Jeff L

Hey listen, my anniversary is coming up and I like Silver Oak too, whadda ya say?

Percy, of all your meals, I was most impressed with Piperade, particularly that dungeness crab salad. Man that looked tasty. Just curious, any business in between all that feasting or was it just vaca?

Definately Tony Lukes. Be sure to get the roast pork italiano, the true Philadelphia sandwich. I sometimes drive there just for lunch, 45 minutes away! The sandwich has perfectly roasted pork with sharp provolone and brocoli rabe all slathered on a housemade roll topped by a gravy that is sheer bliss!

Best cue in the greater Philly area in my view. Here's another thread on this great spot. To date I've enjoyed the pulled pok sandwich, brisket and ribs. Ribs were really tasty. They are doing a fine job and the folks are really friendly too. Beware of early closing times, I think 9:00 pm. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...1&hl=lucy's

Agreed and edited to spell chutzpah!

Trenton is a hell of a lot closer to you than Lancster. Give this a click http://www.thetrentonfarmersmarket.com/ - You'll be glad you went.

Katie, I won't say farewell as I'm sure I'll not only see you again at an upcoming event, but that I will continue to be delighted by your wit, enthusiasm and genuine interest of this E-Gullet thing. I personally never imagined I would spend so much time on the various forums and your posts always add to the discussion. Thanks for moderating the PA Forum and particularly, the style in which you chose to moderate. Let me know where you end up as I keep trying to get to your bar and bang you're gone or the place closes! All the best...

Rich, don't forget Porfirio's small outpost. I just picked up some really nice fresh mozzarella (almost as good as Claudio's) along with some nice aged sharp provolone.

James, it's worth a trip for sure. I thought you said that you grew up in the area, have you ever been there? You may want to go via Newtown and get depressed when you drive by what used to be Goodnoe's.

Excellent canteloupes and even better Jersey white corn are to be had at the venerable Trenton Farmers Market. Canteloupe might be the best in recent memory and that corn, nothing beats white jersey corn just hours after being picked. I know this is the PA forum but it's closer to us than Philly so we go weekly. Tomatoes are good but not as good as past summers. Picked up some really nice local eggplant, zuchini, and limas this past week. Man I love summer time around here!

I'll add the Newtown specialty shop too. As I am in there way too often, I've come to know some of the staff and they are indeed knowledgeable and quick to offer an opinion but not to the extent as those at Moore Brothers of course.

Interestingly, I remember watching a show recently (could have been Food Network) covering the top wine stores in New York City and Moore Brothers was not one of them.

Zagat's 2008 NYC gourmet shopping and entertainment guide gives Moore Brothers NY store top honors in the categories of "Best Wine Shop, "Best Service (in all categories) and "Best Buys". Finally, they tied two other non-wine shops as one of the three stores that provide the "Best overall shopping experience in New York" I've always enjoed shopping in the Pennsauken shop and continue to be amazed at the sheer level of knowledge their staff has and the amount of time they are willing to spend with each customer. High praise indeed in New York City. It seems there is a wine shop on every corner.

I had lunch here today. Burger was good not great. I asked the owner (Elliot) if he could make mine medium rare and he said it has to register 160 degrees, something about the patty being too thin to make it medium rare. I must say my well done burger was pretty good and still somewhat juicy but med rare would have made it close to a great burger. Holly alert with these fries. They are fantastic, idaho's made daily and TWICE fried with good peanut oil. In fact, the guy has huge cans of peanut oil lining the store. They are NOT shoestrings but rather a perfectly cut and crispy fry with a nice soft inside. The peanut oil ramps up the flavor. I'd go back just for the fries. For his first food joint, he's doing pretty well. Menu also has Ruts-Hut style hot dogs which I will try next. Also marinated chicken sandwiches he promises are great too. Only downside is it's a bit off the beaten path for me but I'll be back.

Now that was perfectly put and there are so many parents like that out there it makes me fear for the future...but alas another thread

Yes, two daughters 20 and almost 22 and I still do maintain that a large percentage of parents fail to plan dining outings with young children or worse, don't care if their kids disrupt others diners. A 5 month old is really different from twin 4 year old twins. Your 5 month old is not quite ready to learn how to behave in a restuarant and it's probably a crapshoot each time you take him out as to whether he behaves or not. As I mentioned on another thread, we would immediately take one or both girls out of the place at the first sign of a problem. Once or twice we had to leave but usually they calmed down after a walk. You seem to be one of those parents too and that's good for everyone.

Man that does look good. Seven bucks per person is a steal for all that food.

Holly, fwiw, the farmers at my corn and tomato stand in Trenton's Farmers market have advised me to refrigerate corn not used the same day as purchased. I've always been extremely pleased with the Jesrsey white corn and tonights dinner was no different. Perfectly sweet and fresh along with some early Jersey tomatos - yum..made my ground brisket burgers almost an afterthought. Man I love this time of year.

Bumping up this thread with a very pleasant experience we had last night. We joined several neighbors last night, among them a family with twin 4 year olds, at a nice but clearly not a multi-bell restaurant. As we have noticed their willingness to discipline the children (almost unheard of around here btw) I fully expected to dine without incident. Not only were there no incidents, but these parents planned the outing to perfection. They put the kids down for a short nap in the afternoon and brought an array of books, crayons and stickers to keep the kids amused. They were totally engaged the entire evening and an absolute pleasure to be around. It seems like any parent can do this but most prefer not to as it requires effort and a degree of planning. I have no doubt the same result would have been achieved had we been in Le Bec or any other fine dining establishment.

Thanks. For some reason, I thought mrbigjas contributed to this thread but looking again I was mistaken. Anyway, sounds like it might work for a midweek meal. I'll post my experience.

James/Jeff, is the special tasting menu available every night or just weeknights? I used to always enjoy Porcini but mostly one of the Sansone brothers was in the kitchen. Not sure if I ate there when MacAndrews was there or not.

What we like to do in the summer months is to par boil a pound or so of fresh New Jersey green beans, drain pot and add a few cloves of minced garlic and oil. After you smell the garlic add a cup full of fresh diced Jersey tomatoes or good canned ones and put the beans back in. Simmer for about 10 minutes and add some fresh basil at the end.

I agree with Phil here. We were lucky to be in on the first porkapalooza and there was really a lot of food. If i recall, by the time the second pig was ready to be carved (tableside carving alone is worth the price here) and served, most of us were pretty full. We did, however do a respectable job on #2 pig though.

Be on the lookout for a special called "Pasta Marco" named for one of my closest friends who worked the deal out with the Faenzas in the building.

It's really worth the trip to the farm. You get to sample al lot of their stuff and they are extremely knowledgeable without being highbrow. A word of caution though and that is not to travel out there on an oppresively hot day. Pasture will smell of eau de ...well you get the idea! They also raise and sell free range beef products and chickens. Maybe pork too I forgot, cool place but get directions as you could drive right by it and keep on driving. There were no signs when we went last fall.