Jen Keenan
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Posts posted by Jen Keenan
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I don't think it's actually important whether the NY versions are made exactly the way it's done in Philly, just whether they're good. I'm curious to know what you folks think.
Just as a reference: not all, but many of the classic cheesesteaks down here are made with un-chopped, thin-sliced rib-eye - not reformed steakumm fiberboard, just a thin slice left intact. So it's odd to require the chopping thing.
Personally, I've clocked in hundreds of cheesesteaks between childhood trips to Jim's and college outings to Abner's, born of Jim's. Our drunken cheesesteak was at this total dive, near much of the off-campus housing, that was open till two and the site of my first witnessed fistfight. Dude jumped over the counter for some action
Shocker, now that they've gussied up campus it doesn't exist anymore.
Anyway, the only Philly Cheesesteak I've had in New York was at Carl's. I went with two co-workers from the Philadelphia / South Jersey area. We all agreed that it was a pretty damn good Philly Cheesesteak. Our main quibble – which I noticed the panel also had – was their too-heavy hand with the Whiz. Everyone knows you apply Whiz with a spatula! They use a pump. Otherwise, it was perfect.
Philadining, I think what the panel was referring to as "chopped" meat is the result of grilling. Maybe it's done differently in South Philly, but at Jim's I noticed they start out with the slices of rib eye but as the meat got moved about on the grill it ended up getting cut in pieces by the end.
Ultimately, I think there's a good Cheesesteak and a good Philly Cheesesteak. It was wrong to include BB Sandwich Bar in a piece about Philly Cheesesteaks since that's not what they do. I've never heard anything but good about their sandwiches and they actually look good to me. The tomato sauce might be a nice alternative to the half a cup of ketchup I usually end up putting on my food to counteract all that fat. If you do a Philly Cheesesteak you must do it properly to call it that. BB does its own thing and, as far as I know, doesn't claim to be authentic. That was TONY's bad.
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Oh, hey, look, we're in Gothamist too!
I might have a thing to say or two about their idea that the "pizza bottom" shot should be patented by Slice NY
(not that I begrudge them their happy obsession either!)
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Had another chance to visit Fornino yesterday. (What a shocker - it's two months later, and I needed another haircut!)
My instinct told me to get the Funghi Misti, which is from the 'Fornino' or 'Third Generation' section of the menu. This came with well-sized hunks of just-soft-enough mixed mushrooms, caciocavallo cheese (and I'm pretty sure ricotta as well) and a dash of white truffle oil.
That pizza was so stinky I was afraid to eat it and so worth the risk. Normally I whimper audibly at any pie without red sauce, but for once I didn't miss it at ALL. No char though; anyone care to comment on that? There seemed to be a decent amount of oven spring in this pie. Wish I could've photographed some of the cheesy crust bubbles.
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I've only been to the original in Seattle, but in my experience Sur La Table, if I may, is like the ABC Carpet of cooking stores. There's fabulous stuff EVERYWHERE, like a fairy wonderland for food people. If you don't get the ABC Carpet reference, though, I don't know if I can describe the magic
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Oh no...if we're really confessing, I just read something upthread that reminded me of one of my worst indulgences.
I sometimes have to drive to PA from NYC for friend or family occasions (like a late Christmas at my Aunt's house). I don't know about your family, but in my family "dinner" is usually between 2 and 4. Father and stepmother leave, then the sister, then my aunt begs me to hang out and I end up finally seeing "Elf" and not leaving PA until 9 or 10 at night. I haven't eaten since 4:30-5:00 pm. They must be fasting.
And I just couldn't make it home. There was a Popeye's sign going one way on the NJ TPK but it turned out to be a Roy Rogers, and I just can't resist the bacon cheeseburger. With ketchup AND horseradish sauce AND the bbq stuff. I mean, come on, it's all there! And it's always disgusting (because of the warmed over burgers, not the taste combination), and I always pretend I'm a little kid again and just thought of this. It gets me by.
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BMTs from Subway
Mmm, the Subway BMT...sorta almost as good as a Blimpie Best!
Maybe a bigger heresy, though: Here I live in Hoagie Heaven, and there are times when I just gotta go to Quizno's. Hope nobody on the Pennsylvania board is reading this topic.You are so busted!
Nah, only kidding. Everyone knows that Quizno's doesn't make Hoagies. The only reason they even call them Subs is because no one outside of New England understands the word Grinder. Oh, when my family lived in PA we were big fans of Lee's – is that respectable, or does that install me firmly in this Guilty Pleasure thread?My oh my, never in my life have I heard of poutine and now I want to try it very, very much.
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Everything seems to be covered that I can think of. I love Tea & Sympathy, but wouldn't go NEAR it on a weekend at teatime. Alice's Tea Cup is quite yummy to me (brunch is great but not relevant here; love their tea smoked chicken salad; cucumber sandwiches admittedly not spot on but the mocha cake is wonderful.)
As for fancy hotel teas, I've been through the Pierre Hotel when they're serving tea and I thought that looked fantastic. That would be the place I would try. Am I a weirdo because I never learned to equate afternoon tea with fancy rooms? Goodness, they'll never have me at Brown's
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Hi all! I just wanted to take advantage of this day off (cough cough) to report on xmas. Wow, now that I'm re-reading this thread I'm thinking, "oh, so many more books I could have bought..." but then a present each for a family of five was quite enough for me this year. The results, relative by relative:
The Big brother: the Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain, as reported. At first Jon was greatly pleased to see the book. When I pointed out that it had been signed specifically to him he was grinning from ear to ear, and might've even laughed. I'm not sure how he really felt about the cooking advice but the bloody knife AB drew really tickled him. My brother really does like Tony's style, so the best I can hope for is that he reads it and at least learns a little.
The baby nephew: special eGullet thanks here! Believe it or not, I don't think any of us had heard of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Jonathan especially enjoyed sitting on Grandad's lap and being read the book in my dad's mellifluous basso. (The best part of that, in my recollection, is leaning your head on his chest and listening to his voice resonate :)
Six-year-old niece: Williams-Sonoma's Kids Baking. I got this partially because I loved the style and breadth and how it didn't talk down to anyone, and partially because a lot of kids' cookbooks overlap. The jury's still out on this one, but it may just be that she just needs a little time to absorb it after the excitement of all her other gifts.
Four-year-old niece: the Moosewood Collective's Pretend Soup. Love was in the air! I was so excited I kept pointing out recipes and my SIL told me that the kids had been interested in food and she hadn't previously had any guides. Last I talked to her, they had already made one recipe together and she had just run out for ingredients to cook another one. We may just have two mini-chefs in the family.
The Sister-in-law: She hasn't been known as happiest, most willing cook, so I got her some little condiment dishes that match their current china. She liked them a lot and thought the food theme was a hoot.
The bonus: out of all this comes the information that because of the kids, Food Network In the Kitchen is often on TV in the background. Whatever you may think of Rachael Ray, it pleases me to no end that her easygoing approach and doable recipes have actually inspired my sister-in-law to cook something interesting on more than one occasion! Varying the recipes even! I almost envy the noisy lot.
Well, this year was enormously successful and I could never have done it without all your advice and help. I'll certainly never be able to repeat it, but it was worth it just to get this one perfect and I thank each and every one of you. Oh, and if anyone's curious, Santa brought Aunt Jen a Santoku knife. It may remind me a bit too much of Miss Perky, but it sure does make chopping veggies a breeze
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Yeah, well has anyone seen the latest development? ___ on Demand, available to at least NYC Time Warner Digital Cable subscribers. MTV, FoodTV, Comedy Central, BBC America, etc. It just showed up a day or two ago and the selection at the moment is extremely limited. But I like that you can go view a video, or a recipe segment.
What say ye all to that?
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What I find strange, is that considering 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares' is a Channel 4 production, it would air on BBC America.
FYI, Steve, BBC America has no such limits when it comes to importing TV from the UK. It's not like we have ITV America, etc. My favorite is when the end credits say things like "BBC Midlands" and I'm thinking, wot? Is there local telly?
Trying to keep on topic, is anyone able to watch this show who isn't fully a fan of schadenfreude? I'm too afraid. That, and I wonder about the accusation that was made during the UK eGullet discussion of this show, that the show was completely rigged.
edited because I forgot to press "Preview"
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Oi! I will not poop on you if you desist in misquoting me
My bugaboo is not with gestures – I'm a big door holder myself. What I'm saying is that there is a lot more to being a gentleman than the occasional gesture. If you give up your seat in a bar but continue to be personally selfish, especially around ladies, then don't try to tell me you're a gentleman!
If you do, then I might poop on you. But I doubt you would, as there seems to be a higher proportion of gentlemen at eGullet than elsewhere.
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[...]And Pan, here's a nice, arbitrary rule for you: If you're in the kind of place that has cloth napkins, excuse yourself to wipe your nose. If you're in a place where the napkins are paper and come from a silver box, blow away!
Next question: How frequently is it reasonable to excuse oneself from the table?
I mean, do people having sudden allergy attacks need to cancel reservations?Oh, I think if you have allergies you just shouldn't be allowed in restaurants at all. Not even sure you should be allowed out of the house. Stay the hell away from me. Take more drugs, whydoncha.
Obviously there must be some kind of middle ground between allergy sufferers giving up their fancy dinners and my fancy dinner being ruined by someone hocking snot in the dining room all night. I know you're only being half-serious but I think it would be a hoot to go post that question on their board and see what they say. It happens to enough people to merit consideration. In my experience, my drippier friends just tried to be discreet about it and we all took it in stride.
By the way, not that this is related to etiquette exactly, but I hate restaurants that have no paper towels (or, if appropriate, tissues in the bathroom). I can't blow my nose on an airstream, and it's even worse when the airstream is cold, as I've experienced a couple of times recently.
Umm...I'm just wondering, if you know you have to blow your nose all the time, why aren't you packing? Every gentleman needs a hanky!
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I just wanna speak up for those who were raised by wolves (or tv). A possible result of over-raising your children is having children who under-raise theirs. Consequently there are legions of people who literally do not know how to behave. I like etiquette because I like having guidelines. I wanted to be well-mannered but I grew up not knowing how that happened.
Of course there are people who mistake etiquette for manners, civility for politeness, a guy who occasionally holds open a door for a gentleman. People who follow rules blindly without knowing the reason for what they're doing. I poop on them all! And then I excuse myself. As with so many other things in life, rules are for people who don't know what they're doing. In this particular case, I appreciate that they're there.
I also just want to say how impressed I am with you lefty knife cutters! I can do a lot of things with either hand but that is definitely not one of them.
And Pan, here's a nice, arbitrary rule for you: If you're in the kind of place that has cloth napkins, excuse yourself to wipe your nose. If you're in a place where the napkins are paper and come from a silver box, blow away!
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Since we are mentioning alternatives, is anyone watching "Friends for Dinner" on the Discovery Home Channel? Originally a BBC show, it features famous British chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes, Ainsley Harriott, Madhur Jaffray et al. They invade the home of an experienced amateur cook, give them a highly difficult menu to cook from their own books, and the rest of the show is watching the cook sweat it out, the chef patiently (or, not so much) taking cell phone calls all day from the cook, and the friends being interviewed as to how high the cook's head is going to go when it pops off.
It is actually kind of inspiring. Sort of, "well, if they can do it..."
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I went to Fornino in Williamsburg this weekend. Might this be a contender for the survey? I don't think it'd get best of NYC but it's very tasty pizza and it would be interesting to start comparing the smaller, more artisanal pies with the group.
I agree with bpearis that there could be more oven spring but I loved the crunchy / chewy texture of the dough. You all should know you have me trained – there I was, sitting by myself, feelilng like an idiot as I flipped a slice up to check for char. There wasn't a ton of it but I found it interesting that spots of it appeared in regular spots - something about the texture of the dough, I'm sure. Is this not intriguing? I really wanted to say that I am normally a "spice in my sauce" kinda girl and there were NO complaints from me when I'd taken the last of the mozz off with my teeth and had to eat just sauce and crust.
The space is lovely and on my way to do the bathroom check (nice) I noticed they have a whole back room. Well, a heated tent. But even though I'm no expert at counting seats I'd say there's definitely enough room for eGullet without a problem. I didn't ask about reservations but the owner seemed really nice and I'm sure he'd be happy to have us. Next time I go, though, I'm going to be sure to sit facing the back of the room, so I can watch that coal fire burning. I have the menu – any questions?
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You guys are so helpful I'm all confused again
No, I'm writing this down and will run out before the list is two post-its long. Then I'll come back and y'all will have given me enough ideas to get them through to high school 
I am grateful for the board book rec, all I know for babies is the Good Dog Carl series. I adore these books and buy them for every baby I know. No one's sued me yet...
Of course, I am grateful for all the recommendations, and totally envious of the time and talent it takes to write a personalized cookbook. One day I really will do something like that for my brothers, but it'll be more like xeroxes of our mother's favorites. If I ever figure out which chili recipe she used. I agree with those who were more into the actual cooking than flashy cookbooks. I was more serious than these kids are – with any luck (and your help) I'll find the right mix between entertainment and education. Whew!
p.s. Donna Hay rules. Unfortunately her kids' book is a tad too foreign for them. Aunt Jen needs a few more years to turn them into proper Anglophiles
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Oakapple, I'm not sure I understand your definition of a neighborhood place, or why that's a bad thing. There are hundreds if not thousands of achingly mediocre restaurants in NYC that have survived for decades. It's true that they may not all be paying the high rent that Jack et al. are paying. But that's because they opened their restaurant in a relatively wealthy neighborhood that is also a destination neighborhood for a lot of partiers on the weekends. Oh, and one that is famous for having achingly mediocre restaurants (although that is changing more and more).
Even if Jacques-Imo's NYC didn't attract the cultists and the curious, it would still succeed. Only the owners would merely become filthy rich instead of filthy stinking rich. You business owners feel free to correct me on that one. But have I explained myself, o, or have I misunderstood you?
I forgot to add earlier that both my friend and I thought our moms made better cornbread. Maybe it's cause he bakes it in muffin tins? It might just be the batter. Sorry, Jack.
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I went to Jacques-Imo's NYC Saturday night. Hoo, what a ruckus! If you're going on a weekend night, I would suggest being in one of those large parties. The rest of us were just ducking the noisy. I am definitely not in love with the bar-waiting arrangement. It's way too in-the-middle-of-the-room and close to the tables.
I am grateful for the Abita Amber recommendation but ugh, that bloody mary is way over-rated. Maybe it was just that day's mix but I prefer mine balanced and not dominated by one or two flavors, say tobasco and worcestershire. The vegetable party on the top didn't bother me but it did really impress my neighbors.
The Alligator sausage cheesecake has been touted for years by my friends and for good reason! I didn't expect it to be so tomatoey and spicy (not when it says "cheesecake") but that was what was so great about it. Well, all of it was great. My friend kept telling me it reminded her of meatloaf and I told her that her mom must've been feeding her some depression-era recipe because no meatloaf should have that much bread in it.
She insisted on getting fried oysters to start so I didn't get to try the tomatoes. She told me that it's common in the South to fry your oysters super-crunchy but that was not to my taste. It's like serving a burger on a toasted baguette – there's way too much contrast between the textures and by the time I've worked my way to the inside, it's just not enjoyable anymore.
For an entree I ordered the grilled amberjack, which I liked. I was thinking the artichoke-mushroom sauce was going to be really over the top, sort of Todd English goes to NOLA. But the dish was actually quite subtle and complementary so I was pleasantly surprised.
I sort of feel bad saying this but I just really don't get the whole creole roux thing. My friend loved her crawfish etoufee and I just went, "eh". I also didn't dig the corn macquechoux - why would I want my corn to taste like roux? What a bummer. I hadn't realized that's what macquechoux was or I wouldn't have ordered it.
After re-reading this thread I really wish I had room for dessert! Well, maybe next time. I agree that this is good for what it is, a fun, neighborhood place. Lucky, lucky neighborhood.
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You guys are awesome! I don't know if we had a Charlie Brown cookbook (which wouldn't be surprising, since I was a fanatic) but one of my brother's schools put together a mimeo booklet of easy, cute recipes. I always fancied the dishes that involved turning canned peach and pear halves into animals but that never came into being – I was too busy prep-cheffing for my mom. My menu-planning / food re-using skills are terrible but thank goodness I'm at least comfortable with a knife
My dear brother was outside playing the whole time. My whole family always enjoyed tasty food but my brother's fondness for cooking didn't develop until college. Lots of table-waiting gigs and one summer as a grill man and he's convinced he's a master chef. His knowledge is sadly lacking in some important ways – I'm still not sure if he's over the "dissolved chicken bullion makes for great sauces!" phase. So the gifts of cookbooks this year are a semi-subtle effort by Aunt Jen to make sure they learn while they're helping / cooking for daddy as well as having fun. Which is what is so great about food and cooking!
My eldest niece was the first grandchild / baby for many, many relatives, which means they all get more toys and clothes than they could possibly ever need. I very cleverly established myself as the book- and video-giving auntie, which has as many downs as any other gift-giving proposition and way higher highs. Imagine my glee when at my nephew's birthday party one of my nieces exclaimed, "look, baby Jonathan has his very own Good Dog Carl book!" Shoot, I wish I had someone giving me books all the time when I was younger so I didn't have to read the same ten books over and over and over again.
So thank you all very much, this has been very interesting as well as helpful. I am quite looking forward to taking all your suggestions with me to the bookstore and checking things out this weekend. Oh, and if anyone wants to throw in a food-themed board-book idea for a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, I'm all ears
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Thanks very much, both of you! It really is staggering how much is out there and it's great to hear some real-world experiences. Sounds like Marion might be right for my elder niece, and the younger would really appreciate the plastic spoons etc.
This high-scoring xmas auntie brought to you by eGullet
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My Jane Austen friends and I have done lots of NY afternoon teas but never at the hoity toity places. They were all pretty fond of the Anglers & Writers teas as well. Personally, I'm a big fan of the authenticity of Tea and Sympathy but the no-reservation policy makes it a very NOT good place to take your relatives on chilly winter afternoons.
If you liked the A&S vibe, I would recommend checking out Alice's Tea Cup at 73rd & Columbus. Their Alice-in-Wonderland atmosphere won't satisfy anyone looking for turned-up-pinkie action but their food is delicious, their staff is friendly, their tea list extensive, and their mocha chocolate chip cake is to die for (and included in most teas). I believe they still take reservations for parties five and larger and the last time we all got together it was a big hit.
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In an ideal world, I'd be able to sit my nieces down to the eGCI course on cooking with children. Or make my sister-in-law do it. But that's not going to happen – she may be home with the kids all day, but she's not the food person in the family – my brother is. And since he's getting Tony Bourdain's cookbook for this year's present, I thought I might make it a theme year.
Six-and-a-half-year-old Jessica takes after her father, and loves to help him in the kitchen. Four-and-a-half-year-old Sydney has a much less adventurous palate but most definitely wants a part of whatever her big sister's doing. We're not considering my dear nephew this year as he's barely eating solid food, let alone cooking it!
I've been eyeing all sorts of cookbooks for a while now but my head always ends up swimming. Alice? Emeril? Rachael? Donna? Betty? Ideally, their gifts would hit the middle ground between boring and superficial. Useful but not dry. Fun but not totally devoid of educational content. Has anyone gotten good results from a children's cookbook? Or am I being overidealistic?
Thank you very much in advance!
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Jane won't win any culinary awards but it's a nice, New-York-y-space. I have hosted both Born-and-Bred and Up-State-New Yorkers there as well as Swedes and they have all had enjoyable experiences. Both food and beverages are interesting enough to please any occasional diner so I say, if you're faced with this as the option, don't freak. It will be fine. You may not get two thumbs up from the most hard-core New Yorkers but if you're hosting out-of-towners I believe they'll be pleased. It's probably what they're looking for in a New York experience.
(Did I sound like I didn't like the food? No, of course I'd rather go to Cafe Boulud, but Jane was sufficiently creative that I enjoyed myself just as well as anyone else. I'm very experienced in the trying-to-please-everyone vein and I give you my blessing.)
Any questions? Happy to help, what I can.
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Because of you guys, the Pumpkin Concrete was lunch on Saturday, one of my "I'll take Manhattan" kinda days. I ate mine on the way up to Fifth Avenue and the jealousy was palpable. People noticed me breezing past them with my long spoon and giant cup and big, fat smile. I felt like Cartman. I'm eating PIE! And FROZEN CUSTARD! And PIE! DAMMIT!!
On a stylistic note, the whipped cream on top was very liberally doused with cinnamon. Might've been weird, but I really appreciated it. I usually find pumpkin pie too gooey and the spice on top really helped cut that taste.
If the line at my polling place turns out to be short, I may treat myself to a burger for lunch today.
Philly Steaks in NYC?
in New York: Dining
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Ah, philadining, Abner's was a palace compared to the place I'm talking about. Can't even remember the name, not convinced it actually had one, but it was somewhere around 40th and Spruce, maybe 42nd? They served alcohol as well and I'm guessing that fueled more than one fight in its day. Thanks for the info on Pat's and Geno's not chopping their steak, I had no idea! I guess it's obvious from the article that that panelist never made it out that way either.
So tonight we ordered from Philly Slim's, my South Jersey co-worker and I. From what I've read upthread I'm guessing the softness of the roll was due to the eight-block trip (three of those being avenues). My co-worker was supremely irritated at the low cheese-to-steak ratio and I have to agree, it was off. I thought the whole thing was delicious – it's nice to actually taste steak and onions for once. But it's true, they use too little cheese, Carl's too much. The quest continues...