Kevin Sbraga’s New Restaurant “The Fat Ham” and other Philly Foodie Thoughts.

I hesitate to even remotely consider myself a foodie. Someone who has only recently started eating most foods and cooking for themselves cannot be labeled a foodie. Just because you eat out a lot does not make you a foodie. I am sure there are various definitions of what defines a foodie and I am certainly not one of them.

What I do consider myself is someone who is on top of what is new and hot in the Philadelphia restaurant scene (thanks to twitter this is very easy). People like spending their money on going out to bars, sporting events, concerts etc. Those are all great but I would rather spend my money on a great meal/dining experience somewhere. 

Many have written about what makes the Philadelphia restaurant scene so great. For one, it is very affordable. This isn’t New York or San Francisco where stepping into a top restaurant will set you back a couple Benjamin’s. Continuing with affordability, many great restaurants in the city are BYOB.  While I would argue that the culinary foundation of Philadelphia does not feature signature dishes and ingredients per say (I am not going to mention sandwiches here), the range of affordable and eclectic dining options, combined with the exponential increase over the past couple years in highly touted restaurants and chefs are reasons why Philadelphia is fast becoming one of the top food cities in America. I won’t even mention the beer.

Before this turns into some puff piece about Philly, I wanted to review my visit to Kevin Sbraga’s new restaurant “The Fat Ham.” This is the Top Chef’s second restaurant in the city, following the opening of “Sbraga” in 2011. Terri and I had one of our favorite meals at Sbraga last fall which is an upscale take on modern American classics. The Fat Ham is a small plate style restaurant of the chef’s take on Southern food. The interior is small but warm with  wooden décor and a bar stocked full of whiskeys. 

Throughout the dinner, our server was attentive and everything was paced perfectly. We didn’t have to wait to put in our drink and food orders and there was the perfect amount of time between the six dishes that we ordered.

What I love about small plate restaurants is that you are constantly looking forward to various dishes. Most restaurants you are simply waiting for your app and entrée. There is nothing wrong with that but the small plate experience is a more fun dining experience. I won’t get into the details of what every plate was garnished with but here is the summary of the food we got: 

-Fried Green Tomatoes with Horseradish and Sour Cream – Perfectly fried and surprisingly light with nice flavor. Nothing to salivate over but a nice little dish to start the meal.

-Grilled Trout with Brussels Sprouts and Pecan Butter – The Pecan Butter brought everything together in a perfect bite of salty sweet.

-Shrimp & Grits – The sweet richness of the grits combined with the shrimp was delicious. The texture of the dish was really nice.

-Baked Macaroni & Cheese - This dish is highly recommended. Southern Mac and Cheese at its finest. Homemade shells combined with the BBQ potato chip crust made this dish a winner.

-Hot Chicken – Apparently this dish has been thrown into the conversation of best fried chicken in Philly. It was perfectly spicy and paired beautifully with the Ranch dressing, pickles and bread. Another dish I highly recommend.

-Charred Cabbage – The dish seemed out of place with this cheesy Italian like sauce that accompanied the cabbage but it still had an elevated taste that was delicious nonetheless.

We ended with Banana Pudding and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet. Both were rich but not to the point of being too heavy. A perfect end and compliment to the main dishes. 

What made this meal so great was that everything worked in harmony. Despite the small dining area, we felt transported to some cozy warm dining room in the South, while it was snowy and freezing outside. We were happy throughout the entire meal which is the most you can ask for when you go out to a restaurant. The number of dishes left us both feeling perfectly satisfied without feeling overly stuffed or sleepy. 

I don’t normally write restaurant reviews so someone might believe that there is no context for my food opinions. I could walk into any restaurant and say everything was great…right? I’ll leave at this: The Fat Ham was so good it made me write my first blog post in over a year.

Excitement in January: 10 Reasons why January is not a let down

by Terri 
with contributions from Jay and Jake

Many people hate January. There is a gigantic let down from the holidays. Everyone I know has experienced terrible break ups in this dreaded month. You hate yourself for every piece of food you consumed from Thanksgiving to New Years Day. And it is cold, wet, and gray. HOWEVER here are 10 reasons that January is not the worst.

1)    Detox

You are finally done with the holidays. From mid-November until New Year’s Day you are consumed with plans, food, family, and friends. Where will I be for this holiday? Who will I be with? What will I wear NYE? I shouldn’t eat that tenth dessert that someone brought into the office but damn it, it is the holidays. You can finally have some down time, not over eat, and not have to be with a million people. And because it is cold you can be inside, alone or with the company you choose, and sit on the couch and be happy.

2)    Resolutions

I personally do not like resolutions. Why should I make a resolution just because it is January 1? BUT if you are a resolution person, odds are this is the one month you do it. You go to the gym every day, do not bite your nails, and not go through a six-pack each night. January is the time to pat yourself on the back because you fulfill your resolutions and who doesn’t like to feel good about themselves?

3)    Movies

This is a GREAT time for movies. It is pre-awards so supposedly good movies are out. It is after the horror movies of October, the Holiday movies of December, but before the Romantic Comedies of February. What is better than to get a heavy dinner and see a movie in January?

4)    NFL Playoffs

NFL playoffs are great (true they are better if your team is in but I would argue still fun)! One game to determine the fate. A whole week to talk to death about it. Great thing to put money on. The NFL playoffs are fun for all! If you don’t have a team, pick a team and enjoy!  

5)    Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal’s B.S. Report Playoff Podcast

This is by far one of my favorite sporting media events of the year. Simmons and Cousin Sal are usually entertaining but each year this podcast is a riot. Especially if the Cowboys make the playoffs this year, this podcast is a great way to spend a drive on a cold, gray day.

6)    Great Sales

Sure, there are great, amazing sales before the holidays; however no company wants to completely flop the first month of the year! So if you look hard there are great sales to use your holiday gift card on. I love getting new things, and these sales are a great pick me up in January.

7)    Kardashians

If you do not watch the Kardashians you are not a true American! The Kardashians come back with “Kourtney and Kim Take Miami” in mid-January! This means that there will be reruns until mid-January when the show comes out – E! will be consumed by Kardashians in January. And additionally Kanye is dating Kim – and he is on the show!

8)    Winter League

No Frisbee since November plus holiday food makes you a tubbo! January is the perfect time for Frisbee to enter your life again and run around!

9)    MLK’s Birthday

After a month and a half of off and on vacation and slow days in the office, MLK Day is a blessing. It comes at a time when you feel like you cannot work another day in a row ever again. Also MLK is a legend and watching or listening to his speech gives any one the drive to do something productive.

10) Snow

Finally, the most important is snow! It is pretty, it makes the cold worth it, and it is the perfect excuse to not go to Winter League, do your resolution, or go to the movies. Instead stay home! Online shop and find some great sales, watch the Kardashians, listen to the B.S. Report, socially detox, or just look out the window with a strong drink in your hand.

Cheers to January, don’t even get me started why February is the worst!

The Blog is Back!!!

Well were a week away from Christmas and I am currently in front of my computer thinking of the best way to spend my afternoon. Oh I know, RESURRECT THE BLOG.

The following are things to look forward too in 2013

1. Double Date Rankings

2. Things that upset Terri

3. Why Professional Ultimate should adapt the Pick 6 rule

4. When did Freelance Whales turn into Beach House

5. Why the R.A. Dickey trade was great for the Mets

6. Memoirs from Clam Island

7. Why the West Wing is better than the Newsroom

8. Why Ina Garden is a boss

9. Why Philly is better than DC

10. Mets fans being the most delusional in baseball

11. Who will win Next Iron Chef

12. Revenge of the Toad

13. Why Twitter is the greatest form of Social Media out there and people who don't get it should be committed for being ignorant.

14. Nate Grefe's Oscar preview which he will spell out why Daniel Day Lewis and Christopher Nolan are the two greatest living men on earth

15. Inside the mind of Vincent McCrink

16. Top 10 worst tweeters on the Jive Turkeys (This will be great and might actually happen)

17. America's obsession with the Black Quarterback

18. Schachter's Winter Beer Review

19. Wiffle Ball Eulogy

20. Spinners Season Exposed: Tales of Sex, Drugs, Lies and Irrelevancy. Narrated by Don Boyle

Monday MLB Thoughts

• Cole Hamels pitched better than maybe his line might appear. His stuff looked good, striking out 9 and walking 0 in 5.1 innings.
  
• Omar Infante has 3 HR's in 5 games. He had 7 all last year. I would be surprised to see him reach double digits in 2012.
• Barry Zito pitched his first shutout since....well lets just say it has been a while. The guy finds a way to string enough starts together to become fantasy relevant. His next start will be at home against the Pirates. Definitely worth a spot start
• So far through this young season, the Twins have been one of if not the worst team in baseball. The lineup is atrocious, the ballpark is a nightmare to hit in and the staff is well below average.
  
• Shaun Marcum got off to a promising start in 2012 giving up 3 runs (2 solo shots) in 6 innings while striking out 6 and walking 0 and getting the win. He had a great April in 2011
• The Atlanta Braves have gotten of to a terrible start and the loss to the Astros tonight was easily their worst game of the season so far. The Braves wont score a ton of runs this year but their defense cost them the game tonight. 4 errors that led to the Braves coughing up a 3-0 lead against the Astros.
• I wont make too much of the Yu Darvish start. He was definitely nervous and you cant blame the guy. Even after he gave up 4 runs in the first inning, my father correctly predicted that Texas would win the game anyway. Texas has the best lineup in baseball no question
• Boston wins after Sergio Santos blows his second save of the year. Kevin Youkilis is still hitless in 2012. Could see Francisco Cordero in the 9th inning soon.
• Tommy Milone pitched 8 shutout innings against the Royals but struck out zero. A's won 1-0. Grant Balfour looked great saving his second game of the season for the A's.
• Jeter went 4 for 4 and the Yanks got their first win. Ivan Nova had a great start to the season with 7 innings, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts while walking none.
• Daniel Murphy had a game winning walk off single to give the Mets their first 4-0 start since 2007. A win tomorrow would match their best franchise start ever. David Wright has an RBI in all 4 wins. Mike Pelfrey matched a career high with 8 strikeouts.
  
• David Freese is on fire, starting the year batting .417 with 4 runs, 2 HRs and 8 RBIs through 5 games.
  
• Chris Sale won his first major league start going 6.2 innings, giving up a run while striking out 5 and allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks. Hector Santiago got his second save for the White Sox.

Looking forward to the 1:00 afternoon game Tampa vs. Detroit. Matt Moore vs. Rick Porcello.

Philly Spinners Combine Recap

I figured this would be a good time to use the blog and give a quick recap of the Philly Spinners combine on Saturday Jan. 28^th. I know there is a lot of interest about what is going on so here is some of the info people might be interested in.

The first combine was invite only and there were 30 people there. Here is the list because you wont get this information anywhere else.

SOUTHPAW

1. Ben Johnson
2. Frecka
3. Leon Chou
4. Miggs Hirannet
5. Dan Furfari
6. Dave Brandolph
7. Matt Glazer
8. Greg Owens
9. Dave Baer
10. Michael Panna
11. Stephen Thor
12. Trey Katzenbach
13. Jake Rainwater
14. Kyle Salasko
15. Patrick Lindsey
16. Jake Herman
17. Ian McClellan

TRUCK

18. Dan Kantor
19. Bobby Gibson
20. Sean Keegan
21. Jonathan Neely
22. Jeff Wodatch

The Rest

23. Christian Millichap – Hypnotoad
24. Evan Feeney – Blueprint
25. Grin – Amp
26. Ben Pellig – Amp
27. Harrison Treegoob – Amp
28. Mike Baer – Bearproof
29. Brent Shipe –Bearproof
30. Matt Jaffe – Bearproof

Sorry if I got anyone’s name wrong. So after filling out a couple forms, HC Jeff Snader gave us a talk basically outlining what his goals for the team were and why we should play. The message I got is to try and make ultimate main stream and more respectable as a sport. As for money, travel and jerseys are paid for. Players will not get paid or have a salary or anything like that.

We started with some conditioning drills and the piston drill to kind of test the heart and determination of the players there. Coach was testing the mentality and how hard players worked in these drills, his test you could say. Classic Snader. There were no tests for 40 times or vertical and I agreed with the point that that stuff doesn’t mean shit. Coach knew that all the players at the combine could play. Would have been a waste of time to test all that stuff.

There was a 1 on 1 hunger drill which was basically a disc being thrown downfield and see who makes the play. This was a lot of fun. We ended up doing survivor which meant that if you were on offense and didn’t catch the disc you were out of the drill. I busted my ass on an in cut and was eliminated third. Jeff Wodatch ended up winning the drill.

About 2 hours in, he sat us down and we asked questions about the league from money to if there would be spinners cheerleaders. What I gathered is that a lot of stuff is still being figured out by the AUDL. I could write a lot more here but I don’t really feel like going into the details.

After that we broke into 6 teams and had 2 scrimmages. Then we finished by combining into two teams and played 12 minute/4 quarters, PADA winter league rules.

We ended around midnight. I had a great time. Playing with some of the best players in the area was awesome, especially guys that I have never played with. Some of the appeal of playing for the Spinners is playing with guys from Truckstop and other teams. I love playing with people that I have only played against or just new players in general. I wished that more people from Truck were there but I understand why there weren’t more.

Anyway I hope that gives people some insight about the Combine. The next Spinners combine is I believe Feb. 25^th and anyone can show up for that one.

Philly Spinners – Get Dizzy! Ah I can see it now.

Also I would like to add that Brian Caniff was there taking a ton of pics so I am sure those will surface at some point. And there were two guys filming everything but I am sorry that I cant remember their names. So expect there to be footage online at some point. I would like to give thanks to these guys as well as Billy Maroon and Doc who are asst. coaches for the Spinners