Capaneus

It *is* definite. But I share your hope: my best wishes for Jonathan were entirely irony-free.

First: Holly, I *tried* to be good. The search function requires a minimum of four charaters. I ran out after r-x... Anyway, for those who long wandered just who was behind the tasy food served at Rx since Tim left, the answer is "Mike Hacket", former sous-chef, currently Man in the Kitchen at Rx. Don't get too attached, though: he will be leaving shortly, and owner Greg Salisbury tell us he will be hiring someone of almost superhuman palate and discerniment to fill his place. Soon. If you want to taste Chef Hackett's cooking, though, I suggest you don't wait: things are tasty right now. We started with seared scallops with an edamame risotto. The creamy, briny shellfish played well off the creaminess of the vegetal side: it provided the bridge between the sweet sea-foam pillows and the snappy green-tasting risotto. The other appetizer at the table was a monstrous order of calamari, battered and fried in a light batter that vaguely evoked the East, and served with a (teriaky-based?) dip. These were delicious, and so light you *almost* forgot they came in a towering pile that severely restricted vision. We suggest you geet over childhood issues and learn to share. Next, charming Mr. Salisbury gifted us a little entremets of shrimp over sauteed corn, with heirloom cherry tomatoes. The dish did little besides play the flavors off each other - but that was plenty: each was clear as a bell, and delicious (there was a vaguely Asian barbeque sauce on the shrimp, but it was wise enough to stay out of the way). For an entree, we both chose the steak, largely for the sake of the Zinfandel. No regrets, though: a large, tender, flavorful slab o' beef, it will breach no new taste frontiers for you. But it will satisfy your carnivorous yen, and it *will* match your cab. Or, in this case, zin. For dessert we had the lemon-verbena creme-brulee, an accomplished rendition of this classic, with a crisp (clearly fresh - why do so many cooks not do this?) crust, its caramel richness setting off the creamy, herbal, citrus-tart custard; and a white peach cobbler with blueberry ice cream, which was somewhat less successful: the blueberry entirely overwhelmed the delicate peach. Nothing wrong with blueberry, but the peach might have been better matched with a more delicate flavor (may I suggest Capogiro's fior de latte? After all, it goes with everything - I said so). A delicious and delightful evening, with charming, engaging company - and *very* reasonably priced, at $64 before tip.

Also lovely with the lighter side of dinner was an '04 Domaine Amido Lirac Rose. Gorgeous balance of sharp acidity and a shade of sweetness on the finish, a middle of strawberries, rasberries, citrus and Evan's Shiro Plums . A gorgeous tipple for a measly $11.99, demanding I ask: what is *your* excuse for staying sober in a world that clearly requires you otherwise? Currently available at all Philadelphia Premium stores (though it's running low at 1218 Chestnut).

Katie and I tried the Edmeades Zin with the steak at Rx tonight. If you like Zinfandel, this is a wine you cannot afford to miss: it has all the gonzo beauty that has endeared the varietal to those of us who have loved it lo these many years. It is hugely extracted, thick, jammy, beautiful, true, and has great varietal character. It's delicious... and $11.99. All hail Chairman Newman. As a sidebar, I *think* this wine will not be showing up at our neighborhood (Philadelphia) stores. It is currently available in the Wayne and Bryn Mawr stores, in decent (but finite) quantity. As of a little while ago, I have secured two cases, so I blow a raspberry in your general direction. Lovingly, of course.

A Usually Reliable Source tells us that the current vacation closure at Marigold Kitchen amounts to a little more than that. Chef Cook has left, bought out by his partner Jonathan Makar, who has run the front of the house since opening. A search for a new cook to fill Cook's toque is ongoing. I'm sure we all wish Jonathan great good luck in this quest.

I would bet you were looking at the same stuff entered twice. I had a similar experience just this past week. On Friday last we checked the inventory looking for Luxardo maraschino. One place it is listed as an "imported cordial" and is listed as SLO. Under the "imported specialities" it shows as speciality. Each a different code, each a different price. We thought we would have to SLO it. Instead we bought two bottles at the store on Ridge pike. It seems it may simply be once something gets in one way it stays that way and can than be entered another. Someone someplace may SLO something because it is not in a store near them even though it may show up somewere else as a speciality. ← Sometimes it just means that the "Licensee" price (what a restaurant pays) is HIGHER than the Specialty price to the consumer. I've had this happen to me more than once when purchasing for a restaurant. I find a fabulous product that I must order SLO and the price is 1.5 times higher than the very same wine at the Specialty store. grrrrrr.... By the time the restaurant's markup is applied it makes me look like a thief for the lucky consumer that found the wine at the Specialty store at what is now a small fraction of the "retail" price on my wine list. I really hate it when this happens. ← Didn't Deidre answer this question before? One is the price for an item as PLCB stock, the other is the price if they have to order it - and is set by the vendor (plus markup and Flood Tax, of course). Essentially, from the Board's viewpoint, they *are* two different items.

I got some of these a couple of days ago, and I'm pretty sure they were the first plums I've eaten on this continent that actually tasted like plums, what with hybridization, and picking green fruit, and breeding for firmness. I can accept that these would be a problem to ship: they felt like water balloons, and essentially dissolved into sweet tangy juice when you put them in your mouth. But there must be a way to get firmness *and* flavor. Thank you for pointing me to these, James.

For anyone awaiting the Edmeades zin as anxiously as I am: it isn't listed as having arrived yet, but a search shows it as available in a handful of stores. In the Philly area, it's available at the Bryn Mawr and Wayne stores; it's also in at both Pittsburgh stores. I expect it will be generally available Tuesday or Friday. In the meantime, if anyone has a chance to try it, please do let us know what you think.

I suppose. But Chinese like to serve fish whole. More fish flavor. Plus a lot of people, can de-bone it (assuming the only bones are the skeleton/spine bones and not little bones throughout) at tableside. It's not too hard. You can do it with a spoon. First separate the head and tail from the body of the fish. Slice down the middle where the skeleton is. Flip the two halves outward. Lift the skeleton out of the fish. Flip the two halves back on top. ← Yeah, wise guy. Try that on a sardine! Amateurs. Feh.

Great pick, Jeff. As always. I actually found myself getting very cranky when the Golden Coins were late for our second date. And I *loved* the Fu Qi Fei Pan, though I had to shut out much Yanqui Imperialist Running Dog whining about the texture of kidney. You American weak sisters go McDonald's chop chop, you hear? I actually enjoyed the Egg Foo Young, though it was hardly my favorite. Just a new thing, never actually having bothered to try it before. And the Spicy Dumplings are very good, but the version at the Yue Kee cart up at Penn is still my favorite iteration of this dish. The prices are absurd. And I think they have listed some interesting dishes under dull, familiar names, I guess in the mistaken assumption that would get them by the rubes. Don't be fooled. And in Portugal they don't let you out of the house unsupervised until you know how to fillet a fish. Not safe.

Thank you cjtst11. I'm nearing the end of my stash of '01s and have been pondering th '03s, but the complete lack of info has held me back (well, that and the absurdity of keeping something like thirty cases in a studio apartment). I can now buy with abandon.

That's because in France the waitstaff makes a living wage *before* tips. Which is the problem with your formulation: what we are dealing with here is a profession where the restaurant owners have made servers' earnings contingent on what is by definition (look up "gratuity") a voluntary contribution from the patron. *That*, not surprisingly, has created a number of problems, but I fail to see why some in the restaurant community insist on making it *my* problem. If you don't like the system, change the system. Pay your servers a fair living wage, and return the tip to the realm of the voluntary "thank you" gift it was always meant to be. Restaurants finding a way to cheapen out on salaries isn't in any way the fault of the customer.

I am pretty sure that ADNY serves a custom roast La Colombe makes just for them. IMHO, La Colombe doesn't get nearly the praise it deserves. ← Possibly. All I recall is a news story from the time Alain Ducasse opened, stating that La Colombe's Corsica was the winner of a taste-off the restaurant ran to pick a coffee. May well be that they then asked for a customized blend.

And why don't you let us all know the answer to this question when you get it? Meanwhile, where is this mysterious place that makes real Portugese coffee? I'd certainly love to check it out. ← One is the Lisbon/Madrid Cafe (I think that's the name); the other is called... something like Cafe Luso. It's at 4th and Olney or thereabouts. You'll have to pardon me, I think of them as "places where we watch football". And getting the actual answer is likely to be an arduous task, costing years of labor and thousands of lives. The very thought of it makes me tired and sweaty. Might as well just go and get another dish of Capogiro instead.

SRO? ← Standing Room Only. A Theatre term, dontchaknow.

Me thinks you just did. OK what categories are missing from the Best of Philly food compilation and which places should win in the categories you would add? ← Well, there is the eternal "best cheesesteak" extravaganza. Why not a best roast pork sandwich category? ← Bacause they "retired" the category after someone (Tony Lukes? Anyone?) won it for more years than was seemly. If I remember correctly. That's also the problem with "Best/Best French Restaurant" (LBF) and a slew of others. The underlying issue, though, is that I think they have been deliberately trying to keep the BOP issue fresh by not repeating too many categories - or hitting too many of the obvious categories. The problem being that since, as someone else pointed out, they are very attentive to Main Line sensibilities, they end up not having very many many particularly interesting or adventurous entries anyway (with apologies to Main Line 'Gulleteers of a rakish mindset). The City Paper's list, hit-or-miss and capricious as it is, is often a much more fun, and often surprising, read. But if I take Holly's point, maybe we can do our own. Like Best Classic Dish Best New Take on a Classic Dish Best Dessert, Chocolate Best Dessert, Chocolate-Free Most Creative Wine List Best Value Wine List Best Mashed Potatoes... Take it away, folks.

I have yet to have a bad espresso - or a bad anything except noise level, I guess - at La Colombe. Their Beaulieu roast is also my favorite at-home blend. Corsica gets all the press (it's the coffee served at Alain Ducasse, apparently), but it's too dark a roast for my palate. On a completely diferent tack, there are a couple of little places in the Northeast that actually make an espresso ("Uma bica, por favor") that tastes just like the ones brewed in Lisbon. Very distinctive flavor, quite different from anything else. Love to know what the coffee is. I guess I could ask. Or go over to the Spain/Portugal forum...

Chestnut, between 2nd and 3rd, North side of the street. The corner of (I think) Strawberry St. Used to be Saboor.

First crack at Mercato tonight with a good friend and two wines I wanted to try. I will start by stating that it was an unequivocally wonderful meal: good food, good service, pleasant weather and witty company. And I will start there because next I want to rave and rant: whoever told the restaurant industry that "...we will not seat you until your entire party has arrived..." was a sensible policy should be taken out back, shot, revived, drawn, quartered, tickled, made to drink mediocre wine and fed McFood for the rest of their lives. *Nothing* I have ever been told by a host/ess feels as dismissive, uncaring, impersonal, annoying and confrontational as that sentence. I don't care what the practical considerations are. Don't do it. I have written off one, and only one decent restaurant in Philadelphia, and that is the principal reason why. I cannot imagine I am the only one who feels this way. This particular host, however, was amenable to reason when it was pointed out the restaurant wasn't even full, particularly the outside tables that were my choice in any case. The server was also reasonable when I asked him to make an exception to the policy that outdoor table get their wines poured into tumblers. The above is mentioned in an informational spirit, so fellow 'Gulleteers know to expect these policies. They did not detract in the least from a deftly executed meal of updated Italian classics. I started with the Tuscan Bean Salad. It's hard to do it justice, because I am not entirely sure why it worked so well, but it did: the rich plump beans foiled the lean, bitter arugula, the zesty cooked tomatoes leavened the vegetal green beans, and the sliver of Parmesan and hint of shaved fennel added richness and mystery to what remained a plain simple satisfying dish. The other appetizer at the table was the Crab and Shrimp Pyramid, an awkward name for three large seafood ravioli. Not that you will mind, since the briny pasta pockets, filled with fresh lumps of sauteed seafood folded into a ricotta base, enriched by a brown butter and garlic sauce, were delightful. Lest anyone think three ravioli don't sound like much... portion size won't be your complaint. Both appetizers were generously portioned, maybe needlessly so, but then generosity has never been, and will never be, a vice by my reckoning. For an entree I ordered the braised goat, which I expected to resemble in some aspect an ossobucco. The dish I got was, finally, closer to a goulash, a rich goat ragu served over fetuccini. Rich, gamy and delicious, it reminded me that goat somehow remains wild while venison has been sadly tamed. Go figure. The second entree at the table was sea scallops over an English pea risotto. Opinions on the risotto varied: of the various takes on the dish, it shaded towards the gummy, rather than runny, variety. I am fond of both, but my friend did not enjoy this iteration very much. There was unanimity about the scallops, four large, sweet, lightly pan-seared morsels of sea-kissed delight, about which I challenge anyone to speak ill. For dessert, we shared what is called on the menu a mascarpone cheesecake. It was, to my mind, closer to a panna cotta than any cheesecake I've met, but semantics aside it was really nice, rich and creamy, with just a burnt-sugar hint of caramel. The cookie it rested on needed to be somehow further integrated with the dish: it remained crisp and made each spoonful a bit of a shatter-prone adventure. Not a big deal, just a detail to address. Cost, before tip, was $73 for two people. For a rundown of the wines, an '02 Artesa Pinot Noir and '01 Foxen Syrah, see the PLCB thread.

Tried the '02 Artesta PN Carneros and the '01 Foxen Syrah Santa Barbara with dinner at Mercato tonight. First the bad news: the Foxen opened up hot and jammy when first poured, not at all flattering. It was a shade too warm, so I asked for a chiller to give it a chance to get itself together. It did cool down. It remained very alcoholic on the nose, with little varietal character, mostly just black fruit jam on the palate, and a lingering very sweet aftertaste. At $12.99, I wanted to find good things to say about it, but even for the price I find it hard to recommend. The Artesta, however, is another story. it too was a bit warm when opened, and the worse for it. But when cooled a mite it became a beautiful Pinot mouthfull, with pronounced varietal flavors of earth and cherries, and a bracing acidity that was mouth-puckering until paired with food, at which point it was just delightful. It is a fairly simple and straightforward wine, but a lean, structured, full but not overwhelming food-friendly one. It would need better tannin for me to commit to any cellaring, but I feel pretty safe that the case I'm going to buy will be gone within the year. And at $12.99 you will not find a better bottle of Pinot Noir.

Where's Isaac Newton's? ← Isaac Newton's is in Newtown, PA, and is one of the very best beer bars on the east coast. ← I agree with Rich on the beer bar part of Isaac Newtons. I live next door in Holland and frequently visit when I want some real beer. My problem though is they are desperately trying to be Newtown's version of Monks Cafe and fail miserably with the food. The Belgium frittes come close but otherwise the menu is lacking in my opinion. ← They have a better beer list than Monk's? How so?

I did try it a while back, and at the time I was unimpressed. Struck me as generous portions of unimaginative food. I had a rack of lamb, though I cannot recall if it was coriander-encrusted. Two things, though: I was cranky that night, and though I am, as is well known, remarkably and almost preternaturally objective, it is marginally possible my mood might have colored the experience And I started with an appetizer of pistachio-encrusted goat cheese: delightful for the first several pounds, but from there to its conclusion I experienced perhaps a soupcon of surfeit. That may have wrecked the rest of the meal for me. It was not, at any rate, a bad meal. Just make sure to bring your appetite. And if you order the Heap o' Cheese, be sure to have backup.

I think there are a couple of salient points to be made: I still can't get a near-term reservation to Django, Matyson, Marigold. If a thousand chain restaurants open, I won't be able to get a table at any of these any more easily. Because they aren't catering to the same market. Conversely, I cannot imagine a chain managing to compete for this niche. The threat is to local restaurants that vie for the same dollars: by and large, accessible common denominator food; or business-lunch-friendly settings. But not only are there few local places trying for these patrons, the ones there are have few advantages over the chains. I am not convinced anyone ever picks McDonald's over Tony Lukes, though I can see the evolution going the other way. They might pick a familiar-looking greasy spoon. But there isn't any guarantee that place has any merit over the chains, apart from the economic advantage of keeping profits local. In food terms, the restaurants that might suffer are going to be the lowest-common-denominator ones. And though I feel their pain, that does mean pressure on local restaurants to distinguish themselves, to be better. And that can only be good. As to the real estate crunch... anyone else notice how the good restaurants are springing up all over? West Philly. Northeast. Places in South Philly that are not Italian, or that are ambitious takes on Italian food? Restaurants won't stop appearing, they'll just open where the market allows it. And that is likely, in turn, to expand their appeal, as local people who might not have made the trek to Walnut St. do try the place on their corner. I cannot believe I'm making the "The Market is Good" argument. But I really don't see much of a threat from these chains to anything we care about.

Yeah, I read your report back then. Nice touch someone else buying at that place. Who was he..maybe he wants to pick up our tab too. ← Price is definitely a part of the equation, and it's steep at Vetri. Undeniably good, and Jeff can steer you towards drinkable wines at about $50/btl, but it's still a definitely pricey evening. My choice, given that there are entire swaths of the country I know little about, would have to be Babbo. But it's apples and oranges, they aren't trying to be inventive, like Marc Vetri is, so they don't overreach. Still, if all you care is whether you're going to get a good meal, it's been great every time I've been there. And if this is likely to be your only visit for a while, consider getting the tasting menu. It's actually good value, in an expensive sort of way. Enjoy.

Not so sure I'd want to attempt to top this Olympic level consumption. I like Shola's food to stay in my stomach where it belongs! So how do I join this Ladies Wine Club? I might not want to keep up, but they sound like my kinda ladies! ← For *that* meal I'd shave my legs and wear falsies. What are we talking about, wine-wise? Just how envious do I need to get?