Tara Nurin Named 2012 Writer of the Year

Posted by on Feb 20, 2013 in Philly | 0 comments

Writer of the Year 2012

The Contest

Epikur Writer of the Year is a new event that seeks to honor the best food and booze writing in Philadelphia.  It is to be an annual contest and is underwritten by the Wine School of Philadelphia.

The Winner

Tara Nurin is one of the most accomplished writers in the Philadelphia metropolis. An Emmy nominee and former TV reporter, Tara managed to bridge the gap from old school journalism to modern food writing with panache. She is also one of the most prolific professional writers in Philly. She is currently a features writer for Foobooz,  a beer reviewer for Drink Philly, and a  correspondent for WHYY. She has also written for Philadelphia Magazine, Ale Street News, and the Courier-Post, among others.

The Votes

At Epikur Magazine, she  proved to be a readers’ favorite, as well.  1,633 readers cast their “Writer of the Year” vote for her.  It was a close call, though. The final vote tally saw 22,030 votes dispersed between twenty of  the city’s top writers. In the end, the top six writers  according to your votes:

1. Tara Nurin 1633 votes
2. Kaitlin Lunny 1490 votes
3. Michael Savett 1315 votes
4. Kate Marlys 1198 votes
5. Alexis Siemons 1129 votes
6. Melissa Ward 1102 votes

The Prize

As Writer of the Year, Tara receives a cache of prizes valued at over 2K dollars, including a case of luxury wines from Bacchus Selections, a seat in the Wine School of Philadelphia’s Professional CORE Program, and a sweet stack of benjamins to boot.

Second Prize  goes to Kaitlin Lunny,  a $150 gift certificate to the Wine School.

Third through Sixth Prizes (Michael Savett, Kate Marlys,  Alexis Siemons, amd Melissa Ward) are $75 gift certificates to the Wine School of Philadelphia.

tara nurin

Tara Nurin, 2012 Epikur Writer of the Year

 

 

 


 

 

 

Tara Nurin Named 2012 Writer of the Year
Feb20

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This Week in Philly

Posted by on Jan 29, 2013 in Philly | 0 comments

Craig Leban crucifies The Saint James in Ardmore. The joint venture from Michael Schulson of Sampan and Rob Wasserman of Rouge is off to a very shaky start.  Link.

Yelpers pull out the hate for Goat Hollow in Mount Airy. It’s the first week, people! What ever happened to giving a restaurant a chance to work out the kinks? Link

Alla Spina in Fairmount gets a nod from Food and Wine Magazine for it’s awesome chicken wings: “ The wings—dressed in a buttery sauce made with grated Parmesan cheese, fresh oregano and fresh lemon juice—are available on Sundays and during major sporting events.” Link

Can’t wait until Philly Beer Week? There are two major beer events coming to Philly in February and March. Via Eater Phillly.

Will wine and spirit sales go private? Will the PLCB be disbanded?  There is some talk that the fight against the PLCB is gaining some traction again. Via Grub Street.

 

 

 

This Week in Philly
Jan29

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Smackdown Cometh

Posted by on Jan 25, 2013 in Philly | 0 comments

Sommelier Smackdown

Henry Greenly

Last month, Jill Weber of Jet Wine Bar dominated in the Holiday edition of the Sommelier Smackdown. This month, the  magnificent Henry Greenly is taking up the challenge. Henry is guy behind the awesome wine list at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. He was recently named one of the top sommeliers in Philadelphia by CBS Philly (an honor he shares with our very own Keith Wallace).

The Smackdown Menu

  • Porcini & Enoki Mushroom Soup
  • Greens with a Classic Vinaigrette
  • Fresh Gnocchi with Bone Marrow Ragu
  • Bucheron “Cheese Log” with Pine Nuts and Figs (from Keith’s Corked & Forked cookbook)

 

 

Smackdown Cometh
Jan25

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Jet Bot, Jet Girl

Posted by on Jan 9, 2013 in Philly | 1 comment

Jet Wine Bar

When I met Jill Weber, she was an archaeologist with a taste for wines from impossible places. Her palate followed her work: into the ancient vineyards of Syria and Turkey, through the ancient mariner routes toward Lebanon and Greece.

I met her when she was taking classes at the Wine School of Philadelphia. She talked of opening a wine bar, someplace where she could pour these strange and quixotic bottles. I thought she may go bankrupt pursing such a dream. I smiled politely and urged her to consider wines from Italy, France, and California. Soon after, she graduated from the certification program, and went on her way.

She recently returned to the Wine School as a bona fide restaurateur  In the interim years, Philly has embraced Jill’s vision of wine and cocktails at Jet Wine Bar. That success allowed her to open Rex 1516, her take on posh southern cuisine. Not long ago, Rex 1516 was named Philly’s 51st top restaurant and a huge hit with Philly’s taste makers (Philly Mag’s Jason Sheehan and FooBooz write it up an average of twice a month).

She came to the Wine School to compete in the Sommelier Smackdown, battling the defending champion Zach Morris (the sommelier, not the fictional tv character). Armed with a collection of obscure and delightful bottles, she beat poor ol’ Zachary.

“She beat me pretty bad” he said with a rueful grin the next morning.

Better luck next time, old boy. Probably should have told you that Jill has a knack for beating the odds.

 

 

Jet Bot, Jet Girl
Jan09

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Parc

Posted by on Dec 3, 2012 in Restaurant Reviews | 0 comments

restaurant review

The Final Word

We  aggregate all relevant reviews, both  professional and consumer, to come up with the final word on a restaurant. We pour through the restaurant reviews to come up with a preliminary rating. Armed with that knowledge, we  send out our own elite squad of  professional reviewers to verify the findings.  By that point, we have all the information we need to edit out all the PR reviews which show up on blogs, comments, and the review sites (including Yelp) . We then take all those reviews and squeeze it into a 5 star rating, which you see to the right. We also give you the overview of our research, which is listed in the three boxes below.

Restaurant Critics Are On the Fence

Craig Leban loved the space but noted a lack in both food and service. Also the noise levels were pointed out as being nearly unbearable. “ frenzied pace of evening service kicks in, the struggle to execute at dizzyingly high volume is even more obvious” and “he constant crush of patrons puts Parc’s service team on the spot to deliver, a challenge it doesn’t always handle with equal grace” are typical points made by Mr. Leban.

For Craig, the major draw was the “the sheer magnetism of Parc’s Parisian good looks.” of this

That was in 2008, and the restaurant has been shown, time and again, to manage good service with consistently executed products.

Most reviewers (like Joy Manning, the former Philly Mag critic) use the term sprawling to describe the scale of the place.  Joy has the highest praise for the food, calling it standard Bistro fare. Others, like  Adam Erace (then writing for PW) noted the food was inconsistent. The one exeption is the baked goods, which earn near-universal praise. 

Folks Love It

The overwhelming diners gave this an enthusiastic thumbs up, noting that it looks like a mid-century parisian bistro, with well-executed standards.  The only review site which earned a less than positive aggregate review was Yelp. The negative yelpers (which we define as giving a 3 star or less) were very telling. Yelp tends to hit a younger demographic than others, and the majority of negative reviews were largely focused on two issues: meal prices and the quality of cocktails. This plays out throughout even the positive reviews: The major drawback of Parc is a less-than-average quality for price ratio, and a lack of expert bartenders who can go “off menu”. Sources: Yelp, Urbanspoon, Foobooz, Zagat, and Google Places 

 

The Critical Reviews are Outdated.

Over the past four years, Parc has polished it’s execution of standard french fair, and is now boasts one of the most consistent kitchens in Philadelphia. The breads and baked goods continue to be superb, as is brunch. The noise levels are no longer as much an issue as they once were: partly because of discrete sound absorption panels  installed into the ceilings and partly because it’s  no longer “the place” for singletons to try their luck on a Friday night.

The best seats in the house are at the zinc-lined bar and tables  near the windows looking over Rittenhouse Park. Because of location and the sheer style of the place (it apparently cost $6 million to design), you do pay more for the experience (just like in a Parisian bistro at a great address). The downfall here is the wine list. There are plenty of overpriced mediocre bottles that fail to excite.

If you want to have an experience and enjoy yourself, Parc is wonderful… as long as you don’t mind a bit of sticker shock.

Parc Brasserie on Urbanspoon

Parc
Dec03

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Brick American Eatery

Posted by on Nov 26, 2012 in Restaurant Reviews | 0 comments

restaurant review

The Final Word on Brick.  

We  aggregate all relevant reviews, both  professional and consumer, to come up with the final word on a restaurant. We pour through the restaurant reviews to come up with a preliminary rating. Armed with that knowledge, we  send out our own elite squad of  professional reviewers to verify the findings.  By that point, we have all the information we need to edit out all the PR reviews which show up on blogs, comments, and the review sites (including Yelp) . We then take all those reviews and squeeze it into a 5 star rating, which you see to the right. We also give you the overview of our research, which is listed in the three boxes below.

Eaters Say No Go.

People who have eaten at this restaurant don’t think much of this beer and burger joint. Big negatives are the cheapo Groupon deals that seem to force the kitchen to cut corners whenever possible. The lack of coherent management is a big negative (one of the young owners seems to have more interest in picking up women then helping his servers pick up checks). Food quality is reported to be mediocre at best. A tiny fraction of diners thought the food was above average.

Sources: Yelp, Groupon, Urbanspoon, Foobooz, Zagat, and Google Places 

 

 Restaurant Critics Hate It.

It’s telling when none of the usual suspects review a restaurant after a year. Most bloggers seem to be terrififed of writing negative reviews, and the silence from the blogosphere is deafening.  Only one brave blogger was found to say anything about the restaurant, and even that one stated they would only return with a groupon discount.  The only professional critic bothering to review this joint was Brian Freedman of Philly Weekly. “ a series of vaguely depressing missteps” and “the food really burrowed into my soul and elicited a deep, break-up-style depression” were two of the most telling quotes. 

 

 

We agree with the haters.

Our two meals at Brick American Eatery were mediocre, with dishes spanning the range of awful (Fish and Chips)  to just plain boring (Lamb Burger).

For us, the lack of professionalism shown by the management is what puts Brick at the bottom of the bucket. We watched as one of the owners nearly missed running over  a pedestrian while driving. While the owner  berated and threatened the poor guy, other members of the owner’s family streamed out of the restaurant and also began to threaten him, too. The kicker? The owner from Brick was driving his car in the bike lane.  The final word? Eating a brick has never been more unpleasant.

 

Brick American Eatery on Urbanspoon

Brick American Eatery
Nov26

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