The first review!

Last night I did my first review of a hoagie. I'm having so much fun working on this website - I get to eat hoagies for homework!

Govinda's Gourmet to Go

South and Broad

Philadelphia, PA

Average hoagie cost: $7

Govinda's restaurant offers two types of dining experiences: the Gourmet to Go deli has sandwiches and soups for eat-in and take-out, and the Gallery and Cafe has sit-down fine dining. I've been enjoying Govinda's food for years, and I particularly love the Chicken Cheesesteak Hoagie. This sandwich is made of textured soy and fried green and red peppers, with a choice of regular or vegan cheese, served on a sesame or whole wheat roll.

This hoagie is served on a 10 inch roll and filled moderately with mock chicken, peppers, and cheese. The mock chicken is lightly peppery with a very chicken-like texture. I got my hoagie with the vegan cheese, which I found to be quite creamy and flavorful. The whole wheat roll is soft and tasty. I saved half of my hoagie for lunch the next day, and it was just as delicious as it was when it was fresh.

Govinda's hoagies are yummy enough to satisfy both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, though they may be a bit too small to satisfy a huge appetite. This restaurant is a must for any vegetarian living in or visiting Philadelphia.

website logo and color scheme

I've been thinking about what I want the logo for my final website to look like - we'll be working on our logos in class on Wednesday, so I thought it would be good to come up with some ideas for my logo ahead of time.

I think the simplest thing would be to make a logo that is just text - I don't want to have to worry about finding copyright-free images, and my drawing skills leave something to be desired. I'm thinking of making a logo that has "Veggie Hoagies" in large letters, then right underneath of that, it would say "Philadelphia" in smaller letters. I want the logo to be simple and sophisticated, so I'll probably use small caps or all lower case.

As for the color scheme of the site/logo, I definitely want green to be involved - perhaps a muted green, accented with yellow and orange. Nothing too bright or too dark. I plan on using the color wizard to find the colors I want to use, as well as Dream Weaver's color tools.

2 recipes

Two of my recipes to be included in the website:

Tempeh Hoagie

1 package tempeh

Vegetable oil for pan-frying

Crusty sesame roll

Romaine lettuce leaves or Broccoli rabe

1 Tomato, sliced

1 Dill pickle, sliced (I prefer barrel pickles)

Hoagie spread or jarred hot peppers, chopped

Mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise

Salt

Vinegar (Balsamic or Red wine)

Cut the tempeh into slabs about 3 inches long, 1 inch wide, and about ½ inch thick. Then slice each slab into thirds, so that you get three thin rectangular pieces per slab. Basically, the tempeh should be in thin slices, no more than ¼ inch thick.

Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan, enough to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. Place over medium heat and allow oil to get hot. Add the tempeh slices to to pan and fry until crisp and brown, about 3-5 minutes. Place on paper towels to drain and set aside.

Next slice the roll length-wise. Spread hoagie spread on one side of the roll and mayonnaise on the other side. Place a layer of fried tempeh on the roll, followed by the pickle, tomato, and lettuce. Sprinkle on salt and vinegar to taste. Eat and enjoy!

Review: The tang of the vinegar and pickles mix deliciously with the spiciness of the hoagie spread in this hoagie. The thin, crispy tempeh is reminiscent of bacon in texture, and this sandwich can almost be thought of as a sophisticated vegetarian version of a BLT.

Cold Veggie Hoagie

Hoagie or sub roll (Amorosos rolls for anyone in the Philadelphia area!)

2-4 American cheese slices or vegan American cheese slices

Mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise

Lettuce, shredded

Tomato, sliced

Raw broccoli, chopped

Raw green peppers, sliced

Jarred sweet peppers

Black olives (optional)

Mushrooms (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Oregano

Slice the roll length-wise and spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on both sides of the roll. Lay the cheese slices on the mayonnaise, then add the lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers, sweet peppers, olives, and mushrooms. Add salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. This hoagie could be eaten immediately, or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for a few hours. Allowing the hoagie to sit for a few hours will blend the flavors and make the hoagie more delicious.

a few links for the hoagie website

A few links to veggie hoagie recipes I'm considering using on the website:

http://www.landolakes.com/mealIdeas/ViewRecipe.cfm?RecipeID=8091A

A vegetarian hoagie made with guacamole, cucumber and pepper slices, and American Cheese.

http://vegweb.com/

One of the best vegetarian recipe sites on the internet - there is no recipe category specifically for hoagies, but type "hoagies" into the search box and several dozen recipes come up.

http://www.veganchef.com/lentilball.htm

A tasty-looking recipe for an Italian Lentil Ball Submarine Sandwich - I plan on trying out this recipe sometime in the next few weeks.

http://www.recipezaar.com/118174
This recipe is for an artichoke "sandwich," but it looks like a hoagie to me! I love artichoke hearts, so I'll definitely be trying this recipe.

Hoagie judging

Thanks to some input from Eric Stein, I've got some preliminary criteria upon which to judge hoagies for my website.

-taste/freshness of roll

-taste of filling

-amount of filling

-size of hoagie

I'll also list the contents of the hoagie (to the best of my knowledge), the cost, and the name and address of the restaurant/deli, and I'll include a photo of the hoagie.

info652 Final Website Project

For the next month and a half or so, I'll be working on a website for my Internet Information Resource Design class at Drexel University's iSchool. I'm taking this class, info652, as part of my Master's of Library and Information Science, and I'm really looking forward to making a website. I anticipate that the skills I learn in this class will be quite valuable when I begin my career, no matter what kind of job I end up getting.

The topic for my final website will be hoagies in Philadelphia. I'll include reviews of hoagies from Philadelphia restaurants and delis, as well as recipes and photos. Originally, I planned to include only vegetarian hoagies, since I'm a vegetarian, but because many of my friends are interested in helping out with my "research," I'll probably include a few reviews of meat hoagies as well.

Places I plan to review include
-Govinda's
-Gianna's
-Sarcones's
-Fu Wah (West Philly)
-Cafe Nhuy (South Philly)
-and more!

Feel free to make suggestions for other places to review.

I'll post the URL for the website as soon as it's up - check back in the next few weeks!