Philadelphia Archives - Kitchen Conundrum

NaBloPoMo- EWR14 Launch Party and Max Brenners Philly

November 3, 2013 by Renee

Day 3 of NaBloPoMo- Today I woke up at the crack of dawn to head down to Philadelphia to attend a launch party for next year’s Eat, Write, Retreat conference. EWR is one of the best food blogging conferences I’ve attended. It’s small(ish) and much more intimate than the larger ones. The panels are very informative and the speakers are all top notch. Because it’s on the smaller side you have an opportunity to meet so many more people that you share a common bond with and you really get to spend quality time getting to know them. Not only is this a great way to build your community, it’s also an excellent way to mingle with the sponsor brands, as they are also “taking the conference” and are participating as guests the entire time as well. This gives you the chance to meet with brands you wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to develop a relationship with. Building your community and improving your relationships is a large part of what blogging is all about.

So, as much as I wanted to sleep in today, I wanted to head to Philly to see some of the friends I made last year, even more!

Thankfully, even with today being Marathon Sunday in NYC and leaving an hour late (I did not want to get up!), I made it there in just two hours and I didn’t miss a thing! I was sure I was going to miss half of it! So glad I didn’t!

The event was held at Williams Sonoma, a very dangerous place for me- I could always find several items that I need, have to have want to buy. It was good we had the event to distract me- even though I did pick up a catalog devoted to Thanksgiving…my favorite food holiday! (My menu is already planned and I’ve earmarked pages of products!) And I did discover an OXO hand mandoline that I would like to own.

The store itself is one of many right inside the lovely Bellevue Hotel on South Broad Street in the heart of what I’d call Midtown. (Can you tell I am from NY?). It’s really an interesting neighborhood- a mix of historical and modern eclectic buildings just South of City Hall. I’d love to have some more time to explore there and hope to go back when the weather gets warmer again.

Once we were registered we watched a cooking demo given by Linda from Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps for some tasty toppings for Pretzel Crisps. We also got a sneak peek at two new flavors- Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper and Honey Mustard & Onion.

The owners of Philly’s grilled cheese truck, Say Cheese, served up some gooey, delicious Jarlsberg grilled cheese sandwiches. There was also a flatbread pizza demo and choices of Nespresso with a dessert table from South Avenue Sweets. Needless to say, we ate pretty well!

Sadly it was a quick two hours and was over before I knew it! It was really a lot of fun and great to catch up in person with everyone- and meet some new faces. I am already looking forward to the conference next year.

While I was at the event, Ari and the kids went to Independence Hall and took in some history. They had a good time, but were cold and hungry by the time we met back up. I had been given some really interesting ideas for lunch spots, but no sooner did we drive half a block when Max Brenner’s was spotted. So, putting those recommendations aside for another time, we stopped in for chocolate filled lunch extravaganza.

What a place! I know there is one here in NY, but we have never been. The only taste of Max Brenner we have ever had was at their ice cream store in Jerusalem, Israel. It was so good there we knew this would be too.

Little did we know! This was so much better! If you are a chocolate lover, this place would be like walking into heaven. So many chocolate themed dishes and desserts! The strong scent of chocolate permeates the air and all around you are examples of the sweetness. It was a purely decadent experience!

See for yourself-

Hot Chocolate in a Hug Mug! Love this hand warming, dark chocolate drink!

Black & Tan Beer-Battered Vidalia Onion Rings with dark chocolate ranch dressing- so unique and good!

Plus a serving of Spicy White Corn Coquettes.

A Philly Cheesesteak on a Savory Waffle- Might be better than the real thing!

“Melting Marshmallow Crepe with gummy bears from the Sweet Forest, milk chocolate canyon chunks,a mountain of vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate falls” Wow, colorful and fun!

“The Melting Chocolate Truﬄe Heart Cake & Shake-milk & white chocolate heart cake served with creamy vanilla ice cream, red berries and an iced milk chocolate shot”

And the best-

“The First Chocolate Burger in the whole universe with strawberry ketchup and vanilla cream mustard”

This was such a brilliant idea!

And a chocolate chunk cookie… a cookie presentation. Amazing!

All in all it was a really fun day. The best part? Everyone is snoring away at 9pm. Except me of course. I may just creep down to the fridge to have a fork full of leftovers.

Day #3

Philly Cheesesteak Do-Over

June 6, 2013 by Renee

This past weekend Renee attended Eat, Write, Retreat in Philadelphia. To help her bring home all the great gifts the sponsors gave out, Sunday morning I packed up the kids and drove down to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ to pick her up. As soon as we started planning this trip my mind, of course, turned to cheesesteak and trying to find one that could live up to all the hype.

We were last in Philadelphia this past October, where, after some online research, we stopped for cheesesteaks at Tony Luke’s, one of the most famous cheesesteak eateries. Unfortunately, the meat was flavorless, the roll dry, and the sandwich overall was a big disappointment. We left for the long drive home dissatisfied but knew there had to be better. There were too many stories about the wonders of the Philly cheesesteak, the hot beef and melted, gooey cheese for this to be it. There had to be better!

Renee asked for recommendations from some locals who were attending the conference and I did a bit of research on my own. We narrowed our list of choices down to two for the drive home. Pat’s King of Steak and Geno’s Steak. They are literally across the street from each other. We still hadn’t decided which one would be our cheese steak savior, when from the back seat came the grand idea, “Why don’t you get one from each?” Kids! Sometimes they do have the best ideas! After grabbing a semi legal parking spot, I was off on my quest for cheesesteak redemption.

Stepping out of the car, my nose was greeted by the smell sautéing meat and onions that permeated the air on the entire block. I first walked into Geno’s , who’s bright façade and neon signs called out to the neighborhood. After waiting in line behind Spiderman (was Comic Con in town?) I stepped up to the window and in a scene that would make Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi proud, I ordered, “cheesesteak, provolone, with onions” paid my $9.00 and stepped to the left. Less then a minute later I was handed a wrapped wax paper bundle. Not wanting to be seen by any of Pat’s employees, I quickly walked back to the car and passed the goods through the window to Renee. I re-crossed the street this time to Pat’s. The storefront is more understated and stands like an oasis on its own traffic island. Again I stepped up to the window and ordered “cheese steak, provolone, with onions” paid my $9.50 and just as I was getting my change, a hoagie roll piled high with steaming beef, cheese and onions was slid out of the window. I carried it back to the car excited for our unofficial taste test.

The first difference we noticed was that Geno’s steak consisted of whole slices of meat while Pat’s steak was more of a chopped version. I started with the sandwich from Pat’s while Renee began on Geno’s sandwich. Keeping our comments about the sandwiches to ourselves as we ate, I fairly quickly devoured my half of the first sandwich. My first bite was a bit of a letdown and a little déjà vu occurred of our prior experience. However, once I got further into the sandwich and had the full mixture of meat, onions and cheese, I was starting to feel redeemed. I had no idea what Renee was thinking, but she seemed to enjoy her sandwich. After eating my half and Renee finishing about a 1/3 of hers, we made the switch, finishing each other’s sandwich. (Yes, I got a bigger share!)

Not surprisingly, we both agreed on the one we liked best. The meat was tenderer and it had more flavor. The onions were cooked perfectly and the cheese was melted but not too gooey. Although, there was a substantial amount of drippings from the meat, the bun was not soaked. The meat was very juicy and did not come across as dry, which may explain why it was the sandwich of choice.

We both felt that each of the sandwiches could use a bit of salt and maybe some more seasoning or some sort of a sauce (deviating from cheesesteak tradition!). Pat’s did have a condiment bar opposite the ordering window offering hot peppers, ketchup and mustard, the latter two I assume were meant for the French fries and hot dogs and not the cheesesteaks. Geno’s condiment bar was also down the sidewalk and I didn’t venture that far down to see what it offered. We left ours plain to experience the unadulterated sandwich in its pure form.

Overall, we were much happier with both of our cheesesteaks this time, but Pat’s was the clear sandwich of choice on this trip. Yay for Pat’s King of Steak! They really were the King of Steak this time.

We have a few more on our list and have since heard of a few more places to try, so the search for the ultimate cheesesteak in Philly continues! But for now, Pat’s King of Steak reigns.

Of course, as far as I’m concerned, a real New York, corned beef on rye will beat a Philly cheesesteak any day.

Top 10 Things I Learned at Eat, Write, Retreat 2013 and a Giveaway!

June 4, 2013 by Renee

Philadelphia welcomed Eat, Write, Retreat this past weekend and it may never be the same again. Over 100 food bloggers from all over the country- oh, and Canada too- descended on Philly to learn new blogging skills from the amazing line-up of speakers, interact with brands, network and to eat. Because that’s what we do best!

I was so thrilled to meet and connect with so many terrific people. I have made some new friends and I learned quite a bit of useful information in the process.

Someone mentioned that they should change the name of the conference because there was not much Retreat- and that was true! So much information was jammed packed into the two and half days that there was literally no down time. For the record, I am SOOO not a morning person, but there I was, up at 7 everyday, off to breakfast and ready to learn from my seat at the front of the room.

There were way more than these ten things that I learned but here’s the ones that really stood out.

TOP 10 Things I Learned at Eat, Write, Retreat

1. The incredible and generous Monica Bhide spoke first. She discussed the Sponsored Post and imparted knowledge that not only fits that topic but can be applied to all of your writing. The most poignant and probably the simplest idea- “Would you still write this post if it weren’t being sponsored?”

Do you love a product enough to talk about it and not be paid? If so, your love and authenticity will shine through. If you don’t really feel it, your audience will know and won’t feel the enthusiasm that perhaps that product deserves- it would be better for someone else who does love it. You can and should say no to products and reviews that don’t align with your personal goals.

2. The sweet and talented Joy Manning presented a great panel about power networking. I am rather shy by nature, so networking has always been one of my weak points. I think also the fact that most of us work alone, in our homes at our computers and don’t venture out too much also plays a role in the lack of good connections. She said- “Make friends on purpose.”

Pay attention to the well connected people, who they are and who they know. Become THEIR friends. Go up to them at conferences, send them a quick email to introduce yourself, flatter them (MEAN IT!) and find some common ground that you both share. Perhaps that contact will be able to help you in the future. Of course, it’s not a one way street and NEVER treat it as such. You should also network “down”. We always remember the people who help us, and you never know where someone can end up.

3. Carolyn Ketchum and Sarah W. Caron gave a panel on food photography. I tend not to do this, but I see so many others that do- and it’s a pet peeve of mine- so I am reiterating it here for you: BACK AWAY FROM THE FOOD!

Your meatballs are beautiful, I am sure. BUT, if they fill the frame and are as big as I am, then I will feel as though I am being crushed by them. STEP AWAY. BACK UP. No one- NO ONE wants to be all in the sauce floating around with the meatballs.

4. and 5. Jesse Gardner, Carolyn Ketchum and Valerie Coffman are folks after my own heart. Geeks, Techies, Nerds, they are my kind, and I bow to them.

They actually gave me #4 and #5 -these two points are easy and often overlooked items that will only take you seconds to do.

Use the Custom Title Tag Feature in your posts. Here you can add your KEY WORDS that relate to your article and are crucial for Search. Plus you can add your blog name.

For example: Top 10 things I learned at Eat Write Retreat Conference 2013 Philadelphia OXO Giveaway | Kitchen Conundrum

See, key words are there plus a separator and my blog’s name. Easy!

Next,

Use ALT Text for photos and Change the file name to a real name.

(Ok, that’s really two things, but one photo issue.) By renaming your photo to a real name and adding the ALT Text, you will be able to track that photo online and it will show up in search. Google doesn’t understand DSC 41.jpg but it does understand Potatoes.jpg, so you always want to name your photos. Plus when someone “pins” your photo to Pinterest, your Alt Text will show up as the description vs. the DSC41.jpg.

I admit that I have not always done this. I need to take the time to go back and do this. It’s a good thing to do. Which leads me to the next great tip-

6. Time management by Debbie Koenig was another super informative panel with way more info than I can list here. But the very best piece of advice that came from this panel was- Work in 90 minute increments.

Break your work day into 90 minute increments where you will only work on one thing at a time. Then break for a half hour to an hour. You accomplish more and be more effective and less likely to become distracted. Schedule your time to work on emails and social media and when you are working on something else, turn those off. Concentrate on one task at a time. When we try to do too many things, multi-tasking (and yes, we are all amazing multi-taskers!) all at once, we don’t really do any of them that well. They get done, but they are usually not our best work.

7. Another great tip from Monica that often rings true- If Your Heart Sinks When A Certain Client Calls for You, Dump them. That may sound harsh, but your time and energy is better spent on projects that you love and that give you pleasure. You are not doing that client any favors if your efforts will be half hearted. And you are also doing yourself a disservice by causing stress in your life and not opening up to other opportunities that may be better for you. Learn to say NO!

8. Potassium will be the next big mineral. As stated by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD who spoke about what’s in our water with Brona Cosgrave from Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water. As our sodium intake increases, we will need more potassium to offset sodium’s effects on our bodies. So get ready for more bananas and leafy greens in recipes.

9. Mushrooms are amazing! Mushroom farmers are the best recyclers. Tony and Joe D’Amico from To-Jo Mushrooms gave an in-depth talk on how mushrooms are grown and how everything, from the compost, peat and spores are reused. Not one thing is wasted. After the mushrooms are harvested the soil goes back to farmers and are used in other fields. Who knew?

10. Something very practical for canners- Store the Jars With The Rings Off. Marisa McClellan demonstrated how make a small batch Vanilla Strawberry Jam. It was truly delicious.

I make preserves and pickled vegetables a lot, but I never heard or thought about this. The rings should only be hand tight to hold the lid down for the water bath. Once the jar has finished the bath, it should have a good seal. Then take the ring off for storage. This way, if you have a contaminated jar, you will know much sooner than you would have if you had the ring on. The contaminant will begin to off-gas and the lid will pop. Sometimes things are so simple we miss them.

So there you have it! The Top 10 Things I Learned at Eat, Write, Retreat 2013. I can’t wait for 2014!

Now for the giveaway! The SWAG was awesome. Not only were there contest and raffles where you could win things, there was so much stuff to take home just from the amazing sponsors themselves. So I am sharing the love.

I have a set of OXO Good Grips graters that will go to one lucky Kitchen Conundrum reader. One of their newest graters, the OXO Good Grips Coarse Grater, is ideal for soft and semi-soft cheeses, apples, cabbage, potatoes, onions and more. The OXO Good Grips Fine Zester/Grater is perfect for zested citrus fruits, ginger and nutmeg while the OXO Good Grips Medium Grater is an essential grating tool nearly everything else!

So enter to win this awesome set and cover all your grating needs!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the wonderful and hard working organizers of this event, Casey Benedict and Robyn Webb. They worked tirelessly and put together a truly enjoyable conference with incredible speakers and terrific sponsors.

Just check out the EAT, WRITE, RETREAT site for a complete list of all the great sponsors.

Next up… Just who really makes the best cheesesteak in Philly? Stay tuned!