Holly Moore

I'm only familiar with the shake mix used way back when. At that time I do not believe McD's used evaporated milk. As an aside, in new products we looked at vegetable oil based shakes, they were horrible and never even made it into test market.

From LaBan's rating of La Colombe. I wonder how many "long-time habitués" LaBan talked with. At least two, I guess, since the reference is plural. I doubt that is the majority opinion or even that of a significant minority. Certainly not mine, and I'm a regular - most every morning. The decor is fine - perfect for what La Colombe is. I have experienced no inconsistency in their coffee and espresso. Always well crafted. I also have issues with the phrase "seen and be seen" - often code for superficial. It is an inaccurate generalization. La Colombe's customer base runs the gamut from bicycle messengers, to students, to apartment dwellers, to local shop keepers, to a rumpled, grumpy eGullet contributor. The "tony" crowd LaBan refers to are, if any, a very small minority. LaBan's comment on La Colombe struck me as reminiscent of the generic Yelp or Zagat observation - more hearsay/perception than experience/fact. The tone of the article, itself, paints La Colombe as past its glory, as one may compare Heineken to today's craft beers. Totally inaccurate.

I was thinking the conch were spread out there by the production staff.

Agreed. Except it is important that visitors know to be sure to order their fries and drinks at the same time they order their cheesesteak.

I order "whiz wit," but was born in north Jersey and have only lived in Philadelphia for 34 years. My sense is that it started with Pat's, crossed the street to Geno's and then spread to most cheesesteakeries - except, of course, the few that don't offer whiz.

At one of the communal tables at the Hotel Winnemucca, in Winnemucca NV, I shared a table with an oil company prospector and two railroad workers. I think the less dressy and trendy the place, the more I'd seek out a communal table.

It appears Laban set out to rip LaColombe. I've tried a number of the places he favors. None come off anywhere near as professional as LaColombe.

I happened upon this diagram of Ai Fiori's signature hamburger. At least the hamburger patty came from the metro NY area. I am particularly impressed with the choice of Land O' Lakes white American cheese. I am curious as to why they settled on Ontario Canada's Queen Victoria Farms bibb lettuce.

What if one is not "ordinary?" That said, I'm all for the concept. In Philadelphia it is hard to escape a gastropub's app, dinner and entree for less than $40. $40 for state of the art cuisine should have lines out the door. I agree that $100 for a class is on the high side, especially since five courses go for $40.

In a response to a different thread on dogs in restaurants, I asked a friend fairly high up in the Philadelphia Health Dept. their policy. Dogs are not allowed but they can take no action unless a heath inspector is present and sees the violation. Extremely small odds. Such may be the case elsewhere, too. Beyond that, as long as the dog was behaving as a service dog, I would avoid challenging a customer who declares a dog is a service dog.

Actually Chris, it's we fry harder. And they fry more, a lot more. McD's is still number one in unit and total sales and that's what business is all about. My sense is, in car racing terms, McDonald's is the Formula One and Subway, the soap box racer. For McD's, bigger investment, bigger return, better track record, more complex operation, corporate multi-unit vs individual unit management, and broader customer base.

Is a Ahi Burger really a burger? No. It is a fish sandwich. Food and Wine couldn't find one worthy burger in Philadelphia? Pub and Kitchen's Churchill Burger perhaps? Custom Pat LaFrieda aged beef blend, brushed with bone marrow butter, topped with caramelized onions.

Sometimes you don't have to ask. A few years ago I dined at Marc Veyrat's former restaurant La Ferme de Mon Père in Megeve France. Three Michelin Stars at the time. I didn't realize it, but my intestine was becoming more and more blocked. Every few months it would act up as happened midway through their tasting menu. My dishes started to return to the kitchen partially finished - more and more left on the plate. It had to be obvious to the server that as the meal progressed I was having digestive problems. Finally, the dessert course. My dining partner was served the dessert listed on the tasting menu. For me, a wonderful bowl of porridge the kitchen whipped up to ease my distress. Though there was surgery in my future, the porridge saved the evening. Extraordinary commitment to a customer. I have a problem when a restaurateur, chef or anyone else says a restaurant should not and need not go above and beyond for its customers. Sometimes a request simply isn't possible. But when an accommodation is possible it is inexcusable for a restaurant not to make the effort. Every day, as a student, when I walked into Statler Hall, the home of Cornell's Hotel and Restaurant School, I was greeted with a plaque presenting hotelier Statler's philosophy of hospitality, "Life is service; the one who progresses is the one who gives his fellow man a little more, a little better service." Statler's words are as relevant today as they were in his time. I think the truly great restaurateurs and chefs instinctively understand that hospitality is every bit as important as the food.

Other than Limbo, weird taco fillings and the oxymorish shall bites, southern cooking idea, there wasn't an original concept in the bunch. Does Curtis make anyone else want to instantly switch channels? My money is on the Indian concept.

That implies a chef is incapable of ad libbig and still thrilling, inspiring. I'd also think that after preparing the same food all day, week or month, a chef and the kitchen would welcome an occasional opportunity to stray a bit.

Ugly brand tomatoes are not consistent - but I have purchased some excellent ones out of regular tomato season.

The ability to accommodate reasonable customer requests is one measure of the chef and his/her kitchen, as well as the hospitality of the restaurant. The nature of the request and the circumstances define reasonable. Is the request one of medical necessity or whim? Is the kitchen in the weeds or running smoothly. How busy is the restaurant? Is the request within the skill set of the kitchen? Will it take too much time? Such inflexibility is also often an indication of the chef's and the restaurant's smugness - "I'm so good (self-important) that I don't need to honor customer requests." It is also a policy that seems to change as the lines, over time, shorten. I'd be curious if one of Michelin's considerations in awarding stars is a restaurant's willingness and ability to handle customer requests. A bit of semi-relevant ancient history... At the start of my career I worked corporately for McDonald's and, later, Burger King. At McDonald's Hamburger University we were taught that counter personnel should call out specials as "grills" so other customers in line would not realize they could customize their 15 cent hamburgers. Later, I was with Burger King when they came out with "Have it your way." Marketing genius. The ad agency identified a weakness in McDonald's batch preparation system that was not present with Burger King's conveyor belt broiler. It was such a powerful campaign that McDonald's had to adapt their system and promote special orders.

I'm a regular at Carman's Country Kitchen. I get the table next to the kitchen and Carman - unless someone gets there before me. Also Carman emails me the weekend menu on Friday and chides me if she prefers I order something more interesting or with less calories.

The snack bar challenge may have been the dumbest quickfire yet - especially at this point in the show. Dan Barber chose Carla because she came the closest to fresh food by using an orange as the primary ingredient.

No matter the wording, the perfunctory interruption, "How is everything?" Being held captive at the conclusion of the meal, waiting to receive the check or the change/credit card slip. Guest check printed on thermal paper. Hard butter.

When offered a choice, I'll usually request domestic. I consider a question about water to be in the same category as "do you want change?" As Steven sort of indicated, a restaurant has a responsibility to do what it takes to have decent water. The same tap water they bring to the table is used for food prep and perhaps, if the installer didn't provide a filter, for ice, coffee/tea and post mix soda.

Agreed, yet a McDonald's of the 60's or 70's served far better end product than the current day McDonald's - fresher and faster.

Chef Jack McDavid, who hales from the hills of Virginia, gave me a short history lesson on southern, stewed-for-hours, green beans. Like a lot of southern dishes it ties into the poverty found in parts of the South. Housewives would add a bit of meat to green beans to add some meat flavor - a way to extend a small piece of meat for a large family. Up to a point, the more the meat stewed with the beans, the meatier the beans became.

It is discouraging that Subway seems to do so well in the land of the hoagie.

Frozen fries are frequently screwed up too - typically too long under the heat lamp or over fried. The limp, soggy fresh cut fries are typically single fried. Sometimes that can be good, sometimes not. Yes, twice fried fries take skill, commitment, proper training and attention to detail. But when they are good, they are great. And considering this thread's topic, test dishes, a properly fried fresh cut fry is a sure test of a restaurant's bona frieds fides.