Bobby 2 Shakes

Thanks, Bob. Hope you're having a great holiday season.

How big a roll would you need to turn THIS into a sandwich?

Derek Davis's old-fashioned butcher shop (Main Line Prime) mentioned in Michael Klein's Oct 11 Table Talk just opened. I bought crabcakes there Monday, and prime ground beef, Jamison lamb chops, honey-truffle burrata and lamb sausage Tuesday. I had the lamb chops last night and they were a big hit. I made spectacular cheeseburgers for lunch today, using Hendrick's Farms Cow Pie cheese I also bought at Main Line Prime. Derek was there Tuesday, Monday I spoke to a cheerful young gentleman named Colin Leary, who seems to be running the place. He told me the Kobe beef is flown in from Japan. They also have duroc pork, serrano ham, organic and free-range chickens, dry-aged beef from Charolais cattle, and veal, as well as organic vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese and specialty items like olive oil. I asked him about fatback, and he told me they can order anything (including foie) in 24 hours. The address is 18 Greenfield Ave Ardmore, PA 19003 P: (610) 645-9500 F: (610) 645-6580 Right now the website is under construction, but you can check it until then here.

For those of you who haven't read this yet Talula's Table in the Inky via Laban (no, not the comics)

I had my TV repaired last week and fortunately the checkbook.org recommended a shop near West Chester. Luckily, they took long enough to fix the set that the sugar buzz from eating a whole box before I got home had just worn off. I can still feel the afterglow of that second box. I love the Calvados caramel and the ginger caramel, but there wasn't a snoozer in the bunch.

I was in Telford for a visit last week and one thing that impressed me about this place is how immaculately clean everything is. Also impressive is how the robot milker has a pathogen detector that stops the milk flow as soon as it detects any microbial troublemakers. Trent Hendricks definitely has the fire in the belly and without question enjoys his work. It bodes well for us all that he's expanding his meat selection while still going strong with the dairy expansion. He's using wood in his stove that would normally end up in a landfill and would make Rube Goldberg jealous of his ingenuity at squeezing the utility out of every available thing. Anyone starting a farm with sustainability in mind would do well to tap Trent for ideas he is only too happy to share. Also, I made whipped cream when I got home, and I can't remember when I've ever tasted whipped cream like that before.

I went back to the Ardmore Farmers Market today and bought some more spices. I asked Rochelle about what happened at the Grand Central Market and she told me that her lease expired and the GCM management didn't offer her a new lease and put a Penzey's chain store in her place. Too bad she didn't have folks fighting for her like Rick Oliveri. But then again, we wouldn't have access to the spices she has here. I bought some mastic today and some spice mixes. She puts the ingredients on the label of her mixes and is knowlegeable about herbs, spices, extracts and ingredients in general.

I just went there for the first time today. I'm still woozy from the selection, what with the hyperventilating and all. I picked up some asafoetida, whole fenugreek seeds, licorice root sticks, ajwain, whole achiote seeds, saffron and other more common items. It's run by a really nice lady named Rochelle Zabarkes, and she commutes from NY every week. She told me that that they have every kind of food in NY, so if I call her Sunday, she can bring whatever I want on Tuesday, if she doesn't already have it. The location is in the Ardmore Farmer's Market right by the door across from Trader Joe's in the same lot. I did an eGullet site search on the name and apparently she had a location at the Grand Central Market in NY at one time. Folks expressed regret that it wasn't there. Prices look pretty reasonable, especially considering the location. Here is the link to the website.

ChefG, You have every reason to be optimistic, as this link shows.

If you're anywhere near Drexel Hill, try Pig Daddy's, thye have great pulled pork & beef brisket sandwiches, not to mention ribs (beef on weekends only.)

You might want to try Edwards-Freeman in Conshohocken.

Tomorrow, March 3 is the next full moon. You might even want to buy fish on Monday.

How about Kibitz in the City, featured on hollyeats.com

- Maybe we could invite Ferran Adria to whip up some "scrappar iberico." He's going to be introducing jamon iberico when it becomes available in the states, so why not offer him a chance to have an awareness-raising event?

Are you near Narberth? Try Le Petit Mitron on Haverford Ave (not the one that crosses Wynnewood Rd).

It's all good. I was getting tired of calling him Chairman Newman, anyway. Now, Governor Newman, that has a nice ring to it. Anybody who could reform the stodgy, hidebound, old PLCB... Well, who better to reform the stodgy, hidebound, old political system of Pennsylvania? Time to yank off those liquor store blinders, roll up those sleeves, and dive into the rest of the Commonwealth's problems.

Full moon and full boats tonight, full fish counters tomorrow.

true that. but if he does, jersey is still right next door... ← ...not to mention Marylware.

If you're a fan of intensity & clarity, Eclat is right up your alley. The subtlety is more of an underpinning, and the need for further research will become evident after the first bite. (Not that a chocolate researcher's work is ever done )

Callebaut was America's Test Kitchen's (Cook's Illustrated) top rated dutch process cocoa, which made them their top rated cocoa. Only available via mailorder, though. Too late for Christmas, not too late for Valentine's, though.

Eclat's more subtle than J & K's, so they don't really blow them away, but I'd say they're a notch or so better.

You might also try Edwards-Freeman.

There's always Dining In.

How about "Slithy Toves with Gyred Gimble Wasabi"?

Probably a misprint - should've been beef-fed grass. Saying "beef" is easier than saying "bulls, steers, and cows". It would be maybe a little too forthright to tell what the beeves are feeding the grass with (think "output.") I think they only serve it in Amsterdam at this time.