Jeff L

It's the pork no matter how you slice it Diann! Until you get to Delorenzo's and of course you want sausage on your pie.

Try Delorenzo's, it's more than worth the trip to Trenton and the inevitable wait on weekends. Tip: No bathroom and it's byo. If I recall, they were #2 in that top 100 book. Some joint in Chicago got first place. As one of the lucky attendees at the recent porkapolooza, Amada not only makes the cut but should be one of the finest last meals you could wish for!

You need to try Delorenzo's on Hudson Street in Trenton for the best

Notes on this Cab Mike Volker brought to our attention: http://www.wilsondaniels.com/product.php?i...2yZW4QXghklgzGR

Mike: You beat me to this one. I just had a bottle of this with my dinner last night. Fabulous wine at an amazing price. Much more French in style than big and blowsy Californian in style. Incredibly smooth and well balanced. Lots of bright black cherry and cassis flavor with a hint of spice and cocoa too. Brilliant stuff at $10. I'm going back for more! And you are correct. I think this is a second label of Freemark Abbey, who has consistently put out excellent wines over the years. ← My local store shows 1,263 units on hand! Could this be right? Has anyone tried their Chardonay? ← There's a lot of this around, but I'm not sure that 1,263 units isn't a typo. I didn't see the Chardonnay desplayed at my local shop yet, but the website shows some inventory there. I'll probably go back a buy half a case of the Cabernet and some of the Chardonnay to try as well. Jeff L if you try the chardonnay first please report back! ← With the new revelation that this is indeed a Freemark Abbey wine, and trusting Mike's nose, I will be buying a case tomorrow for everyday consumption. Katie, I will of course not forget the Chard and post as soon as I try some.

Mike: You beat me to this one. I just had a bottle of this with my dinner last night. Fabulous wine at an amazing price. Much more French in style than big and blowsy Californian in style. Incredibly smooth and well balanced. Lots of bright black cherry and cassis flavor with a hint of spice and cocoa too. Brilliant stuff at $10. I'm going back for more! And you are correct. I think this is a second label of Freemark Abbey, who has consistently put out excellent wines over the years. ← My local store shows 1,263 units on hand! Could this be right? Has anyone tried their Chardonay?

Just googled it and I found Wilson Daniels Ltd homepage with a picture of, you guessed it, Freemark Abbey Sycamore! Mike, great call, it appears that Freemark Abbey must have purchased this vineyard, or that's the name of the company that makes Freemark Abbey

I would really hope from your inference here Rich that Ms. Green isn't panning the byo explosion of late due to the fact that she can't count any among her client base. That would be a shame indeed and I hope is not the case.

Not for nothing, but this is one of the reasons I cancelled my subscription many years ago. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but she seems to have completely missed what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting things to happen to the Philadelphia food scene in many years

To Jeff L's great post I would only add that eating there is one of the least intimidating dining experiences you're likely to have. Part of what is so remarkable there is the affable, warm, sharing atmosphere, a joie de vivre that suffuses the entire affair. Plus you can drink like a fish if you invite the right people . Dude, if we can drive down from Providence, surely you can drive from western PA! ← Chris, I might be wrong but I don't think the drive is the point. Plus, he may be as far away as RI depending on where he lives in Western PA. Shit when I was a student it was like where's my next cheesesteak or burger (some things never change!) The guy has no funds and let's face it, $100 per person is a lot even for us all grown up college degree with job/business' types. I just marvel at phlox's sophisticated palate being a student and all. I make the assumption that phlox is actaully a first time student and not some 50 year old who has decided he needs a degree in something.

My pleasure Brad. I can now confirm having met Shola this past Tuesday that he will in fact be back, probably sooner than we thought. He is going to the UK for a month or so I think. I think I remember (through the haze of way too much great wine and food) that he'll be back in April/May or thereabouts. Philadining would have a better take on this as he is Shola's unofficial roommate! Anyway, great that you are planning a visit to SK. I think you are right, you are exacxtly the kind of person Shola would like to see there. I think he really likes that people have a natural curiousity and yearning for knowledge as to how he does what he does with food. I particulary like the thread that Percy started for SK influenced home cooking. Of course, Percy is starting SK West in his home from what I've seen coming out of his kitchen. As Shola is so free to discuss everything with his dinners, this seems to be a logical evolution of the experience there. It may seem intimidating to some, but like Philadining so aptly says "dude, it's only food".

Roast Pork Italian beats that. And you get the fumes coming off the WW bridge as a bonus. ← Damn, I was just gonna say that... with rabe of course and extra sharp provolone from the venerable Tony Lukes on Oregon Avenue, not the various outposts.

Twice in three days? Isn't that a personal record Jeff?

OK, I sure hope I'm not the trusty wine scribe. If he (or she) is reading this, I am curious as to the name of the dessert wine redolent of that awesome figginess. Picture me in the Newtown State Store an hour or so ago trying to describe this wine whose name I forgot! You know it tastes like figs, went over really big! ← While I leave scribing to Percyn, that wine is Alvear "de anada" PX sherry. Damn fine and a great value. Not in PA stores. Evan ← Yeah, Evan it was great. Didn't you say you picked it up at Moore Bros?

OK, I sure hope I'm not the trusty wine scribe. If he (or she) is reading this, I am curious as to the name of the dessert wine redolent of that awesome figginess. Picture me in the Newtown State Store an hour or so ago trying to describe this wine whose name I forgot! You know it tastes like figs, went over really big!

And to think we paid $100 for a Studio Kitchen 6 course extavaganza which even included brunch food for one of the courses!

Did we have wine last night?

I must agree with the poached egg review, but how about that surprise Parmigiano-Reggiano soup? And of course the delectable braised veal cheeks atop the coco beans and cocoa nibs...not to be outdone by the chocolate cherry galette with that cardamon infused mineola syrup. My god this meal was insane!! My expectations were already so high from reading this thread and they were well met, in some cases exceeded. I found one of the most interesting and entertaining aspects of the evening was Shola's accessibility and full disclosure of all ingredients and processes used in cooking this meal. The fact that he never made any of the dishes served last night is really a testament to his confidence as a master chef who likes to take risks.

Wow. My first time at Studio Kitchen. Wow. That's all I can say now except thanks to Jeff Towne for organizing and wine pouring. Great seeing everyone again and meeting some of the others for the first time.

This is a different place and owner than Joe's from the 80s. Joe from the 80s is Joe Poon who is doing the semi-restaurant & catering thing above the vegetarian place on Cherry. Chinatown Cafe is run by Cary, who had Joe's before it closed. ← You are absolutely correct. It is run by Cary and it still tastes really good, perhaps not as good or the same as when Poon ran it

The place is now called Chinatown Cafe and is still owned by the former Joes Peking Duck House people. I think they have the same chef too because it's the same as I had when it was on Race Street. The noodle soups are indeed great as are many other items on his lengthy menu. This is the only authentic Chinese around here and a welcome addition to the neighborhood. There is a thread somewhere on the PA forum but I couldn't locate it. It is located at 1862 W Maple Ave in Langhorne, PA Phone: (215) 757-3353 It is in a strip center anchored by a CVS store. It is really great and I love the fact that it is literally 10 minutes from my house with no parking issues!

But did either of you have the fries? If you did, there would be no question as to a return visit. We all have our favorite neighborhood bars and taverns but the fries here are outstanding, really Oh, and good move to order the rib eye cheese staek, it's really great too. This isn't exacxtly close to me, about 30 minutes away but I will be back and soon! Jeff

She knows her stuff, I've tried a few of her recipes in her latest cookbook and they came out great. This is one of my favorite cuisines. I'm going to try to get there for this but midweek is tough.

OK, maybe this will make you feel less sad even though it was sent back in January: Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 22:41:51 -0500 From: studiokitchen To: Jeff Subject: Re: Re: Reservations Not a problem except over the holidays, my schedule has been fully booked up through March and I will be leaving the country at the end of march to go work in Europe for a while..... perhaps later this summer ? Thanks sk On 1/7/06, Jeff wrote: > Hi Shola: > > I've haven't lost sight of our plans to have you host our party of what now > looks like 10 folks. Would you mind letting us know your first Saturday > night availability, keeping in mind my previous email below? > > Thanks and Happy New Year!!

LaBan has very nice things to say about my new favorite Chinese in tomorrow's Inky. Really nice review of what I think is a stand out in an already great Chinatown. He gives high praise to a lot of dishes such as three pepper chicken and pork in garlic sauce and gives a thumbs up to the "golden coins" that are so wonderful there. I must go back and try the fried banana based on his comment that "at last the burn has subsided" It is true that the food is quite fiery ( I mean this in the most positive way possible!) and I wish I'd seen the fried banana on the menu cause I left with my mouth on fire. Congrats to the chefs