Federal Donuts

With Federal Donuts' Pennsport location right in my 'hood, I could have easily been first in line this Monday at 7am for their opening day, but I patiently waited until their third day of business to pay a visit.
The small corner takeout store specializing in donuts, coffee, and Korean fried chicken, opened by Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov (Zahav, Percy Street), Thomas Henneman and Bob Logue (BODHi Coffee), and Felicia D’Ambrosio, may seem like a odd food pairing catering to a niche market of food lovers, but from the turnout of people at Federal Donuts clamoring to get their hands on the long anticipated vittles, it seems the niche market of 'nuts and chix ain't so small. Federal Donuts has been selling out of doughnuts within hours of opening, and chicken, which doesn't take the stage until noon, within the hour.

Things should calm down at some point — they just opened after long anticipation and much fanfare from the media, after all — so don't get discouraged if you have not had a chance to try Federal Donuts' chicken or doughnuts.
There was only one way for me to tackle Federal Donuts, and that was to order all the doughnuts! Flavors of both the Fancies and Sugared will vary, so I didn't really try all of the doughnuts; just those offered that day.

Six Fancy doughnuts ($2 each), which are filled and glazed in advance. And...
Three Sugared doughnuts ($1.25 each), which are hot, made to order.

Of course, there's also the Korean fried chicken, which I obviously won't be posting about unless they start frying seitan (do it!). Whole ($15) and half ($8) birds are available glazed (traditional Korean style, chili-garlic, honey-ginger) or crispy and sprinkled with seasoned salts (Za'atar, buttermilk ranch, harissa).

A Federal Donuts custom blend of Stumptown Roasters PT's Coffee Roasting Co. beans is served using the single-cup Chemex method.
First things first...I was curious as to how the round cake doughnuts with a hole in the middle that are plopped out by a Donut Robot into a vat of hot oil were going to be filled, since I think of filled doughnuts as yeasted and without a hole. Were they going to fill the hole and seal in the filling somehow?

Nope. Filling is piped into the center of the cake itself, with the filling going all the way around — more or less — the tube of cake. Brilliant!

All doughnuts are made with the same cake base, which is neutral in flavor, so plays well with all the different flavored toppings and filling. I'm happy to report that the cake is light and fluffy. Still crossing my fingers that Federal Donuts will roll out some yeasted doughnuts in the future, though.
Oh, my! The Key Lime Fancy doughnut piped full of lime curd, then dipped in a sweet lime glaze and topped with graham cracker crumbs is my favorite of the bunch, and the most decadent. Put this on a plate with a fork at your next dinner party, and don't even bother whipping up a homemade dessert!
At first bite, I wasn't too keen on the Nutella-Tahina-Pomegranate Fancy doughnut filled with tahini Nutella, dipped in a pomegranate glaze and sprinkled with sesame seeds (sesame reads savory to me, and the tahini diminished the perfection that is Nutella), but this doughnut grew on me and developed into a sophisticated twist on peanut butter and jelly.
For those who like plainer flavors, the Honey-Almond Fancy with a delicate honey flavor is for you. Even though the Honey-Almond doughnut is a Fancy, this did not seem to be filled. Perhaps the filling just seeped into the cake. There has to be a chocolate covered doughnut! The Chocolate-Raspberry Fancy piped with raspberry jelly, glazed with chocolate and topped with dried raspberries is just a classic flavor combination that cannot be messed with. One of my favorites in the bunch!Another favorite is the Coconut-Pineapple Fancy. Filled with pineapple jelly and dipped in a coconut glaze with sweet coconut flakes, this doughnut is tropical with a capital "T." The coconut and pineapple flavors are so fresh and clear, it's like ambrosia (the fresh fruit salad dessert) made into doughnut form. Do not miss, if you like coconut!
The Orange Blossom-Pistachio Fancy is the only doughnut I would not order again. It's me, not you, Federal Donuts. The smell of the orange blossom glaze (isolated, it's a lovely fragrance) mixed with nuts and cake reminds me of the sometimes funky mixed smells in greenhouses. Those who don't spend lots of time around plants like I do, may find this floral-scented, curd filled doughnut just heavenly. The Vanilla-Lavender Sugar doughnut is going to be your plainest option. The lavender is so light it is barely detectable, making this, basically, a plain sugared doughnut.
I had no idea what flavor the Apollonia Sugar doughnut would be. When I asked my boyfriend what he suspected, he replied, "Prince's girlfriend in Purple Rain?" Ha.

Turns out, Apollonia is a spice blend of bitter cocoa powder and dried orange blossoms from La Boite a Epice. Here, orange blossom is not so in your face, and can be enjoyed without greenhouse flashbacks.
The Indian Cinnamon Sugar doughnut has an enchanting spice mix — is that cardamom? — that brings intrigue to a cinnamon sugar doughnut.

Fabulous job all around, Federal Doughnuts! You have done with cake doughnuts what I had hoped for from The Fractured Prune, but did not get: exciting and inventive flavors. Still gonna hold out hope for yeasted doughnuts, though.

Federal Donuts
1219 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-687-8258

Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market

There's a new farmers' market in town! This past Sunday, June 5, marked the first day of the Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market, and I dropped by to check out things.

Open on Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm, June through October, on the northwest corner of Moyamensing Ave. and Morris St., the Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market is competing directly with the larger and more popular Sunday Headhouse Farmers' Market just a mile north, but I know I will try to patronize the Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market over Headhouse.It's well documented that I don't enjoy the cramped setup of Headhouse Market (wide sidewalks at Dickinson Square make shopping pleasurable), plus Dickinson Square Park is just an inch closer to my house.

Currently, there are three vendors at Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market — Down Home Acres, Darmo Family Farms, and Two Gander Farm — but hopefully the number of vendors will grow over time.

We arrived at the market at 11 a.m., and the vendors had already sold out of some items because of the crowds, but the vendors promise to bring larger quantities next week. Here's what we saw:
Down Home Acres had some pretty floral arrangements, cut herbs, mulberries, and vegetable and herbs starts for sale.
Darmo Family Farms had spring's bounty of lettuces and scallions, as well as potted tomato plants for sale.
Two Gander Farms had leafy greens, mushrooms, and eggs for sale, as well as a glorious bevy of bee products — honeycomb, bee pollen, and many varieties of honey.
We left the market with a jar of fresh (not dried) bee pollen, which we were instructed to refrigerate, and, if we didn't use in two weeks, to freeze. We sat down on a park bench to taste some of the bee pollen, and, wow! I've never tasted such flavorful and fresh, honey and floral-nuanced bee pollen.Also, Sunday shopping at Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market includes a very nice, 3-acre park with a playground, a basketball court, and plenty of shade, benches, and grass.

Be sure to sign up for the Dickinson Square Park Farmers' Market email list to keep in the know.

CSA Pickup at Grindcore House

I just signed up for my first CSA!

I'm preaching to the choir, but in case you don't know, CSA is an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture.

What it means is that you pay a farm up front for a share of the growing season's vegetables. Once the vegetables start producing, the farm delivers their goods (usually once a week) to a venue for you to pick up your share.

Why am I late to the CSA party?

I lived alone before, and even a half share (a smaller amount of vegetables weekly) would have been too much produce for me to consume. Now I share a house with another mouth.

I was also hesitant to join a CSA because none of the pickup spots were convenient for me. But now there is a convenient pickup spot — Grindcore House in Pennsport!

Grindcore House, the vegan coffee shop in Pennsport at 4th and Greenwich St., is partnering with Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA to be one of many pickup spots.

This year, the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA lasts 25 weeks. A full share (7-12 portions of produce) is $700. A half share (4-9 portions of produce) is $425. That works out to $28 per week for a full share, and $17 per week for a half share of fresh, local, organic veggies.

The blog Goodbye Texas, Hello PA did a wonderful job photographing their weekly hauls from the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA last year, if you're curious about what to expect.

I just filled out my application for the CSA, but there needs to be 20 people signed up for a pickup location in order for it to be a go. (Update: Grindcore House reports that at least 20 people have already signed up!)

So, if you're in the neighborhood, I encourage you to sign up for a Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA pickup at Grindcore House (their pickup location on the online CSA application drop-down menu is "Pennsport") so I — and you! — can finally get on the bandwagon.

Not in my neighborhood? Lancaster Farm Fresh has 53 pickup locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Maryland, and Virginia.

Mr. Joe's Café

Look at my listing of restaurant reviews categorized by cuisine, and you'll see that Italian restaurants are not as well represented as the love that America holds for the pasta, olive olive oil, and tomato-heavy fare. Every one loooves Italian food. Except me. I just merely like it.

Yet, here I am in South Philadelphia, a melting pot bubbling over with Italian immigrants and their children, and their children's children. Italian restaurants are on every other corner, and a historic Italian Market is just a few blocks away from where I lay my head.

In an attempt to search out good Italian in the city (because I really do want to love Italian food with gusto), I've made a point to ask everyone I meet what their favorite Italian restaurant is. Consensus? There is none. With the exception of the high-end Italian restaurants Vetri and Osteria by Philly's Italian maestro Marc Vetri, I rarely hear any restaurant mentioned twice.

So, with no definitive leads, I've put off my quest for Italian for far too many years. That had to end.

Where did I start? Mr. Joe's Café, and one of the best deals in town!

Across the street from the South Philly Termini Bros. Bakery, a landmark in Philly Italian food history, sit's Mr. Joe's Café at the corner of 8th and Greenwich streets in what was the original 1921 location of Termini Bros. Bakery. Mr. Joe's Café is run by the Termini clan and the name pays tribute to Gaetano Termini, the brother of Guiseppe Termini, together the two founding Termini Bros.
Inside the unassuming corner rowhouse, is a cute and sleek café and lunch bistro with 9 or so 2-top granite tables and a counter bar that seats 6. Most of the patrons are locals from the neighborhood catching up with each other and cutely kvetching (can Italians kvetch?). Employees from Termini's drop by for a drink. First timers like myself drop in and are mesmerized by the framed immigration papers and family portraits on the wall. Kitchen implements and memorabilia from Termini's early days are encased in glass behind the counter. These aren't goods bought in Europe or at overpriced salvage firms and placed by a designer to lend authenticity to a restaurant's genre — like so many new restaurants are doing — this is a museum of the Termini family's history.

And like a museum, it is best to visit Mr. Joe's Café during the day when you have lots of time to sit and stay a while. Mr. Joe's doesn't do dinner, so you really have no choice but to visit in the day.

At Mr. Joe's you'll find monstrous pannini's, huge plates of pasta, large fritatas, as well as ginormous specials of the day like eggplant Parmesan printed on the chalkboard propped up on the sidewalk, all priced from $10-$14.

But when you place your entree order you get so, so much more! Salad, bread, complimentary wine, and complimentary dessert. You're going to need a while to eat your way out of Mr. Joe's Café.
Annamaria is your newly appointed doting Italian mother who wants you to eat, eat, and drink, drink. Linger long enough — as you will with the mounds of food to get through coupled with the unhurried service — and the complimentary glass of chilled Chianti jug wine will be refilled. Pinch me if this ain't heaven!The generous side salad of mixed baby greens is simply dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette and garnished with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Slices of hearty, crusty Italian bread arrive with the salad, but save it to swipe up the tomato sauce from your pasta. You did order pasta, right?A simple tomato sauce covers ravioli filled with fluffy ricotta sprinkled sparsely with spinach.The penne arrabiata with salty and assertive capers and olives is liberally doused with red pepper, giving a nice warm heat that made my lips tingle and nose run. There's easily enough pasta on this plate for two meals.
Compliments of the iconic Termini Bros. Bakery across the street is a dessert of the day — today, slices of angel-light carrot cake. Such a nice way to end the meal, even if there wasn't room to eat any more. Seriously, slap me hard this time if this ain't heaven!

Mr. Joe's also does coffee and espressos along with pastries, if you need a small pick-me up.

So, how was that for a start to my South Philly Italian restaurant conquests? Not bad at all! Solid, classic Italian dishes are cooked up homestyle with love and history, and all for an amazing bargain. Who can not love a smiling Italian woman offering free jug wine and free dessert?

Please tell me your favorite Italian restaurant in the comments, so they can go on my list.

Mr. Joe's Café
1514 S. 8th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-334-1414
Mon-Thurs: 11am-5pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-6pm
Sun: closed

Nicholas

Update: no longer open

It seemed when Nicholas opened (about a year ago?) in Pennsport, the hub-bub about this casual, cozy, 30-seat BYOB serving New American cuisine was just a blip...and then I heard no more. Despite getting lost in the chatter of newer restaurant openings, we recently decided to try out Nicholas. The fact that Nicholas is a BYOB (they also have mixers for cocktails), and a five minute walk from home doesn't hurt!

Named for the two owners and chefs, Nicholas Matteo and Nicholas Sweeney, Nicholas features a menu of straightforward, local ingredients that change seasonally. Not only does the menu change seasonally, it changes weekly! While some items may look familiar from week to week, there are seasonal tweaks to those dishes, and some dishes will be completely new.

It's so nice to see a restaurant wearing the "local/seasonal" badge that actually cooks with what's available at the markets and changes the menu more than two or three times a year. Plus, even if you're not a vegetarian, some menus are so small that, one or two visits and you've eaten the entire menu! Then what?

Nicholas' interior was more casual that I had imagined, with warm walls and colorful paintings of scenes from the Italian Market, and amply large dark wood tables. Our server was also extremely casual, but in a very friendly and comfortable way.Complimentary, house made rolls arrived (this is one of two) with garlic butter. I don't normally eat the complimentary bread, as it's merely filler to me, but I do take a pinch to sample. My partner, who does partake in complimentary bread, loved the garlic butter.
I started with the salad of grilled Romaine, roasted red peppers, Molisterno cheese, and white balsamic vinaigrette. Too long on the grill, and Romaine gets overly charred and wilted, but Nicholas pulled this half-head off the grill at the perfect time. The vinaigrette was certainly tangy, but I love tang.My partner went with the mixed green salad with pine nuts, dried grapes, and sherry vinaigrette. Initially, I was, like,"Ooh, dried grapes. Fancy." Two second later I realized dried grapes are raisins. Funny how wording can make things sound better. This large plate of greens was dressed with even a harsher vinaigrette than the one on the grilled Romaine salad. I love vinegar, but I think this dressing was a bit much for normal folks, especially in such large quantities.

My partner ordered some fish dish that I can't recall, nor did I take a picture of, but he said it was cooked perfectly. The only vegetarian entree on the small (but remember it changes weekly!) menu is the Veg Plate, and the Veg Plate stays on the menu all the time. What's on the Veg Plate? "All the good stuff from the other dishes, minus the..." And that's exactly what I got...all the sides from the entrees that evening.

Starting with the carrots and going clockwise:

These baby carrots were simply prepared with still a little crunch in the center. Nice.

The pea puree was absolutely fabulous, tasting of fresh peas with a little acidity (lemon?) to brighten the flavor.

The Spanish rice with black beans was tomato-y, and a little liquid-y. While pleasant enough, I felt the side was not refined enough in flavors or consistency to be served at a restaurant. This dish reminded me of a dish I might make on the fly at home as a one-pot meal

The white bean, spinach, and olive tapenade was big on olives, as tapenades are supposed to be, but I only like olives, not love them, so ate half of this side.

The Gorgonzola mashed potatoes were cheesy and greasy-good, and had a homey feel with lumps left in the mashed potatoes.

Overall, I enjoyed all of my Veg Plate and salad, but felt that the food was not as refined as it could be. The food felt comfortable, though, like food I would make at home if I were trying to throw together a dinner party to impress (I don't make pea puree or Gorgonzola mashed potatoes when I'm alone, but it wouldn't be a stretch to make these at home), and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Fresh, seasonal, approachable and comforting food served in a casual dining room in a South Philly neighborhood...that's how I'd sum up Nicholas. It's like eating at home, but a touch nicer.

Nicholas
2015 E. Moyamensing Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148
215-271-7177
Thurs., 5pm-10pm
Fri. & Sat., 5pm-11pm
Sun., 4pm-9pm
BYOB

The Ugly American

This is how they suck you in.

I’m so excited that The Ugly American opened up on the corner of Front and Federal in Pennsport this past December. Why? Because it’s right around the corner from my Philly digs.

We went the other night for our first time (holidays delayed things), and our server was the friendliest server I’ve ever encountered, but walked the line of too friendly. She told us all sort of amusing personal tales – the male pattern baldness in her family, her trip to Chicago, and many other snippets relating to our group. We were in the mood for the stories and happily countered with our own.

A complimentary basket of biscuits landed on our table with a cheerful interjection, “Don’t you love us already?” Yes, we do love you. And we love the biscuits. The biscuits at The Ugly American are tender with a crispy, greasy crust, but sweeter than the biscuits you make at home. I loved their biscuits, even though I know biscuits are not supposed to be that sweet. Sugar is a powerful drug.

In our party of two omnivores, one pescatarian, and one vegetarian, the flesh eaters ended up ordering the two vegetarian mushroom ball entrees, so I don’t have many dishes to report on.

The two omnivores ordered the exact same thing – the potato and leek soup, and the vegetarian mushroom ball po boy with escarole, goat cheese, and side of macaroni salad.

They both enjoyed the truffle oil on top of the creamy potato and leek soup. One thought the mushroom sandwich could have used sauce; the other argued that the sandwich was just fine if you got a bit of goat cheese with each bite.

The side of macaroni salad that accompanied the mushroom ball po boy was generous, and my favorite dish of the night. Cold macaroni salad is one of my guilty pleasures, and The Ugly American’s version is sweet, creamy, and absolutely perfect. (Some pics missing; too sloshed to hold camera steady.)

You can also get the mushroom balls atop pasta with julienne vegetables and truffle cream. I’ve never had anything quite like these mushroom balls – dark, musty, and flavor packed. They are excellent, but I’m glad the dish comes with only three balls, as I find them a bit over powering. If you like truffles, you’ll love these mushroom balls.

I had to order the macaroni and cheese entrée. At $16, I thought this oversized side was a bit pricey, as was most of the food and drink menu. I found the creamy cheese sauce bland, and I don’t normally like vegetables in my mac and cheese, but was happy to find a little variety with peas and cauliflower in what could have been a very bland meal of cheesy pasta. Of course – duh – I’m picky about mac and cheese, but most of you will love The Ugly American’s mac and cheese.

The dessert list has a couple interesting items. We were torn between the apple pie with cheddar cheese ice cream and the cookie plate with root beer pudding. We went with the cookie plate with root beer pudding. There were four types of homemade cookies – sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chip, and ginger snap. All of the cookies were of the hard type, so if you’re a soft cookie person, this is not for you. The root beer pudding most definitely tasted of root beer, and was quite interesting, but root beer pudding just should not exist. This dessert is for die-hard root beer lovers only.

So, a little hit and miss for, mostly, me at The Ugly American, but I’ll definitely be back. Our friendly and forthcoming server says the grits are awesome, and she’s from the South, so knows good grits. I was torn – mac and cheese or grits – but had to get the mac and cheese out of the way first. Round two for grits is slated soon.

The Ugly American
1100 S. Front St, Philadelphia, PA, 19147
215-363-1100
Mon.-Thurs., 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5 p.m.-11 p.m.; bar menu ‘til midnight; Sun. brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.