Greg Salisbury

You'd be surprised. While it may take a while, extremely damaging reviews from extremely reputable sources have a way of seeping through most strata of the popular dining consciousness, ultimately revealing which emperors have no clothes on. I'm thinking most relevantly of Old Original Bookbinders, a Teflon restaurant if ever there was one. No one you or I knew would ever eat there more than once, but yet it stayed open and thrived. Not sure, but I believe you can count the number of months it stayed open after LaBan's review on one hand and have a finger left over. That is really, really too bad about Sammy's. As a former resident of North Carolina and Texas, I have searched in vain for decent cue, to (mostly) no avail. Zeke's on Lancaster does a pretty good job with the ribs, but there is nothing here that compares wth the butt-kickin' zing of an Allen Bros. pulled pork sammich in Durham.

Since 52d St is just a hop, skip and a few blown stop signs from Rx, I'll give you my rundown: Big George's is no longer really Big George's; it is owned and operated by Miss Shirley, who used to own Sassy's Stuffin a few years back on 49th/Catherine. Anyway, the food is much, much better. Defintitely your best soul food option in West Philly. Brown Sugar is a Jamaican bakery/ cafe. Never had anything bad there, and I find it to be far superior to the Golden Krust a few blocks down. On Baltimore, west of 52 is a really good BBQ joint, don't remember the name, calling it no-frills would be an overstatement, but the ribs, while parboiled, are still meaty/smoky.

Yeah, I remember when the owner told me he was moving the operation out to Lansdale. Maybe it was just a knee-jerk reaction of panic (now I would have to go back to NYC for Spanish that was 2x the price and barely as good)m but I thought to myself, " An urban center like Philadelphia can barely support one Spanish restaurant, and you're moving to a town over an hour away?!" Wonder whatever happened to him. Katie, I am a few years too young (as are you!) to have patronized the actual bus LeBus. I just did teh Sansom St. space. And this is going back to the late 80s, but does anyone remember this trio of Italian spots? Il Gallo Nero, SPQR, Gaetano's? One of the best meals of my life was a dinner at Gaetano's back in 88.

I'm sure anyone who lived in University City, for one reason or another, over the last 3 decades must miss Le Bus. The real Le Bus, the one where you could get a big honkin piece of cornbread with their veggie chili, their artichoke pizza, and the adjacent bakery section. Perfect for those of us on tight budgets. And how about Aglio in South Philly? Man, that was some good Italian! And Olivier's first place, the one in the Bourse, I forget the name, but the best salade aux lardons in Philly. La Coupole, maybe? Anyone remmeber Tapas, on 3rd/Girard? Amazing gambas al ajillo, great sangria, awesome flan. And this is a stretch, since it's more about coffee than food, but European Union, on 22d St. Mike Rothenberg (probably known to a few in the biz) was, um, a character, to be sure, but he was a remorseless perfectionist when it came to his coffee drinks. Hate to say it, but the best cap I have had in the States - better than La Colombe or anyplace in NYC.

Mmmm... choice between eating the dregs of the previous week or having someone else cook and putting faces to the postings? That's a tough one. Count me in, fer sher. And Tim, just in case Mike Hackett hasn't extended the invite, come on out to the Wild West sometime and introduce yourself!

Wow, you guys pretty much covered the whole place! I tried the new Indo-Pak place this week, called nanni's, I think. $5 gets you either a meat or veggie combo platter, not bad (try the kofti). I get ground turkey for the restaurant at Halteman's (Amish) and sticky buns from Beiler's (Arch St. side). The shoeshine guys (by the restrooms) are very, very good and quite colorful as well. And only $2! ANytime I need a pick-me-up, I get something with extra ginger from 4 Seasons Juice Bar. I'll third the praise for Iovine's. If you're looking for a real throwback meal, try something at the oyster bar, especially snapper soup and/or fried oysters/chicken salad. Andro's looks great, but I haven't tried it yet.

Hey, Jen, welcome to eGullet. Your relentless pursuit of the next great meal (and your excellent reporting of said meal) make for great reading; I don't get out that much, so it's nice to eat vicariously through your posts.

I loved Chloe the one time I was there. Granted, I really, really don't get out much, but this was the best American BYOB (recusal here) for my money in the city. And the chef/owners (I think her name is Marianne) are super nice.

Hey, Michael, Thanks for opening the floor up to questions. I was very, very happy to be included in the last edition, but one question: Rx was given an E, when we are a straight M based on menu prices. Is there any way to change that for the upcoming edition? Thanks,

From the shameless plug department: Rx does catering, and we have done quite a few events at Science Center venues. In addition to featuring local purveyors, we're pretty flexible in re: what type of cuisine a client is looking for and how much they want to spend to get it. If your bud is interested, my cell is 215.275.9229. That said, if you decide to go with someone else, you can't go wrong with Feast Your Eyes.

I'll second the Woo reco in Upper darby. definitely teh best in the area, although the little spot in the old White Tower spot on Garrett is also good. If you get to NJ, Korea Garden on Rte. 70 (same plaza as Dansiezen & Quigley) is amazing. And Han Ah Deum supermarket at Old York/Cheltenham is phenomenal (we get our yuzu tea there).

Arey, unless I miss my guess, it sounds like you live in my old stomping grounds of Brigantine. Yeesh, it was tough to find a decent meal there. Hooper's, occasionally Andre's tomato-rosemary pie and delivery from teh Chinese place that is now the sushi place. Otherwise it was AC or cooking for myself. Sorry to hear it hasn't gotten any better with the addition of the Borgata.

Ohhh, baby. Strolli's was such a great place. Cheap, cheap wine flowing without even a cursory look at IDs, really good ravioli, braciole, the "dangerous" location (hey, to a kid from Westchester, 15th and Dickinson was just a step or two below 225th and Gun Hill Rd.). It was like being invited to partake of this amazing secret culinary life of Philadelphians. It does make me wonder how I would feel about the food now, fifteen years down the road.

Drove by the place yesterday, Pico de Gallo. Looks ready to go except for they haven't taken down the paper over the front door. Anyone know anything about it? If only we could finally get a real taqueria that serves lengua on a regular basis. Sigh. Also, I passed a gelateria/panini place @16th/Passyunk after the Eagles game last week, and was wondering if anyone had tried it yet.

OK, I'll admit my ignorance: what is Bobolink Farm? It sounds familiar, but not to the point that I would know where to try the goods. Where can I try the cheese? Is it local?

Hey, Katie, don't know how far your chef got w/North Star, but I just received an email telling me that between Isabel and this week's storm, their produce was severely depleted. Hence, they are not wholesaling for a while so that they can take care of their retail customers. You gotta appreciate that.

Just polishing off a bowl of pho now - it's really good, as was the vermicelli/shrimp dish. Not too crazy about the shrimp roll and a pate/vermicelli dish, but I think that's because tehy were using some herb that I did not recognize and was not crazy about. There was basil, cilantro, and something that looked like a cross between basil and arugula. Kind of astringent. Anyway, they did a very credible job considering it was day one. Can't comment on the decor or the service, though - someone went for takeout.

So tehy're completely closed on Monday? Of course. And open only until 8:30? Not too user-friendly for dinner. Can't wait to read your first impressions, Sara. And Katie, do you know my family? I think I've been listening to the "kosher at home/shellfish out" routine my whole life!

Nope, all it said was "grand opening Fri Sep 18." I'll try to get a hold of Mr. Lee today on my way to work.

The new Vietnamese place @43d/Spruce will be opening this Friday, the 18th.

Hey, Todd, thanks for responding to Weinoo (BTW, not allowed on Chowhound, as I discovered the hard way). As a customer both retail and wholesale, I have found that nothing matches your product, either at 19th St. or in Rx. Now that I know how much your baristas make, your prices are a lot more understandable. And Weinoo, you've piqued my interest. When do we get to sample your wares?

You have to try their peaches, if they have any left in the season. Considering how much rain there has been this year, they are remarkable. I have been eating North Star pears since tehy came to the 17th/South market back in '97, and nothing compares! We're trying to talk her into setting some aside for the restaurant so we can introduce more people to her goodies.

Sara, I know exactly what you mean! I just thought it was because I asked to be seated in the non-smoking section, but now I'm going to pay more attention. I like Pho Ha a lot - vegetarian pho options for my girlfriend, and they do shrimp-pork summer rolls as well. It always seemed clean enough... And the smell at Pho 75 I always attributed to the fact it shares a hallway with another restaurant and a supermarket. Katie, how is Xe Lua for vegetarians?

OK, I'll have to try Pho Xe Lua - that's the one with the neon train, right? - but I strongly recommend the newish Vietnamese place in the 12th St. mall off of Washington. It is the southernmost restaurant in the complex. Definitely a little more expensive than Chinatown Vietnamese, but I have yet to try something that was not fresh and well executed. I'm partial to this mall - Pho 75 is my favorite pho place, and Hung Vong supermarket gives you a 10% discount when you buy by the case.

Ahhhhh...Troys. Y'know what I never understood about that place - sure, the eggels were as wonderfully terrible as you would expect from a campus dive at 4am (and we all know that grease and carbs help keep teh hangover away the next day) - why would they put slices of American cheese on their cheese fries? Using Whiz would have to be roughly the same price and a helluva lot tastier. Herb, thanks for all the pointers - helpful and appreciated.