wkl

i can vouch for clem's.been 3 or 4 times in the last two years with consistently good results.good pulled pork and ribs.never had the chicken.not the best i've ever had, but very good.

isole e olena in any year.cinsitently good. also, corzano e paterno.any year.

a bit off topic but, local produce stands around here were selling jersey tomatos and corn as recently as of couple weeks ago. the vendors claimed some farms keep the crops covered and somehow force the growth so the produce seems to be coming earlier. have you guys run into this? i thought the corn was so so and the tomatos not bad. interesting to see what the difference will be when they are really in season.

steeped on low heat. if you use nutmeg, a very small grating will do. served with oloroso sherry.

looks good, pd! ahhh, studio kitchen...... funny, i made this the other night also, i steeped the kernels with cobs in milk to cover for about an hour. i think you get more flavor and the starch has longer to come out and thicken the soup. then i stick blend, chinoise, serve with grated nutmeg atop.

i have heard good things about hummingbird in woodward, and burley's in tyrone. woodward is near state college. tyrone is on the other side of the mountain from phillipsburg, which is near port matilda. these are SMALL towns. tyrone is also home to gardners candies. which is worth a stop if you find yourself in tyrone, for whatever reason.

the excellent roadside q in port, as it's called locally, must be clem's. and, yes, it is quite good!

any chance the local politico's, landlords, property mgrs in philly are reading this? any chance they care?

i think rose is ideal here.there's tons of good ones around.instead of specific rec's, look for rose from these importers: kermint lynch, fleet street, vineyard brands, r. kacher. to each his own i guess, but i don't see oaky chard working here at all.

dmitris's at 3rd and catherine for dinner.can be done inexpensively.bustling,small, neighborhood place, serving grilled whole fish, calamari,shrimp, etc. small plates, salads, may be making gazapacho by now. really good hummus with grilled pita. it's byo.put your name in and head across street to new wave cafe for a beer and they'll come get you when your table is ready.

my last two trips to ralph's were mediocre at best.

i just finished "heat" last night.it's fantatsic. interesting insights on babbo, batali, the thinking at food network, and much more. best book i've read this year.

i believe in the "cooking of south west france" by paula wolfert, she makes mention of drinking this wine.you may want to scan thru it for some ideas.

is it the sec or sweet version?

i have a daniel boulud piece that i believe is the same one you refer to. i picked it up at marshalls for around $40. i like it alot. it has higher straighter sides than the equivalent piece in LC, so it holds alot more. i braise with it often.

i love my char-griller. large cooking surface, cast iron grates, adjustable charcoal pan, removable ash tray, all for $119.

la baia on 19th and lombard (?) usually has tables on the sidewailk when it gets warm. casual byo with low to mid range italian food.

they should have replaced the wine with a current or older vintage.if not in three liter format than the equivalent in 750's. Their written response really missed the mark.

chicken won't be banned. the necessary reforms to make poultry factories more "friendly" for the bird will likely raise the cost of chicken, thereby really pissing off some politician's voting base. it's so much easier to support banning fg because it really only effects a small population of the voting public.

second hand smoke is like torture in my book. what an idiot.........

wine stores that only have temperature control for their "special wines". as if all the bottles stewing away outside the temp room aren't good enough to be kept at the proper temperature. drives me nuts!

well, if the brisket is being served without a sauce, and it is essentially smoked meat, i still say riesling or beer. spicey food matched with high alcohol, big, oaky wine isn't such a good match imho.

hmmmmm, wouldn't riesling be the classic pairing here?

fwiw, moelleux is a style of wine form the loire. the word moelleux doesn't really translate to english, but denotes a sweetness in chenin blanc wines produced in the loire valley. so i think the word moelleux in the recipie is a descriptor more than type of dessert. however, i could be wrong.

Thanks Ed.