ghostrider

Corn certainly seemed to be at or near its peak last week. Wonder what this heat will do to the crop. Ears seemed smaller this week, has the heat stunted their growth? I went nuts buying peaches at the R'ford mkt today - big peaches, little peaches, those donut shaped "peaches" (which I'm sure someone will tell me aren't peaches at all). I was going to stop with my initial bag of big ones but then noticed how the boxes of the little ones were glowing at me & just had to take some home. Or maybe I'd been in the sun too long. Anyway I was concerned that this heat would somehow devastate the peach crop & there wouldn't be any more till next year. Probably doesn't quite work that way, but in case it does I've done my best.

The water taxi is another option to get to Canton if you've got the time - $8 lets you ride it all day so it's cheaper than the street cab. Be aware that Mama's does not serve dinner on Sundays, if that's your day there. (OK I never got around to calling them to verify, but their website says that, as does a local dining guide.)

And if you're ever vacationing up on the Blue Ridge -- well, if you really enjoy the taste of rotten egg in your water, then you're in for a treat. Most people, who find contact with the highly sulfuric water difficult even for a quick shower, will abandon their principles & opt for the bottled stuff. I was lucky my first time up there, no one had prepared me for the local water, but being fond of trying local spring waters wherever I go, & having run into a sale at the Food Lion in Front Royal, I drove up onto the Ridge well prepared.

I've also discovered that the Baltimore Carnival is that same weekend (Caribbean food in Druid Hill Park!). But yes, I have no doubt that it is the Yankee fans who are sucking up all of the hotel rooms. We are looking at the Day's Inn, just north of the MD State Faiirgrounds in Timonium, as our last hope. Any advice from anyone familiar with the area would be welcome. (We were looking at a few places in Towson, but some of the review comments regarding hookers, drug deals, ants & cockroaches were a bit off-putting. I guess Towson has its seedy side.)

The fact that Thai Chef (Montclair edition) won for best Thai/Asian in NNJ tells me that the folks who voted there value ambience more than quality of cooking. In some other categories, places that do have serious cooking seem to have shown up. But the overall incosistency is why I find these polls just a passing amusement.

I think we need some longtime Jersey residents to tell us whether the cheese-gravy concoction predates the disco era. I'm assuming that it does, and then someone named the dish after noting the appetites of the after-hours disco crowd, but I have no factual basis for these assumptions.

I thought Jersey had 5 regions - North, Central, South, Western, & the Shore - but then I didn't grow up here.

Nothin like a sassitch samwich wid a brewski to ease the pain.

"Snarf" was part of my vocabulary, & that of my high school friends, when the Nat'l Lampoon writers wre still in diapers. Sorry, but I don't see a problem with it. Now, "signature," OTOH, as found on a few too many menus..... signature crap is still crap, but I'm so glad that you signed it. "Mouth feel" is perfectly acceptable when you're discussing the art of kissing, but otherwise, yes, get it out of here.

I've lived in North Jersey for 15 years, and NYC for 20 years before that, & have never heard of disco fries till this moment. Maybe I don't go to the right places. Are they a Hooters / TGI Fridays specialty or something? North Jersey stops at Rt. 80? I'd argue for Rt 3, though this is the wrong place for that debate.

When you're dining on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, & the menu proudly announces that the crab in their crabcakes has been flown in from bleedin' MEXICO (not that there's anything wrong with Mexico per se), you know you've fallen into a TT.

From various discussions, I've found that people who like Star Tavern pie also generally like the pizza at Park Tavern in East Rutherford (Park Ave. just beyond the train tracks). I've tried Park Tavern several times & found it rather ordinary & soggy. Granted, this type of thin crust pie probably doesn't do well as a takeout even tho I live only 2 minutes away, but still.... I too am a big fan of "the char" and expected the pies to come out that way at Park Tavern. THey always seem a bit underdone, to my taste. Maybe you've got to ask for well done as suggested above.

Thanks. It's probably a combination of all of the above. A room for Saturday night is almost impossible to come by. There are rooms in Towson but still pretty pricey. Most, perhaps all, of the cheap ones in Linthicum seem taken. In Baltimore proper you're looking at $279 per night for the few rooms that remain. I really don't want to spend $1000 for a long weekend & that's what it looks like right now when you add in train fare. Doesn't leave much for Vikki's crabcakes, even at $5.00 a pop, and I must have more of those!

Was poking around the Net for hotel rooms in Baltimore the weekend of Sept 9th & was shocked to find that they are nearly already all booked, it is virtually impossible to find a decent room available, even at premium prices. Does anyone know what else is going on in town then? I can't believe that the Pig Run and the BBQ competition is that big. Is this due to the Orioles or the start of football season or something?

The PPM website seems to have been abandoned, they still list Portland Spice & others as being there. The new Portland Splce sounds a good bet for lunch. Oddly, one of the best Greek places in my part of Jersey is owned by South Americans.

I have to say thanks for this recipe. Took my first stab at it last night with basil & tomato from the Rutherford Farmers' Mkt, mozz from Belgiovine's in Montclair, with some terrific ciabatta from Nicolo's Bakery, also in Montclair. I had difficulty timing my night so it got to marinate for only about 15 minues, but still, yum! This is a simple & great preparation and this is the time of year to do it. Thanks again! (PS I used no salt due to my diet, & no pepper cuz SO doesn't like pepper. Still, with flavors like those, I didn't miss the seasoning.)

Has anyone tried the produce at Hillcrest Farms on Bloomfield Ave. toward the east end of Verona? I drive by there every so often but haven't had time to stop. Richfield Farms on Van Houten in Clifton (west of Clifton Ave.) has good Jersey produce, but they can be annoying in that they don't let you choose your own corn, they insist on choosing it for you. All other produce, you can pick out your own, but they're sticklers on the corn for some reason. These farm stands can be handy if you can't hook up with a farmers' market - it's not always easy when you're a working stiff.

The best-laid plans..... I'll just say, with regard to Sunday dinner, "4 hours at the Mercy Hospital ER" and leave it at that. As a result we barely had time to zip into McCormick & Schmick, referenced above, before their kitchen closed. Lovely view, but apart from that it could have been anywhere. Crab cakes made with crab flown in from MEXICO in Baltimore? Puh-leese! My seafood Newburg was at least made with local crab & it was decent; and I'll give them due credit for a fine chopped tomato, pepper, onion & cuke salad. Monday's logistics dictated against Lex Mkt. I wound up wandering Fells Point, where I eventually discovered the Broadway Market. I spied the refrigerated display counter at Vikki's Fells Point Deli, piled high with handmade crabcakes waiting to be tossed into the fryer, and sensed that I was onto something. The funky little lunch counter looked mighty inviting, but it was just too nice a day to stay inside. I got my crabcakes, coleslaw & iced tea from Vikki's, got some scrumptious looking fries (looked too good to pass up) from another vendor, & took my finds down to a bench under a little shade tree in the brick-paved park by the water at the base of the Market area. The crabcakes - crispy, spicy, full of big crab lumps - and the coleslaw - minced green pepper! - were the best I've had in fifty-plus years on this planet. The fries were right up there. If it gets any better than that, I'd like to know where. We really enjoyed Baltimore and are considering returning in September for The Running Of The Pigs. (I have made this a link since it's a food-related event, there will be a pork BBQ cookoff.)

Dang that's gotta hurt. That Neosporin stuff seems to help cuts heal faster.

??? Matarazzo's, who are at both Montclair & Rutherford, had killer peaches here on Weds. Not huge, but ripe & flavorful! The other guy at Rutherford had great peaches 2 weeks ago. Do you have another fave farm?

I still have a few bottles of their herbs in my cupboard. It was a nice thing to be able to grab some stuff there, sprinkle it on some fish while we were up the coast, & then have the herbs around to remind me of Maine the rest of the year. I hope they thrive; I'll have to check their shop next time we're in town.

Thanks! I'd spotted Nick's too but they seemed a bit further away. We have time constraints - this is a biz trip for my SO & she has to get up early the next morn & deliver a presentation & we have to allow time for the ride back out to Towson, where we are stuck staying because of the conference she is attending. We'll probably see how our day goes & then decide on towards evening. Mama's website seems to say brunch-only on Sundays, no food after 2:00 pm. I'll give them a call & see if they can go on the now-shorter list. (Steamers, McC&S, Nicks & Mamas.) Gotta love Greektowns. We stumbled onto the one in Chicago a few years back & had the same sort of experience.

Is Daruma a chain, or simply a popular name for Asian eateries? There is one in Rutherford & another in Montclair. Both are self-styled "sushi + Korean BBQ" places.

Thanks to the Search function at the Baltimore City Paper website, I have come up with the short list of LP Steamers, Phillips (I note the "more touristy" comment), Browns Wharf, & the aforementioned McCormick & Schmick for places to have dinner. They will be easy to get to, they have seafood & outdoor seating, & that's really all I'm looking for right now (good crabs, crabcakes, & fish). Any comments on these places will be welcomed! Mama's looks good but they don't seem to serve dinner on Sundays so that puts them out of the running. I think lunch on Monday has to be Faidley's crab cakes at Lexington Mkt. That seems like an essential stop.

This is getting spooky. I had never heard of a CheeseCake Factory till yesterday, when I was researching places to dine in Baltimore and it sprung up. Then I click on the PA forum by accident, spy this thread title, wonder what it's about, & behold..... Even if karma is trying to send me a message, I am not going to the one in Baltimore.