PALEODELPHIA

On a typical Friday I would be out of my office and in my car by 4 PM, excited and ready to embrace the weekend adventures ahead of me after a modest commute home to take care of Mr. Puggers.  However, temperatures in the 70′s and a new pair of Vibram Five Fingers changed my routine a few Fridays ago.  Instead of battling through traffic on the Green Lane bridge with everyone else, I decided to try something new.  Why waste my time sitting in traffic, cruising down Main Street, windows down and sunroof open, watching the happy hour crew enjoy dining al fresco when I could be downtown in a few hot minutes doing the same?

The car was no place to waste my time, and I had already made other arrangements for Mr. Puggers so there was no reason to go home.  I grabbed my Blackberry, checked the regional rail schedule, kidnapped my Paleo cohort, and hopped on a train.  About 15 minutes and one quiet car ride later we disembarked at Suburban Station to begin our urban Paleo adventure in food gathering on foot.

First stop on the agenda: Oyster House at 1516 Sansom Street for A-Buck-A-Shuck Oyster Hour.  The Oyster House has been around for 35 years or so, has an amazing raw bar selection, and happy hour specials 5-7PM Monday through Friday. We started with a few dozen raw oysters before moving on to shrimp cocktail (wild caught of course) and some salad (mixed baby lettuce, radish, citrus, sherry vinaigrette) to offset the protein overload. Being that it was happy hour, we decided to be a little un-paleo by imbibing in a few of the drink specials which included a mini can of “champagne” (Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blanc Mini California, technically a sparkling wine even though the can says champagne) and the Londoner oyster shooter (cucumber, lemon, and dill gin with an oyster).  Overall, the food was fresh, the atmosphere was very relaxed and inviting, and we definitely recommend stopping in, especially for the buck-a-shuck raw oysters.

With bellies full of bi-valves, clad in Vibrams and accompanied by my sister, we walked to Makiman Sushi in Washington Square (1326 Spruce St Philadelphia, PA 19107) in search of raw fish.  When we arrived, the restaurant was extremely busy with a long wait so we changed our direction up a bit.  While walking toward Walnut Street we tossed a few ideas around before finally deciding to make Caribou Cafe our second stop.  The Caribou Cafe is a delightful little French restaurant located at 1126 Walnut Street with white tablecloths, outdoor seating, and elegant selections from Provence, Gasconny, Loire, Burgundy, Brittany, Paris and Lyon.  We started with a petite salad before moving on to our Salmon aux poireaux entree which consisted of pan seared Scottish salmon with leaks and mushrooms, mashed potatoes and red wine sauce (we paleo-ized it by substituting steamed spinach for mashed potatoes).  My sister (who does not follow a paleo lifestyle but is awesome in her own way) opted for the 12oz faux filet au poivre topped with Cognac sauce and served with fries and roasted tomato Provencal.   The meal was excellent and paired well with a glass of Trimbach Pinot Blanc, an ideal medium-bodied wine with good fruit acidity from the Alsace region of France.

Speaking of France, after our delightful meal at Caribou Cafe we walked a few blocks on Walnut Street and took a right on 18th Street to end our night at Parc. This is quite common on a Friday night as Parc happens to have some of the freshest oysters and other raw selections on their Fruits de Mer menu and no matter how full you feel, there is always room for more raw oysters!

Buffalo Steak prepared simply with Broccoli, half an Avocado and Sliced Tomatoes. Topped with Udo’s DHA Oil, plate cleaned with Almond Meal.
Ingredients

1. Flax Seed Oil
2. Olive Oil or Canola Oil
3. Buffalo (Bison) Steaks
4. Broccoli
5. Slicing Tomatos
6. Avocado
7. 1 tbsp Udo’s DHA Oil
8. Almond Meal

Directions

1. In a frying pan over medium heat place 1/2 tbsp of Flax Oil and 1/2 tbsp of Olive or Canola Oil
2. Season the Buffalo steaks with a bit of pepper
3. Place the Buffalo steaks in the frying pan, depending on the thickness they shouldn’t take long to cook. Remember Buffalo cooks faster than beef
4. Using a steaming basket (pictured bottom right) and a pot steam up some Broccoli, or whatever green veggie (Spinach, Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus) you have handy
5. Slice some tomatoes
6. Cut an Avocado in half and remove the pit by grasping the Avocado in your left hand and hitting the pit with the blade of the knife, then when the blade is sunk in the pit twist the knife slightly and the pit will come out. Then hit the handle of the knife on the edge of a trash can to get the pit to pop off and land in the trash
7. Plate everything up, cover it all with 1 tbsp of Udo’s DHA Oil, this oil is great, its super healthy and tastes great

Notes

Steaming the veggies is always better than boiling, you can of course use steaming bags if you prefer as opposed to the steaming basket.

Udo’s DHA Oil is really healthy and tastes great, we suggest you integrate it into as many things as possible, but of course be aware it is still oil and has some caloric heft to it.

You can buy Udo’s Oil at Whole Foods or other Natural Foods stores, or purchase it via Amazon by clicking below…

DHA Oil Blend (3-6-9) 17 Ounces

Images of this deliciously paleo meal were taken with a HTC ThunderBolt 4G phone.

 

Tags: bison, broccoli, buffalo, flax oil, lunch, udos oil

The Persimmon is perhaps one of the most flavorful fruits I know. Its a great Paleo Snack and perfect after dinner Paleo Dessert.

The Persimmon, or Sharon Fruit, has a few varieties, the two of which I have seen at the store are Hachiya and Fuju.

The Hachiya is whats called an astringent variety, meaning it has a higher content of tannins prior to ripening and typically cannot be eaten until ripe, or put through a drying process.

Fuju on the other hand are known as non astringent, which means there is a lower tannin level prior to ripening, but I still suggest you wait till they are ripe.

Some people peal the skins, but I find this unnecessary, there really isn’t much to compare the taste and texture of persimmon to. I suppose texture wise its somewhat like a mango, but mouth feel wise it is unique. And whatever is going on with the sugar make up is so unique you just have to try it.

Get the fruit, let it ripen till its soft, then cut it up and put a bit of cinnamon on it. Or you can let it go crazy ripe and eat it with a spoon. They are also available dried in Asian super markets.  It seems to be primarily available in the fall / winter in the Eastern U.S.

Sometimes there is black up near the leaves on the fruit, this is not mold and may be eaten. Mold would be fuzzy or have eaten into the fruit and the black I am referring to is clearly part of the fruit skin.

I have never tried freezing a Persimmon, simply because I can’t wait to eat them, but I bet frozen they would be great as well.

Read more on Wikipedia

Tags: delicious, fruit, imported, paleo dessert, paleo snacks, persimmon