Unbreaded

Holly Moore has been working in and writing about the food industry long before Philadelphia’s restaurant renaissance. Holly’s work spans all forms of media – his food column in Philadelphia City Paper ran for over 14 years, he worked on the fantastic PBS documentary “Sandwiches That You Will Like,” and currently runs the website Holly Eats. You can follow him on Twitter at @HollyMoore.

The Eagles’ best quarterback over the last 50 years? I’ll consider WIP’s Glen Macnow’s take. Who builds the best sandwich – not so much. For the past three years, Glen and his band of merry eaters have saddled up and chowed down in search of Philadelphia’s greatest eating traditions. Two years ago it was John’s Roast Pork for cheesesteaks; last year, Paesanos their hoagie. Close both times, but not out of the park. Steve’s Prince of Steaks rules cheesesteaks and Sarcone’s Deli wins over Paesanos by inches.

This year Macnow strikes out on a “Sandwich Safari” and is really mucking it up. He has grouped Philadelphia pork sandwiches with basic sandwiches. Philadelphia serves more great pork sandwiches than cheesesteaks or hoagies. If ever a sandwich deserves its own annual contest.

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When news surfaced about the Cheesesteak Pretzel, there was really no doubt we had to cover it. This is a Philadelphia-based sandwich blog after all, and a sandwich-like creation capturing and combining the essence of two of Philly’s most iconic foods is a completely undeniable force. The Cheesesteak Pretzel is the creation of the Philly (Soft) Pretzel Factory (PPF). A franchised company that began with humble beginnings in Northeast Philadelphia just 12 years ago, but today has well over 100 stores that stretch the length of the east coast from upper New York down to Georgia.

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In early April, Citizens Bank Park challenged local fans to pick a signature hot dog from three gourmet choices (all of which are far too good to be placed into an air powered hot dog launcher). The winner, the South Philly Dog, consists of broccoli rabe, spicy roasted peppers, sharp provolone and a grilled, juicy Nathan’s dog in an Italian roll.

Bridget Foy’s hosted its own in-house hot dog contest using the same choices and the South Philly Dog was again a clear frontrunner. Originally offered as a special during home games only, due to popular demand you can now get the South Philly dog, fries and a Kenzinger draft for $8 during all Phils games this season. All of the flavors are balanced wonderfully – the rabe is not at all bitter and the spicy roasted peppers add just enough kick. Most enjoyably, the entire thing is slightly toasted allowing the cheese to melt and cover the rest of the ingredients.

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When we sat down with chef Rich Landau of Horizons, we knew what to expect: incredibly current, creative, fresh, full and layered flavors in food that just so happens to be vegan. The only thing we didn’t know is how exactly we’d be tickled.  If you don’t know Rich and Horizons, you need to get yourself an education.  Rich is a pioneer in the vegan scene, but is also breaking ground among the top chefs ever in America, earning the historic distinction of being the first chef honored to cook a full vegan menu for the James Beard House. That’s why we were so excited when Rich accepted our invitation to create a burger for National Hamburger Month.

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Is Philadelphia ready for another burger joint? Steve Poses thinks so. Considered by many to be the forefather of the modern restaurant scene in Philadelphia, Poses’ restaurants Frög and The Commissary were revolutionary when they opened, and eventually evolved into Frög Commissary Catering, which has handled 15,000 events and counting.

We just received this awesome news from Poses’ people:

Frög Commissary is rolling its latest project right out onto the front lawn. Frög Burger, a no-frills hamburger and ‘shake stand, will open this June outside the Franklin Institute on the Parkway, the home of its catering division for decades. They aim to be known as much for what they aren’t (chic and overpriced) as much as what they are (burgers “so juicy you might want a bib”).

The Franklin Institute has long been a family place – the Parkway, too – and what Steve Poses and his team, which includes his son, are working on is informal and homegrown, a simple burger “shack” with grills and picnic tables and kids playing. It will all be on the grass beneath the gleaming Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the stainless steel airplane on display since the mid-1930s.

The logo, like the menu and details of the burgers themselves, is still a work in progress, but Unbreaded has an exclusive first look – four of them, in fact. Following are the concepts currently under consideration, designed by a democratic combination of chefs and graphic designers and they want your feedback!

Hit the jump to find out how you can help choose Frög Burger’s logo and a chance to win free lunch!

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Looking for a healthy way to celebrate National Hamburger Month? We were sent this recipe by Michael Scipione, fitness/lifestyle consultant and owner/personal trainer of Absolute Definition in Philadelphia. Most recently Scipione decided to combine his passion for cooking and provide a private/personal catering/cooking service for his clients named Sano, meaning healthy in Italian.

The Sano Burger, made with 100% ground turkey breast, served on a whole-wheat roll is a Greek/French fusion, with Sano’s own eggplant/sun-dried tomato yogurt spread in lieu of mayonnaise. This low fat, low glycemic, high protein burger creation is accompanied by oven roasted yam fries. Scipione proves that “eating healthy does not have to be boring with his flavorful burger.” Hit the jump for the recipe.

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I never did get to experience the old Twenty Manning. However, after a complete interior redesign and the introduction of an almost-entirely new, affordable, American bistro menu and a variety of burgers, I had to go. I met with Chef Kiong Banh, who has spent 10 years within these walls, and is excited for some change.

Taking feedback from over the past year, Banh and owner Audrey Claire Taichman re-invented the concept of Twenty Manning from the ground up. Banh invested a lot of time in receiving feedback to create a selection of dishes at a price that would keep customers coming back, adding a bistro feel and a slight modification to the name. Though his background is a mix of Chinese and Vietnamese, Banh’s culinary focus is primarily French and Italian. He’s truly excited about the breath of fresh air that has been introduced to the restaurant and looks forward to serving the neighborhood as a destination with a focus on local, fresh and organic ingredients.

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Apparently eating 40 cheesesteaks, and 60 Italian hoagies wasn’t enough for 610 WIP’s Glen Macnow. This morning “The Professor” announced his Hot Specialty Sandwich Safari, an adventure to take down as many sandwiches as possible by June.

So what constitutes a “hot specialty sandwich”? In Glen’s eyes it’s anything besides cheesesteaks, grinders, burgers and hot dogs – roast beef, roast pork, meatball or chicken cutlet and others are all game. Macnow has already kicked it off with eight sandwiches; including some of our favorites like Paesano’s Arista, Bubby’s Brisket at Honey’s Sit N’ Eat, and the Chicken Cutlet from Tony Luke’s.

Macnow is taking user submissions, so head over to the official Sandwich Safari page and lend him your sandwich expertise. We’d love to know in the comments here what sandwich you submitted!