Shack Attack

 photo: Caitlin Welge

Welcome to the neighborhood, Shake Shack! We have been watching closely as this NYC-based establishment took over the retail spaces caddy corner to 20th Street. A few months ago they demolished the old and got to work redoing all of the interior and exterior across the street. Last night was their soft opening, with Mayor Michael Nutter doing the ribbon-cutting honors, and at 8:30 this morning folks started lining up for the 11AM grand opening. We are glad to welcome them to Philadelphia, as well as to our corner of Rittenhouse. Capogiro is a popular date night destination, and most of our nighttime customers have just finished eating at any of the various delicious dining options in the area like Tinto, the Village Whiskey, or Melograno. We are excited to share this symbiosis with the folks at Shake Shack as well. One tip for those of you headed out to try their burgers, the line is currently around the block so you might want to grab your gelato first to make your waiting time oh so much more delicious.

It's June already?

It seems like this year is slipping past very quickly.  We're already nearing the halfway point.  Apart from that heat wave last week it seems like we're having a slightly more mellow summer than last year which is awesome.  My third floor apartment was like an oven last year and this milder weather is great.  I'm sure we'll have our hot days and I know we still have the rest of the summer for the temperature to spike but I'll worry about that when it happens.
 

I rode my bike down to Lowe's the other day to pick up some random items for home and on the way the sweet smell of honey-suckle flowers drifted my way.  That same day when I got into the shop I was pleased to find that we had been delivered a whole supply of honey-suckle for Gelato!  I LOVE honeysuckle.  The neighborhood I grew up in had wild honey suckle all over the place so it's one of those smells I immediately associate with summer and home (which is not far away in Jersey).  I'm really excited and can't wait to have some of that sweet, delicious flowery goodness. 

And finally I'm preparing myself to hide out at 20th street and ride out the zombie apocalypse.  After the stories I read in the news this week it sounds like we have seen the very beginning.  Luckily it seems that so far all the infected have been contained.  But jeez can you believe that stuff?  Stay safe and watch your back.  You never know if the guy standing behind you in the elevator is going to try to take a bite out of you. 

One of these days, I'm gonna slip away...

It really isn't any coincidence that I'd be most likely to jaunt off to Italy for a few weeks if someone happened to offer me an insta-vacation to anywhere I wanted. It's led to accusations being leveled at me that I'm a little boring, but all the top slots on my must-travel-to-soon list are taken up by destinations in Western Europe. I am, believe it or not, kind of a history nerd, and I think almost before anywhere else I'd really like lick my tongue into some old, semi-forgotten corners of Rome or Milan or Venice (not that anyone's likely to have forgotten about any of those places, but you get what I mean).

As many Italian (and Italian-ish, for better or worse) restaurants as I've worked in, I'm not at all going to pretend to really know much about the history or various regional characters or ANY of the language...that's exactly WHY you would travel somewhere, right? I'm a big advocate of the idea that traveling and education go hand in hand.

Also, I have to admit that one of my major culinary goals--as an eater, not a cook--is to sit for a good, slow meal in which most, if not all, of the ingredients have come from the same soil, where the grass that fed the beef grows on the same stony mountain that fed the wine grapes and the asparagus and the arugula and maybe even the olives...for sure you can have meals like that in the States, and without a doubt I hope to really soon. But it seems like maybe it'd be even better if I have to suffer some good-natured ribbing for mangling the local language while I try to order from the menu.

Is it obvious that I've been daydreaming about taking a vacation? Yeah, probably. Soon! Best friend's getting married in a couple of weeks and then some familial shenanigans, all of which will be unconditionally awesome. But I haven't yet gotten to take that proverbial backpacking-through-Europe-with-a-train-pass adventure that I've always wanted, so I've got at least one entry on my bucket list. 'Til then, though? Sit in the sunshine and pretend I'm somewhere else, I guess. Music goes a long way...

The best sorbetto in all the land

I had the very best surprise when I came in to 20th Street today. My most favorite sorbetto, Lemon Opal Basil was staring lovingly at me from behind the glass of the gelato case. I almost cried. This has to be the best day ever. We have three types of strawberry flavors (Strawberry Tequila and Strawberry Tarragon sorbetto, and Strawberries & Cream gelato), and now my top pick?! If you've never tried our Lemon Opal Basil, please, I urge you to come down immediately. We all love our famous Limone sorbetto, as well as our Basilico gelato. This is the best pairing of both. The lovechild of sour and savory, of whimsy and mirth. Seriously, get some before I eat the whole lot.

Nasturti-yumm

It looks like I finally got my thunderstorm today though it went by rather quickly and wasn't the most satisfying.  The cool air does feel very nice after the heat of the last few days.  Our first (or second didn't it get hot in february too?) days of summer are here!!!

In other excitement I saw some flowers in the kitchen today and they aren't just for lookin' at!

It appears that we have a fresh supply of Nasturtium (literally "nose twister") flowers for gelato.  We should have a fresh batch made up tomorrow and you should come by and give it a go.  It has a peppery taste and is similar to watercress and they are also quite pretty and enjoyable to look at.

We will most definitely have this at 13th Street for the next few days so get your butts in here and try some before it's all gone!

Tarragon

It hot, it's humid, tarragon season is upon us.
 Other names include: dragon's wort, dragon herb, little dragon, and silky wordwood - pretty cool. Related to wormwood, tarragon has that potent liquorice/anise taste that apparently woodland critters, especially deer, hate!

I'm curious how our kitchen will be utilizing this lil leafy.

Oh hey whatcha doon tonight?

Is it seriously almost June? It seriously is. Seriously. Can't help but think that today's the day when we finally well and truly tip over from warm to hot. Which...is kinda my least favorite day of the year. BUT! Warm late spring/early summer evenings? Time to get out and about!

We've been doing more events this year than probably ever before, taking the gelato to where the people are. And tonight we're at the first Night Market of the year in Northern Liberties! Some of the best ethnic food and food trucks in the city will be there, and I have to admit that there's a truly dizzying array of meats in tube form impending. And live music and awesome art and, y'know, us, because it's not so much that we're always where the cool kids are. It's more that the cool kids show up wherever we are.

The best part is that the Night Markets (there's another in June on Washington Ave and pretty certainly more to follow after that!) are organized by The Food Trust, so by coming out tonight to eat awesome food and drink beer and watch live bands, you're helping support people that believe in bringing real, wholesome food to real, local neighborhoods. So food with a mission! But there'll be beer and cocktails and hopefully many, many sausages, so no one's going to get too pedantic. It'll be a good time!

So come find us! The festacularities will be on 2nd Street between Fairmount and George Streets and run from 7 to 11.

Mmmm...hot weather music. Come out tonight!

Memorial Day

Just so everyone knows, we will be opening at 9am on Monday, in observance of Memorial Day. This federal holiday has been around since after the Civil War, and was created to commemorate fallen soldiers and those who have fought in the United States Armed Forces. However, like most kids, I grew up waiting patiently for Memorial Day because it symbolizes the beginning of summer. It was the time that we would stop taking school seriously, because we knew that the few remaining weeks of class would be filled with field days, relay races, and watching movies in classrooms instead of learning anything real. Our teachers were just as eager for the last day of school as we were, and would often doze off at their desks while we listlessly worked on silly art projects.

The most important aspect of Memorial Day, with the exception of gorging oneself on hot dogs and hamburgers and getting a three-day weekend, was the reminder that FIREWORKS existed. All of the firework stands would go up immediately after Memorial Day weekend, and we would start the backseat begging. Every stand would try to out-boast the next, claiming the largest rockets or the most dangerous roman candles. Even sparklers became a competition, at one point roadside stands were selling sparklers that were over six feet long. My parents would usually withstand about a month of psychological torture from my brother and I, until they would finally break down and buy us what they deemed to be the safest fireworks arrangements. Little did they know that we had secretly been stockpiling M-80's, smoke bombs, and bottle rockets the whole time.

Where was that thunderstorm today?  I feel a little let down.  I was promised a thunderstorm and mother nature has let me down.  Well, I guess she didn't let me down so much as the forcasts got my hopes up.  Since I was little I always loved and looked forward to loud, dark, scary thunderstorms.  I used to build a fort in the middle of the living room floor and watch the lightning through the window.  I loved loud crashing thunder.  The louder the better, I love when it feels like the earth itself is being split apart.  It always interested me that it's all just caused by different masses of air rubbing together.  Kind of mind blowing how energy is in the air.   I don't build forts too often anymore but I do still love to watch the whole explosive thunder and lightning show and we could really use some more rain before the heat of summer gets to us so we can get lot's of local fruit, herbs, and other produce.  I'll be patient and give the rest of the week it's chance to bring me an exciting storm.

 Long time Capo13 barista Nelson is leaving us to run away to Austin, Texas.  We'll miss his goofy antics and dance parties.  If you see him around make sure to wish him luck and make him feel guilty for leaving us all. 

Bye, Nelson!!

FAQ: How do You make it?

Shhh...an answer from the archives.