03-13-16 “Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com”

sblogo

03-13-16

Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm. Scott Macom was not in studio this week as he was at Renault Winery Resort and Golf talking about his book “Devil Leeds” at the Lines on the Pines event. We had guest hosts; Your Unfinished Business Public Relations & Marketing President Sarah Doheny and Barbie Marshall finalist of Hell’s Kitchen chatting about everything from farm animals, fashion, and Wawa. Also, Meals On Wheels Delaware was in studio to talk about their ‪‎Celebrity Brunch‬. News update from John Howard-Fusco, and food joke of the week from Jackie Martling.

To listen CLICK HERE

MTQ Café (Old City) – Philadelphia, PA

MTQ Café (Old City) – Philadelphia, PA

Taking a walk around Old City Philadelphia, one is not only entrenched with some of the city’s most interesting and important history, but also a tasty stroll as well with the variety of eateries around. MTQ Café is one of those places and I decided to pop in and give them a try. I would go with their Banh Mi Beef.

20150717_163142

The sandwich was your standard Banh Mi variety, and was very good for the location, but with it being slightly grisly and flank steak a tad tough, not the best version around town. The insdie of MTQ is nice and the staff was friendly, but service was a bit slow and they were so slow to take the check I had to walk it up to the counter myself. All in all, MTQ is a nice change of pace for this touristy for of Philly and I enjoyed them for the most part.

 

Charlie’s Country Ribs – Philadelphia, PA

Charlie’s Country Ribs – Philadelphia, PA

On the outskirts of the Temple area sits Charlie’s Country Ribs (CCR). This area of Philadelphia lacks any al fresco dining, walking around the neighborhood once done eating, or entertainment venues to make it a dinner and a show sort of night. What CCR does offer though is down home service with unfiltered conversation being had in the establishment. I do not wither when non-politically correct things are being said about or around me. If you do, be aware that CCR may not be for you. I embrace it and find that you can instead find the pulse of how people really feel or what is on their mind. I will admit it is best to say no comment at times on some of the subjects, but for what it is worth; CCR is at least entertaining with a crowd inside. The dining space is neither large, up to date, nor astatically appealing, but it is real. I would order fried chicken, cabbage, and mac and cheese as the ribs were still cooking and I did not feel like waiting.

20150627_125304

CCR is not cheap by any means, which is surprising for its location. The food was good, better than average, but not great especially for the price point with other locations offering a superior product and a more friendly dining atmosphere. The chicken was moist, but seasoning was a tad bland. The mac and cheese could use just a little more something to it as well as the cabbage. For where CCR is located, they are by far the best around. It is just a shame that nothing else is around them to make a trip there appealing. Would I go back? I certainly would, but next time to try the ribs that they are named for to find out if they are worth staying on my radar.

 

03-06-16 Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com

sblogo

03-06-16 This week on “Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com” live Sundays 635PM on Wildfire Radio, we had Hells Kitchen Alum Barbie Marshall being talk to us this week about undocumented workers in the restaurant industry, McGillin’s Olde Ale House call in to chat about being the oldest pub in Philadelphia and Saint Patrick’s Day, the debut of Food Bank of South Jersey’s monthly segment,  John Howard-Fusco nightlife correspondent for Courier-Post update, the Garces Group called in to talk about winning Forbes Travel Guide 5 star award for Volvér, and we finished it off with a food joke of the week from Jackie Martling.

Listen to show CLICK HERE

02-28-16 “Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com”

sblogo

In this week’s episode, “Hello are you there” is the most popular phrase throughout the show as technicial difficulites hit “Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com” hard with callers not being able to get through, and us not hearing from Barbie Marshall at all. One of the lucky ones to get through was Joanne Weir, talking about cooking around the world and her new book “KITCHEN GYPSY”. After that, with the phones not working, thankfully we had some guests in studio. Terrick Dorsey, a young man who was homeless and living in shelter while going through high school, but even with those odds he had an amazing teacher Penny Greenberg who saw talent in him and mentored him to win the C-Cap competition and receive a full scholarship to the New England Culinary Institute, but now he can not find a job. After hearing his story CRDA Larry Sieg, our Director of Marketing actually got through on the phones to talk about Atlantic City Restaurant Week, and then we had Sarah Doheny of Your Unfinished Business Public Relations & Marketing and Glenn Gloss the owner of “Fat Jack’s BBQ” call in and offer Terrick a job after hearing his story. We finished with a few updates from John Howard-Fusco and the food joke of the week from Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling.

To listen or download episode CLICK HERE

Cooperage Wine & Whiskey Bar – Philadelphia, PA

Cooperage Wine & Whiskey Bar – Philadelphia, PA

Walking around jewerlers row is a delight and a nightmare as your wallet can shrivel instantly. Looking a lunch I stumbled upon Cooperage Wine & Whiskey Bar (COOP). The interior of COOP is very warm and welcoming and the staff was bubbly and efficient. For my meal I would go simple and order a French dip with chips.

20150920_180345

As shown in the photo, the roll was slightly stale and crumbly, chips not at the peak of freshness, and meat portion was a tad light. It was a little bit of a disappointment as the staff and ambiance of COOP definitely has a positive vibe and experience. Now the kitchen just needs to join the party.

Overall

Two and half out of five stars

 

02-21-2016 “Small Bites Radio with Scott Macom and Derek Timm”

02-21-2016

The debut episode of “Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com” aired last night on Wildfire Radio. We had segment host Barbie Marshall in studio, John Howard-Fusco call in for his Eastern Jersey food and drink report, Fit with Philabundance call in segment, and Darnell Hicks and Angela Cottone-Hicks in studio to talk about and share amazing food from Vera, Cherry Hill.

To listen to episode – CLICK HERE

Small Bites Radio Show – Food. Dining.Travel. Hospitality.
“Small Bites with Scott Macom and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com” is an innovative, captivating, and funny new program airing live Sundays from 6:35 PM to 7:35 PM. This show is about food, beverages, travel, nightlife, and all topics related to the hospitality industry. To be a guest, advertise, or any other questions or comments please email smallbitesradio@gmail.com

Szechuan Hunan Chinese Restaurant – Philadelphia, PA – Rittenhouse Square Area

Szechuan Hunan Chinese Restaurant – Philadelphia, PA – Rittenhouse Square Area

The Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia is one of the nicest places to just go for a stroll in one of the most upscale areas of town while having a beautiful park to separate you from the urban jungle. While I enjoy fine dining just as much as the next person, sometimes you just are not in the mood or have the monetary means to do so, and this area is not budget friendly for the most part. Situated about a block away from the park I found Szechuan Hunan Chinese Restaurant (SHC). The interior was a little dark and dated, but the extremely friendly service overcame any of that. I would try their shrimp and chicken in peking sauce.

2015-01-26_16-23-54_154

 

I started with the egg roll, which was very nice and not greasy at all. For the entrée, the chicken was nice chunks of white meat and the shrimp were cooked just right and of decent size. Where SHC really shined was the extremely fresh and large portion of veggies. Nice crisp zucchini, carrots and celery were in the mix. One downfall was there were an absurd amount of water chestnuts in the dish. It just seemed like someone dropped a whole can of them in my dish. My major complaint with SHC would be the rice served to me was your standard Chinese take-out variety, which was a shame. SHC was a nice surprise and even better on my wallet.

Overall

Three out of Five Stars

 

Jasmine Rice Thai Culinary– Philadelphia, PA

Jasmine Rice Thai Culinary– Philadelphia, PA

Walking the streets of Philadelphia you pass so many restaurants that the options seem endless. I do not remember what caught my attention, but Jasmine Rice Thai Culinary (FRTC) summoned me to give them try. I would start things off with the Salt and Pepper Shrimp Roll.

2015-03-19_11-49-11_142

The roll consisted of jumbo shrimp marinated with sea salt and white pepper, wrapped in a thin spring roll shell served crispy with tangy chili dipping sauce. The shrimp was a really nice size and cooked well, but the dipping sauce did not seem homemade and overall the dish had a bland flavor to it all. I would have rather just had the shrimp by itself. Up next would be Drunken Duck.

2015-03-19_11-49-33_558

This dish is roasted semi-boneless duck served in a spicy rum chili garlic sauce over noodles and Chinese broccoli. The duck was a really nice portion and each bite was tender, but the sauce was much too pasty and thick and drowned out any flavor from the duck or anything else in the dish. The noodles were nice, but again the sauce just overpowered everything and seemed to have a syrupy consistency to it. The other downfall was there was practically no Chinese broccoli present either. Again, I would have been happier just have the nice pieces of duck on their own.

FRTC certainly had good intensions as the service was very friendly, décor modern, and provided nice quality pieces of seafood and meat. What they need to focus their attention more on is quality control of their sauces and overall flavor profiles of their dishes.

Overall

Two out of Five Stars

 

Mac’s Tavern – Philadelphia, PA

Mac’s Tavern – Philadelphia, PA

Having visited Skinner’s Tavern many NYE’s parties throughout the years as one of the closest locations to catch the fireworks on the Delaware River, I was a little saddened when they closed. In their place Mac’s Tavern (MT) opened and brought with it a dou, namely Rob and Kaitlin McElhenney of one of my all-time favorite shows “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. The design of the interior of MT stayed pretty true to Skinner’s but a thorough cleaning and update of the place was certainly had when MT took over as the old Skinner’s was not known as one of Philadelphia’s cleanest establishments. On my stop at MT I would go with their pulled pork sandwich.

20150617_121937

The sandwich consisted of slow roasted Italian style pulled pork with garlic sautéed broccoli rabe, and aged provolone cheese on a ciabatta roll with a side of gravy and hand cut fries. I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first with MT being run partly by comedians and not well known restaurateurs, but they certainly have put in the right staff to handle MT’s daily duties as the meal was very nice and tasty. Now I am not proclaiming greatest at MT, but I will admit it was much better than just your standard variety of sandwich and I was certainly pleased with my experience at MT. So whether you are a fan of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” or you are just looking for a decent bite in Old City Philadelphia, it is safe to say that MT should have you covered on both fronts.

Overall

Three and Three-Fourth Stars out of Five