With the holidays in our rearview mirror, we’re now entering that special time of year when we go into our own forms of hibernation. It’s cold outside and if it’s snowing, you may find yourself in sweatpants binge watching the latest docudrama or Netflix series on your lengthy watchlist.

  Unlike bears and chipmunks, though, people need to eat during our mini-hibernation periods. If you like to cook, throwing a bunch of your favorite ingredients into a slow cooker and returning hours later is an easy way load up. An alternative is resorting to your neighborhood sandwich, pizza or chinese food joint that delivers right to your door, so you only have to take a short glance at the outside world before slamming the door and devouring your latest GrubHub order.

  These don’t have to be the only way to get through these winter doldrums, however. Even as the snow is falling, there are plenty of brand new restaurants in our neighborhoods that are ready to satisfy your mid-winter munchies. Here are a few of our favorite new spots to get you out of those joggers and into the real world before spring.

Gaul and Co. Malthouse

3133 Gaul St. — Port Richmond

  Gaul and Co. Malthouse has balanced the feeling of a neighborhood pub with fresh takes on classic Philly sandwiches. The combination is sure to warm you up the next time you’re in Port Richmond. When you walk in, the bar’s old-school charm will captivate you, but it’s what you’ll smell that will make your mouth water.

  I brought a friend with me to sample what Gaul and Co. had to offer. We sat at one of the cozy two seat tables and ordered two sandwiches and an appetizer.

  The appetizer arrived first. I ordered buffalo cauliflower bites. I’ve been learning more and more about the versatility of cauliflower in vegetarian cooking and Gaul and Co. nailed it. The cauliflower bites were soaked in hot sauce and served with bleu cheese and celery. I was surprised how similar the texture was to dark meat chicken. With all that hot sauce slathered on each bite it was easy to forget I was eating cauliflower.

  The two sandwiches followed shortly after.

  First was the “Arnold Ziffel Cast Party,” which is Gaul and Co.’s take on Philly’s most underrated sandwich, the roast pork. One thing that can easily ruin a roast pork is overcooked broccoli rabe. It’s bitter and overpowers the savory pork. The broccoli rabe on Gaul and Co.’s sandwich was perfectly cooked. Marinated roasted red peppers top off the gravy soaked pork, so it might get messy. Even so, this sandwich is worth the mess.

  Then came the “Wit or Witkowski” —  a marriage of two Philly classics, the cheesesteak and the kielbasa sandwich. According to Manager Billy Flavin, the owners were looking to produce a different kind of sandwich that would still appeal to the neighborhood.

  “They thought since we were in a Polish neighborhood, let’s try to incorporate classic Polish ingredients and do a little twist on it,” Flavin said.

  There’s usually a kielbasa sandwich on every mom and pop restaurant or bar menu in Port Richmond, which makes sense given the neighborhood’s demographic. Gaul and Co.’s take is a little different than most. Instead of serving a whole link of sausage, these guys chip up locally-sourced kielbasa like a cheesesteak. It’s a totally different mouth feel. The sandwich is topped off with caramelized onions and American cheese sauce. You get the smokey goodness of the kielbasa with a cheesy, gooey chipped meat texture just like a cheesesteak.

Tart Araperia 18.64

1204 N. Front St. — Kensington

www.tartareperia.com

     There’s a new restaurant open right next to the entrance to the Girard El Station in the space formerly occupied by First Street Steaks. The new business, TartAreperia, serves a fresh take on a classic Venezuelan dish. Traditional Arepas are a meat-stuffed white cornmeal cakes. To set themselves apart, TartAreperia serves their meat fillings in a round cornmeal tart. The tart is firm and houses whichever filling you choose.

  Co-owner Nestor Ayala says no one else is serving arepas like this.

  “If you want to eat a tart arepa, this is the only place you will find it,” Ayala said. “I think that in a growing area like this, we could definitely use more businesses that present different types of choices for the locals. It brings value to this area too.”

  The menu also has a few entrees, as well as some interesting Venezuelan breakfast items that, according to Ayala, can also be considered appetizers. If you are a fan of mozzarella sticks — we most certainly are — then you will definitely want to try the Tequenos. These are breaded and fried pieces of queso blanco, which is a standard cheese in many Latin American dishes. It resembles a classic mozz’ stick, but the flavor of the queso blanco is much different. It’s a soft cheese with a hint of sweetness that makes for a perfect breakfast snack with a cup of coffee.

  I started with the Asado Negro tart. The beef roast is slow cooked in a mixture of brown sugarcane and Venezuelan spices that cooks down to a rich, black sauce. The beef flakes apart just like brisket does after hours of careful slow and low attention. The brown sugar caramelizes as the beef cooks, creating a perfect harmony of sweet and savory that compliments the melt-in-your-mouth shreds of beef.

  The Camarones al Ajillo, or garlic shrimp, is a stir-fry of shrimp cooked in Spanish olive oil with garlic and parsley. Once the shrimp are in the tart, they’re drizzled with a light, creamy green sauce and garnished with tiny bits of parsley. This dish is simple with its ingredients, but I found the combination of garlic shrimp with the sweetness of the cornbread tart to be perfect.

Usaquen

1451 E. Columbia Ave.  — Fishtown

(Inside Philly Style Bagels)

Follow on Instagram @usaquen.philly

  A few years ago, Philly Style Bagels (PSG) was an Instagram phenomenon that had Fishtowners lining up outside Pizzeria Beddia on Sunday mornings for a taste. In the truest fashion of remembering where you came from and giving back, PSG has been hosting a monthly pop-up inside their own brick and mortar store at 1451 E. Columbia Ave. called Usaquen.

  Usaquen is a Colombian food pop-up co-owned by Mel Tenorio and Samantha Schlegel. It offers both meat dishes and veggie options.

  “We normally try to make at least one vegetarian option that’s like a full dish,” Schlegel said.

  Tenorio added that he hopes his meatless items appeal to the walking demographic, but it is a compromise he’s willing to make. “I would love to make more meat, but I don’t think that would be fair for everyone,” Tenorio said. “In Colombia, there’s no such thing as being a vegan. You rarely meet a vegetarian. Over there they think vegetarian is someone that still eats chicken.”

  We caught up with Usaquen at two of their recent pop-up events.

  At the first event, Usaquen serving up their version of a Colombian Hot Dog — a chorizo sausage dressed up with salsa rosada which is a mixture of ketchup, mayo and spices. Then it’s hit with a reduced pineapple sauce, crushed potato chips and homemade cole slaw. I also ordered some beef empanadas and coconut rice to go with my dog. Once I had my grub, I walked over to a bench in Palmer park and got to business.

  The chorizo was exactly how I like it. It wasn’t overcooked and the outer casing snapped as I bit into the spicy sausage. The cool toppings add a freshness and contrasts the saltiness of the meat.

  I then proceeded to tear into the beef empanadas. A mixture of seasoned beef and red peppers is stuffed into empanada dough before being baked in Philly Style Bagels’ oven. The pastry comes out light and flaky. It’s similar to a jamaican beef patty in texture, but has a unique Latin American flavor.

  I doused everything in aji, which Tenorio said is a staple Colombian condiment. The mixture of chopped green onions, cilantro, vinegar, lemon and tomato looks like salsa, but the flavor and texture is different. Tenorio says chopping the ingredients rather than pureeing them is key to the authentic aji flavor. I managed to fit bites of the sweet coconut rice into my mouth in between the chorizo and empanadas.

  The next time I popped in, I tried the Colombian Cheesesteak. Thinly sliced beef tenderloin was grilled up and served on a roll from Ba Le Bakery in South Philly. Ba Le is known for some delicious banh-mi, but Usaquen uses the roll for their sandwich. Usaquen’s take on this Philly classic is served with sweet onion, red peppers, mushrooms and a colombian tomato sauce. It was topped with crumbled queso blanco. The aji came on the side, but soon found its way onto my sandwich. This was the first Colombian cheesesteak I had ever had, and I enjoyed it a lot. The beef was tender and the tomato sauce made the taste unique.

  Usaquen has been gaining a following of people in search of authentic Colombian flavor, so be sure to follow them on Instagram to find out when their next event is. There’s always something new on the menu.

Cake Life

1306 Frankford Ave. — Fishtown

www.cakelifebakeshop.com

  Frankly, I have no business eating any more sweets after the amount of treats that I shoveled into my mouth over the holiday season. I made one exception and indulged yet again with a few of Cake Life’s sweet and savory goodies. The newest cake shop in the ‘hood recently opened up next to Bottle Bar East along Frankford Ave.

  I love anything with chocolate and espresso, so the Double Chocolate Chip Espresso cookie seemed like a wise decision. It was. The outer layer of cake featured a little crispiness that protected the interior layers of pretty soft to super soft “oh my god yes” chocolate.

  If you’re looking for something savory, Cake Life has a variety of quiches, sandwiches and hand pies as well. I sampled the bacon cheddar scone. Scones are super flakey on the inside, with an outer crust that holds it together. Cake Life’s version of this breakfast pastry was perfect. The flakey inside gives way to little pieces of bacon suspended in the buttery cheddar dough. It’s definitely a winner if you need a little bacon in the morning.

  I was told by the woman serving me that I had to try the Nanaimu bar. I never question any professional advice about sweets, so I took her at her word. This treat was decadently amazing. It features a chocolate chip cookie crust with shreds of coconut mixed into it, topped with a thick almond and vanilla custard and a square of chocolate.

  Eating this treat was a delicious process. As I bit into it, soft custard is pressed between the harder layers. The top piece of chocolate forced the custard to bulge out of the side of the bar. What followed was a bite, chew and lick process as I cleaned up the excess custard with my tongue. I repeated the process until I found myself licking my fingers clean. •