Eat This, Do This, Drink This: Philly Weekend Planner, October 26-28

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, this weekend is slated to be blustery and gray, but there’s still plenty of colorful fall food to keep you bright-eyed and happy. Pumpkins are the theme of the week, of course, and we have some eating and carving options for you, along with serious pork choices. And as you purchase Halloween candy, read up on the iconic design of the Hershey bar - it’s now under patent!

Eat This

Pork Belly Sandwich at Blue Belly BBQ
Since opening his style-agnostic BBQ quick serve this summer, Gene Giuffi has been consistently experimenting with new meaty options, and this week he hit upon a serious winner. A slab of pork belly is smoked to just-melting, topped with a slice of cheddar and a fried egg, then finished off with braised collard greens. The sandwich comes with a side of fries and housemade pickles for $13, and should make the ideal hangover cure.

Pumpkin Tasting Menu at M Restaurant
It’s just the start of the pumpkin season, so before you get sick of the orange squash, head to this restaurant in the Morris House Hotel to see how good it can be. Newly promoted chef Kyle Beebee (he used to be sous chef) is offering a four-course tasting menu that features pumpkin poached monkfish, pumpkin BBQ venison, charred pumpkin salad and smoked pumpkin panna cotta. The dinner runs through October 31 and is $45 per person or $40 on Sunday, to celebrate new Sunday hours.

Do This

Varga Bar Spooky and Suckling Pig Roast
On Saturday, chef Evan Turney will terrorize Spruce Street (the vegetarians, at least) with a “spooky” suckling pig roast outside his Wash West gastropub. From 2-11 PM, $35 will score you a platter of pulled pork meat with a choice of two sides. Even better, Casey Hughes of Flying Fish will be on site celebrating his birthday, so there will be special kegs of Flying Fish ale available to wash down the eats.

Pumpkin Carving Contest at South Philadelphia Tap Room
For the eighth year running, the Newbold tavern is hosting a carving contest and party (they supply the squash, you bring the creative designs) featuring all things pumpkin. At 11 AM a lineup of 10 pumpkin beers will be tapped; at 4 PM the contest begins; at 5 PM chef Scott Schroeder rolls out pumpkin food specials; and a 8 PM is the judging contest, with prizes for first, second and third place carvings.

Read This

Copyright Confection: The Distinctive Topography of the Hershey Bar
Just a boring Hershey’s chocolate bar? Not so fast. Over at the blog of the Smithsonian, Sarah Rich has the story on the patent Hershey Chocolate was just awarded on the iconic design of the treat, which wasn’t so easy to get. Turns out functionality is not a qualifying feature, so the candy company had to prove the shape went beyond being perfect for making s’mores. Perhaps if you tell them the story, trick-or-treating kids won’t be disappointed when you hand these out? (Or perhaps not. Still interesting.)

Chat With James Oseland, Editor-in-Chief of Saveur Magazine
Serious Eats has a long interview with Saveur editor-in-chief James Oseland, who has a degree in photography and still provides imagery for his magazine. Julia Child was the original inspiration for Oseland, who chose a career path outside of becoming a chef because he “didn’t want to corrupt” his love of food by making it his job. Now he just gets to be “super-psyched” about publishing food stories, most of which are planned a whole year in advance.