MarketStEl

major bump: The 25th again approaches. Since the last update, Craig LaBan's given Osteria three bells, which means we will have a Dickens of a time getting into the place, probably, but that should not deter us from completing a Fairmount trek. I imagine most of you are otherwise occupied this Memorial Day weekend -- if not, please correct me right away, especially if you are available on the day itself -- but would Saturday, June 2, or Sunday, June 3, work?

Four-day workweeks begin June 4 and last through August 17. I'm past due for a happy hour visit. Watch for a familiar face one of these next few Fridays. I'm sure you won't disappoint.

Pity the poor Wendy's customers, then, for they know not what they are missing. I stand by my prior assessment. Wendy's is no competition for Five Guys, even if the two are right next door: Five Guys is clearly superior. Five Guys still has some work to do before it reaches the pinnacle that is In-n-Out, though. Edited to add: In case it matters, I've had the Good Dog and Rouge burgers, too. And I will concede that of the big national chains, Wendy's is the best of the bunch.

Have you ever eaten an In-n-Out Burger, Andrew? I think he judged Five Guys appropriately. Their competition does not exist in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, as they are head and shoulders above the other chains; he did not judge them against the deluxe burgers, but against the gold standard in their category, which is In-n-Out, which is indeed what Five Guys aspires to. They seek not to compete with Wendy's, but to leave Wendy's in the dust.

1. He hasn't changed his opinion about Good Dog's place in the hamburger firmament. (His assessment of Five Guys vs. In-n-Out is also accurate: They're in the same league but not on the same plane.) 2. That little haiku begat a song. Check out the video. Yes, that's him in it; no, you still ain't gonna see his face. The song ain't half bad, either, though I don't think we're going to add it to the PGMC repertoire. 3. I do have one quibble with his choice of words in today's feature: "a final shake of peppery salt"? I have seen combined salt-and-pepper shakers, but they seem to me exceedingly rare; the two spices are usually kept segregated until they are applied, each in turn. Maybe I need to pay closer attention the next time I'm in my favorite burger joint.

FWIW, Petrini was in the Philadelphia region last week, promoting his book. He gave a lecture at Princeton University (obligatory trivia: located where it is because the town is halfway between New York and Philadelphia; Presbyterian church leaders in both cities wanted to establish a college and decided to work together) and stopped into a local gelateria that embodies his principles. Here's a report on the gelateria visit from The Philadelphia Inquirer's food editor, Rick Nichols. It looks like the event was promoted by NJ Slow Foodies, but not those in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It also doesn't look as if he ruffled any feathers locally. Probably because there's nothing about this area in his book. Edited to correct spelling. Perroni, Petrini, they all look alike to me....

Okay. I'll try to hold on to a few bucks -- the wine won't be going anywhere anytime soon -- and come back to this later in June. (The 16th is out; instead, why don't you all come hear me sing at the Kimmel?) In the meantime, there's also a Pizza Club outing to revive. Anyone interested in suggesting a date for a Picanha Grill meat-up is welcome to follow up this post, though.

Needless to say, I'm more interested in promoting Widener's School of Hospitality Management than I am Banfi, but I appreciate your comment -- and all of the other feedback I've gotten on this thread. My basic assessment of what I've been told is that while I won't be doing the cause of great wine any great favors by touting our students' participation, I won't be doing it any real damage, either, and there are angles I can play up other than the sponsor, though of course I can't leave the sponsor out of the picture.

OK Sandy I'll hold you to it! Let me know when - I'm ready for this one again. ← So I've posted and PMed. What's up? I can't get a bunch of meatheads together for a cow-out?

Pickled herring, right? How'd it get the name "Solomon Gundy"? Isn't that a Mother Goose rhyme? ("Solomon Gundy, born on a Monday...")

My first visit to the Grey Lodge was for the Phillyblog Happy Hour last month. It won't be my last. (The owner also posts regularly to Phillyblog. He finally got to meet me in person. He made a point of noting that his establishment is a place where everyone is welcome -- except those who don't want to make everyone feel welcome.) Those Thai curry mussels were all that and a bag of chips. I think I'm going to have to come up with excuses to head up there and work my way through the menu.

The typical "cheeseburger deluxe" I get when ordering one at a diner has all of the non-liquid items plus lettuce and tomato, and there's always a bottle of ketchup at the table. I do note, however, that in this part of the country, mayonnaise often takes the place of either the ketchup or the mustard; however, I grew up putting both -- and no mayo -- on my burger, and I do that still. However: The pickle usually takes the form of a dill spear rather than waffle or straight hamburger slices, so I guess your incredulous post holds, because in such instances, everything else goes on the burger while the pickle goes with it.

Don't stop there, Bob. The Food Trust sponsors 25 farmers' markets throughout the Greater Philadelphia region, including markets in Kensington, Germantown, Norristown, Phoenixville, and at Sixth and Edgmont/Avenue of the States, about 20 minutes' walk from where I work in Chester. They also sponsor a financing program to bring supermarkets to low-income communities. (More about the Supermarket Campaign) For their efforts to bring farm fresh local produce and reasonably priced food to all Philadelphians, they deserve our support. Pity I don't get back in town in time to visit the 12th and St. James market, right outside my front door. The same farm sets up shop at Fitler Square on Saturdays, though.

bump The aforementioned Late Harvest Syrah is in hand. The 25th is this Friday. Who's game for a "meat-up" this coming week? Would this Saturday evening work? If not, how about a weeknight next week, any night but Wednesday?

I get your point, and the distinction you were trying to make. In that context, the choice of phrase was unfortunate, for I think we agree on the basic point. We're talking about "no way would I eat that crap" food, not food you eat to satisfy your status anxiety more than your hunger. You can pay next to nothing for the former, OR you can pay dearly for it. And some of the food in the latter category falls in the former too. You only do that over in the Wine forum when you're running a tasting. True, and I think I understand what you're trying to say about food served at places people don't go to for the food. Frankly, a brilliant bar that serves only potato chips and pickled eggs is not the kind of place we're talking about here. It is honest about what it is, and if the potato chips are tasty and the pickled eggs decent, then it doesn't belong in this discussion, for the food it does serve doesn't suck. But if you're going to bother to serve anything more than that, is it really that much costlier to pay some attention to what you're serving? Maybe not for a really busy bar, since turning out that much edible food for an army of drinkers might tax the kitchen, which is probably no bigger than the bar's bathroom. But if that's the case, then I would hope that the establishment isn't using its food as an enticement to visit. (Because of the laws governing Sunday sales at licensed taverns in Pennsylvania, there are many bars in the Keystone State that serve food purely as an afterthought in order to meet the revenue requirement. Still others open their kitchens only when they think the Liquor Control Board is watching.) It sounded to me like the place Mike visited was using its food as a selling point along with the rest of the experience it offered. If I'm wrong, please correct me, Mike. Edited to remove redundant word.

Checking in late while I lunch at my desk... Objection, Your Honor! There is no such thing as an unphotogenic refrigerator. Like one's desk, it's a window to the soul. Your fridge -- and your desk -- can't be messier or more haphazardly arranged than my own, and there are photos of both in my first foodblog. It's your call, but I implore you to honor the tradition. But while we're on the subject of soul, your kitchen has a lot of it, judging from the photos you did provide. Moving right along: I've filed this for the "Must Include in My Third Foodblog" file. Philadelphia is home to two Oldenburg sculptures. One of them, directly across from Philadelphia City Hall, is the best-known outdoor meeting place in the city, "the Clothespin," which also marks the entrance to the central subway and regional rail stations. (I've been told that the name the sculptor gave this work is "The Kiss.") The other one is a huge broken button in front of the main library at the University of Pennsylvania. I know that you are in Acadia, but I don't think I've seen a more British streetscape anywhere in North America. That market, small though it may be, looks absolutely charming. So tell me a little about Dragon's Breath Blue. What's its taste? Raw milk, I assume? Everything looks wonderful. You say in a later post that you are learning food photography; I'd say you have already mastered the fundamentals. I noticed that the dulse was identified as a "Product of Atlantic Canada." I have heard that when the Quebecois repeatedly threatened to split Canada in two, there were people in the Atlantic provinces who thought that eastern Canada should either go it alone or join the United States. Was that sentiment at all widespread? Is it still alive, now that it looks like Quebec separatism is in retreat? Live Free or Die! I think that New Hampshire has a larger concentration of French-Canadian descendants than any other US state (a fact that cost Edmund Muskie of next-door Maine dearly in 1968), so I'm not surprised to hear that poutine is popular there. I guess I didn't know where to look for it on my regular forays to Manchester in 1980. Edited to add: Blog on, Peter; you're doing a fantastic job so far!

One more thing: Confidential to lancastermike: The next time you're in the area, you should make it a point to visit the Grey Lodge Public House on Frankford Avenue in Mayfair. This place is everything the pub you visited could be if the owners bothered to care.

Funny: I just got back from lunch at a place that probably ought to fall in this category but doesn't really, and the first thing I do is click on the link in the e-mail from Fat Guy and see this discussion. When dividend referred to what lancastermike ordered as "food we as eGulleteers thumb our noses at," I don't think she was referring to the type of fare served; there are whole clubs on some eG forums devoted to seeking out really good pizza, or great burgers, or real fried chicken -- and I've seen enough posts from White Castle fans and Popeyes devotees like me to know that fast food is not automatically disqualified from consideration as good food. What she was referring to was the care, or lack thereof, evidenced in the preparation, or lack thereof. As Fat Guy pointed out above, Sysco products come in several grades, and from what I can tell, the Classic grade is good enough that a self-respecting restaurant could serve it with pride and still not charge too much. (At the Reading Terminal Market's Iron Chef-style cookoff featuring some of Pennsylvania's best chefs this year, about half of the items in the common pantry the competitors used were Classic Sysco products: Sysco Foodservice of Central Pennsylvania participates in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's "PA Preferred" marketing program and was a co-sponsor of the cook-off, which also featured Pennsylvania products.) The burger and fries I just ate at Tom Jones Restaurant in Brookhaven -- a busy and inexpensive 24-hour eatery popular with Widener students -- were clearly foodservice products, but they were competently prepared; the fries were not mushy inside as some badly made frozen fries are, and the burger was cooked exactly medium (as rare as the restaurant allows; my waitress told me, "We don't allow any pink in our burgers." I blame the Delaware County Health Department and the lawyers, not her or Tom Jones' management, for this state of affairs). When lancastermike says "it's not that hard" to make non-sucky food, I believe that what he means is that you really don't have to knock yourself out to make food that is of acceptable quality and taste -- not great food, just good food. The kitchen staff at the place he visited -- which I note he left unnamed, no doubt to protect the guilty -- didn't even bother putting out that minimal effort; nor, it appears, did the people responsible for buying the basic ingredients. Even junk-food-loving eGulleteers, I submit, would thumb their noses at such fare.

← (emphasis added) Whether or not we like it, perception is reality -- and while the two are not congruent, rarely are they completely contradictory, except in cases where changes in reality have failed to dislodge outdated perceptions. Case in point: the Wegmans supermarket chain, the upscale grocer based in Rochester, N.Y., that is slowly colonizing the larger metropolitan areas in its region, including Philadelphia. Those of you who read the Pennsylvania board will recall an exchange on the Cherry Hill, N.J., Wegmans in which I expressed astonishment that on regular grocery items, the chain's prices are as good as or better than the competition's. Another poster responded that Wegmans management, noting that customers flocked to their stores for the fabulous specialty foods but left to do the rest of their grocery shopping elsewhere, decided to lower their prices to match their rivals'. However, the chain's reputation for priciness survives intact, based in large part on those specialty foods. So, I suspect, it is with the Ferry Plaza market, as it is with Whole Foods. On my visit to Ferry Plaza on a Sunday, I did find merchandise whose prices were in line with merchandise elsewhere -- one of the produce stands, for instance, and the mushroom seller charged the prices I'd expect to see at the Reading Terminal, which undersells the supermarkets on produce. But what people notice are the specialty and artisanal producers, whose prices are indeed significantly higher for their category (except for specialty cheese, which is "expensive" no matter where you buy it), and even though those prices reflect the higher quality ingredients and extra care and skill that go into making the foods sold, many average shoppers won't figure that in. Overcoming such perception bias isn't easy -- you'd need to hire scores of PR folk like me to even hope to make a dent in it. Shall I send you my resume? Somehow, reading the words "terroir" and "Washington, DC" in the same sentence inspires gales of laughter, but I guess there is a special character to the land and the surroundings. This is good news. I'll check out the site when I get the time.

Sorry I've been distracted much of the week (there was a hotly contested local election and I'm rehearsing for our end-of-season choral concert), but I must say that you are blessed to have so much wonderful food to eat around you. Tell me: Is there an "obesity epidemic" in Malaysia? Your photos are wonderful! And you really should share those recipes with a larger audience. Thanks for showing us the wonders of Malaysia this week!

The latter. Neither Petroni nor the people who attend his classes and workshops (based on descriptions of them here) strike me as that much different, socioeconomically or educationally, from the people he derides in the essay. The producers (whether or not they are the actual farmers) at the market are simply doing what they enjoy doing. And if they can do it in such a way that they have time for other passions, there's nothing wrong at all with that. Nor is there anything wrong with their making out like bandits, if indeed they do, although if they do, I hope they devote some of their wealth to making foods like what they grow and sell more accessible to "downscale" consumers. Agreed 100%. Pennsylvania's agricultural heartland faces tremendous pressure from the growth and expansion of the two metropolitan areas that bracket it (Philadelphia and Harrisburg), said growth adding territory faster than population. However, agriculture is as important to the Keystone State as it is to the Golden State, so I think in the long run, it won't ultimately succumb to development in the southeast and south-central regions. No, though University City proper is probably more affluent than you may remember it, thanks in no small part to the efforts of its largest employer. However, I regret to inform you that the Firehouse Farmers' Market is no longer. Its space will house the reincarnation of the Dock Street Brewing Company within the next month or two. (Foobooz has the latest on the brewpub's progress.) The Clark Park Farmers' Market, however, is still very much alive. And the organization that sponsors the market in Clark Park, along with 24 others throughout metropolitan Philadelphia, The Food Trust, actually does a pretty good job of getting fresh, locally produced food to low-income communities. (Take a look at the PDF listing the 25 farmers' markets. Among the places where they sponsor seasonal markets are Chester, Norristown, Phoenixville, Germantown, Haddington (West Philly) and Kensington (Palmer Park, North Philly)--all of these low- to moderate-income communities.) My dad went to Milgram (RIP; the locally-owned grocer emphasized its hometown roots--"Hi, Neighbor!" was its ad slogan) for groceries, but his mom and dad often went down to the City Market during the growing season. Given that the City Market is nowhere near where my grandparents lived, that (and the fact that they grew onions, potatoes and apples in a garden on their property) should tell you something about their regard for fresh foods. I'm pleased to see that the City Market is still alive and well. Unless you live in Springfield, you don't really live in a city if you're living in southwest Missouri. (Rolla is a large college town.) I would be surprised if there weren't plenty of options for fresh, local foods all around you. It's really we cityfolk who are deprived in this sense, and I guess that shows you my own bias in carrying on with this discussion. However, since about three-quarters of all Americans now live in urban areas, that bias may be a valid one.

OT but germane aside: It's been 25 years since the auto accident on East River^W^WKelly Drive that left Teddy Prendergrass a quadriplegic. One of the local R&B stations is sponsoring a tribute concert next month. I really need to manage my finances and my time better. I missed both the Rittenhouse Row and "Italian" Market festivals this year. More's the pity, for I would have loved to run into all of you. However, the 25th approaches, so I ought to be able to spare one of those other outings I said I'd organize. Watch for the relevant threads to pop up at the top of the list soon.

I keep that hypothetical shopper trying to feed a family of four on $75 a week (or two -- apparently it's harder if you're feeding fewer mouths, because you can't take advantage of economies of scale, which are also present in the supermarket...) in mind as I read this. I should perhaps peruse that topic about the food stamp diet, for something tells me that to make that work, you're not going to be buying lots of artisanal anything at all. You can, however, buy lots of conventionally grown produce and do quite well at feeding your brood. And you'll be eating better than if you spent an equivalent amount on Hamburger Helper. Not to mention the nutritional benefits. (An aside: There is now a very bouncy, very catchy jingle drilled into my head courtesy of a local social-service agency that sponsors health tips on a local radio station at 5:15 every afternoon, just as I'm on the way home from work. The agency encourages listeners to "Join the WIC program! Good nutrition today...for a healthier tomorrow." And some of those tips involve eating right for you and your baby. I don't think they ever bother to address where what listeners eat comes from; their main concern is what they eat, period. Your WIC check is good at farmers' markets in Pennsylvania.) I guess what I'm getting at is that in a sense, this discussion is a bunch of affluent folk looking down their noses at another bunch of affluent folk, and the people who might in theory benefit most from some of the changes being advocated are completely missing from the picture. They are at the supermarket because it's cheaper, along with the affluent folk who don't like spending lots of money (or time) on food.

Not just the diners. The Village Coffee House, right across the street from me, just shut down over this sort of thing, and it's a crying shame that it happened. The Village's owners took the place over from a fellow who had opened it as the Mean Bean and transformed it into a lively community hangout (much as the name would suggest) -- sort of like Millennium in its heyday, but with a wider mix of clientele. Apparently, the lease negotiations foundered on the issue of what would happen if the owners decided to sell the business (which evidently they must have been considering). They wanted a clause in the lease that would guarantee that the new owner would get the same terms and rent for the remainder of the lease term. The landlord did not want such a guarantee in the lease. The problem is that absent this guarantee, it becomes almost impossible to sell a going small business of this type, for the buyer cannot be sure what his cost structure will be. So now we have an empty storefront again, and there's no guarantee that the landlord will find someone to fill it with something similar. Can I call this greed on the landlord's part? At the very least, it strikes me as short-sighted -- unless the landlord had gone into the negotiations thinking he could find something more lucrative than a popular coffee house to fill the space.

I'd agree, but you don't think that is a fairly reasonable description of the foods that get labeled "junk"? IME, just about everything that's been called "junk food" has one or more of the following attributes: --sugary --(relatively) high fat content --low in essential nutrients Plain potato chips are about as natural a snack as you can find, and they're not sweet (unless we're talking about sweet potato chips), but they do get a high percentage of their calories from fat and have only modest amounts of vitamins A and C.