herbacidal

I can empathize with that. i can empathize with that as well. wait, hold on a minute.... that was in my dreams. no one would think a six foot one asian guy adorable.

thanks lauren, for filling in most of the useful data. now all i have to do is fill in the blanks and add further commentary. tasting room had been pushed heavily by katieloeb, but i just never got around to trying it. delaying it was a nice way of meeting lauren. yea, i planned it. :-) can't believe you left your favorite tasting room dish, the skate. it was in a tomato currant sauce, can't recall what was served with it, though. didn't actually know that they were ramp greens with the bacon, having never had ramps before. i actually thought it was ground/pureed spinach. lauren and i pretty much agree on the food, as far as contrasts, appropriateness, etc. i did mention that i think the scallops were probably not kept particularly cold for fear of them being so cold that there is no flavor to mix with the blood orange. that being said, there probably is a better way, perhaps indirect contact with ice rather than direct. that being said, having an idea of what the kitchen has to work with, it's amazing that they can come up with anything of this caliber regardless. the cheese plate had five cheeses: 2 were cow's milk, 1 sheep's milk, 1 goat's milk and a cheddar. 1 of the cow's milk cheese was a creamy bleu cheese. the wines. i think lauren had a riesling, i believe the vineyard ends in "hill", and i had a foris gewurtztraminer from oregon. we also each had dessert wines, lauren a gewurtzraminer, and myself a red. service was very good: knowledgeable, efficient, pleasant, fun. 'ino and le gamin cafe are both delightful little cafes. (noticed the latter is a small chain) little touches in decor were nice, such as at 'ino a small closet and bars for hanging newspapers by the front door. at le gamin, i had the saucissons (sp?) crepe. listed as sweet sausage, i didn't find it to be sweet at all. mind you, this doesn't mean it wasn't good. it just wasn't sweet. actually it was fairly salty. it was also the first time i've had a crepe that was as "well-done" as it was, that is, it wasn't light and fluffy. i've had only 2 crepe experiences prior, and can't recall specifics from them, i just thought it would have been more airy. also managed to swing by katz's and benny's burritos on Ave A. Good solid huevos verdes with black beans and slightly spicy home fries at the latter. I will say i was a little disappointed in katz's though. had a pastrami on italian, with 3 pickles and a knish. purposely didn't tip b/c didn't want a heaping pile of a sandwich, obliging me to eat it all there, thus possibly lowering my chances of eating different meals by at least 1. guy gave me some while he was slicing it anyway. while it was pretty tasty, it by no means was as heavenly as i expected. maybe i expected too much. should i have gotten mustard on the pastrami? it was slightly dry, but i didn't really mind, but mustard might have made it better. actually wanted a kascha knish, which i thought was available, but wasn't asked, and i was a little confused by the whole procedure, and didn't think about it until i bit into it and saw it was potato. good crisp pickles though. also managed to have octopus takoyaki at otafuku. octopus fried in a light dough. man, do i love those. what sauces are those they put on top? i gather that the white is a mayonnaise of sorts, the other one that looks somewhat like plum sauce has a familiar flavor, but can't quite place it. also, what is that shredded, dried flaky stuff on top? i've had that before, but never actually inquired. could they be bonito flakes perhaps? neglected to ask in this case as well.

yes, definitely bravo to you. wish u nothing but the best. the journalistic chops are obvious, i agree. glad you have such a supportive+flexible sister, able to move to Paris and help you on your journey, and maybe start one of her own. totally understand about the Chinese family restaurant bit. same deal here. look forward to reading every bit of your stuff. again best of luck to you, but it looks like you're creating your own, which is always the best way.

wow, my only problem with reading all this is that there's so much to learn. anyway, post on! i'll muddle my way through this.

jeez, thanks lissome i had my hopes all up for immediate gratification. oh well. maybe i can make it anyway.

i like holly's suggestion also. not that ambitious myself, plus i like figuring things out at last minute, but that's just me. so, is that all you're planning for your last weekend, a dinner? saturday afternoon, you should start drinking, so that you don't end until well into sunday. that last day, is that still called may day? vaguely recall that from something or other when i was hanging around the campus.

BTW rob, great quotes as far as life philosophy. like to think that's how i live. need something funnier/more amusing tho.

rob: he runs it out of his old apartment. he no longer lives there, he just does food studio + catering business + cooking classes out of there. everything is owned i believe. he's been doing it for probably 2 to 2.5 years now. he'll email you the menu about 2 days before. take it to a really good wine shop, and if the people are on their game, they'll be able to pair well. be forewarned, the shop should have really knowledgeable staff. lissome: for most purposes, yes, you must be 8. in other words, if he gets to know you, he'll agree to do 10. but that's probably the limit. it's just him, no helpers. i'm free. did someone bail on you? i could be a host of sorts. i've hosted 3 dinners there, none since he added the 5th course. doubt you could get the date now if you didn't already.

never heard of either of those towns. that first one sounds especially weird. i'll have to look that up.

i'd say there is a downside, yes as far as the possibility of them being out of something. i do think they are smart enough in the kitchen to be able to plan for something to minimize that happening. i also think the upside of it is that if you are relatively flexible about what you eat, he would also be willing to just cook for you off-menu based on whatever might be available, if you wanted. since they change the menu ofte and continue to get acclaim regardless of specific menu, you can be reasonably sure that it will be good, because they are used to cooking new things and thinking up new selections. allowing you to test him a little more, although that might be better for a second time than the first time at a restaurant.

501 downtown is decent, in harrisburg. good quality seafood, would have preferred more to the sides with the fish. little comedy club downstairs as well. their site no byobs that i know of. only been to harrisburg once, in february, when i went to 501.

yes, the state legislature is particularly stodgy and immobile in their ways. i would say that privatizing it would be impossible. that revamping it is herculean, and just slightly less impossible.

actually didn't notice the trend in your questioning until today.

addendum to above: Washington state is not the competition as far as liquor and wine, as NJ, DE, NY, and OH are. compared to them (not so sure about OH and NY firsthand), PA definitely has a ways to go. i think the ideal of a government run system can be better for the consumer. i do think it's a herculean task also, but a slightly less difficult one than privatizing. i think privatizing will be problematic because of in part, the leglislature, which is horrible, but that would be yet another issue.

okay, not that i'm totally on the side of PLCB, especially since I do live in Jersey, but... i do recall a good experience with the people that run the shop in old city, on 2nd. personable, helpful, seemingly somewhat knowledgeable. i also recall a sunday inquirer magazine article on the pleasantries of one of the main line state stores. narberth perhaps? the few times i've been in the chestnut superstore, i didn't notice a particular warmth. that being said, it was warmer than, let's say total wine in cherry hill. methinks newman has a herculean task in front of him because of entrenched interests and other things. he has done pretty well so far, i'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt as far as being able to succeed over the long term. the problem with that is that because of all the obstacles, that long term is probably like a decade or more. last but not least, i do recall a letter to the editor after Phila Weekly's article on PLCB modernizing indicating that the prices and selection were actually better than some of the prices he was experiencing in his living area, which i believe to be washington state, but not sure. at any rate, currently costco's stores there (where they are headquartered) and elsewhere offer superb selection and prices, from what i hear. maybe i should separate this into 5 or 7 posts to up my count, like tommy.

so it's called temple st. somebody was telling me about it in cantonese. managed to miss the area in previous trips. cool.

bigjas' point on jack's firehouse is important, and perhaps a good reason to go to the art museum. if you do go, check out the tapestrys. they're my favorite part. reading terminal market and italian market are both worth checking out; the question is should you check them both out on the same trip? i'd be happy to help you build an itinerary. PM if you want. dinners: striped bass, django, morimoto lunch: italian market, reading terminal, jack's firehouse??? if italian market (between 9th and 11th(N-S streets) and Christian and Washington (E-W Sts)), then either shank and evelyn's or chickie's is probably best choice. i like both their sausage sandwiches, but katie's pushing S+E's chicken cutlet, which probably ain't too bad. if reading terminal (12th and Arch), ya got tommy dinic's as mentioned for roast pork, delilah's for southern although i thought was overpriced, the amish bbq place in the northwest corner is good though, down home diner also possible.

as far as service goes, if the person is at work that day, then everything else should be hidden. pleasant to deal with, eager to please, etc. they should also be an efficent/capable server, but it seems like it's almost too much to ask that someone is both pleasant and efficient. that is the only way to build a service-business. anything else (big test next day, taking dog to vet, broke up with BF, etc.) should be left behind and / or well hidden. any service business (and increasingly every business is a service business), the product is not only the deliverable (toy, computer) but it is also how you deliver it. in the restaurant business this is more important than other service businesses because of the extended time someone is with you. the service, plus ambience, is how you engage the mind, which is the product. it's how you build the brand image of a restaurant. barb's experiences at the four seasons is especially deplorable because of its status as a premium brand, and thus what she is paying for that experience/service. great service and mediocre food will always win out over great food and mediocre service. great service and great food is even rarer, which is why four seasons as a chain, has done well. quite disappointed to hear what she has told us. sorry for the rant, needed to get it off my chest. i've been a server, banquet server, caterer, busboy, owner's son.

won't comment on dinner, don't feel like muddying the issue. it is interesting that tommy's 2-3 day trip has spawned this long a thread, but that's the power of the tommy. anyway, the lunch suggestions so far are good. the main questions to me are: if you're gonna be on the go during the day, where are you gonna be? getting too full shouldn't be problem, just walk everywhere, then take public transit/cab only when tired. it's how i handled eating all day in my manhattan trips these past few years. the first time i did it in feb 2001, i walked from upper 90s east to chelsea, back to chinatown. don't worry, we'll find you some good lunch spots. just give some guidelines, like what else (non-food, etc.) will influence your schedule, locations?

cheap champagne is as bad as cheap beer. i remember the first time i had frexienet. thankfully, i've managed to avoid it since. Yuengling is a big local lager. some people prefer it to others. i think it is definitely the best cheap beer around. Eminently quaffable. around right now is PA, where they're as readily available as Bud and Miller and Coors. They're in Jersey, and NY, I believe, and they've bought some breweries and expanded capacity. Does Rheingold make a lager? I've been hearing about their re-emergence in NYC lately?

Restaurant Associates runs the food services of many of the major NYC museums and a decent number outside Manhattan. You can be assured that any of their places is at the least passable, as their cafeteria food is, and at their larger museums, they quite often have a full-service restaurant of good quality. I worked for them a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Their site, Website should have a list of all their places.

didn't know there was a pineapple-roast pork bun. will have to look into that. in cantonese: roast pork would be cha siew pineapple would be ball laaw (seems to be phonetically better, IMO) bun would be bao so it would probably be said more as roast pork pineapple bun. roast pork pineapple bun would be cha siew ball laaw bao. don't know what else you were asking. please clarify, but i'll attempt to give some info. the basic roast pork bun comes two ways, steamed or baked. the baked is the yellow one, steamed is the one available at dimsum. both are available at some bakeries, some may just have baked. the baked one would be gook cha siew bao. the steamed one would be jing cha siew bao.

Doug, you can now buy a spray-can of Baccaire, a new product which enables you to spray your clothes with the fine, pungent aroma of tobacco. It was launched in the USA early last week, and it comes in two distinctive aromas "Cool Carolina" or "Classic Virginia". The manufacturers are Atlanta Flavors Inc, and their Marketing VP Avril Primo has announced that they have plans for a range of cigar aromas including "Havana Heaven" and if the new product proves successful then they will launch in Europe in the summer. Maybe Atlanta Flavors have interests in the dry-cleaning business that is a ridiculous product. ah, yes the hilarity of it all.

s'okay, andrew. we all hafta look the devil in the eye sometime. yea, i think the fish sandwich is probably the best of the lot. are there equivalents for sarcone's? can't think of any, and i'd be happy to learn about any.

temple street, is that near diocesan girls school? east of nathan road, probably semi-close to jordan and yau ma tei subway stops? might it be pronounced in cantonese something like "miu gai"?