April 12th, 2015
Indeed it is a beautiful spring day through the Mid Atlantic. Manayunk in Philadelphia, PA, will be hosting the first of two STReat Festivals and Restaurant Weeks beginning today, Sunday, April 12th. Twice a year these events are capturing foodies throughout the Mid Atlantic because as we all know Philadelphia can Dish Delicious!!
Oh by the way, I would have been there just like I was in the fall but I have an HOA meeting…thanks to my neighbor Mark. Glad I can help.
Manayunk is located on the banks of the Schuykill River and in the northwest section of the City of Philadelphia. It has a long history. For many years it was not popular but just like the trend in many cities….some of these Main Sreets are being celebrated and renewed. Restaurants, shops, the river, sports and a hip place to live, are making Manayunk a destination. For more information, please visit http://www.manayunk.com.
Main Street will be closed off. Parking around town will be available. Info. on parking can be found on the above mentioned website. Like about 11 a.m. you will see visitors strolling Main Street looking for their favorite Philly Food Trucks….50 of them for the event. Food trucks are mobile restaurants and some traditional restaurants are a bit threatened by them. Usually reasonably priced, the food is cooked on the spot and very good
Mama’s Meatballs Truck will be there. This is a favorite and you will find a line to get these delicious meatballs.
Last year we tried: Mama’s Meatballs on the left hand side with beef, pork, veal mix, topped with arugula and Parmesan. On the right, the Apple Bomb made with 100% turkey mixed with sauteed spinach, Granny Smith, stuffed with roasted red pepper, Asiago, and topped with spicy Fresno Chili Apple Chutney. These meatball sliders were…Yummy! They are working on their website, but you can find Mama’s Meatballs on Facebook.
The only Mac ‘n Cheese food truck in Philly is MacMart. Just as popular as the meatball truck, you will find people waiting in line. If you do not make it to the festival, this food truck is usually parked by Drexel University. More info? http://www.macmartcart.com.
A Latin Food Truck called Delicias was a bit more expensive but it was worth having the arepas.
On the photo: The left arepa was filled with shredded chicken tossed in guacamole and mayo. On the right, was the shredded beef, sweet plantains, b lack beans, and Cotija cheese.
Up close to the Shreeded Beef Arepa…
I had never seen a Fashion Truck….all girly, glam and funky. It was called Smak Parlour. Just climb up and shop. More info? http://www.smakparlour.com.
Restaurant Week Begins Today, Sunday, April 12th through Friday, April 24th. Restaurants that you might not have tried before for one reason or another….try them at great prices! Check http://www.manayunk.com/signature-events/spring-streat-food-festival/restaurant-week-menus.html
I have been thinking about the Whipped Cauliflower that I had at Beast & Ale, located at 4161 Main St. in Manayunk. Tel. 267-437-3936. Website? http://beastandale.com Very casual restaurant. Not an extensive menu but what they have is soooo good. Plenty of craft beers and spirits. This is a brother restaurant to Cantina Feliz, La Calaca Feliz, and Taqueria Feliz.
The Whipped Cauliflower with black olive tapenade, parsley, and served with toasted bread. Something so simple and good…can’t wait to have it again.
Baby Beast Burger….The baby was plenty big. American cheese, pickles, avocado…the works on a Brioche. If you are looking for a good burger in Manayunk, this is the place.
Fried Bologna Sandwich? Oh yes!! Fried Egg on Top? Bring it On!! American Cheese, tomato and a dijonnaise sauce.
Enjoy this gorgeous day…we deserve having a day like today!!
October 1st, 2014
Manayunk is located in the northwestern section of the City of Philadelphia and on the banks of the Schuykill River. For years it was just there and in need of TLC…not anymore. It is a city capturing the young professionals, single and with families, moving to this town that has shops, restaurants, bars, and a place to enjoy the outdoors….just a few miles from everything Philadelphia has to offer.
Main Street is long covering more than several blocks. Restaurants have outdoor seatings, perfect for when the weather is nice. To know more about Manayunk, please visit http://www.manayunk.com.
Manayunk’s Annual Streat Food Festival was Saturday, September 28th. This was also the opening of their Restaurant Week, which will go on until Friday, October 10th. Restaurant Week offers 3 courses and 3 prices. Visit the website above mentioned for more information and to find out the participating restaurants.
I arrived at the Streat Festival early so as to find parking which, actually, ended up being very easy. Everything was very well organized. Saturday’s big event was the Food Trucks. Philadelphia is known for its amazing food. There were about 40 food trucks lining Main Street. Some people knew exactly where they were going….they had their favorites. I had my son, Michael, to show me the way.
Food trucks are mobile restaurants, or mobile cuisine. The trend continues to grow and there are no signs of them slowing down. They say that food trucks are restaurants’ worst nightmare. In Philly you can find them around all the universities, feeding those hungry students.
Yoga on the Street…..Was I supposed to join them before hitting the food trucks? Plenty of others did.
Musicians were available to entertain the crowds.
And, as soon as the Beer Garden opened…the crowds followed. It was such a gorgeous day. Perfect for a festival.
Mama’s Meat Ball was a winner. That’s the first Food Truck we hit….my son said that their slider meatballs are just awesome. Their address is 1426 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125. Tel. 267-530-1493. Website? http://www.mamasmeatballphilly.com. You can also find them on Facebook.
The following photo shows what we ordered: On the left is Mama’s Ball…beef, pork, veal mix, topped with arugula and Parmesan. On the right is my Apple Bomb made with 100% turkey mixed with sauteed spinach, Granny Smith, stuffred with roasted red pepper, Asiago, and topped with spicy Fresno Chili-Apple Chutney. Totally the best. People sitting around were raving about them, as well.
The smallest Food Truck was the Korean Truck Kami….small but popular. You can find Kami at N. 33rd St. at Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19104. Tel. 215-555-5555. On Facebook, as well.
Another most popular food truck and one we did not try was Mac Mart. It is Philadelphia’s only Mac ‘n Cheese Food Truck. They are usually located by Drexel University. Tel. 267-908-5662 Website? http://www.macmartcart.com Find them on Facebook and Twitter.
We decided to stop at Delicias. Their specialty? Latin Food and Arepas. Arepas are grilled corn patties that can be filled with almost anything you can think of.
The first photo shows on the left an Arepa filled with Shredded Chicken tossed in guacamole and mayo. On the right is my own which had Shredded Beef, sweet plantains, black beans and Cotija Cheese. This was an expensive Food Truck. Both of those, which by the way, were completely filled and heavy, plus 2 waters…..a total price of $26!!
You can take a peek at mine…a close-up.
We were totally satisfied, but continued walking Main Street. I found Sweet Elizabeth’s Edible Art to be at the perfect location on Main Street at 4409 Maint St…… I will have to visit them another time. In the meantime, their edible art looked beautiful. You can find them on Facebook as Sweet Elizabeth Cakes. Tel. 267-331-8949. Website? http://www.sweetelizabethscakes.com. They make everything from scratch, with a specialty on custom designed cakes.
Philadelphia has its first Fashion Truck….it was also mingling with the Food Trucks. It is called Smak Parlour Fashion Truck. http://www.smakparlour.com.
This is a girly, glam and funky truck. The Boutique is on 219 Market Street in Old City. The Fashion Truck travels to events throughout the city, but it can also come to your home, office or party. It is a fun shopping extravaganza. Smak Parlour has also its own line of in-house designed clothing. Visit the above mentioned website to see where they will be going next.
It was time to head back to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware…..Main Street was so crowded and I wanted to have a head start….the Eagles were playing, NASCAR was also in Dover….Yikes….it took me a long time to get home but not as long as the ones that were heading north.
Note: The Streat Festival is around the same time each year. Save the Date…it is worth going, especially if you like to Eat…On the STREAT!!
September 21st, 2013
For 5 years I have looked for a gluten free pizza that would make my mouth water. I found it!! You know it had to be good when customers eating at The Couch Tomato in Manayunk were ordering it…they did not have a gluten allergy. In my family’s gluten free journey (celiac disease), I would say that you can pretty much substitute ingredients to make recipes just as good as any. Pizza? Well, that has been a different story.
The Couch Tomato has gluten free pizza that is truly delicious. Our choice was Bacon, Goat Cheese, Olive Oil, Caramelized Onions and Mozzarella. It looked and tasted sooo good.
The neighborhood of Manayunk has a Main Street lined with restaurants and boutiques. During any given day, customers enjoy outdoor dining in, practically, every restaurant.
The Couch Tomato is located at 102 Rector St., Manayunk, PA 19127. Tel. 215-483-2233. Website? http://www.manayunktomato.com.
The restaurant has a casual atmosphere, the staff is friendly, the food was very good, and the prices were reasonable.
Our choices, besides the pizza were:
Risotto Fritters – Vegetable and mozzarella fritters with a sweet fire roasted tomato sauce and pesto. They were crispy on the outside, the center was soft and perfectly seasoned.
Cheesesteak Bites: Sirloin, fried tortilla, caramelized onions and peppers, mozzarella and sharp provolone, and siracha ketchup. This was a big portion, perfect for table sharing…tasty.
The grilled Caesar was a salad that was thoroughly enjoyed….house croutons and topped with naturally raised chicken.
What’s Going on in Manayunk?
Kicking off Restaurant Week is the StrEAT Festival, Saturday, 9/21. Main Street will be lined up with Philly’s best food trucks from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Restaurant Week will be on going through October 5th.
Check out http://www.manayunk.com/signature-events/streat-food-festival-restaurant-week.
Saturday, September 28th is the 2nd Manayunk Tomato Trot, a 5K Trail Run, or Walk for LUNGevity. The Race will start at 4:30 p.m. First 250 registrant will receive a Free Manayunk Tomato Trot T-Shirt. The after party will be at The Couch Tomato where you can enjoy live music, free pizza, awards, and giveaways. Register at http://www.tomatotrot.com.
August 25th, 2013
 
Manayunk is a neighborhood of Philadelphia. With its small town charm, boutiques, specialty shops, and plenty of restaurants, it sorts of reminds me of a town with similar attitude in Florida…Delray Beach. Minus the palm trees, though.
Manayunk has the Towpath, which is accessible from Fairmount Park to the east and from the Schuylkill River Trail to the west. Lots of joggers, cycling, and walkers on this tranquil and beautiful path.
Overlooking Main Street, sitting above it, the town is hilly, is Pretzel Park. I could not find out why it has that named but it has been mentioned that it could be because of the pretzel shape of the sidewalks or because for many years a pretzel vendor was selling Philly pretzels.
A dog park, benches, playground and on Saturdays the Farmers’ Market makes Pretzel Park its home.
During the day the streets are quiet in Manayunk but come happy hour there is a different scene. Most restaurants have dining al fresco. On week-ends tables at sidewalks are filled with patrons ready to taste great food for every discriminating palate.
Our choice was Winnie’s, located at 4266 Main St. Tel. 215-487-2663. Website? http://www.lebusmanayunk.com. It opens for breakfast, lunch, brunch (Saturday and Sunday), and dinner.
Taking center stage at Winni’es is its bar. Then, dining on both sides of the restaurants and outdoors, as well.
Healthy comfort food..their baked goods are so delicious. Don’t push that bread basket away. Their corn bread is very good. They also sell it at the restaurant.
So, this is what we had:
Soups are made daily at Winnie’s and on that particular day their sweet potato corn chowder was full of flavor and very tasty.
An order of sweet potato fries accompanied with a dipping sauce of sour cream, horseradish, and I believe honey. It had some sweetness to it. We ordered the fries without salt. I love fries that are crispy and these ones were perfect.
The Crisp Pear Salad – Mixed greens tossed in citrus vinaigrette with bosc pears, crumbled blue cheese, roasted peppers ad spiced walnuts. This salad was topped with their Colorado Chicken, which is the best. It is grilled with ancho chili.
A Healthy Brown Rice Nut Salad had brown rice, broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions, sunflower seeds, almonds, raisins and walnuts, tossed in tahini dressing and served with feta cheese, hummus, roasted peppers, calamata olives and pita. Topped also with the Colorado Chicken, it made a heck of a lunch!!
The Veggie Burger – Whole grains, vegetable spices and herbs, grilled and topped with guacamole and salsa on a wheat bun with those delicious sweet potato fries. Very good!!
The traditional Caesar Salad was also ordered and again, the Colorado Chicken was ordered to accompanied the salad.
No dessert was necessary….I think we ate enough!!
On the run? Want something to go? In a corner of the restaurant there is take out. And, freshly baked breads.
There is a lot on the schedule for Manayunk:
The StrEAT Food Festival kicks off on September 21st from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Main Street will be lined up with some of Philadelphia’s best food trucks with specialties from ice cream to Asian delicacies. Plenty of options at affordable prices.
The restaurant week will be ongoing until October 5th. 22 restaurants are participating with special 3 course menus offered at $10, $20, and $30 price ranges.
More info? Please visit http://www.manayunk.com/signature-events/streat-food-festival-restaurant-week/fall-streat-food-festival.
Have a great day!! This pooch was enjoying one beautiful day in Manayunk!!
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