marinade

In the interest of culinary reconnaissance I swung by El Mercado on the way home from work. It’s a few blocks north of the Girard ave. El stop. It sits off of Front St. with a cedar parking lot and it appears to be start-up mode. The building has a nice mural with mirror flaking and a large porch where the bands will be playing, It was close to 5:00 PM closing but I did get in to do a look around. There are about 3-4 Latin food vendors, a produce area, juice bar (with drinks that show up in most Latin fooleries) and a real interesting bakery. Pure Barrio. Bit rough around the edges, but you can see real possibilities. Now some of these bands have a real pedigree. Some of the faces you may recognize from White Dog Café’s Latin block parties. Walter Bell, BTW. Will be appearing in Wiggins Park Sunset Jazz series on Tuesday nights at the Camden waterfront. This is a night of Jazz with a sunset over the Philly skyline as a backdrop, which is a real jaw-drop. Beeline to it. There’s a group of folks fronting Caribbean food tent that you can picnic over. Combine that with a breeze off the river. Anyway, definitely going to give El Mercado a shot. Jim T

Lockhart was always my list. Now you've got my curiosity. I've always been a fan of Steve Pyles and Dean Fearing's approach to food. "Southwest Tastes" by Ellen Brown ages well. I'll drill down on Driskill's menu if they have site. I go a couple ways when I hit food cities or regions, first I try to find the simple stuff that's done well and then see who stretches it. Like music, you need innovators to refresh it and traditionalists to keep it honest. Jim T

Shamless Plug Dept: I have been. I'm working on a revised edition of "Marinades" for 10 Speed Press due out in Spring 2005. I'm keeping the recipes (with more to follow) and reorganizing the book to be pantry driven with added sections on Brines & Cures, Glazes etc... The market sounds like a great way to spend hot Friday night in the city.

Hi folks. Some friends of mine from Dinosaur BBQ (wood burners w/ custom Klose cookers) in Albany did a cycle trip througth Austin and the Hill country. I ran into John Stage at the New York Fancy Food show and I asked him what was his pick of the litter. His answer was Salt Lick. John's a fellow 10 Speed Press cookbook author and seems to know his way around smoke. Is he right on the money or just blowing "smoke"? BTW, I've been mining the Austin Food Trail thread for a trip to Austin in Sept for the ACL music fest. any updates woould be aprreciated. Jim T

Jaymes On entirely different issue and this should be in the Southwest forum, my wife asnd I are headed to Austin for the Austin City Limits Festival in September. Could you contact me off forum for must eats. Thanks (and sorry folks for the spam) Jim T marinade@aol.com

Hi Gang, I picked this one up on one of my music sites and I thought I'd pass it on. The idea of Latin Food & Music under one roof sounds tre cool to meand some of these bands are really hot!! Philadelphia¹s First Summer Latin Music Series Hosted at Philadelphia¹s newest Farmers¹ Market ­ El Mercado Philadelphia, PA -- (June 27, 2003) Philadelphia is getting ready to welcome its newest citywide Arts & Culture event ­ the Mercado/AMLA Free Friday Night Summer Music Series. Every Friday night between July 11th and September 5th, the varied world of Latin music will be showcased at Philadelphia¹s newest Farmers¹ Market - El Mercado. El Mercado offers a variety of Latin foods, Lancaster County produce, and is a meeting place for an eclectic mix of Philadelphians of all races, incomes, and ages. This series represents a collaboration between the Norris Square Civic Association (NSCA) and La Asociación de Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA). NSCA, the parent of the Mercado, is one of Philadelphia¹s key community development organizations with a staff of 45 and an operating budget over $2 million. NSCA was the first CDC to receive the Williams¹ Award from the Philadelphia Foundation for its comprehensive approach to community development. Program areas include education, housing, community organizing, and economic development. AMLA is 21 year-old grassroots Latino organization working on community development through arts and culture. Its mission is to promote the development, dissemination and understanding of Latin music and culture in the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley region with an emphasis on youth. Founded in 1982, AMLA has grown into a premier arts organization that has reached thousands in the region through folkloric and contemporary music. The primary mission of the Mercado is to stimulate neighborhood business activity through supporting local food entrepreneurs. The Mercado has also evolved into an important model of connecting local farmers with consumers in the inner-city. Since inception, NSCA¹s Board of Directors, comprised of community residents, recognized entrepreneurial development as an effective means for their neighbors to support themselves despite their lack of a high school diploma. The efficacy of entrepreneurial activity as a means for socioeconomic advancement was clearly evident in each corner bodega, often started and operated by recently arrived immigrants with limited education and/or English skills. Local business development also meant the retention of capital within the neighborhood; store owners, who often lived above or adjacent to their businesses, frequently invested in additional local housing and commercial real estate improvements. To encourage local entrepreneurs to move their underground operations out of the home/garage and into a licensed commercial space, NSCA decided to develop the Mercado. The Mercado started with two tents and 8 tables in August 1997 at NSCA¹s annual neighborhood festival. It featured fresh produce from both local growers and farmers in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican produce was especially unique and would soon be featured on the menus of several high-end Philadelphia restaurants. Operations moved indoors that fall, where it then started to feature products from local entrepreneurs. These products included baked goods, crafts, prepared food, and specialty food items. Space was extremely limited as all of these products and entrepreneurs were squeezed in three rooms of a reclaimed abandoned property. In 1998, the Mercado was accepted as a participant in the Farmers¹ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. This program brings thousands of low-income seniors and mothers with small children to the market where they redeem their vouchers for quality produce. The Mercado quickly became one of Pennsylvania¹s most important FMNP outlets, providing the state with an invaluable resource to connect small local farmers to a city population in need; more specifically, the Mercado connects Lancaster Amish & Mennonite farmers with Philadelphia¹s Spanish-speaking community. The Mercado is now among Philadelphia¹s largest outlets for small Pennsylvania growers. The Mercado has recently moved to a newly renovated warehouse of 5000 square feet. Here it is finally able to: a) offer local entrepreneurs an ideal place to start and grow their businesses; b) install a commercial kitchen and start health outreach programming; and c) handle storage and distribution of local farm products. At present the Mercado distributes high quality produce to NSCA¹s Childrens¹ Center, a new facility recently opened to provide affordable childcare to low-income families. Funding for the Mercado/AMLA Free Friday Night Summer Music Series comes from SEPTA, the City of Philadelphia, and Commerce Bank. Mercado/AMLA Free Friday Night Summer Music 6 ­ 9 pm at El Mercado, 1751 N. Front Street July 11th Elio Villafranca, Afro Cuban Jazz July 18th Trio Bayama, Trio Music July 25th Super Combo, Salsa August 1st Walter Bell, Latin Jazz August 8th Salsa Lou, Salsa August 15th Jesse Marquez y Su Banda Rockera, Latin Rock August 22nd Anthony Colon & Company, Tropical Music August 29th Johnny Velez y Los Muchachitos, Bomba & Merengue September 5th Danny Rodriguez & the Mambo Machine, Mambo

This could be a "Lawnside" or East Coast Urban stlye or.... but there is a tendency for some rib houses to par-boil first and grill and smoke later. This is Dwight's technique and it was Ron's. A couple of things happen when you parboil a rack. If you take a piece of fat and throw it boiling water it will harden, not become rendered. This was a traditional way of making soap. The second thing is what I call the teabag effect. When you take a teabag out of boiling water hopefully some of the flavor is left behind, that's not what you want to happen to a rack. Closest I get to slow smoke ribs is Jack's Firehouse and The Conshy Rib House and it's big sister the Bridgeport Rib House http://www.ribhouse.net/ Bone Appetite Jim Tarantino

Thanks for the nod Hol'. I was in Central Park for a BBQ demo back in '97. Steve Raicklin was there fronting Weber Grill's. He was demoing Smoked Pineapple. A whole pineapple (skin on) goes into the smoker for about an hour or two and the flavor combo is great. Texture wise it was soften. With pear I'd hazard a guess that you it would be a relatively short time, then chilled and served. Jim

Sounds good Hol'. How much of that was Raichlin and how much of that was Jack? Jim