I_call_the_duck

I've also been shopping around for a gas grill, but I'm a bit confused. I've noticed the absence of lava rocks or ceramic briquettes in most models. Are (were) those used for flavor or heat distribution? Is there anything you can add to a gas grill to enhance the flavor of your food as one would a charcoal grill?

Damn, philadining, that food looked great. Too bad we didn't make it earlier so I can steal some of your food. It was great seeing some eGulleters, and am sad to see "M" go. All we needed was the New Orleans brass band, but otherwise, it was a nice send-off. David's food and Katie's drinks will be dearly missed. I really regret not having taken advantage of this lovely place more often. Katie, I wish you and the staff luck in your next endeavors.

I'm from New York, and I didn't understand meatloaf until I was in my twenties. I still don't understand chicken ala king. I think some contestants were at a slight disadvantage if they didn’t grow up exposed to these foods. Hung's starting to bug me.

A little of both. I start on the large side first, do one row across, eat all the way around the large end, then finish with the typewriter method.

Ooh, I forgot about the hash browns. We had that too. We still laugh about our "romantic" breakfast, and say it's a story we can tell our grand-neices and nephews.

My wedding day breakfast was an Egg McMuffin and a carton of milk. I normally don't do fast food, but we had a 2-for-1 coupon.

Ah Leung, I'm so sad to see you go. I have learned so much from you, and wish you the best of luck. I'm going to miss your wisdom and humor. My mom asked me the other day if I knew how to make Ma Po Tofu, and thanks to you, I was able to tell her! Thanks for all your contributions to the eGullet community.

Me too. I bought the large bag, and somehow managed not to eat the whole thing

I was lucky enough to have that lamb croquette at the dinner last week, and it seemed to be pure lamb (and an amazing one at that). It wasn't oozing with juicy goodness, but the meat was incredibly moist. Maybe if you email Shola at his blog, he'll be able to answer your question.

So how many did you buy? I just checked our snack machine. Damn, no Munchos.

Maybe someone's hoarding them like Elaine and her sponges. I think Nabisco has a similar database, which I used to try to find Mallomars here in Philly. But don't get me started on that--try finding Mallomars outside the tri-state region, but considering now that Philly is the "sixth borough", it's getting a little easier now. Oops, off topic. But you're right, Fat Guy. I'm with you. I'm sick and tired and I'm not going to take it anymore!! edited because my original post didn't make much sense.

When I lived in NY, I used to get my Munchos fix from Duane Reade. And because I don't feel like working today, I found this nifty little resource that may help you. Frito-Lay's Product Locator

I think the charcoal smoke went on me. I was reeking when we got home.

Agreed. Everything was wonderful. My favs--for the banchan, I liked the cucumber, daikon, and lotus root. The eel was marvelous. It came out sizzling. I actually liked the pork belly, especially when really seared. It was a little bland, and was made better by dipping it into the vinaigrette from the cucumber banchan, and adding some grilled jalapenos. Another thing: We intended to start off with the eel, pancake, and dumplings, and proceed to the bbq, but everything came pretty much at once. Food frenzy. That was seriously a lot of food, and we were contemplating getting one more dish, but we resisted. We thought we ordered a lot, but judging from the table of twelve that was next to us, we were rank amateurs. Capogiro: Mr. Duck and I shared a Giandujia and Croccante au Rhum. (a very generous scoop by the new guy ) The giandujia was amazing. The croccante au rhum that I tasted had a nice flavor of rum, but my serving only generated random blasts of rum. Nevertheless, it was quite tasty. So when are we going again?

I'm with you. I have one can left in my pantry. I don't eat it that often because I must wait for Mr. Duck to be out of the house, since he doesn't like it very much. But once that's gone, where am I going to go?! First preserved duck eggs, now this!! Oh, the agony!

Not to mention an article in the NYT from a year ago. Philly has something close--Tiffin--which I have yet to try, but from the thread, sounds great.

So that's what it was!! I didn't think it was a paella pan.

I made a last minute decision to go, and I was a little disappointed. I got there around 10am, and judging by matt’s post, all the good stuff was gone. The nicest stuff that was there was the copper pots, priced very expensive for my blood. What looked to be a huge paella pan was around $600. The other copper pots were around the same price. Reasonably priced? Perhaps, but I would need help just to lift that damn thing. There were some pieces of furniture and lamps. Also for sale were glasses, and a set of dishes — about $400 for several full settings. The thing that I had my eye on was a glass-enclosed bookcase for $500. Lots of posters, but nothing that caught my eye as unique. But everything else was, er…things you’d find at a yard sale. Mugs were going for $5. A basket of umbrellas that people left was $20(!) There were cookie jars, glass pitchers, cow and pig-related items, and other tchotckes. Books (not of the cooking variety) were around $5. And no, that gorgeous table wasn't for sale. If I looked really hard, I probably would have walked away with something just for memorabilia's sake, but sadly there just wasn't anything that I wanted to take home.

OK, so we got back from our Upper Darby trip. Little Saigon was as good as promised. The spring rolls were delightfully crisp and flavorful. I had grilled pork over vermicelli and Mr. Duck had the mixed grill (pork, chicken, and beef). Both dishes came with a salad. Iceberg lettuce and bean sprouts, but the dressing was a light gingery, with just a bit of a bite. That was about it this time around. Since we were going to the concert afterwards, we didn't want to burden ourselves carrying leftovers. Now off topic, the concert was great. Yeah, Walter sang again. I find it funny hearing him sing because it obviously isn't his forte. But this song was better than the one he sang at a concert a few years ago. And Donald is acting like Ray Charles every time I see him. So back on topic. The only problem was that we couldn't find anywhere to have dessert. No place that had ice cream, no pastry shop--nothing!! Did I miss something? We even tried to go into HMart to get some mochi from the freezer section, but the packages were too big. Looking back further on this thread, we should have just got a shake and be done with it. So desparate were we that we almost went to the pizza shop to get a bar of Good Humor. No kidding. Speaking of HMart, it could be the happiest place on earth. OK, not really, but my Palm Pilot decided to end my day by deleting all my personal information, of which only my calendar is up to date because I don't want my peronal information on my work computer, and therefore left me in shock and completely pissed, so just walking through the aisles of HMart made me forget my troubles. So clean was the store. Over 20 different types of miso and doenjang. Those beautiful sliced meats just itching to be marinated and put on the grill.

Yes, how were they? I'm going to both places tonight. Do you know the address or cross streets for Little Saigon? White wine, beer or both? ← I think we just got tickets, so I'm dying to know. What to order? Did Walter sing? Katie, where are you?!

I saw it there, but Mr. Duck isn't a big fan of octopus. I'll ahve to sneak some home the next time. I'm sure Aimee's salad will change his mind.

We went there for lunch on Saturday, and had a very nice roasted beet and goat cheese salad, along with two different quiches. I forgot what they were exactly (sorry), but I believe one was a goat cheese eggplant, and the other had roasted vegetables. Of course we couldn't leave without buying anything so we got some duck and truffle ravioli, smoked salmon, a triple cream French cheese, and smoked scallops. Oh, and a strawberry rhubarb tart for dessert. Somehow I managed to resist buying the duck rillette. So far we had the salmon, scallops, and tart--all of which were incredible. We had a very nice chat with Aimee, who seemed to remember us from Django. She was telling us how great it was to be able to purchase farm fresh items in small quantities, which allows them to experiment more. Aimee also said Bryan is having fun with his smoker. There were these gorgeous hickory smoked pork chops on display, as well as some quail. He's also having fun with charchuterie--we saw some hot dogs (beef and turkey), chorizo, and duck sausage. (We bought some chorizo and duck sausage on a previous visit, and they were amazing.) Though I was sad to see Django go, I'm glad they chose to open Talula's Table in Kennett Square. Everything there is wonderful, and it's close enough that we plan on going again soon (and hopefully often).

Where was the elote? I couldn't find it. Oh well, I managed to do well without it. We had a free salad at the Sorrento stand, and I scored a free jar o tomato sauce next door. Then it was on to the more serious stuff! Espositos!! That pig was delicious, and there was lots of jus to soak it up. And the skin was the best part of the festival. I probably took more than my fair share, but I noticed that a lot of people weren't partaking, so I took their share instead. Heh-heh. Next we went for soft shelled crabs. Cold, but tasty. Our last savory stop was tacos al pastor. We've had these before, but it was fun seeing the big hunk of meat on the street, and the cook carving the pork, then flicking a small piece of pineapple on the taco. We finished off with a cannoli at Isgros. I finally checked my voicemail and noticed that Katie called. We met up briefly, but by that time, it was so crowded, and we were stuffed, so we headed off for home. Didn't get to see the bigjas family. No mango on a stick, but I did noticed lots of chili and lime by the stands. Despite the mass crowds, a pretty good day.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO ← Totally off topic, but the next time the Mets play the Phils at CBP, if you see a crazy woman screaming for the Mets sitting next to a man cringing in embarassment (and denying knowing said woman), that would be me. mrbigjas, don't hate me because I'm a Mets fan.

When at Citizens Bank Park, we usually go to Bull's BBQ. Not the best, but I always get a little thrill from seeing the Bull himself chatting with the fans. The food at Shea is not only expensive, but it sucks. Hopefully the new stadium will be better. But if you take the #7 train, you can get off at just about any stop along the way get some great take out before the game. We were there for Game 7 of the NLCS, and didn't have that luxury, so we got some Bánh mì in Philly before driving up to New York. That Bánh mì was the best part of the game.