TarteTatin

Pagoda at the Ritz on 2nd St. might deliver over there. They are terrific. Also, our favorite noodle house for pick-up is NanZhou Hand Drawn Noodle House, 927 Race St. The Chef makes the noodles right there in front of you, and its VERY cool to watch! There was a customer once at a math convention at the convention center- from LA, and he was recommended to go there.... It's a hole in the wall, but the "show" is great! Try the Hand Drawn Noodle w. fried soy sauce. $4.00 and great! Lee How Fook is good too!

We've enjoyed a couple of good high end French meals at Lacroix, which is the former chef from The Fountain. Le Bec Fin had major problems last time we were there. Service issues and price, not food issues. Django is good! Pif is good too. I know you've been to Fork, but its always consistent and always creative. Good wine list too.

I agree with Fat Guy that Georges Blanc, where we've eaten twice, has the best Poulet Bresse I've ever had! It does taste completely different! But for us, perhaps its because we are visiting the very heart of Bresse country? The Terroir is everything. Even Bleu de Bresse is better when you are right there in the middle of it! Just like Jersey tomatoes are better when you are right here in New Jersey (actually Philly). Local stuff tastes best to me. Wherever you are. ...and as to the pink question for fowl...I say go for it. Not bloody, but pink is fine.

We are HUGE Capogiro fans, love every single one of the great flavors recently listed. So, we were in the West Village yesterday, and tried Cones for the second time on Bleeker St. It was pretty good. Between us we had: Almond cream, Pistachio, Chocolate Sorbet and Dark Chocolate. It's also artisinal icecream making. (not Gelato) Philly SOOOOOO surpasses this at Capogiro! The flavors are much more interesting. The flavors are more flavorful. The texture is finer. ...and, Capogiro has a bathroom! Cones does not! :)

Two thoughts For a romantic lunch in Paris take a picnic to the Bois de Boulogne. Champagne, some bread, some pate, some cheese and strawberries and chocolate. Or a boxed lunch from Hediard or Fauchon. We totally agree with the out of the way non starred or one star restaurant with a light dinner and a wander around the banks of the Seine afterward. Of course, thinking back, one of the most romantic meals we ever had was at La Tour d'Argent at a window table, overlooking Notre Dame and the Seine, during our first trip to Paris eighteen years ago. And they gave us a tour of the roof deck/garden for at least a half hour, saying that they would be right back. Of course, we kissed. Romantic dinners don't require haute cuisine, but do require haute atmosphere.

We love Bofinger, except for the last few times. It's beautiful in that 'vieux style' fashion. Unfortunately, the dragons with smoky breath who guard the door make it unnecessarily difficult to get a table. We've stopped by mid afternoon in late December - early January midweek and have been told that the best that they could do was after 10:30PM and not in the beautiful main room with the glass dome ceiling. This has happened to us twice. The food there is adequate, but nothing extraordinary. It is fun, though a bit overpriced. Lunch is better and easier than dinner. Try Rotisserie Beaujolais across the Seine on the Quai Tournelle, next to Tour d'Argent (and it is a sister restaurant). A bit touristy, but you do get the locals as well. And we just discovered Chez Prosper near Place de la Nation. Total smoky bistro with few anglophones. Salads, steak frites and a reasonable wine list. Berthillon ice cream to boot.

Try Meaux on the outskirts of Paris, if you want to drive further than Auxerre. There is a Michelin rated hotel there. And nearby a couple of restaurants. Haven't been there in years but have fond memories of the Hotel de Sirene near the Place de Valmy. It was a pretty little town.

We actually get sweetbreads quite often, at, believe it or not, Ralph's in South Philly! No kidding! There is a mention on the menu that they don't serve it on Saturday nights (I believe it still says that). These are not creatively interesting, but, good, respectable, Italian/Ralphs/South Philly style good sweetbreads! With mushrooms and lemon, vermouth and butter. I think capers too. Plus Lacroix, The Four Seasons and we're sure a couple of other places. Sam is the sweetbread king. He orders them whenever they are on the menu. (Sorry about the double post)

We actually get sweetbreads quite often, at, believe it or not, Ralph's in South Philly! No kidding! There is a mention on the menu that they don't serve it on Saturday nights (I believe it still says that). These are not creatively interesting, but, good, respectable, Italian/Ralphs/South Philly style good sweetbreads!

We travel to Paris at least twice a year and ALWAYS buy the 5 day Paris Visite pass. We take the bus, metro, etc. wherever we want, as much as we want. It's a great deal to see the city and get off and on the bus, metro, etc. with no limit. However, for one day, it totally depends if its worth it, depending on how much you are going to travel, the bus allows you to actually see the city. You can get off wherever you want, and get back on as much as you want.

We really like Prentice Cole's, Zeke's down home BBQ. 61st and Lancaster, I believe. (Katie, he used to be a wine salesman years ago) Anyway, we were there with Slow Food about a year ago? ...and went back in November. GREAT, slow cooked ribs, pulled pork, collards, etc. etc. etc. etc. wings, cornbread, fish, sweet potato pie, gosh, can't remember everything, chicken, oh, my! It's in an old McDonald's building, three blocks from City Line on Lancaster. Prentice has a smoker in the back. They have an awesome breakfast too. But, they sell out early on weekends. You can get there and they just won't have any ribs left. So call in advance just to make sure.

Having been in and out of the service business for many years, I would say that there is no excuse for bad service. And as I've gotten older, I've become far less tolerant of it. Not to say that I will have a 'bad night' and therefore not be as charming to the server as I could be. That being said, they are not my friends, nor do I want them to be. I want them to answer my questions, take my order and bring me my food and drink in a timely fashion. Granted that occasionally, actually more than occasionally, the kitchen is at fault when things don't go as smoothly as possible. In that case I do not blame the server. However, I do blame the server when it is obvious that I'm being rushed in the, 'Order, eat fast, pay, get out' mode of a good many restaurants. Even after I've let them know that I want the meal to proceed at my pace. And I really don't care about turning the table. I've heard all the arguements about turnover and they don't move me. I'm paying for the meal, the wine and the service as rent for the evening. (I'm not speaking here about the $5 breakfast place) However, if the service is bad, then the tip will be commensurate with the service. Both of us worked in restaurants for a combined total of 30 years, plenty of time to learn the ups and downs of dealing with the public. That, of course, is one of the reasons we no longer work in restaurants. "Can I have the sauce on the side?" "Of course, Madam. Here, let me just pour it into your lap" "Give me a Glenfiddich and ginger ale." "Here's the Glenfiddich. Here's the ginger ale. Now, eff it up yourself." That's when we left. I can still tell, after an absence from the front of the house for 10 years, when a place is 'in the weeds' and will leave and find another restaurant. And if the service sucks by my estimation, I'll stiff the waiter. But if the service is good, they'll get 20-30%.

Shameless Shill! Our timing in reading Egullet was bad! We missed the wonderful offerings from the shameless shill kitchen and Chinatown! Shoot. Sansom St. Oyster House was as always. OK. No sense of adventure. I had the Ipswich clams, good and only a bit sandy, and then the cold seafood platter. Basic, old-fashioned and fresh. Cherrystones, Long Island Oysters, shrimp, fresh crabmeat...The coleslaw and potato salad were pretty tasty actually, and the tomatoes weren't plastic! They actually had some taste. The rest of the party of five had: -South Beach diet appropriate flounder, and a fresh looking garden salad. Boring, he said. -Baked Stuffed Trout. Almost European tasting, she said, whatever that means. -3 very good oysters from Maine (forgot the name) and Sauteed Soft-shells. Three nice sized ones over white bread. Gotta love that! Good, he said. -Broiled seafood platter, just like you see everywhere. But this 12 year old from France loved it! A nice Prosecco, and off to the concert. Really wish we had checked egullet first. Or thought of this earlier. Oh, well. Thanks for the recommends!

Up around Broad area, does anyone have any good seafood recommends? We were thinking old fashioned Sansom St. Oyster House. Fresh, but basically unimaginative. Seafood Unlimited. Okay. Pasion, the ceviche bar; which we love, but can be quiet expensive. (Or go a completely different direction and have jerk chicken at Jamaican Jerk Hut. But we are really craving fish) Or..L'oie. Frenchish bistroish. Anyone have any other ideas?

Wow. We've been to Georges Blanc's place in Vonnas outside Macon twice, and the other more informal places of his in the same town, but I didn't know he had a place in Lyon. It was the finest food we'd ever had. Twice. Incredible. We stayed there too. They really know how to treat people. The food, the ambience, everything was perfect. I realize he is a "celebrity chef" and the place is turning into an almost Georges Blanc town, but everything is always perfect there. So, on that recommendation....this place? Try it!

Fried spiders as per the other thread.

Arice: Look for us at Yard's. Sam has gray hair and glasses and Susan (me) has long strawberry blond hair. We'll definitely be there. We'll talk to you about the Covered Bridge, its mainly veg. You can go to their web to see examples. Yes, there are tours of the brewery. Neat.

We're part of Covered Bridge Produce which starts in two weeks. Last year it was great. You order 10 items that you choose (they don't choose for you like some CSA's) over the internet. The variety last year was good, the quality and quantity of the produce excellent. Buy fresh, Buy Local. See the info below (courtesy of Bob Pierson, Farm to City) Also he lists at the bottom a Yard's party this weekend. We went last year and it was fun. Several Farm to City Announcements. Fresh and Local Produce, Every Week. There are still places open for new subscribers to the Covered Bridge Produce subscription service. June 16 is the deadline to receive applications and payment. Go to our website for details and application form: http://farmtocity.org/csa.asp?id=2 Covered Bridge Produce will deliver 23 weeks of fresh produce grown on its land in Berks County near Reading. Deliveries start on June 22nd to the following locations: Tuesday Route, start June 22 Bala Cynwyd Gladwyne Merion Narberth Northern Liberties Oley at the farm South Philadelphia Wyomissing Thursday Route, start June 24 Ardmore Chestnut Hill Havertown Lafayette Hill Malvern Mt. Airy West Philadelphia Saturday Route, start June 26 Bryn Mawr Folsom Glenside Haverford Lansdowne Radnor St. Davids Villanova Wayne Let people you know who live in these communities know about this way to get local produce and support local farmers by forwarding this message. Fresh and Local Party at Yards Brewery. Join Fair Food and Farm to City as we celebrate the beginning of the farming season at Yards Brewery in Kensington. The party is from noon to 4 pm this Sunday, June 13th. We've got about 150 people signed up so far so it's going to be a great party. There will be food by Cosmic Catering including a roast, grass-fed pig, Yards beer, other drinks, the Philadelphia Blue Grass Band, raffle for prizes, activities for children, and plenty of good conversation and networking. We will also offer for sale various useful items emblazoned with our colorful Buy Fresh, Buy Local logo. If you want to come, please let us know by 5 pm on Wednesday June 9th so we can get an accurate count for the caterer. Respond to this email message, put YARDS in the subject line. Let us know who is coming so we can prepare name tags. Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for children, to offset cost of food and drink. Yards brewery is located at 2439 Amber Street, right off of Frankford Avenue in Kensington. For directions, go to Yards' website is http://www.yardsbrewing.com/tours/index.htm Bob Pierson Farm to City Uniting communities, families, and farmers year round through good local food www.farmtocity.org

Yes, I think Katie, Sara and I should go out on the town! Do a little article, maybe about "woman who know wine" and the stories behind them! Are you too recognizable for that, Katie?

It's funny, I know a lot about wine as a 44 year old female, and I've certainly experienced major discrimination from top restaurants in Philadelphia. Both the Four Seasons about two years ago and recently Le Bec Fin. Both were waiting for my husband to arrive and would not give me the wine list for a long time; nor would they talk to me like I knew what I wanted to order! Horrible experiences both places, which would take me a few pages to detail. However, I wrote letters to both places. The Four Seasons reprimanded the server (this was in the Lounge, not the restaurant),but George Perrier recently sent me a very "bucky" letter not responding whatsoever to the allegations...and believe me, I'm not some sort of complainer, just a regular woman who knows what she's talking about. (I was a wine steward for years, bar manager, and have traveled extensively to Europe simply to study wine) Anyway, Philadelphia seems to be very much behind the times in that respect. I did not experience these problems in my late 20's in Europe...although NY and DC still treat me "special" when I ask for the wine list and order. Sometimes they still ask my husband to taste, even when I've ordered the wine! Or else they smirk and treat me like a cute puppy.

There is only one reason to walk into any American chain in Europe. The bathrooms. They are even easier to find than the ones in hotels. And does the Starpuke in Paris advertise a WiFi hotspot? I do hope so, because I shall sit outside and utilize it to log on to my email account the next time I'm there. And shan't be drinking any of their overpriced swill.

We stayed at Beau Rivage in Condrieu. A Relais Du Silence. Very nice on the river. The hotel thinks it has good food, but we were underwhelmed. The hotel, however, was very nice and not expensive. Tain L'Hermitage has a place near Valrhona chocolate that smells of chocolate, also right on the river. Quiet and nice and the restaurant wasn't bad. Tain is not the best place for food, but that just might have been our own experience. If you are going as far South as Gigondas, there are two good restaurants there. One on the square where I had the best truffle omelet I've ever had, and one up in the hill with a hotel attached, called Les Florets. Beautiful view! And the lunch wasn't bad either. Good value for money and some real country dishes.

We are soooo addicted to Capogiro, we went all winter long for our "fix"! I even held my own (adult) birthday party starting there, its a BYOB, and we all brought champagne on a Sunday afternoon in November, and AFTER went to Zeke's BBQ for late lunch - all with about 15 friends....I wanted to eat my favorite foods in the order that I wanted to! Anyway, went last Saturday (4/24) and had the Avocado and the pineapple with cardomom which was outrageous! So was the blood orange and the black grape... On edit:(from Sam) The campari and grapefruit turned me (someone who HATES Campari) into a Campari aficianado. They also had an unfiltered Puglia extra virgin olive oil gelato the other week that was one of the most amazing things I've ever had. And we still remember the blueberry with thyme from last autumn. There are some people here in Philly who have compared Capogiro unfavorably with Roman gelato, making comments about cornstarch, etc., but WHO CARES? It's still the best in the city. In fact, it's better (Heresy alert) than Bassetts. We fast for days to indulge. It's the most outrageous indulgence!

We had very nice experience at La Regalade in January. It is a bit different from a good many restaurants in Paris. Service is brisk, but not to the point of being brusque. That being said, the meal was worth the money, and if you are ready and able to sit very close to your neighbors and overhear their conversations, you will enjoy yourself. We did, though another party of Americans were obviously not having a good time. They didn't expect the closeness of the tables or the smoke. The room is smallish, there is no bar per se, and I have no idea what they would do with more than twenty heavy winter coats. Along with the aperitifs they brought round a venison pate which we sliced ourselves and ate on excellent rustic bread with cornichons. They did miss reciting the evening specials, so we missed out on the scallops with roe (Why, oh why, can we not get scallops with roe in the US?). However, the crab was excellent as was the brandade. We did find that ordering the desserts at the beginning of the meal a bit odd. We will return on our next visit. An excellent meal, all in all. And again, thanks to everyone who wrote advising us about the place.

Be careful not to get too lost in Lyon! We got terribly lost there three times. We were one of the few people I know that were not very impressed at all with Paul Bocuse...although if you enjoy eating inside of a pink birthday cake, then... The food was rather heavy and uninspired, we thought. The best thing about the place was the picture of the "Thirteen Chefs of France" by the Men's bathroom that was staged to look like the "Last Supper". Very funny. We'll be right below you in Gordes for New Year's Eve. Anyone have any suggestions around there?