shacke

"I disagree. Stone Cold could use a little defrosting, but the banana tastes just like unripe bananas, you know, when they still have a little green on them and are tangy and not perfumey and cloyingly sweet (the only acceptable ripeness for bananas for me). And unlike bassetts there are chunks of real banana in it. Bassetts tastes like it has a smoothing, softening agent in it like careegenan or something and is too sweet. My husband loves it, though." Cold stone is my latest curse - it is quite good. Agree on the banana taste - green tipped kind of flavor. Also opening June 9th, practically next door, is Corner Bakery Cafe. I loved this while in Chicago and have gone once in Center City. They have good breakfast and tasty pastries and cakes. A nice addition to Ardmore. I can see the crowds now - Oy! Evan

ooh - yeah - Vietnam! rice and black eye peas in hot coconut milk for dessert, the vietnamese coffee, appetizer sampler and the marinated raw beef. ooh baby..... Next door for bubble tea - Zen Tea house. Iced Vietnamese coffee with tapioca pearls. double carb overload ooh yeah! Evan

Lakeside Chinese Deli: sauteed pea leaves, shrimp wonton noodle soup,honey roasted pork, stir fried pin noodles (aka "slugs" in my house). Evan

One other question to pose is regarding markets, since I will be cooking quite a bit. Is there a good gourmet market or farmer's market like place to pick up high quality fish, meats and produce? I bet seafood markets are the best bet up there. Thanks again. Evan

Welcome aboard David and don't be a stranger, particularly on the wine thread! Evan

American indeed. Their rich basic yellow cake they use reminds me of Magnolia Bakery in NYC. I say "reminds" because that is cupcake heaven for which there is no equal. Evan

Just in case some of my fellow suburbanites have not come across this wonderful place, The Bakery House is located in Bryn Mawr on Lancaster Ave just a stone's throw from Foodsource. I stopped by there today after picking up fiddleheads - ah spring! Very unassuming storefront with some serious delectables within. I discovered this place about 2 years ago after I had birthday cake at one of the multitude of kiddy parties I am forced to attend. Always expecting the same old banal supermarket spongebob, I was surprised how good their butter cake was. I immediately got the info from the parents and headed on over. Their cakes and pastries are pretty high end but not european - not much flaky brioche items and the like. Mostly american fare. Their cakes are pretty dense, packed with far more butter than the average bakery's cakes. The prices reflect it so don't get sticker shock although getting a cupcake for the kids is only about $1.50. The yellow cake, imho, outshines chocolate hands down. I have not tried everything in there but what I have eaten has been very good. If you are a fellow suburban egulleter - and I know you are out there - give them a try. I have yet to try the brownies since the traditional ones only come in an entire pan size (maybe 8 healthy servings) and I am not that suicidal to tackle it myself. To me, the brownie is the barometer of a bakery but I already know I like this place regardless. Evan

Beware the weekend!!!!!!! Crazy crowded - like rioting type hungry folk crowded. Also note that every time I have ordered take out they get it wrong. Check it while you are there. Having said that, it is good. I particularly like the pea leaves and house special soup. Hit Cold Stone Creamery on the way home. Evan

Hey no fair! That's the DOTC IMHO (dessert of the city) Evan

I think I can answer that for you. SLO is Special Liquor Order for items that are not necessarily stocked but they are availble through a PLCB vendor that is ordered through an 800 number and shipped to a local store. It is charged up (or half) front and depending on the vendor and item, there may be a minimum but they can tell you on the phone at that time. I have had good experience with the SLO process. NB - not everything listed may still be available even though it is on the site. Hope that helps. Evan

Be a local ... EAT 'EM WIT WHIZ! It's the way to go and I do love Jim's and they do have whiz indeed - Pat's doesn't but I don't care for Pats/genos anyway. What Jims doesn't have is french fries, if y' care about that. Evan

I personally like Tre Scalini (italian - duh) in South Philly and you may get a table if you call today. Haven't heard much of it on this board but I have been there too many times to count. It is BYO but not in the heart of the center city if you want to walk somewhere. Evan

Good link to Shinyboots' blog. He's a foodie whiz kid I hear. He wrote of Carmines opening right near my house. Sounds like a "ROAD TRIP"! Evan

I will be spending a week in Cape Cod in June. I have never been so any advice is appreciated. The house we rented is in Wellfleet and is apparently close to Provincetown. We will have kids but also secured 2 nights out without kids for any potential fine or romantic dining. If there are must try places (or must run away from), please let me know. I am particularly interested in places to go without the kids. I would love any good portuguese suggestions in particular. I have a car and I am willing to travel for any can't miss experience. thanks Evan

I finally made it to RX last night and we had a nice dinner with friends. We had an 8:30 reservation which was, turns out, the first seating after a private rehearsal dinner. I had shown up early and it turns out I know the bride and groom so I hung out with the huge crowd until they filed away. Through the groom's dad, I met Greg who is the owner and I told him I was a proud gulleteer finally getting to try Rx. After getting a "complimentary" round of wine from the house left over by the throngs, we got right down to ordering. I had the scallops which was the last order left by then. They were quite good, full flavored and maybe the "heaviest" scallop dish I have tried with bits of foie gras and a healthy (or "un" if you think of it) underlayer of fat mixed with a tart concoction of apple and rhubarb. My wife had the romaine salad (very good with strips of chorizo as an interesting touch). Someone had the calamari which I felt was a must try given Andrew's recommendation. Again very good preparation but IMHO it was just fried calamari at the end of the day. Another friend ordered an app portion of the pasta which was a winner. Fresh made tube pasta with heavy scents of truffle and morels. I jealously wished it were at my plate setting. gulleteer emptor - If you think truffles taste like dirt then skip it. For dinner I had the hanger steak which is an old fave of mine, being a big sucker for french bistro fare and growing up on this cut before it became "hip" rather than peasant food. IT was perfectly and simply prepared with a side of sauteed spinach in good olive oil and a knoll of mashed potatoes. Someone had the bronzino and apart from being annoyed by bones (I warned him!), it was well recevied as well as the accompanying peas and rice. My wife had the halibut which I thought was very good although she thought it was too much like an "everything" bagel in her mind. Uh, thats sort of the point with this one I think. The jet black lentils were terrific with a vinegar note to them. Someone ordered the chicken (another Andrew rec) and there was nothing left at the end of it all. I thought the onion marmalade was a winning side. Greg came by again to see how things were which was the undercurrent of the service there. Very friendly and attentive. When we told him of our appetizer selection that we had, he said his fave was the sashimi. A few minutes later, an order appeared at the table in front of 3 stuffed faces and 1 courageous gulleteer. I happily had the lions share of a very interesting mixture of avocado and seasoned cukes among fresh slices of Ono. This, as well as the pasta, was garnished with microgreens that I could not identify but they were terrific. There were, like, arugula shoots in there somewhere I am sure. For dessert we all shared chai infused creme brulee topped with pomegranate molasses (pucker score of 9), chocolate bread pudding, flourless chocolate cake and key lime pie made by Greg's mom. The bread pudding won the "dessert d'table" without question. Having said all that, total bill for 4 people was a reasonable $200 which included 25% tip. Another reason to sacrifice a first growth to the BYO gods. Rx is just like Andrew had said in far fewer words. A neighborly restaurant with good wholesome fresh food and friendly service. Easy on the wallet. Easy to return to - next time I am bee lining for that pasta if it is still there. Evan

Can't find that feature - can you send a link to it? Evan

I can get them here in the burbs at Foodsource when they come into season. That is the only place I have found them other than a friends garden (eewww! you eat THOSE?) Silly friends. I know its not convenient to CC philly but depends on the craving I guess. Evan

I see that the web site lists the daily flavors of that day. Greeeaaat. That will make it harder to resist. PS - I called them. The new location will be 20th and Sansom. Even more convenient now. Curses. Evan

http://scotus.ap.org/scotus/03-1116p.zo.pdf The written opinion

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/05/16/scotus.w...s.ap/index.html Court ruled 5-4 in favor of repealing states' right to ban out of state winery shipments into banned state. Basically, the case pitted a prohibition clause saying states can limit flow of alcohol into their states vs. commerce clause that says states can't discriminate against other states by unfairly restricting one states access to trade over another. Now if a state bans in-state as well as out of state shipments, then we could be hosed. Overall, it is a good start but I suspect this will launch even more lawsuits. I hope PA opens its doors before I get too old to enjoy my freedom. Round 1 - us!

Pumpkin is close by too but a very hard table to get. Give them a call - you may get lucky on a Sunday - never know ...... There is a pumpkin thread on the forum fairly recent... 215-545-4448 17th and South. 2 blocks up and like 3 over from the doubletree.

Off the cuff, Porcini on 20th and Sansom is a very good bet - small so go early but it's sunday. No reservations so you can do that on a whim. I have always been very happy there and it is close to you. Evan Dont forget Capogiro gelato for dessert! - 13th and Sansom! Really near you.

I ate at the cafe beforehand and realized that you can eat at your table downstairs before the show. That would have been nicer. The food is decent - not extraordinary by any stretch but it's not fast food basura either. If I went back I would still eat there but go right down to the venue to do it. It would tie into the whole experience. I can't remember what I had for the life of me. Having said that, I agree there are plenty of places in West Philly and even center city that are closer and have better food. Enjoy. It's a really nice place to listen to music. Evan

Well I finally made it to Pumpkin with some good company! Even though the menu changes daily, I posted to show pricing and the style of the restaurant. I started out with the grilled Quail. It was simply and artfully prepared with the tartness of the balsamic and fruit mixing nicely with the sweet fig and grilled kissed quail. The wife had the mussels which were quite good - an excellent vehicle for bread soaking. I thought the winner appetizer was the grilled salad, interesting warm lettuce with grill marks topped with a very creamy blue dressing vinagrette. Figures, that was chosen by Katie. She must've known. The crabcake was well received but I didnt try it. For entree, I had the lamb with what was israeli couscous darkened by sautee. Interesting flavor. The lamb was not the winner as it was not as tender as I would have hoped. Nonetheless it all worked well together. I should have ordered the chicken (I have learned that chicken in a fine restaurant is nothing like at home but I resisted since I was FINALLY at Pumpkin and wanted something else. It looked excellent and if you see it - get it and think of me.) I did taste the veal chop which was simply prepared and very tasty. It showed up with artichoke and mashed papas. My personal fave lay across from me - the waluu with fennel scented saffron broth. Not much of a fennel fan when overdone - I thought this was very nice and I had more than a gentleman's bite of it. I praise the smaller appetite of some who dine with me For dessert - I was voted down on ordering all of them. Reason prevailed (well maybe). We tried everything but the napoleon and it turns out everything was a great ending to the meal. My wife's absolute favorite dessert is when a restaurant has a cookie selection and some java. She was elated. The service was impeccable to say the least. The initial server who left early was a friend of one of the group but doesn't matter. You should expect the same royal treatment. The place is tiny and there is a great deal of attention paid to each table. I would sum up Pumpkin as a restaurant that features fresh ingredients - prepared simply but artisanally. Low on flair and on unusual ingredients, it was worth the wait. Good company makes any meal better and the wine bottles were empty by the end as well. Total bill with 25% tip was $200 even. I would go back anytime. Evan

Diann, I wish I had a palate like yours when I was in college. You would cringe at the things I ate and liked. Evan