Lean Green Coffee Machine

I hate to admit it, but it seems that I've been beaten to the punch. That is to say that somebody (Grub Street Philadelphia) has already written about Green Bean Coffee. And that was going to be MY claim to fame. You know, the way that Peter Parker always has the first pictures of Spiderman because he IS Spidey? I was going to get the first review of Green Bean because I know the owners. That said, I suppose that Grub Street's article was not really a review, just a notice. But dammit, this fat kid likes being first!

Now, maybe my review is biased because I do know the owners, but I think I'm pretty objective and so I'll proceed.

Gladwyne-based Green Bean is not the obvious choice for the navigationally challenged (that means, those of you who, like me, can't get into the driver's seat of a car without getting lost). But it's still pretty frickin' cool.

The first thing I noticed when walking in was how green it was. Really, it's green. You know, the calming sage color that people sometimes put in their dining rooms or bedrooms. Except this time, it's a coffee shop. Green Bean is a small space, but it's clean and cute and the giant sized espresso machine is so shiny that I was tempted to put on my lipstick in the reflection.


Pretty, isn't it?

Oh right, the coffee's good too. Owners Tammin Kim and Brian Storey were smart enough to employ the delicious talents of the folks over at Chestnut Hill Coffee Co. and the locally roasted beans are, quite simply, delicious. (But honestly, most people in Philly probably already know this.) This coffee ain't weak, bitter, or any other terrible thing. It's rich and tasty and warms you up, or cools you down if you really want it iced.

As of today, their second day open, the store had a simple menu and reasonable prices. No, you cannot order your obnoxious Starbucks favorite (you know, the giant-sized-zero-fat-Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olsen-style monstrosity that you create out of coffee, fourteen cups of skim milk, and fake chocolate). But remember when you also didn't pay $6 for a single drink? Yeah, me either, so imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw that I could drink a latte for less money than it takes me to get most places on SEPTA.

Tammin took the reigns on my latte, saddling up to the Victoria Arduino Adonis machine and producing a beautiful little concoction of espresso and milk. I sat at one of the tables and sipped as I watched people shuffle in and out of the space.

Not to jinx it, but business seemed pretty sweet. And why not? Because in addition to coffee and homemade baked goods (don't let the owners claim the glory for these delights, I have it on good authority that a helpful family member can be accredited with the creation of the sweet treats) -- Grean Bean is offering Capogiro. And oh boy, if that is not the creamiest, smoothest, most heavenly gelato you've ever tasted, then I'd like to know what is.

Did I mention this is a first-time entrepreneurial venture for the lovely young lads who created it? Having seen the two work in the kitchen together, I'm pretty sure it'll be a great partnership. And I hear they're going to have more food soon. This makes me happy. What fat kid doesn't want some food with their coffee? A skinny one. And I hate skinny people . . .

They might be a little hard to get into contact with, as they don't have a website or phone (yet!), but I'll go ahead and give you the address and you had better plug it into your GPS if you want to end up somewhere other than on the river or in West Philly.

Green Bean Coffee
358 Righters Mill Rd
Gladwyne, PA




Oh, right, the verdict? Approved.




[editor's note: I regret to inform you that I was not prepared with a camera at the store today. Perhaps when KK gets up there, she can take some pictures. For now I'll steal a picture of that beautiful espresso machine from one of the owners. Yeah, I took it without permission, sorrrrry!]

500 Degrees (From the other Fatty!)

Yes, KK is a former Rouge-ette. This definitely makes her more of an expert on this place. But let's be honest, I love me some burgers. And I like any joint where I can stop in quickly, order, and make a quick escape. 500 Degrees is soon to be this new spot, I am almost assured of it.

Yesterday was not a quick stop, unfortunately. Lots of people had gotten wind of the awesome deals they were running (first 100 burgers for free and buy-one-get-one-free after that)... And they wanted in on the burger madness. So did we. So for the sake of good blogging and the sake of our perma-hungry bellies, we waited a little over an hour to snake our way around the corner and into the doors of 500 degrees.

Was it worth it? Maybe not on a normal day. But is it worth a manageable line and the money on any day where they'll have a pretty regular amount of business? Absolutely.

I heard a lot of comparisons to Five Guys while we were waiting. This is not Five Guys. And I love that place. This is just different, so stop comparing apples to oranges, my friends.

First of all, the burger is made with that delicious secret blend that they use over at Rouge and I'm pretty sure they're never going to tell us what it is. But I can tell you that it's delicious. Due to the ten billion people that were crowding the door, my burger was closer to medium well than medium rare. But damn, they were cranking out a lot of food, so this is permissible. And you know what? It was still delicious and juicy and tender and topped with swiss cheese that made my little fat girl heart sing with joy! (Can you believe that this fat kid has actually pursued vegetarianism as a viable dietary option in the past? She repents and bows at the knees of the burger gods now.)

I got a milkshake with my meal that brought my total purchase to just about $14. A little more money than you're going to pay at the typical fast-food burger joint. But as I stated, this is not the typical fast-food burger joint.

The milkshakes are made with local Bassett's ice cream and they are rich and creamy and compliment the burger in a beautiful balance of savory and sweet. Pretty much the Laverne and Shirley of burgers and shakes.

And the truffle fries? Maybe I should have ventured out and gone for plain or spicy, but you throw out the word "truffle" and I'm gonna run. Mostly because I like to see that truffle is done right. Sometimes I feel like food establishments go heavy on the truffle and make a meal overwhelming. Not so at 500 Degrees. As Krystina noted, there was an expert mix of salt and truffle and the fries were delectable, especially with the aioli that accompanied them.

In fact, this morning I stuck my left-over fries in our oven and re-heated them. Not many fries can stand up to that torture, but they made a delicious Elevensies snack (yeah, I eat the meal between breakfast and lunch, and I say that everybody should).

Things I really loved about 500 Degrees: The quality is definitely worth the price. It is quick (I'm assuming, on a normal day) and cooked to order. Less expensive and less indulgent than a meal at Rouge, it still stands up to their level of deliciousness.

Things I didn't love: Uhhh, just the fact that apparently everybody in Philly was onto their awesome opening day deals and beat us to the punch when it came to getting in that ridiculous line!

Fat kid Moira approves and that means that we have an official thumbs up for 500 degrees. Ohhh sweet burger heaven, we're coming back for seconds!

Someone approves of the fat girls....

While at 500 Degrees yesterday the fat girls got a quick interview with Mr.H. Dillion from Philly Chit Chat, he did not ask about our blog but somehow we have been discovered....

And we have been discovered using this god-awful photo....

......seriously.......

MTP we may need to take some fat girl glamor shots. Currently I am envisioning being covered in sprinkles and icing. Or wrapped in bacon.

We need to make this happen...

***I would also like to clear up the mistake printed in this Philly Chit Chat post, there are 2 fat kids, I am not the sole writer of this blog....MTP is fat also***

xo

KMK

The Fat Girls wait in line for Burgers...... or our review of 500 Degrees

Krystina here, As a former Rouge-ette when I found out last year that the owners of Rouge, Rob and Maggie Wasserman were opening a low key Burger Joint on Sansom street I was thrilled.

I could wax poetics about the Rouge Burger, it is a Philly icon after all. But lets be honest here, fat kid says 12oz is a LOT of meat, and $16 bones is a lot of bones (don't get me wrong its worth EVERY penny) so the potential to be able to enjoy the quality of a Rouge Burger on a more manageable price range and helping manage my waistline thrilled me to no end ! A few weeks ago I got the heads up that 500 Degrees would be having its grand opening on Tuesday March 23rd, my fellow fat kid and I set a date. We joked about camping out for burgers, in hindsight, we should have....

We woke up this am and headed into CC, 500 degrees was opening as we walked down sansom st. The line was already around the corner. Needless to say when there is an offer of free burgers(to the first 100 guests) in Illadelphia things will get a little colorful. We waited in line for over an hour, listening to people talk about how they were artists and starving (BRAIN),complain about the wait, complain about not making the free burger cut, complain about how this better be the best damn burger every, yada yada yada. Finally as the rain was starting we made it into the building. Walking in the smell of grilling meat and fries hits you, and was a smell of happiness for this hungry fatty. The decor is simple, white washed walls, open kitchen and about 20-30 seats, here its not about the restaurant, the burger should speak for itself. The menu is simple and I had known what I wanted for weeks now, Combo 3, Classic Burger cooked med rare, with cheddar cheese, truffle fries and a diet coke. The every lovely Chef Matt Zagorski handed me my paper bag and we grabbed a seat. I was so excited to unwrap my little brown paperwrapped package of meatlove, the first look at my burger made me smile. It was like someone had taken a shrink ray gun to my beloved Rouge Burger. Before taking my first bite of the burger I had to try my fries, they were perfect, just the right amount of truffle oil, rich salty and delighful.

Now on to the burger, juicy seasoned and absolutely perfect a tad overcooked but I will not judge that.... The produce was fresh and the perfect compliment to the burger, this will be the best $5.50 you will ever spend on a burger. I tried to eat slow and not devour it all in one bite, it was just the right size to enjoy the burger, fries and drink and not feel like you were about to explode.

I swear I am not being biased, this really was a killer burger. 500 degrees has my vote, and my patronage. Congrats Rob and Maggie !

Fat Kid KMK out !

Fatty on the loose in CC!

Did anybody notice what a beautiful day it was in Philadelphia yesterday? I did. Obviously the only thing to do on such a gorgeous afternoon was to leave my house. So I went gallivanting around Center City. On the way into town I was really craving a cupcake. Did you know that Brown Betty Petite has a $10 credit card minimum? This means I had to purchase three cupcakes and a Fiji water. I got one red velvet (my favorite!), one strawberry letter, and one carrot cake. Unfortunately, cupcakes these days are just too big for me! Not the cake itself, but the frosting. Why so much frosting? I always have to pick off at least 1/2 of the frosting when I get cupcakes from one of those lovely fancy boutiques.

Anyway, frosting aside. I ate half of the strawberry letter and it was delicious. I brought the rest into work where they did NOT all get eaten! What is wrong with those people?

After dessert I really wanted some food. I always stroll into DiBruno Bros after their cafe is closed. Yesterday, I got there right in the middle of service. It was paaaaacked. But I was hungry. So I ordered myself a goat cheese pressed sandwich with fig jam, prosciutto, and some spinach. It was banging! The portion size was pretty huge, so the $11 that you spend on a sandwich could definitely be cut in half by sharing with a friend. Not only that but DiBruno Bros serves all of their sandwiches with a salad and chips, so you don't have to choose. Fountain drink is also included.

I'm not a potato chip person so I only had a few, but the salad was actually pretty great. Aside from the standard deli-style salad with tomato and cucumber, this baby had olives. I'm just a sucker for olives. I can't even tell you why that stood out to me so much, but it did. And it was delicious.

So DiBruno for lunch? Fat kid approves!
Brown Betty for dessert? Fat kid also approves, but have a napkin handy for all the extra sugar on top. Also, bring cash like a smart person.


And on the subject of cupcakes...

Thanks to KMK for my cupcake from Magnolia Bakery in NYC! I had to devour it in secret in my room because the cats were swiping and jumping at it when I sat in the living room. But it was delicious! Too much frosting, of course. But aside from that, I ate the whoooooole thing! And it was amazing.

Fat Kid LOAFS Asian food....

I can't help it, I love love love asian food (this will later tie into my joint post with MTP about our meal to Sampan). I love all the flavors and spices, and the noodles (oh how I love the noodles). Also lets face it, when it comes to chinese food, even bad chinese is good chinese (well most of the time).

Last week a friend encouraged me to go and try Erawan on 23rd

and sansom, he gave me the advice that the thai curry was the kind you could be happy having to eat it for the rest of your life. He did not lie, it was delish.

SJ and I headed to this small BYO with a bottle of red in tow. As appetizers we started with fried tofu with a sweet and sour sauce and I had a Chicken Tom Kah soup, my soup was amazing, just the right balance of coconut, lemongrass and kaffir, I will order it every time I go (which may be tomorrow). As far as the tofu, SJ and I both agreed it left something to be desired, the tofu itself was bland, there was no seasoning whatsoever, it was served with a tasty sauce and tasted nice soaked in my soup broth. We both went thai curry for our entrees, SJ went with red curry and I chose Penang. Both were perfect, just the right amount of heat, allowing your palate open enough to taste all the amazing herbs. Feeling a bit full we passed on dessert, however next time I will be skipping the tofu and getting the green tea ice cream.

Since I ate this dish I have been thinking of nothing but it, today I

ate my leftovers and they were still as perfect as I remembered.

I think I have a new addiction, and its Erawan's Penang Curry

fat kid kmk out

I spent today with my mom in NYC and just an FYI Magnolia Bakery still makes my fave cupcakes in the world

If you're fat and you know it, write a blog!

Ooooh, baby I love a good interview! And, friend, you're just like Barbara Walters with your probing questions. Let's be honest, your answers were so good that I should probably spend a good hour or two devising crafty and witty answers for the ones you posed to me. But, dammit, I'm so excited about this food blog that I'm braving a late night (you know my bedtime is usually 11) and my wonky-ass keyboard to validate myself as a bona fide fat kid.


Now BFF I have some questions for you.....

When did you first know you were a fat kid ? Have you been like this forever ?
Believe it or not, I have not always been a fat kid. As a young child, I would "accidentally" spill milk on my dinner as a way not to eat it. I would like to thank my mother for instilling fat kid logic in me, however. She used to insist that "guys love a girl who cleans her plate" and I always figured that it worked for her. As yet, it has distinctly not worked for me. Thanks, ma.

If you could only eat one thing and drink one thing for the rest of your life what would it be ?
I would eat ham and swiss sandwiches melted on white bread with dijon mustard and mayonnaise. It's not cute or distinguished, but it's good. And I'd drink room-temperature Diet Coke out of a can. Am I officially white trash now?

What is one food you HATE and why ?
Weird canned fruits. Mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries, Dole fruit cocktail with those terrible mealy pears. Ugh, who even thinks that is good? Revolting.

How do you maintain friendships with non fatties ?
It's been a long and difficult road. Mostly, I drown my sorrows in food and drink and pretend like they are the ones with problems. It's a vicious cycle, the fatty circle of life. Also, I invent vices worse than being a fatty so they forget about my food addiction: my penchant for Miley Cyrus music being a prime example.

What is your favorite dish you have ever ordered at a restaurant and why ? (I know you are going with Rue)
Well, you should know that I am so damn stubborn that I will not choose Rue de Jean's moules en pistou just because you already called me out on it. But I'll set aside my pride and vanity because they're just that frickin' good. (I also have a ridiculous soft spot in my heart for Fast & French's fondue nights.)


Just look at me ready to stab some cheese and bread onto that long fork!

How do you not know how to make popcorn ?
This is a sore subject, can we just leave it alone? I make delicious apple butter!

If you could have Gaga's body, BUT you had to give up being a fat kid, would you do it ?
This is a moot point. Part of having GaGa's body is doing those awesome "Bad Romance" dance moves on the Precor machine at the gym. And the gym is a necessary evil of any fat kid who hasn't entirely given up on life. I think my logic here might be faulty, so I just won't choose between the two.

Favorite restaurant ever (other than AWS)
This is a hard one! And let's be honest, they're mostly Charleston establishments. This will sound weird, but I'm going to say 3 Little Birds because I have such fond memories of their amazing brunch and lunch menus and stopping there on the way to the beach. Plus, they have little creamers that resemble cows!

What is your fave meal we have ever dinned on together and why ?
Does the Oyster Roast count as a meal? Because it was amazing! Oysters and beer and my $20 stainless steel shucker that I subsequently lost. I could live off of oysters and beer...


The infamous stainless steel shucking machine.

Worst meal ever and why ?
Quiche. I hate quiche. Sometimes, at home, my family pairs quiche with canned fruit cocktail and a part of me dies inside. I mean, I love my family, but I hate quiche. (Except for Anna's, she is a brilliant cook who can make delightful quiche!)

How exactly does one build a city on rock and roll ?
With magic... Or drugs. I don't know, but however they did it, I think the fine people of Starship deserve a reward because that was like my favorite song as a child.

Thank you for asking such probing questions, friend! Let's talk more about Sampan next time and less about us. I can't wait to describe those edamame dumplings!