Blackbird Pizzeria: Philly's 1st Vegan Pizza

Why it has taken us more than a year of living in Philadelphia to get to this gem of a restaurant is beyond me. Yet, as I often stress in this teensy corner of the blogosphere, I do believe all in its right time.  Everything happens for a reason and there must be a reason why it has taken us this long.

Coming from a love of Cafe Viva in New York, Blackbird Pizzeria takes the proverbial cake (I mean pie).  Clean.  Delicious.  Eco-friendly (they actually compost their compostable disposable cutlery, cups and plates!).  Nice bathroom.  Soy-free friendly (the vegan cheese used on pizza is scrumptious, even the Wolfman said he couldn't tell the difference except a little bit of texture, AND I can eat it because it is soy-free!).

Did I say delicious?
That everything we ate tonight was delicious?

That everything included:

• Harvest pizza
• plain pizza
• sauteed greens
• full basket hand-cut fries
• creamy sweet potato soup
• root beer bbq wings with pineapple salsa
• mint cream whoopie pie

Did I say the staff was friendly, kind, courteous, patient with our questions regarding soy ingredients?

Just a ditty of other reasons why Blackbird is AMAZEBALLS

• They filter their tap water!  (we're good with plain 'ole, but whoo hoo on the filtering!)
• The whole-wheat crust is tasty, tasty, tasty!
• Ample healthful choices of pizza that even our children loved!
• Amazeballs sauteed greens as a side.
• Even more amazeballs hand-cut fries.  ("Oh, they're just fried in canola oil," said a nice chef.  Just.  JUST.  On this vegetable-oil laden east coast we live in, this is a soy-free mama's dream!)
• It's kosher*!
• They have a washing cup at their sink (for kosher folks this is a huge plus)

*naysayers, feel free to scroll down to the bottom for my comments on that

Can we just order the whole menu please?

Yeah, we'll take that, too.

I know these blurry menu photos don't do it justice, but every.single.thing.on.the.menu is outta this world!

And now at the end of this blog I address you, the Kosher naysayer.  Here's what I got to say, and I put it small because it is not to deter you from eating at Blackbird...a REAL gem of a place that any smart kosher consumer who likes delicious, wholesome, and yes kosher food should patronize:

Stango and I are all good with the "questionable" hashcacha.  Yes, we are well aware that the "IFC" which is what certifies this joint is akin to a mail-order Chinese bride.  Ok, ok, not really.  But you get my point.  No, there is no on-site maschkiach there.  Already we are now way outside the mainstream that we're good with that.  Do I really need to rant on my feelings about the kosher politics out there?  Or should I say politricks?

We need to come together in these dark days, not separate, in order to get towards the light!

The composting of their items is a huge boon on my book...what kosher place have you ever seen that does this?  (I mean, on the east coast, and in the mainstream frum world?)
Of course I believe fully their food is kosher.
The issue of bishul akum, pas yisroel, and insect-checking in vegatables are, well, issues, but that doesn't stop us from eating at Blackbird because, well, because we are very comfortable with the standards held by the proprietors.  We also keep in mind that the frum world at-large has taken on more and more chumras and general stringencies.  


Blackbird Pizzeria

507 South 6th Street  Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215) 625-6660 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (215) 625-6660      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Phood Tip #2: The Best Jarred Marinara Sauce for the Money

My family has been eating the private label jarred marinara sauce produced by On Point for years.  Initially it was produced under the label Master's Choice and we bought it at the Food Emporium, A&P,and Waldbaum's.  All the flavors were delicious:  Four Cheese, Bolognese, Tomato Basil, Marinara to name a few.  All natural ingredients, made with olive oil, no additives or hidden spices.  Always the best price for the homemade-quality taste when compared to the specialty brands like Rao's, Patsy's and the like.  Also, they were all Kosher.  Even the Bolognese was OU-Glatt.

No longer Master's Choice, the sauce is now marketed under the more attractive label of Via Roma.  This is still the private label for A&P, and mama mia are they doing a good thing!

For the Kosher folks out there, only the Marinara is certified Kosher parve.  (Please, bring back the other flavors!  You are very good for the kosher world!).  This is the best quality, best tasting, best priced jarred Parve sauce any Kosher consumer will ever have.  It is a necessity for Friday night sweet & sour meatballs.  I recently tried substituting ketchup, and my kinderlach could taste the difference.

For everyone else:  try out all the flavors and see what you like best.

Via Roma Marinara Sauce, $3.99 per jar, currently on sale for $2.49 at my local SuperFresh, Certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union (the O-U)

At $3.99 a jar, this is the best homemade-tasting sauce for your buck.

It is made locally in Pennsylvania, too!

Currently it is on sale at SuperFresh (also an A&P affiliate) for $2.49 a jar, no limit.

My sister Reba dismisses this sauce, as she is more of a food purist and immersion-blends a can of san marzano tomatoes as her sauce, but she doesn't have children yet, and so I wonder if she will start relying more on the convenience foods that most families use when God-willing she has children of her own.  But, I hear her.  And, she remembers the glory days of when this was part of her after-school snack atop a piece of vegetarian schnitzel (aka tivall in Israel) with melted cheese on top.

The Marinara is higher in fat than the others at 6g per serving, but the Tomato Basil is lower and similarly tasty.

Manga!


And, if this type of stuff matters to you, for further info on the company, read this recent Forbes article on A&P's CEO.

How CEO Sam Martin is Driving the Imperative to Overhaul A&P

Phood Tip #1: What Every Balabusta Needs; Or, The Best Martha Stewart Soup Suggestion Out There

For those of us who cook meat-based soups, we know that plentiful bones are essential for optimum, full-bodied flavor.  No bouillons, no cans of stock, no boxed soups masquerading as more healthful stock options.  Just lots and lots of bones that enable the stock to achieve its sublime rich taste.   But it gets pretty tedious when the time arrives and you have to remove all of those bones and cartilage.  I have tried many methods to get a nice golden, stuff-free broth:  cheesecloth, collander, and removal piece-by-tiny piece.

I present to you the product that brings the preparation of chicken soup to a new level for the balabusta  (female head of household who does the cooking but you can be a balabus too, I am all good with that).  The trick:   I have seen it only in the kosher supermarkets.  Oh, the products they invent for the woman who  juggles numerous children, work, and communal commitments!  With cooking for shabbes weekly (which, let's face it, is Thanksgiving every week), these bags are truly manna from the heavens.

It is so under-the-radar here in Philadelphia that even our kosher supermarket manager was unfamiliar with them, despite that they were sitting on his shelves.

I use one bag for two packages of chicken bones and an extra chicken thigh thrown in there for some extra meat.  The holes in the bag allow the soup to cook thoroughly.  They stretch a lot so you can fit in more than you think when you first look at it.  I put my vegetables directly into the pot, but these work well for the various herbs and other vegetables like onion that you might not want floating around in the pot.  For those of you concerned with the issue of borer (a Jewish law forbidding separation on shabbat), since some of the good soup is being taken away with the thing you don't want in the soup, I can't see why there would be an issue  (note:  I am not an authority on Jewish law).

Though they don't list them on their website, Rockland Kosher for sure carries them, most likely from 2 or 3 different companies.

Give 'em a call and see if they'll send you a case.

Better yet, take a trip to Monsey and get thineself to the supermarket of kosher supermarkets.

Just make sure you dress appropriately.