MarketStEl

Lessee...Dale Evans and a PB&J: Dale Evans was the wife of legendary TV cowboy Roy Rogers Roy Rogers' TV show aired in many markets on weekday afternoons, when the kids got home from school Many moms fixed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as afterschool snacks for the kids to munch on while watching TV (or preferably doing their homework) And Happy Trails to you too! With this next one I'll have two challenges in the queue: Janet Jackson and potato chips

Pardon me for channeling the "Cheese" thread, but: What is "Crowley cheese"? This is a variety I'm afraid I've never encountered. I know there is a big dairy concern in upstate New York by that name, but I've never associated that company with a particular type of cheese. Might the author have been referring to "Cooper sharp" -- a sharp version of American cheese that also originated in upstate New York but is now made by several different dairy firms -- by another name?

I've had to cut fish sauce out of my repertoire. Partner has high blood pressure, although I suspect but do not yet know for sure that laying off the sauce has probably brought it down to the point where he might be able to consider going off blood pressure medication. (I'm no longer sober, but my BP is 110/84, well away from the danger zone.) Even so, he probably will still have to limit sodium intake, and fish sauce is loaded with the stuff. Soy sauce I can get away with, but I buy the reduced-sodium varieties. Everything else in that omelet sounds like it's right up my alley.

I usually combine collards with either mustard or turnip greens when I fix greens, but I also either simmer mine for about 2-3 hours or cook them in a Crock-Pot, so they're all very soft by the time I serve them. Maybe I should try cooking them less and see what happens. BTW, C. -- those biscuits really do look fabulous! Maybe I should refrigerate my shortening before cutting it into the flour and baking powder? I've never been able to produce a flaky biscuit, ever. I do make decent drop biscuits, though. Oh, and thanks, alanamoana.

George Washington and Würstelstände: Washington's Continental Army emerged from the desperate winter at Valley Forge in excellent fighting shape thanks to training provided by Baron von Steuben of Prussia Baron von Steuben was a member of the military staff of King Frederick Wilhelm II ("Frederick the Great", for whom the inn that gave King of Prussia, Pa., its name was named, and who was more than probably a Friend of Dorothy before Dorothy even walked the earth) Frederick the Great had several bones to pick with the Hapsburg dynasty, which ruled Austria-Hungary and controlled territory he wanted for his own domain; through several wars, he got what he wanted Vienna was the capital of both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and modern-day Austria Würstelstände ("sausage stands") are Vienna's answer to hot-dog carts Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) and gravlax

Like pemmican? I've noticed it's made a comeback in the meat snack section of convenience stores.

Saddam Hussein and chicharrones: When American troops caught up with Hussein, he was cooped up like a chicken, only in a hole In Puerto Rico and the Philippines, there are varieties of chicharrones made with chicken Harry S Truman and conch

Sorry I'm late to the party -- between work on manuscripts, taking down the Christmas decorations and attending the Martin Luther King Day activities in Chester, I haven't had time to sit down and savor your blog. Sriracha sauce with collards! <slaps forehead> D'OH! Why haven't I done this before? It'd probably work well with smoked turkey butt and cider vinegar added to the water, too (my preferred seasonings; sometimes I toss in that Maryland staple, Old Bay, too). Speaking of Old Bay: I note that your crab cakes were free of the stuff. Being that you're a Marylander and all, can you explain this omission? And how is downtown Silver Spring faring these days? It seems that every time I open a Washington Post, there's something about yet another effort to restore Silver Spring to its former grandeur or something like that. And pardon me if this comes off as a little impudent, but: since you all have a yard (I don't ), why don't you use a charcoal grill to do your ribs? Just askin', is all. Blog on! Everything looks delicious so far, although I must confess that ibuprofen makes for a rather unusual side dish.

And for the same reason: Without many of those musical influences cited above--especially but not exclusively the blues--jazz would not have developed as it did. What makes it so uniquely American is how it took many previously existing influences and turned them all into something new and different, yet nonetheless recognizable. American cuisine is American in large part precisely because it also played fast and loose with a bunch of culinary traditions and practices from elsewhere and transformed them into something new and different, yet nonetheless recognizable. And Shaw is right to point out the Native American contribution. How many European cuisines do you know that use corn so much? (The British use it mainly to distill spirits, and that's about as far as I can cite corn as a major ingredient in European cooking.)

Do I need to change my birthday? Back to the game: Ray Charles and gefilte fish: Frank Sinatra once said that Charles was "the one true genius" in American music The name Albert Einstein is synonymous with genius While he was a rationalist and humanist, Einstein was ethnically Jewish Observant Jews often consume gefilte fish on the Sabbath Benjamin Franklin and the Filet-o-Fish sandwich

One thing you won't find in a PLCB store that you will find elsewhere is the "loss leader." This is an item that the retailer sells below his cost in order to lure you into the store, where presumably you will buy more merchandise at the usual markups. I'm pretty sure that the LCB cannot price items below cost by law. It's probably not worth it for a private retailer to sell items in the price range of these products as loss leaders because they won't drive enough traffic to the stores by themselves. 1.75 liter bottles of Gordon's Gin, OTOH, are another story. I've seen these priced below $10 -- still -- outside Pennsylvania. They've never been less than $16 at State Stores, at least not any time I've noticed.

Vice President Hubert Humphrey attended Dr. King's funeral in place of the president; Before becoming vice president, Humphrey was senator from Minnesota; Minnesota is a major center of lutefisk consumption. ← Nice work, Andrew, though you got to it without leaving the country the way I had envisioned it: Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964; The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway; Lutefisk is a Norwegian delicacy (the word "delicacy" used here advisedly ). Mahatma Gandhi and bangers 'n' mash

Charlie Parker moved to New York City in the 1930s to further his Jazz career New York City is in New York State New York State is the home of The Catskills The Catskills are commonly referred to as the "Borscht Belt" and they serve a great deal of it in the resorts there ← There's a path that's one degree shorter: Charlie Parker was interested in the music of Igor Stravinsky Stravinsky was Russian born Borscht is a staple of Russian (and many other Eastern European) diets Still, good alternate route. Now I'll try yours: Emperor Hirohito visited Colonial Williamsburg on his one trip to the United States Colonial Williamsburg is in Virginia Virginia is part of the Southern United States Grits are a breakfast (but not only breakfast) staple in the South Martin Luther King, Jr., and lutefisk Edited to add: Grits is a breakfast staple. Grits is a breakfast staple...

Francois Mitterand and mole: Mitterand was the president of France The French installed Maximilian as emperor of Mexico in the 19th century Mole is a common sauce in many fine Mexican dishes Charlie Parker and borscht

If it's just tax revenue the state's talking about, you're right. But right now the state also gets the profit the private operators would otherwise pocket. That revenue would vanish if the LCB were dismantled. Revenue from sale of PLCB assets (retail stores, warehouses and inventory) probably wouldn't be enough to cover the net present value of the ongoing revenue stream.

I'm dying to hear your thinking on this. What else would the Gov have in mind here?

Katie will no doubt recall the late-night Korean BBQ pigout that included both me and the chef from Django among the participants. I recall Russ (? I'm horrible with names) saying he was looking to drive traffic for a new prix fixe menu he was offering, and I offered to whip up a release. The offer remains on the table. I haven't heard anything since then. [shameless plug] Anyone else who cares: You've seen my writing on this board. 267-386-1010. [/shameless plug] As for food as a bonus factor in choosing to visit a city: I even see this at work in my hometown. This morning, Tavis Smiley (PBS commentator and author of the best-selling book The Covenant with Black America) checked in with Tom Joyner for his regular twice-weekly commentary spot on Tom's morning show, which draws a huge audience among African-Americans. He was in Kansas City to attend an event sponsored by the local SCLC chapter, but the first minute or so of his commentary slot was taken up with talk about barbecue. "If you're in Kansas City, they're gonna make sure you don't leave without 'cue," Smiley said to general agreement by Tom Joyner and crew. I can remember when the only people who cared about KC 'cue were Kansas Citians. No longer. 'Nuff said?

You have heard, haven't you, that Philadelphians have a reputation for frugality, our generosity as tippers notwithstanding? I'm not at all surprised that BYOs have such devoted fans on those grounds. But I must second Capaneus on one of his larger points. One of the things that I like a lot about "New York" (put in quotes here because I'm really talking about Manhattan below 96th Street, though you can find what I'm talking about in many outer-borough commercial zones too) is that it is chock-full of decent, reasonably priced places to eat -- places that you can return to again and again and know that you will have an enjoyable experience and money still in your wallet afterwards. And that's after ordering both food and alcoholic beverages. (I guess the restaurateurs figure they ought to give the residents a break, given that they're spending almost all their income on rent.) I believe that Capaneus' point is that before the BYO explosion, Philadelphia was notably lacking in places of this type. Part of the reason--perhaps a large part--had to do with the archaic liquor laws, and I'm sure another part had to do with the perverse tax disincentives. If the tale of "Sushi Nation" that played out on this forum last year is any guide, another part may also have to do with the regulatory and union hurdles people have to jump here. (Can any New Yorkers tell me whether those factors are significantly less burdensome there? Something tells me they may not be.) Now, it could also have something to do with the relatively tiny spaces many New Yorkers inhabit, or the small kitchens included with the spaces they inhabit -- after all, if you like food and you live in an apartment with a decent kitchen, there's a high chance that you will want to cook in it, and a far higher proportion of middle- and upper-middle-class urban Philadelphians live in such apartments or houses than do Manhattanites. (You've all seen the kitchen in my Center City apartment, which I would consider a middle-of-the-pack property; it's a little larger than some apartment kitchens I've seen, but I've also seen many that are comparable to it in size. If you haven't, review my foodblogs.) But whatever the reason, the structure of Philadelphia's restaurant hierarchy for most of the time I've lived here had a top and a bottom but not much of a middle. The BYOs (and the gastropubs) have given it one.

If you were thinking lawsuit, Matthew, it wouldn't fly, because the 21st Amendment to the Constitution -- the amendment that repealed the 18th (Prohibition) -- specifically leaves regulation of the sale, manufacture and distribution of alcohol within state borders to the states. The interstate commerce clause of the Constitution is thereby overridden in this specific case. Which does not mean that Wegmans, Acme, Whole Foods, Costco (imagine...Two-Buck Chuck in Pennsylvania!), et al., shouldn't pull out all their big guns to fight this battle. It's just that all the fighting will take place within Pennsylvania's borders.

And I like the jazz analogy because through that form we are free and even encouraged to do "riffs", intensely full of personal style. From my second foodblog: Of course, the "jazz" here refers to proportions, and I think as far as that goes, most good cooks are jazz artists at some time or another, going by taste or some other sense of what works rather than the strict proportions called for in a written recipe. From the article where Melissa got the excellent quote from Sidney Mintz, perhaps the apotheosis of the jazz analogy: Now if this isn't playing jazz with food, what is? Moving on to the person who registered mild protest at the characterization of hot dogs and hamburgers as "national cuisine": First, perhaps "national dish" might be more like it -- the hamburger certainly qualifies there and would probably still qualify had Ray Kroc never met the brothers McDonald. Second, these two common food items work here because they are a sort of gustatory lingua franca -- while they might have origins in a specific culture or area, like the English language, they have come to transcend their origins and thus in a way belong to everybody (and maybe nobody too).

Oh, you don't really want to open that can of worms, do you? Trying to rope this back in: Let's start with the proposition argued by many that jazz is America's indigenous form of high musical culture, then ponder what would happen if you played jazz with food.

Um, I'm not sure this is completely correct. The LCB is responsible for administering liquor licenses statewide. Licenses are allotted on a county basis and the number each county gets is determined by a formula based on population, with the proviso (I think) that counties that lose population do not lose existing licenses as a result. The reason I can't say it's completely incorrect is because the LCB indeed cannot increase or reduce the number of licenses in Philadelphia or any of the other 66 counties; the formula governs that. But the LCB can certainly yank or suspend licenses if it so chooses. Most restaurants are in no danger of this, though. On to Capaneus, who yearns for the Great Good Place that also serves food: I invite you, and anyone else who cares to join you, to meet me at Woody's or Bump or The Venture Inn or The Westbury Bar sometime. These establishments -- gay bars all -- represent the flip side of the state's liquor laws. As such, they are probably closer to your "pathetic approximation" than they are to the sorts of places you envision, but they do differ from most non-gay bars in that they take their food service seriously too. Except that its seating isn't configured for or conducive to hanging out over food, Woody's probably comes closer than most other bars in the city to an English pub -- a place where you can get good, solid, inexpensive food while hanging out with your friends (or, as the case may be here, looking for new ones). The Westbury, with its dining booths and tables arrayed around the central bar, also comes close, and they won't hurry you out of the booth either if you decide you just want to have a few more beers after your meal is finished. The bar and the restaurant at The Venture Inn are completely separate spaces, so it doesn't really fit the template, but again, the food's not that pricey and you can linger over your meal; Bump gets very noisy at happy hour, and as the bar and the restaurant are essentially the same space, it means that you may end up shouting at your friends over dinner, but you can have dinner there too. That Philly's gay bar/restaurants are as much restaurant as bar in some cases may stem from the fact that, even in these more tolerant times, gay men especially still sometimes want to enjoy themselves in their own public spaces where they can eat as well as drink, and there aren't enough clones of Valanni to accommodate all of these people. But for whatever reason, I think they come closer to your ideal Great Good Place than anything else in town -- except perhaps some of those BYOBs. However, you can get wine at a gay bar. It won't be great wine--hell, it might even be swill--but it is alcohol all the same. Even the Washington Square West Civic Association -- which loves restaurants -- tends to default to opposing new liquor licenses unless it can be convinced not to. You really should take me up on the invitation above. And if you haven't read The Great Good Place, you should. You will probably find yourself nodding your head vigorously as you read it.

Adding a completely separate post to rethink a position out loud. White does mention the "dreaded chain invasion" in her article. I'm sure you are all aware that I take a benign view of it, and as long as the audience for good food continues to expand, I will do so. But I can see where the chain invasion might do to Philly's restaurant scene what kudzu did to the Southern landscape. If chains, with their deep pockets and large ad budgets, drive up space rent to the point where culinary entrepreneurs can't afford to open places, and if those ad barrages end up driving those who don't want to have to think too much about where to eat away from interesting local places in favor of the places they know from the TV and the mall, then yes, I need to start worrying too.

Well, what about those PR people, Holly? Huh? Huh??? Hmmm...everybody passing up Philly in March for warmer climes. Quelle surprise. So what are these people all doing in July? I thought we wanted to own the Fourth. Why not piggyback on Independence Day and see if we can't extend the holiday a bit with a culinary festival? It's too hot to cook, you say? Aren't a lot of the Book & The Cook events indoors? Did the organizers approach the same national chefs/authors about participating in this June affair? As for the article itself, my attitude towards it can be summed up in the opening line from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That we are on a par with Chicago and San Francisco -- having lived in Boston for a while in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and having returned there in '05, I feel comfortable saying that the dining scene here outclassed Boston's then and still does now -- and that (as Holly put it in NFLese) "on any given Saturday," we can hold our own with New York -- should make our insecure, parochial little hearts pound with joy. That we can even have an article arguing that our restaurant scene is stuck in a rut and needs some rethinking, and perhaps a push to take it to the next level (whatever "the next level" is), speaks volumes about just how good it is here. And yet, it could be more. I don't think it's for lack of talent. Maybe it's that characteristic Philadelphian reluctance to toot one's horn too loudly? Marc Vetri could easily be where Mario Batali is with the right publicity (there's that word again). And Shola (from what I've heard) is as forward-thinking as they come, but he prefers to work his magic in small-group settings. So maybe it really is "all PR." Care to disagree?

18%. and in philadelphia sales tax is 7%... ← Just a reminder: The state sales tax (7% in Philadelphia and Allegheny counties, 6% in the other 65) is not bundled into the shelf price the way the 18% Johnstown Flood (1937) Relief Tax is. Just as in New Jersey, it's tacked on at the end of the purchase. Delaware, as we all know, has no sales tax.