zeffer81

bananas--i keep trying to like them but have come to the realization that it'll never happen raisins--ditto for above. i will pick around them in salads, breads, etc. and leave a sad and limp pile sitting on my plate anything with anise or black licorice flavor gin (due to an unfortunate incident in high school ) raw tomatoes, sometimes. i get super grossed out by the seeds swimming in gelatinous goo. nothing beats the perfect summer heirloom tomato though! there are, however, a number of things that i could not stomach as a child and will now eat as an adult. go figure.

Godshall's birds are around $2/lb.

As a vegetarian who DOES cook meat when my non-vegetarian friends come over, I'd like to add my two cents. I haven't eaten turkey in years, but even when I did, I was often so smitten by the veggies and other sides at Thanksgiving that I bypassed the turkey. Unless the vegetarians have requested their own main, it's really not necessary. It makes us look a little less weird when we have a huge dollop of sweet AND mashed potatoes! Other thoughts... Maple syrup sweet potato mash doesn't need butter or cream. My MIL always makes asparagus with hollondaise on the side. Add it if you want it. We always cook the stuffing outside of the bird so as not to dry the bird out. If you're an in the bird kind of person, set aside a bit to cook outside. If you put mushrooms in your stuffing, the anti-mushroom guest can pick around them. Or, forgo the shrooms this year. Be sure to have some (it's ok if it's canned) vegetarian gravy on hand for the mashed potatoes. I usually bring my own and promise that they will really appreciate it if you remember. We al

Tried Shank's for dinner last night. It was a last minute decision and they were able to squeeze (literally) me, my boyfriend and his sister in at 7pm. Food was solid, but service and atmosphere truly made the evening. When we entered, they asked for my name and then greeted me like a queen/long-time regular. The two waitresses had huge hearts and personalities. After taking our order, they gave us bread and roasted peppers. The bread was nothing special, but the peppers were especially tasty with just a hint of heat. We started with frankie's antipasto platter which had everything mentioned above--artichokes, mozz, sun-dried tomatoes, prosciutto, salami, olives and roasted peppers over a bed of romaine. They seem to treat this as more of a salad, as it's served over a hearty bed of romaine and they give you olive oil and balsamic on the side. Our complimentary peppers went nicely with this platter, of which we wrapped up a hearty portion for my friend's boyfriend who was still at work. For entrees, I had the linguine dominic with garlic, sundried tomatoes and rabe. It was finished with a tasty pool of broth at the bottom. Tasty dish, although the sundried tomatoes could have been a little softer. My boyfriend had seafood mediterraneo (I think that's what is was called) which was basically a load of seafood--clams, mussels, shrimp, lobster and maybe some crab--over fettucine in a cream sauce. He tore it up! His sister got chicken francaise, lightly battered in a mushroom sauce with fried onions on top. Along with the obsecene portion, her chicken came with a side of pasta in red sauce. Her leftovers were more than enough for her boyfriend to enjoy for dinner. In addition, when wrapping the food up for him, they added fresh bread and another portion of roasted peppers! We shared their only dessert, which was strawberries soaked in grand marnier with house made whipped cream. I've actually never had that before so I don't know if it was too heavy on alcohol or if that's what it's supposed to taste like, but I felt like I was taking a shot when I ate my first strawberry. Overall, the food was very good. However, the quaint atmosphere and delightful, interactive service made for one of the best evenings I've had in a long time. By the end of the night, we were all old friends. If you're looking for an experience, visit this place. I promise you won't be disappointed!

My boyfriend's mom cooks this every year, and even though I shun it in theory, I have to admit it's pretty good. I'm hosting Thanksgiving at my mom's this year and the bf and I had the following exchange: Me: Here's my menu for Thanksgiving this year? Any requests? (not giving him time to respond) And I'm not doing green bean casserole. We don't cook things like that at our house (having been raised by a food snob, I've turned out quite delightful!) Him: Fine, I only want my mom's anyway Me: (starting to feel bad) I can make it if you really want. Him: How about scalloped potatoes? Me: AND mashed potatoes? I don't want to do both Him: Instead of mashed potatoes Me: You can't have Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes. At this point, we both began to wonder why I bothered asking him. To please my darling BF, I might make the scalloped potatoes and ask a friend to bring the mashed. Otherwise, I've gotten most of my menu from this month's Gourmet and Bon Appetit. They've got some great looking sides--which, as a vegatarian, are the most important part of Thanksgiving. My Menu Haven't thought about appetizers yet. Probably something very light Turkey Cornbread stuffing (not dressing!) cooked outside of the bird Grandmom's coleslaw (prepared by Grandmom hersself, if she's up to it!) Sauteed brussels sprouts with caramelized shallots Mashed bourbon sweet potatoes with hazelnuts Mashed potatoes Scalloped potatoes (jury's still out, but I think I'll go ahead) Cranberry sauce (cooked and canned) Creamed pearl onions in mustard sauce A simple vegetable for my pop pop maybe peas and carrots Mom and I aren't big bakers so dessert will probably be pretty straightforward. If she's recovered from her hip surgery, I may be able to convince her to make an apple tart. I'll do pumpkin pie

Linvilla Orchards? I was just there last week and don't remember all of the colors, but they definitely had a wide variety. Sounds fun!

The guide says it's live from Chicago. 1 hour long.

Just what came to mind when I read the original post. Fun stuff!

yeah, Lidia Bastianich adds it to her stocks. Makes a real rich flavor. Yummm!

I just called for a reservation sometime this week, having noticed that LaBan is reviewing them on Sunday. Alas, they're closed all month! They don't re-open until September (4th, I think.) Now I'll never get a chance to try it. Boo! Well, living in South Philly does have its perks though...

my parents used to do this with neighbors on the block--it didn't hurt that one of them was a chef! they called them "progressive dinners."

I will never, never again ignore my boyfriend who is shelling shrimp cocktail and only briefly wonder why it came with the shell on. When he wasn't scarfing down his dinner a while later, I asked him what was wrong. "I think I had a Zoe moment," he says. I have a habit of deciding mid-meal that I dislike a certain item--often a sea-dweller. He then asked "isn't cooked shrimp supposed to be pinkish?" Me: "Yes..." Him: "Well, mine wasn't pink, it was more gray." Me: (trying to decided whether to laugh or gag and meawhile doing a little of both.) "Wait, your shrimp was GRAY?!" Him: "Yeeesss" (slowly realizing something was wrong." Me: with a snort "Honey, I think you ate raw shrimp! You didn't realize?" Him: "Well, they did seem a little slimy but I just put more cocktail sauce on it. " (cue priceless quote of the evening) "Cocktail sauce makes everything taste better. The kicker is that he seemed totally nonchalant about the entire incident--and he even had shrimp scampi for dinner the next night!

As a vegetarian, I sit down at the dinner table with the expectation that I will fill up on sides and salads. My friends and family are all aware of my dietary preferences and plan accordingly. However, I still usually sit down to a "traditional" dinner based on a protein (the exception being my future mother-in-law who always goes above and beyond to make a special entree just for me.) It always works well--I like sides best anyway! Perhaps I'm just easy-going but it seems to work well for everyone.

you can drink at any of those places. dance? no...unless you get really drunk. give us some more info. what type of music do you like? what scene do you prefer? i'm sure we could give you some better suggestions with more info from you.

Was that Katie behind the bar last night with the delicious sparkling rose sangria? I checked out Chick's last night. Aforementioned sangria was delicious. I love their cheese and charcuterie selection where you can mix and match (one for $6, 2 for $11 and so on...) I ordered two cheeses--a robiola and something I can't remember. They were good but...they were cold! Also, we asked our server for some help selecting a second cheese and he told us he didn't know much about the cheese selections. I was rather disappointed as there weren't that many (maybe 10 tops) and if he didn't know, he should have offered to find out. We also ordered a bowl of mixed olives for $5. For you olive lovers out there, this was a great deal. The bowl was brimming with a few different tangy varieties. The two of us barely put a dent in it. Besides the minor services glitches, it was a cute spot for drinks and snacks. I'll definitely return!

the irish pub (cc west) has always been accommodating to events like this. give them a call for food and/or drink specials.

are you serious!?!?!

not mine but I'm sure the culprit will never again put his socks in the microwave to "warm them up."

My grandmom's "carrot soup" that I only found out later was simply canned chicken broth with shredded carrots. It was divine and no one could make it like she could. WHen my mom tried, it just wasn't the same. Other foods, while not homemade, evoke fond memories of her. Kudos bars, Smartfood, no-name blue mints were always stashed in her "grandma bag" which seemed to have everything else too! Other grandmom's coleslaw. She still makes it today and even though holiday dinners have moved to my house, she always brings my favorite coleslaw. As she's aged, she has graduated to pre-shredded cabbage but the end result is always the same creamy goodness. My great aunt's jewish apple cake was a picture of moist, chewy goodness. While it's too labor intensive for her any more, she continues--at the ripe, young age of 90--to bake myriad Jewish delicacies (whose names I'll butcher if I even try!) Peas. When Dad cooked dinner, we always had peas. Burgers with a side of peas. Spaghetti with red sauce that has been doctored with peas. Mashed peas. You name it, Dad has added peas to it. Tuna salad with peas. Chocolate cokes at the ice cream shop by our vacation home. Just to name a few...

I haven't waited tables in a while and my experience is limited to a diner in high school BUT...I have experienced some embarassing guest moments while out with others. I think the most mortifying was while out to brunch with my in-laws. My MIL got an (admittedly) overcooked poached egg. Now, we weren't at the Four Seasons and I know people have different beliefs on when to complain or send items back. Honestly, I probably would have just eaten the egg but that's beside the point. Not only did she complain but she proceeded in explaining to the waitress what a proper poached egg consists of. "A poached egg should have a runny yolk when pierced by a fork." Did she think the waitress was back there poaching her damn egg? I wanted to crawl under the table. Afterwards, she asked her children (in their 20s and 30s) and me if we were embarassed. They said no. I was already under the table.

When my dad was deathly ill, my mother and I pounced on any and all food that was presented to us--from fresh sandwich trays to frozen couscous and artichoke soup. We relished opportunities to go out to dinner and drinks after long days at the hospital. Upon questioning ourselves, we realized that food was all we had to look forward to during our long, difficult days. All of the above recommendations sound wonderful to me, however, as a vegetarian, I can't stress enough the suggestion that you ask about food allergies or preferences. Maggie, we had an experience similar to yours. My parents are friendly with a french woman who was a founding baker/partner of one of the best bakeries in Philadelphia. Upon hearing of my father's illness, she brought us delicious bread and sandwiches from the store. However, it was the delivery the brought smiles to our faces. She had an eye appointment at a nearby hospital. After the appointment (eyes ablurry) the 70-year old woman biked over to my parents' house in heels, tight jeans, bracelets up and down her arms, and a fully made-up face. The bounty was transported in her bike's basket. While the food was good, the experience was priceless.

This thread inspired me to forgo leftovers last night for a delicious zucchini dinner. What a topic for a vegetarian! I was inspired by the fritters and found a recipe for zucchini cakes with basil-chive sour cream on Epicurious. Delicious! Thanks to everyone for (re)opening my eyes to the glorious zucchini!

As a frequent customer, I can vouch that DiNic's will honor ANY requests--and they always do so with a smile. No bun, check. No meat, check. Sandwich to go for boyfriend's father, check (we'll give you the bread and meat separately so it doesn't get soggy.) Joe and his father value each of their customers and their individual needs, which is a dying trend in today's society.

Ketchup on anything other thaqn french fries is wrong! ← Speaking of the great Philippine free-for-all... Ketchup is/can be put on burgers, fried fish, spring rolls, hot dogs, fried chicken, vienna sausages (scratch that-- ANY sausage), SPAM, ham, fried eggs, pork chops, meat loaf. Plus anything that touches a frying pan. My mom had a story about how ketchup was relatively new to them in the 60's when she was a child (I'm sure that can't be accurate, as it should have been introduced early in the century, during the American occupation). They enjoyed it so much that they ate it plain with rice. ← A lot of Japanese children like eating rice doused with ketchup. The older generation is horrified! ← Who ever knew I was channeling my inner Japanese child?

I grew up eating rice with ketchup and thought it was TOTALLY NORMAL until friends started coming over and looking at my family like we each had two heads! However, we liked it that way--is it such a crime? Barring the possibility of offending someone for eating something the "wrong way," I feel we, as a diverse society, should be able to eat what we want how we want. Some of us choose to learn about the eating norms and practices of other cultures and have chosen to pursue that knowledge, while others choose to create a food item that is personally satisfying to them. What's so bad about that?