Last night, I attended Savor! A Celebration of Food, at The Crystal Tea Room in The Wanamaker Building in Center City Philadelphia; a food focused charity event sponsored by Mainline and Bucks Life magazines. Tickets were very reasonable at $10 a person with attendees asked to contribute a canned good for the NPO Philabundance. I was a guest of Pinot Boutique, my favorite wine accessory shop, where I’m currently teaching Wine Classes.
Food samples, drinks and live music were all included in the ticket price. Table stations of various restaurants, many from the Mainline, provided samples of their best dishes to show off their concept and flavors. Among the many restaurant participants there were a few standouts; Verdad (spicy pulled pork carñita), The Valley Green Inn (smoked pork paté with pickled red onion and cornichon on sliced baguette), Koo Zee Doo (braised chicken gizzards), Jimmy’s bbq (unbelievably tender pulled pork and flavorful baked beans) and Avril Byob (delicate cream puffs stuffed with pistachio lavender pastry cream and drizzled with lush chocolate sauce).
Among the beverage purveyors, Vieux Carre Absinthe Superieur with its fancy, classic drip-fountain presentation was a real crowd pleaser. The event was from 6-9pm but by 7pm Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen, as well as a few others, was already out of samples, leaving nothing but advertising pamphlets behind- that was the only disappointment. Overall, it was a well put together event and the live music provided by Back2Life played a few good covers, one by The Police in particular.
After the event we passed by APO bar and just had to stop in for a round (okay, two) if intricately made cocktails. I loved the freshness of the APO classic cocktail: Sage Wisdom, with it’s multitude of refreshing ingredients, but I really fell for the Stalking Ichobod. It had an addictive flavor combination consisting of a Rye spirit base mixed with Maraschino liqueur, pumpkin butter and spices. There’s the option of it served cold or hot and although we had it served cold in a pretty old fashioned style champagne glass with a floating star of anise, I can only imaging how richly warming it would be as a hot winter warmer. Next time I’m ordering a hot one. Cheers!
Filed under: Bites, Cocktails, Events, Sips Tagged: | APO, Avril byob, Jimmy's bbq, Koo Zee Doo, Mainline Magazine, Philabundance, Pinot Boutique, Savor Philly, Verdad, Wine Classes with Maria Valetta
