Small Bites

Little Vittles

The only disappointing thing about Solo (50 N. 10th St., 215-238-0882), a new Chinatown restaurant serving super-cheap Chinese street food, is the other customers. They cook more than a dozen different skewers, but all I kept hearing was, "Can I get chicken?" For shame! My favorite here is the slightly crunchy squid tentacles, served in a light gravy and seasoned with pepper. Also good: the juicy, lightly roasted lamb kebabs and the chicken hearts. (As you might've gathered, this place will send your sodium levels soaring, but it's also really good.) Solo's a Chinatown eatery through and through, so don't enter expecting to ask a lot of questions. Just walk in, say "squid tentacles" — if you're worth a damn, that is — and have yourself a seat.

I dove into community supported agriculture (CSA) through Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative (LFFC) this fall because I wanted to support local food, but also because fresh seasonal ingredients are imperative for creating lip-smacking dishes with any regularity. At first I was concerned about price, but it ends up costing about the same, if not less, than what I'd drop at a market every week. LFFC offers two types of 28-week shares: full ($725, seven to 12 items weekly) and half ($420, four to nine items weekly), and provides several pickup spots throughout the area. They start with staples like potatoes and spinach, but also get into unusual items like tatsoi greens and Romanesco cauliflower. Sign up at lancasterfarmfresh.com by Dec. 31, before prices go up in the new year.

With its dominance of the water bottle market, SIGG keeps our liquid on lock — and now they're looking out for lunch. The Swedish company's aluminum boxes insure your sandwiches and protein bars between the rough point As and rocky point Bs in your life. The leak-proof, snap-lock boxes come in two sizes and in a range of metallic hues. Available at local Whole Foods Markets, or online at mysigg.com, $24.99-$35.99.

Admit it — you still boo-hoo when you don't get dibs on the wishbone, the trophy of the holiday dinner table. But thanks to Northeast Philly-based crafters Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt, the duo behind Something's Hiding in Here (etsy.com/shop/somethingshidinghere), you can repeatedly relive the experience, only without snapping apart actual animal bones slathered in salty protein punch. They've crafted handheld cotton pouches stuffed with three animal-friendly plastic 'bones ready to be cathartically busted. You know you need a lucky break this holiday season.