Rich Pawlak

Panorama is worth dressing up for. Definitely.

So, Brooks, please tell us, how did this gig come about? What did it take to get into the Times??? CONGRATS! It is a deftly written piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/dining/2...ing&oref=slogin

Down in MY neck of the woods, the Princeton area, there is an attractive storefront that has just become available in a ShopRite anchored shopping center that supports a busy Chinese takeout and an upscale brick oven pizzeria/trattoria. The shopping center is in Ewing, NJ, on Olden Ave, and it is packed, heavily trafficked, with good synergy from a dry cleaners, wine/beer shop, video rental store, gamers store, and car dealerships across the street and along stretches of Olden Ave. Along these blocks of Olden Ave are also gas stations, a McDonald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's, and numerous banks and other retail. A vibrant retail confluence. And not a hot dog to be found.

I would suggest PANORAMA for both the 120 bottle cruvinet and the very good food and drop dead romantic setting.

As to a DDC dinner... I wouldn't think so: pricewise, spacewise, liquor-license-wise. Be hard to make it fit. ←

Everyone? Not I. And I NEED to get there. Are they DDC material? Imagine the possibilities...or mabye I'm just silly.

Sierra Nevada Celebration especially means the holidays for me, a great aperitif beer for Thanksgiving dinner, and the harbinger of the holiday crazies to follow. Also, the Saranac Twelve Beers (of Xmas, it used to say), with its special one-off brews, is always the best sign that the holidays are near.

God, what an awesome experience that all must be. I picked up two bottles of the stuff last night, the Debeouf bottling, and a new one to me, Domaine de La Madone, from Jean Bererd et Fils. I found the Debeouf to have a great nose, all cherries and strawberries and some vegetal aromas, but the initial sip was very earthy and flinty. After about 20 minutes it was much more fruit forward and silky on the finish. The Bererd was similar, less of a fruity nose, but with that same rough initial sip, and a less smooth finish than the Debeouf. Still and all, a good pizza wine on a horribly rainy Thursday night.

I've also been sent an e-mail informing me that Bistro St Tropez and Caribou Cafe should be doing something, at very least serving up some different bottles of the stuff. Again, any excuse for a celebration.

If you can find any of that Kaiken Ultra Malbec, that stuff should ROCK with turkey, stuffing and cranberries.

Aw cmon! You know I love ANY excuse to celebrate!

Well, it Beaujolais Nouveau Day today, and I KNOW it's not a serious wine, and I KNOW it's a silly promotion, but I've always loved the notion of an excuse to celebrate the harvest, the grape, whatever. But Philly, compared to other cities like Washington DC, Seattle, and Dallas, does almost nothing to celebrate the day. I've found ONE event at a Wine and Spirits Store in Wayne on the PLCB WEBSITE, but little else in the area. Does anyone know of any other BN events today? I miss my days in DC, when Beaujolais Nouveau Day took over the town for a day....

There is that INCRDIBLE donut place at the corner of Juniper St and Drury Lane, just below Chestnut, next to McGillins Old Ale House. Best in town, hands down.

I just wanted to bring this message back up to the top. I am supposed to have Thanksgiving dinner here and was wondering if anyone had eaten here since my last posting and if they could give me some recent feedback. Thanks. ← Susan, My name is Andrew Little and I am the former chef at Evermay. I felt compelled to write you to let you know that I am no longer cooking there although they have continued to post my name and likeness on their website. I don't know what the current situation is in the kitchen, but I do know that I am not there and a majority of the staff that was present in the dining room is no longer there. However, I have moved on to a very elegant 9 room country inn located in Hanover, PA and the former dining room manager at Evermay is running the dining room. We would love if you would join us for dinner there sometime. Please feel free to check us out at www.sheppardmansion.com Regards, Chef Andrew Little ← Doesnt sound like an amicable parting.....

Sad, truly sad. I loved Syd's when we visited on the Hot Dog Nation Tour, absolutely first class dog and killer fries. Why do you think Eric went for this awkward arrangement, John?

I stopped into Bootsie's on Wednesday afternoon, and it was nicely crowded, always a good sign. I proceeded to order the buffalo hot dog and the fennel Italian sausage and an order of fries. I was totally underwhelmed, I'm sorry to say. The hot dog was mushy to me, even though I asked for it well done. Didnt care for the texture. The bun tasted stale. The sausage was also a dull one, could hardly taste any fennel! My sandwich was drowned in red and orange peppers, and served on a pumpernickle roll of some kind. What the hell was that kind of bread doing wrapped around an Italian sausage?? My fries were good, but weren't hot. There were not fresh out of the fryer, and had obviously been sitting a while. So, 3 for 3, kinda disappointing, considering what has been said here. And a mighty stiff tarrif to pay as well. Sorry, I had to be honest.

I would love to go to Ralph's in S. Philly. But, my dining companion wants more upscale and is a vegetarian. I have a reservation at Pasion. Fork would be a good option, too! ← Then Fork would be an excellent choice, as would Standard Tap

My two cents: 1. Mandoline (ask for Chef Todd and mention eGullet when you call!!), 2nd & Chestnut 2. Mercato , Spruce & Camac 3. Rx, 44th and Spruce (also mention eGullet when you call) 4. Standard Tap, 2nd and Poplar (for the jukebox AND the beer and food) 5. Amada

Holy Shamoley that's an amazing menu, confirming for me what I've felt about Chef Todd Lean since I've met him and had the privilege of eating his food: he is a chef to be treasured.

I second the recs on Ajihei and Ota Ya, both shockingly good sushi bars. I will also add the brand new Elements Cafe, on Quakerbridge Rd in Mercerville, just south of the Quakerbridge Mall. Truly impressive sushi at alkl three places.

Great overview article HERE in the NYT today about the various BN celebrations planned around the country for November 16, and the paragraphs about the DC celebration make me wistful for my days there in the 80s , when the day was a huge city-wide party. Sadly, Philly has almost no BN celebrations anymore, unless anyone knows of any that have slipped by my attention. Are there any other celebrations around the country that the NYT missed? As the article states "it's not great wne, but it's a great excuse for a party."

The other nearest White Castle is in Edison Nj on southbound Route 1, just south of the Garden State Parkway.

Props on mentioning White Castle. Welcome aboard! I still stack the burger at the Grey Lodge against any in Philly. Had one recently and it was better than ever.

The best of the lot, for me, was the pie from Conshohocken Bakery, followed by Marchiano's, Don Giovani's in Feasterville, and then Corropolese's. All of them were great, mind you, so it's just splitting hairs, really.

Thanks for all of the kind e-mails this morning. THIS is the end result of all of your suggestions. It was a fascinating topic to explore. And it was great eating my way through each and every tomato pie.