Tim Dolan

It's always good to see the city get some positive national pub, but this is what I don't understand. Ms. Cowin formulated a checklist that all cities must have in order to be a great food city. Fortunatley by the end of the article she realized that her checklist was flawed because of what it omits. Philadelphia is obviously a city that is greater than the sum of its parts. We might not measure up to other cities in certain aspects, but is that the goal? Should we be striving to replicate what's already been done in other cities, or should we keep doing our own thing? My main point is this; Chicago is important because of what their chefs are doing with "molecular gastronomy". To me, that is their claim to fame. Should we be trying to rip a page out of their book? The same can be said of New York and its cocktail culture. Sure, it's great, but it's THEIR identity. Don't get me wrong, it wouldn't hurt to have a few simliar places, I'm just saying we shouldn't be striving to follow in other cities' footsteps. It seems like she realized that in the end. I liked that she pointed out that Philly is more suited to be able to go out every night and have a great meal at a neighborhood place. It makes sense as Philly is often described as a "city of neighborhoods". So yeah, we might not have a great cocktail culture, but isn't that because we have such a strong beer culture? That's just what more people here are interested in. I'm not sure how or why things turned out that way, but isn't that part of OUR identity? It's the same with the BYOB situation. So we're handicapped by an old-school, state-run system. With all the BYO's, we're simply doing our best with the hand we're dealt. Don't you get the sense that if, say, Seattle had the BYO culture that we do then it would be all "ohmygosh Seattle is the best place ever!!!", but because it's Philly, it's sometimes looked at as an unwanted stepchild. "Oh Philadelphia? It's over-run by mom and pop BYOB's..." In the end I'm glad that she realized that sometimes a city has to be judged on its own strengths, not the strengths of other cities.

The place on the Parkway? I'm not drinking at any bar that has a neon pink "GO PREP" sign in it .

I had to ask. A day as nice as today begs the question. As for me, it's a good bet I could be seen at an outdoor table at the Bishop's Collar later today.

So is there anything on the docket for the Taster's Club? You guys have been too quiet. We can't be having these month long layoffs! Who do you guys think you are?!?!

Quick question. Anyone know what warrants the sumi charcoal to be $100 more expensive than the binchotan? (That's a legit question, I'm not trying to be a smart ass).

My girlfriend and I have walked in on two different Saturdays at about 6 without a res and were propmtly seated in front of the kitchen. The place was about half-full each time. I'm guessing if you shoot for 6:30 you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

Question: Last time I was at a Phils game I got a steak from Tony Luke's and crab fries from Chickie's and Pete's. Having a lightbulb moment of my own, of course I put the cheese for the crab fries on my steak (american/wit out). Different, but delicious. Is this wrong? I say no.

Truuuuuuuue story. The same can be said for our cheesesteak.

I was in the 12th and Chestnut store on Friday night and noticed that the "Chairman's" Selections have been changed to "Sommeliere's" Suggestions. Mmmm, marketing.

I went back this past Friday night and had another thoroughly enjoyable meal. The amuse that evening was a small slice of rare hangar steak with some type of citrus puree. I was slightly skeptical about that pairing, but it was a pleasant surprise. After that I started off with the escargot and pulled duck in an herb-roasted garlic sauce. The escargo were very tender and the duck added a nice, meatier contrast to that. The flower pot bread came in very handy for mopping up the remaining sauce. GF had the gnocchi which were in a red sauce with pancetta i believe. Quite tasty. For an entree I had their version of surf and turf, which was filet and seared scallops served. The filet came out perfectly med-rare and was delicious. I thought it was slightly odd how the dish was presented, the filet was sliced and the scallops were tucked inside the filet. I guess they were going for a scallops-wrapped-in-filet kinda feel. Anyway, it tasted pretty damn good. I was wondering about what I was missing since I have only been to Django recently and they have apparently "fallen off" in the past few years. I remember thinking that if what they're serving now isn't what it used to be, then exactly how good could that have been? This question isn't meant as a defense of the restaurant and has everything to do with my limited culinary knowledge than anything else, but this statement definitely helped put it in perspective... If I had to knock anything, I would say that this time it took quite a while for the entrees to come out after the apps. Not a huge gap in between but noticable. Also as many of you know the tables are pretty cramped,so it's easy for others to hear your conversations. The table next to us gave us their $.02 as to what they thought was good when we were looking over the menu. They meant well and you could say that this situation adds to the charm of the place, but I know it drives some people absolutely nuts. I'm a gamer so we wound up talking to them on and off for the rest of the night. In the end, whenever you leave a place and think to yourself "why don't I come here more often", as I did, they've gotta be doing something right.

Citizens Bank Park won a Food Network viewer's choice award for "Best Ballpark Eats", or something along those lines, beating out Safeco Field in Seattle, AT&T Field in San Fran, and Camden Yards in Baltimore. Not bad, I guess. Certainly better than the Vet!

Welcome NCetr, and nice first post. Be sure to stop back often. The times I've been to Osteria I've gotten the prosciutto/arugala/fontina pizza (which I think is excellent) cause I'm not a fan of egg, but that Lombardo pizza gets so much run on this board that I think I have no choice but to get it the next time I go.

I've been trying to expand my horizons for Chinese food recently, in particular I've been jonesing for the spicy dumplings and Szechuan beef at Szechuan Tasty House in Chinatown. Is there anything that comes close to matching that type of cuisine out in the Collegeville/Phoenixville area, just in case (like today) I get a serious lunchtime urge for a good burn?

That is such a cool picture of the tea. You guys are like foodie rockstars.

The Independence Brew Pub is a block over on Filbert St. I'm not sure about the food, but it should be adequate if you're into microbrewed beer. Could be ideal.

Made a return visit last night and got the spicy dumplings and braised beef Szechuan style again. Really, really good stuff, as has been well documented. I just reheated some of the beef that I had leftover for dinner, it was delicious and held up very well for being a day old. I don't care much for celery so I threw that out. The same rowdy crowd was in the back and they had some more intense conversations, but thankfully they didn't come to blows with each other. However, there was a bum who came in off the street and began asking people if they would buy him something to eat, buy him coffee or give him bus money. Kind of annoying, but STH seems to attract a pretty unflappable crowd. Never a dull moment at STH on Tuesday nights!

I guess I shouldn't have used "USDA Choice" in my description because 1) it made me sound like a snob and 2) I've had very good Choice steak before, particularly at Outback a few months ago (also not my choosing). I had a very good ribeye there and the menu clearly indicates that they serve USDA Choice. So to put it in perspective, the ribeye I had at Outback a few months ago was more enjoyable than than the strip steak I had at Jack's on Friday night. I know it's two different cuts and I'm not trying to go into the merits of either, I guess I just like ribeye more than strip.

Well, I tried Jack's, and while it met the casual, informal atmosphere I was looking for, the steak didn't quite measure up. It wasn't bad but it wasn't that good either. They had a very nice beer list and the small order of ribs that I had for an appetizer were rocking good, but the steak was average. It was cooked perfectly medium rare, but the taste and texture had "USDA Choice" written all over it. I'd definitely go back, just for the ribs.

I just read a few things on the Viagra Triangle. That's hysterical. We're definitely not part of that crowd. We're more of the type who would go to a bar with good beer and live music instead of going to a club with a DJ spinning head-thumping techno music. And bleacher seats it is!

When I read that back to myself I realized that I sounded like a schmuck, so thanks for putting it in perspective for me.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it looks like the Chop House and Harry Caray's are going to be the winners. I do have a few more questions however and none of them have to do with food, so please PM me your suggestions (if you have any) so I don't completely hijack this thread. Ok, from years of seeing Wrigley on tv it looks like the outfield bleacher seats are easily the most fun, so that's probably where we'll want to be. Am I correct in assuming this? Also, our hotel is a block or two off of the Magnificent Mile, so what bars should we hit? Any Night at the Roxbury-type clubs need not apply. And do you Chicagoans really call it the "Magnificent Mile"? Once I read about that I immediately thought "tourist-trap". Our group will consist of six (cough, cough)handsome 24-27 year olds, just to give you an idea of our crowd. Again thanks for your great suggestions!

While not a brewbup, I did see signs for a new Irish pub called Molly Maguires on the corner directly across from Steel City Coffee. There's an awful lot happening along those few blocks.

Just had a quick, delicious power lunch at the Black Lab Bistro in Phoenixville. Started out with a crostini with a sun-dried tomato pesto drizzled with cilantro oil. The pesto had a nice sweet and acidic tang, which was a good thing. Very simple, very tasty. Seems like a perfect spring appetizer only if spring weren't currently parading around as winter. For an entree I had the boneless braised short ribs with mashed potatoes, which were very tender and flavorful. The mashed potatoes, however, were very pedestrian. I supposed mashed potatoes are by nature very pedestrian, but a little sprucing up wouldn't have hurt. My girlfriend had the lobster bisque and crabcake sandwich, both of which she loved. For dessert we split the flourless chocolate torte that was pretty good, but I've had better. Our server was very pleasant and there were only about 4 tables seated while we were there, so things went very smoothly. We were in and out in about 45 minutes, and the check came to $47 before tip. I'm glad I work close to this place. It beats the tail off of the work cafeteria.

Just wanted to bump this topic because I'm already feeling that I'm gonna want to do something kinda low-key on Friday. I think I'll try Jack's Firehouse to see if it fits these qualifications.

It's that time of year again. Had a pulled pork and kielbasa sandwich from Bull's BBQ yesterday and it was killer. It's gonna be a while before I get tired of that place. Bull's is such a clutch spot because the pulled pork sandwich and kielbasa are awesome and there's almost never a long line. My friends, who admittedly have less discriminating palates then probably anyone who reads this board, all swear by the pulled pork. I threw one down and then noticed the grill guy about to pull some freshly-grilled kielbasa off, and it looked so good that I jumped right back in line. I'm definitely glad I did. It was $7.50 and almost the length of my forearm so I'd say it's a good value. If the product on the field can match the products in the stands, it should be an awesome summer.