Rich Pawlak

Cosimo is WELL worth the drive from anywhere, Katie, as Percyn shows. I think the place is a treasure.

Wow. Terrific exit column, don't you think?

My favorite memory of JAckson is from almost 10 years ago, when I attended the Press Breakfast for the annual Book and The Cook festival in Philly. I do a beer tour during the festival, and Jackson conducts what is the festival's largest attended event, a tutored beer tasting that draws thousands every year to the Univ of Pennsylvania's museum. So we've just sat down to breakfast and Jackson strolls in in a tweed sportcoat in whose pockets he has carried two bottles of Heineken. He sits down at OUR table, the only one with available seats, puts the Heinekens on the table and grabs some scrambled eggs, sausages and toast from the nearby buffet, and opens one of the beers, pours it into a tall glass. It is 8:30 in the morning, BTW. We make small talk with him, as the other culianry people at the table are just too shocked to say anything to him. "So do you always drink beer for breakfast?" I finally ask him. "Not at all," he replies, "but I found some Heinekens in my hotel room fridge, and it's a good beer with scrambled eggs and sausage. That's all Heineken is good for anyway, in my opinion."

I've just reviewed Cosimo as well for the now-out September issue of MAINLINE Magazine and enjoyed almost every aspect of my visit, especially the cleverly written wine list and the bar menu. I cant wait to revisit the place on my own dime!

I thought you might like to read Lew Bryson's eloquent TRIBUTE to Michael Jackson on Bryson's website today. A sad day for any one who loves and appreciates beer.

Ive enjoyed my interactions with Dean, his pig pickin#2, and his great sense of humor! And he's a class act. You WILL be missed, Dean!

That WAS a sad day when Lord Ches became no longer available in kegs. My fave nosh at Standard Tap used to be a pint of Lord Ches from the refrigerator tap and a plate of their fried squid.

Not as easy to source as it once used to be, Yuengling's Lord Chesterfield Ale is a terrific brew, and always my go-to beer with seafood, especially soft shells and fried calamari. Cant explain it, but it always elevates the dining experience with shellfish.

I have no bias against Laban, but admit to knowing Plotkin well. But the debate is not about where Plotkin buys his meat, but how well he knows his actual product and how he serves it, and a mistake made by a food critic.

But Plotkin was already mistaken about what Laban ordered (he thought he'd ordered a steak sandwich without the bread). According to whom exactly did Laban offer this admission, and what was the nature of the admission? I can see Laban apologizing for having made a mistake in not mentioning in his blurb that he'd had the lunch steak. But this is not an admission that anything in the blurb was factually incorrect. ← We only have Plotkin's account to go on, as Laban has refused to make any comment publicly. Plotkin aserts that Laban admitted his error and apologized.

I don't think there's been any evidence that LaBan doesn't know what a strip steak is. It seems that the problem has arisen because he does know what a strip steak is, and reported on it. None of the reporting I've seen has clearly established the chronology of the uttering of the words "strip steak" by a waiter, but I don't think we have any reason to believe that LaBan stared, dumbfounded, at his plate and called the waiter over to identify his food. It seems much more likely that at the time of ordering his steak frites, he asked what cut of beef it was. Or, after eating what he thought was a strip steak, with journalistic diligence, he asked the waiter to confirm. The restaurant has already admitted that they sometimes serve a strip steak as their steak frites. As for what was on THAT plate, whose accounts do we have? The owner, who was not even involved in the incident at the time it occurred, and who has already made, and retracted, an incorrect claim about what was ordered, and who certainly would have a self-serving interest in contending that it was not his prized strip steak on that plate. The waiters, who according to the Philly Mag account, seemed rather confused about what meat was used in that dish, telling the magazine's reporters different things. The chef, or more likely in the case of a lunch, line cooks, none of whom we have heard-from, would have no reason to remember this particular steak frites from any number of others. Given that the restaurant itself says that strip steaks are sometimes used for this dish, the only damning evidence I could imagine would be if the kitchen swore that they never, ever, under any circumstances, put out a strip steak on a steak frites order. We haven't heard that. And unless they literally never had that cut in the house, it would be hard to believe that it was impossible that some line cook in the lunch rush didn't grab some piece of meat he wasn't supposed to. I've been served a parsley mojito. Shit happens. And then we have the experienced food critic, who has certainly eaten a few steaks, and is paid to pay attention to details about what he's eating. So, Rich, why are you so sure that LaBan's the one who got it wrong? I know that you've said that you thought Chops was a good restaurant, and it may be, but is it really out of the realm of possibility that they, at least once, put out a bad steak on a lunch plate? Is it really impossible that it was a piece of strip steak? ← Knowing Plotkin as well as I do, and knowing how fanatical he can be about his steaks and his wines, I have my doubts that the fault lies with Chops. And also knowing well the process for reviewing a restaurant, I find it hard to beleive that Laban can be so damn sure about every item he eats. . He MIMSELF admitted to Plotkin that he had made a mistake, but then refused to print a correction. Where does he get off doing that?

One WOULD think that a food critic of Laban's prominence would 1)take better notes, 2)double check his notes and 3) have the professionalism to issue a retraction/apology/correction. These three actions are the very LEAST he should have done to avoid appearing to be the pompous ass he has now become.

But Washington, DC is the kind of place where the face of Tom Sietsema, the WaPo restaurant critic, is fairly well known, and no one seems to mind.

I've been to the branch of UJ near Reading, called Union Jack's on the Manatawny, actually between Boyertown and Reading in the countryside off Rte 73. Seriously good Belgian and microbrew tap and bottle selection, and yes, crazy good wings, really nearly as good as the wings at McMenamin's Tavern in Mt Airy. Those are some wings you should also try, Tim.

Philadelphia magazine reviews restaurants with anonymous reviewers either with pseudonyms or great attempts at anonymity. I wonder if this means the inquirer will be doing a story on Maria Gallagher. Rather interesting to see food journalism implode on itself. ←

Katie is a woman of many passions: wine, cocktails, food, ethnic cuisine, culinary traditions, travel. But most of all, Katie Loeb is a class act.

Bumping this topic up, with a terrific review in today's Trenton Times, from Susan Sprague Yeske: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/times/inde...7170.xml&coll=5 I, for one, cant wait to go back.

Mercato remains one of the best under-the-radar restaurants in Philly, with a excellent price-value menu.

Yet another place that sounds like DDC-worthy.

DDC material, I'm thinking.

Solid BYOB, and I agree, nothing spectacular, but certainly a lovely, pleasant place to dine in the South St Area.. I dont have anything to do with STYLE anymore, and only know from Ava because I ate there once.

Ludwig's Garten, right next to McGillins, especially the larger formal bar, just a beautiful room, and really good bar food. Ask for Mary Ellen.

Due to the WHAT? Knights Of Zoltan? Kitties Overriding Zebras? Kleptomaniacs Or Zombies?

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a lot less categories in the BOP this year, especially in the food section?