Bee Eye Why See: Mac & Cheese

 

When winter comes there are a few specific dishes that I reach for that warm me up both physically and mentally. One of my biggest comfort foods is macaroni and cheese and my bar is set quite high. I was lucky to land in Anthony's house for many reasons. Not only is he the kind of guy who keeps his teddy bear around for his whole life, but his folks could both really cook. Susan made awesome mac & cheese and the only box to be found was the box the noodles came in. And the cheese came in solid form not squeezed out of a pouch. None of that blue boxed crap for us.

With my storied mac & cheese history in mind let me say that not only is the Varsity Smoke Shack's version is easily the best in York City and some of the best you'll ever have. Their particular version is not a casserole style, so if that's what your into I beg you to have an open mind. The baked variety is also great, but this is a frying pan base preparation utilizing a béchamel based sauces. It is made toorder so it always arrives piping hot and bursting with flavor.

On a cold winter's day it makes the perfect side to one of Varsity's awesome sandwiches that I blogged about last month. While its on the menu as a side, two of them would serve to be a filling and satisfying meal all on its own. One of these days I'm going to get them to cut up a few strips of bacon in it and the result may make me weep. But it is the best mac & cheese you'll have in York all on its own and you should run and get some ASAP!

Teddy's Favorite Things: Soap

It's the most wonderful time of the year... even for a tiny stuffed panda. I love gift giving, and since I'm writing this blog I thought I might share with you some gift idea's from businesses right here in York PA. I know some of you are surprised that my first gift idea is soap and I hear what you are saying: "Teddy, you don't look all that clean bud, what the hell do you know about soap?" well, screw you. That's #1. And #2: I live with two humans who are the picture of cleanliness. So I know from soap. Ok?

If you're looking for fantastic locally made bath and beauty products you need look no further than Paintbox Soapworks. They have everything for the special lady or guy on your list. Both Anthony and Heidi use Pantbox products and rave about their exquisite fragrance and efficacy.

Anthony swears by the Black Bart Shaving soap; he says his face is always much smoother post shave than when he used to use shaving cream. An added bonus is that Heidi loves the combo of its leathery and smoky smell. A few bars of this stuff with a fancy barber's brush would make a great gift for husbands, boyfriends, brothers and fathers alike.

Heidi's go to are the sorbetto emulsifying scrubs. She has a variety of scents and uses them to clean and care for her skin, which she is awfully hard on these days. Her regiment keeps her skin looking and feeling like porcelain which is no easy task with all the swimming and working out she does. Package a few of these together with some Paintbox's hand creams and scent balms and you'll wow any lady on your list.

If you don't like my pairings you can just go to their Etsy page's Gift Sets tab and pick some out for your mom, sister, uncle, teacher, secretary or... you know... a cute teddy bear you might know. You can shop on-line or like their FaceBook page to find out when they are selling at pop-up retail locations around town. Tell 'em Teddy sent you!

Bear on Beer: Liquid Hero Brewery

The first of my Bear on Beer posts was about a place that sells beer from all around the world through their 30 taps. This one is about a York spot that brews their own. Liquid Hero Brewery opened its doors less than two years ago but they have ridden the wave of craft beer popularity to a thriving business today.

When I first visited their brewpub on North St. the business was so new that they still didn't have a license to sell their beers across the bar. Such are the odd liquor laws of the Commonwealth of PA that they were able to sell their brew in growlers to take home but if you wanted a pint they had to give you a "sample" to sit at the bar with.

Anthony isn't much of a drinker and when he does drink beer he usually went for PA staples like Rolling Rock or Yuengling. So I was lucky that my first visit to Liquid Hero was with our old roommate Jon who is a craft beer aficionado. Between Jon and the owners of the brewery Josh, Matt and Christian I got a tour of all the different types of beers on offer. From ales and IPAs to hefeweizens and stouts Liquid Hero has it all. And if you don't know what you might like the brewers will happily walk you through the options and get a pint in front of you that you'll enjoy.

The brewery came about more than five years ago when it's three founders watched an episode of the History Channel series Modern Marvels all about brewing. They grew through home brewing and eventually got their fantastic location across from York's baseball stadium. The old building you see to the left has been upcycled
into a quintessential brewpub. The back three quarters of the building is where the brewing is done while the front has been turned into a cozy bar that is more like an intimate neighborhood bar of days gone bye. It's quite simply a fantastic place to have a few beers with good friends.

My only regret with the Liquid Hero is that it doesn't have a kitchen of it's own. You can have food delivered from outside vendors which is better than nothing at all but my hope is they experience tons more success that leads to an expansion that will include a rocking menu. Till then you'll just have to peruse my blog for places to go have a bite to eat before or after you have a few of Liquid Hero's great beers.

Bee Eye Why See: Pizza

I've been putting off writing this blog post for too long now. My Bee Eye Why See (B.I.Y.C. = Best In York City) series covers my favorite food items in all of the big categories. Can there be a bigger category than pizza? But here's the rub, I grew up in New Jersey, and Anthony worked in a Jersy pizza parlor when we were younger.

To say that my threshold for good pizza is high would be a massive understatement.

So I haven't really been rushing to write this post, because I really don't like eating at most of the pizza places in the area. The one that I really enjoy the most is just a few steps over the York City boarder in Spring Garden Twp near York College. Parma Pizza sits right in the middle of the main and west campuses of the College and has been slinging pizza, wings and subs for years.
Their pizza is as close to the Jersey style pie I grew up with this side of the Susquehanna.

Pizza comes down to the perfect balance of sauce, crust and cheese. If the sauces is too sweet it ruins the pizza. If it's too much like marinara it ruins the pizza, and some times it tastes like straight tomato paste and it ruins your whole day. When it comes to the cheese it's quite simple: a 50/50 mix of whole milk and part skim mozzarella gives just the right texture with out being too greasy. As for the crust all the difference can be made by hand tossing the dough so it is uniformly thin all the way around.

Parma gets close enough to hitting the mark on each point and puts out one hell of a good slice of pizza. They aren't in the city proper but they are just a few feet away so I count them as the Best In York City right now. They are totally worth the walk down the rail trail for me.   

Archi-Ted-ture:The Cherry & Gay Garage

York City is filled with a lot of amazing old buildings that architects took great pains to make a permanent part of the city. This post isn't about one of those. But it is about architecture all the same. The building you see above is nothing more than a garage or perhaps utility building for storage in it's current life. It is located on the corner of West Gay Avenue and North Cherry lane and one look through it's windows tells you that it's an afterthought to who ever owns it now.

Whenever I walk through that part of town I always take notice of it none the less. The big windows with the rounded tops always look church-like to me. Then there's the clerestory which is the line of windows above the roofline of the outer portions of the building which is designed to bring lite and air into the interior. I also love the brickwork  around the windows and the artistic relief in the top center of the wall. I'm sure it is in horrendous shape but when I look at it I can't help but think how cool it could be as a reclamation project.

The city is filled with amazing old industrial brick buildings and some of them, like the Smyser-Royer Building have been brought back to life. This poor old utilitarian space deserves the same treatment. It would make amazing loft style apartments, an artists space or a restaurant or bar. I happen to think it's location at the corner of Gay and Cherry lends itself to some great names for an establishment.

If it wasn't against the law for stuffed panda's to play the lotto I'd be trying to win so I could buy the place and turn it into what it deserves to be. Until that time it will just be a forgotten structure across a parking lot.

Bee Eye Why See: Fried Chicken

A bear about to be stuffed with Bair's!

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to writing this blog post. Nearly 20 years ago when Anthony brought me to York for college we got some fried chicken at Central Market. And that same stand is still there selling some of the best fried chicken you can find in the area. Bair's has been selling fried chicken at the market for almost as long as Anthony and I have been alive. And it's not just the name that keeps this bear heading to Bair's; their chicken is the drawing card.

Over the years I've had just about everything on the Bair's simple yet comprehensive menu. It ranges from wings and sandwiches to nuggets & strips but my go to is the Number 5 consisting of a breast, wing, leg & thigh nestled next to a huge pile of Dutch potatoes. It's totally worth the hour and a half I have to spend licking my oily paws.

The chicken is always crisp on the outside and moist and tender inside which, let's be honest, is what you're looking for in fried chicken. It is quite simply the perfect late night/post bar food, which makes the fact that they're only open till 6 kind of a bummer, but that's par for the course with the market. I'm hoping the revitalization of the Market District leads to more of these great businesses saying open longer. In the meantime you just have to get yourself to the Market by 6 PM Tuesday through Friday and by 3 PM on Saturday to get some of this awesome "Four Paw Rated" fried chicken. It is, by far, the Best In York City!

Market Watch: D.I.Y. Cheesesteak

As much as I love eating out in York City there's only so much time a stuffed bear can spend away from the apartment. But living in the Market District can even help when it comes time to whip up some home-cooked deliciousness. With Anthony out of town and Heidi off partying with the Holy Hound crew I was left to fend for myself this past Saturday. I had a visitor who I was trying to impress so I bounded over to the Market and picked the fixins for a hell of a meal. Here is a step by step of what I made:

 

I picked up a pound of these thinly sliced steaks from J.L. Miller & Sons which put Steak 'Ums to shame.

 

Then I also got a pepper from Charles Family Market and headed home to make magic happen. First I cut the pepper and cooked it till they got a bit soft.

 

 

Next I tossed the steak on top of the peppers and cooked it until the steak was browned, but still juicy.

 

Once the peppers and steak were all ready to go I nestled them in a roll and covered the mixture with a few slices of extra sharp provolone. After about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven they came out looking like this.

 

 

I know, right? I'm sure you're dying for one and the best part is all you have to do is go to the market and pick these items up and make one for yourself. Or are you more lazy than a stuffed panda? I thought so. You eat your crappy delivery cheesesteak, I'll stick with my market sourced masterwork