Bluehensfan

Holly, thanks for the pictures. If you look closely you can probably see E-Gullet up there at Rick's computer in the back. Here's another issue that has arisen at the market which is very, very troublesome. Not only does it involve Rick, but it involves many of the current merchants at the market. Here's the problem: many, many of the merchants I have spoken to are not happy about the decision to evict Rick, as they are concerned about what has happened to him and worry about their own well being at the market given the quick decision to evict him. How can this possibly be "good" for the market if all of the merchants are angry at the board's decision? And if you were a potential tenant interested in opening up a business at the market, would you find this to be a good environment to open shop? I don't think so. I do think that the board needs to "tread lightly" because they will not be able to get this "new blood" in the market given the tense relationship that now pervades the market. If Rick's is not the only merchant who is refusing to provide sales data, am I to logically assume that the other tenants who have refused to provide their sales figures have a date with the executioner as well? If this is the case, all I see in the future is a bunch of empty stalls (and Tony Luke's).

We stopped by there. Excellent swiss cheese. There is also a more elaborate robotic dairy outside of York, PA that people may be interested in. I can try to find the name if anyone wants it. They have bigger scheduled tours and pretty good ice cream from the cow's milk.

Nope, not trying to insinuate anything good or bad about the Diner (or any other merchant in the Market with violations in the health report), but using it as a an example of how there have been many minor bumps in the road (if you will) with other merchants in the past that have been successfully and pretty much seamlessly addressed. I think that is most people have been blindsided with the news that Rick's was closing, since there was not much warning that it was going to occur.

You should have looked at page 26 as well as page 27. Anyone who does will discover that the violations found on May 5, 2006 were corrected by the time of reinspection 10 days later. So, they were made aware of a problem and fixed it. That's hardly the lengthy "history" of problems you suggest. ← Bob, Actually the point that I was trying to make was not so much as to pick on the Down Home Diner, but showing that Rick has been singled out by management and given the boot because of politics. As another example, Franks-A-Lot and Tokyo Sushi were both on the chopping block a few years ago but were given time to "clean up their act" because of problems with their operations. My question is why was Rick not afforded the same opportunity as these vendors?

The issue has reached both the Inquirer and the Daily News today. It's interesting that the folks at Tony Luke's were "approached" at some point in time a while ago to come to the market. My beef is still this, if this was truly about getting Tony Luke's to to come to the market, there are a heck of a lot of other places that they could put their stand other than at Rick's where the business is up. For example, the Down Home Diner seems spacious enough and given their history of health code violations (see page 27) maybe they should be shown the door?

I think that the cheesesteaks at Rick's are better than those I've eaten at Pat's and much better than those at Jim's. However, I am not a cheesesteak afficionado (and probably a lousy speller at that) and my opinions are heresay as I am admittedly a roast pork kind of guy. However, I can honestly say that I have tried a number of other prepared foods at the market (no need to mention names here) that were much, much, worse than a sandwich from Rick's. Rather than debating the merits or lack thereof of Rick's cuisine, I think what is upsetting to myself and many merchants at the market is the fact that the rug (and the lease) has been pulled out from under Rick. And the reason has nothing to do with his food but rather (apparently) his opinions.

Rick's getting kicked out solely because Tony Luke's wants in? You don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure out that there's much more than this than meets the eye. Any merchant who has been in a place like the market for 25 years should be given some more consideration, particularly when they are bringing in literally hoardes (they were four rows in line deep this past Saturday) to the market. It is not like Rick wasn't paying his rent or was serving up an inferior product like prior tenants who vacated. I also think that Tommy at DiNic's has a very valid reason to be concerned. Face it, you and I know that if Tony Luke's is permitted to sell roast pork, that this will adversely affect DiNic's business unless Tony Luke's is restricted to selling just cheese steaks. I do know that Termini's is not permitted to sell truffles at the RTM location because of the fact that they are sold across the aisle at Mueller's, so these agreements do exist... I just hope that the folks at Capogiro don't express an interest in the market and send Bassett's out to the pasture. Maybe Stephen Starr can figure out something to do with the Down Home Diner. Not that they serve an inferior product or anything like that...

Has anyone tried the roast suckling pig (for four or more) at Amada? I have found a little mentioned of it before and I was wondering how much it cost and is it worth it? Thanks!

Stopped by Saturday for Soulvaki, Gryo and Baklava, and (curiosity killed the cat) also tried the roast lamb. It was much better than it looked...kind of reminiscent of the pig at the Italian Market Festival. The only concern was the fact that I was the first in line for the lamb, as we got there at noon, and the gentleman doing the roasting lopped off the head and handed it to the woman behind the counter who put it in a styrofoam container. I was feeling a little worried that this may be for...me? I will eat just about anything, but that may have been taking it a step to far, so I asked her if anyone eats "those things." She replied by saying that some people like the heads, but that she won't eat them, especially the brains (or fish heads for that matter). Fortunately it was destined for someone else (maybe some Lecteresque character requested it ahead of time) and I was relegated to a few tasty hunks of sub-cranium meat.

Wow...never seen anything that looks remotely like that (except for the side of the road!) Cool post...I hope they have that tomorrow!

Here's the scoop... http://stgeorgecathedralfestival.com/index.htm

If you're ever back in the area, be sure to try Aimee's octopus salad. It is fabulous!

The porchetta was delicious from Cannulli's (had two of em...both dripping with juice) but I was surprised by no other pigs being roasted at the festival. I wonder if it was related to the fact that the health department was walking around with thermometers last year and sticking 'em up the pigs...well...ya know and saying that they weren't warm enough. Also had decent oysters and (gulp) two soft shells at Anastazi. Both were very good. Ended the food (there) with a Napoleon from Isgro's which was good but the wife said the filling tasted a bit fake. We also got a signed book from Vito (from the Soprano's) who was hawking his book at the festival and a good picture of him. Finally, will one of Philadelphia's finest please escort the "Would you like to register for a free Hummer?" salespeople? If I had a buck for each time we were accosted, we could've eaten for free.

Well we finally got around to trying tha kugel at Hershels. It was very, very good. Even if we ate it immediately after pancakes and bacon at the Dutch Eating Place and an apple friiter from Beiler's!

I'd get a soft shell crab sandwich and oysters at Anastazi, pig from any number of places (I think that we had a few last year, and I think Cannulli's, Esposito's and Hollywood had them?), and a napoleon from Isgros.

Hey I thought that all of the scrapple creations were just for the celebrity judges at 2 PM accoring to the schedule I got. That bread pudding sounds good though. I am a bit shocked that Bassett's did not do a scrapple swirl ice cream for the event though... ← A few lucky onlookers got a taste of some of the competitors' creations. A trio of young men from Delaware County who sported custom-made scrapple T-shirts promoting Scrapple's MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/breakfastcandy, got one of the scrapple cheesesteaks all to themselves -- or so they thought: In a matter of seconds, about three or four other people, including someone quaffing in the Beer Garden who reached through the latticework, got themselves some too. I had to finish my grocery shopping; otherwise, I would have stayed around to find out who won. I hope Paul e-mails me the results. Edited to add: The rest of us got plenty of opportunity to eat scrapple too. J.L. Martin, Godshall's, Hatfield and Leidy's all had plenty of slices cooking and were promiscuously passing out samples. J.L. Martin and Hatfield had both beef and pork scrapple; IMO, pork scrapple is far superior to beef, and of the porkers, I preferred Leidy's over Hatfield and Hatfield over J.L. Martin. But to my surprise, the scrapple I liked best was the turkey scrapple from Godshall's (available at their Reading Terminal Market poultry shop and at area Acme stores). ← I kind of liked the turkey scrapple best too. It's weird because Martin's was there and that is the same stuff they serve at the Dutch Eating Place apparently but they fry it there, and the samples served at teh festival seemed a lot less tasty because they were pan fried. I eyed Tommy DiNic preparing his creations for the event. Each featured thinly sliced scapple pieces, two melted Italian cheeses, thinly sliced proscuitto, roast pork (I think) and was served on a long seeded roll. I tried to convince him (unsuccessfully) to stick some prosciutto on my pork sandwich because they ran out of greens early.

Hey I thought that all of the scrapple creations were just for the celebrity judges at 2 PM accoring to the schedule I got. That bread pudding sounds good though. I am a bit shocked that Bassett's did not do a scrapple swirl ice cream for the event though...

Yeah! Yet another reason for me to stop by when I'm next at the RTM but then these descriptions of pastrami, corned beef and brisket sound so good... ← And what to do with all that newfound free time now that trips to Katz's have been curtailed? Really what we had there Saturday was just as good, and the market setting beats the heck out of Houston St!

Well we finally got around to trying Hershel's on Saturday. To be honest with you, we were floored by both the corned beef sample and the pastrami sandwich we tried. Both were juicy, perfectly cooked, and as good as anything we've tried elsewhere or up the road a hundred miles or so. Whatever opening day jitters with the cold cuts have been apparently been cleared up and then some. Also, whoever we were talking to at Hershels's could not have been nicer, as they were both extremely friendly and also very concerned about what we thought of the food (as well as asking for hints on the Jewish apple cake). It looks like things are looking up at Hershel's and needless to say we will be back!

Anyone know if they do lunch at Mantra on Saturdays as well? Thanks a lot!

The recent sentiment with the White Dog is that the food is not as admirable as their aspirations. We last went about five years ago and were not impressed, and rumor is that it has gone downhill since then. At the Reading Terminal Market, make sure to hit DiNic's for roast pork if you don't get to Tony Luke's or John's during your trip. Also the pancakes at the Dutch Eating Place (where they have the dumplings) are to die for. DiBruno's is great. but if you go to the Chestnut St. location, I'd pass on the food upstairs since it is only, well, passable.

Well we tried Talula's Table this evening and it was a resounding sucess. The store itself is very homey and tastefully decorated but is primarily for take out, as I only counted three tables including the large one in the back of the store that seems to be more decorative than for patrons. When you enter, there are prepared sandwiches, and salads, as well as hummus in small containers. There is an adjacent freezer with large desserts and freshly baked breads and rolls and heading further back in the store is another fridge with artisanal cheeses, salads, salad dressings and individual sized mac and cheese and other dishes to prepare at home including pastas and ravioli. Also here are a number of freshly prepared soups including a creamy saffron and mussel, clam chowder, fish chowder, and a few others. At the rear of the store are the main entrees that are served by the pound to take home. Tonight there was salmon, squab, chicken, pasta with shrimp, sausages with saurkraut, lasagna, lobster pot pies and maybe mushroom risotto. Also there were root vegetables and a few other dishes that I can't recall as well as a small butcher's block table with a number of cheeses set out for sampling. Near the cash register up front are single serving desserts such as individual chocolate tarts and a hazelnut torte sold by the slice. On top of the sandwich case near it are also clear jars of cookies and macaroons as well as gourmet fare and drinks here and there throught the store. A word to the wise is to tour the whole place before you decide what you want, since there are things here and there, and you won't miss anything. We talked to Bryan and Aimee, and both are extremely friendly and go out of their way to make sure you are happy, as they seem very genuinely concerned about their latest venture. Even the cashier there is friendly, and the environment is more like a down-home store versus say Janssen's Market or DiBrunos. Now to the food...we tried the fish soup which was deliciously smoky tasting and had good sized pieces of fish in it. It was not at all salty but needed a little seasoning. We tried the salmon which was very lightly grilled and very juicy, and had the shrimp pasta which was very fresh tasting and had capers and other greens in it. We also tried the root vegetables which were fabulous, as were the homemade rolls. We admittedly made the mistake of getting a rather large chocolate tart (since we did not discover the smaller ones until we checked out). The tart was good and had a rich, dense chocolate flavor but we found it to be a bit restrained and somewhat one dimensional. It seemed a bit plain compared to other desserts we like such as those from Sweet Somethings in Wilmington or Termini's. Next time we will try a few of the smaller ones as well as the coconut lime macaroons that we missed heading out of the door. All in all, the food itself was fabulous. It was all very fresh, and extremely tasty and well-prepared. It was a lot better than say the Back Burner to Go in Hockessin, and head and shoulders above the prepared food offerings at Food Source (looks good, tastes not so good). Needless to say, we will be back there very soon, as we plan on making it one of our regular stops!

I was actually glad to hear Tallulah's Table opened since I have been awaiting news of that for some time now since it seemed that when Bryan Sykora left Sovana Bistro, the food headed south there... Honesty, had David posted earlier I would have stopped by there this past Saturday instead of caving into a desire to try Giordano's down the street after many years. Truth be told, it was meal I would rather forget.

Bob, Thanks a lot for the post. I know my expectations are pretty high for Hershel's too, although it is hard to replicate the experience of Katz's (although I can do without the trek/adventure of getting there). I was wondering more about the pastrami. How would it compare to the "old days" of Kibbitz in the City as a reference? We thought that was decent there, although not quite up to the quality of Katz's. I guess you did not try any kugel? That was my other wonder about the place. Unfortunately my mother makes a wicked one so my standards will be pretty high too. I think we'll still give Hershel's a shot on Saturday. There's always DiNic's for dessert if things go awry! As far as the Flower Show, it could get ugly if there is a wait, as I witnessed a few old folks (oddly yes...old geezers) who refused to adhere to lines of customers waited to be seated last year and plopped themselves on stools before everyone else. However, even if Hershel's turns out to be a bust, the convention business alone will probably keep it afloat (like a few stands in the market) with one time customers for a while. Keeping my fingers crossed!