food trucks

GIVEAWAY! Spring Has Sprung: Run (& EAT!) with Blossom – WINNERS!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 5 Comments

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UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS to Meghan and Bridget! The random number generator chose YOU!

The salmon-colored shorts are out in full force. The parks are full of picnics. The Rosé is flowing like water, and the sweetgreen Spring Caesar made it’s way to the app.

Yup, spring has sprung in Philadelphia.

If you’re anything like me, some of the best parts of the city thawing is the ability to both eat and exercise outdoors. Long time readers know of my obsession with springtime food festivals, and lately I’ve even been voluntarily running outside. Must be the fresh air…

Lucky for all of us, there’s a way to celebrate both of these in one perfect night!

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The Blossom Philadelphia 5k Night Race is the only weeknight race grandfathered in by the City of Philadelphia. The course meets at the Art Museum takes place on West River Drive on Thursday May 25, 2017 at 7pm. Immediately following the race is an epic After Party featuring some of my FAVORITE food trucks! Baby Blues BBQ, Sweet Box Cupcakes, Taco Mondo, The Cow and The Curd, The Tot Cart and Undrgrnd Donuts will be bringing the heat (and, in some cases, the meat. Or the sweet.)

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The Tot Cart with some extra melty goodness….

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THE COW AND THE CURD slinging those sweet cheese curds!

You can register for the 5k (comes with a t-shirt), the after-party (comes with four tickets, valid for a drink, appetizer, a main course, AND a dessert!), OR get the best of both worlds with a 5k + After Party COMBO (Yup, that’s all of the above)

Oh yes, that drink I mentioned: Victory Brewing is going to be hosting a beer garden all night long! (Don’t worry, there will be heaps of root beer for the kids, this is an incredibly family-friendly event!)

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All this can be yours for the early bird price (before April 13th, 11:59 p.m.)!

Register HERE

All proceeds from the race help Blossom achieve their mission: to change the lives of children and adults with disabilities (cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome, head trauma, and any condition that limits a person’s ability to function independently) in the Philadelphia area.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

But, hey, if you’re feeling lucky, you could enter to win one of TWO free registrations for the Race + After Party Combo (Up to a $60 value!)

That means, you could be joining me May 25th in running + eating our way right into Memorial Day weekend!!

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Feel free to lay right next to me in blissful post-run food coma!

All you need to do to enter to win is check out the Blossom Philadelphia site and tell me one cool / fun / interesting fact you learned in the comments!

You have until Friday, April 28th at noon to enter!

GOOD LUCK and I’ll see you at the Art Museum!

The Science of Wine

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

After last night’s Six Pack Sunday post, you might start thinking I’m some sort of wine-o. Lucky for you, I barely know the difference between tannin and a tastevin (And the only reason I DO know the difference is because I just Googled “wine terminology“.)  That didn’t make last Thursday’s Science of Wine event at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham any less fun!

I had a blast at September’s Science of Beer event at the same venue and, as we were walking out of the building, I remember the folks mentioning a Science of Wine coming up in February.  Well, I waited patiently and my dreams came to fruition. [Note: I was trying to make some sort of wine/fruit pun there, but it just wasn’t happening. Imagine you just read something hilarious.]

I asked my beer buddy, Melissa, to join me for all the shenanigans of the night.  Sometimes I worry that you who don’t know me might assume that I have no other friends, as Melissa seems to be the only person that comes up regularly in my blog.  I promise, I have more than one friend (if you count my bathrobe as a friend.  Do you? Good, me too.)

Our other friends came to visit in their fancy Chirba Chirba dumpling truck!! Well, who are we to resist their Juicy Buns (especially after realizing that they sponsor one of Durham’s infamous Luchadoras, aptly named Juicy Buns herself!)

Juicy and Delicious!

After a little juicy appetizer, we were ready for the wine.

But really, we were just ready for the main event of the night, one of the biggest reasons we decided to go to the event at all!

Also juicy: Grapes!

The second we heard about the opportunity to squish our own grapes with our toes, we couldn’t resist the chance to live out all our I Love Lucy fantasies.  Though the “barrel” was a little smaller, the experience was just as joyous.

Total rapture

I even took some time from my uncontrollable laughter to pose!

Oh, hey eyes, thanks for un-squinting for a moment!

Melissa squishing those grapes!

I made Melissa go after me so as not to have to squish in anyone’s foot germs but my own (luckily, she had faith in my own feet, and happily obliged my wishes.)  After we got our fill of the fun in a tub, we washed our tootsies and started the night off right with a glass of wine and a side of edu-tainment.

Marsh-MALO!

We discussed the effect that malo-lactic fermentation can have on the mouthfeel of a wine (and why some malic acidic wines give you the mouthfeel of a sharp, tart fruit like an apple while others with more lactic acid taste smoother, like a GIANT marshmallow.)

Trader Joe’s did a cool exhibit where they described the regions that two wines that derived from the same grape came from (such as New Zealand vs. Germany) and guess, by taste, which was which.  Melissa and I decided to make a game of it.

Guess who won that face-off?

#1 stunner!

(it was me.)

Another total treat of the night?

DIY Coaster Creation Station!

Mine's the one on the right (I like turtles.)

This station, along with the DIY Wine Charm station, were great additions to the night.  It was an excellent way to sit back without any wine and just relax with some Modge Podge, scrapbooking scissors, and beads. Bonus? We all got to take home some very nifty crafts.  And I flipping LOVE crafts.

The most exciting aspect of the night (after the grape squishing, of course) was probably from the folks at The Wine Feed. Their exhibit was dangerous enough to require everyone to rock safety goggles (don’t worry, Ol’ Four Eyes here brought her own glasses!) There were sharp knives, swords, and BUBBLY!

En garde!

They showed off their fancy sabers, explained where you need to hit the bottle for maximum poppage, and blasted off a few tops.

Pop bottles!

This was a fantastic party trick that doesn’t actually require a fancy saber to do… I wonder if it works with bottles of Andre (mostly since that might be all I can afford for a practice or two…) The cool part about the sabering of a bottle is, because of the angle you hit it, the glass breaks AWAY from the wine itself, allowing you to pour it into a glass and drink it without lining your throat with shards of glass!

We started to get hungry and ventured over to the Reliable Cheese Company’s table for some wine and cheese pairing (ah, the sweetest pairing of all?!)

Heaven must be missing angels...

Stinky, sharp, creamy, nutty, buttery, sheep’s, goat’s, I couldn’t get enough.  They really put on a solid presentation, and now I must get out to the store…  They even have cheese classes if anyone’s trying to get their PhCheese (bahahaha.)

Our photographer at the end of the night didn’t really understand how to snap a shot of a pair of ladies, but I appreciated the effort of getting our last few moments at the event.

Beer buddies venturing into the world of wine!

We finished the night with the tasty treats served up by newcomer Baguettaboutit and Pie Pushers, always a favorite.

Pesto Chicken don't mind if I do!

Perfect accessory to soak up that vino!

Thanks to all the amazing vendors, vineyards, food trucks, and OF COURSE the museum for putting on another great event.

What do you think your favorite exhibit would’ve been? 

Six Pack Sunday: The Science of Beer

/ foodsweatandbeers / 13 Comments

Happy Sunday, ladies and gentlemen!

It’s been an absolutely fantastic weekend, though not long enough (honestly, when are they ever?)  I got to visit the beau in Manayunk for some significant other loving. We made candy corn pancakes, we watched football, we dominated in beer pong survived playing beer pong (read: thank goodness for Ry’s years in a fraternity that played BP compulsively, because I maybe made 2 cups the entire night), and we cuddled during Cake Boss.  Pretty much straight quality.

Before the glory of the weekend, though, there was the Science of Beer.  On Thursday night, The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science  held one of their ever-popular “Museum After Hours” events called the Science of Beer. Though I am in the process of writing a more complete description of the event for a later release, I figured I’d share a few of the sillier, more personal bits and pieces with you all.

1. Like a Kid on Christmas Eve

I was stoked for this event. Seriously antsy. I’m every marketer’s dream consumer.  All you have to do is tell me an event is sold out, or a product is limited release, and I jump at the opportunity. So yes, we may have gotten there a half hour early and waited at the door like parents outside of Target on Black Friday.  And most of the time, I was peering anxiously through the door.

Not unlike this

But we were the proud owners of the designation “First Ladies in the Doors.”  Suck on that, little kids who were also waiting to get in (for the Science of Root Beer). Teach you to challenge me.

2. KOOZIE KRAZY!

The first station we went to (of course, after filling our tasting cups?)

DIY KOOZIES!!

If you guessed mine was the obnoxious pink one with my initials on it…. you clearly know me too well.

Melissa and I showing off our stuff

On the other side, I had a Moon sticker and made it say “I’m over the moon [sticker] for craft beer!”

I’m a class act.

3. Gender Beer Bias?

Maybe I’ve been thinking too much about chick beer but when I walked up to the “lab” and saw the sign below, I was like,

WHOAH GENDER BEER BIAS THIS IS GOING TO BE THE COOLEST DISPLAY EVER!! 

Wishful thinking?

 

Sadly, as I looked closer, I was disappointed to find out a) it was GENETIC beer bias and b) my genetics determined I was totally insensitive to the “bitter factor” of beer.

Couldn't even taste it.

Oh well, so I couldn’t taste bitter paper (or beer). NBD. All the more beer for me to enjoy.

4. The Most Educational Game of Beer Pong Ever

The absolute most awesome part of The Science Beer?

Beer Pong Physics?! SIGN ME UP!

Even though this weekend with the beau, we quickly realized that real beer pong might not be my forte, apparently, when it comes to the physics of the game, I’ve got it down pat.

Check out that bend in the knee.

They tracked our throws with a video and noted all the spots our ball hit to track the trajectory. SCIENCE AT IT’S FINEST!

AND IT'S GOOD!!

Scientifically, I'm on point.

So there’s no real reason why I shouldn’t sink every cup.  That’s just a scientific fact, right there.  Both Melissa and I sunk our cups, allowing us the honor of putting our names on the Wall of Fame.

Jealous?

5. Why Aren’t Beer Cans What They Used to Be?

Beer cans through the ages!

The folks at the Rusty Bunch brought an intimidating amount of beer cans to show the evolution over time.  I definitely found a favorite:

PBR can the size of my skull? Sure.

I’m currently working with the folks at PBR to bring this one back.

I’ll let you know if I make any progress.

6. Food Truck FIESTA!!

This was for the two of us.

The Rasta from Will and Pop’s (jerk chicken, pepper jack, and mango chutney grilled sandwich), Porkedamame Dumplings from Chirba Chirba (spell-check may be needed for that last one) and, the coup de gras, from Valentino’s , pale ale battered jalapeno poppers stuffed with mozzarella and NORTH CAROLINA BBQ!! Jalapeno poppers might be the fried food of my dreams. I imagine, in Heaven, all foods will be served like appetizers. And jalapeno poppers will be used as a palate cleanser.

Every bite of this meal, split between Melissa and me, was divine. I promise, it wasn’t just the beer talking. It was the most indulgent meal I’ve had in recent history but worth every messy, drippy, fried bite.

Note the Rapture of my face? That's popper induced rapture.

It was, in a word, BEERTASTIC!

And, in a less made-up word: paradise.

For a craft beer lover, for a food truck lover, and a fan of all things Triangle, it was just paradise.

How was your weekend?

Have you ever been to an after hours event at a local museum?  

I get the feeling that I’ll be signing myself right up for the Science of Wine in February…