Chris Hennes

The bottom plate was the first in. It will be the last out: it's the definitive characteristic of a "stack" both in real life and computer science .

Wash your dishes less frequently, so that you'll wind up using all of them. At least, that's my "solution"...

The park the Phillies play in is lovely, and I have heard good things about the food (I didn't eat anything when I was there, alas): that said, I think the price is a little steep to be part of the main planning for this thing. Once we get closer and the 2012 MLB schedule is available maybe we can take a look as an optional side venture (ok of course, everything is optional when it comes to the gathering... I mean this one is less formally part of the eGHG).

+1

Right—I'm sure that those of you who take better care of your equipment than I do have little problem with carbon steel plates: after all, zillions of butchers around the world have been using them for years. Alas, as a lazy slob, I'm looking for something lower maintenance.

It's a good thing we have so long to prepare: so many options! We do have to be mindful of the logistics of showing up at a little ethnic place (or even the soda fountain) with 30 people though. One thing we did in Ann Arbor last year was send a few people to a bunch of places for takeout, then met up and passed it around, so that might be a viable option. I agree with the sentiment above that the two absolutely-can't-miss places in Philly from a food-perspective are RTM and the Italian Market area. There is so much other great food and drink action in Philly I find it hard to single out any other "musts." I go different places every time I visit (except I always hit DiNic's!). ETA: Wow, if there's space at RTM for the Saturday Feast that would be incredible. Anyone have specs on it? Is it big enough to work? What's the layout between the kitchen and dining areas (open is far better than closed off)? And how early do we have to reserve it?

What is the "hub"?

Well, you can see galvanic corrosion between stainless steel and carbon steel, but I strongly doubt that would matter in this application, since the parts are not stored in contact with one another and so are only in contact for a brief period during use. My blade actually IS stainless, it's just the plates that are carbon steel.

I have a bunch of carbon steel meat grinder plates, which I despise: I have no idea how one can actually keep the damned things rust-free, they seem to oxidize in the time it takes me to dry them. I just got a catalog from sausagemaker.com in the mail, and it seems they sell a wide range of stainless steel grinder plates. Has anyone tried them, and are there other sources out there I don't know about?

I just returned from Denver: I ate dinner at Rioja, Fruition, and Biker Jim's (lunch was at Smashburger two days and Good Times once). Overall, I thought Rioja was OK: worth eating at, but not worth going out of your way for. On the plus side, if you are staying downtown the location is very convenient. Fruition was very good: some stuff that was only OK, but mostly the food was very good to excellent. In particular the tomato salad they have on the menu right now was a standout, and the steak portion of the Steak au Poivre was good (the fries were flavorful but soggy and the sweetbreads inedibly salty, unfortunately). I also enjoyed the celery bisque, and whatever it was my wife ordered for dessert (cheesecake?). Biker Jim's was hit-and-miss: I tried about a half dozen of the dogs between the group of us at the table. I think that their baseline beef dog was the standout winner: juicy, salty, and flavorful, really excellent with cream cheese and onions. The other dogs were fine, but nothing to write home about unless you want to brag to your friends about eating Rattlesnake, or Donner and Blitzen (one guy at the table ordered the Reindeer dog on the basis of his hatred of Christmas...). Oh, and stay the heck away from Good Times' burgers, they were awful.

I guess in my opinion none of that is worth spending a whole day of a three day visit on. If they made food that was notable for tasting good, maybe. But you can learn about Amish farming practices in a book: you can't taste a DiNics roast pork sandwich without showing up at RTM. Obviously if the consensus here is that the Amish visit sounds like a good time, so be it, I'm just stating my personal opinion. If you look within a six or eight block walking radius of RTM there is a tremendous amount to do and eat: personally I'd love to find a way to swing this trip without a car.

Oh, I also meant to add that (at least at the three of these I've been to) the central focus of the event has been on the dining segments, and of course the Saturday meal, more than on tours and the like. I don't know what the group consensus on this is, however.

The logistics of getting the group out to Amish country may also pose some challenges. I suggest keeping it close to Center City to minimize the need for cars. Plus, Amish stuff is interesting culturally, but not culinarily, IMO.

No, no fries. Still recovering from this weekend!

Finally made it to a Smashburger today, and I liked it. That dark sear has great flavor. I don't know if it's my favorite burger yet, but it's a contender.

I'm sitting in the airport on my way out from the 2011 gathering, of course already thinking about 2012. I propose ( after some discussion with a few others) that we expand the definition of "heartland" to include the whole continental US . With that in mind, I also propose Philadelphia as the location for the 2012 event. Thoughts?

Yeah, we ordered one of everything: a lobster roll with chunks of a sort of bacon-cured jowl, a pulled pork sandwich with bacon, squash and apple filled dumplings on kimchi, and soba noodles. In my opinion the dumplings we conspicuously superior to everything else: they were really excellent. Which is not to say the other stuff wasn't good, but the sweetness of the filling paired with the sour kimchi was outstanding.

We just finished lunch at AMP 150, it was very good. Goat-cheese stuffed squash blossoms, beet salad, and shrimp and corn risotto. Pics coming soon...

Doh! The trouble with searching for "gathering"... I guess I missed the ones that pre-date that name. Was there one in 04?

Looking forward to your report, Jeff... It smelled good when I stopped by your table, anyway! Obviously my plus one and I made it to CLE, and are looking forward to the festivities. See you all soon.

Incidentally, for those who are flying, you may be eligible for a tax refund on (some of the) taxes paid on your ticket: see this IRS page. ETA: My accountant suggests retaining your boarding passes for these flights in case the IRS requires proof of flight and not just proof of purchase.

OK, so we are each paying the restaurant, then, not paying you?

I've started the REPORT topic here---please continue to use this topic to discuss planning, but post your trip reports and photos over there, please. The first post there will be updated with any changes to the schedule, so you may want to bookmark it.

NOTE: For planning-related questions, please see the PLANNING TOPIC. The eG Heartland Gathering (2011 edition, eG HG v7, and celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Society!!) is almost upon us, thanks to NancyH's indefatigable efforts! The schedule is as follows: Thursday Evening "Tremont Crawl" 5pm: Fahrenheit, 2417 Professor Avenue ($11) 7pm: Lolita, 900 Literary Road ($32) 9pm: Dante, 2247 Professor Avenue ($38.30) Friday Lunch 11am: Meet with Chris Hodgson of the Hodge Podge food truck 11:45am: Eat at the food truck, Voinovich Park (pay per item, $3-$12 per) After lunch: Tour of the soon-to-open Crop Restaurant by owner/chef Steve Schimoler Friday Happy Hour 5pm: Velvet Tango Room, 2095 Columbus Rd (pay by drink, no t-shirts, shorts, or ripped jeans) Friday Dinner 8pm: Greenhouse Tavern, 2038 East 4th Street ($73 + T&T + $8 valet) Saturday Feast [NO TIME SET]: The Chubby Cook, 3365 Richmond Road #225 ($30) Sunday Lunch 10:30am: AMP 150, 4277 West 150th St ($30 + Tip) For reports on previous Heartland Gatherings, see: eG HG 0, Grand Rapids, MI 2003 eG HG I, Ann Arbor, MI, 2005 eG HG II, Ann Arbor, MI, 2006 eG HG III,Cleveland, OH, 2007 eG HG IV, Chicago, IL, 2008 eG HG V, Kansas City, MO, 2009 eG HG VI, Ann Arbor, MI, 2010

My +1 doesn't need to be a vegetarian option on Sunday, she eats plenty of bacon.