i finally caved in and got some mexican food

[mojo]

the funny thing about that is, anyone that knows me knows my thing about mexican food. in fact, when i went to ny, the first thing i did was find a mexican place. but this time, i haven't had any since sd. so it's been...a while. i been sustaining myself on burgers, eggs, cheesesteak sammiches, etc, since i got here. but tonight i just had to find out if philly has good mexican food.

now, this place wasn't the best i've had, but it wasn't the worst either. the tortillas could have used some work, but the meat was spiced just right. i had tacos tonight, so i'll have to report on the burritos later. in all, i'd say it was verrry good. maybe it was the taco deprivation, or maybe just good. we'll see.

things i have tried here so far have been the cheesesteaks (excellent), the chipped beef (not so common in sd), and philly scrapple. what other regional things should i try? i guess i gotta have one of the dirty water dogs, and one of them pretzels. oh, and ufcrusher posted some stuff to try. any other suggestions? oh, and wtf is in philadelphia scrapple?!

yup, i'm eating well here :D

[GraingerGuy]

Hmmmm....healthy....:D

[attgig]

how bout some new york bagels with philadelphia cream cheese?

[ufcrusher]

Scrapple is only found in Philadelphia (to my knowledge)....and you really dont want to know what is in it, because you wont eat it again.










That said..........................................

Traditionally, Scrapple is made out of ALL the leftovers of the pig...and I do mean ALL the leftovers. Ears, hooves, snout, etc.

For a more appealing version:
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/sleuth/0998/phili.html


Other things to try:
Yvengling Lager
Yvengling Black and White
Stoudts beer
Water Ice - which I think I suggested before

I will list more later.

[mojo]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
Scrapple is only found in Philadelphia (to my knowledge)....and you really dont want to know what is in it, because you wont eat it again.










That said..........................................

Traditionally, Scrapple is made out of ALL the leftovers of the pig...and I do mean ALL the leftovers. Ears, hooves, snout, etc.

For a more appealing version:
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/sleuth/0998/phili.html


Other things to try:
Yvengling Lager
Yvengling Black and White
Stoudts beer
Water Ice - which I think I suggested before

I will list more later. ah, water ice...from rita's, right?

oh, and the leftovers of the pig...i eat chorizo and like it. so it sounds...like that :D

thanks for the tips tho. i'm on it ;)

[ufcrusher]

Ritas is ok. The best place in my opinion is in Overbrook Water ice. Its on Main street in Manayunk, close to the old post office building. There used to be an Aveida shop next to it, but I am not sure if its still there. There is also a parking lot right next to it.

[eSDee]

Hey mojo glad to hear that there's atleast some edible Mexican food there. The real test is what kind of meat they use in the taco. If it's hamburger meat, move on ;)


Btw you know how they have California burritos(basically carne asada burrito with potatoes everybody), do they have Philly burritos?

[CynJon]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
Traditionally, Scrapple is made out of ALL the leftovers of the pig...and I do mean ALL the leftovers. Ears, hooves, snout, etc.

You mean, like hot dogs?

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by CynJon


You mean, like hot dogs?

Yup... sounds exactly like hotdogs...

[johnnymk]

I found out recently that Rosenbergs Nut Chews (candy) are unique to this area. They are pretty good.
And I love scrapple, but it always gives me an upset stomach... I can't imagine why.
Have you ever heard of Taco Bell?.. MMmmmm... Yummy..:D

[oblongmelon]

Dirty water dogs are the best! ..(and don't forget they are called dirty water dogs for a reason)
Scrapple isn't just in PHiladelphia..it's pretty much all over Pennsylvania and down south..it's gross, and it's garbage..it's snouts,toes,tails,guts,etc all rolled together like chop meat and formed into nice little patties with spices tossed in. If you closer to Lancaster-the scrapple is at least from the local fresh kills, and not sitting around in meat packing plants all year.

[Blu]

Previous thread by yours truly:
http://www.gotapex.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=15940&highlight=scrapple


How to make your own scrapple:



SCRAPPLE
Cool weather conjures up thoughts of hog killin' and scrapple makin'. After the hams and bacon have been put down in cure and the sausage is all ground and the lard rendered and the feets pickled and the snouts soused, you take what's left (the scraps) and make scrapple. Now, I have seen a lot of recipes for making scrapple. Most say to start with a shoulder or some such good piece of meat. Blasphemy! Everybody knows there are better ways to use a shoulder and such wanton waste would not have been tolerated back when times were tight and folks had to make the most of what they had. I have also had some Pennsylvania scrapple that was way too strong in liver. Here's how we used to make it back when I was a youngun.

Ingredients:
1 Grandmother to make sure everything is done "just so"
1 Mother to do most of the preparations. Overseen by ingredient #1
2 Children, big enough to stir the pot but not smart enough to be somewhere else
Hog heads (number depending upon how many hogs were killed)
About 1/4 of the livers (the rest having been made into liver pudding or fried)
Hearts
Various and sundry other parts of the pig not used to make other delicacies
Salt
Sage
Pepper
Maybe a little celery salt to highlight the flavors (optional)
Stone ground white cornmeal

The feature attraction is the cleaned head. Remove the eyeballs (the brains were removed on killing day and scrambled with eggs the next morning), break the head(s) into manageable pieces with a cleaver, and cook them down in a kettle of boiling water 'til the meat is easily pulled. Skim the fat from the water and save. Pull all of the meat and fat (separate) from the heads and chop up the chunks. Cook the liver and heart and whatever else wasn't used in other delicacies and grind them up. Get a tote-sack full of corn meal and keep it handy. Put the meat, heart, and other scraps (except liver) back into the simmering kettle of stock. Add liver until you can taste it but the liver flavor does not predominate. You can put some of the fat in if you wish. Add salt and celery salt - the cornmeal will take a lot of salt so you get this mixture fairly salty. Stir. Taste. Add sage and pepper to taste - not too much, now. Stir. Taste. Pass the spoon around so everybody can pass judgment. When it's right, you should taste salt first, then liver - but not too strong, rich pork meat flavor and a hint of sage. When everybody (especially ingredient #1) is agreed that it couldn't possibly be better, bring out the cornmeal and kids.

Now comes the hard part! Slowly stir in the cornmeal with a long wooden spoon - not too much at a time, now. Keep stirring. Add cornmeal. Keep stirring. Add cornmeal. Keep stirring. As the mixture starts to get thick, add some of the liquid fat that had been skimmed earlier. Keep stirring. Not thick enough yet. Add a little more corn meal. Keep stirring. A little more fat until there is a slight sheen to the surface but no visible oil. Keep stirring.

"Just where do you think you're going? Get back there and stir that pot!! "

As the mixture thickens and you fine tune the ratio of fat to cornmeal, it will start to separate from the sides of the kettle. This is a good thing 'cause the kids are about tuckered. Ladle it into lightly greased, shallow, rectangular or square tin pans to a thickness of about 2 1/2 inches. Be careful - it's still hot! Start slapping it down with the palm of your hand. Slap it like you mean it! SLAP IT! If you are doing it right, your hand should be beet red, sore and covered with a light coat of pig oil. Good. Now let the pans cool, cover with waxed paper and put them in the frigidare or cold pantry.

Next morning, remove scrapple from the pan and slice about 3/8" thick. Lightly flour both sides. Heat about 1/4" of bacon grease in an iron skillet 'til it just starts to smoke. Fry until outside starts to crisp but the inside is still soft. Drain briefly on a paper towel. Serve with Log Cabin syrup and eggs. There's nothing else like it in this world!!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........good!

[ribitch]

you need to get your butt over to detroit and try some our coney dogs or greek food. Nothing else compares. Coneys rule!!!

The closer to downtown you go, the better the coneys are. If you get too far away, they use normal chili or in some cases sloppy joe. Those taste like ass. Detroit coney chili is one of my favorite foods

[Nija]

ok the mojo post was fine..

but now.. this thread has turned into things that make me want to blow chunks (but chunks is hoey's dog) all over..

:puke:

[hoey222]

ok - here some of the places i've been for good eats

upstairs at nick's - great roast beef sammich

khyber pas - rock club - but fine selection of exotic beers

shulas steak house - don shula's the coach - dang it's in one of the hotels great steaks and suds - sports bar

hmmmm......gotta try to think of some more good eats - i'm gonn go get lunch now :D

[attgig]

yuengling's pretty good stuff...prolly my fav beer.

also try some woodchuck cider... (if you can find it there....)

ritas yummm
:)

try some rita's and bacardi

[sizemic1]

Originally posted by DarkFury

Ok... just to humor us who don't know...

What kind of meat SHOULD be in a taco? :shrug: (I always thought it was "seasoned ground beef", i.e. "hamburger meat"... but then again I was always told that Americanized Tacos technically aren't "Mexican food". :D )

Yo DF,

Better mexican places will serve tacos in a few different manners.

1) Shredded seasoned beef (my favorite)
2) Shredded seasoned chicken
3) Carne Asada (thin pieces of steak, charbroiled usually)
4) Pollo Asado (charbroiled marinated chicken breast, usually in a couple of pieces )

Taco Bell or any other iterration is NOT mexican food.
Mexican's don't make Chalupas :)

Better fastfood type mexican would include Rubios Baja Grill, Baja Fresh, and Chipoltes.

[xsiled2]

rubios -:puke:

[Blu]

You want beer? We got your beer. Monk's Cafe. (http://monkscafe.com) They have an entire assload of beer for you to drink. For food, try Valanni @ 1229 Spruce St. They've got some great food, and a few good mixed drinks. I've got more if you want 'em

[Ladogaboy]

You can also have things like shrimp or other seafood in tacos.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, the spices used are more important than the type of meat.

[mojo]

Originally posted by Ladogaboy
You can also have things like shrimp or other seafood in tacos.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, the spices used are more important than the type of meat. the important thing to me is the tortilla. i'm used to nice, fresh tortilla. the one last night was kinda soggy, i guess because they wrapped it in aluminum foil for my to-go order. but the meat actually did make up for it in this case...plus, i didn't expect it to be like california, so that made up for the difference.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by mojo
the important thing to me is the tortilla. i'm used to nice, fresh tortilla. the one last night was kinda soggy, i guess because they wrapped it in aluminum foil for my to-go order. but the meat actually did make up for it in this case...plus, i didn't expect it to be like california, so that made up for the difference.

Corn or wheat?

[mojo]

Originally posted by Ladogaboy


Corn or wheat? the soggy stuff was likely corn, since it was a taco. i really like flour tortilla, but corn is good too. i never met a fresh tortilla i didn't like :P

[ufcrusher]

Well, I thought of another place that is kind of interesting to eat. Its called Fez and its somewhere down near south street. Its a morrocan restaurant and has multiple courses, belly dancers, and finger food.

If I remember correctly its near the Monte Carlo Living Room.

When and if you feel like spending a lot of money, you should go to Le Beck Finn. Expect to pay over $120 per person, but its a world class restaurant and considered one of the best in the country.

I will continue to think of places to head to. There are a lot of places in Manayunk which are considered to be trendy...but with how fast that area has changed, I really dont know what is still there.

Jakes was or is good, Le Bus is a nice place to take a date, the brew house that opened up isnt bad. La Tazza ( I think thats the name) is a cool little coffee house on a side street.

And for the people who equate hot dogs with scrapple - ever hear of Hebrew National? All Beef from the good parts!:D

[nickel]

Originally posted by Yossarian
i'm tellin ya, get some fresh venison, its great.

roadkill take home tonight again Yossa? :P

[nickel]

i have an uncle that works for PennDOT. i think they pave over roadkill. :P ;)

[Sir_Froggy]

Originally posted by mojo

things i have tried here so far have been the cheesesteaks (excellent), the chipped beef dirty water dogs

i'm not that smart so what is cheesesteaks and chipped beef and dirty water dogs?

[ufcrusher]

Originally posted by Sir_Froggy


i'm not that smart so what is cheesesteaks and chipped beef and dirty water dogs?

You have got to be kidding me!?! You dont know what a cheese steak is? What planet are you from!


I assume you are kidding, but just in case you arent:

Cheesesteak - aka Philly Cheesesteak by those fools in other areas of the country - is thin strips of beef which are cooked on a flat top. True cheesesteaks are offered with either fried onions or without it. You then get either provolone cheese, american cheese, or Cheez Whiz. It is served on a soft italian roll, preferably an Amoroso roll.

Chipped Beef - Aka Sh*t on Shingles - This is generally considered to be comfort food, or food from the great depression. You take beef (usually corned beef and only the remenants, hence why it was a depression food) and have it in a gravy sauce, served over bread. Sounds gross, taste good.

"Dirty Water Dogs" - I believe its just his slang for the hot dogs you get from street vendors all over any big city. In Philly, there are street vendors who specialize in hotdogs and soft pretzels. The dogs sit in the cooking water, which takes on a dirty color hue from the oils and juices that seep out of the hotdogs. THe vendors have kraut, onions, etc. to be placed on the dogs.

So if you were serious, I hope that helps...if not, then that will teach you for pretending to be stupid. :D

[eSDee]

Remember Froggy is only 15. You gotta cut the kid some slack, although it is a good thing that he learn now.

[mojo]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
"Dirty Water Dogs" - I believe its just his slang for the hot dogs you get from street vendors all over any big city. In Philly, there are street vendors who specialize in hotdogs and soft pretzels. The dogs sit in the cooking water, which takes on a dirty color hue from the oils and juices that seep out of the hotdogs. THe vendors have kraut, onions, etc. to be placed on the dogs.i actually heard "dirty water dog" from the radio. about 3 successive callers said it in a piece about why ppl love philly, so i took it as the regional slang :D

[Kim]

I've never had a cheesesteak, but darn, that sounds good! (Sucky Utah, all we have is jello and funeral potatoes :bawl: )