Photos | Lauren Seibert

They called out to ye faithful, and all ye faithful answered. Saturday night, at the second session of this weekend’s Winter Beer Fest, I watched the huge Naval Yard warehouse space slowly but surely fill up — and then flood and spill over — with the most faithful of beer-goers. Let me assure you, shelling out about $50 for a four-hour session of limitless holiday beer sampling is absolutely worth it, especially when many of these beers aren’t even out yet, or are limited-edition, or are 8.5 percent ABV and up.

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BourbonRedTurkey.com

Mmm, bourbon.

The deadline to order your high-quality birds for Turkey Day is fast approaching.  Most local farms need their counts in now-ish, so if you aren’t buying a Butterball, get your order in.   Some purveyors, like Griggstown Quail Farm, will even brine, truss and make your bird completely oven-ready for an additional fee or increased price per pound.  As the helpful woman on the phone put it, “All you have to do is open the oven.”

A few well-recommended sources for natural, free-range, organic, heritage or otherwise relaxed turkeys:

Griggstown Quail Farm:  All natural free-range turkey, $3.79/lb.  Oven-ready free-range, $5.49/lb.  Red Bourbon heirloom turkey, $7.99/lb; add $30 flat to make oven-ready.  Order online at griggstownquailfarm.com or by telephone, 908-359-5218,  by Wed., Nov. 18.  Pick up your turkey at the Headhouse Farmer’s Market, Second St. between South and Pine, Sun., Nov. 22 or Wed., Nov. 25, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Hendricks Farms & Dairy: Free-range, Broad-Breasted White turkey, $3.50/lb; 12 lbs. to 26-plus lbs.  Order by emailing Trent@hendricksfarmsanddairy.com or by calling 267-382-0556; deadline is Thu., Nov. 19.  Pick up your turkey at their suburban location, just 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia, in Telford, PA at 202 Green Hill Road.

Mountain View Poultry Farm: Broad-Breasted White turkeys, pastured-raised without antibiotics, hormones or pesticides, $3.99/lb.  Order by telephone, 484-320-0045; deadline is Mon., Nov. 23.  Pick up at the Headhouse Farmer’s Market on Wed., Nov. 25 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Image courtesy Royal Tavern

Such a romantic setting for the burger, no?

It seems like just yesterday we moved to South Philly, took the brakes off our bikes and careened, pell-mell, into the happening party scene of the SoWash neighborhood.  Oh wait, that was seven years ago, you say?  Hmm.  The seventh anniversary of the Royal Tavern (937 East Passyunk Ave.) , marked by the first ever Burger Bash,  seems to bear your assertion out.

From 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., burgers of “many shapes and sizes” and topped with every sort of thing, will dominate the specials chalkboard; drink specials will tempt those who have to work early Wednesday morning, while former Royal chef and current Rock Tits DJ “Nez” will spin from 9 p.m. on. Burger and beer rundown after the jump.

Starting the Thursday after the Burger Bash, the Royal kitchen will get down preparing favorite specials and menu items from years past, as voted by the drinking public. Check out what Team Meal Ticket, in an admittedly whiskey-toxic condition, voted for. See the complete list of winners after the jump.

Everyone who cast a ballot for their favorite items from the past will be entered into a raffle for T-shirts, bar tabs and gift certificates. Maybe star bartenders from the Royal’s storied past will show up… remember Sunday brunch with Suzanne Woods and the night before Thanksgiving with Casey Parker?

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applesandcheeseplease.blogspot.com

Halloween has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t direct your attention to this awesome Burger-o-Lantern. It’s the creation of our girl Amy Strauss of Apples and Cheese, Please. (Did you see her Good Word interview?)

CP’s food events guress Erin Mae Szrankowski has rounded up some of the best Halloween bar/restaurant promotions for your spooky sipping pleasure. Check out what she’s got after the jump, and feel free to leave additional events/info in the comments. All events are taking place this Saturday, Oct. 31, unless otherwise noted. For more H’ween events, check out Agenda.

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If you drop into any Philly-area Chipotle this Saturday between the hours of 6 p.m. and closing time, the national Mexi chain will give you a free burrito. That is, if you’re dressed up as your favorite Chipotle menu item. It could be an elaborate group thing, like these girls here, or you could just construct a tortilla chip basket get-up in solitude and eat a free dinner by yourself, which would be both depressing and delicious. Either way, a Chipotle costume equals a gratis ‘rito, so get on it.

Oh, and to those of you whose favorite Chipotle menu item is the naked burrito, let us ask you this: What do you look like?

AboutFamousPeople.com

Early distillation of “America’s native spirit”.

On August 2, 2007, Congress unanimously passed Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning’s bill to make September National Bourbon Heritage Month. Bourbon whiskey, named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, was declared “America’s Native Spirit” by Congress in 1964.

The Federal Standards for Distilled Spirits define bourbon not by geographic origins (though 99 percent of bourbon is made in Kentucky), but by the methods used to produce the whiskey. Bourbon must be distilled from a mash that is at least 51 percent corn, distilled to no more than 160 proof (80 percent alcohol by volume) and aged in charred, new oak barrels for a minimum of two years.

Interestingly, the origins of bourbon trace straight back to Pennsylvania. More than 200 years ago, the first Scotch-Irish settlers of Pennsylvania arrived, bringing their whiskey-making traditions with them. Rye, a grain that grows easily and well in Pennsylvania, was the primary grain used in the mash. In 1791, when the Continental Congress attempted to tax whiskey production, the tough Scotch-Irish defied them in the famous “Whiskey Rebellion” of 1791-94. To rid themselves of the troublemakers, Congress offered incentives to anyone willing to pull up stakes and move to Kentucky (at that time a part of Virginia).

Further sweetening the deal was Thomas Jefferson, who was Governor of Virginia at this time. He offered pioneers 60 acres of land in present-day Kentucky if they would build a permanent structure and raise native corn. Abundant corn, which is both bulky to transport and highly perishable, was quickly turned into whiskey.

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Photo l Drew Lazor

What does a pabbit wish for?

On Wednesday, Sept. 9,  Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.) will celebrate its first birthday with $2 drafts, $3 glasses of “End of Summer” sangria and Cape May Salt oysters on the half shell for a buck each.

Festivities kick off at 9 p.m., with the tapping of a special barrel of One Year Anniversary Pub & Kitchen Ale (catchy!), a collaboration between P&K executive chef Jonathan McDonald and the boys at Yards Brewing. Birthday cupcakes from Betty’s Speakeasy and champagne will be served to partygoers at 11 p.m.

Cheap drinks, free cupcakes and arguably the most attractive service staff in town. Just try to resist any of these things. You can’t. Maybe you’ll love it so much you won’t ever want to leave. Then you should try to get employed — they’re looking for a bartender and a foodrunner.

… and your favorite terrifying-portion-size chain, The Cheesecake Factory, is offering up any slice of their titular treat at half price. Ths includes a brand-new red velvet cheesecake — and if you pony up for this variety today or any time throughout this year, they’ll donate 25 cents to Feeding America. The Fac has locations locally in Cherry Hill, Willow Grove and KOP.

Nice deal and all, but I still don’t think this tops Uncle Skeddy.

Eastern State Penitentiary has long been the perfect stand-in for the Bastille, the infamous French prison that fell on July 14, 1789, when commoners invaded the medieval fortress, snagging a cache of weapons and the 30,000 pounds of gunpowder stored there.

The Fairmount neighborhood’s Bastille Day celebration takes liberal poetic license with historical events, compressing Le quatorze juillet with the public execution of careless queen Marie Antoinette. Terry Berch McNally, co-owner of London Grill, plays the monarch for the 15th time this year. Meal Ticket tries to adhere to a no-blockquoting-press-releases policy, but we’ll make an exception for this because there is no way we could write the following any better:

A mob of enraged Parisian will storm Fairmount’s Eastern State Penitentiary (a stand-in for the Bastille) as McNally makes her way to the very top of the historic prison. Armed troops will capture and drag “Antoinette” to a real, functioning guillotine, ignoring her mocking cries of “Let them eat Tastykake!” as she tosses over 2,000 Philadelphia Tastykakes from the prison’s medieval towers. She will then be ceremoniously “beheaded,” capping off this Philadelphia-centric re-enactment of the revolutionary scene.

The mayhem kicks off at 2 p.m., with Marie Antoinette beheaded at 5:30 sharp. Attendees are encouraged to dress as French peasants or aristocrats, but no guarantees can be made for the safety of the upper crust.

Visit Eastern State’s Web site for full details of the three-day festival, which begins Thursday night with a French Fling bar crawl and winds up Sunday morning with Champagne brunches at participating restaurants.

Fairmount Bastille Day Celebration, Sat., July 11, 2-6 p.m., Eastern State Penitentiary, 2124 Fairmount Ave., 215-236-5111, easternstate.org