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i think, johnl, you are referring to tan dinh. they have (or had when last i was there, about 7 years ago) an excellent wine list.

eberly birds are my favorite. i like bell and evans too, but have a preference for eberly.

fwiw, i bought the tartuflanghe white truffle oil and paste at the salon de gusto event in turin last october. i seriously doubt salon de gusto would have fake products at this event. this is a seriously high quality event sponsored by the slow food people. i spoke at length with the tartuflanghe people and have no doubt their products are the real deal. the oil and paste i purchased were excellent.

"hahaha or chemical. what is the best pot for a self-heating MRE? " um, colombian? i mean, it would make it more appetizing. with the munchies and all.........

happy birthday, jim ! (you did mean your 60th, right?)

thanks for the reply, v. i was wondering wether the copper stuff was tin or stainless. btw, doesn't alot of the weight of copper cookware come from the cast iron handle? i mean, how much of a copper saute pan is actually copper? using the current price of copper to price the cookware hardly seems a reasoanable way to price these items. maybe, that isn't what chef blanck is going to do. i don't know it just seems odd to me. he must know what he wants for the stuff, why not just price it accordingly? sandy, you should search the kitchen consumer forum. there are many threads, with informative posts by slinskey, explaining the differences between cookware surfaces.

apples?

dmitri's doesn't have a website that i can find. philly.com has a review for the 3rd street location ( i probably wouldn't take a large group here) that is 7 years old and no price catagory i could find. however, i'm confident in saying both dmitri's are pretty reasonably priced. citysearch's site shows the pine street address as $$. you could always call the restaurant and have them fax you a menu.

dmitri's may fit the bill. the one near rittenhouse square accepts reservations and has a liqour license. the original on 3rd and catherine, my favorite of the two, is small, a bit noisy, byo, and no reservations. although you can wait across the street at new wave cafe have a couple drinks, and they come get you when your table is ready.

"Do I need to know the current price of copper if I'm not planning to melt the pan down? I dunno." katie, i was wondering because the link above states the copper cookware is being priced "by the pound". i'm just thinking current prices will make the used cookware just as pricey as new stuff. and definetly more expensive than when he originally purchased it. i thought maybe there would be some decent deals on the copper cookware because it's used.

any guesses what the per pound price for the copper will be? isn't copper pretty expensive these days? i wonder if the price will be the current market quotes for copper. also, is there any added value in used copper cookware as oppossed to new?

"So are there New World wines being made in the old world?" sure. why not? new world is just a catchall phrase for a certain style of wine. that's all.

i was in the loire in october 2005 and ate very well at restaurant gambetti in saumur and at auberge des coteaux (just outside of chinon). gambetti was a pleasant suprise reccommended by someone at the combier distillery in saumur (worth a visit also, for lovely fruit liquers). auberge des cotaeux was a neighborhood, communal table, kind of place serving well made hearty cuisine.

i know people who have been recently ( i haven't) and raved.

storage has very little ,if anything, to do with a wine being corked.

"Made by Nils Venge, who had also done the late 1960s, particularly the memorable 1968 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard. Anyone know where he got to later on?" saddleback. not sure if he is still there or not.

interesting question. i think if you got "laptop jacked" in a coffee house there is no question the laptop was stolen and it would be a police matter. maybe renters insurance/homeowners may cover it. it's possible it may be recovered by the authorites. whatever, there is no question you had the laptop and it was stolen. however, leaving a backpack (with a laptop in it) in a restaurant can create a scenario of your word against managements that here was actually a laptop inside the backpack.

"brachetto passito "Pian de Sogni" is a Piemonte IGT wine." thanks. that is the red passito i was referring to. i'll check the info i brought back from the winery to see if the other wines, especially the moscato d'asti, are loazzolo doc designated. btw, the goat on the label, represents the one goat gianni's grandfather allowed his wife to keep when he decided to switch from raising goats to grapes. she wasn't thrilled about the switch in farming apparantly. other frateto della luja trivia: gianni's father is a well respected wine consultant throughout italy. the barbera/pinot noir blend is a traditional blend for the area. (a suprise to me) it actually ages quite gracefully. the properties in loazzolo are at the top of some hairy switchbacks that climb up some impressive inclines. the original, kinda small house, acts as the winery. lotsa barrels of passito in the dirt floor basement waiting to be bottled. the spiral label was designed by his grandfather and has been in use for some time. there was a reason for the design but i can't recall it now.

brad- i've been meaning to post some notes on forteto della luja. i actually visited the winery in october last year. i came home with moscato, moscato passito, and a passito made from a red grape that escapes me right now. a lovely blend of barbera and pinot noir is also produced called il grieve (sp?). this is a tiny winery in, i believe, the smallest doc in italy. (smallest in actual size or production, i can't remember.) the property has been in the same family for 3 generations and gianni, the olderst son, is the winemaker. he was most gracious when we visited. it was actually one of the best winery visits i have ever had. learned lots about making passito, the loazzolo doc, the local landscape, etc. it is a beautifal area of piedmont, i think actually part of the monferrato. hard to find , but well worth a visit if your ever in loazzolo. eta: not all the wines produced are vendemmia tardiva. the sparkling moscato is delicious, less effervescent than any moscato i've had. i could be wrong but the loazzolo region produces more sparkling moscato than any other wine.

"(along with some of that Chateau Calissanne Rosé from Moore Bros.) " ...didn't we all slug this down, a little while ago, with some bangin' food somewhere, ..............

sorry to hear about the so so meal guys, i have two words for you: molcajete mixto.

okay. sorry if i'm missing your point. your spanish example says no tatse of rioja if the temparanillo is estate grown, but you get the taste of rioja if you blend from different vineyards. i'm still not seeing what you mean. sorry.

not sure i get your point. what about single vineyard white and red burgundy? no terrior here because they're not blends? why wouldn't you get the terrior from a single vineyard estate grown temparanillo? or are you saying the terrior from a region must be a blend, to show all the character of the region. (as oppossed to a vineyard of the region)

nice write up, dave. this dinner was , indeed, very good. definetly a place worth seeking out and supporting. sorry for the shill.

"I'm glad to see lfabio on egullet, if for no other reason than to provide a knowledgeable counterpoint to the Grand Pontificator. " can we just let the personal stuff go? please? if you are referring to who i think you are, he's known personally to many of us, and he's got serious cred. egullet is just better when the personal stuff is kept out of serious discussions.