brucedelta

I do not believe I have ever been to a sonic, but I notice one opened over the summer on the Black horse pike right across from Rexy's. I am not sure what town it is but I guess Audubon right before the Walt Whitman bridge entrance. In any case if one were to visit Sonic what would be the right things to try?

I always had trouble with dough sticking and could never get it consistently right. After I bought the superpeel all problems went away. The product works as advertised and I am very happy with it. My one complaint is I wish it were bigger. I use my old peel to remove the pizza because that is easier. I also does not like real high heat and will show burn marks if I use a real hot oven. I disabled the lock on my self clean cycle and sometime use self clean to get the oven real hot for pizza.

While I frequently do dinner in Philly, I do not reall the last time I did a luch more fancy than John's or Bittar's. What I am looking for a lunch meeting location in the city where we can sit for what will likely be 2 + hrs and talk/work through some proposal paperwork? Any suggestions. I am thinking of: Union Trust Palm Matyson Oyster House Capital Grill Amada Chifa Any of these better than others?

I will have to try the meatball as I have never had that. Tonight maybe is as good a time as any. Our usuall is to get a Italian sub and a cheesesteak and share. Gives us best of both worlds. Interestingly they have a varient on the italian regular sub called a special, which is basically more meat. I think it screws up the balance of perfection and is not as good as the lower priced regular. I also like the tuna sub they make.

I managed to get my White house fix in the other day and I still think they are the best Cheesesteak anywhere. Their standard is to do it Hoagie style, or a cheesesteak sub as they call it, but I think it stands up to anything found elsewhere and remains my favorite. I, like many here will never bother with a cheesesteak at tony lukes over a roast pork, and I think John's cheesestaek is one of the best, but it does not beat the white house.

Damn, Bruce, and Shirley was there watching this??? ← Well, sometimes she just likes to watch;)

We visited 10 Arts this weekend and overall had a favorable experience. I think the room is impressive and I just loved the big space and found the room to just register as comfortable, I really loved the architectural details wish all restaurants were as comfortable in their own way. I should point out that we were originally seated in the big foyer area and asked to sit inside on the carpeted area so it was a little quieter with the carpeted floors. My wife and I split the Tuna Carpacio to start and it was very pleasant, with a wonderful toro texture and a nice olive oil sheen. I liked the light seasoning of shallot and chive as they were very mild, but the tuna stood with a good fresh flavor on it's own, so no complaints here. We both ordered the John Copes Corn Chowder, which I just loved and my wife not so much. I just found the corn flavor combined with the smokey taste of bacon in the base to a flavor I enjoyed and it has a much thinner base that is typical for corn chowder which is usually pureed and too sweet and rich. I was more like a oyster stew with a nice broth and whole corn nibblets as opposed to the thicker variants. As I said I loved it along with my friends wife, but my wife was expecting something sweeter I think and did not like the strong smoked bacon flavor. I finished with the fish burger which I found to be very tasty. I was going to get a fish which I am sure would have been great based on what I saw server at other tables, but I have this rule of thumb that says if I find something unexpectedly pedestrian (That I generally like) on the menu of a high end restaurant, then I should try it as often if will be a surprisingly good variant of said dish. So basically this rule comes into play with things like meatloaf and pot pie. I decided that the fish burger fell into this rule, and I was very happy with a flavorful and moist fish sandwich. My wife had the fillet which was basically a fine cut of meat as expected. The other couple we were with chose to go full boat on App, salad, and sides and split a fillet entry. Their ratatouille was surprisingly tasty. The only hiccup of our meal was a delay getting a extra plate for them to split their entree, which seemed to be a communication issue while multiple tables were being served at the same time. Totally astounding and surprising us when the dessert menus came, they offered to comp us all dessert to make up for this minor faux pas. It really goes to speak volumes about customer satisfaction that they took what was the only minor annoyance of out meal and turned it into a positive, because the deserts were stellar. I had the bengiets which were killer good and my wife had the milk chocolate parfait another winner. The main advice I would offer is to skip the hotel valet parking which took about 30 minutes to get our car, after a $25 fee. I hate waiting 20 minutes at a casino when parking is free, but at $25 this was awful. I did not bother to add my complaints to that of other waiting patrons who remained waiting when we drove off.

We are going to see the new Cirque show on Friday. ANything new to consider in the area beyond whats listed in this old thread?

I will have to try this place. Is it on 10th or on spring garden? As I type this m ywife is enroute home from Bangcock (18 hrs nonstop to JFK!), so it will be fun to take her there in the next week or two and see what she thinks compared to what she had while there. -- Bruce

Happened to be in Haddonfield wrapping up a meeting with a friend/customer at about 7:00 last Wed and we decided to grab some sushi at Fuji. Went in and found the Sushi bar empty, untill we took two seats. Based on the fact that I saw wasabi squezed out of a plastic vacupac type container I would have to doubt it is fresh grated. The package had the familiar green and orange colors that I see on several brands in the asian market. I will have to agree with Fabio as we also had the needle fish which was excellent, but started with the tuna tartare appatizer shown in mistermax's post above. While it does not show up on the menu the tuna tartare can be ordered at $18, and as usualy was a tasty treat. The remaining fish was very good to my taste, but I doubt my palete is refined enough to engage in a best sushi debate. Of note was that Matt did come behind the bar to to make up what looked like 5 plates for a special meal. Each plate had sashimi and sushi on it in addition to kitchen items, but they looked much more full than what I have seen in tasting menu photos. The restaurant was fairly empty and I forgot to look for the table those 5 plates went to as we left so I can offer no further comment. I have twice been to the old location where I saw special corprate type prearranged menu dinners served along the back wall where they could make a big table, and that is what I immediatly thought of when I saw him making these plates. It appears Matt's son works behind the sushi bar and wears a jacket that says Ito. He seemed to be an apperntice and I doubt he could be easily confused with a full fledged sushi master, but it is worth noting. -- Bruce

Where in medford? ← Most of the South Jersey recs seem to be in the PA forum since it's metro Philly, but I figured the Jersey forum is the safer one to post in order avoid protest of the wrong forum. I'd guess 15 miles east of Philly. http://www.medfordnj.com/ ← I live in NJ, but mostly pay attention to the PA forum. I am wondering where in medford donkys place is opening. I have not noticed it yet.

I would try SeaBlue. It is my favorite place in town these days and I happen to love the Tuna & Foie Gras dish they do there. They tout the lobster pot pie as the house special, but I just don't get it. And they have a wonderful nan/pita type bread. I would think Ombra is too much like Osteria to fit the need, and I would guess specchio & old homestead are out for a vegitarian. Noodles of the World would work for the vegitarian point of view, but nothing special, and if you have not been to SeaBlue you should try. Since i know you like pistachio Gelato, you should visit the gelato counter at the metropolitan. It is not like what was at M last night, and it is not quite capagiro but it is often prettty good.

Where in medford?

When they opened for what I believe was their second night in business my wife and I happened to be walking by and decided to have dinner at Passion. We just looked at a menu and decided to walk in. At the time no one was making fresh ceviche like that around here, and having enjoyed Ceviche in south america we were thrilled to find it locally. We made it several more times before it became a very hot ticket, and we enjoyed the simple seafood flavors. We were back several times over the years, but it was never like the begining just walking in and sitting at the couter and having ceviche and wine.

Last nights dinner was a little adventure in Deliciousness. As it has already been well covered here I will only add some thoughts. Since everything was delicious, favorite is clearly a subjective term here, but the fish was clearly my favorite coarse served, it was just exquisite in flavor and execution. From the tasty little sprig of what I now know the be wild asparagus, to the crispy and texturally wonderful skin. The pleasant surprise of the coriander mixed with eggplant was like the "ta da" note to top it off. The Garlic soup starter was aromatic and such a pleasant way to start a meal and the chicken wing was just a delicate hint of the goodness to come. I too was amazed at the smokiness of the chocolate and how it came across as a bacon desert. Getting that smoke flavor into chocolate and keeping a nice texture must be a very serious trick, but that is why he is a big time chef and I am a blundering home cook. Interestingly enough my least favorite item served was the much beloved (by others) lamb croquette. Nothing wrong with it, and just with all the other flavors it was clearly the strongest flavor note. Everything else felt light and fresh, but this was clearly meat. As to the wine pairings, I too think it is a skill I have a difficult time with. Additionally I have a big preference for red wines in general, but clearly these combined well and thought was put into the pairings. As has already been noted the pacing was a little speedy, as normally I am OK with fast, so that was not a big deal to me. On the other hand I think all plates should be cleared simultaneously, but for most courses I was the last one at my table to finish and all other plates were already cleared. No sooner did my fork go down than the plate was removed. Our server was clearly very knowledgeable about the food and explaining it, but it was nice to have Shola stop by and offer details. And I do not want to give any impression of dissing the service as it was excellent all the way around. The benefit of the speedy pace was that we could sit out on the patio for after dinner drinks and a cigar. They took excellent care of us out there, and we had a very enjoyable night. That's what counts in the end, it was a great evening that I look back upon. As a matter of fact to recount the night here I decided I needed to be in the right mood and opened a bottle of 98 Magnificat to go with some very nice cheese. I would be remiss in not mentioning Katie and her efforts. I don't think it has been mentioned before but I have come to the firm conclusion that the seats at her bar are the most comfortable around. Katie whipped up some old man of the sea rum concoction for me, that hit the spot for a refreshing starter. She also whipped up a vanilla lavender martini for my wife that I may consider ordering if she could give it a lass girly feel or name.

I think we should picket farm raised chicken at Starr restaurants particularly. If you want to show how stupid this argument and it's logical conclusion is why don't we just jump to "hugs for puppies" endgame. Surely ducks can not be the only animal they care about. Steven Starr and others have proven susceptible to this pressure. So I suspect the correct play is to jump to the endgame and protest chicken and I believe since Starr has proven sensitive to protests that should be the starting point. If you fight bullets with bullets and missiles with missiles, then stupidity is obviously the proper weapon here.

Just curious what the yeild would be on that and how long it would last? I know when I fabricate fish I get maybe a 60% yield (usually tired from fishing and boat washing) so I would guess a pro gets a 75 or 80% yield. Probably more if you count using the trimming and small parts for other things like a tartare or ravioli filling. so a 16# fish would yeild 12# usable @ 8 oz per portion that would be 24 servings I guess. So maybe 2 or 3 nights as a special at an M sized establishment. On another front I did pick up some copper river king from the wegmans near cooper river. Used the roasting method from the above link and can report the fish was excellent. Also made a piece of atlantic farm raised for comparison reference. I hope to get some more and poach in infused olive oil over the weekend. Will then have full report on fish and technique results.

As of Sat. it was still on the menu at Tinto, and excellent I will point out. Our server said they ran out the previous day but is was available when we were there.

Anyone interested in a Twenty21 outing to try the CRKS that Chef Townsend will be preparing. Obviously timing may be a bit difficult, but if it comes in Tue or Wed I guess that makes wed or thur the best day. Maybe lunch is a good play!

Upthread I said I have friends associated with five guys stores, so I asked the operations manager about the pressing the burger issue and here is what he said: "As far as burgers, we found a company that could manufacture a basic metal “press” with “feet” on it. Essentially, it’s a piece of cut and welded stainless steel that we use to press the burgers. The “feet” keep a grill cook from pressing it past a certain point, no matter how hard they press. What used to happen was the grill cook would use a regular spatula, and smash the patty, sometimes leading to a less juicy burger. If they use the burger press, it eliminates this problem. Thanks for asking the question. We do get it from time to time, and I don’t want somebody thinking we’re killing our burgers. Oh, and thanks for eating the burgers!" I subsequently asked if this device was used at their stores only or if it is a systemwide standard and he said that all stores should be using it. Again his stores are not in this area.

I just called a little while ago and was told they had not caught any yet. I thought that suspicious based on the cwdonald post. But now I understand. In any case the nice lady I spoke with took my number to add me to the "Cooper River King list", so now I expect a call next week I guess. Wegmans CHerry hill reports it is available, SO I will probably get some there to make using the above referenced recipie over the weekend. -- Bruce

I usually take rt 30 to the shore, but drove by Mr Bills 2 weeks ago and noticed it looked very different. I was wondering if it changed hands or such. Since I liked Russ's prior operations I will have to give it a try. The big question Michael is why this never made your column, usually this is where I find out such information.

In what I hope to be the last of my flurry of posting for the night I got to thinking of this issue over the weekend and decided here on this board with my foodie friends would be the right place to discuss this. When the family gets together down the shore we frequently order from the White house for some Subs. I don't want to make this a debate about the virtue's of the White House, but suffice it to say I have a very fond spot in my heart for their Subs. Last time we ordered I agreeded to share a special sandwich and experienced the extra meat (double the meat?) that makes it a special. This visit I insisted upon a regular, and was glad I did. The special is just too much of a glob of meat in the bread to be very good, it throws the whole balance off, while the regular is a taste of bread and all fillings in every bite making it just right in my opinion. I saw the special's ordered this weekend and thought all that meat was silly. Now most people who have met me know I am a very big guy, and that casues the assumption that I believe bigger is better. I am not sure when in life I learned this not to be the case, but I certainly did learn it. In my teens and early twenties I insisted upon the special when we went to the White House, firmly believeing that if a little was good then more must be better. At some point I realized the balance of the whole is more important and thet the regular was perfection. I find the same to be true of a double stuff oreo, it is just not perfection as the regular is. I went to Johns Roast Pork last week and for the first time had a cheese steak and felt it was too much meat, as the cheese and onion ratio was just off kilter. I have stated in other threads that I find I like tony luke's roast pork much better than Johns, and I think part of the reason is that there is less meat on the Tony luke sandwich. I have been to numerous fine restaurants (lacroix, Matyson, Marigold, Gayle) with friends who focus on the small portions as opposed to the deliciousness of the food. I have divided friends up into those who focus on food and enjoy fine dinning and those who focus on portion size and do better at more mass market places. Osterea comes to mind as another place where I would not take a portion loving friend. I also enjoy going to a lamberti or pepino's where huge portions of nice food are the charm, but I always have leftovers. As a metter of fact these places generally include a soup in the meal and I always make it a point of telling them that I like broth to make sure my bowl is not filled with the main bean or pasta ingredent. Even in my own cooking I used to think more was better and served a plate swimming with too much sauce, and still too frequently fail to control this aspect of my plating. It is hard to learn that a few dolops can provide a interesting compliment of contrast, and a swimming pool for the entree is just not needed. I know I came to learn about this balance latter in life and the white house incident clarified it in my mind. What are your thoughts. If you appreciate fine food without the need for monster portions is this a learned trait or just the way you were born? I have mentioned soem places that have modest portions of very good food and there are places that are known for huge portions but also very good (Palm, Capital Grill). Leban just made a big deal of the monster burger at Rouge, but can it really be enjoyable all that beef. I think a small five guys or a in-n-out single is about the right amount of meat, does this make me the wierdo minoity? I am just curious on others thoughts on this front.

I probably owe an apology to our favorite local mixologist because we visited M about a month ago and never posted. In any case as has already been said many times Katie makes it seem simple to whip up a drink with just the suggestion of ingrediants. In our case my wife suggested she liked Caprinio, a brazilian drink with crushed limes. Katie did not have the exact ingrediants but offered her interpretion which my wife found to bitter but I liked because it removed the cloying sweetness so I took it right over and skipped the need to select a single malt. So I was then all set and Katie dived right into a new effort and found something good for the Mrs. I had the Tuna ordered (as always) per the chefs recomendation. I always assume if the chef does not recomend it rare they are likely to not know enough about fish selection, care, handling, and prep to make rare the best bet. I recieved beautiful slices of ruby fish with a nice sear on the outside. Shirley had the NY strip (wolfs neck I think) and she found it delicious and prepared to her liking. I also fondly recalled the white pollenta that was served to her as a side, because she took a bit and thought they were lousy mashed potatoes. I reminded her that the menu said polenta, because I was looking forward to it since I enjoy polenta. Her not so much, so we swapped some sides. We had a good wine pairing although I would be hard pressed to recall what it was if I saw the list again. Overall a good visit and this post was actually triggered by my desire to revisit and book a outside table. I think return visits are the best indicator of the success of a meal, and we will return soon.

Actually that was my first thought after reading the article from this past weekend Wall St Journal where they had Tom Colicchio (Top Chef & Craft NYC) prepare it as the weekly recipie column. But as I realized the cost I decided I should have someone make it for me and then if I wish I can still get a order in for the following week.