Holly Moore

Back in the late 80s and early 90s there was a fantastic breakfast cafe - in Cow Hollow - on Union or Green maybe. The name of the place began with "D". Person's name I think, but not a common one. The best seats in the house were at the counter in front of the grill, watching them cook. As I recall, famous for omelets and fantastic french toast. And the name of the place is...? Are they still around and are they still as good.

hmmm, forgive an impertinent question: were your parents writing on deadline when they came up with that name? ← Dad put it this way:

Before anyone points it out. Yeah, I'm a guy named Holly. But that's different.

In this week's Philadelphia Weekly restaurant review, critic Brian McManus describes Misconduct's hamburger as "simply divine." Even Florence Fabricant, sporting Dolly Levi's favorite Easter bonnet (admittedly, a very screwed up metaphor) would think twice before uttering the terms "simply divine." But a guy writing about burgers? This reviewer of restaurant reviewers urges Mr. McManus to retreat into his Thesaurus or reruns of the Man Show and come up with a better description for a good burger.

In the back? The same stainless steel plate as in the front, but not shot with Philadining's skill and sense of lighting.

Little Pete's on 17th, opposite the Warwick, is one of Philadelphia's quiet, unsung, heroes. Occasionally maligned, but only by those who have not found themselves hungrily wandering the streets at three in the morning. Little Pete's has everything on their menu. At least everything one would want to eat at three in the morning. Beyond that, dependable breakfasts and a lunch sandwich I always turn to in times of extreme stress. My business is about a block from Little Pete's. When their delivery guy shows up with a grease stained brown bag in my name, our staff knows to walk softly and treat me kindly. In the bag, about a pound of comfort - Little Pete's reuben. There is no greasier or better sandwich in Philadelphia. Today wasn't all that rough. As is my way lunch came late, about four. I ordered my 3 AM favorite - Little Pete's eggs benedict. My post to the Philly drinking and nightlife thread got me hungering for one. Since nowadays about the only thing I'm usually doing at 3 AM is heading from bed to bathroom and back, I broke with my traditional timing and ordered eggs benedict for lunch. Not really traditional eggs benedict. Fried eggs instead of poached. A thick slab of ham under both eggs. Mayonnaise spiked with lemon and browned under the broiler instead of hollandaise. When ordered at a more traditional hour it comes with hash browns instead of french fries. Alas the fries had been sitting around some. Hash browns are better. Then again, Little Pete's fries right out of the fryer are great and, best of all, they are not shoestring. Incidentally, the counter waitress has a great recipe for blender hollandaise. A little Worcestershire, a little cayenne. Gives it a nice kick, she promises.

How? By changing the name on a sign from Rick's Steaks to Tony Luke's? That's your plan? What exactly is it about the market that needs improving? Let me rephrase that. Before the board did such severe damage to the market's image and its relationship with the market's backbone, the merchants - before this latest fiasco - what exactly was it about the market that needed improving? I know what needs improving now. The market needs a new board of directors and it needs a board that is structured to give the merchants and the shoppers better representation. But three months ago, what was it then about Reading Terminal Market that needed improving? Image? Traffic count? Customer relations? Profitability? Parking maybe. There is never enough parking. Rehabbing the physical plant - it is an old building. There is always something to be done. But how does evicting Rick's Steaks accomplish more parking or better plumbing and refrigeration? Rick's or Tony Luke's would be paying the same rent? Just because you are the chairman of the board, Mr. Dunston, it does not mean that you must change the market - create your legacy. Here is a plan. If we all chip in a buy you a plaque that can be mounted on some column in the market, then will you leave Reading Terminal Market alone? What is it about the market, Mr. Dunston, that needs improving?

Sandy said BlueHensFan said I don't believe I have ever met Paul Steinke. I can not speak from personal experience. I have mixed feelings about his performance as manager of Reading Terminal Market. From what others say, both here and merchants I have talked with, he generally seems to have the best interests of the market at heart. But then there is the eviction eviction of Rick's Steaks. Paul Steinke is either for the eviction or against it. If he supports the board's decision, and especially if he implements it, his actions can not be separated from the board's. If he is against the boards actions on such a major and divisive issue that is resulting in long term damage to the market, it is simple. Only one choice. Paul Steinke, self respect intact, must resign in protest. There is no other option for a manager who does not support the board's eviction of Rick's Steaks. No gray areas and no greater good that could be served by staying.

Sandy said: My thinking is to support those merchants who supported Rich's Steaks as opposed to boycotting those who did not. As Bluehensfan pointed out, "The deal with the petition is that not everyone was in town when it was drawn up. So if a merchant is not listed on the petition it could actually be that they were out of town when it was drawn up. " My suspicion is that even more than those who signed the petition actually support Rick's Steaks. Has a single merchant spoken out in favor of management's actions in this issue? None that I can recall. My guess is that many merchants who agree Rick's Steaks has been treated abjectly unfairly, remain quiet because they dare not risk management retribution. I have had a couple of merchants who support Rick's Steaks tell me something like, "Reading Terminal management has always treated us fairly. What they are doing now is wrong and I can not support that." Which gets me back to the questions that have not been answered candidly, if at all? Why? Why now? Why not even consider reconsidering? There is absolutely no logic to the Board's original decision. Rick's Steaks is a merchant of 25 years. Rick Olivieri runs a successful and popular operation. Rick Olivieri has done nothing wrong. Rick Olivieri has taken a leadership position in the market. So why evict Rick's Steaks. Only answers I can come up with: vengeance, political pressure, or money/ campaign contributions. I have no idea which, if any, is behind the Board's action. But I do know for certain it is not simply the board's official straw horse, "We can get Tony Luke's." Equally lacking logic, the Board letting this fester - costing them so much good will and trust, significantly detracting from the Market's image, taking money from funds they should be spending for the benefit of the market and using it to pay pricey attorneys and top dollar PR mouths. The Board can end this with just one phone call to Rick Olivieri, or even an email. Again, why not do so now? Why are they hanging so irrationally tough? Along with the previously offered "vengeance, political pressure or money/campaign contributions," I can only come up with one more possibility. Olympian, out-of-control egos that are unwilling to reconsider even when it is obvious that their decision is dumb, bad and, worst of all, so damaging to the market they are charged with protecting.

It is beyond-words ridiculous that the chairman of the board of the Reading Terminal Market does not have an iota of an idea as to why the market is different from the Gallery, the Airport Concessions, or the Shops at Liberty Place. What beyond his substantial political contributions earn him a seat on, much less chairmanship of, the board of a public trust and Philadelphia institution - the Reading Terminal Market? It's like making Ronald McDonald the Dean at the Culinary Institute.

There are two ways to end a night of Philadelphia drinking and dancing - the classic whiz wiz at Pat's or Geno's or, and this would be my choice, eggs benedict at Little Pete's where the hollandaise sauce is replaced by mayonnaise spiked with lemon juice and finished under the broiler.

The lines are as long as ever, if not longer. Evidently taking the Rick's Steaks location off the Reading Terminal Market website map and merchant list hasn't had all that much impact.

I would be interested in a list of the majority of merchants that signed the petition supporting Rick's Steaks and Rick Olivieri. I am intentionally shopping at those that did. Unfortunately boycotting the market as a whole hurts the good guys, the merchants, and not the evil-doers, the management. Saw both the Inquirer and Daily News letters to the editor knocking the quality of Rick's Cheesesteaks. Such a consistent message. And the writer even liked Tony Luke's Jr. Couldn't have better supported the board's position if Kevin Feeley's PR firm was behind both letters. Don't care one way or another about Rick's or Tony Luke's cheesesteaks. This is about the aloofness and vengeance of the RTM board and management in its treatment of a longtime merchant who has done absolutely nothing wrong - about taking away a family's livelihood for no legitimate reason. Inquirer editorial board got it wrong too, in their Friday Editorial section. In an editorial entitled "Lawyers and Cheesesteaks" they trivialized the issue into one of who serves a better cheesesteak.

In Friday’s Inquirer from an article on Tony Luke Jr., “Earlier this year, Luke said, he was asked by an unnamed business associate if he was interested in a Reading Terminal Market spot.” Did the Reading Terminal Management or Board ask someone to approach Tony Luke Jr.? If so, whom, and why was he not directly approached by Reading Terminal Market? A question about available space at Reading Terminal Market - Is there a waiting list for merchant locations? If there is was Tony Luke Jr. simply next in line. If he was not, how and why did Tony Luke Jr. jump to the head of the line. On Rick’s Steaks: Why evict Rick’s Steaks now rather than earlier? He has been without a lease for quite a while. According to Friday’s Inquirer article Tony Luke Jr. had been asking about space for a number of years so he did not just suddenly express interest. So this could not have happened because of Tony Luke Jr.’s sudden availability, though that is the board and management’s stated rationale. Fess up. Why now? A cynic might suggest that the market was testing the water last year by evicting four merchants, though later rescinding on two - that it was only when there was little fuss did the market feel it was safe to go after a more prominent and annoying merchant, the former head of the merchant’s association. On the Reading Terminal Market Board: You are a non profit corporation operating a public trust. How much of the terminal’s funds is being spent on attorney’s fees and professional public relations representation as a result of the eviction or Rick’s Steaks? What is the justification for spending such funds when Rick’s Steaks seems willing to pay the same lease as would be offered to Tony Luke’s? Similarly, why is the board and the management unwilling to look the public in the eye? Why hide behind a big, politically connected public relations firm?

Dropped by Snack Bar for a 5 PM lunch. Actually a 4:48 PM lunch - they kindly bent their opening hours a bit. There is something in my genetic structure that makes it impossible for me to grasp the concept of Small Plates. I still see small plates as appetizers meaning I need to order two dishes. I am a slow learner. What stuck me today about the Snack Bar is that one can eat so well and so excitingly, so inexpensively. My first dish was gnocchi and beets with swiss chard, pistachios and goat cheese. The range of flavor is wild. The gnocchi - light and perfectly cooked. The swiss chard, pistachios and goat cheese - an incredible blend. Each time my fork scooped up a pistachio hidden under the gnocchi - surprise and glee. All this for only $12. Could have stopped there. Might have if it wasn't for those three letters that go so well together, B, L & T. Snack Bar's version, pork belly, arugula and heirloom tomatoes. Goat cheese smeared like mayonnaise. Taste - how can pork belly, arugula, heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese not taste wonderful? It did. But I've got a thing about sandwiches, especially sandwiches with bread on the top and bottom. They should be eatable as a sandwich. This wasn't. Couldn't get my mouth around it and after a couple of attempts, it started to break apart in my hands. The presentation is impressive. But I would like this better if served open faced with a single slice of bread. And maybe the bread toasted a bit more - or maybe not at all if that would make it less crumbly. One time, outside of the Prague, I dined in a restaurant where they were rearranging the large fish tank right next to me. A lot of fun to watch. This time, I got to see the large flower display sitting on the bar rearranged. Impressive. First step was to carry a vase the height of my friend Nadine back to the kitchen for a change of water. Precarious, but attentively and skillfully managed. Then, even taller flowers arranged in the vase, one at a time. A great floor show. They don't pay that florist enough. Actually, they probably do. With the exception one too many slices of bread, a perfect late lunch.

I'm not sure if it is neighborhood or not. I just surmised because its location is away from the glitz of the square and near La Colombe. I had a great brisket sandwich at Loie a couple of years ago and a mis-labeled (or at least non-classic) and disappointing shrimp and grits for brunch a month or two ago.

Way cool. And only in New Orleans I suspect. Is Metairie Cemetary the "Forest Lawn" of New Orleans? I suspect the odd coloring has more to do with your camera's ability to capture culinary aura than because of rain or bus windows.

What struck me more than anything else was the restaurant standing firm and upsetting a customer. At the same time, in my retail business - a copy center, there is no way we could get away with rounding off, especially rounding down.

An acquaintance stopped me at La Colombe this morning asking if I had ever heard of a restaurant the did not give its customers the loose change when settling the bill. I hadn't and asked her where, "Loie." Having written a restaurant column for a number of years I knew such issues were often a result of miscommunication rather than a restaurant's stupidity. Fortunately Loie is next door to La Columbe and was just opening for brunch. I poked my head in and asked. The lone server on the floor responded that there are no dimes, nickels or pennies in their register drawer. At the server's or someone else's option, the bills are rounded up or down. After all, the server shrugged, "It's only like eight cents." With all these new drinks that must be remembered, I can see keeping things simple for the bartender, who is usually the one making change for guest checks. And no pennies, dimes and nickels makes cashing out much easier. So fine with the change - as long as the restaurant only rounds up. Back to my acquaintance - evidently they rounded down for her. She asked for the proper change. They refused. She asked for them to round up instead of down. They refused. She said she would never return. Loie stood on their principles. No precise change for you. Loie is a neighborhood restaurant. My acquaintance lives in the neighborhood and knows just about everyone in the neighborhood. Her retained change is going to cost Loie a lot more than "like eight cents." The server also told me that he has never worked in a restaurant that didn't have such a policy. I always pay by credit card (love those AMEX points) so I really don't know. Is it now common for a restaurant to not return full change?

There was a time in fast food restaurants when aprons not only did not have pockets, aprons were required uniforms for those working the counter because they covered up the front pockets in the employee's trousers making it harder to "pocket" some money.

Whole Foods update. I went back because Wholefoods is the only place I can get Haagen Dazs Pomegranate Chocolate Chip ice cream. In their service meat case the flank steak and the boneless rib eye steak are both priced at 14.99 a pound.

Let all good gentlewomen and gentlemen gather at the bar a raise a toast to Katie. Oh, wait. Katie is pouring. Join us in wishing you thanks.

Right on. Usually it's management's job to see the big picture, though (tenants|employees|...) can often help management get that picture in focus. ← Reading Terminal Market is far more a community than it is a shopping mall. Any community is best defined as a sum of its members. Reading Terminal Market is a sum of the products, the personalities, the quirks, and the heritages of its merchants. Reading Terminal Market is also one of the only places in Philadelphia where all Philadelphians, of every culture and of every economic level, gather together to shop and to eat. Reading Terminal Market is a community of Philadelphia's communities. Reading Terminal market has a soul, a culture, a history and a tradition that is unique to Philadelphia. Today Reading Terminal Market flourishes. These are boom times. These are times that smart management - management that understands the market for all that it is - stands back. They manage best by keeping out of the way and focusing on making the merchant and customer experience more enjoyable - managing such mundane responsibilities as keeping the place bright, clean and safe. Protecting the market from over-commercialization. Collecting the rents and spending the money wisely - not on lawyers and PR mouths. All Reading Terminal Market management and the board need do is savor the "big picture," and not try to change channels. With things going so well, savvy managers know that they manage best by managing least. The way to screw up a place like Reading Terminal Market is to manage with a heavy hand. To manage through intimidation and retribution. To make the merchants adversaries rather than recognizing them as partners and seasoned team players who understand the game far better than management ever will. The way to screw up a place like Reading Terminal Market is to take actions that turn the majority of the merchants against management. That drive merchants to cancel festivals, sign petitions, join together to fight unjust acts. That create a PR fiasco, thrusting the market onto the front pages in anything but a good light. No management or board has ever mismanaged or screwed up Reading Terminal Market as badly as the current board and management has these past couple of months. Big Picture? This board and management can't even find the screen.

Yes - In the Pacific Island Cookbook, individual items such as my favorite, rumaki, tempura shrimp, and barbecue pork.

Fighting injustice and protecting the American way of life does cause one to work up an appetite. Yet with all that is wrong that must be made right there is never time to cook. Along with justice I find myself passionately craving such hackneyed avant gardeless dishes as classic vichyssoise preferably presented in an ice filled supreme dish and gooey cakes of any denomination prepared from scratch and adorned with true butter cream icing glopped on in peaks and valleys with none of the anal precision of a 3 star pastry chef. Must I fly against the world's spin and back in time to the fifties, or can such fare still be found in twenty first century Philadelphia?