Tim Dolan

I just wanted to mention that the Braised Beef Filet with Szechuan Style has expanded my heat tolerance to the point that I'm now ordering it extra spicy. I think this is a breakthrough.

Anybody know anything about the Eagles' Nest Deli on Route 29, which is located on the hill down at the edge of Collegeville, right before you get to the bridge? I drove by the other day and noticed their sign advertising a hot roast pork sandwich. Might have to try them out to see how they stand up.

I was there on Saturday night for a few beers. The place was packed around 9:30, so we went elsewhere and stopped back after the crowd had thinned out a bit. We were primarily drinking that night but we did order a basket of fries which were pretty delicious. Because of the extensive list, Monk's was the first place I thought of too. They even carried the "Monk's Sour Ale" on their list. Definitely a good place for those that live in the area.

I stopped by just to see what it would be like since I was in the area, and had NO idea it would be as mobbed as it was. I was all of about 25 feet from the main entrance and stayed for maybe 25 minutes before it got too annoying. Bourdain's story about his friend who produced foie gras, how some vegan freaks video-taped the guy's wife and child and warned him to quit his business, that seemed pretty relevant. Talk about taking a silly cause too far. I didn't stay long, but he seemed like a completely normal dude to me. Who wouldn't be humbled by traveling the world and doing stuff they never thought they'd do? Especially on a TV network's dime? I wonder how the Philly turnout compared to other places he's been. I might be naive, but it seemed like there was an AWFUL lot of people there today.

Alex's in Roxborough still does half-baked pies.

If we're saying local chains, as in two or more shops, I think it would have to go to Tony Luke's. If single stores are included, then the endless debates continues. Aside from that, I think Lee's is horrible. I'm actually surprised that they've been able to open more than one store.

Yeah dude, I sincerely hope that thing tasted as good as it looks!

You look like you're on the right track. Next time slather the Whiz directly on the roll then add the steak, not vice-versa. Also, add the fried onions to the steak and let them cook together for the last 2-3 minutes. Finally, the rolls look like they could be better. I'm sure you got them from a good bakery, but seeing them on those short, stubby rolls just doesn't do it justice. Me personally, I'm an American/wit out kinda guy. In that case you'd add the American directly to the steak as it's finishing grilling, then let the cheese melt down to a nice molten-lava texture before flipping everything straight onto the roll. If I were to eat only one thing for the rest of my life, it would be a cheesesteak from Dalessandro's. Mmmmm... Edited to add that if I were to only eat cheesesteaks for the rest of my life, it probably wouldn't be that long! But, man, would I be happy...

Went to ST last night and had one of the best hanger steaks I've had in a LONG time. Perfect medium rare goodness with a big pile of their delicious fries. A waitress had come to our table to tell us that there was a problem with the kitchen printer and that our orders had been lost, so she took our orders again. This was odd because our food came out about 3 seconds later. Anyway, we got a round of shots on the house for the perceived inconvenience. A nice gesture considering that we thought nothing was wrong.

I haven't been to Zot, but I knew I'd have a problem with Monk's and Eulogy, and I figured it would be the same story with Beneluxx. However, as long as there's room to stand and drink, we'll be fine.

Well, truth be told, the real reason for the bar crawl is because most people will be going to Ocktoberfest next year, which is why Ludwig's is part of the equation. But since there is no shortage of quality Belgian places around, I figured we'd mix them in as well. More importantly, the trip is to get the majority of the Miller Lite addicts I'll be traveling with to get introduced to some real beer.

Alright I'm trying to plan a Belgian bar crawl for some of my friends, and I think I've settled on the following places: Monk's, Ludwig's, Eulogy, and maybe Beneluxx. This will let us work our way across town in a fairly linear path and we'll wind up in Old City if anybody wants to go anywhere else by the time we're done. No hard and fast rules for this trip, we just want to keep it fairly simple, have a few beers at each place and have a good time. Beneluxx seems like an obvious place to finish because of the tasting room aspect, but I haven't been there and wonder if they'd be able to accommodate anywhere from 8 to 14 people who will probably be lit up by the time they get there. Is that place more of a bar or restaurant? I'd like to keep the trip more bar-oriented. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Which leads to another question; is the first Monday tasting menu strictly a guest chef-type of affair?

My goodness, a bag full of Marchiano's breads and NFL football on a gorgeous fall afternoon is truly one of life's simple pleasures. I needed to publicly express that. Marchiano's has been running Sunday specials and offering breads that aren't normally available. Today's special, bbq chicken cheesesteak, was a miss, but I'm happy that a previous special has cracked the normal lineup. What's better than a cheesesteak bread and a pepperoni bread by themselves you ask? Putting them together, of course! Aside from being so damn tasty any day of the week, Marchiano's has the added bonus of being in a class of it's own in my hangover cure Hall of Fame. So, so good. Just another reason I'm so happy I live in Philadelphia.

Wow you got balls man. Good for you.

Over the weekend I had few goblets of Maudite from Unibroue, which was delicious, and a pint of Vanilla Java Porter from Atwater Brewing Co. The latter was definitely interesting, and you could definitely taste the vanilla and coffee, but I'm not so sure the body carried the flavors as well as it could've.

Of all the Starr places I've only been to Barclay Prime a couple of times, and I think it's a great place. Expensive, yes, but I've never been disappointed.

Well, I made it to McMenamin's for the first time last night, which is kinda sad because I live all about 10 minutes from there. I completely agree with Rich, those wings are awesome. The are the epitome of what a good order of wings at a bar should be, nice and crispy with an adult-style burn to them. They're not hot enough to put you in pain, but just spicy enough to make you want to grab your beer to douse the flames. Good stuff. And the place was mobbed last night. Everything from couples, to people getting off work, to families, to guys watching the game. Great neighborhood place. 3 bartenders and a busser run the whole joint, from working the bar to serving the tables, so it was a bit hectic. But given the food and beer they serve it was easy to see why there was a constant 20 minute wait for a table the whole time I was there. Had a few bites of their burger as well, which was also quite tasty. This place is right up my alley, and I can't wait to bring some more friends there.

I had a beer called Atomium yesterday which was really nice. Didn't get the name of the brewer though. Anybody know anything about it? Edit: Well, a quick Google search showed that Atomium is the brewer, and the Grand Cru is the only beer they make. It was quite tasty.

I'll just throw in this link as a good starting point. I'm currently addicted to the Braised Beef Filet with Szechuan style from STH. I seriously think I've gotten it once a week for about the past 2 months. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...05&hl=chinatown

Whoa what's this place in Roxborough that you're talking about? It can't still be there, right?

That's the truth. On Main St. there's a La Colombe, Bucks County Coffee Co., Starbucks, and now Mug Shots all within a 60 second radius of each other. Bucks is always mobbed with people on laptops, and La Colombe and Starbucks always look like they're doing a brisk business. Mug Shots is on a side street so they get slightly less foot traffic. If I had to guess, I'd say Starbucks gets a nice boost in the morning because it's the closest to the train station.

I ate a meatball sandwich from Gus's lunch truck at Broad and Callowhill (outside the Inquirer building) just about everyday for 4 straight years while I was in high school. Damn I miss that lunch truck.

I've never gotten sauce on a steak from Dalessandro's when I didn't ask for it and I've been going there for years. I'm not saying they don't make mistakes, but it's not like they add sauce as a default.

I noticed on my Rocco's takeout menu that it says they serve wood-fired, brick oven pizza. I have a serious pet peeve about places that advertise as brick oven but really aren't. I knew that Rocco's has the standard metal deck-style ovens and that they bake and re-heat their pizza in those. So when I went in to grab a slice yesterday, I noticed that they do indeed have a large brick oven right next to their normal deck oven, however it wasn't fired up. I'm positive that the reason I've never noticed the brick oven before is because everytime I've been there it hasn't been fired up. Anybody know what the story is on that? I'll definitely ask about it next time I'm there, but it would be a shame for them to not be cranking pies out of there on a normal basis. Maybe they don't fire it for lunch (which is the only time I'm there)?