Shank’s says “Thanks” to a lot of people!

Shank’s Original is preparing to celebrate their 50th Anniversary by honoring all the brave men and women in uniform (soldiers, police officers, firefighters, even doctors and nurses) who support our city, state, and country. As a huge supporter of not only the military, but also the first responders of Philadelphia, Shank’s would like to say, “Thank-you” by inviting these folks to stop by and get ANY chicken cutlet sandwich for only $2.50.

The kick-off to this Thank-You Week begins on National Sandwich Day, Thursday, November 3rd and runs through Veterans Day, Friday, November 11th.  Come by in uniform to receive your special offer and taste why Shank’s is celebrating 50 years of great food and friendly service.

Shank’s serves old-time neighborhood Italian food. Their sandwiches include the award-winning Chicken Cutlet Italiano, made with chicken cutlets dipped in homemade breadcrumbs, sharp provolone, and broccoli rabe. Order one of these or choose a Chicken Parmigiana or even a Chicken Cutlet Hoagie.

Shank’s Original at Pier 40 is located at Columbus Boulevard & Christian Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 or go to www.shanksoriginal.com for more information. Open 7 days, Sunday-Thursday 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday, Saturday until 11 p.m. As Shank’s is getting ready to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, men and women in uniform can enjoy these discounted prices, as they will be available all day, everyday, starting November 3rd until November 11th. Limit one per person per day. For more info, call 215.218.4000.

Breslow Kicks Off Autumn With Butternut Squash

The Breslow Partners crew is ready to pull on our boots and sweaters and frolic through piles of colorful leaves in Rittenhouse Square. To appease our pumpkin latte-fueled fall frenzy, we decided to throw an autumn themed lunch party. Each person brought one of their favorite fall dishes, including  caramel apples and cinnamon donuts and –you guessed it- pumpkin.

This loaf included a girl’s two favorite things: pumpkin and chocolate.

With the Jack-O-Lantern’s prominent role in Halloween shenanigans, pumpkin picking and carving is always a popular fall activity, but this year, things are just out of hand. Despite the notoriously bad crop due to excessive rain, pumpkin is popping up everywhere – from pumpkin candles to pumpkin muffins to pumpkin body scrubs. People are just crazy about pumpkins this year, and we here at Breslow Partners have also caught the pumpkin bug.

At our autumn party, Brittney provided our pumpkin fix with a freshly baked pumpkin loaf from one of our favorite places,  Metropolitan Bakery. They lived up to their stellar reputation with a pumpkin loaf that was moist, spicy, and filled with chocolate chunks.

Emily and Rachel enjoying Emily’s butternut squash soup.

With the pumpkin shortage, pureed pumpkin has been difficult to find, but Mother Nature was kind enough to provide pumpkin-bent cooks with an equally delicious alternative – butternut squash. We had three butternut squash dishes at our party- soup, salad, and orzo.

We started off our meal with a cinnamon sweet butternut squash soup, a unique remake of the traditionally rich and buttery dish. The next course was a savory-sweet salad of spinach, cranberry, and butternut squash that was so delicious it was difficult to move on to the dish after that.

Our final butternut squash dish was orzo seasoned with a generous amount of parsley. While we would recommend the recipe, found at SeriousEats.com again, we recommend using dried, rather than fresh parsley, and much less of it.

This spinach, cranberry and butternut squash salad from Dibruno Brothers is the perfect blend of sweet and savory.

Rachel switched out the pumpkin in the recipe for a home-pureed butternut squash, a delicious, yet time-consuming substitution.

Being an office full of women, our party had plenty of desserts to carry us through the rest of the week. Our resident college student, Madi, brought an assortment of fall donuts.

Finally, no childhood or – office party -is complete without a mouthful of sticky teeth, the caramel apple’s unavoidable parting gift.

Our dentists were not happy with us.

 

Jen provided the quintessential autumn treat of caramel apples that left us dreaming of long lost days at the county fair and crisp evenings bobbing for apples.

The party was a huge success in welcoming in our favorite season. If you are still mourning the loss of lazy summer days, we encourage you to grab a scarf and run to your local bakery for some apple or pumpkin goodies. Trust us, they’ll pull you so far out of your post-summer funk, you’ll be planning your own autumn extravaganza in no time.

HOGtoberfest – A Pig Feast and Beer Share!

Pork. Beer. Fun with friends. That’s what HOGtober is all about.  On Thursday, October 20, 2011, Courtney Rozsas’s Lotus Farm to Table restaurant in Media, PA is celebrating the pig from snout to tail with a multi- course pig-centered feast and beer sharing.

Bring along a six-pack of your favorite brew, and don’t even think about hogging it. Celebrate the season’s best brews by swapping a few bottles with fellow diners. The cost is $45. Book your dinner reservations ahead of time—your taste buds will thank you.

Lotus Farm to Table is located at 112 West State Street in Media, PA 19063. For reservations, call 610.565.5554 or visit their website at www.lotusfarmtotable.com.

Phillips Seafood is moving just a short crabwalk away!

They will bring you their classic seafood dining experience, complete with an extensive menu of Maryland-style seafood dishes and a new outdoor crab deck featuring tons of steamed seafood! They are moving to the Power Plant.

The menu will reflect the casual upscale vibe.  Creative items from Chef Todd Weisz will include apricot chipotle tuna tartare, grilled portobello goat cheese salad, sour orange skirt steak with fingerling potatoes and chimichurri (to name just a few), and reflect a fresh, inspired new attitude toward dining at Phillips Seafood Restaurant.  Of course, Phillips will still offer their classic favorites, such as premium crab cakes and cream of crab soup. Stay tuned here for upcoming details about their Fall 2011 opening.  For questions, call 410.685.6600.

Chinatown Night Market

PCDC in partnership with The Food Trust, will be holding the Chinatown Night Market on Thursday, October 6th from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Night Markets give artists and chefs the opportunity to present their goods to a large population of customers. Night Markets also provide consumers with a defined area where they can discover, learn about, and purchase a diverse collection of unique goods and delicious delicacies.

This pro-gram will provide information and technical assistance to those who are interested in starting a street food vending business! In addition, our program will promote Chinatown and its businesses, and provide name recognition for all participating vendors.

For more information or if you’re interested in participating in the Night Market as a vendor, please contact PCDC, Rachel Mak at 215-922-2156 or rmak@chinatown-pcdc.org.