Sfuffy

Fair enough, but 15 miles can be an awfully long ride with a hungry 6 year-old. (And wouldn't you be better off taking 280 to 287 and bypassing Route 10 through the horror that East Hanover has become?)

American Grill is nowhere near East Hanover - it's in Randolph, about 15 miles and at least 30 minutes west on Route 10.

It was Joe Francesco's(or something similar) Bundle of Rubble on Passaic Avenue in Fairfield right before the Route 46 crossover. Ed and Tony's was on Ridgedale Ave. in a small strip of stores including Cumberland Farms and Al & Lou's Auto. It was the first real pizzeria in East Hanover - somewhat puzzling that it took so long to get one considering that the population was about 30% Italian. (Prior to that there was the Maple Something-or Other where rumor had it the proprietor was seen loading up on frozen pizzas at Ross's Foodtown)

Judy's does a nice Sunday brunch but its time is short-lived once its sale to the Pif crew closes. Has anyone tried Royal Tavern for brunch?

I think Greyhound/Peter Pan has the same fare but it takes you to the Port Authority bus terminal (which everyone should experience at least once in their lives) in NYC, which might be more convenient depending on where you're headed.

The slaw:meat ratio appears too high as well and the meat is too heavily stacked in the middle of the sandwich contributing to the sloppy (as opposed to a sloppy joe ) look. Was Russian dressing included? IIRC, Famous has the ridiculous policy of charging extra for it.

I have to concur on their breakfasts (esp. their giant omelets) and the cookies (a business Auspitz is keeping). But I was always underwhelmed by their deli - in large part due to my North Jersey roots and aversion to the Philly preference for dry, thin-sliced, tightly packed corned beef. And what self-respecting Jewish deli never has knishes whenever I try to order one. The Kibitz on Chestnut seemed to be on the right track when Cowan owned it (except for the soft rye bread which disintegrated under the juicy meat) so I'm looking forward to the changes (though a bit saddened to see that many of the long-time employees at the Famous may not be kept on). It would be nice to have a better Jewish deli to go to in my 'hood.

Walking down South Street today, I saw a papered-over storefront in the 600 block with a newly-painted sign above reading, "Tommy Gunn's". The place was being renovated with no indication of when they might be opening.

I definitely recognize the perils of plastic wrapping and didn't mean to insinuate that Pechter's was as deficient as the other brands (they've all gone downhill but Pechter's started from a higher plane). But when I tried the store-bought Pechter's, it didn't measure up to the Pechter's I used to have back in the day. Obviously, some of that is due to the fact that most of the Pechter's I had was of the deli-bought sliced to order kind. But I remember even the store-bought pre-packaged having more of bite to it. The current version is quite similar to Philly's Gold Medal brand which my ShopRite sells at the Appy counter.

rich, are those the same portuguese rolls they sell at garden fresh deli up here in fairmount? i love those things. they're like kaisers, but way better. ← The Pathmark on Oregon Ave. sells Texeira's rolls.

I've seen Pechter's pop up every so often in the last couple of years. According to my dad, they were taken over by some new owners a few years ago and the bread disappeared from stores for a while. Sadly, however, it's not the Pechter's rye bread I remember. The crust seems softer and the bread flabby and mushy compared to my (albeit hazy) memories. It seems to have succumbed to the same homogenization that Arnold rye bread (which doesn't make a "nice sandwich" as the late Leo Steiner used to say in their commercials) suffered. It seems that the authentic store-bought NY rye bread is a thing of the past. Most of the supermarket brands (ShopRite, Pathmark, Grossingers, Manischewitz) are baked by H&S Bakery out of Baltimore!

Sears Essentials is an off-mall store that "will offer Sears' product categories that are integral to home and family life, such as appliances, lawn and garden, tools, electronics, apparel, and home fashions along with routinely purchased convenience items, such as health and beauty, pantry, household and paper products, pet supplies, and toys."

The Kmart (formerly Caldors (formerly E. J. Korvettes)) was bought by Sears pre-merger and is being converted to a Sears Essential store.

Bonvini's in Livingston - the pizza and red sauce of my youth

"Town Hall Deli in South Orange, N.J., ... a sandwich that to this day is called the original sloppy Joe: layers of ham, tongue and Swiss cheese topped with coleslaw and Russian dressing, served on long, thin slices of soft buttered rye bread and sliced into four squares ($16.45). " $16.45? That's one expensive sandwich. ← Ham? Cheese? Butter? on a Sloppy Joe? Never! The Sloppy Joes we got from kosher and kosher-style delis (including the Tabatchnick's in Livingston, Vauxhall, & Fair Lawn; Eppes Essen in Livingston; & Petak's in Fair Lawn) when I was growing up were small sandwiches of tongue, corned beef, pastrami, or turkey with russian dressing and cole slaw. (Smokey Joes were small sandwiches with smoked fish.) They usually came on a platter and were generally found at family get-togethers including parties and, frequently, when sitting shiva. A regular-sized sandwich containing similar ingredients was rarely called a Sloppy Joe but was more often referred to as a triple-decker.

Just make sure not to ask for a pie - Pittsburghers (among others) will look at you perplexed. "Pizza Pie" seems to be more of a New York term.

That "someone" whose cajones are in the vice grips (ouch!) is the state legislature. It seems that every few years, some legislator will give some lip service to the idea of privatizing the liquor biz, then the idea quietly fades away. ← The union is only one of many reasons why the state stores live on. Others include: The PA State Government: The Legislature and Executive Branch love the annual revenues that sales from the PLCB stores bring in on a continuing basis. While sales tax and Johnstown Flood Relief tax revenue might remain level under privatization, the state would be deprived of the money added to its coffers from the the PLCB's profits. These profits help to fund state agencies relieving lawmakers of having to decide whether to raise taxes or cut programs. While privatization could conceivably bring in "billions" - this would be a one shot, short-term deal and the money would sure to be squandered over a few years. There's no mechanism for the state government to put away this money and draw it down over time (i.e., similar to an endowment). The Cultural Conservative Population: The majority (though certainly not all residents by any means) of the population in the great central portion of the commonwealth comes from a culturally conservative background which is resistant to allowing private sales of alcohol. While not necessarily a majority of the population (witness how the Presidential votes of the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh regions made up the margin of victory for John Kerry), they are disproportionately represented in the PA Legislature. Thus since their state representatives, in line with their constituents, oppose changes in the current system, it's status quo. Your Friendly Neighborhood Barkeeper: One of the major opponents to allowing retail sales of six-packs of beer has been Pennsylvania's tavern and bar owners. (They even opposed a recent proposal to allow beer distributors to sell 12-packs of beer.) Since the only place for most people to buy beer by the six-pack in PA is at their local bar (the only other options being beer stores like The Foodery which are few and far between and some deli/restaurants), it's a dirty little secret that some bars get a substantial portion of their profits from such (overpriced) sales. Allow six-packs to be sold by beer distributors (or, heaven forbid, supermarkets and convenience stores) and these profits would quickly shrivel up and many local bars claim they would be put out of business (even though somehow they survive in other states where beer is sold by the six-pack). Your Friendly Neighborhood Beer Distributor: By the same token, beer distributors oppose losing the monopoly they have on beer sales. If you could buy a six-pack at your local Ac-a-me, why would you bother to go out of your way to buy beer in the warehouse atmosphere of a beer distributor (absent needing a couple cases or a keg for a party)? (For what it's worth, at least PA is somewhat consistent in its narrow view of liquor sales (save for the whole buying a case of beer requirement). I used to live in Virginia where wine and beer can be had at any supermarket or 7-11, yet hard liquor is sold in state stores reminiscent of the Soviet Union.)

I don't believe there's broccoli rabe at John's but I do know that spinach is definitely an option.

While not having quite the extensive array of tapas of Jaleo, Mallorca on South Street has tapas that's comparable to what I've eaten in Spain (albeit, at 3 times the price )

You can also get sharp provolone at John's Roast Pork.

Nothing planned for DE according to the webite. They're opening one in MD next year but all the way down in Baltimore Co.

The Wegmans website notes coming locations in both Mount Laurel and Cherry Hill, though without any details. I just passed by the Mount Laurel location on Thanksgiving weekend. The shopping center is set back from 38 so you really can't see it from the highway but it looks fairly built-out. They just finished widening the intersection at Marter Rd. to handle the traffic going in and out (though it's going to be a hassle making the left turn out of the center's drive to get back to 38). As I posted earlier, the Target is open and the shopping center's sign is up with both Wegmans and Costco signage so it's entirely possible that Wegmans will open in January.

I remember Richfood from my days in DC as the house brand of the decidedly down-market Shoppers Food Warehouse (in fact Richfood bought SFW only to be swallowed up by SuperValu) and the local IGAs. Unless they've changed under the new ownership, I always found Richfood items to be pretty basic fare.

Just to give Pathmark a little credit, the Whitman Plaza store was completely renovated in the past two years. It's no deluxo-yuppie mart by any means but it's lost its warehouse patina; is relatively clean, well-stocked, and logically laid out; and has self-checkout which is always a plus. Pathmark has also been a trailblazer in the past decade in opening inner-city supermarkets where others felt there was no opportunity (e.g., Newark, Brooklyn). While they don't have the highest-quality food, it's certainly a quantum leap from the overpriced groceries (of sometimes questionable quality) to be found in many inner-city corner grocery stores. Unfortunately, due to corporate financial difficulties brought on in part by a 1990s leveraged buyout (they've since gone public again), Pathmark didn't invest a lot in the upkeep and renovation of their stores which exacerbated their already somewhat low-end reputation.

It's actually in Mount Laurel/Moorestown - there's a new shopping center on Route 38 West just after 295 with a sign up for Target (which is open), Wegmans, Costco, and a bunch of the usual big-box suspects.