zeffer81

Sansom Street Oyster House has good food and a good happy hour, but you have to eat at the bar to get the deals. ← Excellent suggestion! The bluepoints are a buck apiece, and there's usually some other items at very good prices. ← hmmm...sounds tempting. i've actually never been there (my list is just too long.) maybe we'll check it out and then drink cheap beers at Oscar's for dessert!

I'm having an early dinner with a friend in CC tonight. I'd love to find a place with good food and a nice happy hour to boot. No major criteria besides reasonable prices and not French (she's been living in France for the past year.) Any recs? Thanks!

Anyone have a phone # for them? I'm trying to make a brunch reservation for Saturday and their listed number is disconnected. Thanks!

haha, the trestle! i'd check out the upstairs lounge at vietnam. if it's not too busy you can grab a table to support your flaming volcano. two of my favorite apps there are the vegetarian summer rolls (unfried) and the papaya salad with grilled shrimp. yum!

I'm a vegetarian and have been attending Passover Seder (as well as many other special holidays and dinners) with no problem for years. I've found that I can fill up just fine on the side items. The suggestions above sound delicious. The kugel, especially, can be a great vegetarian main course.

not just pecan, CHOCOLATE PECAN!!! Yum!

As a vegetarian with a carvnivorous boyfriend/family/friends, etc., I've always ejoyed Vietnam for a fun atmosphere and a wide-ranging menu for people with various dietary preferences. There are plenty of "safe" things for non-adventurous eaters.

We're actually celebrating my mom's birthday there next weekend. Will report back with details. I called a few weeks back and the only res I could get was 5:30pm. They seem to be doing something right! I've only been to l'Angolo once or twice but have been highly pleased with every dish. I'm looking forward to sharing the experience (along with some yummy CHairman's Selections) with my family.

I wanted to but didn't want to put him on the spot. Also, there were a lot of questions that went unasked. I would log into his Tuesday chat to get more info.

Saw LaBan last night. He came out with a cape, zorro mask and grey wig and beard. Nice look! Read an essay from his book about dining on the Wildwood boardwalk then answered questions for about an hour. Topics ranged from his background and career path to his "gone but not forgotten restaurants." An interesting night although some questions were much more in depth and interesting than others.

how can one kitchen tool be so very useful for SO MANY things? i adore my wooden spoon and look forward to the day that i can pass mine on to my (yet unborn...and unconceived ) child. hooray for the wooden spoon!

UPDATE: Grilled up two small escolar filets last night after a brief marination in grapefruit juice, ginger oil, soy sauce and honey. I had a tiny portion (about half the size of my palm, tops) which was fine with me because I don't normally eat a large amount of fish. The boyfriend did not heed my warnings ("why would they sell something that can make a person sick?" he says) and ate about twice that amount. We had baked potatoes loaded with sour cream, broccoli, sardinian gold cheese and a little salsa for me on the side. Looking back, the fish was more of a side to the potatoes than the other way around. I'm happy to report that, as of 10:45am, neither of us has experienced the aforementioned GI distress. The fish was delicious and we would both be delighted to eat it again.

I bought some lovely looking escolar at the market yesterday (knowing what effect it could have on my insides.) however, i've been searching the web and i've come across way more warnings than recipes. i'm starting to get scared! does anyone have a good recipe that will minimize the havoc on my insides? i've heard that grilling is good bc it drains some of the oils that cause the distress...

Shame on me but I used to buy the huge tybs of potato salad from Sam's Club in Franklin Mills.

Update: We ended up at Good Dog, which was the perfect low key meal on a nasty winter evening. Did I mention I got the best Valentine's Day present I could have asked for--a snow day! I started with the Good Dog salad of romaine, dried cranberries, almonds and goat cheese in a a vanilla vinaigrette. You have the option to get a 1/2 or whole salad and I went with half bc it was my starter. When that salad arrived I thought the bartended had misheard me. It was huge! Although he hadn't ordered a first course, my boyfriend surrepticiously stole little bites of the salad (esp. the goat cheese!) It was delicious but so big that I wrapped it up for later, something I don't normally do with salads but there was more than half remaining. I then moved on to a brie and sun-dried tomato pesto sandwich. It was solid, but something I could have easily made at home. Didn't stop me from finishing it though! The boyfriend had the Good Dog burger w/carmelized onions and stuffed with roquefort. Now, I don't eat meat but when he took the first bite into that burger and a flood of roquefort goodness spilled onto the plate, I seriously pondered carnivorism again. However, I refrained. According to him, it was the best burger he's ever eaten, hands down. Both orders came with a side of fries--a mix of sweet potato and regular with an aioli dipping sauce. The sauce was great; I actually dipped my sandwich right in. I only wish it could have been a touch more garlicky. Maybe they were taking it easy for Valentine's Day...Unfortunately my boyfriend is not a lover of root vegetables. Being the wonderful girlfriend that I am, I picked out my regular fries and tossed them onto his plate. Both varieties, however, were rather limp, and lacked flavor and cripsness. Eh, aioli makes anything taste better, right? Overall, it was a lovely night with the exception of the noise. I knew Good Dog got loud but I figured it would be quieter and emptier on a wintry V-Day evening. No such luck. No biggie though, I'd do it all over if I could. I'll definitely be back to try the mac n cheese with cornflake crust. Yum!

We were leaning towards Good Dog. If the weather isn't too nasty that's probably where we'll end up. Somehow I haven't managed to get there yet so I'm looking forward to trying a new place! Will report back.

i know i'm going out on a limb here but i've always enjoyed a nice quiet evening at the melting pot with a special someone. its interactive nature can be a great conversation starter for a first date, or just a quiet couple (i tend to date men of few words.) i'll add mr. martino's to the list.

thanks for the quick suggestions. i'm leaning towards places like the cantina, 1601 or royal (though i've been to all of them before.) dare i call them gastopubs? any ideas in that vein? Although, Vadouvan, I must compliment you on your thorough and diverse reponse. it made me giggle as an added bonus! many of those places (snackbar, Xochitl are on my "list.")

the boyfriend and i have a tradition of eschewing valentine's day formal dining for a damn good meal at a local bar. we get top notch service with great food to boot. i always have one i've been wanting to try but i'm coming up short this year. any suggestions? i'm partial to cc and south philly. thanks for the suggestions!

I've recently purchased a boat load of Indian spices. There are so many delicious vegetarian dishes in Indian cuisine that I figured it would be an easy way to expand my culinary options. However, I find myself at a standstill. What are some simple and delectable vegetarian dishes that I could try at home with no previous experience cooking Indian food? Thanks in advance for all your help!

Thanks for the clarification, Katie. I meant Termini's rather than Sarcone's! And you can grab a cup of coffee from their cafe across the street afterwards. It comes with a delicious biscotti. But if you're looking for some great bread for the birthday dinner, Sarcone's it is!

where do you live, victor? there are so many great neighborhood spots like isgro or sarcone's (can you tell i live in south philly?) that are both beautiful and delicious. if you're in a bind, whole foods has some beautiful looking (can't vouch for the taste) cakes. happy birthday to them both!

finally hit mandoline tonight after a late afternoon show at the ritz. walked in just after 6:30pm with no reservations. promptly seated as we were the only patrons in the restaurant. as we settled in, the restaurant began to fill up. boyfriend went with $30 prix fixe while i chose to order off the menu. for starters, he had the crab cake which came with diced pineapple and topped with microgreens atop some sort of citrus sauce. very light and straightforward with little to no filler in the cake. the sauce really made it pop. i had the truffled lobster mac n cheese. we've all read the reviews above. agreed. nuf said. for entrees he had seared tuna on a bed of lentils with syrah reduction. it was decadence on a platter. although he usually prefers meat when we eat out, he was beyond pleased with the tuna and couldn't stop raving about it. he was most definitely a member of the clean plate club! i got the pan roasted cod over a shitake noodle cake with ginger apple jus. the fish was roasted to perfection--tender without being underdone and no semblance of a fishy flavor (although i know there have been arguments on eg about this --"fish is supposed to taste fishy.) the noodle cake crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and especially good with a soaking of the jus. he went with the cranapple gelato for dessert. nice and tangy palate cleanser. in all, the bill came to $66 before tip. great spot--i'm already plotting my return during which i'll have 2 orders of mac n cheese. yummm! if you haven't been, GO

ouch!