Rail Paul

Dee and Paul are in. I know the location. eMail to follow

...standing on a corner... similar to the art form practiced on the Plaza in Santa Fe for eaters of Frito Pie? The cart operator slices the long edge of a six oz bag of Fritos, and ladles in a scoop of hot chili. He hands you a plastic spoon as the bag starts to melt in your hands. The objective is to eat the very hot mixture before the bag melts. Auteurs usually lean forward. I understand the town now requires the pie to be distributed in cardboard containers similar to ice cream sundae carriers. Wimps...

I don't have the citation in front of me, but... This restaurant is located on PA 611 just south of Easton. Large house, family runs it. You eat in their dining room, mom cooks, dad oversees the front room, junior is the valet. They decide what you eat. At first, I thought it was a put-up (Addams Family does the restaurant business) but it seems to be legit. The area north of Frenchtown to Stroudsburg seems to lacking in good destination restaurants which might be expected. Frenchtown Inn, a host ofplaces around New Hope, and then a drop off for 50 miles. A few places (Ship Inn in Milford, Perryville Inn in Jutland, that brewpub in Easton, the Barley Creek by Camelback) but not that many for destination traveling.

Interesting discussion of this book going on right now in the Food and news media section of eGullet. Does make you stop and think about what happens to your food when you send it back...

"local ham monger" There's a lot of that in western and southwestern Kentucky. We ordered Thanksgiving business gifts from Meacham Hams ( http://www.meachamhams.com/) for years. Very good stuff, but the shipping costs really drove up the price. One of my colleagues, who has a cabin near Hickman, sends us hams in boxes scavenged from auto parts shipments. Private label stuff, made up for friends and families only. I think they went into that after they left the moonshine business...

Smoking and dogs... We had dinner at a small place in Paris a few years ago, and happened to sit next to a French couple and their daughter. We chatted a bit, and noticed the shopping bag on the banquette between mom and daughter was moving. Eventually a mini-terrier head emerged from the bag, was given a scrap of meat, and retreated. After they realized we were fine with the dog, he emerged, sat between the two, and became the center of attention. He sampled some of what we had, and what his family had. The maitre d' came out and said a few words to the husband, who whispered something to the wife. She said to us "We must all leave immediately, the kitchen is on fire. " We left by one aisle, they left by the other, as the pompeurs arrived. No public announcement was made, but hordes of people immediately emerged...

congratulations and best wishes! What kind of a reaction did you get from others in the bar when you proposed? Sustained applause? Rounds of drinks sent over?

Bolivar - where do YOU like to eat in those states (and your mom;s house doesn't count unless she invite me to dinner...)

Thanks for the bigchalk intro to Buck Town. I figured its origins might have some of those elements, just didn't expect ALL of them...

kimWB's comments on a Newark restaurant suggested this topic. I lucked out this year, didn't have any truly, absolutely horrible, get me to a doctor meals this year. Did have a doozy last year, though, in Williamsburg VA. Service was slow, took about 15 minutes to get menus given and drink orders taken. Waited, and waited, and waited. Saw an occasional server come out with 1-2 items. Guy next to us said they'd been waiting for an hour, still didn't have appys. We threw ŭ on the table for our bread and water, and left. Nicer than a jail cell, though.

being retired at 50,000 votes means you're permanently enshrined to the right of the active voting. FWIW, many sites don't seem to be getting any votes

For Italian and reasonably priced,you might consider Federico's on 50th, just shy of 8th ave. Opposite Palm and Thalia. Woodburning fpl, good pizza, comfortable place, not pretentious. Figure ฤ each.

With just 300 more points (just 60 voters!), we can send the stoveslave back to the kitchen, or make bacon bits out of bakingbits...

Where is new Main Taste in Chatham? thanks!

nice picture. Is that a chili cheese steak, or is the brown matter amidst the onions the result of scraping the cooking surface? Either way, it looks wonderful.

Had a meal at this charming BYO on North Park St last night. Saw the French film Amelie at the Claridge, and considered Tartufo (x Baladi) across the street. It was closed. Walked up the street toward Tuptim, saw the tables and people smoking outside Epernay. The joint was 3/4 filled, but people were getting up, etc. Duck cassoulet (ษ) was the special, price not given. Large pieces of duck breast and leg in a red wine sauce thickened with shortribs, beans were firm outside, soft inside. Absolutely the right choice for a windy cold night. Dee had the strip steak (ฦ) which was fine. Fries with it were great. With tip and perrier, the tab was ์, and we have at least another night's dinner out of the remains. Most of the menu items seemed to be apps in the บ range, entrees ฟ-25. The plats du jour were not priced on the menu. This place was beaten up pretty badly on the old board when it opened, but I had a pleasant experience. Very mixed crowd (two guys next to us, four women across the way, several M/F couples, an office party in the loft (15-20 lawyers discussing their billings, we could hear much of it).

had dinner Saturday at the Perryville Inn (I-78 x12 in Hunterdon County). Party of 40 for a birthday. The restaurant did a fine job of delivering orders quickly and keeping them hot. Very pleasant, colonial inn just off the Jutland interchange. Careful, competent service, filet mignon was done perfectly, Dee's chicken in wine sauce was very nicely done. I perused the menu while waiting later, most entrees appeared to be in the ฟ-ษ range. Very affluent looking iron in the parking lot. Active bar scene by midnight, small bar, lots of people. Will definitely put this on the list of places to revisit.

...more reliable than mine... This poses a problem for me. Rosie's judgements on food have been pretty much on the mark for me. When we visit a restaurant offering a food treatment with which we are not familiar, do we suspend our judgements on smell, taste, texture, or do we accept the judgement of a native user on what's right or acceptable? I don't know, I'm still grappling with it. But, if we had looked at a Norwegian menu with lutefisk (white fish boiled in lye), I know I'd pass. I've tried lutefisk, and I hate it. Paul

Is "Buck Town" one of those historical locations whose origins are better left to guessing?

No position progress over the past 24 hours and only about 15 votes recorded. eGullet has to leap over the California Avocado Board and others to join Crisco.com among the 75 who move forward. That's about 700 votes to go...

Pearson's in Queens, perhaps? A taste of southern BBQ and NY neighborhood, bookended by a subway trip. A bit of a hike, but exotic.

eGullet hasn't picked up many votes in 48 hours. If 10% of the registered members voted just once, that would boost it out of the cellar. Looks like the vote verifier is set on a 24 hour clock, based on the ISP from which you log on. I voted yesterday afternoon from work, and again yesterday evening from home (which was allowed). The vote counter disallowed my second vote within 24 hours, though.

Bonfire, in the Park Plaza Hotel, on Arlington, about a block down from the Public Garden.

Steven - Maybe you could make it Momo's site. He certainly gets a LOT of attention... RP

did you get up to BenMarl on the heights above Marlboro? They make a very reasonable seyval blanc (ű) for every day drinking. Drop dead gorgeous site, overlooking the Hudson River and on into Connecticut. They cater many weddings, and, from the looks of their rutted road, sell a lot of transmissions. There's a similar wine trail on the Dutchess / Putnam side, with Millbrook, Clinton Corners, etc on the tour.