herbacidal

I've never eaten cheesesteaks 2 days in a row. When I reheat them, they've been brought back for me by someone else.

It can be. Religious and cultural holidays are allowed in some workplaces. Whether or not they'll count against your vacation days is another thing. Check the employee handbook.

And you're a brave man, bringing cheesesteaks home with you. I feel that they have a half-life of about 5 minutes, and decrease in quality simply in the act of being wrapped up (they start to self-steam.) But I suppose a reheated cheesesteak is better than no cheesesteak at all. maybe wrapping them in pizza slices would preserve them somehow... Thanks for your report, we look forward to part 2! ← Actually, I've eaten Pat's cheesesteaks nuked the day after. Or it might have been toaster oven-warmed. But either way, it was reheated the day after and quite respectable.

I thought there was a cheapie bus from DC to NYC. Call the companies (there's 2, right?) Not too far. In nice weather, I'd walk it. About 15 relatively short blocks or about 30-45 minutes. But why bother? Go to Reading Terminal for Tommy Dinic's roast pork sandwich. Or there's tons of other stuff closer, if it's a first-time Philly visit. There's a thread somewhere in PA forum about the pork. If you come to Philly, say hi. We always like guests.

You can take the cheapie bus to PhilaChinatown too, can't you?

If it is "lowh po bang" then it means "wife biscuit". It is not really a biscuit, more like a round disk of winter melon paste wrapped with some flaky pastry. They are so good hot out of the oven..... It is not to be given during weddings, it got its name from other places. ← Lo paw baang I know. I was thrown by the "ho" in front. I remember eating them nice and hot when last I was in HK. I think it's Yuen Long that's famous for making them really good, right? But I don't know anything about the rest.

Hey! Don't uninvite the rest of us! That just means that we need to bring much much wine, food, etc. to properly thank them. I'm chomping at the bit already.

Man, I gotta get invited to your parties. That's a nice spread. We had pizza, chex mix, random other things.

Wow, that's way more than I know about this stuff.

It's okay. I should've known better than to pose like that. And I did pose for the cofounder of the site, after all. I think I prefer to be more like Ko Chun (God of Gamblers) and not have pics of me floating around.

Gastro, you have to post the pic. Yetty found the unflattering pic of me here just because I'm a sucker for the gratitutious action shot. You gotta give me a reason to visit DC. Thus far, I've visited Egulleteers in San Francisco and NYC.

Some places are able to be equally appealing to both tourists and residents/regulars. Balthazar sounds like one.

I'm still not used to seeing them called gingko nuts. We used to call them dingleberries. They were all around my elementary school when I was a young'un. Now they fall from the tree across from my house. But Gastro, socks are so cheap now. How are you at patching holes in other articles of clothing?

Yea, but I heard Boston makes lousy lobster rolls. Gotta go up to Maine to enjoy that.

I'd say real men eat both cheesesteaks and roast pork sandwiches. But those kinds of bets are always cheesesteaks. That's boring now.

Yea, I remember vaguely hearing about a New Orleans type place in West Chester. I wonder if it's High Street Cafe or Rex's. I always forget about Melange Cafe and Carmine's.

Yea, I'm wondering that too.

Yea, I remember those. When I first saw Starburst, I thought they were the same thing.

That was probably Finn MacCool's at 12th and Sansom.

Ben's right, stick with what is appropriate for the theme of the meal, which is Chinese New Year. But diners should be notiified ahead of time that what they will be having is not meant to offer something that everyone will enjoy. Including the menu in the invitation is probably the best course of action. Wait, you mean there's single Chinese / Chinese-American women my age range here? Okay, I need to dress nicer and comb my hair.

Yea, I don't know of any N'awlins style restaurant that I can recommend in the area.

That is a totally awesome upgrade to the system. Rock on, Mr. Newman.

I woulda just said "Let's give the brownies a chance as they are. If people aren't happy with them, they can add some Cool Whip from this bowl here next to it." What Susan said.

But that wouldn't be "a hotel nearby". For most people anyway. I assumed and continue to assume he means Park Hyatt as well.

I think that question can only properly be answered by you, since none of the rest of us know your girlfriend. That doesn't mean I won't try to answer anyway. Has she hinted at going to CG specifically, or just about eating big hunks of meat? If you do hafta go for the steak, CG is a good pick. I do understand it's pretty noisy though. The other one I'd throw in would be Barclay Prime. It's fairly dark, making it romantic automatically. Ceilings are lower so the noise level isn't as bad. From the BP reviews, my general impression is that the food and service is pretty good overall, just don't get the cheesesteak ripoff. And of course, you can always blow her away with the Saloon, overpriced tho it is reputed to be. I'd do the more romantic places like Overtures myself. Although I'd also try and have a steak tartare type thing at home before leaving for the restaurant. Or maybe champagne and dessert at home after dinner. And then you can save CG for her birthday.