Rich Pawlak

Classic Rick Blatstein operation, at least it sounds like it. When the Philly Rock Cafe in the United Artsists theater complex further south on Delaware Ave. was open, it had a reputation for stale beer, and bugs running across your table as you ate. Went there once, and yes, both legends were proven true. Truly disgusting. same stupid, careless and inept management and staff, too.

We may be breaking brewing news in the Midwest!

God Bless You for acknowledging the southern part of the state. Jeez. Conte's is quite good, thin, very crisp, good balance of garlicy red sauce and cheese, decent toppings (pepperoni and sausage and red peppers are standouts), with a cool, 40's retro vibe to the otherwise plain, always crowded dining room But the real stars in these parts are the Tomato Pies of Delorenzo's in Trenton, both on Hudson St. and Hamilton Ave. Though not connected to each other, they are similar in technique and popularity, almost cult favorite pizzas. Exceptional red pies, white clam pies, and at Hamilton St., an outstanding Asparagus-Red Pepper pie. See HERE for details, pics and narratives on the three pizza parlors we tried in February.

I obviously used to do PR for the place, but presently I wouldnt recommend Founders. Too many changes, and not a consistent chef or theme to their food yet, and more changes are in the wings, I have heard. Killer view, and and old crowd to boot.

I'm gonna throw in a Wild Card here and suggest a tasting menu with Chef Tim Olivett at The Moshulu. The menu he did for the eG group a while back looked damn impressive; it was kind of a shame I had to miss it. Buy i think Lacroix, if you havent been yet, would also be nice, if much pricier.

Yeah, what Holly said; a trip to his website, and visits to anything with "5 greasestains" should do the trick. It's as thorough a take on the real Philly food culture as anything you will ever read. (and I do not work for Holly in any capacity)

Last night I had the fifth of Sly Fox Brewery's special IPA's, the Simcoe IPA, at 7.0 ABV, a powerful, lip puckering brew, very robust and bracingly bitter, and actually not easy to do anything but sip---slowly. A mighty beer, and mighty good, and currently on tap at the Grey Lodge Pub in NE Philly..

You know it. Already have someone workin on it (Lew Bryson), and they do already cover beer somewhat, but we will make it much much better in the months to come. And really, everybody, THANKS. I am so psyched.

That is the worst haiku I've ever read. Theodore Geisel is spinning in his grave.

Delorenzo's Tomato Pies, 530 Hudson St, Trenton, NJ. Have you tried it? They're my favorite. Nearby is Papa's Tomato Pies (804 Chambers St). They've been around longer than DeLorenzo's and make a Tomato Pie that's practically indistinguishable from DeLorenzo's. From what I'm told, Una Pizza Napoletana (1901 Route 35, Pt Pleasant Bch) makes pizza very similar to Napoletana-style pizza in Italy. Is it? I like their pizza but it's different (and expensive). But their pizza reminds me of something I'd get as an appetizer in a yuppy restaurant in Red Bank. Is this what it's supposed to be? :Dave Papa's tomato pie bears ABSOLUTELY NO RESEMBLANCE to a tomato pie from either of the Delorenzo's places, Hudson St. , or Hamilton Ave. (they are not directly related). Having finally made it to Papa's, we got a doughy, underbaked, and thoroughly unremarkable pizza. What a mediocre excuse for pizza. The hype that led me there was totally misguided.

Pizza Club folk are pretty serious folk, very analytical, very studious (hey, look at the pictures on the PIZZA CLUB thread...) and very diligent in their pusuit of pizza, in whatever form it takes. Old Forge Pizza has its own unique merits, like all of the pizzas we've tasted and tested so far. So, I dont expect there to be much revolution or rebellion or insurrrection, just agressive consumption. Unless they start drinkin.

Does anyone remember Kaltenbach's Bakery in Scranton, and their "Army Bread"? Best damn bread Ive ever had. No idea what made it great, but it was dense, almost buttery but not quite, almost sweet but not quite, just an amazing bakery item.

Django, for all of the difficulty of getting a reservations, is a very good choice, but, if I had to pick one restaurant for a truly terrific meal that is out of the ordinary but not pretentious or ridiculously overpriced (Vetri, Striped Bass, LBF), I would pick PASION, for Nuevo Latino of great refinement and sophistication.

Well, heck, I'm in Princeton--so where can I find your tomatoes for sale? So far the crop of so-called Jersey Tomatoes at the Trenton Farmers Market has been sub-par, but I kn ow to wait until August.

Well, Lombardi's is a NY import, coal-oven pizza joint, as is nearby Pietro's. For the finest Philly has to offer, it would easily have to be Tacconelli's. MY personal favorite pizzas in the area are in Trenton, NJ, at Delorenzo's Tomato Pies (see around p.13 of the Pizza Club posts). As for an Old Forge Pizza Club caravan, I would like to take the gang to: Arcaro & Genell's Revello's Ghigarelli's Maxie's I'm thinking maybe a Saturday in October.

I grew up on the Taylor Hill Arcaro's, when it was still called Tomeo's, in the 60s and 70s (parents still live in Moosic). Tomeo's was the cult fave pizza back then for people in Scranton. The last few times Ive tried it recently, it was not up to snuff, not piping hot, and not a crispy crust as I remember it. I got to try Maxie's a coupla years back and it was superb OF pizza, yes, and just over the border in Taylor, PA. I also have a serious thing for Scranton's Vince The Pizza Prince, not OF pizza by any means, but weirdly delicious and molten. I still love Arcaro & Genell's the best of all of them; I think Revello's has much too much cheese for my taste.

Ghigarelli's and Revello's---better than Arcaro & Genell's?

I doubt very much that Grey Lodge owner Scoats has the exact lineup just yet, but I'd keep checking the Grey Lodge website, www.greylodge.com. He also checks in here from time to time, so he may just tell us!

He surely was a visionary, a true beer enthusiast, a proud bearer of his family name, and a rascal, but he is also gone too soon. Poor Henry's, his brewpub, was a stop, and dramatic dinner location, for several of my beer tours a few years back. Seems like yesterday. http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/o...ggnlnjhg|Rich|Y

I'll see you BOTH there!

We're right in the damn middle of summer now, and the good beer is flowing . So what's been tantalizing your taste buds this summer? Give us your reviews. For me, this summer has meant savoring each of the 9 different hop varietal IPAs from Philadelphia area micro Sly Fox, to celebrate their 9th anniversary. So far, they've issued: Centennial IPA, Target IPA, Cascade IPA, Styrian IPA, East Kent Golding IPA, and 4 others are yet to be issued (Amarillo, Fuggles, Simcoe) including their Imperial IPA in December. All delicious, puckery wonders. The most recent, Target IPA, is wonderfully tart, yet has a very nice malt counterpart that really surprises, and gives the beer amazing balance. So let the tasting notes begin!

No garlic?? Nope.

"Er, Mr. Quayle, I think there's supposed to be an 'e' in there somewhere."

Oh, you poor man. I have never, ever heard of anything on spiedies, certainly not mushrooms and cheese. And you're right, you'd be hard pressed to find lamb spiedies around, but maybe at Sharkey's. Only ever had a Lupo's pork number, not bad, just not the original. Wish you could have found Battaglini's Bakery in Endicott. You'd still be talking about that bread. Hope you dive in and make your own.

It's just good beer karma, is what it is. Nice!