The Dish: Pimento Cheez from WineDive Rittenhouse in Center City
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Time now for The Dish, and if you're hosting an Oscars watch party, we're making something warm, cheesy, and a little fancy for your guests.
I head out to WineDive Rittenhouse, where the name might not sound as elegant as the spot secretly is.
It just opened its doors a few months ago, and one of the absolute stars of the menu is Philly's answer to Pimento Cheese.
"But we spell it Cheez because we serve it with extra big Cheez-Its," says Chef Scott Jesberger.
It's the cheese you can get with your wine at WineDive, which is not really a dive.
"It's dive-y in the sense that we have an expansive list of 22 wines by the glass, but we also have $5 box wine all the time," says General Manager Ryan Rayer.
They even decant that box wine for you!
Sansom Street in Center City is the latest address for the spot that started on South Street in South Philadelphia.
"This is our second location of this," says owner Chris Fetfatzes. "The other one had a fire, unfortunately."
Here, old Hollywood meets Atlantic City, meets peak 70s and 80s pop culture.
"It's a dive bar where you can come as yourself, be who you are, not have any pretentiousness, but at the same time, we don't want sticky floors. We don't want sticky bar tops," says Fetfatzes. "We want that air of comfort, but we also want a little air of class."
Beyond the wine, you'll find beer and upscale cocktails, and a food menu that's fun and nostalgic.
"We thought we'd lean into the dive-y, kitschy end of things," says Jesberger.
From loaded baked potatoes bursting with cool ranch sour cream, to a scratch-made, warm ham and cheese "uncrustable."
"We also know that every good dive bar has to have a good roast beef sandwich," says Jesberger.
They riff on that beef late night with the industry bowl, served on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes.
"It's in a deli pint, and you get a spork," says Rayer. "It's a great way to end your night."
There's also soft serve ice cream, scratch-made cookies, and a stack of homemade, next-level chicken cutlets sitting under a warmer behind the bar.
"Getting a nice roast beef sandwich or a chicken cutlet and a glass of Montepulciano just feels right," says Rayer.
As for that Pimento Cheez, the recipe has a Philly riff.
"It's a southern delicacy," says Jesberger. "They call it the caviar of the South."
Here, it's baked in au gratin tins, and it gets a fancy brulee at the end.
"Get your pinky out while you're eating it," jokes Jesberger.
In this recipe, they start with cream cheese.
"It works best if it's a little bit warm, or at least room temp, so that everything else can get folded in pretty easily," says Jesberger. "Then, we just take shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and we just dump that right in. We also have our pimento peppers, and we dice them up really small and fine. There are no real rules to it. We don't think that anything has to be too perfect here. This is a dive bar. We want everything to feel like it was made in your mom or grandma's kitchen."
Pop in a little spice blend like paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and incorporate it all together.
Spread it out in the au gratin tin and bake for about five minutes.
They do a brulee at the end to add some sweet notes to the savory cheese.
At home, you can simply add some sugar to the top and pop it in the broiler.
Finish with some chopped chives and those Cheez-Its and dive right in!
WineDive Rittenhouse's Pimento Cheez recipe:
Serves 6-8 people (Appetizer)
Ingredients:
- 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup diced pimentos (from a jar), drained
- 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/4 tsp Hungarian paprika
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch onion powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 or 2 boxes of Extra Big Cheez-Its for dipping
Directions:
1. Preheat your toaster oven or home oven to 400F
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the Cheez-Its
3. Using a large spoon, mix until fully incorporated and the spices are evenly distributed
4. Spread the mixture evenly across a shallow casserole dish
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown
Serve warm with Extra Big Cheez-Its for dipping and enjoy!
