Rich Pawlak

It would be unfair for you to test cheesesteaks and not visit Pat's and Geno's first (they are across the street from one another), and then sample others after that; not because they are superior, but because they are part of the history (well, at least Pat's) and cache of the cheesesteak. Just my opinion.

The only place I'd ever expect to find it on tap or in bottle is at Mcmenamin's Tavern in Mt Airy. Several years ago it was on tap at Isaac Newton's in Newtown, but I dunno about that place anymore.

Mr. C, ther are a LOT of places you haven't tried, Frusco's and Dalessandro's only two glaring omissions. If you have tried Steve's, John's, Chink's and Tony Luke's, then you have sampled four of the very best versions of the cheesesteak, but if you havent, then your comparison with Carl's is somewhat without merit. I think there is a WIDE disaprity between Philly steaks, and several styles I haven't even mentioned (Mama's in Bala Cynwyd comes to mind, molten madness on an actual loaf of bread!), but to give Carl's its due without fully considering the variety of cheesesteaks available in Philly, then there is something missing. I had a Carl's about 2 weeks ago now, and I have eaten the aforementioned steaks, including the White House's, which I greatly admire (it IS the bread), for the better part of 28 years in Philly, and I dont think Carl's would crack the top ten steaks in town.

I have had a Carl's "cheesesteak", after reading about it in New York magazine, and although the fellow has Philly connections, he misses with the roll, and some of the meat I sampled was a bit grisly. Yech. Mr. C, until you have carefully and dutifully enjoyed steaks from John's Roast Pork, in deep South Philly, the aforementioned Steve's Prince of Steaks, Frusco's (another GEM of both hoagie and steak excellence, Holly, you've really got to to visit them, 7000 block of Frankford Ave.), Chink's in NE Philly, Tony Luke's in deep South Philly, and Dallesandro's in the Roxborough section of town, you cannot compare Carl's to the finest of Philadelphia. Carl's doesn't even touch Jim's Steaks, which I no longer care for, and is far from even as good as a White House version, let alone the above mentioned icons of steakdom.

what happened? I really should enlist the aid of beer journalist Lew Bryson here; his telling of the Dock Street fiasco, whose byzantine machinations are both sad and hilarious, is a great comedy monlogue. I'm sure when he sees this post he will respond, but suffice to say that another Philadelphia brewer bought the rights to the Dock Street name, and intended to open a new brewpub. The original brewpub became something laughable called the Mermaid Club, and quickly closed. When the principals couldnt agree on a price for the DS name etc., it was taken back and yet another local microbrewery got involved, even more confusingly, only to be joined by ANOTHER Philly micro that was out of business. Ya know, Bryson tells it better. I think I'll let him.

I have been aging beers for years in my cellar,and it all depends on the beer of course. Some English brews, like the old Thomas Hardy ales, are aging-worthy, even recommended. I'm not sure what "vintage" English stuff you're talking about, but I know Fuller's creates some vintage stuff, as does Sierra Nevada (Celebration and Bigfoot), Anchor (Our Special Ale and Old Foghorn). And they are ALL worth cellaring.

Dogfish, BTW, calles their ale "Punkin"

That's the best moniker ever!

I agree, BB's is the standard against which other pumpkin ales should be judged. However.... This year's Dogfish Head Punkin Ale may usurp that position. It is a terrific brew, judiciously spiced and flavored, and the pure pumpkin sails through admirably. It will be available at the Grey Lodge Pub in NE Philly this Thanksgiving weekend (God bless owner Scoats), and it is definitely worth the trip. BTW, try a pumpkin ale with a hot plate of nachos. A superb beer-food pairing.

pnap: Dock Street exists only in contract-brewed bottles now, a sad demise to a once great microbrewery. Its brewpub still sits empty and forlorn.

Philly has some terrific beer spots, close enough to the train station by cab anyway. Great beer bars and a couple of good brewpubs, two in Center City and more in the burbs!

The inside track has Eric Asimov aboard. A close friend of his tells me he has the job if he wants it, and he does.

Hi, gang, I'm the new Forum Host here, and we're gonna have some fun now! I've been a beer enthusiast since my college days, but my taste buds really opened around 1995, when I joined the old original Prodigy online service and met up with some big beer fans and experts, folks like Lew Bryson, Mike Gates, Mark Duffely and others, a very tight beer community if ever ther was one. I want to try to revive that kind of jovial, passionate community right here, and I can see we already have quite a clientele. I'm gonna throw out some ideas, and I'll elaborate in some posts shortly, but here is some food for thought: Winter Beers, my favorite beers of the year. Bring em on, let's drinke em, rate em, pick em apart. Holiday Beers, different, usually spicy or chocolatey or just plain gimmickey, but let's round some up and see what we think. Brewpub reviews; let's update the current offereing from where we live and visit and see what's good (and bad) out there. I just found one in Puerto Rico (!), and I'll be posting about it. Barleywines; it's starting to be the right time of year to sample the big stuff, as the winter winds start blowing, fireplaces get roaring, and I'd like to do something similar to what we did on Prodigy; it was called "The Days of Barleywine and Roses", but we can call it whatever we want: a review of barleywines wherever and whenever we can find them. And let's also keep the current threads humming; we've got a LOT to talk about! But believe me, we're gonna have some fun! Cheers! Prosit! Slante! The bar is always open!

Go get em girl! I cant wait to see how you'll redecorate the place. Congrats, dearest Katie!

Waitaminute. I thought Yonny's did the El Foldo a year and a half ago! Emptied out, cleared out, gone (several reports said that, including the papers! ) when did it come back to life, Matt?

Sorry I missed your call, too, Katie, but I was experiencing the wonders of physical therapy on my bruised back, and wasn't in any condition to drive to Philly last night; I'm glad i picked up some BN during the day, or I'd have been depressed to miss out on this annual goofy pure fun ritual (just realized tonight that I've been doing the BN since 1983--20 years ferchrissakes!). I also picked up a bottle of the Picard BN as well, so I still have 3 to taste. My buddy Susan in FL favored the Drouhin, so I'm anxious to give that a whirl (Suzie has a terrific palate for wine and beer, you'll enjoy her posts!).

Yes, Suzie Q, we will surely be pulling out the winter and holiday beers (SNCA! SNCA!), so do your best to grab some down ther in sunny Florida! I think will be an exceptional year for winter beers, I really do. See you on Friday!

Georges Debeouf, BN 2003, $7.99 here in Joisey (Lawrenceville), and here we go: Bubblegummy nose, as usual, but also that child-memory aroma of a fresh jar of grape jelly being opened, always liked that. Nice jamminess, lotsa sour cherry and strawberry, but definitely a more substantial wine than in the past 5 years, fuller, bigger mouthfeel, and some depth for a change. Less effervescence than in past years, too. Enjoyed a bottle with some roast chciken, sweet potato-almond-scallion cakes and peas. Very fortuitous food pairing. This is still my favorite Turkey Day wine, but this year, I think it will be a much better dinner mate than in years past. I have on hand the Drouhin and Labour Roi, and will tackle them shortly.

Several hotels have their own beaches in PR, like both the Hyatt Dorado and Hyatt Cerromar on the north shore, from which I've just returned. The Pina Colada was created at the Hotel El San Juan, and there is a placque at the grand, chadeliered bar there that notes that historic fact. Two other terrific restaurants on the island: AquaViva, a few doors down on Calle Forteleza from Parrot Club (and owned by the same group), hip, groovy, vibe, with exceptional modern twists on some PR classics, with a kitchen dinette look in aqua and white and some spectacular neon jellyfish lamps dangling from the ceiling (aguaviva=jellyfish). Metropol, in Isla Verde, across from the Hotel El San Juan, with genteel waiters, classic PR home cooking and nice patio ambience. I will post greater detail about our dining shortly.

really? i was getting ready to interrupt your speech and mention it, but decided not to. I think we would have found you a spot on the grill if you had done that. Regardless of a curse, the Lipmans obviously put a lot of effort into any dinner they plan, and it shows.

You know I almost forgot about that curse thing (after every dinner the Lipmans have hosted, the restuarants have closed, shuttered, done an el foldo--strange but true). I think this dinner should have broken "the curse".

Sweet Mother of God that was a good dinner. The salads, assembled is Cobb Salad fashion on a single platter, were fabulous, worth the trip alone. The pita dense and substantial and a perfect foil. The Shepherd Salad was also very good and tart. The Lamauchun was a delightful razor thin lavash bread and tangy ground meat, incredible. The entree meats, piled onto one plate and served per person, was an enormous serving, coulda served two. I'd kill for that Adan Kebab. Thick custardy rice pudding and delicate crunchy baklava, great versions both. I dont know how the Lipmans do it, but they ALWAYS create incredible gustatory tours de force for the DDC. Kudos, Matt and Lisa--huge kudos!

My dinner at the Moshulu was not nearly as good as yours, despite the presence of maitre'd Nick Bongiorno, who can often elevate the dining experience of where he works. With regard to Lacroix, I'm wondering at what restaurant John Mariani ate, when he named Lacroix "Restaurant of the Year" last month in Esquire. My meal there was just OK, nothing spectacular, really, which for me, was a disappointment.

Michael Klein wrote about this in the Friday Inquirer's business section, an article I missed, until he alerted me and I dug it out of the recycling container: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/7202078.htm

Look for mentions in Michael Klein's Inquirer columns on Nov 13, as well as something next week in Stu Bykofsky's column in the Daily News. Might have some TV too, if we get lucky.