Holly Moore

One of the best brunch dishes my place ever put out (or at least one of my favorites) was a tad similar. Country paté for the base and the Hollendaise sauce flavored with mustard.

Actually hit two of the places the Times did. Wall BBQ which is worth searching out both for the BBQ and for its contrast with the splendor of the historic district and Clary's which was OK for breakfast. Had a hard time finding any place extraordinary, breakfast wise. Clary's bakes up a monster eclair worth investigating, though I passed on it for breakrast. My other two meals - Lady and Sons where I should have ordered the Buffet and the Crab Shack on Tybee Island which is a lot of fun and pretty decent seafood.

That's not true, at least any more. And that's more or less my deciding factor at this point. I also don't want a dipping cabinet - I want the display, an ice cream dipping display. It's not up to the ice cream company - it's the distributor since ice cream companies usually don't sell direct. If you have another suggestion, I'd love to hear it. Also, I will be using the ice cream for more than shakes. It's hard to say at this point, but my guess is about 60% of my ice cream sales will be shakes. The rest will be by the cup and waffle sandwiches. ← Don't know your area good enough. Does Bassett's in Philadelphia go up that far. They'd be an excellent choice and do provide cabinets.

WAY too far away from the airport... ← Nah, seven hour layover = 2 1/2 hours in traffic there. 1/2 hour in line and eating a chili dog or two. 2 1/2 hours in traffic back. 1 1/2 hour for airport security. It's a cinch.

Pink's Hot Dogs But that's just me.

I'd go with a quality, but not a top quality ice cream. Doubt you could tell the difference. To make the shake special, use half and half or light cream instead of milk. To make it extraordinary, use heavy cream. Any ice cream company should give you a free dipping cabinet.

A milk shake mixer for sure. The right tool for the right job. The blades of a milk shake mixer are specifically designed to the point that they can be changed for hard or soft ice cream. They also blend much faster and do so without raising the temperature of the finished shake as much as a blender. You probably need two or three blenders because proper blending does take time and if you've got orders for two or three shakes it's going to take too long. I'm not sure whom you were talking with from Hamilton Beach but I'd ask for a second opinion.

Another idea for fried seafood is the Anchor Line, on Folley Road a little past the turn off for Bowen's Island - I've done some eating around and about Charleston, much of it away from the historical distric. Here's the page on my site for Charleston Charleston at HollyEats.Com

I've been following this thread and keep wanting to recommend Bowen's Island because I believe anyone within fifty miles of Charleston and perhaps a hundred miles has to have dinner at Bowen's Island. What are the odds of your fickle friend shucking down a shovel full of roast oysters?

DC has been the hardest city so far to figure out, grease-stain-worthy-eating wise that is. It is there, just tougher to locate than I had expected. I ate well thanks to those hereabouts's recommendations. I need to get back, during the week both to do the tourist things and to hit the places I missed or were closed this weekend. My two clear favorites - the Colorado Kitchen and Ben's Chili Bowl. I had told DonRocks that I wasn't sure about the Colorado Kitchen - the menu seemed a bit upscale for my site. Fortunately he is very persuasive. No doubts once I arrived. I got it. Some of the menu items sound upscale, but what Gillian Clark is doing is taking basic down home cooking and doing it very well, maybe nouvelle down home. I followed in DonRock's footsteps and had the same dinner he had consumed two days earlier. The cauliflower salad raised the bar for cauliflower. As good a preparation as I've ever encountered. Monkfish Schnitzel very good, too. And Don's meatloaf was equally impressive. Think that's what I'd order next time. Before any of that, right after we were seated, Gillian passed out free samples of shrimp bisque. It was then that I knew this meal was going to be all about flavor. Rich, solid flavors. It started with the bisque and continued throughout the meal. The shrimp bisque, the cabbage that accomanied my monk fish, the gravy for the meat loaf, whalloping flavor all. Dessert - had to be the pineapple upside down cake. We lucked out with a corner cut - more flavor where the sugar syrup has caramelized. Earlier that day, I had a late lunch at Jerry's in Lanham MD on the way down to DC. The crab bomb - 10 oz of lump crabmeat - probably cost more than my entire dinner at Colorado Kitchen. I had the fireworks version - with mustard and peppercorns. As much lump crab as I've ever eatten at one seating, and very good. But Faidley's Crabcake in the Baltimore's Lexington Market still sets the gold standard. Five Guys got me excited as I walked in the door. My kind of hamburger place. No frills, fresh cut fries, and a solid rep. The fries were very good. As was the hot dog. The hamburger looked great, but the patties were way, way overcooked. Not grease-dripping medium which I can really get into, as I did at the Shake Shack last weekend, but dry, crumbly well done. A real disappointment and, I'm hoping, an exception to the rule. Finally, the reason I'd move to Washington. Ben's Chili Bowl. I wasn't sure what to expect after the mixed reviews Ben's received in my initial thread. I was there twice, Sunday afternoon for a half-smoke and back again Monday breakfast for another half smoke, this time sans chili, with eggs and grits. I liked everything about Ben's. The look, the feel, the history. The folks working the counter - both friendly and brusque - keeping the line moving but always a smile and taking the time to help this newby through the ordering system. And the half smoke itself. Topped with assertive chili that has a solid kick. Mound of fries along side. Damn good eating. Still on my list, the East Market and Market Lunch, the Florida Avenue Grill, the Tune Inn, the place Don told me about with the Super Grillled Cheese Sandwich, a couple of the soul food restaurants mentioned in the DC forum, the barbecue place with smoke pouring out as I exit the Baltimore Expressway onto Mass Ave, and of course returns to Ben's, the Colorado Kitchen and another crack at Five Guys. One more time, thanks for the help and the hospitality.

One of the "Seasoned Bon Vivants" here who tagged along with ShinyBoots, Katie and Philadining to Marigold last week. Had to be ten years since I last ventured to 45th and Larchmont - then for Marigold's excellent meat loaf or roast chicken. Alas now these are just fond memories. Marigold has shed its starving Penn student trappings and blossomed into a worthy new addition to Philadelphia's world class byo scene. Marigold isn't batting 100 yet, but they are off to a great start. As ShinyBoots related we were able to try one of everything. Much of what we tasted was very good, the disappointments were few and not all that disappointing, and some dishes earned table wide oohs and aahs. Pictures of most all we tried can be found in a public gallery at Image Gullet. My favorites follow here. Of the aps, two stood out. The Shitaki Mushroom Risotto with Butternut Squash and the Roasted Sweetbreads with Sweet Potato Gnocchi. Among the entrees, my first and very favorable encounter with Veal Cheeks and an accompaniment to the Strip Steak, Miso Braised Beef Shin - probably my favorite taste of the enitre meal. Desserts - extremely creative all. But the Pignoli Cake was the best of the bunch.

I came, I ate, I went home. I shall return. Will get some pics and comments up soon. A short preview. Phooey to all those who tried to lower my expectations for Ben's Chili Bowl. Thanks to Don R. for introducing me to the wonderful Colorado Kitchen. Five Guys was OK but not what I had hoped for. And 10 oz of crab is a lot of crab, but mighty good eating. And my timing could have been better in that the Florida Ave Grill was closed both Sun and Mon. According to my guide book, so was the Eastern Market, except for a Sunday Flea Market, though Market Lunch was open for Sunday Lunch. Thanks again for all the great help.

Glenn, Do you see your venture more as a restaurant where the purpose is to sell mass quantities of grilled cheese sandwiches or a cafe / coffee house where the goal is a relaxed ambience and the food is incidental to the experience? If the former, reconsider free internet, at least during meal times. As laptops have proliferated, and being as hooked on triple lattes as I am, I am finding more and more occasions where no seats are available at my favorite coffee house because people are nursing their drinks and typing. Sometimes they have finished nursing their coffee and are sitting there with empty cup busily surfing about. Just got back from DC where there was a Starbucks a block from my hotel. Went in there in the morning - a lot of laptop users and no empty tables. Returned mid afternoon, the same and a couple of the same laptop users. I'd have to see hard numbers to believe that free internet pays for itself in increased sales - Especially in a food service establishment.

Though not as popular as "a dunkable treat" Oreo.

Not answering your specific question, but one word, "TURNOVER" Unless you've got a bunch of seats, come lunch or dinner time, you're not going to want tables tied up by folks on laptops sipping coffee. To the question at hand, I'd charge a nominal fee, both because it will make up some for lost food sales and the cost of the service and because it will discourage those that will stretch a cup of coffee for two hours or more of free internet.

Wow. Just printed this out to take with me. 10 pages. Thanks. Who needs CitySearch. Slight change. Starting off with Jerry's for a crab bomb and will take it from there. Keep them ideas coming though. I'll be checking in from DC

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but pretty slim pickin's burger and dog wise. Can't believe there is such a dirth of such all American fare in the nation's capital. Question on Five Guys. I'm thinking I remember that their original location is in Georgetown. If not, where?

Are their restaurants known specifically for their chicken and dumplings? I had fine versions in the Raleigh Durham area at Big Eds Mama Dips, but didn't get the sense that they were famous for them. Any places folks drive a hour or two just for an order of chicken and dumplings?

My experience is that southern cooking is still going strong in enough restaurants to keep it going for a few more generations, at least. I've never had a problem finding solid traditional from scratch cooking as I've driven about on my various forays. I've only had one home cooked Southern meal in the past year, and based on that sample of one, right down to the delicious cobbler cooked up by a little Varmint, the tradition carries on. Then again, the frozen food departments of the Food Liions and the Wynn Dixies aren't getting any smaller.

My plan to hit Ben's Chili Bowl on the way to ole Miss last month got canceled when I ended up having to fly. But this weekend is wide open, the Eagles aren't playing until Monday night, and despite the fact I live two hours away, there is not a single DC eatery on my site. Time to remedy that oversight. Am heading down tomorrow for lunch at Ben's. But then what? Not sure if I'll stay over through Monday AM, but at least will be there through Sunday afternoon. That means one or two breakfasts, along with tracking down some hamburgers, hot dogs and any other grease stain worthy eating there is in and around DC. I tend not to limit myself to the traditional three meals a day on these forays. Would like to amass a good representation. Any ideas? BTW, CitySearch.Com, my usual starting off point when hitting metro areas, has failed me in DC. They're evidently tied in with the Post, resulting in what for me is a totally unworkable format. No "Best of" lists. No dining out categories such as "Hot Dogs," "Hamburgers," or "French Fries." What's up with that?

As I breathlessly anticipate having the crudités discussed with me, I have decided that in a nod to our aging and decreasing capacity for gluttony and therefore the advantage of a much lighter pre-prandial nosh, I'm dispensing this year with the goat cheese and herb dip. I must have the stomach of a 30 year old in a body almost twice that age. What decreasing capacity? Especially come Thanksgiving! Pickling/Brining - Fritz Blanc pickled a whole watermelon for the Southern Foodways Alliance Syposium as part of his presentation on watermelon rinds. It was fantastic. If you're interested I'll track it down - takes about two weeks as I recall, so time is of the essence. Then again it has been years since I have purchased a watermelon - have no idea if they're still available come November. But if so, it would make for some interesting pre-dinner noshing and conversation.

Got me curious so I stopped by today. Had an excellent hoagie. I'm not sure it's up to Sarcone's Deli or Chickie's, but close. I asked about the bread. They said that they used a combination of Sarcone's and a bakery "just as good as Sarcone's - it's the same bread" that started out in Philadelphia but moved to South Jersey. Name started with a "L" but didn't get the rest of it. My hoagie today was on "L's" bread. Very good, but not Sarcone's. I really did like the sliced to order and sliced very thin cold meats on my hoagies though. Place didn't have the energy, the buzz, the feel of a hoppin' hoagie place either, but I was there around two so they weren't all that busy.

If it's the cake I think it is, it is from Goodfather Part II. As I recall, it was rolled in on a cart and presented to Hyman Roth whose birthday it was. Then he asked the waiter to present it to each of the guests so they could view it before it was cut.

Way back when I did some time running the prepared foods sections of a regional supermarket and department store chain. Though I still suspect it might have been urban legend, there is the similar story of a supermarket manager who set up his own register in one of the checkout lanes. When they were busy he would step in to help out, open up his register, and pick up some spending money.

Thanks for the pic, Esperanza. Those dogs look great and the finished product sounds better. Hopefully, with the influx of down home style Mexican restaurants that are opening up here in Philadelphia, someone will start offering a genuine Mexican dog hereabouts. Texas Tommy's are great too. But nowadays, at least, instead of wrapping the dogs in bacon they lay cooked bacon strips on top of the cooked dogs.