Furious Flav-or

Okay, take a step back. A brew-pub? In Selinsgrove? Might as well wander down 522 and set one up in Beaver Springs.

It's Selinsgrove, first off, and secondly, BJ's ribs are awfully bad. Selin's Grove?! *SNORT* I don't even want to get into what they do and have done in Danville to traditional Philly sandwiches, such as hoagies and cheesesteaks. If you're looking for a choice of "suds," consider Russell's/Clancy's in Bloomsburg. The food (some of it) isn't bad, either.

http://www.onmyplate.org/images/saigon_coffee.jpg Any Vietnamese restaurant for ca phe sua da.

http://www.thediner.statecollege.com/stickies.html ← As for what it is rather than how to get one, a grilled sticky is a Central PA treat (which may or may not have originated in Philadelphia) that's a bready kind of dough coated with a sugary topping, mashed together into a log, cut to a 2" or so width, and pan-fried in butter. Best served, IMHO, with Penn State Creamery butter pecan ice cream. (Note: at Ye Olde College Diner, a sticky served a la mode is known as a Mount Nittany.) Mmm. Mmm mm mmmm. Christopher ← I think that's somewhat clear from the image on the page: http://www.thediner.statecollege.com/images/stickies.jpg

The topic says it all. A business trip to the LA area, and doing Pink's for lunch. Any ideas for a mixed-pocket-depth crowd? Open to ethnic cuisine, etc, ISO places where the food is better than the atmosphere and the value of being seen there. Thanks in advance. - Furious from Philly

http://www.thediner.statecollege.com/stickies.html

As a disclaimer being involved with owners of the operation.... but the "construction" in the area is irrelevant to the restaurant, there is a new townhouse next door undergoing some facade work and the scaffolding was in fact removed this weekend. The interior or exterior of the restaurant isnt in any way hampered by any construction. ← Didn't mean to make it sound like the construction had anything to do with you. It just makes going down the street to the restaurant in one direction a bit of an adventure, that's all, and it will be a more attractive surrounding for Apamate.

Spoke in Spanish with a female voice at the restaurant. Evidently it's a daughter/father operation — she said she's from Barcelona but said that her dad was from "the north of Spain." Aragon? Navarre? Anyway, brunch on Sunday is from 9 am to 3 pm. ← Okay, some corrections, some observations. We had lunch today at Apamate. We split an appetizer and dessert, croquetas de jamón serrano and churros y chocolate, and had a bocadillo and a bocata, both of chorizo. With a cortado coffee and two sodas ($2 for a can, though?) it came to just shy of $37. Remarkably, we managed to kill an hour and a half there, which really doesn't say much about their traffic, at least not yet. The specific spot along South is still a bit on the dicey side, but they've done a nice job with the interior, with warm, orangish sienna walls, decorative overhead ducts, and large, brown ceramic floor tiles. The kitchen is separated from the eating area by a wall but is visible while entering. Ane, the chef, is from Venezuela (not barcelona, horrible static on the phone before), by way of Spanish parents (Bilbao and Gijón) who saw to it that she went back to Spain for summers. She said that she's determined to offer food that stays true to its origins, which is refreshing, given the number of places that cave in to the plæbian palate of the masses. The croquettes were correct in their preparation, and nicely presented. Our chorizo sandwiches (mine cold, a bocata, which is more or less a Spanish hoagie, with cured, spicy sliced chorizo, and hers hot, with cooked chorizo in an unidentifiable sauce) were more than slightly nouvelle departures from traditional Spanish tavern fare. They were also delicious and reasonably priced. The churros were as I remember them from fiestas in Spain, and the chocolate was slightly more bitter to my taste and thinner than that which remains in my memory years later, but any discrepancies between today's dessert and yesterday's fond memories were cheerfully overlooked. Oh, and did I mention the espresso? The other principal, formerly of Colombe, let it slip that the coffee was selected in Spain, although it is evidently roasted in _______. The crema was perfect, and I have to second the thought expressed herein by another that it is about the best espresso beverage that I've had in the States, bar none. I ordered a cortado, which is pretty much like a macchiatto, since this is a Spanish place, and more than ostensibly, and got a bang-up version once explanations and translations were squared away. Go and enjoy. It's a great little lunch place, and will only be better as the construction in the area is finalized and the menu hopefully fleshes out a little from its presently somewhat Spartan status. Nonetheless, isn't it nice to find a place that can actually do more than a few things right, no matter how short the carte?

Spoke in Spanish with a female voice at the restaurant. Evidently it's a daughter/father operation — she said she's from Barcelona but said that her dad was from "the north of Spain." Aragon? Navarre? Anyway, brunch on Sunday is from 9 am to 3 pm.

Does anyone have their phone number yet?

Went last night. I had carnitas and an horchata, Flavette flautas and a coke. They're changing, and not for the good. It isn't the first time I've seen it happen in a Latino restaurant, and it won't be the last. Our Guatemalan waitress very proudly told me that they're getting new, plasticized menus, evidence of which was already on the tables, a short list of a dozen or so lunch specials aimed at gringos. They've tried to make it on immigrant clientele alone, and it isn't working, so they've trimmed things from the trifold paper menu and reduced the spiciness of many of their dishes that should be spicy, if not at least piquant. Can "Señor Porky" on their menu be far behind? On to the next place, I think.

I grabbed take out for dinner from there a few months ago as well. Not sure if they are still serving dinner, but I can check. Try the "Chili Chicken", an Indo-Chinese favorite....they do make it spicy. ← Percy, for a while we just about lived there over the weekends. In fact, we wound up at loose ends, without plans, and no desire to go overboard whipping the spoon for just the two of us, and ate there on Christmas Day. We've done dinner there at least four times, and probably done the buffet twenty times at least over the course of the past year or so. The chili chicken is good. I love the goat curry. Sundays are great with all the extra touches.

Dinner? Next to Vishay? You aren't talking about Royal India, are you? So far as I know, it's lunch-only buffet, like 11:30 to 3:30 or so.

Why not just go around to the back and sit in the restaurant? You mentioned coffee shops — surely there are at least a dozen places that vaguely fit the description of a place in which you can get various kinds of Vietnamese coffee down that way.

The blood is in there, somewhere underneath the banana blossom. I buy it in South Philly at Hung Vuong Supermarket, 1122-38 Washington Ave., where I get pretty much everything else, too. It's back in the left corner of the store near the old chickens for stock, the beef bones, the tendon, to the left of the fish counter along the back wall. It's sold in long triangles; I cut a hunk and break it into three smaller triangles and use that. And yes, it gels up wonderfully, cooled in the fridge. ← D'uh, I see I left them out of the recipe. [smacks self in head]

moelleux/moelleuse Wines - sweet Other things - soft/mellow/tender

Uh, john, that can't even be the same page. Care to share the URL you're getting that from, because it surely isn't the one that mrbigjas cited.

Here ya' go: Prep 15 minutes, Cooking 8 minutes 100 grams choc 100 grams sugar 50g flour 2 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 100 grams butter Mix sugar, eggs (whole and yolks) and flour until you have a well-mixed batter/paste. Melt the chocolate with the butter. Mix it into the rest (above). Empty into buttered and floured rammekins. Bake at 210 C. for eight minutes (note, for them to be really soft, the baking has to be monitored attentively) (Six months at a business school in France did something for me, I guess)

The one on the left is guanabana (soursop) and the one on the right was mamey...both excellent!! I'm coming back for some Peruvian roast chicken. Apparently this year is El Sol de Peru's 10th anniversary--no mean feat in the restaurant world. The owner gave us pens to commemorate the occasion. FYI -- the next buffets should be Saturday, May 6, and Saturday, June 3. Pernil asado, drool. Not much more to be said. James -- we didn't make it to Pojangmacha because we agreed that it really deserves its own day (or meal, at least) of eating... actually, we just barely scratched the surface at all of these places; I will definitely be back. P.S. Added bonus: parking is incredibly easy, and FREE! ← Just a thought, but if'n when you quote, getting rid of the IMG tags stops the thread spread down the page.

The blood is in there, somewhere underneath the banana blossom. I buy it in South Philly at Hung Vuong Supermarket, 1122-38 Washington Ave., where I get pretty much everything else, too. It's back in the left corner of the store near the old chickens for stock, the beef bones, the tendon, to the left of the fish counter along the back wall. It's sold in long triangles; I cut a hunk and break it into three smaller triangles and use that. And yes, it gels up wonderfully, cooled in the fridge.

you have to ask? pm me if you think it'll be considered off-topic for the forum. ← NP. All they can do is yell at me and ask where to get the ingredients, right? Ingredients first: Stock: ½ to 1 lb. London broil or eye round steak ½ to 1 lb. Lean pork loin 4 Pork trotters approx 3 lbs. 1 lb. Chicken back bones 5 Stalks lemon grass 1 Large or 4 small yellow onion/s 5 Cloves garlic 20 Cups water 2 Tablespoons dried roasted onion. (Sold at most Asian markets) 2 Tablespoons rotten fish sauce (nuoc mam) 1 Tablespoon shrimp paste (ruoc) 4 teaspoons sambal oelek ¼ Teaspoon black pepper 1½ Teaspoons salt 3 to 4 pieces "rock" sugar 1 teaspoon MSG Vegetables: 1 banana blossom, sliced thin, soaked, rinsed, drained (if canned just rinse and slice) ¼ to ½ lb. Asian water spinach or watercress if unavailable, leaves only Holy basil, culantro, quartered lime wedges, thinly sliced small onion, sliced hot peppers, bean sprouts Noodles: Vermicelli rice noodles 8 to 10 cups water Process: 1. Place pork trotters in water to cover. Parboil until a healthy head of "scum" has cooked out and floats on water's surface. 2. Remove trotters, rinse under cold running water, reserve. Clean stockpot out thoroughly and return to stove. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for chicken bones. 3. Caramelize onions over open flame for 10 to 15 minutes, less if smaller onions. Remove worst of scorched, black carbonized onion material and slice off ends. Reserve. 4. Prepare pork loin and London broil/eye round for pot. Take care to remove fat and connective tissues from pork. 5. Prepare lemon grass by removing rough, discolored outer layers and trimming at ends. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizing hammer, slightly crush the cleaned stalks, cut in half, and tie into a bundle. 6. Place the rice vermicelli for the meal in cold water to soak for at least one hour at this point. 7. Place 20 cups COLD water in stockpot. Add trotters and place on medium high flame. Add beef and pork loin, as well as lemon grass, caramelized onions, and remainder of stock ingredients as stock picks up to a nicely rolling low boil. Reduce to medium flame and cook beef and pork until sufficiently tender. 8. Remove London broil sections, slice thinly (1/8 to 1/16") across grain, place into cold water for a minute to halt cooking action, bag, and refrigerate. Take care not to overcook beef past medium. Repeat for pork, making sure that pork is cooked well enough to avoid issues. 9. Allow stock to continue cooking for at least another half hour. 10. Begin vegetable prep work on banana blossom, basil, culantro, and watercress. 11. Strain stock into second pot and bring to rolling boil. Bring 8 to 10 cips water to boil for rice vermicelli. Reserve trotters, taking care to allow room in second pot for trotters. Return trotters to second pot. 12. Place vermicell in water for eight to ten minutes, removing and rinsing under cold water in a colander for a minute. Place now-cooled rice vermicelli in bottom of soup bowls. Blanch bean sprouts for 30 seconds in boiling stock. Take great care as stock is now incredibly hot. Place sprouts over noodles, cover with a handful each of reserved pork and beef per bowl, and place trotter in as well. 13. Cover contents of soup bowl with rapidly boiling stock. Garnish with assorted vegetables, and feel free to adjust taste with hoisin sauce, sriracha sauce, rotten fish sauce, etc.

Speaking of Columbian food, there's even better to be had up the road from Tierra Columbiana, albeit without any of the charm. That is, of course, if she's still there. Two doors up from the corner of 5th and Rockland, a long catty-corner from La Pachanga record store, there's a place that a woman named Ophelia Restrepo runs. I have no clue what it was called, but if it's still there, she makes unworldly Columbian food, especially the chuletas. I'm talking OMFG good. Been at least a year since I was up that way, and I gotta go back soon to get my grease on.

Funny, I was under the impression that it was guinea pig: http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/cuisine/a/cuy.htm

I'm glad that you had a nice day out, phila. Taste is both relative and a matter of perception. I prefer what I've had elsewhere and what I make myself to the bun bo hue that I had at Little Saigon. As I stated before, the broth tasted to me like the product of an instant base, many of which are available and used commercially. Part of my disappointment was in the apparent lack of complexity in the broth; whereas traditional phó broth is purely beef, bun bo hue's (despite translating to Hue Beef Noodle) broth can be made with a combination of beef, pork, and chicken. Northern purists might insist on beef alone; southerners and those towards Cambodia are more lenient and catholic in their use of meats. Other things were missing as well: no blood tablets, no banana blossoms, nothing offered in the way of the "hedgerow" besides cilantro, and that after asking; usually, bun bo hue comes with sprouts, and one or more of mint, watercress, thai basil, culantro, and hot peppers. Edward admitted when I talked to him that most Americans are unfamiliar with the nuances and that he purposefully omits some of the touches for their palate. If you'd like, I'll post the recipe that I use at home. There are several places in and around Washington Avenue that serve a decent bowl, You do, though, have to insist on the whole-hog approach at most restaurants. Additionally, I've had the Cambodian version (South Vietnam was part of Cambodia before the French showed up; they lay claim to this dish as well.) up at Phnom Penh (and other places) on Old York Rd. around Rockland, definitely DDD territory. EDIT: Oh, and before I forget it, if you look carefully along the latino aisle in certain supermarkets, you can find Inca and other "champagne colas." My younger son, who is currently in Japan, is absolutely addicted to it. Try a Giant, or, of course, one of the various Cousin's stores if you're up that way.

Oh, it was everything that it could be tonight. Everything was just spot-on. We went aiming for leftovers, and we got them: szechuan green beans, scallion pancakes, twice cooked chicken (one above Guizhou), lamb with cumin, spicy wontons, and old No. 7, cold spicy tripe and beef. Best of all, our ocasional nemesis, "scowly face waiter," was nowhere to be seen. Now, some better news. The guy out front, who I suppose is either the owner, manager, or both, told me that they are going to try and retain a select number of the most popular traditional dishes from the Chinese menu, given their popularity. He also mentioned changes to the windows to create greater privacy, and removing both the partition wall and the center partition between the center booths to create more and better seating. He didn't, however, mention anything about changes in the kitchen staff. That, I suppose, was an attempt to save a bit of face and to buttress our confidence in their return. I can only hope that they find a capable replacement and continue knocking out honest to goodness Szechuan rather than giving up and pushing the same sweet-sour-salty sodium-laden crap that passes for Chinese food everywhere else. Tifco was a revelation that came along at a timely juncture, and I for one will miss it should the changes completely destroy what was.