Bobby 2 Shakes

Main Line Coffee Roasters has good coffee, tea, herbs & spices. You can get a decent cappucino there. They're in the farmer's market across from Spread Eagle Village, where Georges' (Perrier) restaurant is.

I heartily recommend Sampan Inn at the corner of Darby Rd & Brookline Blvd in Havertown. Daring soul that I am, I had sashimi there on Monday afternoon. I would have thought the delivery truck had just come, it was so fresh. I've been going there for a few years, but I rarely eat from their Chinese menu because their Sushi, Sashimi and Maki are so fresh and delicious. I hear they have a sister restaurant called Shangri-La on Montgomery Ave across from Murray's Deli, but I haven't tried it yet. I'll be sure to post if I do, especially if it's as good as Sampan Inn.

As long as they don't put any salt on the rim... I'd have a hard time explaining crusty knees.

I've been curious, what exactly is that?And yeah, the Rendang is great, forgot about that... ← This is a dish of convolus greens, and shrimp paste. Irresistable. Served at the very first gathering of the revived DDC almost 3 years ago. I order it every time I visit a Penang. ← It appears that convolus is misspelled on the Penang menu. I believe the proper spelling is convolvulus. If it's hedge bindweed, it shouldn't be taken in large quantities because of its constipation-inducing quality.

When you're in the Norristown area you can try: Franzone's Pizzeria 501 Dekalb St (rt 202) Bridgeport, PA 19405 (610) 275-0114 For "tomato pie" it's hard to beat Corropolese Bakery 2014 Old Arch Rd Norristown, PA 19401 (610) 275-6664 (610) 272-8957 2564 Industry LN Norristown, PA 19403 (610) 630-3762 29 Kugler Rd Limerick, PA 19468 (610) 495-8331

Takeout & delivery storefront for now. From what they said, I surmise they're looking to expand at a sitdown location as their success allows.

693 Burmont Rd - Drexel Hill, PA 19026 Right near the Aronimink stop of the Rte 101 trolley. I saw this place on my way to drop off my vacuum cleaner to be repaired. I just bought Michael Ruhlman/Brian Polcyn's "Charcuterie" book, so the words "the Pig is King" were resonating in my head. I was in a hurry so I tried a pulled pork sandwich and it was great, so I came back for pork ribs & wings for dinner. They just opened in May 2005, so they're not really well-known, but it won't take long once people try them out. Very good selection on the menu. They compete in a lot of BBQ competitions, pork is their passion. The proprietors are Jerry Mullane and his wife Linda. Jerry says if he gives you a hard time, it means he likes you, so bust his stones about how you feel left out because he treats you so nice. Bust on them because they're from NYC, too. Lou works there, too, and he's a vegetarian for health reasons but tastes the meats so he can recommend the ones he likes. His guacamole and salsa are also incredibly fresh and I enjoyed them. Fabulous baked beans and freshly made corn chips rounded things out for me. I live past 69th street and they deliver that far out. Call to find out how far they'll deliver. They'll be tallying up a lot of miles to my neck of the woods. Their website is www.PigDaddysBarbecue.com and phone # (610) 622-6441. If they get big enough, maybe they'll open a sit-down place. They want to make sausages, too.

The other day I was listening to Bill Wine on KYW talking about how disappointed he was that someone as talented as Steve Martin would sink to making a remake of a Peter Sellers movie. He gave "Pink Panther" two out of four stars simply (I extrapolated from listening to the review) because this ruined his theater experience. As it turns out, it's not really the same movie, but a new screenplay using Steve's take on the character Peter Sellers made famous. Bill is entitled to his opinion, but I expected him to overlook his personal feelings and evaluate the movie based on technical merit, much like evaluation of the chefs who take the Certified Master Chef exam. I guess it comes down, in the end, to being able to read between the lines. At least Bill stated his misgivings in the course of the review, so folks could do just that.

How much do they want for the rights to the name "senjo no America?"

I think I've figured out their modus operandi. The "quotes" are part of the "fat" of the English language. By poaching the words portraying the "menu items" in the verbal "fat," the dining experience is enhanced. (in theory) Guess who picked up his copy of "Charcuterie: The Craft of Smoking and Curing" today?

Bernie's Soft Pretzel Bakery isn't far from Philly. Take Lansdowne Ave to Providence Rd and make a left. They're in a shopping center at Springfield & Providence across from the Sunoco Station and Lukoil station. That is, if you have room after eating a delicious eggs, scrapple, homefries, toast & coffee for less than three bucks at Penn Pines Diner. Keep going on Providence past Oak Ave and you can eat at Hidalgo, run by the owners of the old Xochimilco on Market St in Upper Darby. Edit to add address: Bernie's Soft Pretzel Bakery 500 E. Providence Rd Aldan, PA 19018 610-259-9193

For those willing to do a little digging, eGullet appears to be as close as it gets at this point.

My guess is it's a chance to get window shoppers inside their magazine. They always have it right before Valentine's day. I have an online subscription, so I bookmark the ones I don't already have. Your point that the soul of a box of chocolates is the chocolate is one they would do well to adopt. Due diligence would be served if they did.

BTW, here's a quick way to remember the difference between gelato and gelati o is for original i is for imitation (this only works in English - in Italian, a transition from o to i denotes plurality)

Hey, if you need a good book for translating Chinese characters, get "Read and Write Chinese" and "Understanding Chinese" by Rita Mei-Wah Choy. These definitely come in handy when you want to translate, and it gives both the Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciation, as well as the pinyin and Yale romanization. My wife still has a bottle of Chambord I gave her for Valentine's '92 on which I wrote To: wo de ai, From: ni de xiansheng (in chinese characters, To: my love, From: your husband) Won't help a bit for the Korean stuff, though. One of these days I'll get that Chinese language CD out and learn how to say more than Happy New Year, Happy Birthday, and Be Careful (for my daughter).

I just now figured out that I could edit out an erroneous post I put here and replace it with a message that fits in with the discussion... I haven't been to wae roo kwan, but my wife has. She likes their fish better than at Nagwon (and fish is her favorite). So it looks like when they reopen, we'll be going there.

Like any literary device, irony becomes tiresome when overused. I think quotes work just fine for this purpose, but the Per Se menu has abused the custom, and now it's just a joke. ← Then we need two marks, one for irony and one for overused irony. And who among us has NOT wanted to abuse customs, only to hold back for fear of taking three days to enter the country?

Have you tried Nagwon Garden yet? Barbecue at your table or in the kitchen, you choose. I went there once and the food was pretty decent. Some Indonesian friends of ours go there all the time. It's on West Chester Pike (Rte 3) just west of the KFC at State Rd. It's on the same side as the KFC, so if you're coming from Philly (Market St) you'll pass the KFC and u-turn at the next light.

For ambience, you can't beat Charlie's. But, for the price (5.95 for 8 oz burger & fries) you can't beat Yummy Cafe for flavor. With my 52 inch belly, having lots of patty and less bun is optimal. Township line (Rte 1) at Burmont Ave (shop ctr just past Swiss Farms but before Pilgrim Gardens shop ctr)

For now, let's work on the one that counts the most, that 5th Mobil star. (Just ask Georges Perrier)

I just saw the Philadelphia Magazine review of Amada and they gave it straight A's (though service was an A-). I've got to try this place!

Sampan Inn in Havertown has good fresh sushi, as well as chinese food. I always get the sushi, it's as good as Genji, IMHO. They even have Japanese beers. Darby Rd & Brookline Blvd.

If you don't mind a round trip to 69th St you can take the El to the Hmart in Terminal Square that just opened recently. It's a Korean supermarket chain (www.hmart.com). Today they had live blue crabs. They also have tanks with live fish under the fish counter. Good prices, fresh food. It's right across the street from the trolley tracks on Garrett Road, in Terminal Square (outdoors) before Long Lane. Open every night until 9.

There used to be a Mexican restaurant called Xochimilco in the Forlorn section of Market St in Upper Darby. Rick Nichols wrote it up in the Inquirer, and gave it a favorable portrayal. They have since moved to Providence Rd in the Primos-Secane area. The new name is "Hidalgo" and they're on the other end of the same shopping center (Providence Square, near the corner of Oak Ave & Providence Rd) as a CVS pharmacy. If past is prologue, diners will be in for a treat. And Soledad sings!

Make me next in seconding Epicurean. If you like seafood, there's a fish restaurant in the same "shopping center" as Epicurean. It was great when I lived in Phxvl in 1990. I saw it while driving home from Sly Fox and was suprised to see it still there (it was so good I expected them to move to ritzier digs) Epicurean still has my "New York Times Cookbook," among others, that I lent the owners mom when she ran a gourmet shop in the same "shopping center" as Sly Fox is in now.