ghostrider

Thanks for the sympathetic words. I'm certainly willing to grant that they might have had an off night, it happens. And my view may also have been colored by the Crispy Lentil Fritters starter, which were literally saturated with grease, almost as if the frying oil had gotten too cool. It was probably a mistake to order them, but I eat samosa all the time with no problems. Anyway it was just one meal in the cosmic scheme of things. I won't be discouraged from returning to Philly the next chance we get. We really had a great time, and good food all over.

As a guy from away, I will second Katahdin, we had an excellent meal there with friends in December.

We almost had lunch there yesterday, but I didn't quite have the appetite for pizza at that hour, so we had some panini at a little place across the street. Pretty good. That's a great little block of 18th St though. Appalling that it's to be torn down for another high rise.

We went to Rangoon two nights ago based on this thread & recommendations elsewhere on eGullet. I’m sorry to have to say that it was the biggest – make that the only – disappointment we had during an otherwise delightful 3-day visit to Philly. It’s not that the flavors aren’t robust at Rangoon; it’s simply that we were served the greasiest meal I’ve had in years. It wasn’t as though the cook’s hand had slipped during preparation of a particular dish; the level of oiliness was consistent and, to me, excessive across five separate dishes. I don’t know whether this represents a particular style of Burmese cooking, or simply Rangoon’s idiosyncratic approach, but it left their food bordering on inedible, for me. I’m aware that my system is less tolerant of grease than most folks’. Judging from the patronage at Rangoon, I’m as usual in the minority on this. But I know that I’m not the only one with this kind of systemic sensitivity, hence this cautionary post. So that you know where I’m coming from, I’ll mention that our non-Chinese Asian dining experiences in the last year include: two meals at Mingala, a Burmese restaurant in NYC (eG opinion is divided on how good & authentic their cuisine is); three meals at Wondee’s here in NJ (eG consensus seems to be that it’s the best Thai place in North Jersey); and a couple of meals at local Vietnamese places. Relative quality isn’t the issue here; what matters is that none of these meals were anywhere close to being as greasy as the food we had at Rangoon. I’m also aware that my sense of disappointment is the more acute because, due to the nature of our trip, this was the only dinner where we could choose our restaurant in advance. To have an unpalatable meal in those circumstances, in a city that offers as much good food as Philly does, was particularly irksome. None of this changes the level of grease in the food that we had. If someone had mentioned this before, we’d have chosen someplace else to dine, because I know how my digestive system works. I’m posting this now in hopes that others whose systems work like mine may be spared a similar experience.

Here's a little tip for New Yorkers & Garden Staters traveling to Philly: You can get there & back for $30 round trip on the regional trains. Take NJ Transit to Trenton & pick up a SEPTA train from there into the city. The round trip via Amtrak costs over $100. And altho Amtrak seems like it'd be quicker, if you actually map out the schedules & factor in your transfer times, the Trenton route is only 1/2 hour longer - 2 hrs 45 mins. vs 2 hrs 15 mins. Support mass transit! Use it to enjoy some fine Philly food!

Wow. I'm browsing around here, preparing for a couple of days in Philly this week. Next trip, in April, is back to my home town of St. Louis. Was planning on reacquainting self with The Hill. Talk about your serendipity! Sometimes I just love this place. Of course it sounds like I have a pretty good chance of finding Volpi products locally. Still, it'd be nice to visit the source.

I agree with the position eloquently outlined by Ms. Loeb above. Since I wasn't there, it's a little hard to tell from reading about the experience whether it was like wandering into a scene from Fawlty Towers or something more unnerving. My reading of what's between the lines here makes me think it's more the latter than a Cleese piece. Regardless, considering that the guy was an employee, and other staff were watching & apparently condoning his behavior, they owed you big-time from the moment he approached your table. IMHO the gift cert was too little too late.

Citrus going off? I've gotten peak Temple oranges & FL tangerines here in NJ in the last 5 days. I would kill for a place near me that sold striped bass at that price. DiNic's or Sarcone's for lunch, there's a dilemma. Sorry, just musing out loud while preparing for Philly next week, & enjoying the reading 'round these parts.

Thank you one & all! I'm already craving a Sarcone's hoagie......

Can somebody clue me in as to exactly where the Italian Mkt is? I could dig it out for myself, no doubt, but as long as I'm here....... Heading down to Philly for a couple days next week. Love the Reading Terminal Mkt, have yet to check out the Italian one, don't know if we'll have time, always good to be prepared with the info.

Peeling 5 lbs of those shrimp. My hat is off to you.

Fiiggerd they might be around for a few days post-3/25, tho not in NJ, who knows. Quick sauce of olive oil, chopped onion & garlic, half a 14.5 oz can Muir Glen no-salt diced tomatoes, some thyme-heavy herbes de Provence. Turned up the heat at the end & sauteed the shrimp for about 2 minutes. More parsley, plop on top of more spaghetti. Sweet & delectable. If this is all I get of the fresh stuff this year, at least we've had 2 nice meals. And there's still hope. Can't ask for more. Last night, only had to toss 1 over-the-hill shrimp. Tonight had to throw 6. Delicate little things. Used a variant of Julia Child's method for storing fish, kept the package in the back of the fridge with one of those big frozen icepacks, the kind you use in a camping cooler, right on top. Kept 'em nice & cold, but even so, they go on you.

Yeah, & I'm going outta town next week so the seasons' gonna end even a couple days earlier for me. That's a steep falloff! We'll see if any of those shrunken catches make it down to Jersey for the weekend. Some lessons here for next year.

Shelling those guys IS a lot of work! But man they are good. Variant of a shrimpless recipe from Fred Plotkin's Authentic Pasta Book: 3/4 lb Maine shrimp (before shelling) 1/2 lb spaghetti 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil 1-2 cloves garlic pinch dried basil juice of 1 lemon 1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves Boil pasta. Large skillet, sautee garlic in oil, then shrimp for a minute or two. Sprinkle w basil before last 1/2 minute. Add drained pasta to skillet & toss. Drizzle w lemon juice & toss again. Sprinkle w parsley & toss again. Simplicity, purity of flavors, sweetness of the shrimp comes right to the fore. Struck me after a few bites that this might work better with thyme than the basil, something to remember. Gonna do something with tomatoes & the remaining shrimp tonight.

Yes!!!!!!! With the slightly warmer temps, my brain finally thawed enough so that I thought to canvas my local Whole Foods stores. The super-sized WF in Edgewater, right on the banks of the mighty Hudson, has the little buggers, $5.99, heads off! So I made the grueling 12-mile drive & got 1.5 lbs, which should do us for 2 nights. I assume they'll keep one night. The round trip + shopping took 2 solid hours, driving anywhere in Jersey can be grueling. Season's almost gone but I still got a couple shots at these little guys. Off to the kitchen to see what I can do.

I was torn between the duck curry & the tiger shrimp thing that night. Looks like I guessed wrong. Nice to know about the duck! I know we'll be back there cuz the place is so convenient. We've ordered takeout a couple of times & they always include the chips & that wonderful peanut sauce. It's an attraction!

It does sound intriguing. I have a new standard in these matters though: is it worth sacrificing a visit to Wondee's for? I gotta think long & hard about that. Still, thanks for the suggestion, Pandan sounds appealing.

And blend at top speed for 30 seconds. Didn't someone report that Greek Delights in Montclair had outdoor tables? Well I plan to find out when the season is right.

OTOH, they don't seem to want to call a chicken sandwich by its name any more. Tender Crisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch? Where's the bird?

Cafe Cafe here in Rutherford. No one seems to have been there tho. Including me.

According to Upton, since most of the caffeine in tea is extracted in the first 30 seconds, that's also a very good way to decaffeinate your brewed tea. To me, decaffeinated tea is like non-alcoholic beer, I just don't see the point. But I'm open to the possibility that in another 10 years I may. I've read that about the multiple-brew method, in terms of improving the flavor, & may try it one day. It's different from the tea leaves' interaction with air, though there may be a relation if the phenomenon I was talking about is an effect of moisture.

Depending on where you wind up, you could be the Bedminster Dog Show or the West Orange Dog Show or the like. Of course, if you land in Moonachie, you should revert to Weinerama (I like that one, particularly if you're offering that variety of cooking methods!) or another suggestion.

This is probably the wrong place to venture onto this topic, but I don't understand this thing about anonymous posts. When I complain about a food or a service issue on the spot in a restaurant, I'm doing so anonymously. I don't say, "my name is Joe Blow, and this rice is horrendously salty." Why should I behave any differently because I'm on the Net? I don't get it. I understand that such a complaint is much less useful after the fact than it is when delivered on the spot, and therefore I don't usually bring it up, unless I see some purpose to it (i.e., a possible health issue). But I think that the business about anonymity is often used as a red herring to divert attention from the real issue.

Didn't express myself with maximum clarity, I fear - I only drink 1 variety of tea each morning, but usually have 3 or 4 in the cabinet from which to choose. Interesting about the inside of the glass container. Was it perhaps an extremely fine dust? I've seen that happen with certain tinned teas.

Since I'm going through this ritual for the umpteenth time with two new varieties of Assam from Upton, I thought I'd inquire whether anyone else has noticed this pattern. Some teas seem to yield their full flavor from the very first pot, as soon as you open the tin, or hermetically sealed bag, as the case may be. Others taste dull & flat at the start. The dry leaves frequently have a good aroma, but that doesn't travel into the cup at the outset. Then, after a week or two of use and openings and closings of the storage container, the flavor of the new tea suddenly takes a quantum leap for the better. A fellow tea aficianado has also noticed this effect. It seems that the leaves need to interact with the atmosphere for a time to develop their full potential. Perhaps the fermentation process that occurs during the drying of the leaves needs to be restarted before they'll brew up really well. Perhaps there's such a thing as the leaves being too dry, and they need to be rehumidified to a certain degree in order to exude their maximal flavor when the boiling water hits them. My friend's approach, when he finds a tea that remains dull after a couple of initial tries, is simply to put the tea away for a couple of months; when he comes back to it, he usually finds that the flavor has blossomed. I'm not that patient or organized, I generally keep the tea in the rotation (I usually have 3-4 morning teas, & a similar number of afternoon teas, available), though I may select it less frequently until it develops. Has anyone else had this experience?