Pensage

What was it that Pete Townsend once said..."To Each His Own Sewage.."? Now that we've all "purged" ourselves this afternoon....by acknowledging (I think I spelled it right this time) our individual "crosses" - be it cynic, suffering out of town chef, wisened farmer, hoodwinked (and STILL not happy about it) P-ville local... etc, etc, etc.... ....Now maybe we can and should just be happy - that by hook or by crook - we will ALL get to partake in Deery's FOOD.... again...no matter the unknowable original intent of the owners of the place.... ....after all isn't FOOD what this site's supposed to really be about? Or did I miss something in the eGullet Rules & Regs?

"....reporters and readers are going to resent being manipulated for PR purposes. ." ????? Come-on people, you're kidding, right? Since when is "manipulation" such a one-sided thing? By reporters and/or readers? I respect everyone's right to an opinion, but whatever the reason the owners of Majolica decided to do what they did, if a "closing & rebirth"...however characterized....brings about the opportunity - as sketched out above - to eat Deery's food at a PRICE POINT that brings his loyal customers back more than twice a year AND brings more and NEW people in to experience his food...tell me how that's a bad thing? I love reading the laments about what a great place it was, sorry to see it close, a lost gem, yada, yada, yada....while at the same time an aknowledgement that the BYOB model is tough to make money at AND that "I haven't been there in ages, but it was great when I was there". In the end, a restaurant is a BUSINESS, people, not a glorified social club for the few who think they know more about food than the rest of the masses. If - and especially in this economy - chef/owners don't treat their restaurant's as businesses FIRST ---which means giving people what they want, in the individual chef's style, at a price point people can afford, "early and often" - then all of us "know it all's" aren't going to have many of our "beloved jewels" left to comment about. Cut these people some slack , get over your "hurt" and be glad that Deery's STILL going to be cooking great food.

There's a reference to the Alinea Cookbook - from a different perspective - today on Ruhlman's Blog. It looks like the "French Laundry At Home"'s Carol Blymire will be tackling the Alinea Cookbook as her next "project". Interesting. http://blog.ruhlman.com/

Saw this in Michael Klein's Food & Drinq Blog: http://blogs.phillynews.com/inquirer/fooda...e_for_lila.html Congrats to the new parents and here's to them for being able to "find some balance" in a business not known for it.

It's my understanding that for interesting fine dining in York, Co....one must travel over to Hanover and go here: http://www.sheppardmansion.com/mansion_history.htm The chef, Andy Little, and his team all have some real "bona-fides" from some interesting, nationally known, restaurants and are into the whole "fresh, local, sustainable" thing. Both the regular menu and a tasting menu are on the website.

Wow! I guess we're pretty lucky on this front. We entertain almost every other Saturday night - we have a small, OLD house - the dining room with the walk-in fireplace in the winter and the deck off the kitchen in the summer and experience none of the problems Fat Guy has outlined. We have the whole cooking, set-up, management of and clean-up pretty much down to a science. Dinner at our place has evolved into a much sought after invite and usually lasts 5 or 6 hours, involving a pre-published menu and is always a multi-course event with 6 or 8 or 10 people....none of which agree with each other on much (other than food) - just the way I like it. It's gotten to the point that folks like to see their name on the menu connected to a course or an APP or a dessert - so that makes things easier. The menus are structured so that MOST of what has to be done at the last minute involves a quick cooking of a protein or the finishing off of something that was being held. Gifts - we discourage them. Our excuse is that we have enough of everything and appreciate the gesture, but enough is enough. Since these things last all night, any wine brought is usually consumed that night. Flowers are a weakness of my better half, so she welcomes them. Clean-up is done between courses, but I'll admit that there is usually an hour of clean-up at the end and the wine glasses are always left to the next day - THE MANY WINEGLASSES!!! We write that process off as just being a part of the deal of entertaining. I wouldn't beat myself up too much, Fat Guy. You have legitimate concerns, none of which I, thankfully, have to deal with....like I said folks are REALLY happy to come to one of these things and will do what they need to in order to get invited back. Which doesn't offer much help, other than - choose your guests carefully because I've found that the ones who find it hard to accomodate your needs and wishes are also the ones that make the lousiest guests in most other areas.

Was at a pre-opening reception/cocktail party last evening. The place is a great looking space, think Italian rustic meets hip all in the same space with lots of windows. Dark, rich, earthy colors, brick - wood fired oven, wood fired open grill - like the one in Alba in Malvern. Open kitchen. Large private dining room with floor to ceiling windows, wine bar...all the elements. Other than the pizzas, I don't know if the canapes served were representative of the larger menu items, but they were very tasty - spicy sausages with polenta, fried mozzarella with a tempura like coating on skewers, home cured - thinly sliced hams.... I didn't see a menu, so I can't comment on the overall "style" or regional concentration of the food, but the samplings were great. For those curious, the restaurant opens for business on the 15th. Enjoy!

Good afternoon. I have it on good authority that Hendricks Farms and Dairy will be on a segment of Berks based Channel 69's "One Tank Trips" tonight at 5:30 & 10:30 pm, WFMZ Reading, PA or, for those that don't get it (Comcast Basic Cable channel 15) log onto www.wfmz.com for the next 24 hours to view the segment (after 7PM tonight). For those that haven't been able to get out to Telford, a potentially good way for a quick little looksee at a local, artisinal craftsman. Link To Segment http://wfmz.com/view/?id=52891

MarketSEI Wrote: "Were Green Valley Dairy or Hendricks Farms at this event? These are two of the best cheesemakers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. I'm a big fan of Green Valley's Pennsylvania Noble, which is the best Cheddar-style cheese I've ever eaten. I may pop for a quarter pound when I head up to the Reading Terminal Market later today so I can share some with you all (I'd go for a whole pound ordinarily, but I can't justify the $20 right now)." Sandy, Hendricks Farms & Dairy won 1st Place at the ACS Conference in the American Made/International Style Category for their Bavarian Swiss!! I believe it was the only cheese Trent sent this time.

Talluto's "factory/warehouse" has a retail "outlet" for us folks out in the "burb's...fresh sheets, or cut the way you want it...... 530 Foundry Road in the West Norriton Industrial Park.....

Wegman's CAN order them from D'artagnan for you, I've done it number of times and usually they only need a few days notice.

Here it is: http://ae.philly.com/entertainment/ui/phil...&reviewId=18277

It is way north of Longwood Gardens.....Birchrunville is in a valley squeezed between Route 100 and Route 113 - think Chester Springs.

Nice review! No surprise really....Francis & Jane put that kind of food out each and every night. They are true professionals that have quietly built a casual, fine dining establishment and quite a following....as evidenced by the difficulty in getting a reservation even on Wednesday & Thursday nights. I'll be interested in hearing the wine pairings since some of what is on the tastings sometimes show up as nightly specials.

Actually, based on my experience (not professional - just fanatical), the guy's got some serious talent and I think if he knew he could sell the "really stinky stuff" he'd make it as regularly as his raw ingredients, time and aging conditions will allow. Rich

Good morning. I've been reading this Board for about a year and finally decided to "take the plunge" after visiting Hendricks Farm on Saturday. I was quite impressed with Trent, his family's operation, his passion and his products. With the demise of Iron Bridge in Elverson last year, finding a local artisnal producer of not only goat cheese, but a whole variety of raw milk and aged cheeses has been a struggle. It was worth the trip (only about 20 minutes or so from Phoenixville - home base). I secured three of Trent's cheeses - the harder, cow's milk Telford Reserve, the Baby Blue (cow's milk) and the Blue Bell (goat's milk). They are as described very well in the above post and show a deft hand at showcasing both the different milk used and the philosophy of the cheesemaker who knows where he wants to go with the end result. According to Trent, he'd like to offer more in the "stinky cheese" genre, but has to bow to the realities of his marketplace and the fact that he is making a living off of the farm and feeding product to the chickens is not necessarily the way to pay the bills......too bad because based on what I tasted on Saturday, I suspect he'd put out some interesting "stinkers" that would rival what we have all purchased from say....Wegman's, DiBruno, et al that come from far far away and are increasingly using pastuerized milk in order to get into this country. I encourage everyone, who can, to make the trip out, lobby for getting his cheese in some retail locations and to support this kind of local, artisnal vocation ( he also produces and sells beef and lamb in a variety of cuts). His pricing is in line with what you'd pay for good cheese anywhere else and can't be any fresher. Just my 2 cents, have a great day! Rich