Flavors of the Avenue: Media-Only Tasting Preview

“Flavors of the Avenue” takes place East Passyunk Avenue (listed as one of the top 10 foodie streets in America by Food and Wine magazine). At the event, restaurants offer tastings of their food to the tune of live music, and the whole event is accompanied by  vendors and a craft show. Penn Appétit was given a sneak peek of the delicious foods at some of the restaurants that will be featured at the main event on April 26th. Here is a recap of what we sampled and how it tasted!

Noir

Elena: We met the other bloggers at Noir, a classy Canadian-influenced restaurant and bar with offerings such as cheese steak pot stickers next to gnocchi al telefono. There we had two small appetizers, watermelon feta salad and mini arancini. The watermelon salad was refreshing, although I would have preferred more of a salty bite to the feta. The arancino was delicious, a small risotto ball filled with melted cheese and accompanied by tomato sauce for dipping. These tasty appetizers left us with high hopes for what was to come.

Victoria: Although I’ve heard about the feta and watermelon combination for years, I had never sampled it until Noir. After hardly a spoonful, I was sold on the surprisingly balanced blend of smooth, yet salty. chunks of feta and the refreshing crunch of watermelon. The presence of green olives and a lightly mixed balsamic dressing rounded out the texture and flavors of this appetizer, complemented nicely by the warm and crispy arancini. Dipped in a light marinara, this melty bite was a light and satisfying start to our tour.

Will BYOB

Elena: Right next door to Noir, this restaurant is tiny but adorable; it seats only 28 people. Here, we were served an english pea veloute with grapes, rhubarb, and almonds. This translated to a bowl with a fine crumble of toasted almond in the center, topped with a meyer lemon mousse, half of a very sour grape, a single julienne of rhubarb, and a couple microgreen leaves. Then the servers came around with the soup portion of the dish and poured it on top in a dramatic bright green stream. This was definitely the most beautiful and delicate taste of the evening. The springy flavor of young peas permeated the entire dish; it was punctuated by sour bursts from the grape and the rhubarb and complemented by the nutty crunch of the ground almonds. This is definitely a restaurant I want to return to!

Victoria: From the ambiance to the red wine to our meal, everything about Will BYOB was cozy and heart-warming. A perfect date spot, the menu offered was refined but satisfying: The sourness of the grapes balanced the smoothness of the pea soup, the gentle crunch of almonds and rice pearls added subtle texture, and the hint of lemony flavor in the mousse rounded out the dish’s flavors well. This was definitely one of my favorite samples of the evening.

Le Virtu and Brigantessa

Elena: This may have been my favorite stop of the night. I loved Le Virtú’s warm ambiance, and the owner came over and explained the dishes to us himself. The restaurant specializes in food from Abruzzo, a region in the center of Italy near Rome. We were served a plate with a cube of porchetta and a small roasted cauliflower salad, courtesy of Brigantessa, a new restaurant by the same owner as Le Virtu that will be a more casual eatery. The porchetta  (roasted pork shoulder) was intensely marbled with tongue-coating fat, and it had a crisp skin that shattered like glass under my teeth. I especially loved the cauliflower salad, which complimented the richness of the pork by providing a cool, briny bite.

Victoria: Although I didn’t taste the porchetta, I was more than satisfied by the cauliflower salad. I expected fried, crunchy florets; instead, everything about this dish was light! I enjoyed the combination of char, lemon, oil, red pepper flakes. and the crunch of capers; I can imagine it contrasted well with the thick and fatty pork. Brigantessa is more like an Italian tapas restaurant, complete with true Naples-style pizzas (the chef received training for his pizzas in Naples itself!) – I will certainly be back!

Fuel

Elena: This next stop was a marked departure from the preceding, fancier restaurants. Fuel’s vibe is like a divey Hip City Veg, dark inside but decorated with wood and small pots of plants. Here we sampled three of their flatbreads and a green juice, called Hulk Juice. I was not a huge fan of this one, because I found the mozzarella on the TBM flatbread insipid and the chicken on the spicy chicken flatbread dry and not particularly spicy. The portabella goat cheese flatbread was my favorite of the three. The Hulk Juice was made with apple, cucumber, and spinach juices, and it was pretty good, its strong cucumber taste tempered by the sweet apple.

Victoria: As a self-identified health nut, I knew I would love Fuel and was not disappointed. The Hulk Juice was particularly refreshing – with its watery texture, perceivable pieces of spinach leaves, and frothy topping it was unlike any other vegetable / fruit smoothie I’d had but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Each of the flatbreads packed its own punch as well. I’m a huge fan of pesto and  was especially impressed with the pine nuts in the TBM, and also I love peanuts so i was impressed with the surprisingly fitting combination of spicy peppers and chicken with the crunch of noodles and the undertone of the peanut sauce. The portabella flatbread smelled and tasted strongly of onion, but a bite of the mushroom, onions, cheese smoothly complemented the crunch of the flatbread.

Ristorante Tre Scalini

Elena: This restaurant is a classic Italian establishment serving rustic food from Molise, a region in the center of Italy. Here we were served trippa in umido, or tripe stewed with tomato and onion. While I was a little hesitant to try tripe, I worked up the courage and ended up being rewarded, because it was delicious. It was very tender and the tomato sauce it was served in was very flavorful.

Pollyodd


Victoria: The cute yet bold decor in this fun little shop perfectly reflects the energy and passion with which Pollyodd owner Joanie runs her store. This Pennsylvania-based distillery creates artisan liquors and is the only non-PLCB retail liquor store in the state; each product contains no more than five locally-sourced ingredients. After Joanie shook the bottles (a true testament to the freshness of the fruit juice which had separated from the alcohol), we sampled the mango-cello – fresh, fruity, and strong! – as well as the strawberry, banana and chocolate creme-based flavors. I saved some of each to layer together a banana split, as Joanie noted the variety of delicious and seamless combinations between her many flavors (sample recipes can even be found on her website!). Perhaps surprisingly, banana was my favorite by far – the creamy flavor blended beautifully, and the alcohol offered only a slight kick to the drink.

Lucky 13

Elena: This is a classic pub atmosphere but with interesting food. Here we had tempeh “wings” and Cincinnati chili. I personally do not like the texture of tempeh, but the sauces it was smothered in were spicy and addictive.

Victoria: From our first steps inside Lucky 13, the aura of a bustling, smoke-filled, yet relaxing bar is obvious. We barreled our way to the back, where we enjoyed a steaming plate of penne with slightly spicy and not-too-thick chili (layered beautifully with melty cheese – another favorite of mine!), as well as some honey mustard and chipotle tempeh wings. Each of these sauces was homemade, and they complemented the slight crunch of the “wings” nicely. This was my first sampling of tempeh, and I found that the mix between the crispy, glazed surface balanced the chewier interior of the bite-sized pieces nicely.

Ms Goody Cupcake

Elena: This was the last tasty bite of the evening, and there could not have been a better way to end such a delicious outing than with two tiny cupcakes with booze shots stuck into the frosting. My favorite of the two was the “snickertail” cupcake, with vanilla cake, a Rum chata shot and cinnamon cream cheese frosting. The cake was fluffy and moist, and the frosting was fantastic, but then again, cream cheese frosting is always fantastic. The little dropper full of rum was a fun extra bonus, making these cupcakes fit for happy hour. The other cupcake, a chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream and a Jack Daniels shot, was also good, if a little dry.

Victoria: As we concluded our tour, we were given the honor of officially kicking off Townsend’s bartending! Still under construction, we drank the first drinks the restaurant has ever served – the variety of fruity, strong and overall refreshing drinks were well done and the perfect end to the evening. Although I was initially hesitant to mix alcohol into my cupcakes, Ms. Goody’s pairings did not disappoint: the cupcakes were not excessively sweet, quaintly-sized and undeniably fresh.

Make sure to check out the actual Flavors of the Avenue on April 26th!
Want to eat where we ate? Here’s the list of the places we sampled:

Noir: 1909 E. Passyunk Ave
www.noirphiladelphia.com

Will BYOB: 1911 E. Passyunk Ave
www.willbyob.com

Le Virtú: 1927 E. Passyunk Ave
www.levirtu.com

Fuel: 1919 E. Passyunk Ave
www.fuelphilly.com

Ristorante Tre Scalini: 1915 E. Passyunk Ave
www.trescaliniphiladelphia.com

Pollyodd: 1908 E. Passyunk Ave
www.pollyodd.com

Lucky 13: 1820 S. 13th Street
www.lucky13pubphilly.com

Ms Goody Cupcake: 1838 E. Passyunk Ave
www.msgoodycupcake.com

By Elena Crouch and Victoria Sakal
photos by Elena Crouch