Andrew B Hurvitz

Magnifique! Your photos and descriptions are excellent/

Boston "Culinary Detective" itinerary: Chris Cognac asked me to post his filming schedule in Boston, MA. These are the approximate times and places he will be in Boston this week. July 31st 8:30 AM: JP Licks, Jamaica Plain 2-6PM: Warren Tavern, Charlestown Aug 1st: 8am: Atlantic Coast Fish Co., Boston, Waterfront 12-2 PM: Modern Pastry Shop, N. End 2-6PM Daily Catch, N End or Waterfront Aug 2nd: 9 AM-Noon: McKennas Dorchester Aug 3rd: 4:30-8pm: Mary Chung, Cambridge

We are trying to narrow down our Philadelphia restaurant choices to five places. What is stumping us is that there are so many sandwich "musts". But we can't (with all due respect) do an entire show about Philly dining by only eating cheesesteaks. So if one were to choose only one fantastic place in each of these categories in Philly, what would you choose: -Cheesesteak -Roast Pork sandwich -Asian anything -Italian anything -Old time American/Philly restaurant typlifying Philly Just to make this even more contentious, we seem to be leaning towards these restaurants: Johnnie's Hots, Bitar's, Jamaican Jerk Hunt, Sarcones, Mofango, Steve's Prince of Steaks, Rita's Auto Mall, Melograno, Good Dog Burger, Devi, Sovana Bistro. If you were to pick only five, and these five would be varied types of cuisines, which ones would you pick?

← Take the Green or Orange line to North Station. Depending on the time of day, getting off at Haymarket -- the stop before -- is worth it to see the market there, as well. I lived in the North End for six months about 20 years ago. No one had $30K gelato machines then, nor were there oyster bars with Wellfleeets. There's a fine line between real ethnic and generic upscale, I'm not sure if I'm pleased or not with the changes -- not that one can artificially hold onto the past. The immortal "Death and Life of Great American Cities" opens with a description of the North End which, in the 60s should have been -- by any demographic measure -- a slummy hellhole. But there was an incredible community behind the restaurants and import shops on the commercial streets; families and neighbors that knew one another, celebrated Saint's Days and together and sent their kids to St. Anthony's together,and kept an eye on everything that moved. I remember my corner grocer, Pepe (in the 80s) , lecturing me on the fact that "the problems you see today" stemmed from the decline of the corner grocer: they guy who knew everything and everybody on the street, whether your kids were skipping school or a suspicious character was passing by. That's what made the neighborhood special. I hope that the Wellfleet vendor and gelato guy are becoming part of that community, otherwise, they're choking it off and turning the neighborhood into yet another theme park. Last time I was there, though, I made it to Pizzaria Regina (still a dive, still great) and one of the little no-credit-card joints on Hanover Street. And some of the old butcher shops that helped make the North End a spectacular place to live -- my roommates and I were determined to find the best sausage in the North End, not sure if we did, but it was a blast trying to find out -- were still going. Even my old employer, the guys who regularly denounced the health inspector as "evil" and had the tomato sauce that cooked for weeks at a time, were still open. There is hope. ← We have to do a segment on "Culinary Detective" about clam chowder in Boston. Most likely, we will also go through the steps of how it is made by a particular chef/restaurant. Since there are numerous places that serve clam chowder in Boston, does anybody have a particularly memorable or favorite place to recommend?

Stirrin' on the Mount (Mt. Airy eating) Philly folks: I read an article about the Mt. Airy dining scene. Any personal comments or reviews of places you have eaten in Mt. Airy? Thanks, Andy

Boston, MA brunch destinations: any opinions on this topic?

Jason-If someone wanted to get to the North End, but didn't drive, what "T" stop should they take to the area?

Great report Sandy. I wish them well in their new venture. Andrew

Thanks for the input. Andrew

Should we hit it before or after Komi Let me know when and I am there. Andrew-could you tell us about how you are conducting your research, other than reading eG? Will you be coming to the different cities and trying the restaurants out? How do you decide what's in and what's out? How much do we have to bribe you to make sure our favorites make the cut? ← I've been using a number of Philadelphia sources to try and find the best and the undiscovered, but those two categories are usually not mutually exclusive. I posted a new topic, "Philadelphia's Best" to try and see if anyone had any comments on four restaurants. I would link you to that post but I don't know how to work this Egullet thing.

To all my friends in Philadelphia: Any opinions on these restaurants? Are they the "best" in their ethnic category? If you have eaten at any of these, what do you remember about them? Dwight’s Southern BBQ (best BBQ in Phila?) Merion Station: Hymie’s Merion Delicatessen (Jewish) Lakeside Chinese Deli (best dim sum?) Old Brauhaus Restaurant (German) Thanks, Andrew

Hello, Folks- I am going to be working on Chris Cognac's new show, doing research. I have been on Egullet for a few years, mostly reading up on (nobody get offended) restaurants in France where I went on vacation two years ago. However, I am very excited to be a part of the "Culinary Detective" team and as I understand it, our first two cities will be Boston and Philadelphia. I know there have been a ton of leads in Philadelphia, and we also will need your input for Boston (and other cities to come). I was born and raised in Lincolnwood, IL just north of Chicago. I moved to Northern NJ in high school and frequently travelled around the NY Metropolitan area. I went to college in Boston at BU, and also lived on the Upper West Side of NY and now reside in lovely Van Nuys, CA. I look forward to hearing from you and participating in your discussions. Sincerely, Andrew