Capaneus

Toronto good.

I say Zahav to Southwark to Capogiro, for the full compare-and-contrast effect - and to see the comical look of excruciating agony on the wrist-disabled bartenders' faces!

Second Vedge, which also has a really good wine list. How's this for geek cred: three La Clarine bottlings on the list, including a white available by the glass; a Pineau d'Aunis, also by the glass. And the list's sweet-spot is around $55-$60, which for Philly is practically free!

Are you coming into town? I'm working in can't-muck-about mode, but if you guys are planning on serious drinking after midnight, let me know, I could probably swing a nightcap...

I hope you can, because that's my plan as well. As far as I can tell, that's the only payment method as of now.

I'd like to attend the meals, Zahav, RTM, Han, but probably not the tours. If I'm still in time, that is. Have actual times been set? Didn't see any on a quick browse of the thread...

No more a lawyer than you, but... A lease, like any contract, lays out each party's rights and obligations. Each tenant has a right to expect the landlord to respect their rights as specified, and to meet the landlord's obligations. But no-one gets any say on whether or not you go above and beyond those. In other words, the Market cannot short-change a tenant, but I think they can give preferential treatment, as long as that does not impinge on other tenants' rights. I imagine that can get murky, though: marketing Ochs could be argued to work against Martin's or Giunta's interests, for instance.

I think management's obligation is to maintain, if possible improve, the identity of the market, as a market. It's not a museum, and individual merchants are not objets d'art, prized in themselves. Last time around, we ended up with a better market, as Fair Food Farmstand greatly expanded its offerings, replacing a very average cheesesteak vendor - and as it turned out, others filled in that loss more than competently. And to me, that means management did their job (albeit largely accidentally). This time, we lost one of several butchers, and one who obviously was failing to reach market-goers. It isn't fair to the merchants who are succeeding to have Ochs be subsidized - because all you suggest would have been a subsidy, in one form or another. And I find it hard to see what we lost - longevity in and of itself isn't terribly valuable to me.

For leftover sandwiches, my hands-down favorite would be a Muffuleta from the Khyber, assuming you have the ability to toast it the next morning. I think I actually prefer it that way. I really like their take on NOLa food overall, even if it's not Philadelphia-native. I went there soon after a recent trip to New Orleans, and I thought their po-boys stacked up nicely against Johnny's, which are supposedly among the better ones down there. Other than that toasted Muffuleta, I think it's generally true that the bread on any sandwich is going to suffer for the wait: even if it doesn't get soggy, it'll lose its snap a bit. The only places I can think of that will feed you at that time are Pat's and Geno's, which I can't in good conscience recommend: I understand the anthropological argument, but no-one has ever asked me to eat Lascaux cave paintings.

John's is the only cheesesteak I've ever actively liked - otherwise, I'm far into the roast pork camp. As for most of the more popular stands, I've only ever been able to understand them as nostalgia food: people love them because they have great memories attached. Same category as most mass-market candy.

How do you figure, Holly? I'm a longtime La Colombe fan (the comment about motor oil pretty much summarizes my feelings about this Third Wave nonsense), but I spotted no dis from the LaBan. In fact, even the subjects seemed mostly respectful, if defiant.

I'd say the Monday dinners are a great introduction to Han Dinasty, and Sichuan food in general: you get to try a boatload of stuff, find out what you like really fast, and don't need a second mortgage to do it. But I'll agree that I'd rather go with a smaller group (even if I did eat for two weeks on $25, last time I did the Monday dinner...), and find new things on Han's say-so.

Bibou is already at an extremely high level: Charlotte handles a room as well as anyone I've ever seen, and that's a lot of pretty good people. But Bibou can't be Le Bec-Fin because, well, Bibou isn't Le Bec. Completely different restaurant, completely different service paradigm. I had my seminal food moment at LBF, and some of my greatest dining experiences in the intervening years. I'll miss the place, and I regret not having gone more often. Maybe I still can.

Yeah, that's just crazy talk: there's no way they have any crack left after they make the goat tacos and the empanadas!

And did these arrangements involve a pecuniary consideration?

Whoa there, let's slow down with the tansiting of the gloria, mundial or otherwise: the new kitchen has been up and running a week. I trust the crew there to address any problems - if they have them, since Philly Mag's acumen in food criticism is less than piercing, generally speaking.

Yes and no: what they did was add another option: you can use UPS; you can pay the new $1/btl transfer fee, and have the transfer be expedited, and recorded and monitored at both ends, which should avoid some of the "accidents" I've experienced in the past; or you (supposedly) can do it for free - and take your chances. What I'm hearing from a lot of people, though, is that they're having trouble getting the stores to do a free transfer. To be fair, I think the unwillingness is not really about the $1: the old system took forever, was ridiculously unreliable, and much grief came from it, for all involved.

That's actually carrot and chestnut soup, Sparky. See what happens when you try to review at 5:30am? Otherwise, what they said. Overall the brunch menu is a bit more cautious than dinner, so I find it less exciting. But it's still darn tasty.

Hi, Paula, Didier Leroux and his wife Maribel owned Mademoiselle de Paris. But it wasn't on the block that came down, it was one over, in the space where recently we had Mantra and... and whatever it is now. Rindelaub's was on the defunct block.

If you haven't had the duck rice, you haven't lived. And Carla said it might be going on hiatus soon. Jes' sayin'.

Beer is good, sparkling wines are good. My personal preference is for white wines with good acidity and a little residual sugar, like Riesling, vinho verde, and some chenin blanc and pinot gris.

It's a very small list - I doubt the wine sits around long enough to get cooked. When I've had it, it's fine, it might have been very good even, except for the temperature. I still find it hard to believe they can't figure out how to store the wine away from the oven.

omg i hope so! there are two choices for each course, and that way i'd get to eat everything on the menu. Sorry. Just checked the online menu, and my memory clearly isn't what it should be. I think you're right, you get to choose one dish per course for the two of you.

Yeah, that deal sounded awesome. I'm hoping to figure out a way of ending up there. I'm not sure the portioning for New Year's is going to be the same as the a la carte - I assumed it was a per-person charge, and that the portions would be reduced to make the multiple courses manageable.

This place is so great... I keep wondering if it's just the fact that it's Portuguese, but then I remember the long, long list of Portuguese restaurants I've despised. It's just amazing food that happens to also remind me of home. And there's the corroborating witnessing of everyone I know who's been there. And they're improving, still: that pastel de nata wasn't just "tweaked", it was radically different - and much better. The pie-like crust was gone, replaced by a puff-pastry that was lighter than what I've had before (which is good), and the filling was creamier and a shade tangier (it might still benefit from more aggressive flavoring, but that's very much a quibble), and came still warm, which was great. It's not quite what you'd get in Lisbon, or Newark - but I no longer want it to be, because in this case "different" happens to be a very good alternative. I still want them to make the feijoada with meat and saussage, like God intended ; I still think the pork and clams could stand stronger seasoning; and I still hope they try a good old-fashioned acorda de coentros, or another traditional recipe. But none of those are really faults, just avenues I might like to see explored - and you (and the chef) might not. Speaking of which, was any feijoada on the menu yesterday?