Although reservations have been filling up fast, you’ve still got time!
Participating restaurants include the regular mix of the big name Stephen Starr set and little-known-could-be-gems. Fortunately, this year’s Restaurant Week continues to offer $20+ (whatever that plus means, right?) three-course lunch sets. Unfortunately, the severely misnomer-ed “Restaurant Week” runs from January 17-22 & 24-29.
Save yourself the time, we checked the calendar–the 23rd is a Saturday. Sneaky, Restaurant Week, sneaky.
Remember when all those idealistic Stud-Gov freshmen candidates were running around campus, littering Penn with posters, videos, and impossible promises? Well, apparently those who won have stuck true to their word and created some sort of time machine to bring us all back to the debauchery of first semester. Either that, or it’s a bunch of random events this week that apparently resemble NSO.
While we’re not sure if we remember any of these happening the last time around (and can someone please tell us what a “Goodcrush” is?), we can’t exactly trust our memory so they might be worth checking out. And we are definitely digging the discounts.
Don’t know what to wear to Freshman Formal? Class Board has you covered. Watch the instructional promo vid and read the whole e-mailed schedule for this week (courtesy of 2013 prez Jonathon Youshaei) after the jump.
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Yummy Spruce Street eatery Taglio is now offering pizza by the cut, rather than by weight. Back in the day (i.e. December), pizza could run $8.50 to $11.50 per pound, but it’s now available in large and small pieces, for $2.25 and $3.00 respectively.
First the Cupcake Truck, then Hub Bub, and now the latest truck, Sugarcube Philly—it seems the on-the-go eateries cruising campus are only thinking outside the truck these days.
The latest of the specialty food trucks to hit campus will be rolling in sometime next week, bringing with it a six-item menu of sweet treats and pastries. But this isn’t your typical bakery on wheels: the menu features gourmet desserts ranging from a vanilla crème brulee to a spicy Mexican layered chocolate cake.
The duo behind Sugarcube Philly, Penn grad (what, what!) Franklin Shen and Drexel grad John Suh, promise a “little taste of heaven” and already we can attest that the photos on their site have us drooling in anticipation. So stay tuned for the truck’s arrival via @sugarcubephilly: as of right now they plan to dish high-end treats out of their truck (nicknamed “Sheila”) for a reasonable $5 at 38th between Chestnut and Walnut Street.
Someone, somewhere has finally answered one small part of our Penn Dining prayers. All of the Pepsi soda machines in Penn soft drink establishments– such as Houston Hall, Commons, and the Palestra– have been replaced with good ol’ American Coke. And not that coke, guys– it’s Coca-Cola! The old school flavors like Sprite and Diet Coke are there, but they also have those newfangled ones like Coke Zero and Fanta. As long as they don’t try to go all flavor-shot fancy like Wawa, we think this is a very, very good thing.
Holy Cow! Remember the mythical, rumored burger joint Bobby Flay was maybe going to open in the Radian? Turns out it is totally happening. No one seems to have any dates, but such is the saga of most Radian retail.
Although we will probably have graduated about three years before Bobby’s Burger Palace opens, we will still pretend to be really excited! Mostly because we read on the BBP website that “Bobby also reminds you to get your burger crunchified, which means to top any BBP burger with crisp potato chips at no additional cost.”
Thought it may be a bummer to head back to classes in January, there will be food to warm you up. Restaurant Week is coming back! From January 17-22 and 24-29, lots of high end Center City restaurants will offer three-course dinners for $35 and three-course lunches for $20. We’re telling you now because things book up fast, so try you hand at some finals procrastination and reserve some fine dining.
Since prices will be the same at each spot, it’s a good chance to hit up the swankiest spots. Highlights from the list include Amada, Buddakan, Butcher & Singer, Chifa and Le Bec-Fin. Happy eating!
