Small Bites

Little Vittles

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Published: Oct 16, 2007

Saturday, Oct. 6, marked the official kickoff of brunch service at Rittenhouse's cozy-chic Rum Bar (2005 Walnut St., 215-751-0404, rum-bar.com). How do we know? A few companions and I were wandering around the area, famished and fighting stupid, stupid hangovers, when we stumbled in and inadvertently became the spot's very first brunch customers. What's on the menu? There are time-honored classics like huevos rancheros and a lox platter, but well-priced, nicely portioned plates like cheddar cheese grits blanketed with sautéed peppers and baby shrimp and cumin- and cayenne-rubbed filet tips deserve your attention, as well. We washed down our grub with many, many rounds of mojitos, including the bizarrely tasty Coriander, which tastes a bit like getting mugged by a bunch of cilantro. Or maybe that's only when you have four of them at 2 in the afternoon. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. —Drew Lazor

Before you sink your teeth into a buttered slice of toast, the last thing you want is to have to open the drawer, get a knife, lift the lid of that ever-greasy butter dish AND clean up after yourself. OK, maybe you never struggle so, but Paul Wilhelm of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., hopes you do. His gadgety masterpiece, the One-Click Butter Cutter, may be the ultimate answer to all the spread-slicing problems you never really had. The device looks like the staple gun's domesticated cousin and comes in six colors of the rainbow to match your kitchen décor. To work the contraption, simply insert a stick of butter or margarine into the back; click the button, and an internal stainless steel blade slices off a perfectly proportioned square. About four One-Click pads equal a tablespoon, and the device can purportedly slice up an entire stick in less than 60 seconds. (We think there should be a televised national competition to officially codify this claim.) The cutter measures just shy of 8 inches tall, and, because it's vertically oriented, it takes up minimal space in the fridge. It's quite fun to shoot out perfect pats onto a short stack, but dropping $35 to avoid washing a few dishes might be a little extreme. For us, though, ye olde butter dish never seemed so cumbersome. Available at oneclickbuttercutter.com. —Luke Sirinides

The Hershey Kiss has reinvented itself more times than Madonna. And while some recent incarnations (peanut butter, caramel) have been pleasant surprises, others were just kind of gross (that'd be you, cherry cordial). New for Halloween, the candy corn-flavored variety is gutsy if nothing else. These costumed Kisses, which we've spotted at Target, CVS and other classy Halloween sugar purveyors, sport the signature yellow-orange-white color scheme, but the similarities end there. They taste less like candy corn and more like canned vanilla icing; they smell like microwave popcorn. And a hint of Pez lingers as the curious little guys melt away. Which isn't a bad thing, really. Besos. —Monica Weymouth

You can grumble all you want about art school kids — or you can feed them. Paolo's Pizza (1336 Pine St., 215-545-2571), known for their extensive list of burgers named after local streets and sites (e.g. the Lombard Street, the Kimmel Center),chose to do the latter — it was only a matter of time before the Broad Street brats from the University of the Arts earned themselves one. The UArts Burger consists of a veggie patty (naturally) that tastes just as greasy as the real thing; it's loaded up with sautéed portobellos, spinach, onions, roasted peppers and gorgonzola (which adds a salty, dramatic flair) on a sesame seed bun. Drop $5 on this deal and your days of being a starving artist are over. —Kelly White

 

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