I_call_the_duck

Beautiful pics as usual, philadining. I salute you guys. 15 dishes amongst the three of you? Then again, knowing you three, I'm not surprised. I do exactly the same thing. I also worry that they'll run out of something good. We ate at Dim Sum Gogo in New York yesterday, which did not have the cart experience. I haven't had a chance to post on the NY dim sum thread yet, but what was lacking in the fun "point and pick method" was redeemed by fresh, tasty dim sum. I wouldn’t say it was the best I've had — it was also more expensive than most places — but it was pretty good.

I've used chicken instead of pork. It definitely does not taste as good as pork does, but it's fine. Mom's version has celery, cabbage, and mushrooms. Of course, I think that's the correct way! As for freezing, I'd fry them first. They may be a little soggy when you first defrost it, but they crisp up nicely in the toaster oven.

Great pictorial, Kent. I love hoisin sauce with my spring rolls.

Oooh, Ling and Lo Do New York! When exactly are you going to be there? We've been doing low-budget NY lately, and haven't tried many of the places on your list. They all sound good to me though. If you're by Katz's, grab a knish at Yonah Schimmel.

Gee, Kent, you're the Iron Chef of duck gizzards!

Unless I'm confusing it with another restaurant, I think they have also obtained a liquor license, so I'd think it'd be more on the line of small plates rather than "snacks".

Herb, are you still craving wasabi cashews? I saw some at Suzie Hot Sauce in New Hope. I didn't see them on the website, but they're in the store. They had almonds and peanuts too.

Shoot. Do I have to choose? This is like Sophie's Choice.

And hum ha has such a lovely purpley color. Side note: Mr. Duck was talking about taking a class that would run on Monday evenings for two months. As I was convincing him that it would be a good idea, he said, "you just want to eat stinky shrimp [hum ha]!" "YES, I DO!!" I reply, while practically jumping in anticipation. "But...the class will help you with your project." So...he did sign up for the class, and I'm already thinking of what I'll have first...hum ha or steamed egg custard? Maybe I’ll make a special trip to Chinatown and get some hum yee and fat back.

Mr. Duck is nixing the idea of the vineyard , but I'm sure he'll change his mind if we drive past a big "WINE TASTING" sign. A friend recommended the Spiced Pear, but someone mentioned upthread that it wasn't good anymore. Since it's been a year since that post, have things changed?

No, hathor! "My" boyfriends are the Yankees ... as in Mr. Fabby calls to say he's taking an earlier flight/train home, so I can clear the Yanks out. (for him, it's the Lakers Girls.) Your husband looks famous/familiar in a 'haven't I seen you before" way. ← I gotta confess that the "gee, he looks familiar" thought was niggling at the back of my mind, too ... until I went Googling and found this photo. ← Mizducky--you are so right!!

Judith, these photos are so beautiful. The one of the porchetta stand brought back fond memories. And those tomatoes!! What type of stock is used in the Tortellini in brodo? It has such a lovely color.

Exactly how does one respond to that request?

Judith, The pasta and chicken look absolutely divine!! Can't wait to see the market. (Hope the pictures come out.) As for the proverb, you gotta love babelfish. Babelfish translates word for word, not taking into account idiomatic expressions, so using it is like playing a game of telephone--something always gets lost along the way. (IOW, don't always rely on it.) The translation I got came out to "Hard face and face toast, not there and nobody that approaches it"

And so I jump on the bandwagon. We had dinner at Vetri a few years ago, and it wasn't memorable for me either. I initially blamed it on being tired (and a little tipsy)--we had a 9:30 reservation on a Thursday night)--but nothing wowed me. I remember the pasta being very good, but I've had better elsewhere, and for much less money.

Silly me, and to think you did plenty in the few days you were here! Count me in for the Chinese Crawl. I'm dying to try those offal carts.

One of the really fun serendipitous things I've done in Italy was when my brother and I took a late-night walk in Rome in the summer of 1998 and happened upon the Festa del'Unita'. There was food and drink, of course, but my strongest memory is not of the food or drinks but the fact that a Middle Eastern restaurant had some very good bellydancing in the open air. The food was fine, but the bellydancing was the real bonus. Italian Communists (well, Democrats of the Left - hardly the Leninists of yesteryear) really know how to party! By the way, there was lots of gambling there, too, just to show you how far the leftists have come from the days of Gramsci. ← I hear they also have a great bash on May 1st. ← I can imagine! Unfortunately, I've never had the pleasure of being in Italy in seasons other than the summer. ← Mr. Duck's birthday is May 1st, and we've been trying to find a good airfare so we can go then, but so far, no luck. As for learning Italian when you know French, I had the same trouble, only with Spanish. I was familiar with conjugating verbs, but as for the vocabulary, I had some trouble. I did find a series of language tapes that worked well, but the trouble was that in real life, people spoke much more quickly than they did in the tapes. Oy! And to top it off, I started learning French for our trip to Paris last spring, so now I'm really confused.

One of the really fun serendipitous things I've done in Italy was when my brother and I took a late-night walk in Rome in the summer of 1998 and happened upon the Festa del'Unita'. There was food and drink, of course, but my strongest memory is not of the food or drinks but the fact that a Middle Eastern restaurant had some very good bellydancing in the open air. The food was fine, but the bellydancing was the real bonus. Italian Communists (well, Democrats of the Left - hardly the Leninists of yesteryear) really know how to party! By the way, there was lots of gambling there, too, just to show you how far the leftists have come from the days of Gramsci. ← I hear they also have a great bash on May 1st.

I'll second Katie--thanks for taking us along on your vacation, hathor. Out of all the pics you posted so far, the one of the poppies made me really miss Italia. Will we get to see the market at Umbertide tomorrow? And perhaps the Coop?

We never did make it up there last month, but are definitely going this weekend. Usually, we do a light breakfast, followed by a quick lunch and a nice dinner. I already plan on Flo's for a clam roll, but besides seafood, is there anything else we "must have" in the Newport area? We're not picky eaters. I also noticed that there are a couple of vineyards in the area. I'm always curious by wine that is produced in the U.S., and would like to know if we should go there.

So where did you eat? Feel free to post in another thread ← Even better, where did you stay?!

ME TOO!! I missed them so much during the summer--I did a happy dance in the store when I saw them.

Mr. Duck will eat stir-fried lettuce, but will not touch anything with hum ha, which he calls "stinky shrimp" sauce. He doesn't like steamed egg custard either. I always look forward to nights when he has to work late or is out with the boys. Some girls have a spa day when their loved ones are away--I make hum ha!

sockii, I said the same thing. But since it costs about $700 to fly to Rome, this is the next best thing. We've been stopping by Capogiro a lot more often lately. This past weekend we had: Chocolate-chocolate-chocolate with banana, and Single malt scotch with nocciola. Mr. Duck said that philadining is becoming a bad influence on us.

Now I'm bummed that we missed that seafood pie. Thanks Sandy, for arranging this trip.