A Meal Ticket reader checked in with the following query this morning:

I’m trying to track down a market, florist, or retailer who sells edible flowers (edible flowers being specific varieties of plants that are farmed organically without pesticides). Any leads?

We’re gonna leave this one to you, Meal Ticketers — have any suggestions on where one would acquire such a specialty item?

This weekend, North Carolina-based Fairbank Farms issued a voluntary recall of more than half a million pounds of ground beef the meat purveyor believes are possibly contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Locally, these products were carried at Acme, Giant, BJ’s and Trader Joe’s. The recalled beef, produced/packaged by Fairbank between Sept. 14 and 16, would already be past its expiration date by 23 to 32 days, meaning there are two very important things to keep in mind here: 1) no store is currently stocking any of the products in question; and 2) if you did purchase any of these products, they would most likely be in your freezer right now.

Acme has recalled all ground beef products sold at its Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland and Delaware locations between the dates of Sept. 16 and Oct. 6, including “all brands of ground beef including Wild Harvest, Lancaster Brand and store-made ground beef products including meatballs, meatloaf, Salisbury steak and stuffed peppers.”

Slashfood has a detailed list of all the recalled products. If you are in possession of any, return them to the store for a full refund.

If you have questions, contact your retailer or call Fairbank Farms’ consumer hotline at 1-877-546-0122 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Hotline hours are extended to 8 p.m. today.)

Photo courtesy Campo’s

The Bella Vista takes it!

Old City meat beasts, you can let your breath out now.  Campo’s (214 Market St.) has crowned the winner of their Name Your Own Cheesesteak Contest.

Cooked up by David Howard, The Bella Vista scored big in the Taste, Creativity and Name categories with a heart-stopping assemblage of chopped ribeye, aged provolone, pepperoni, hot peppers and garlic aioli all smothered in homemade mac ‘n cheese.   Order up The Bella Vista between now and November 20,  and 10 percent of the $9 purchase price goes to Helen’s Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to individuals living with breast cancer, and their families.

womenagainstabuse.org

Eleven women chefs will compete to prepare the most delicious plate at Dish It Up!, an October 29 gala event at Moore College of Art and Design, to raise money for Women Against Abuse, Philadelphia’s largest domestic violence agency.  The evening will feature dancing, tastings of savories and dessert, “Lavender and Old Lace” cocktails created by Chick’s Cafe & Wine Bar bartender Phoebe Esmon, beer provided by Carol Stoudt of Stoudt’s Brewing, as well as a screening of the PBS documentary “Big Cities, Big Solutions”, which highlights the work of Women Against Abuse.

Over 200 guests will attend, including Mayor Michael Nutter, who will present the “Purple Dish Awardâ€� at the end of the evening to the best dish with an element of purple – the official color of the anti-domestic violence movement.  Competing chefs include:

• Jennifer Carroll, chef de cuisine, 10 Arts;
• Sheryl Borish, founder, Marathon Grill;
• Effie Bouikidis, owner, Effie’s/Paul;
• Katie Cavuto Boyle, owner/chef, Healthy Bites;
• Maria Forte, owner/chef, Cucina Forte;
• Moon Krapugthong, owner/chef, Mango Moon/Chabaa Thai;
• Catherine Lee, owner & Luciana Spurio, chef, Le Virtu;
• Ane Ormaechea, owner/chef, Café Apamate;
• Lynn Marie Rinaldi, owner/chef, Paradiso;
• Delilah Winder, owner/chef, Delilah’s Southern Cuisine

Judging the plates are City Paper’s own Drew Lazor; Kristen Welker, weekend anchor, NBC 10 News; Kirsten Henri, Philadelphia editor, Grubstreet.com and MoShay LaRen, radio personality, 107.9 WRNB.

Tickets are $60 at womenagainstabuse.org; all proceeds benefit Women Against Abuse, whose work has helped more than 10,000 individuals each year through emergency housing, legal services, hotline counseling, education and advocacy.

Dish It Up!, Thu., Oct. 29, 6 – 9 p.m. at Moore College of Art and Design, 20th St. & the Parkway

Comedy and comestibles join forces on Saturday, Oct. 24, when comedian Bill Bellamy performs at the Kimmel Center (300 S. Broad St.)  to benefit the Community Partnership School, an educational partnership between Germantown Academy and Project H.O.M.E.

The evening of comedy begins down the street at the Ritz-Carlton with a cocktail reception complete with hors d’ouvres prepared by celeb chefs Marc Vetri (Vetri, Osteria)  and Jennifer Carroll (10 Arts, Top Chef) and a custom cocktail designed for the event by 10 Arts.

Tickets range from $100 to $250, and all proceeds go to the Community Partnership School to provide scholarships to low-income students and provide them with an education comparable to the best private schools.

RSVP by visiting communitypartnershipschool.org

If you like food and you like Twitter, chances are your feed’s filled up with shots of stuff you’re eating. (Ours sure is — guess we’re Foodiotic!) Well here’s an opportunity to do a little good with your habit. ShareUrMeal aims to raise funds for the United Way’s LIVE UNITED: Food for Thought, a multi-pronged initiative combating hunger in this part of Pennsylvania. ShareUrMeal’s various sponsors (a mix of companies, foundations and regular people like us) donate one dollar to Food for Thought for every food pic uploaded to the site – so you’re supporting a great cause and stockpiling local what-should-I-eat? tips all at once. Head here to get involved and become a sponsor.

(h/t mikeyil)

Taylor from Mac & Cheese tweeted this call to arms earlier, and we thought it’d be a perfect query to put out there to all you Meal Ticketers:

Help! Suggestions for romantic Philly restaurant (a proposal is involved) for two vegetarians (not me!). Doesn’t have to be all veg rest.

So how about it, y’all? Where are some good Philly spots that are both romantic AND vegetarian-friendly? Note that the proposal is not actually taking place at the restaurant — this’ll be a post-”YES!” meal for the happy veggie couple, but it still needs that ambience. A few places off the top — Cochon is quite romantic (and, as we told you recently, can accommodate vegetarians). Mi Lah could be an option. And while this may be a slightly obvious pick, how could you possibly go wrong with Horizons?

The dude mikeyil, who follows Meal Ticket on Twitter, just asked us to poll all you readers out there on who’s got the best wings in Philly. We need your picks! Leave your favorites in the comments and we’ll see what we can all come up with.

Off the top, here are a few places where we’ve gotten some delicious wangz:

• Moriarty’s
• Devil’s Den
• Royal Tavern
• Charlie’s Pub
  
• Prohibition Taproom
• El Camino Real (seitan wings)

Who else, y’all?

Food writer/friend of Meal Ticket Holly Moore of Holly Eats just got out of hospital rehabilitation for a fractured hip, so he’ll be off his feet for the next few weeks, meaning it’ll be some time before he resumes his cheap-eats marauding. He’s asked Meal Ticket for help rounding up some personal chef suggestions for his recovery period for the next few weeks. We’re here to help — do you have a suggestion for a great locally based personal/home chef who could help Holly out? If so, please leave us a note in the comments.

alexslemonade.org

Today, local Cosi locations — including the ones down here at 12th and Walnut and 15th and Locust (Third and Chestnut doesn’t seem to know if they’re participating or not is not participating) — are holding a “Community Benefit Night” to raise funds for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Each restaurant will donate 10 percent of all sales (not counting alcohol and catering) accrued from 3 p.m. to close to the charity, which to date has drummed up more than $25 million nationally for cancer research.