Holly Moore

Roast pork is just that. Roast pork with juices sliced thin, dipped and layered on a sandwich. The green is often spinach though I think Tony Lukes might use broccoli rabe. The prefered cheese is aged provolone. Roasted hot or sweet peppers are fine. My favorite version comes from DeNic's in Reading Terminal Market

Leaving Wed AM and working my way back to Philadelphia. Was going to spend last weekend in Memphis but realized there was enough good eating to keep me in Nashville and that Memphis needed more than a couple of days. Have ventured out to Shelbyville and Lyles but other than that sticking to Nashville.

Just to bring things up to date. 6 way chili has chopped garlic added to the mix. Didn't seem to compliment the chili. If I wanted to come up with a 6 way version, I'd probably top it off with a couple of fried eggs. Best Country Ham - the two year aged country ham at the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg KY. They buy it aged one year from local growers and then hang it for a second year. The chef says cutting into one is like opening a bottle of vintage wine. You're never quite sure what you're going to find. The hams have been running good this summer. Mine was a deep leathery red. Salt was still the predominant flavor, but a lot more was going on that mellowed the hit of salt. Very deep, complex flavors. Very tender. It is so much better than any other country ham I've experienced that I stand by my claim that it is the best there is. Ran into Pogophiles and Mrs. Pogophiles at the Loveless Cafe, Saturday morning. Pleasant surprise. Guy knows his southern food including hams. He provided me with a list of places to hit while in Nashville and everyone so far has been a winner. I'll be giving more detail shortly, but want to get the info posted on the site first so I can upload some pics.

There is one in MD off I-95 enroute to Philadelphia. That's the furthest north Waffle House I know of. Philadelphia could handle 20 of them, at least. which exit off 95? Exits 109, 100 and 80. To find the Waffle House nearest you : Waffle House Listing By State

There is one in MD off I-95 enroute to Philadelphia. That's the furthest north Waffle House I know of. Philadelphia could handle 20 of them, at least.

I'm not sure that I understand the question, but that rarely stops me from answering. In the chain restaurant / quick serve catagory I'd say Waffle House - incredibly buttoned down product wise, service wise, hospitality wise.

That post should be required reading for the eGullet Culinary Institute course on BBQ, though I see the fine chop Lexington #1 BBQ with slaw as a blending of ingredients and a great sandwich. The same pork, alone, pulled or rough chop would also be great. Variations on a theme. I also don't think it's so rare to bat 5 for 5 for bbq in the Carolinas. It's a matter of Carolina pride. Townsfolk will tar, feather and ride out of town on a rail anyone who doesn't do his best to put out great bbq. Maybe I've been lucky, but I believe it is harder to find bad bbq than very good bbq in North Carolina. There is one issue I'd appreciate opinions on. Common bbq wisdom vehemently pronounces that if it's not wood smoked, it's not barbecue. In the Carolinas there is no greater putdown for a barbecue place than "he's barbecuing with gas." What are people's experience.

Heading South for a convention in Nashville. Eatting some on the way. Dinner tonight - 5 Way Chili at Camp Washington in Cincinnati. My second Beard Award winning establishment this year - the first being Trio. 2 Way - Chili and Spaghetti 3 Way - Chili, cheese and spaghetti 4 Way - Chili, cheese, beans or onion and spaghetti 5 Way - Chili, beans, onion, spaghetti and cheese Had a chili dog with cheese too. For research sake headed to Dixie Chili in Covington. They have 6 way chili. Will let folks guess what makes it 6 way. I'll post the ingredient tomorrow unless someone beats me to it. Liked Camp Washington's chili a lot more. Much deeper flavor. This is greek chili, meaning sweet rather than hot. But thats ok. It's Cincinatti. Cincinnati is probably the only place where the Yellow Pages have a section for "Chili Parlors." Stopped in Washington PA at Shorty's Lunch for a couple of chili dogs and a side of gravy fries. Tomorrow, barbecued bologna sandwich and the best country ham in the world. Gonna be a good trip.

Varmint - I seem to remember that one of you merry band has, in the past, likened Carolina BBQ to either dog or cat food. Has his appreciation of chopped pork matured?

Greetings Gideon Welcome to eGullet. No problem mentioning your website here. A lot of us just add it to our signature tag line. So are you an actor-waiter or a waiter-actor A bit more seriously, what's your prior experience in restaurant work?

I kinda like it in the Amex ad when Rocco says, "especially at a time when 9 out of 10 new restaurants fail the first year." Wonder what the odds are against a restaurant whose first two days went like Rocco's?

It's probably good that they lifted the food ban. You think Eagles fans were abrasive last year, imagine them unfed as well. Think lions at the Colleseum

Consider the Schooner Inn in Kennebunkport. It's on the Kennebunk River, across the street from the Green Heron, a great breakfast spot. Also across the street is one of the Bush family's favorite haunt's Mabel's Lobster Pot.

Counted three product placements in the first half hour. How many did I miss? What's with a restaurant critic reviewing a restaurant the second day it was open? Out here in the provences places get two weeks to two months. Is it common in NY to be reviewed right off the bat or is that only when you're part of a reality TV show? Also, what chef smoozes in the dining room when there's a critic in the restaurant?

Nah, they'd say, "Dude that donut cost two dollars and Dunkin' Donuts is twice as good."

Greetings Sara Thanks for the heads up. Do you know what kind of oven they are using there? Don't see how it could be Tacconelli's though if they aren't ironing laundry in a corner of the dining room but I'm definitely going to give them a try.

Can't be a genuine server with that policy.

Ed Rendell's the man. There's no way that policy was going to make it til opening the day, but our guv sped things up a bit. Not sure what impact this has on tailgating, though. Anyone know?

Greetings Michael. Welcome and thanks for doing the Q&A I read in your bio that your next book is about French Comfort Food. How do you define French comfort food? What similarities do you find between French and USA comfort food?

Fun milkshake. But if I were making a peanut butter and jelly shake here in Philadelphia I'd be building it with Basset's Peanut Butter Swirl ice cream instead of vanilla.

Funny, these two dishes are part of ewaht defines a diner to me...The short list of foods I'd order at a diner include:breakfasts, BLT's, Souvlakis or gyros. Me too sometimes. I see souvaki, gyros and similar Greek items as symptomatic of the evolved diner into a restaurant. Diners in Jersey have always had a Greek heritage, but in most cases, it's only when they remodeled, added dining rooms and prettied up, that the Greek fare made it onto the menu.

Was there a while back. Liked it. El Sol de Peru

Only been there once, but I really liked the Deepwater Diner in way down south in Salem NJ. It's just a diner, not a restaurant. No souvaki or gyros. No salad bar. No cocktails. The day I was there for breakfast, all you could eat Chicken and Dumplings was the lunch/dinner special. It's the diner of my youth, back before the ferns and mansard roofs. Alas, another digression. Age 16. First job I ever had was as the shift dishwasher at the Five Star Diner in Parsippany NJ, at the junction of Rte 46 and Rte 202 (long gone - now a gas station). I was destined for the restaurant business. My first week I tried to organize the waitresses - how they dropped off the dirty dishes, glasses and silverware. Tried to get them to stack each size dish in it's own pile and sort the silverware and glasses. Even made directional signs. The waitresses thought it was cute and did their best to stick with it - for about an hour. Then the lunch rush started and my system went down the disposal, never to be seen again. But I really liked my summer of dishwashing. I had my own little kingdom. The Hobart did what it was supposed to do. Slide a rack in, hit the button, slide the tray out. A very orderly, rectangular life. Square racks that everything went into. Square corners that the racks slid around to into the washer. Square stacks of washed glasses. Everything in perfect order. It has been awhile, but I still enjoy running a dish machine. The steam. The smell of chorine. The gooseneck rinse hose (have one over my kitchen sink). Even the rubber bumper for knocking food scraps off the dish and into the garbage pan. Visible accomplishment, instant reward. Dirty dishes become glistening clean. And it's reassuring to know that if my world ever falls apart, I have a guarenteed job waiting for me. Restaurants always need dishwashers.

I miss Chasen's and really miss Scandia

God bless 'em.