Bobby 2 Shakes

Ah, but he never mentioned his millions in the bank.

I haven't tried a Rouge burger yet, but so far my favorite is the Black Angus Burger for $4.95 (add $1 for fries) at Yummy Cafe & Bakery at the junction of Township Line (Rte 1) and Burmont Rd, just before the Pilgrim Gardens Shopping Center, across from St. Dot's. It's in a small strip shopping center (there's a Pat's Pizzeria next door). I order it medium rare and Joe the cook nails it perfectly every time, with the pink everywhere it's supposed to be. Deep beef flavor followed the pink. I get a side of mayonnaise and it's giddy city. The fries were decent, too. I've eaten it many times, and I keep meaning to try their Reuben, but there never seems to be enough room. I realize it's not in Philly, but maybe on your way to Longwood Gardens you might pass by there. Don't go Sunday or Monday, though, and if you do go - get there by 2:30 because the grill closes at 2:45. Holly, I'd rate this one 5 deep grease stains for the burger alone. Not that I could tell you much about the rest of the menu. edit addition - the patty is 8oz and is a little over an inch thick

I feel pretty confident they have some great mushrooms in the Poconos. But, just to be safe, take somebody from the Czarnecki family with you. I may have had a lot of Kool-Aid, but poison is not my favorite flavor. By the way, does Knoebels count as good eats? (Does it count as the Poconos, either, come to think of it?)

As far as Disneyfication, I don't think SRO has fallen into that rathole yet. I remember sending them an email suggesting he might possibly name his next restaurant "Stephen Starr's Hip, Eponymous Restaurant." A Disneyite would have been all over that like mice on rice. Sent it to SRO, though, and even the crickets sat still for that one. (In retrospect, the best course of action. You don't want to encourage me when I get like that.)

If you need a cherry fix, there's always Peter Heering, a black cherry liqueur AKA Cherry Heering. It tastes as if they took the complex aromas of unsmoked black cherry pipe tobacco, took out all traces of harshness and distilled them into a liqueur. I asked at the Narberth state store before Xmas, and they said I just missed the last bottle. I keep forgetting to return there, even though they're right across from Le Petit Mitron, my favorite bakery. One of my most vivid taste memories was going to my friend's house on a hot summer night and being served a glass of amaretto on the rocks with lemon juice and peel. Some time later I bought some Amaretto and recreated the experience. I made another and added some Heering. Even the air tasted better after that. The problem since then has been getting my hands on the elusive Cherry Heering.

I understand that the FDA is considering the requirement of a warning label on menus with more than 25 quote marks - for the benefit of those who may have used hallucinogens in the past, or especially, the present.

The secret ingredient - gravitas

I have no problem with someone doing the old switcheroo and playing the part of a restaurant server. But even though nothing is new under the sun, there's always a way to add a fresh twist, IMHO. Why not have Mr. Bruni reprise his performance, but this time let someone else handle the actual reporting, complete with coworker feedback. I'd nominate "French Laundry Cookbook" contributor, "Making of a Chef" and "Soul of a Chef" author Michael Ruhlman. He seems to be a stand-up guy and would give old Frank a fair shake.

Cherie, If you're looking for a benchmark to measure Morimoto NY by, try Matt Ito's Fuji, just across the Betsy Ross and North on 130 on your right. www.fujirestaurant.com

Seeing as how Keller is a perfectionist and isn't shy about hiring more people to get the job done, why don't you let him know your objection? Maybe he'll hire you as "chef du ponctuation."

Lenny's on Fayette & 9th in Conshohocken (formerly Mastrocola's) has never let me down for a great shredded "pork italiano" sandwich... Rick Nichols wrote about this place years ago in the Sunday Inquirer magazine. Everybody at work that tried one compared it favorably to DiNic's. Every time I'm in the Conshy area I get requests for it. Coming from the Schuylkill (76), it's on Fayette street after the bridge and up the hill on the left at 9th (less than a mile from the exit). There's no place to sit but at the end of 9th there's a playground with picnic tables.