BrentKulman

A picture is worth 1000 words so that post must be worth 6000. I kept looking at the photos and that could have been the meal we had at Osteria about a week ago. I think only the pizza was different (we had the Lombarda) and we didn't have an espresso. Oh, and we also had the vegetable antipasti. In general it was very good - there were some highs and a notable low. The best thing was the vegetable antipasti that featured small taste bites of powerfully flavored vegetables. The pizza and pasta dishes were all excellent; nothing to complain about but we didn't get wildly ecstatic about them, either. The one disappointment was the roasted lamb dish. Well-done lamb gets that muttony taste and this dish was no exception and it wasn't saved, for us, by the inventive lamb-based stuffing. We went on a Tuesday night and were easily accommodated, even though they had lost the record of the reservation I had made. The waitstaff was well-trained and helpful. Overall, a very nice meal but after having dined at Ansill the night before, it fell short of being our most memorable meal in Philadelphia.

I visited the Victory brewery in Downingtown last weekend and had a pint of what they called, simply, Dry Stout. From your description, it sounds almost identical to the Donnybrook Stout and, on their website, the beer list at the restaurant appears to have substituted the Donnybrook Stout for the Dry Stout. What I drank was truly extraordinary, it packed a wallop of flavor (pun intended, for those who know Victory) for a beer with less than 4% alchohol and is a nice complement to the Storm King for their beer lineup. The other beer I tried while I was there was Uncle Teddy's Bitter, which was also a fine an example of the style. With most breweries seeking to outdo each other on the hops or the abv or barrel aging, these days, it was nice to see one of America's best breweries offering two low abv beers in the English tradition that were packed with flavor. I would certainly like to see other breweries sit up and take notice of what Victory is doing.

and what did we like ? Will you be posting on other threads ? ← I will, but we just got back home today. (I know I should post before I unpack but that might create some issues around the house.) Quickly, the top five were Mama's cheese steak (sentimental favorite, but deserving nonetheless), the veal marrow on toast with pink sea salt from Ansill, the raspberry ganache Easter Eggs from John and Kira's, the Thousand Layer bread with chicken curry from Rangoon and the lime gelato (either with ginger or cilantro) from Capogiro Gelato.

No operating hours detailed on their voice mail message + a full voice mailbox + no operating hours listed on their website + no operating hours listed on the door of the restaurant = No visit from the Kulman family Instead, we went to Ansill, Osteria, Matyson, Rangoon, Sang Kee and Mama's Pizzeria in Bala Cynwyd (we've been going there for cheese steaks since the 1970s)

7945 N Tryon St, about a mile before you reach Harris Blvd. going away from town. It's on the left side of Tryon in a fairly non-descript strip shopping center and is the last storefront on the right side of the center.

Three additional soul food places in Charlotte: On Mint St., very near downtown is the United House of Prayer cafeteria that is connected to the church of the same name. I stopped by last week and had some terrific fried chicken, cabbage and warm corn bread. Out near the University, you can find Down to the Bone, which is my favorite stop for oxtails and green beans as well as Grandma's Country Kitchen where the food is accompanied by jonnycakes and molasses.

Amongst the home brewing and beer judging community, Rolling Rock has long been used to exemplify the brewing flaw known as DMS, or DiMethyl Sulfide. This is a strong aroma of corn or stewed vegetables that is an off flavor for American lagers. I, for one, could care less what happens to the brew under the auspices of A-B as I never cared for it to begin with. At best, it is a marketers triumph by creating a nostalgia effect for those cute little pony bottles that were so appealing to the teenage palate.

You folks in Philadelphia are terrific. No other forum in eGullet gets as much attention from its participants. I lived in Philadelphia in the late 70s when the initial wave of chef-driven restaurants were making an impact and the scene seems more vibrant than ever. Now, regarding the Snack Bar. I am planning a visit to Philadelphia next week for a few days and have selected a number of restaurants from your discussions but I am having some trouble getting some basic information about the Snack Bar. When you call their phone number it automatically goes to voice mail where a message directs you to their website for more information. Unfortunately, the website only contains the restaurant's name. Either it is under construction or has been taken down. More frustrating, the voice mailbox is always full so there is no way to contact anybody to get any information. So here is my question, I am meeting some relatives for lunch on Monday and was thinking the Snack Bar might be the spot. There will be six of us. Can they seat six at a table? If so, what time would we need to arrive to get seated fairly quickly? Any help here would be much appreciated.

I boil it and drain the rice through a large sieve which I then set over a saucepan with a modest amount of boiling water. That gets rid of the excess water and leaves the rice moist and fluffy.

I always thought the practice of being greeted in restaurants with an offer to select from a variety of bottled waters (as if the tap didn't exist) was somewhere between pretentious, at best, and a cynical attempt to reach further into my pockets, at worst. I'm glad to have found another reason to abhor the practice, frankly. Banning the practice seems a bit extreme, and I am concerned by the trend toward politcal correctness where it is convenient that seems to have taken hold recently in the restaurant industry. I'd just prefer to let an educated consumer make the decision that works best for them. In any event, it will be fun to take a poke at the practice by pointing out the example that has been set at Chez Panisse.

That's not necessarily true. There are many different reasons to make an acquisition - access new markets; develop complementary product lines; integrate vertically; leverage buying power with suppliers. In sum, there are revenue-driven acquisitions and expense-driven acquisitions. In an instance where you are acquiring a competitor in an existing market, you would be correct as that would be an expense-driven acquisition where the acquirer would focus on overhead. That is not necessarily the case here, as the acquiring entity has re-hired 95% of the staff and replaced the brewers who were dismissed with brewers who previously worked at OD. Bringing back the old brewers is the best sign that there will be a commitment to the OD brand. Now, having said that, I would expect some changes to occur over time as OD faced a lot of business problems that are fairly well known in the industry. They made a couple of great brews, in my opinion - the Millenium (and its oak-aged cousin) and the Oak Barrel Stout (which was usually far better on tap than in the bottle). I had mixed experiences with the rest of the OD beers and, from a business perspective, they seemed to lack focus. It was weird that their contract brews seemed to be marketed better than their own brands. Also, the location of their brewpub was not optimal, either. Time will tell and, as I said before, I am more optimistic than I was initially. That doesn't mean I am excited about this development at all. However, OD was a business that could have failed (although I know nothing about their finances, the fact that one of the owners tried for a long time to buy it without success tells me something about the state of their finances) and, hopefully, the new owners will make it successful without decimating the brand.

I attended a Bell's beer tasting in Washington last night where Bob Tupper (of Tupper's Hop Pocket fame) spoke about this issue. He said that OD will continue to contract brew the Tuppers beers (and noted, that had the ownership situation not been resolved, they would have been forced to find a new brewer for the Pils). He also said that 95% of the staff has been retained and that they have re-hired one of the former head brewers who had left a few years ago. I'm more optimistic about the situation than I had been previously.

No such luck. Here are my tasting notes from a few months ago when I tried this beer: Appearance: Pours a hazy pale golden color with a modest head that descends to a ringlet and leaves some vague remnants of lacing Smell: Butterscotch diacetyl (Ringwood yeast, perhaps?) on top of a wheat bread base Taste: Doughy wheat up front, with hints of diacetyl before the swallow; moderate bitterness of the earthy, grainy variety appears mid-palate; the finish is sweet and buttery Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, slighty slick; low carbonation Drinkability: Not bad, if you don't mind the diacetyl

I had a very nice dinner at Kaya last week. It's located in the strip district which is very close to downtown. It's a lively urban bar/restaurant with a chef-driven cuisine that has Cuban/Latin American influences, although the walls are decorated with African art. I had the roasted red pepper and tomato soup topped with a dollop of chipotle ice cream. The vegetable flavors were intense and the impact of the piquant ice cream changed over time as the ice cream melted into the liquid. For the entree, I had the Grilled Marinated Pork Tenderloin - slices of tenderloin encircled a chunk of pork belly (all the meat had been marinated in a cider vinegar marinade) and sprinkled with a multi-color hash that contained diced sweet potato, bacon, peppers and onions. I'm a big fan of pork belly so I couldn't pass that on that dish. Although the front end of the restaurant is dominated by a bar, there was not a big bar scene on the Thursday night that I was there. Most of the patrons were there to eat and all of the tables were occupied. As I tend to look for restaurants with a good craft beer selection, I was very pleased with the range of beer choices as well. The wine list was small but featured a number of eclectic selections and the restaurant also features a variety of rums and tropical drink concoctions for those who are so inclined. http://www.bigburrito.com/kaya/

Manners from a byegone time. So sad to see those days are gone.

I'd hit the BBQ Kitchen in College Park. It's a log burning BBQ joint and meat and three located about a five minute cab ride from the airport.

I went to Radius 10 tonight for dinner and chatted extensively with Jason Brumm, the owner, who is a CIA graduate and alumnus of a variety of Michelin rated restaurants in France. First let me say that I enjoyed the food and thought that they are doing some interesting things. I had the filet with collards and pork bellies and white beans and thought it was an interesting contrast between the south of France and south of the Mason Dixon. There was a touch too much vinegar but I otherwise enjoyed the context of this dish. I was saddened to see that the restaurant was not doing a brisk business on a Thursday night and hope that perhaps the weather had something to do with it. My sense is that Nashville is a chain restaurant town, unfortunately, and restaurants like Radius 10 have a difficult time attracting a clientele. Perhaps I'm wrong but I also am basing this on the lack of discussion about Nashville restaurants relative to Atlanta and North Carolina on this board. Comments from others.....

Here's a picture from beeradvocate.com: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/649/1777

Salt and pepper catfish is not my area of expertise, but you may want to research the fish camps of Gastonia as a possible destination. My favorite is Twin Tops, but there are about half a dozen others that all have their devotees.

I always grill my steaks outdoors. What are the advantages of the searing/baking method?

Very good post. That is what Imperial means to us on the East Coast as well. By definition, a higher alcohol version of any style would have to use more malt to bring up the ABV.

I'm afraid I totally disagree. There are a number of aggressively hopped beers with a big malt bill that I truly enjoy. Brewers such as Moylans, Southern Tier, Alpine, Great Divide, Bell's, Three Floyds, Ballast Point, Midnight Sun..... The list just goes on and on. You may not like the style and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. But those are your tastebuds and I would hope you would respect that others may have a different point of view.

Exponential Hoppiness is my all time favorite beer. I am so jealous.

There is a place at the McGill Rose Garden called Heck Yea that serves Counter Culture coffee. Not sure what the hours are or whether it is still open, as it has always struck me as a shoestring operation, but it might be worth a try.

I just finished a bottle of Bob's 47 that I received in a trade and wow, am I impressed. Not normally a lager drinker, I could make this my everyday brew. They characterize the beer as a Munich Helles, but I think of it as something of a hybrid, with characteristics of a Vienna Lager and an Oktoberfest as well. Both the malt and hop selections were incredibly thoughtful as the beer has the refreshing character of a lager, but none of the drawbacks such as a lack of malt flavor, a grainy hop character and that lager twang that put me off most beers in the category. It was sitting on my shelf and I wouldn't have tried it had you not mentioned it in your post. Thanks, moosnsqrl (whatever that means???), for the inspiration.