Osnav

Is it my imagination or do many of Highwood's restaurants seem old, musty, and out of date. Try the del Rio, it was good when my grandparents took me there in 1966, but it hasn't changed since. I know Carlos is there, but for the most part the Highwood scene doesn't do anything for me.

This is partially off-topic, but...if you happen to be in the downtown vicinity in your travels, I would love to find out if the diner, whose name I cannot remember, across the street from the Folger's Coffee plant is still in existence. I lived in downtown KC for about 18 months back in 1978-1979, and that place had an excellent tuna melt -- close-faced, I'm certain. The best tuna melts I've ever had, though, were those at Polly's Pies in southern California -- very thick-sliced baked-on-the-premises whole wheat butter-grilled to crispy perfection, a thick slice of cheddar, with a tuna salad with onion, celery, mayo, and nothing else. It always arrived piping hot and it wasn't open-faced there, either. (Open-faced tuna melt...t'huh. Who wants to use a fork? Silly.) But the real reason I'd like to know about the diner is this: Every morning at this greasy spoon (which I think had been around since the 1940s at least), they would make 30 or 40 dozen of the most delicious oatmeal cookies you could ever imagine: very thin, a huge diameter of 6-7", crunchy most of the way through but still chewy in the center, and a flavor that the years are only partly making me call otherwordly. If I recall correctly, they'd start selling them, still warm but set enough so they wouldn't fall apart, at about 7am and would usually sell out before 8:30 or 9:00 every morning. When I lived there, I walked the five or six blocks to my job every day past this place (in the midst of the most intense coffee smell, what with the Folger's plant being right there), and it was always a struggle not to stop in there more than once or twice a week to get a dozen. It wasn't a problem at lunchtime (when I would often get their tasty tuna melts, he said, in a somewhat feeble attempt to keep things on topic) since the cookies were long gone by that hour. In the intervening years, I have spent much time trying to duplicate their cookies, but have only come about 9/10ths of the way. Anyway, it's an odd request, I know, but if you happen to be in the area or have relatives there, I'd love to know if the diner is still there and what the heck the name of the place is so I can call them and see if they can send me some of their oatmeal cookies for, say, all the money I have handy. This google map shows the Folger's plant at 330 W. 8th, and I'm almost certain that the diner was at the base of the white-topped building across the street at the upper left corner of the intersection of 8th and Broadway. ←

A couple of points: 1. I am in the negative camp on the new cover design. It really makes the product look "lower end". I think the color border with the white background is much more prefered than the new white border with color background. It is still my favorite food magazine, when you compare it to the other magazines on the market. 2. Paper costs have gone thru the roof in the last two years. Publishers can't raise their cover prices enough to offset paper costs so they use cheaper paper. 3. I don't know where the rumor of Saveur going out of business comes from; but I doubt that it is going to happen anytime soon. World Pub. is a smart, growing publishing outfit and if anyone can make the economics of publishing this magazine work it is World Pub. Fat Guy is right in that advertising is the main source of revenue for large, national magazines with large circulations (Gourmet, Bon Appetit, etc.). That is why you can get a subscription for next to nothing. The subscription usually doesn't pay for the cost to produce and delivery the product. The way the mags make their money is they deliver an audience to an advertiser. In order to get the large, non-endemic advertisers (Detroit, etc.) Gourment and Bon Appetit type magazines have to have huge circualtion bases. They could not supply the reader numbers they needed by have food/receipe only magazines. They had to broaden their base by making their magazines food/travel/lifestyle magazines to bring the extra readers to attract the large advertisers. Take a look at a current Gourmet and compare it to one from 10 years ago. The difference is amazing. However, there is another part of the publishing industry that does make the greatest part of its revenues from subs and newsstand sales. Mags. like Cooks Illustrated (which takes no advertising) make all their revenues from subs and newsstand sales. These magazines usually have higher subscripton rates and higher cover prices. There are other similar mags that don't attract the non-endemic advertiser but do carry endemic advertising. These mags have a more balanced revenue source between advertising and circualtion (50%-50% or 60%-40% ratios). These are usually healthier products as they are not so dependent on a single source of revenue. 4. It is a fact that Publishers are, have been, moving as many aspects of their business out of NYC as they can. The cost of real estate is just too high. Obviously, the Mad-Ave. advertising types have to have a presence as do some of the larger titles editorial offices. Saveur moving its graphics dept. to FLA. will save them a ton of money (even Comag the distributor of Conde Nast/Hearst has recently moved from NYC to Princeton, NJ. to save money). 5. And lastly, to all of you out there that think you can or will be able to get these magazines FREE over the internet: Don't be Fools! Nothing is FREE!

Thirty years ago, when I was a construction worker in Kansas City, there was and old, Greek named Johnny Agnos who had a lunch stand around 11th or 12th street East towards the Paseo. He sold pork tenderloins, pigs ears and pig snouts, all in sandwich form, and fries. The pigs ears were boiled, battered and deep fried. I remember them as tasty (but chewy).

Two more St Louis questions: 1. Where can I find the best gooey buttercakes? 2. I remember someone talking about a cheap sandwich that could be gotten in Chinese restaurants throughout St Louis. Whoever mentioned it said it was peculiar to St Louis. does anyone know what this is? Thanks,

Two Favorites for June: Taleggio and prosuitto grilled cheese. Avocado, roasted red pepper and scallion on a cream cheese laden, toasted French roll.

I think it is a problem with the publishing at Gourmet. They have let the quality and passion lag at the magazine. A few years ago they made a decision to move away from a food magazine and move it into the "food lifestyle" catgegory. I have been reading Gourmet since the 70's and now when I pull out an old issue and compare it to the new Gourmet I am always disappointed with the new product. The product has become more of a travel magazine with food. The emphasis being on the travel portion. As to the food part of the magazine: I think their recipes have gotten worse, their photography certainly has lagged, and their covers show no inspiration. I know everybody loves Ruth; but let's face it she's at the helm and the product is suffering as a food-related product. The product she is putting out is vastly inferior to what it used to be (for "foodies"). The Gourmet Cookbook she put out last Holiday Season was an embarassment to the Conde Nast name. She was really catty and defensive when talking about Chow Magazine when it first appeared. Probably her greatest asset is her ability to write. She can spin a pretty good food-related story. Unfortunately, she is the Editor of Gourmet and being a good writer is not the most important skill to have as Editor. I am sure Conde Nast is making more advertising dollars with the new focus, so I doubt anything is going to change the focus of the magazine in the near future. We are left to find our food-related information in other magazines a media outlets. I personally like Saveur much better than Gourmet right now. I was also very incouraged by the 1st issue of Chow magazine (but I haven't seen a 2nd issue yet). I find Cooks Ill. losing energy (probably too much energy spent in doing America's Test Kitchen and trying to sell a gadzillion books). Thank God we have sites like eGullet where we can go and read and talk about Food.

This is not exactly a raddish recipe, but it was my breakfast this morning: Leftover marinated flanksteak sliced very thin Homade bread w/lotsa butter A ton of sliced raddishes Breakfast of Champions!

I was in Philly last weekend. I went to Django, Matyson, and Melagrano. Django is a definite must reservation. Matyson, I had a reservation, but at 8:30PM there were three open tables around me, so you might try them. Melagrano doesn't take reservations. We arrived at 7:45PM and were seated by 8:05PM. All three restaurants were excellent. And by the way, the Dali show is killer!

Yea, it's kinda like, we've been dealing with the failings and bad parts of the PLCB system for the longest time. Now, we get to reap the benefits of the consequences. What's wrong with the bread? I love the flowerpots. Have the taste or texture changed? It's been a while, so I don't remember it that well but I remember enjoying the bread. ← I guess I'm just a hard roll/crusty bread kind of guy. I particularly loved the crusty rolls at Matyson. Years ago in some far off galaxy I used to eat flower pot bread that I don't remember as being very good. Maybe it was just a negataive reflex from the olden days.

Sorry, but is was a typo: Seal/Veal it's my left hand on the keyboard that is a little lame. ...and yes it was Two Hands (although Second Hand would be a good name for an secondary Two Hands label). And, as my only defense, I was drinking heavily the entire trip (several wines I did not mention have found their way from small scraps of paper to my travel journal). The Vitiano, both rose & rosso were great buys ($10?).

Ok, I started reading this thread at 6AM this morning and have been biting by tongue, starting and deleting replies, and trying to temper my response. I spent some time elsewhere on eGullet talking about Food. But I'm back and NOW... Damn right I'm a Wal-Mart basher!! The bastards deserve it! (sputter, sputter) 1. Anyone who puts Wal-Mart, Target and Cosco in the same barrel is a Moron. Other than being big companies there is nothing remotely similar about them. 2. To those who say "You don't have to shop there". you too, are Morons. Just because I don't shop there doesn't mean Wal-Mart does not profoundly affect my life. I have a friend who lost his job because Wal-Mart demanded that the vendor my friend worked for cut cost (ie outsource production to China). Wal-Mart does not give a damn about America. Wal-Mart cares about Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart only. That is why so many of Wal-Mart's products are foreign produced. Wal-Mart thinking is in lockstep with the 19th century robber barrons Andrew Carnegie, JD Rockefeller, et al. only instead of hiring Pinkertons to beat&kill unionizers Wal-Mart simply threatens then closes stores that vote in unions. Why do you think the giant strikes in S. Cal. supermarkets happened? Wal-Mart's anti-union, low pay jobs make it impossible for supermakets to compete. There is only a 1-2 percent margin on food item sales in supermakets and they pay a living wage to their checkers and employees. Wal-Mart with its low wages can undersell the supermarkets. The supermarkets caught in a corner have tried to take back some of their employees wage and benefits packages in order to compete with Wal-Mart. Thus, we had this long horrible strike. This affected ME! The full results of Wal-Mart's food expansion has not been felt yet. We are moving in the direction of low end (read Wal-Mart, Aldi, box store type grocers) and high end (read Whole Foods, high end speciality stores, etc.) with the middle class supermarkets being squeezed out. The supermarkets, the traditional home of middle class food purchasing are not long for this world. The results will be no choice at the bottom end and very expensive choices at the high end. Let me repeat, this affects ME! And lastly, because I've been holding my breath while writing this and I am beginning to feel faint, Wal-Mart is a leader in the homogenization of America. The same thing available everywhere. Damn it! I like regionalization. I like going to PA. and getting Herr products, and Jays potato chips in Chicago, and Gates B-BQue Sauce in Kansas City. I don't want everything the same everywhere. (BIG GASP of Air) Ok, I feel better. Bye

Thanks to all eGulleteers for you advice & recommendations. Here is a short chronology of my trip, followed by my reviews and ratings of food and restaurants: May 19 (Thur.) Arrived in Philly 12:35PM 2:35PM Sat. in Reading Terminal with a DiNic's roast pork w/greens and provolone sandwich, girlfriend sat across the table with a Salumeria hoagie w/house dressing and extra artichokes. 2:45PM We knew we were in love with PHILLY!! We bought some figs for an afternoon snack and headed for the 12th & Chestnut PLCB to stock up for three nights of BYOB (God, I love your BYOBs). At the PLCB we met Corey, one of the nicest and knowledgable wine buyers I've ever run into. I told him we were in from Chicago and that we were eGulleteers and that seemed to be the magic key. He proceeded to guide us to some great deals in the "Chairman's Choices" and to some other recently arrived wines that he liked (& that we loved too after drinking them). Our favorite was...well that is hard to say because we liked them all. I will come back to these as I discuss individual dinners. 9PM: Django: We sat down with a Peju cabfranc (approx. $30) that was delightful (not a Chairman's Choice, but an excellent recommandation from Corey). This was right up there with the Lang&Reed cabfrancs that we have been enjoying in Chicago for the last year or so. And it worked perfectly with both our entrees: Celia's Spring Veg Tart w/Gruyere,Leeks, Favas, Morels, Swiss Chard, & Crispy Onion Frites and with my Braised Pulled Guinea Hen and Seared Foie Gras. To the food: First Course: Crisp Proscuitto Cup, Spring Saute of Fiddlehead Ferns, white beans, sweet onions, Taleggio and Asparagus. This was one of my favorites of the whole visit. The taleggio with the proscuitto (my favorite for grilled cheese sandwiches) was perfect with the crunchiness of the fiddlehead fernes and asparagus. What a dish! Crab Ceviche, Grapefruit Gelee, Raddish, Sprouts, Cool Champagne-Basil Granita. Celia liked the lightness and refreshing qualilty of this dish. It was okay to me, but then again I was absorbed with the Proscuitto Cup. Entree Course: Veg. Tart: (mentioned above) was an excellent combination of Spring veggies. The mash of favas was perfect (mashed, not pureed). Since this was not my entree, I only got a bite or two; but I could really distinguish bwtwee the various veggies. Guinea Hen: (mentioned above) Have you ever had bad foie gras. The guinea was cooked perfectly and almost disolved in the hen jus. It was somewhat of a cool night and the richness of the braised hen brought a nice warmth the meal. My only criticism was tht the asparagus with the guinea hen a little stalky. Desert: We shared the Cheese Plate. Excellent cheeses in a perfect progression. My complaint:the toast ws way to brick-like crunchy & the plate could have used more fruit and possibly some toasted walnuts. May 20 (Fri) Come hell or high water we were going to Longwood Gardens. And it turned out to be a little bit of both. For those of you in Philly you might remember it rained from 7AM until midnight on Friday. And it rained hardest in Kennett Square at the gardens. But being hardy midwesternerns we doned plastic panchos and bought Longweed Garden umbrellas and had the place, practically to ourselves. When we got cold we would run to the 4 acre greenhouse and wander around until we warmed sufficiently to head back out into the gardens. We had a delilghtful time. 7PM Matyson: Still a little chilly from our day th the gardens, we quickly warmed up with bowls of Vegetarian Minestrone with basil pesto and Potato-Leek soup. Both were excellent. In particular the Potato-Leek was full flavored but w/o the normal thickness one usually associates with this soup. I thought it perfect. The minestrone was very ratatouille-like flavored. The wine for the evening was (I did not write this one down so the name may not be right) Second Hand--Syrah? I mostly remember it for being soft. Appetizer: We shared a Fried Oyster Po' Boy. Why? Maybe because we plan to visit New Orleans for our next trip or maybe because I hadn't had a descent fried oyster in a couple of years. Anyway, it was three oysters fried perfectly and the remoulade was perfect with the smoked bacon dressing. Entrees: Sauted Scallops w/smashed fava beans, wild mushrooms, red onion & beet coulis. Again the favas were prepared perfectly, the mushrooms flavorful, and the beet coulis worked well witht he other flavors. Celia thought the four scallops were too many (but I alleviated the problem). I had the Seal Sweet Breads & Lobster w/ morel, lobster & English pea fricassee, and a lobster demi glace. Thi was my favorite dish of the trip. The sweet breads were cooked to a slight crisp and w/ the lobster demi glace as my dipping sauce, well--I had to close my eyes on every bite. Desert: Our waiter refused to serve us anything but the Coconut Cream Pie w/chocolate ganache & macadamia crust. & he got extra tip money because of this. The other deserts on the menu maybe good or great; but the coconut cream pie was other-worldly (sort of like a Mounds bar on acid, for those of you who have been there). May 21: Dali exhibit in the morning, afternoon at the Italian Market (lunch at Cafe Garibaldi, between 10th&11th on Washington). Passable Mexican nothing more. 7:00PM: Melagrano: Put in our name around 7:20 and were seated within 15-20 minutes. For wine we had Newton--unfiltered epic merlot. Excellent choice for the money ($24? can't remember for sure). I had a bowl of mussels for starters and Celia had a arugla salad w/proscuttio and parmesan. Both were okay. I've had much better and much worse. There was nothing very interesting about them. Then came the entrees. A sea bass for Celia that was some of the best fish I have ever eaten; and I had the homemade parpadelle w/wild mushrooms (I needed a pasta fix). Both entrees were just what we wanted (remember the rain shower from 9-10 on Sat nite?). Our waiter was somewhat of a novice and it was more noticable because of the excellent waiter we had had the night before at Matyson. It is interesting how a good waiter can enhance the dining experience, even though the food is relatively comparable. Desert: None for me, thank you; but Celia could leave without the panna cotta. I did force one bite down and it was creamy and fruity and I wished I had ordered one as Celia pulled hers away from me. I must say that we both fell in love with the BUOB concept. Every night as we got our check we both looked at each other a laughed. Even building in the cost at PLCB our dining costs were far below anticipated levels. Our discussion on the way to the airport Sun. morning was: How quick can we get back to try RX, Marigold, Southwark, and Chloe. For no other reason than a compunction to rate things, here is our conclusion: #1 Matyson--Comparable to Melagrano in creative cooking, but better waitstaff. #2 Melagrano--Excellent food, service (waitstaff and hostiing needs work). #3 Django--Nothing wrong with it, but the energy seems to be ebbing. Lame bread. So thanks to all of you who took the time to make recommendations. And thanks to Katie for making the Penn part of the eGullet the most interesting to explore. Rick & Celia

. . .If pressed for time, you could take a cab to the Reading Terminal Market: that's about five minutes from the Inquirer/Daily News building. There's an okay steak place there (Steve's Prince of Steaks, I think)-- though if you want something REALLY good, get a roast pork sandwich with greens and provolone at DiNic's. ← At most, it's an eight-block, 10-minute walk from 400 N. Broad to the RTM. The steak place is Rick's (a fair cheesesteak, not a great one), but as Andrew said, you'd be better off getting the pork with greens and aged provolone at Tommy DiNic's or, I might suggest, a hoagie with the house dressing at Salumeria, both at the Reading Terminal Market. And you can catch the SEPTA regional rail commuter train right under the RTM at the Market East Station. If you hold an Amtrak ticket, I believe you get free passage on SEPTA from any of the Center City stations (Market East and Suburban Station) to 30th St., where Amtrak stops. (If that's no longer true, the fare is $3). Headway between trains is 2 to 7 minutes during the afternoon, and the trip takes 14 or 15 minutes. A cab does it in about the same time, less if traffic's not bad, for about $5. ← Sorry to barge in, but I am going to be in Philly soon, also; and I would love to go to Tommy DiNics. Can you tell me whre it is? Thanks,

The reasons for No Asian and No German are because I have been on an Asian food binge for several months in several cities and need a break, and as the the No German it's just that I haven't seen any new, interesting German food for quite some time.

Ok all you Philly Phanatics!! I've been reading all the Philly threads I could the last week or so and I got a pretty good idea as to what's what and where. However, I didn't call and make reservations so here is my plight: I need places that don't take reservations. I am perfectly willing show up and wait (Frontera Grill-style in Chicago). As to what kind of food and pricing, etc.: Location: I am staying in the City Center, but will have a car so I can go pretty much anywhere. Pricing: Doesn't matter. Type Food: No Asian, no German: ANY other style of food is okay. However, I am looking for quality and creativity. It doesn't have to be "fine dining" if there is a local chef cranking out simple pleasures at some street corner restaurant, that would be great. I also would be will to go to places that take reservations but let walk-ins sit and eat at the bar. I do have a reservation at Django for one of my nights in Philly and I have a list of Philly cheesesteak and roast Pork places for my daytime sustanance. Some of the places that I have read about that look interesting to me are: Passion, Lolita, Matyson, RX, Chloe & LeBaia. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Rick

Several of my friends carry their own salt and pepper mills. William Bound has ceramic salt mills that won't corrode. There are many salts on the market now that all have their individual characteristics. If you want to carry your favorite or a specific one, take Nike's advice: Just Do It.

Come on now. Three pages on this thread and no one has talked about how the food tastes. Is this a food thread or a photography thread!

Thanks to all for the info and photos. How about someone talking about how the food tasted. What worked, what didn't. What combinations surprised you. With 28 courses you must have had favorites. More details, please!

Interesting thread. I guess the options come down to: Owners can decide the form of payment they want. Customers can decide if they want to abide by the Owners mode of payment. Isn't Amerika wonderful! We have a choice.

When we eat out with friends we always divide the bill by the number of participants (including any wine that has been bought and comsumed). If someone has a interesting wine they want to bring to the restaurant, and if I am informed ahead of time and agree to the wine; I don't mind sharing the cost. But when I have guests in my home I never ask friends to share in the cost of the wines we drink.

In number, I now have about 300 food-related books. Here are some of my favorites: Pretty Books: 1. The Dali Cookbook (and his Wines of Gala): both beautifully created books. 2. Monet's Table: Just a beautifully photographed book. 3. Craig Claiborne's Memorable Meals (w/ beautiful art work by Jaques Pepin) Cooking "Old Style": 1. The Origninal Picayune Creole Cookbook (1901) Published by the Times-Picayune Publishing Co. in New Orleans, this has some great recipes from the Creole South. 2. Mirations & Miracles of Mandy (1929) "Some Favorite Louisana Recipes" This amazing book by N. Scott, a rich white woman, is a compilation of her black cook's (Mandy) recipes. Not only is does this have some fascinating recipes; but it is done it also delves into the relationships of the elite upper classes of Louisana and their domestics of the day. 3. The Gentleman's Companion Collection: (1939) These were a series of books put out by Charles H. Barker Jr. (I think he was a food critic or editor for Gourment in the 40's). I have two boxed sets. Both sets contain two books: one on Cookery (recipes) and the other on Drinks. One set was based in the United States and the other was based on the rest of the world. I have not really done many of the food recipes; but the Exotic Drinks from around the world is wonderful. I am always using some off-the-wall drink that Mr. Baker got from a Raj in Bombay or a bartender at some exotic hotel in Buenos Aires to start an evening's get together with friends. Not only are the drinks wonderful, but the stories of where they come from and how Mr. Barker got them are absolutely delightful. "Cook" Books: 1. Joy of Cooking: I stole my mother's copy when I went away to college and have gone thru 2 other copies over the years. 2. The Way to Cook by Julia Child: Because I love Julia. 3. La Techinique by Jaques Pepin: Before the video revolution, Jaques put out this book that was a series of step-by-step photographs(w/ recipes) illustrating the processes to take in creating several dishes that would be impossible to do without the step-by-step photos. I learned how to galantine a chicken from this book (try that without the aid of photos or video). Non-cookbook Food Books: 1. Calvin Trillin: Maybe because we are both from Kansas City and because we share the "utter joy" of good food. Anyone who will travel 2,000 miles for a rib dinner is someone I will always have a great respect for. 2. MFK Fischer: The Lady could write. 3. Elizabeth David: Taught me about thinks I didn't know. As to the newer Food books I love the Molly Stevens Braising book, the Oxford Companion to Food and most of the Chez Panisse books.

I don't freeze much of anything, but when I have tried to freeze vegetable soups the potatoes were always mealy when I thawed and reheated the soup.

I have read pretty much everything in this thread since I started it, and i can't find any reference to the necessity of foie gras being a prerequisite to creating fine dining. Or did I miss something.