herbacidal

Apologies, I've been overburdened with other duties to do very much with the media digest these last few weeks. I'll be continuing my regular routine now. The Philadelphia Inquirer: Craig LaBan endures the waits for good tacos at La Lupe. Rick Nichols renders his opinion about Dietrich’s. Michael Klein alerts us to Posh Restaurant, and other recent openings in Table Talk. The Daily News The Mystery Muncher has lunch at Waterlilies in Lahaska. Joe Sixpack wonders why all the brew-pub action is in: the burbs. City Paper: Maxine Keyser goes for broke at Estia. Elisa Ludwig manages to decode the sign and not call Fat Daddies “Fat Dappies”. Drew Lazor notes recent openings and closings in Feeding Frenzy. Pat Hogan surveys upcoming events in What's Cooking. Kelly White counts down the top 5 deliveries. A.D. Amorosi blows out the candles at Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar. The Philadelphia Weekly Kirstin Henry says Gayle doesn’t blow, and mulls over warmed wine at North 3rd. Niel Ferguson is pished-off at A Bar Named Sue. Tom Acox corners two Unqualified Revfewers at The New Deck Tavern. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Karin Welzel mussels her way into Point Brugge, and slows down for the food at Six Penn. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Nancy Anderson Nibbles on food events. Elizabeth Downer tracks the movement of the chefs from Baum-Vivant to Sunnyledge. The Morning Call (Allentown) Susan Gottshall samples the Portuguese cuisine at South Side Steel in Bethlehem.

I would agree with Katie as well about Northern Liberties. In my opinion, people overall paid more in Northern Liberties than in the Art Museum area which is why I recommended the Art Museum area. This is anecdotal and is a generalized opinion. If I lived there, I could see wanting a bakery on a personal level. I'm just not sure if my own needs and wants would be consistent enough with a high enough percentage of the neighborhood's population. Combine the relatively similar population demographics in all of the outlying Central Philadelphia neighborhoods with where existing bakeries are located (and my opinion that Old City, and the main part of Center City are inappropriate for existing saturation, real estate costs, etc.) my opinions about real estate prices, and random other data, I concluded that the Art Museum area would be where I personally would decide to locate such a bakery, were I to choose such a venture.

The beef looks very tasty. I'm most amused personally though by the rice and vegetables. I take it you either have a one of those steel rings at home, or you use an empty can.

The media digest is/was on hiatus for the holidays. It will resume this coming Sunday. Apologies, I neglected to post previously about this.

They expanded into the space next to it, on Sansom St, a few years ago.

Wait'll you try it with rabe instead of spinach at someplace other than Dinic's. But that's just my personal preference.

What do people think of their coffee? At least one DC-er thinks it's too weak.

Hmm, there is an extent to which artisan implies bread. Perhaps that was a wrong assumption on my part. I vaguely remember a bakery type place on one of the corners above Fairmount on 24th or 25th, but it wasn't there the last time I passed it.

Let's count out the bakeries in the city. Already mentioned: Miel, Metropolitan, Pink Rose, Sud. Sugar Hill (I think it's still there just off Baltimore Ave), Brown Betty (is that the one in Northern Liberties?), Petit 4 (3rd and Race), the Vietnamese-French one on 12th right around Tasker (I think this is the one Shacke refers to as Artisan Boulanger Patisserie), the tiny shop I never remember on Arch between 2nd and 3rd, and the one that went in where Oasis was on Walnut. Any others? Assuming you don't want to do artisan breads (relatively low margins, Metropolitan, Le Bus and a few others including Artisan Boulanger Patisserie already doing it very well), I'd probably suggest the Art Museum area. You can sort of assert that Katie's area is well-served, between Whole Foods and the Italian South Philly bakeries. And the Graduate Hospital area is reasonably walkable from Miel and Rittenhouse Metropolitan. But there isn't any bakery I know of in the Art Museum area, which has a high percentage of 21-35 year olds that is likely to go even higher when the Brewerytown development is filled. I'm not sure why that matters, I'm thinking it does for some reason.

A lot of places have RW now. Offhand, Philly, NYC, DC and Miami. I'm sure there are others too. I doubt I could do as many as you, but I would like to build about 2 into a nice trip.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Craig LaBan looks back at the past year in The Bells of 2005. Despite an enthusiastic take on the local scene, there were no 4-bell reviews issued this year… Rick Nichols tries to decipher the menu prose at Gayle . Michael Klein is star-struck by the names associated by some new restaurant projects in Table Talk. An anonymous diner visits Hamlet Bistro in Mt. Airy. The Daily News Sono Motoyama assesses the Mexican-French fusion at Paloma. Joe Sixpack pops the top on a new trend for craft brewers: cans! City Paper: Maxine Keyser excavates Pompeii. Carolyn Wyman reminisces about Tea Sandwiches at Lord and Taylor. Drew Lazor notes recent openings and closings in Feeding Frenzy and burns his butt with Top 5 Spicy Dishes. Pat Hogan surveys upcoming events in What’s Cooking. The Philadelphia Weekly Lauren McCutcheon is a sucker for the grilled octopus at Estia, and swings by The Hinge. Kirstin Henry gets a lift from Crespelle, and gets toasted at some local dining or drinking spots with fireplaces. Tom Acox corners two Unqualified Reviewers at Minar Palace. Mara Zapeda puckers up for Preserved Lemons. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Sally A Quinn takes the tube to Elephant and Castle. Michael Machosky grabs a dog at ”The Dirty O”. Pamela Starr gets a lesson in Roasting Quail from Ryan Racicot of Trilogy. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Virginia Philips visits a local Feast of the Seven Fishes. The Morning Call (Allentown) Sylvia Lawler gets cozy on The Terrace.

And that last picture-- up on the board behind the host--- I want to see what that 'sandwich cubano' is all about! Has anyone tried that? ← Not locally I haven't. If they make a good one, I'd be mighty happy.

I haven't heard those, but they make sense. You're not home during the open house, right?

When is everyone coming here? I've been thinking of swinging down from Philly to DC for a few days during RW, and it'd be great if we could do a Egulleteer dinner with a combo of out of towners and homies, perhaps at Corduroy. The other place I want to check out is Jaleo. Still investigating other options.

Hmm, perhaps this would be a good reason to visit DC. I'll have to research further.

Where is it? Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou? The limited amount I can see of the article doesn't say.

Philadelphia-area American-born Chinese call them dingleberries. Grandmas all over Chinatown come and pick them up when they fall to the ground. They're also used in Chinese congee, of course.

Did you compare the lists of provinces? It's some interesting insights into different ways of pronounciation, spelling, etc. We're sorta both right, it really just goes by our source's interpretation.

Thanks Greg, I remember reading that now, Vientiane is a province of Laos that borders Thailand, and the Laotian origins explain the mix of things we more readily associate with Thai and Vietnamese. Not only that, but Vientiane is the capital of Laos. ← I know it's the capital city. I don't know that it's also a province. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/la.html

And you get other people's saliva as a bonus fixin! Dee-licious! Haven't been back to Maoz since that incident, and doubt I ever will. But Philly Falafel sounds good; I'll try to head over there when I'm in town later in the month... ← Well, it sounds like Maoz might be worth it as long as you make sure to get there right when they open.

Yea, Ritz Carlton has had a chocolate bar buffet for a while. I'm wondering if more places opened that served really good hot chocolate, raising the profile of it, would that help Ritz keep it open longer? Thus far, we haven't got on the fancy hot chocolate kick like NYC.

Philadelphia Inquirer Craig Laban visits Meze. Rick Nichols visits Margaret Kuo’s in Wayne for a Sichuan education. Philadelphia Daily News Sono Motoyama visits Estia. City Paper (Philadelphia) Peter Burwasser looks into holiday quaffing options. Alex Richmond investigates a personal favorite, offal, in the form of cow stomach. Drew Lazor lists some up ‘n comers. Danny Adler gives some restaurant fancified junk food. The Philadelphia Weekly Lauren McCutcheon pops in on local culinary schools to get some cheap eats. Kristin Henri has a latte or eight at Chapterhouse. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Karin Welzel helps us get jiggy with Slovakian traditions as the Senkos guide us along. Karin Welzel investigates what’s hanging at Halo Café. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Amy McConnell Schaarsmith offers party tips sure to help your holiday party run smoothly, just before offering up some holiday recipes for Christmas dinner.

There's also a place in Philly by the name of Mr. BarStool. Personally I think most of their stuff is too expensive, but if you want a baseline to go by, it's not bad. Plus it may actually be cheaper than what's available in NYC, I'm not sure. Ebay and some other restaurant supply websites aren't bad. Auctions are something else, but that's also hit or miss. I've sometimes wondered when walking past failed restaurants if it was worth calling the owner and just making an offer on what is visible (if any) through the window. This thought was initiated by looking at bar stools in one particular restaurant.

Their HH was one of my favorite things in 1995-96. $1 food (taco shell pizza, taco, quesadilla, or wings), $1 beers (Yuengling, I think Tecate, Dos Equis, Sol and Bohemia too), (roughly)$13 pitchers of flavored margaritas. Not sure how much of that is still going on.

Continued progress in a positive direction is all the thanks I need. I'm sure Shola feels similarly. Well, an invite to hold a dinner party there down the road would be appreciated as well!!