guzzirider

I think I'm going to have to be the dissenting opinion on Tinto. LaBan seemed one step closer to God with each bite, but we went in for dinner there not too long ago, and it really didn't do much for me. Two things that I really loved was the dish of kobe beef and a truffled poached egg in consomme, which was outstanding, and also the La Peral blue that was on the cheese plate - wow is that good cheese. On the flip side, a loser for me was the mussels. You can find some really good pots of mussels in this town, and after some of those, this tiny crock of mussels was a bit of a let-down. Generally, the food was quite good, but in the end, I couldn't shake the feeling that we just dropped 250 beans on a bottle of wine and some appetizers. I wouldn't mind going back to sit at the bar and just have that kobe dish with a glass of wine... but beyond that, I'm just not that into it. Sorry... I feel that I've blasphemed... I need to go beat myself with a scourge now... __Jason

I was wondering about this as well. I'm guessing they use a combination of butter and shortening. My guess is that it affects the texture. __Jason

Interesting piece on KYW today: http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/603012.php?co...ontentId=628577 The story that they broadcast had a bit more information as well. Mark Stock said that they've been experimenting with various recipes that eliminate trans fat, but they simply can't re-create their famous pound cake with any of them. They're going to put together a petition seeking an exception from the trans fat ban, and will be visiting city council with 2 pound cakes - one original recipe, and one trans fat free, so that the council members can experience the difference first-hand. Although I'm not a fan of trans fats, I'm personally against this ban. Let people make their own choices. This is very different from the smoking ban, as someone sitting next to me eating pound cake has zero effect on my health. ETA: Stock's pound cakes are gooooood... ;-) Oh, yeah... their doughnuts too... __Jason

I've been getting it from Wegmans Mt Laurel. When they first got it in, it was quite good, but I think its gone downhill over the past couple weeks. I think the price has gone down as well. They do have some gorgeous looking sockeye that I'm going to have to try. Their sockeye right now looks much better than the king color-wise, but I've been buying the king still because I like the nice thick fillets. Sockeye fillets are much thinner. Made some of the king again tonight at home, incidentally - pan roasted, crispy skin served over a salad of field greens and avocado, dressed with an orange/shallot vinaigrette. Even if it wasn't the ideal piece of salmon, it was still pretty damn good. __Jason

Sorry... wasn't intending to imply otherwise. Just a general comment on raw egg phobias. __Jason

Try not to think of it as "raw egg". Rather, think of it as "sauce that comes in single serving packages". Mmmmmm... delicious "sauce"... __Jason

What makes you think the kitchens in his "real" restaurants are anything like this? I think I read an interview with one of his staff once that basically said something along the lines of him being hard on new people, but once they are "trained", that's it. He doesn't yell and scream at his real kitchen staff, because he doesn't have to. I'd wager that his real restaurants run like a well oiled machine, relative to what we see on HK. I sure hope so, at least... __Jason

I couldn't help but stare at his eyebrows anytime he was on camera. What the heck is going on with those things? __Jason ←

Well, after a sublime dinner at Twenty21 last night, we found ourselves (for reasons somewhat out of our control) at Devon tonight, where I noticed they also had Copper River King on the menu. Just for giggles, I decided to try it. Well, I can sum it up in one word... "unfortunate". The menu said "pan seared Copper River King, with fiddlehead ferns and morels". I verified with the waiter that it would be served medium-rare, but when it arrived, it was more like medium-well. The sad thing is, that even though the fish was overcooked, the skin was still flabby. Oops. The fiddleheads didn't have much flavor (sort of suprised they're still in season, actually) and I guess they substituted roasted potatoes for the morels, as I don't recall seeing a single morel anywhere on the plate. Lesson learned. My bad. Soooooooo... to reiterate what I said last night... go to Twenty21. Get the salmon. Be happy. __Jason

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment...at_Pasion_.html I only ate there on a couple of occasions... I'll always remember the scallops wrapped with octopus bacon that we had as part of one meal. Octopus bacon... mmmmm.... __Jason

Made it in to Twenty21 tonight and had a chance to partake of Chef Wentz's Copper River King... it was all that and a back of crispy salmon skins. Really... just perfect. I think last week I posted about some king salmon I picked up at Wegmans being the best I've ever cooked... well, the salmon we had tonight was the best we've ever eaten. With that said, I wanted to add that every other course we had tonight was similar quality... everything was stellar, course after course. A couple standouts were the Rodenbach braised pork belly I had, and Cherie had the Rabbit Pot au Feu, which was so good it sort of made your eyes roll back into your head. Good stuff. OK, so that last part was a bit off topic from the Copper River King, but just wanted to say... Townsend knows a thing or two about food. If Twenty21 isn't on your radar, it should be. __Jason

I couldn't help but stare at his eyebrows anytime he was on camera. What the heck is going on with those things? __Jason

If memory serves, the king at Wegman's is going for ~$24/lb... but don't quote me. __Jason

Picked up some at Wegman's today. I definitely want to try V's method, however, this time around I just did a real simple pan sear, medium-rare. Definitely the most righteous piece of salmon I've ever made. I used to believe I wasn't a big fan of salmon, but I think I was a victim of farmed salmon, and lack of cooking skills. I've since sworn to only buy wild salmon, and I've also learned how to cook it without brutalizing it, and as a result, I now have a renewed love for salmon! __Jason

Funny... I've ridden past Dilly's on the motorcycle more times than I can count, but I've never actually stopped there. Perhaps I should... __Jason

I dunno... I guess it's just a preference thing. I've been to the CC Five Guys twice now, and although the burgers are better than most, I still think they (over)cook the things to death. They're good, but not as good as they could be, IMHO. I've only been to In-n-Out once (so far), but I f'n loved it. Personally, I take them over Five Guys any day of the week. __Jason

Love the tartare. I find it interesting that people who might enjoy a nice rare burger will balk at steak tartare... like there's a big difference betweeen raw meat and slightly warm raw meat. On a related note, Umai Umai here in Fairmount recently put Kobe beef sushi/sashimi on their menu. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet... the beef is definitely nice stuff, but I personally think I would appreciate it more as a carpaccio, rather than a thick sashimi slab. Might have to go back and try it 3 or 4 more times before I make up my mind on it ;-) I was in Portland, OR a few weeks ago and had some lamb tartare (yes, w the quail egg) at Park Kitchen. I wasn't sure what to expect... I've had mixed experiences w/ lamb in the past, but I'm glad I ordered it... it was delicious! __Jason

No, I don't believe these were pan fried. __Jason

Just had to spend 10 days in the Portland area for work... miserable, miserable work. I barely found time to breathe while I was out there, working crazy long hours, but I did manage to find time to hit a few great places for some food. Saturday, I made my way to the Portland Farmer's Market, which was wonderful! Sampled around, and picked up a few things to bring back to Philly.. not the least of which was some fantastic smoked fatty lox from the Smokery. After the market, I visited the Japanese Garden - not food related, mind you, but after the hellish work week I had, the garden was the perfect place for me to clear my head. That day, I also called and left a message @ Park Kitchen, hoping they somehow would be able to fit me in. 5 o'clock rolled around, and I hadn't heard anything, so I figured I'd start making my way towards my plan "B" - Alberta Street Oyster Bar. Just a few blocks before I got there, PK called back offering me an 8 o'clock seat. Perfect! I stopped in for a snack at Alberta Street (oysters, some of the best sweetbreads I've had, followed by more oysters ) and then wandered back to PK. Park Kitchen was wonderful - lived up to my expectations. Lamb tartare, hand rolled pici pasta w/ peas, morels, and tripe (loved it!), and for a main - seared salmon, w/ black lentils and nettles. Normally, I generally only eat salmon sashimi style, but I figured that while I was in the Pacific NW, I'd get all I can... and I'm glad I did. Everything was wonderful... however... It was Alberta Street that really intrigued me... so much so, that I decided to go back the following night for a full-blown dinner. Another 6 oysters, and the Chef's tasting menu. I *really* like this place... the sort of place where you can show up in jeans and a t-shirt, have a pint of ale and sup on something called "dueling foie gras" or really good veal sweetbreads (the tasting menu version of which was served on braised oxtail, with gnocchi - awesome). A wonderful gastropub, for sure... and I hope I have a chance to make it back. As I was actually staying and working in Hillsboro, I also had a chance to do lunch a couple of times at Syun Izakaya. My kind of sushi place - and having a sushi lunch out on their patio on a sunny afternoon was a real treat! Anyway, this was my 2nd time to the area, but the first time I had a chance to actually take advantage of what it has to offer, and I feel I've barely scratched the tip of the iceberg. Thanks for casting a few rays of sunshine (yes, sunshine even!) on my otherwise painful business trip! Hope to see you again soon... __Jason

Fiddleheads were on the menu today as well... __Jason

Odd. Perhaps they're adding natural butter flavor (like the stuff in microwave popcorn) in order to make their butter, um.... more buttery. I think the legal definition of "natural flavor" is loose enough that manufacturers can basically use this as a catch-all for anything they don't want to list by name. Worries me. I'll have to pay more attention next time I'm butter shopping, as I generally just look for salted or unsalted. Guess it's not as simple as I thought. __Jason

Standard Tap. Kitchen serves until 1am. __Jason

I was among those who enojyed phil's icewine and, FWIW, I greatly preferred it to the Inniskillin Riesling that was a Chairman's Selection around 2005, which I found pretty unidimensional. I don't have tasting notes either but this had, among other things, some definite peachy notes for me. Didn't detect any oak either. ← I don't think I've had the Pearl vidal now that I think of it. I'm curious about it, though and should try to find a bottle. We've done side-by-side tastings on more than one occasion, but I'm pretty sure that was only with the "regular" vidal, which I likened to the syrup from a can of fruit cocktail. I always assumed that the reason they only oaked the vidal was because it was the only way to give it some character. But I suppose its fair to say that not all vidals are created equal... So far, my fav Inniskillin is definitely the cab franc. __Jason

Out of curiosity, was this the oaked or unoaked vidal? In a side-by-side taste with the other varietals Inniskillin produces, the unoaked vidal gets blown away. Sadly, however, I don't think you will ever see the riesling or cab franc for $30 - and if you do, let me know... I will fall all over myself to stock up on it, blowing every red light and stop sign between me and the store if need be. At any rate, $30 for any Inniskillin is pretty darned good. Might have to see if I can find some. __Jason

Personally, I think In-n-Out stands head and shoulders above Five Guys, but that's just my opinion. Five Guys always seems *too* overcooked for me (at least they have a sign that warns you of so much, though). As for the cheese steak / hoagie issue... I always find it interesting to get one when traveling to other parts of the country, because how they interpret it gives you an instant window into the psyche of the indigenous people. Like the "Philadelphia Cheese Steak" I got in Houston, that was made with pepperjack or some such. I still have no explanation for the most horrible cheese steak I got once that was Steak-ums, BBQ sauce, and Kraft grated parmesan. The most confusing part about this monstrosity is that it was purchased at Pocono Raceway... about an hour outside Philly. Whoever put that thing together should have been taken out and shot... __Jason