Small Bites

Little Vittles

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Published: Apr 24, 2007

The decadent lychee martini at Patrick Feury's Nectar (1091 Lancaster Ave., Berwyn, 610-725-9000, www.tastenectar.com) is garnished with two succulent, skewered, cranberry-stuffed balls of its namesake fruit. While that alone can make cocktail crusaders' hearts skip a beat, the drink itself is unbeatable: a blend of white cranberry juice, lychee liqueur and your pick of top-shelf vodkas. —Amy Strauss

What will these Atkins crazies think of next? Steak-flavored shakes? Meat-lovers mints? Well, kinda, yeah. Packaged in a sleek little tin sporting a piggy face, Archie McPhee's breath savers are curiously reminiscent of pork, yet look and feel like their curiously strong brethren, the Altoid. The scent of bacon fills the air the minute you crack open the Uncle Oinker's lid, although hard-line carnivores may find the artificially flavored mints less than filling. Also notable/weird: McPhee sells bacon-flavored toothpicks, shower curtains printed with steaks and adhesive bacon strip bandages. Available at www.mcphee.com.  —Amy Strauss

On a stretch increasingly dominated by Wawa empires and oversized Dunkin' Donuts, Three Sisters Corner Cafe (7950 Oxford Ave., 215-725-6848) brings the neighborhood coffee joint back to the Northeast. Since last fall, both church ladies and the skateboarding whippersnappers they chase away have been sipping the mocha-cocoa-soy-lattes usually reserved for the Old City crowd. For a quick breakfast, check out the frittata pop 'ems, portable eggy goodness with a spicy kick of fresh ground pepper. Lunch includes crab quiche, baby red potato salad and plenty of panini served on Le Bus bread. Leave room for the house-made apple pie, chocolate cake and buttery madeleines — lots of buttery madeleines. —Monica Weymouth

Molly O'Neill, acclaimed food writer for The New York Times and author of The New York Cookbook and A Well-Seasoned Appetite, condenses more than 250 years of culinary history into one awesome literary feast. In American Food Writing: An Anthology: With Classic Recipes (Library of America), O'Neill compiles the tales of iconic writers and cultural bigwigs (Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Craig Claiborne, Nora Ephron, Julia Child, etc.) writing on such scrumptious topics as juice-squirting watermelons, loaded hot dogs, clam chowder, fresh oysters, Southern fried chicken and Virginia barbecue. Expect the occasional tangent — sex, television, war — all related to food, of course.  —Amy Strauss

Want to dine like the royal princess/prince you know you are? Lift those dainty pinks while nibbling the tiny, lightly seasoned tea sandwiches from Drake's Gourmet Food & Catering (8419 Germantown Ave., 215-247-5911). All offerings are made daily by local couple Mark and Dale Kuehner, and range from a typical egg or chicken salad to the health-conscious vegetarian cucumber and exotic asparagus wrap. Each miniature sandwich costs a pretty penny (well, 100 of them), or you can purchase them six-to-a-pack for lunch or a minimum of 25 for parties. —Kristin Pazulski

David Lebovitz is a man with a sweet tooth — one that's triple-scooped, fudge-dipped and banana-split-sized. In his fourth book,The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas and Sweet Accompaniments (Ten Speed Press), the onetime-ice-cream-scooper- turned-Chez-Panisse pastry chef digs into all of the intricacies of making ice cream and its various cousins, on top of discussing crunchy add-ons (cones, cookies and meringues) and the pros and cons of cool-treat machines. Perfect Scoop's icy combos include apricot and olive oil, pear Pecorino, and chocolate and peanut butter.  —Amy Strauss

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