Holly Moore

First off, congratulations on moving beyond denial and acknowledging that one may have a problem. That is a significant first step. Beyond that, I would say that as long as one doesn't ritualistically count the plastic bags every night, sorting first by size, then graphics and then clarity, it is not an insurmountable obsession. I am confident that in a court of law it would be viewed more as an eccentric quirk than an ethical transgression. State of mind is probably the self-determining factor. If one worries an act may be unethical, it likely is - at least in the mind's eye. When buying iceberg lettuce, even though it is already wrapped, I will place the lettuce in a second bag for refrigerator storage. Hence, upon further consideration, I should not cast the first stone from my glass house.

I see it as kids (the production company) playing with dolls (the celebricheftestants). Perhaps if I understood the logic of downgrading the judges/hosts in the transition from Top Chef to Top Chef Masters, while upgrading the chefs.

I've been wanting to get out there - maybe this weekend. Only things missing from their menu are butter burgers and brandy manhattans - as I recall from two long, sub-zero winters in Stevens Point WI, Wisconsin consumes more brandy (per head, perhaps) than any other state. Wish someone would bring real frozen custard to Center City.

Guess I'd eat whatever is in the fridge. Hate to see it go to waste.

Customers walking to the kitchen to complain is the one thing Gordon Ramsay handles quite nicely on Hell's Kitchen.

I find it more disturbing that the server touched your chicken breast at the table. I'm also hoping it happened at a chain restaurant, perhaps a "Famous" one, as I hate the idea of a local barbecue place using frozen, precooked fried chicken. When there is an issue, especially in a casual service restaurant, ask for the manager. I'm guessing the server saw you ate most of your meal and assumed it was no big deal. It is possible the server did let the kitchen know. Still, an apology and a promise to tell the kitchen would have been nice.

Upcoming predicaments for Top Chef Masters elimination rounds - prison kitchen - flop house hot plate - Restrepo military outpost on Afghanistan/Pakistan border - Manhattan one room apartment - zero gravity

Perhaps the question should have been more succinctly put "Is the orange juice freshly squeezed"? The word "fresh" does not imply "freshly squeezed" to those without the experience or common sense to know better, as you found out. I think there are a number of restaurants and servers who define "fresh" as "not frozen."

Master Stephen Porter's collection of books - "One-Upmanship," "The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship," and "Lifemanship" and servers, maitre d's and dining partners/adversaries will quickly bow to your superior knowledge and confidence.

Many of the Philadelphia neighborhood farmers markets are overseen by by The Food Trust. I trust them to insure that the foods at their markets are locally sourced.

I like the idea of adding cream at the end rather than the start. Makes a lot of sense which is probably why it never occurred to me. My parents always added water to scrambled eggs. I did the same until I upgraded to cream. I am now wondering about the purpose of the water - does it improve scrambled eggs or was it, perhaps, a depression era technique used to extend the dish a bit? A significant reasearch study supports Nero Wolfe's contention that eggs must be scrambled for forty minutes.

A related issue - I would rather support the local farmer who knows every square inch of his fields than the larger corporate farmers who consider natural flavor acceptable collateral damage in the battle for increased yield, size, appearance and shelf life.

Anyone remember Alderny Ice Cream? A great ice cream. I spent a summer at the Sip and Sup Drive-In hand dipping it eight hours a day, six days a week at $1.25 an hour. It was there that I learned one truly can get too much of a good thing.

Alas, I owe the market management an apology. Much happened behind the scenes of which I was not aware. Not sure what details can be made public, but suffice to say I leapt to some conclusions I should not have. The market did quite a lot to support Harry Och's and Sons - just about everything I was listing that they should have done.

I'm not saying it has to be incorporated into a lease. I'm asking if a landlord is legally required to treat each tenant the same?

Don't know the answer to that. Is a landlord required to treat all tenants the same or is each lease a separate contract between a single tenant and the landlord? Can a landlord take tenant longevity or intangible tenant contributions to the landlords continued operation into account?

Depends on the tenant. If it was the market's oldest tenant and a tenant who had played a major role in the market's survival during various crises, I'd cut them a good deal of slack - at the same time trying to figure out what was going wrong and what can be done to get them back on course.

As I read it the management said they did everything they could to work out the back rent issue. ie insure payment.

Working with a web site designer is like ordering dinner at the Palm. Everything is a la carte. The more clients order, the more they pay, and the more web designers make off websites. Keeping it simple is not in the web designer's interest anymore than the Palm wants a restaurant full of diners who don't order sides. Nor does keeping it simple nurture the restaurant owner's ego. Sites have to be as fancy as the competition. Somewhere there is restaurant web site zero - the first restaurant website to incorporate flash and music; to display no useful information on the main page; to hide the hours, address and phone number on the directions or contacts page; to divide the sections of the menu into separate pdf files; to replace obvious links to other pages with cute meaningless symbols. Restaurant web site zero had pretty pictures. The flash animation dazzled and the music was kickin'. The bar was set and every other restaurant owner wants the same or better. A while back I had a short correspondence with one of Philadelphia's top restaurant web design firms. They assured me that they understood my needs from a restaurant site far better than I ever could.

An interesting article in the Philadelplhia Business Journal Once again, no good deed goes unpunished.

In the past I've worked corporately for three of the top fast food franchisors. When a franchisee had problems, a franchisor's first inclination was not to send a lawyer letter threatening eviction. Rather, it was to focus training, operational, and marketing support on that franchisee and help them turn around their operation. Other franchisees understood that this was smart business for all and, down the road, could help them if they encountered similar difficulties. Yes, franchisor and landlord are different business models. Landlord of a historical market and landlord of a mall are also different business models. Mall landlords want suitable tenants that can generate the most rent per square foot. A mall landlord's mission statement does not lead with "To preserve the architectural and historical character, and function, of the Reading Terminal Market as an urban farmers’ market." The management of a historical market the caliber of Reading Terminal Market is more franchisor than mall landlord and does indeed have an obligation to do whatever it can to nurture all merchants, especially the long term merchants, and most especially their oldest merchant. David O'Neil was the Reading Terminal Market manager who, pre-convention center, brought about the Market's renaissance. He recognized and treasured the Market's heritage. I wish he was here today.

I stopped buying Breyers once they were acquired by Unilever who closed their plant and moved them out of Philadelphia.

The eviction action was initiated by market management for back rent - it had nothing to do with bank issues. So I'd suggest a recheck of the numbers too. Why would the market or the merchants have any responsibility for bank debt? If RTM was indeed the same as the Gallery or a regional shopping mall, as the former board chairman asserted, then it would be simple. Pay the rent or get evicted. But RTM is not just another mall. It is an historic market with tradition and continuity. Quite simply - last week the market had a merchant who had been there for over a hundred years. Now it doesn't. But as long as management is "sorry to see them go," and will "long remember the Harry Ochs name" I guess they have done all they could.

It was the management that filed the eviction notice. If I don't pay rent for my ten year old business, I expect to be evicted. When the oldest and only hundred year merchant in a historic market, a public trust, has problems, I expect the management's reaction to be supportive - focused marketing and merchandising assistance, management consulting, a break on the rent for a few years with the opportunity to catch up down the road. This time, unlike the expulsion of Rick's Steaks, the management was not "evil" or vindictive. This time they have been disloyal to market tradition and less than competent in supporting a valued merchant.

I believe, but am not positive, that curry is fairly common in South Indian cuisine. I do know for a fact that curry rarely appears on Chipotle's menu.