Alecbugg

 

 

So you guys know that chef Justin Swain at Rex 1516 does a different custom burger every week, right? He announces it on Tuesdays on Twitter, runs it as a special on Tuesday and Wednesday night, then moves onto something new for next week. He’s been doing it for some time now, but for whatever reason (possibly the bacon and queso) this week’s “In Queso Emergency” burger caught my eye and made me very, very hungry.

For those of you who are into it, it’ll be on the menu tonight in all it’s bacon-y and cheese-y glory. You can get it as part of the  Citywide burger promo–meaning the burger, a pint of Newbold and a shot of Buffalo Trace bourbon can all be yours for just $15.

Rex 1516 [f8b8z]

A whole bunch more burger shots [Instagram]

The post Burger Porn From Rex 1516 appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Rule of thumb: things involving "Jurassic Park" will always be funny. Case in point: a mock Yelp page for the park (courtesy of Mandatory) that will have you howling like a velociraptor in heat. Seriously... this could have been really dumb but it's kind of perfect.

Not only are the "Recommended Reviews" on the phony page amazing ("Great place to visit if you feel like dying") but the longer reviews are just as terrific, like the one attributed to "Tim M.," the young character in the movie played by Joseph Mazzello. "This place started off cool. My grandpa invited me for the grand opening and I really like dinosaurs..." his review reads. Then later: "SPOILER ALERT: The dinosaurs were pissed!" (Even better is the one attributed to the Jeff Goldblum's character, Ian Malcolm. But we're not going to spoil that.) LOL x 65 million

But don't just look at the obvious -- check out the "People Who Viewed This Also Viewed" sidebar and other goodies on the page. For the little review of the Temple of Doom, the comment was "Seeing all the kids working is kind of a buzzkill. And I didn't' even get to ride a mine cart." Yes.

This Yelp page is an embarrassment of riches. Please, please drink up.

via http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/3/24077692438

 

Thanks L&L

 

Is Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption Imminent?

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Could the Supervolcano which has been dormant for the past 650,000 years be ready to erupt again?  If you listen to some animal experts, that answer is a definitive “yes”.

Read all about it. Thanks Tommy Salami

Update:  Yellowstone has put out this video a couple of days ago to help control the recent rumors.

 

The Walking Dead might be done for the season, but hard on the heels of the disaster at Terminus, we have the premier of Game of Thrones, happening Sunday night on HBO. And in order to prepare for it, you know what you’re going to need? Beer. Lots and lots of beer.

So be thankful that City Tap House has you covered with their Game Of Thrones brunch, happening Sunday morning, mere hours before the big premier.

So on Sunday, April 6, beginning at 11am, City Tap House will celebrate by tapping kegs of all three of Brewery Ommegang’s GOT-inspired beers–Take The Black Stout, Iron Throne Blonde and Fire & Blood Red Ale. And chef Chad Vetter and his kitchen are getting in on the action, too, putting together a menu to pair with the beers. Which means a Flea Bottom Bowl of Brown (country fried steak with brown gravy, potato hash and fried egg) to go with the stout, Arya’s Lemon Cakes (lemon pancakes with berry compote and honey-thyme butter) with the blonde and Stark’s Poultry Pie (pulled duck with green onion and mushroom gravy, topped with puff pastry and poached egg) to go with the ale.

The beers are all available on a pay-as-you-drink basis, or you can get a flight–all three (plus a fourth Ommegang beer of your choice) for $15. And as a bonus, if you get reservations to the brunch (which you can by calling the Tap House at 215-662-0105), you’ll do your drinking from a commemorative Ommegang / Game Of Thrones chalice. Classy, right?

City Tap House [f8b8z]

The post Pre-Gaming: Game Of Thrones Brunch At City Tap House appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Yngvi H from Iceland sends along this video of his grandson’s reaction to his first trip through a car wash.  Cute!

Thanks Yngvi 

 

Thanks Mike (from Spain)

 

You see Frank, it’s all about the art of misdirection. 

It's been 10 years, ten long years, since the last entry in the "Barbershop" franchise. Sometimes I'll wake up late at night wondering what kind of new hair style Ice Cube could be perfecting, and what kind of banter the guys at the shop are carrying on about. Thankfully, all of my hypothesizing will come to an end because MGM has just closed a "mid-seven-figure deal" (according to Deadline) with one-man wrecking crew Ice Cube and part of that deal calls for the long, long, long awaited "Barbershop 3."

There are no plot details or any sort of casting specifics yet, although the intent is to bring back Queen Latifah (who carried over her character to the "Barbershop" spin-off film "Beauty Shop") and Cedric the Entertainer. Is it too early to start a petition to have Kevin Hart appear in the three-quel? No? Good!

Cube has been having a great 2014 -- his action comedy "Ride Along" (with Hart) turned out to be a surprise hit, with a sequel already being worked on (filming starts in June) and Cube will appear in this summer's surefire smash "22 Jump Street" alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, where he'll reprising his role from the original film. As Deadline also notes, Cube is producing "Straight Outta Compton," the NWA biopic directed by F. Gary Gray that charts the rise of the gangster hip hop group that gave rise to Cube, Easy E and Dr. Dre.

MGM is all about franchises these days, with them re-launching "Poltergeist," producing a sort-of sequel to "Hot Tub Time Machine," and finding "franchise potential" in the forthcoming Rock-led "Hercules."

On this day, the day we learned that CSN is raising their rates to cover their $2.5 billion deal with the Phillies, I thought I’d take a moment to share with you the progress on co-owner John Middleton’s and Ryan Howard’s Florida mansions.

 

Middleton

This comes to us via Laura Goldman, who has obtained some photos of construction on Middleton’s absurd Palm Beach house. From Goldman:

The Middletons have been building a mansion on the northern end of the island of Palm Beach, Florida for the last 3 years. Much to the chagrin of neighbors, who including the Duponts, the construction noise at the house might continue into 2015. Progress on the mega mansion is proceeding slowly because Palm Beach enforces strictly, especially during the season, the time each day that the contractors are allowed to work

The oceanfront property boasts a large main house, two guest houses, servant quarters, and 10 car garage to store Middleton’s antique car collections. As one neighbor noted, “The house is so big that the guest house has a guest house.”

You can see more pics here.

Howard

Meanwhile, The Big Piece’s mansion– coming along nicely.

Thanks Mike (from Spain)

 

 

This jump was in September of last year.  These guys were arrested on Monday.  Read all about it.

 

They just got the ovens lit up two days ago. Last night, they did the first menu test for the servers–which, according to Justin Petruce (who’s running this namesake joint, along with brother Jonathan) did not go smoothly.

“It was kind of a shitshow,” he laughs. Not everything on the menu worked. Not everything came out on the plate as good as it sounded on paper. So today, he’s tinkering. His brother is tinkering. The whole kitchen crew is tinkering–playing with the new, wood-burning ovens and adjusting the amount of black garlic that goes with the pork and getting turnips ready to go in the oven–while, down in the bar area, George Costa tries to get the POS system working, gives up and starts buffing and polishing the floors instead.

It’s a prep day at Petruce et al. With four days left before the first paying guests come through the door, the brothers are re-thinking the menu, worrying about an inspector that’s due any minute and looking ahead to tonight when, at 6pm, they’re going to be doing another dinner–friends and family this time–where the food has to be…well, better.

Still, even with all of this going on, they let me in to snap some photos of the space, the ovens, the supplies, the prep lists, and just generally get in everyone’s way. So you wanna get an idea of what Petruce is going to look like when it opens this Friday? Then just check out the photos after the jump.

The bar isn’t set up yet (that’s something else to worry about later today, after the inspectors have come and gone), but you can get an idea here of the size of it.

From the front door, looking back through the bar to the dining room beyond. It’s a long, deep, narrow space–but not quite as skinny as it looks here. There are booths tucked in all along that right-hand wall.

Booths which will mostly look like this.

The main dining room at Petruce et al, a few days before opening.

The kitchen crew getting set up for the morning.

Don’t let those pretty ovens fool you (like they did me). A naan flatbread with goat, chickpea and pickled turnip is about as close to pizza as anything in this place gets. And when’s the last time you had a goat-and-pickled-turnip pizza?

The batterie de cuisine of an open-flame kitchen.

Artichokes, for the trout with almonds, lemon and Calabrian chile.

Petruce’s wood-burning grill, just getting warmed up for the day.

Justin Petruce’s prep list for the day.

And this is part of sous chef Chuck Formoso’s list for the day.

The wood-burning oven in action.

All Petruce et al coverage [f8b8z]

The post Prep Day: Petruce et al, In Pictures appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

easyriderr:

TL;DR : Watch this incredible story in video

this is beautiful

Last May, a weird story made the news: the FBI killed a guy in Florida who was loosely linked to the Boston Marathon bombings. He was shot seven times in his living room by a federal agent. What really happened? Why was the FBI even in that room with him? A reporter spent six months looking into it, and she found that the FBI was doing a bunch of things that never made the news. Her Boston Magazine story.

As we continue the Year of the Cheesesteak, we’ll be taking a look at cheesesteak spots that are new, been flying under the radar or been suggested to us. Today, we visit the SPOT Burgers truck at The Porch at 30th Street Station. Yes, SPOT Burgers has gotten plenty of rightful ink for their hamburgers but you cannot sleep on owner Josh Kim’s cheesesteaks.

SPOT Gourmet Burgers, Steaks & Pork
Various locations including 33rd and Arch and The Porch
484-620-6901

Roll: Conshohocken Bakery

Meat: Sirloin, cut daily, not frozen.

Onion: Sauteed and flavorful.

Cheese: American, Cheddar, Sharp Provolone, Whiz, Blue, Smoked Mozzarella, Pepper Jack, Swiss

Price: $8.00

Pro Tip: Yes, go for the cheesesteak but return to check out Kim’s specials board. Past specials include a lobster roll, Sloppy Joe and if you’re lucky, might include a bison cheesesteak next week.

Kim, who has had SPOT Burgers cart since February of 2012 does the cheesesteak right. He takes fresh sirloin that he slices himself, seasons it well with salt and pepper and then cooks it up on the griddle in his small cart.

The Verdict

This is one of the best cheesesteaks we’ve come across in a long time. Well seasoned, excellent and ample amount of  beef. Seek out a SPOT Burger cheesesteak now.

SPOT Gourmet Burgers, Steaks & Pork [Foobooz]
Year of the Cheesesteak [Foobooz]

The post Tale of the Tape: SPOT Gourmet Burgers, Steaks, & Pork appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

via

 

Connor Barwin wrote a lengthy piece on MMQB today about NFL locker room culture, which has been the subject of much discussion after the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin clusterfuck and Michael Sam’s coming out. An excerpt:

I am sure an MLB clubhouse has its perks, hockey players must be really fun to crush beers with, and the NBA is probably, well . . . an interesting place to work. (Can you imagine having a locker next to J.R. Swish?) But in my estimation, absolutely nothing compares to an NFL locker room. I played a lot of different sports growing up. None of them quite creates the brotherhood, the camaraderie, the fraternity that exists on a football team. Dating back to high school, two-a-day practices in 90-degree heat, lifting weights before school started, varsity jackets, all these things serve to create a bond that didn’t exist among other teams. We sacrificed together, we sweated together, we bled together. The times we had in the locker room back then were some of the greatest (albeit most juvenile) memories of my life. And to be honest, many of us haven’t grown up very much since.

What we end up with in the NFL is a room full of 65 of the most athletic, driven, and—let’s face it—reckless men in the country. Not many sane, rational individuals would voluntarily choose to play a game that threatens to take years off your life, possibly lead to CTE, and leave your joints feeling like rusty bicycle chains. What you do have, however, is one of the most diverse melting pots in the world. “Parks and Rec” has nothing on the character ensemble I work with every day. Cowboys from Texas locker next to rappers from L.A., guys blasting “Yeezus” on the stereo across from guys talking about Jesus with the chaplain, married guys with three kids next to married guys with three girlfriends.

This is a really good piece from Barwin. It’s your recommended reading for the day.

Well, we have our winner for the day.

You remember that Jeff Gordon Pepsi MAX commercial from a year or so ago where he took a car salesman for a thrill ride? Of course you do! Travis Okulski, from Jalopnik, thought it was fake, and wrote an article about how fake he thought it was. It wasn’t fake, though (so says Pepsi), and to prove it Gordon picked up Okulski from his Charlotte hotel and took him on a high-speed police chase.

Okulski posted the video – what amounts to a Pepsi MAX ad – on Jalopknik today. He wrote:

I keep to myself in cabs. But one thing that gets my attention is a driver with a neck tattoo telling me that he just got out of jail after 10 years and that the cop behind is making him nervous. And especially when he starts a police chase while yelling “I can’t go back.” I thought this was the end.

Nope. This is how NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon gets revenge.

Well played.