Rich Pawlak

Terrific menu, Matt! I can hardly wait. And we will be revealing , and presenting, our year-long collection for Philabundance that night, way cool. We have some very big hearts in the DDC.

Augsburger was one of my early micro favorites, and I'm glad to know its back in production.

Sophisticated palate or not, what Strolli's served was very good Italian food, and yes, it was VERY much like MY nonna's, ESPECIALLY the ravioli, gnocchi and braciole. But I never told her that, she would have killed me for the comparison.

Cartlidge's Meat Market is actually the only butcher In the trenton Farmer's Market. The chicken purveyor and Polish deli just sell poultry and cold cuts respectively, and do not butchering. Cartlidge's is the standard against which other butchers should be judged. The make their own sausages, all nitrite free and very lean, and even make very tasty veggie burgers, as well as custom butchering for almost every meat imaginable.

Bar food is my passion, second only to pizza. Here's where I have found the best bar grub: Standard Tap, 2nd and Poplar, to me, the "standard" against which all others should be judged; very high quality and an ever-changing seasonal menu. The roast pork-provalone sandwich, squid, fried smelts (!) and the burger here set the bar high for bar food anywhere. McMenamin's Tavern, 7170 Germantown Ave., a much larger menu of both tap beers (17) and food, including outstanding wings, hand breaded chicken tenders, Irish stew and burgers, and then chef Larry Melissen's clever daily menu that is full of surprises, like pumpkin gnocchi in sage cream and beggars purses stuffed with wild mushrooms, Cajun crabcakes and even a petite filet mignon sometimes, and nothing over $16. There's a reason that there is an hour wait for dinner every night. The Grey Lodge, 6235 Frankford Ave.and so far they only have 3 things ON the menu, but they are all outstanding: the Magic Mushroom Wrap, a flour tortilla stuffed with fresh mushrooms, scallions and swiss, and baked till crispy, the most perfect beer food item ever created, vesatile with every style of beer made. They also make a pepperoni-provalone version that is gooey fun. And then there is the Tomato Pie a version peculiar to NE Philly, cheese on the bottom, garlicky red sauce on top, on a nondescript pizza shell, but there is something magic about the pizza oven here, and the pizza, at $4.75 (!) is shockingly good. Johhny Brenda's, Girard and Frankford, the second tappie from the folks that own The Standard Tap (see my post elsewhere here), with a dozen taps, and about a dozen items on the blackboard menu, from a $2 Hummus Plate, to a $3.50 Falafel sandwich, to Grilled Octopus and even Lamb Chops! All executed beautifully from a shiny, new, open kitchen at the end of the bar. Monk's, if only for the hamburgers, sausage sandwiches (including boudin blanc!) and pots of mussels with frites. The only downside is the tight quarters and the crowds, which can make the wait for a table almost interminable. The Abbaye, at 3rd and Fairmount, has a very clever menu, including a bunch of vegan dishes and that very clever take on the cheesesteak. Also a very good beer selection from an owner who really cares. N.3rd, just north of The Abbaye, which very good fried chicken and ribs, as well as superb calamari, salads and fries. McNally's in Chestnut Hill, just for the Schmitter sandwich and no smoking allowed alone. And a great ale on tap, made only for McNally's by Yards Brewery. Dawson Street Pub, Dawson above Cresson St., Manayunk. A very good bowl of chili, hand breaded chicken tenders, and a very good, big burger to go with the carefully selected taps of beer. Copa banana, 4th and South, if only for the hot pepper fries and cheeseburgers; they fall flat with their beer selection for me. That's my short list. Now I've GOT to get to Ten Stone!

A nice plug for eGullet, Rosie! Did Arthur sound like he was trying to shoo you off the phone? He seemed to lose interest for some unimaginable reason. I thought your T'giving suggestions were superb though, very thorough and entertaining!

Speaking of boardwalk pizza, I need to add: Mack's in Wildwood, NJ (several locations on the boardwalk Mack & Manko's in Ocean City (also several shops on the OC boardwalk And in Trenton: Top Road Tavern, Brunswick Ave., North Trenton Keeps the tomato pie tradition strong with an amazingly crackly crust, great tangy sauce and judicious use of cheese.

Oh how I miss Strolli's. In college it was one of the great places to dine on a student budget and still feel like you went someplace special. And it was.

Tartine is VERY good, David, glad you enjoyed it too! It is located at 4th and Bainbridge, one block east of Passyunk.

We sign on late enough (past 11PM EST) that's it's been convenient for almost everyone; oh yeas, I expect we will have a terrific turnout. Again, though, bring a real beer.

;-) oh yeah.. hey WAIT. I didn't say that, Rich said it when describing how a gueuze tastes LOL Actually, that was a quote from Mike Gates, but I feel the same way about gueze. We will allow even a Pac NW hop head back in the NBI; we love all, serve all. Just show up with a real beer next time.

I think that's Pif, but I might be wrong. I heardthere was another place west of the city that does same. No clues on the name but I think it was in a LaBan review. You're thinking of the pretentious Spezia, in Bryn Mawr. Silly, that Reidel charge.

Oh I would add C onte's in Princeton to the Mercer county list, as well as the Delorenzo's location on Hamilton Ave in Trenton, shockingly close to the Delorenzo's of Hudson St. version of tomato pie. I will also add a new favorite of mine: Enzo's on Princeton Pike in Lawrenceville, a cute, cozy BYOB in its 20th year that makes a HELL of a tomato pie, as well as White Clam pie.

I second Duex Cheminees, thought it can get whoppingly expensive with drinks and wine; Pigalle is very romantic and affordable and a great dining value. I would also add Bridgid's in the Art Museum area (2401 Meredith St.)to the list. It is very cozy and romantic with very personal service and very good simple food; Rembrant's on 22nd St. just abover Fairmount Ave. is also very romantic, especially in the evening. And not to be a shameless shill, but I think of Striped bass as very romantic is very dramaric sort of way, but you can very easily exceed your $200 budget without some wine advice from our resident Philly wine geek, Katie Loeb.

We INDEED had fun, Lewski (as I'll bet you did at F&M); malarkey joined us from Seattle (and she's a hop head!)and our old friend, Guy Hagner (!) stopped in unexpectedly for some hilarious good fun, along with Gates. No Angry Dwarf to abuse this weekend, but we'll hope for NEXT weekend!

Actually, lewski, Meteor is still be served at Le Bec's sister restaurants, Brasserie Perrier in Center City and Le Mas Perrier in Wayne, PA.

Well, I think we had a "No Show Inn" thsi past Friday; I spent the weekend in Atlantic City (visiting the new Firewaters beer bar in the Tropicana Casino, 50 taps and 101 bottles!) and the Tun Tavern brewpub among other things (see sepertae post), and couldnt get connected to Startchat from my laptop, and beer god Lew Bryson was also spending the weekend away, in Kentucky of all places, sipping bourbon! So he was AWOL as well, and it seems no one opened the room! We will ALL be ther this Friday though, guaranteed, and bring on the festbiers, the pumpkin beers and the Fall beers orf your choice! See you at 11PM EST!!!

I have been to I Trulli a few times; owner Nicola Marzovilla is from the same town in Puglia from which my maternal grandparents hail, Alberobello, which gives the restaurant the source for its name: the white conical buildings of the town, called trulli. Some of the dishes at I Trulli are so very close to the ones made by my grandmother, a wonderful cook, it's almost an emotional experience to dine there. When I ;last dined there, the Enoteca had just opened, but , ironically, was closed for a private party, so I've been wanting to return ever since. But I still have to run the idea by the others in my party.

Urinetown is the show we're seeing; I really appreciate the recommendatiosn. I am also considering I Trulli, especially because of the Enoteca next door. Any thoughts?

What I was referring to was our sampling of Oktoberfest beers, not beers from the Great American Beer Festival! Grab an O-fest beer if you want, though I suspect some folks will start bringing out some winter beers and pumpkin beers, too. Hope to see you there!

We're meeting friends for a show, drinks and dinner on 10/25, and I've been out of the NYC loop too long to know where to make reservations. All I've been given is this suggestion: Italian. Price is not a restriction, but I will not be dining with particularly adventurous diners. Felidia, Orso and Trattoria Dopo Teatro come to mind, but after that, I'm at a loss. I would like the place to have a good wine list, or wines by the glass, but that's just my preference. A suggestion for a good place for a drink before dinner would also be really appreciated, since we will have some time to kill before the dinner hour And considering that we will be seeing a matinee, I'm also not tied to staying in the Theater District, but that would be convenient. Thanks in advance, I'll really appreciate the help!

For the quality of food, I would suggest Triumph Brewing Co, but the TVs are only at the bar. If you dine upstairs, Dad wont be able to glance at the game. If "Da Gumbo" is still on the menu, get it. Triumph also does a very respectable burger and very good calamari and smoked chicken quesadillas.

Although I appreciate Conte's Pizza in Princeton, its crust lacks the depth of flavor that comes with a Delorenzo's pie, IMHO. And lately the pies at Conte's have been strangely oily and undercooked. And Delorenzo's blows away the pie in Hackensack (used to be my favorite when relatives lived in Hackensack). Blows away.

I can't, for the life of me, figure out how Geneovese left off DELORENZO'S TOMATO PIES in Trenton off his list. It's easily one of the benchamrk pizzas in the US.

This past Friday was really fun, everyone's wit was razor sharp, and we seemed to sample some pretty nice festbiers, too. I had even found and e-mailed around some Rush Limbaugh wav files that were cracking us up to play. But the laughter was everywhere. We ran from about 11:30PM-2:30AM this past session. Great fun. It's easy enough to get to starchat and to the chat room, so hope you can make it!