My second day in Philly, the last before ENDO2012 would begin, started the same as most – a long run inclusive of a Stallone style jog up the stairs of the art museum – and after a shower I hopped in the car en route for a place I’d only heard about the day prior from a gentleman in the Italian Market, a place called Stock’s Bakery up in Kensington that apparently served a legendary poundcake. Wondering exactly how good a cake generally made without much more than butter, sugar, and eggs could be as good as the fellow raved I decided to find out for myself and warned that they only sold whole cakes by weight I was additionally glad to know that I’d have friends in town both that evening and the day following with whom I could share.
Guided by GPS and making my way through the streets in good time I arrived at the small bakery just after 7:00am and with street parking just steps away I entered to a nodded greeting by the lady behind the counter and proceeded to browse my options, eventually settling on three choices – one warm and two already packaged and ready to go. Not particularly a welcoming place I paid in cash and thanked the clerk who I’m rather certain never said more to me than the total cost and ‘have a nice day.’
Making my way to the street and quickly unbagging my first choice I started with a warm yeasty donut coated in granulated sugar and although some may fancy glazed or powdered, I personally enjoyed the texture while the dough itself was light and wispy – a good start. Moving next to a large pan weighing in at what I estimate to be about 18oz, my second selection would also prove to still be warm and while the pound cake may get all the press I’ll tell you right now that the Butter Cake is severely underrated – a slightly salty yet entirely sweet butter and cream cheese pudding resting atop golden vanilla cake. Dense at the top yet flaky at the base and only $3 for a whole tray there was more than enough here to feed four – something I had to be wary of given the day’s eating plans as I limited myself to only 1/3 of the tray, the rest given to Ray later that evening to take home to his family.
Moving last to the famous pound cake, mine with a slick vanilla frosting, I’ll just come out and admit that although my sample size is small it is without a doubt the best I’ve ever tasted – the crumb dense, the flavors that of pure butter, flour, and salty vanilla beneath a mountain of sweet…a science experiment in super-saturation where even the smallest loaf on the rack weighed in at 3lbs. Like the butter cake but with more heft and a higher price this is without a doubt something to be shared, or at the very least savored over the course of a few days – or a week. Not friendly at all but delicious and a downright bargain I’d definitely go back and recommend anyone visiting Philadelphia with a car to check it out.
Moving on from Stock’s – and don’t trust a Garmin GPS on this one since it will attempt to drive you off a bridge – my next stop would be Café Lift; a spot I’d missed on my prior visit to Philadelphia due to a seasonal closure but one I’d no plans to skip again based on two things – La Colombe Coffee and Cannoli French Toast.
Open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 3pm and apparently often with a queue I arrived at the small space a few minutes before the doors opened and welcomed by a young lady named Natalie who also acted as my waitress I ascended the stairs to what appeared to be a renovated industrial loft furnished with reclaimed wood and metal chairs plus a bit of paint and spackle; a stylish space even if it is a bit cold and seated near a window I was told of a few specials that I quickly dismissed before placing my order – one deemed a “good call” before my server walked away to grab a carafe of water and a white porcelain mug.
With free Wi-Fi to keep me busy and a touch of regret that I’d be passing on the breakfast pastries in order to save room for later it would not be long before the coffee arrived – Corsica blend with free refills aplenty, creamer, and choice of sweeteners and with the clock reading 9:15 and only another two tables seated the coffee would quickly be followed by the French Toast – potentially the best I’ve had to date.
Described on the menu as “Cannoli French Toast with Challah Bread “Dredged” in cinnamon vanilla custard, baked, then finished with bananas, chipped chocolate, pistachio, and homemade ricotta cannoli filling” and costing a mere $9.50 for four thick slices of eggy caramelized custard topped with what must have been at least a whole banana, a quarter cup of salty pistachios, and plenty of chocolate what truly set this dish on a pedestal was the ricotta – the curd not quite smooth and the flavor just a touch sour, marvelously balanced by the fructose of the banana and applied pure maple syrup. Bite by bite, some creamy and some crunchy, all were delicious and paired with the chocolate undertones of the coffee I’d be hard pressed to name a better single breakfast dish anywhere for less than $10.
Visiting the Conference Center to register and then wandering the Reading Terminal Market for a bit to see what sounded best for lunch the next day I made my way back to the streets around noon only to find some sort of protest going on near JFK plaza thus temporarily delaying my arrival to the next dining destination – a rarity for myself in the form of a food truck called Pitruco where three friends from Germantown were supposedly turning out immaculate wood fired pizzas from a brick oven in a trailer.
Having already gathered a small line and a reported ten minute wait for 1 foot diameter pies ranging from $7 to $9 I stepped up to the cart and placed my order before stepping around back where I was invited to watch the nearly nine hundred degree oven at work and no less than six minutes later I walked away with my prize – a rich Margherita with a bubbly charred crust, lively tomato sauce with minimal sweetness, and puddles of bufala mozzarella plus a slightly less than ideal amount of fresh basil. Crisp and light, full of flavor, and shockingly authentic for a mere $8 – this is the sort of food truck that could actually make me change my mind about the whole genre, a truck where the low overhead is passed onto the customer despite the use of superlative ingredients.
Making my way south to the Italian Market for lunch at Monsu while I worked on my appetizer from Pitruco the heat of the sun and the pizza necessitated a stop for something cool to drink and like an oasis in the desert La Colombe at Penn Square rose up before me; an easy choice given my unabashed love for their coffee, their ethics, and their layout. With their standards all in full display and cold Corsica ready to be poured over ice my visit to the space was short this day and $2 + a $1 tip to the barista later I was back on the street with plans to return prior to driving home in order to stock up on Pure Black and a few bags of Haitian Blue Mountain from the Atelier collection.
Skipping over Monsu – a full meal for a later post – and moving on to a later snack before dinner at Le Virtu as I wandered up and down the Italian Market collecting odds n’ ends from various shops I finally took the opportunity to visit the Philadelphia institution that is Isgro – according to some (including themselves http://www.bestcannoli.com/) the best cannoli in the city, and perhaps the United States – and I have to say that entering Gus Isgro’s hundred year old institution the space definitely carries a lot of weight.
Small and tight, particularly given the platoons of patrons perusing the various cakes, cookies, pastries, and tarts, service at Isgro is slow but efficient as each guest is tended to in order and greeted by a young woman no older than eighteen I placed my order quickly, paid in cash, and watched as my cannoli was filled, wrapped, and placed in a box tied with string…a string that would be dismantled less than thirty seconds later when I sat down on the curb outside to enjoy.
Beginning first with the signature ricotta Cannoli, clearly the litmus test of a place touting the best in the city, I’d be hard pressed to disagree with their assessment as the shell was perfectly crisp and shattered to the tooth giving way to a subtly sweet filling both dense and creamy but not in any way sticky or overwhelming. Dusted lightly with powdered sugar it would be hard for me to choose between Isgro and Modern Pastry of Boston as ‘best ever,’ though both top Termini Brothers without doubt.
Moving next to my other options, the first a bit of a letdown and the second amongst the best baked goods I would eat in 2012, my selection of a Rhum Baba and a Sfogliatella should come as no surprise. Beginning first with the Baba, a cream filled version of the European classic, it really wasn’t that the texture or the quality was off, but rather that the cream was too sweet while the punchiness of the rum was lost in the cream and sugar, not a ‘bad’ thing for some but certainly not what I had expected. Moving next to the Sfogliatella, a yellow cream version with a shell so crisp it was almost intimidating to bite, well…let’s just say I bit and what followed was a puff of powdered sugar and sweetness followed by a luxurious blend of creamy notes from semolina laced mascarpone rife with hints of citrus and cinnamon, without a doubt the best version of the pastry I’ve experienced to date and by itself a reason to return to Isgro on my next visit to Philadelphia (or an excuse, at least, to go back and try a dozen more of their time tested treats.)
