herbacidal

Hmm, really? I always thought it did. Interesting.

In my current state of enlightenment, I believe that Miracle Whip is to Hellman's as Cool Whip is to Redi-whip as Velveeta is to real cheese.

Raw, 13th and Sansom, next to Capogiro.

Drinkboy and Webtender are great resources for drink recipes. Drinkboy was a frequent contributor in Beverages forum, but I haven't been there in a while.

They're all solid. Worth checking out if the situation is right. French Martini?? Made with Grey Goose? Lillet?

I don't think any of them are offering discounts on their regular menu, it's meant to drive traffic to the bar sections of the restaurants. That said, I believe some do serve complimentary hors d'ouvres and samples from the menu. IIRC, Brasserie Perrier and Morton's have long running happy hours with food and drink that are very well liked, but I don't know if it's on Wednesdays.

That story seems to jive with what I recall, although I also remember that I heard a rumor that that was a cover story to disguise the real reason. Spot on, T Rodgers was the name of the soul food place.

The title "$25 and under" has been unchanged for many years. Clearly, with inflation taken into account, $25 doesn't go as far as it did when the column was launched. There have been many restaurants reviewed in that space where you wouldn't get a 3-course meal for under $25. ← Maybe that used to mean a 3-course meal for under $25, and now it means entrees under $25?

Spanish Tapas....would work there. Not like the Amada-fancy type, more like the casa-mono/Tia Pol down and dirty type. ← But even there, while the volume would work in theory, there aren't enough people in Philly that do that, ie hit a place for an hour, jump off to the next place, a la true Barcelona tapas style (or at least as I understand that dining culture to be.) So that's why Amada is at the price point it is at. But it definitely is a Catch 22.

You're also forgetting about the other blip during that space's existence, immediately after Fishmarket, version 2. There was a nouveau soulfood-type restaurant there, can't recall the name though.

It seems to me you're looking at the numbers from different angles. No one is saying that 15% of $700 is not a lot more than 15% of $70. ANY RESTAURANT PATRON WOULD AGREE. But Nick is taking apart the issue from the viewpoint of the restaurant, so that people better understand what that money is paying for. Yes and no. Do you mean that dining there implies putting a lot of faith in restaurants not to charge you for their name, etc.?

Isn't Norma's in the same hotel with the burger place with no name supposed to be all that and a bag o chips? I'm sure others can fill in the details.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Craig LaBan heads north to check out Steven Starr’s forays into New York City at Buddakan and Morimoto. and back here in Philly, gazes out at Horizons. (In previous weeks he reviewed Ansill and taste.) Rick Nichols funnels information from both sides of the proposed Philadelphia Foie Gras ban. (In previous weeks he visited Banana Leaf, Vintage, 19, and Young's Candies.) Michael Klein tells us about Alphabet Soup, Naked Chocolate Café, and more in Table Talk. (In the previous Table Talk he told us about changes at Sola, yet another retirement of Joe Poon, and more. ) City Paper: Elisa Ludwig finds the south in South Street at Crescent City, and cruises past El Jarocho. (Previous weeks: A.D. Amorosi meditates on Mantra and Elisa Ludwig chomps down on Champa Laos.) Gary Kramer lists the Top 5 Dress-up Dinners. Drew Lazor notes recent openings and closings in Feeding Frenzy. Termeh Mazari surveys upcoming events in What’s Cooking. The Philadelphia Weekly Kirstin Henri plays the numbers at XIX Nineteen Café. (in earlier issues, she tries Trio, and goes to Goji.) Tom Acox corners two Unqualified Reviewers at Johnny Manana’s. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Alice T Carter visits Alfano’s at the Quail. Karin Welzel toasts Bruschetta’s. A new outpost of the barbeque chain Red Hot and Blue gets a review. Kim Lyons and James Knox host a Chana Masala smack-down in Food Fight. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Amy McConnell Schaarsmith reminisces about Belize. Nancy Anderson surveys upcoming events in Nibbles. Marline Parrish talks with veterans about Military grub. The Morning Call (Allentown) Buon Gusto is featured in Go Eat. Sasan Gottschall licks her fingers at Fat Daddy’s Barbeque, and shops at The Landis Store Hotel.

Yea, he opened Masa and Bar Masa, and part of the reason it's so pricey is that Bar Masa has like a 7 seat sushi bar, and that's it. I forget how many seats Masa has, but it's not many, and with real estate prices like that (even subsidized), it'll be expensive.

I'm reasonably certain I saw copy saying he was no longer at Hudson Yards, which is USH's catering company, in an email/publication/etc. somewhere. Egullet? Andrea Strong? FoodArts? Can't recall.

Effie's @ 12th and Pine has a back garden, but you can't watch passerby as much. Le Jardin in the Art Alliance on 18th has a rear courtyard where you can, but it looks out on a street light on pedestrians.

Shouldn't that be 5? There's seven normally, minus Cohen and minus Kelly, although it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to overwhelm Kelly as well.

I picked up their card yesterday: Ling Kee Beef Jerky Chicken Jerky Pork Jerky 42 Canal Street, New York, N.Y. 10002 Tel. (212) 965-1206 ← I think I've had their stuff too. I remember it as being tasty as well.

Back in the 60's and 70's, tipping in Hong Kong restaurants was not a common practice from what I observed. Perhaps wesza can educate us more. I first observed 10% service charge in "western" restaurants in Hong Kong (those that serve steaks and spaghetti, coffee/tea, etc.). But nowadays 10% service charge is a common place in traditional Chinese restaurants as well. It depends on the restaurant types. The neighborhood, mom-and-pop restaurants probably won't charge 10%. But anywhere that offers "decent" service would pretty much stipulate a 10% charge. As for customers, they usually leave a dollar or two (note: local currency) after the 10% and that's about it. Rarely would you find someone leaving 15% or 20% (total) tips. ← I agree with all of the first paragraph. With regards to the second paragraph, that's roughly correct. I just remember thinking of it like leaving whatever spare change (coins, not bills) was brought back after the bill was paid. That would usually be at most $5 HK, about $.65. The coin amounts were $5, $2, $1, $.50, $.20, and $.10. There might have been $.05 and $.01 as well, I can't recall. Last year I noticed there's a $10 coin now.

As I understand it, one removes the hard bits such as the legs, heads and the hard carapace, leaving the soft belly portion. This is chopped up with pork and steamed sorta like the pork patty that is sometimes cooked with salt fish. The taste for this dish is an acquired one. ← The one time I had it (if it is what I had last year) I thought we were just supposed to bite into them like anything else. That's what I did, and wasn't told by any family or others that I was wrong, so I assumed that was it. At any rate, I didn't think it was particularly interesting or good.

Definitely give them all a shot. Report back. It'll be good to know where we can try for 20 person parties on a Saturday in the future.

Fatou and Fama is on 18th and Christian, moved from 40th and Chestnut presumably.

Marigold might be worth a try, especially since they have several rooms upstairs now. And their food is great! ← Yea, those two are actually good options. I couldn't think of any that had separate rooms at least, but those definitely do. From what little I recall of Tre Scalini's upstairs room, it'll seat that number easily. Even so, what you might want to do is schedule arrival time for 8:30 or so, making it potentially easier for them if they can turn over half the upstairs room beforehand, and therefore they're more willing to accomodate. Having never been upstairs in Marigold I'll defer to others, except to say that some houses have many small rooms, with no one room being able to accomodate a party of that size. On the other hand, having been in my fair share of West Philly houses in my student (past) and realtor (present) days, the front room on the second floor would probably be able to seat 24 if they are using it as a dining room.

There's three different jerky places in Manhattan Chinatown that I've noticed, as of when I was last there roughly 2 years ago. Based on Yahoo Maps, one was on a north south street just south of Bayard, possibly Mulberry, one on Bayard right next to a Shanghai cuisine place right around the corner and one other one someplace. I recall thinking that New Beef King was the best. I'll have to re-test that belief shortly.

Like most places, Craftbar is very welcoming of singles dining at the bar, or was when I was there a few years ago. I assume Craftbar is operating there?