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Rich Pawlak

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by Rich Pawlak

  1. The 2008 version of Sierra Nevada Celebration, my very favorite beer. I don't know for sure if Sierra Nevada tweaks the recipe from year to year, as Anchor does with "Our Special Ale", but I think SN has dialed back the hops a bit in this year's version of Celebration. Fine by me, I like the balance of hops and malt, even in this year's bottlings, which , to me, taste a bit sweeter tyhan previous years of the beer. Anyone else taste a difference?
  2. Rich Pawlak

    CASCZILLA!

    A dear friend returned from Ithaca NY recently and brought back with her a sixer of Ithaca Brewing's CASCZILLA, which they describe as a "Monstrously Hoppy red ale", but folks, it is SO much more: lots of dense, grapefruity Cascades, but surprise! a beefy malt prescence that prevents the teeth-grinding of most overhopped beeers and gives CASCZILLA a nice clean finish. THere's a really bright red-ornage color, b illowy clouds of foam atop the pint glass and a sharp, tart grove of grapefruit trees in the nose. I'll have more about this terrific beer on my new blog in the next day or two. I know this brew is now available in PA, and I'm gonna be heading over the border to get me some more soon.
  3. Chinese friends of ours universally praise the place and it is indeed a very good restaurant, a big notch above Tiger Noodles in Princeton, which is also quite good. In fact, most of the staff at TN head to Szechuan Garden when they go out locally. "Good as NYC" they typically say.
  4. I would throw Marra's in South Philly, Passyunk & Morris, into that mix as well. And the pizza is also top notch. Marra's, Villa di Roma, Ralph's and Criniti's gotta be the top 4.
  5. An endlessly curious and gregarious host and colleague indeed! Good luck in anything you do Chuck!
  6. I've put on annual Beer Tours in Philly for over 10 years, and I've always strived to visit places that had different brews on tap, so as to avoid overlap and repitition, never an easy task, and ultimately not totally achievable. But what you and Benzee achieved, John , was to give our enormous crowd six different and distinctive hot dog experiences, and that is an amazing feat. Add to that fact that each hot dog was terrific unto itself, and you have a stunning accomplishment.
  7. I gotta say, this was a fantastic, extremely well planned, timed and organized tour, with not a weak dog in the bunch, from Dee's Truck (my personal favorite of the day), to Galloping Hill (who COMPED EVERY PERSON ON THE TOUR A HOT DOG AND DRINK to start off the Tour--that is amazing generosity, and evidence of the high regard in which our tour organizers, John Fox and Benzee were held), to The Windmill, to Jimmy Buff's to Manny's to Bubba's, each and every place was unique in its own way, and each place was distinctively great in their own way, a tremendous achievement by the thoughtful planners of this tour. The Galloping Hill dog, a custom dog on a custom bun, I enjoyed with mustard and hot relish, and it was dazzling. But nothing, to me, topped the fresh snap of the natural casing Sabrett dog at Dee's, served on a equally fresh bun, simply perfection. The Windmill was also quite good, nicely grilled footlong dog with very good chili, mustard and onions. Manny's is my current favorite chili dog, with a chili sauce that has hints of nutmeg and cinnamon--I thought I was in a Cincinnati chili parlor!---and a nicely grilled dog. Great service staff also, I must say. JImmy Buff's in East Hanover was the best version of the Italian hot dog that I've had in along while, just well sauteed onions, peppers and potatoes, great pizza bread and a very good tasty dog. But Bubba's was also great in its way; I had parts of a plain dog with mustard and relish, as well as a chili dog, and they were both superb. KIller fresh cut fries at Bubba's, too. But in the end, its the people on a tour that you enjoy the most, and I've gotta say that this tour had some of the NICEST people you'd ever hope to meet; enthusiastic, eccentric, colorful and best of all, funny. Truly a great day of fun in the hot dog subculture of New Jersey. I hope I can make it every year from now on.
  8. I would throw the new Sal Deforte's in the finer dining mix ; now located in Ewing, it looks nicer thanh its original location , and the food is certainly quite good.
  9. The Lime Inn was terrific , great staff, very good food, straightforward and generous, Shrimp, grouper and pastas were very good. Cafe Milano was also surprisingly good, if you like red gravy Italian (which I do); the pizza, which was highly touted on Fodors, was merely a glorified, overcheesed boboli crust, but the pastas were very very very good, as were salads and the mussels. Margarita Phil's was lackluster, with the exception of the nachos and chicken quesadillas, which my 3 yr old twins scarfed up greedily (always a good sign IMHO). Ironically some of the best meals we enjoyed were at the dining room, the Beach Cafe, at the Westin Resort, where we stayed. The breakfasts were outstanding, whether it was the daily buffet, or ala carte items, and the dinner menu was pretty damn good, especially their Caribbean styled dishes.
  10. Rich Pawlak

    One Guy Brewing

    A terrific article in the nearby Hazelton, PA newspaper HERE
  11. With the addition of YOUR idea, the seeds of something GREAT.
  12. Taka is an outstanding pan-Asian place, nice atmosphere and some clever plates too.
  13. Hey, f'real. Yards Brewing started in a garage that was even smaller!
  14. Oh let's ALL take it over and become the best catering company in the city. The combined and collective talents in this forum alone could create one HELL of a business, dontcha think? We could call it COMMUNAL TABLE CATERING, or COMBINED FORCES CATERING, or MIXXX CATERING or MANY HANDS CATERING or something like those names. Imagine the menus Imagine the "lets put on a show" atmosphere Imagine the jovial bickering Imagine the money to be made
  15. Yes, indeed. Friday night the crew went out and grabbed 20 pies from Enzo's, which were quite decent I must say, even after being boxed for a bit. They also bought a big pan of penne in red sauce. Hot wings, hoagies and wraps from Brothers Pizza rounded out our Friday night welcome reception which lasted into the wee hours over Yuenglings, PBC IPAs, Stella Artois and Harp lagers. Saturday was a all-day excursion to Brandywine Picnic Park in Pocopson, which ended at 6. A very nice park, with a good array of above average food (pig roast, roasted corn, burgers, dogs, fries, ribs, brisket, salads, ice cream custards) and lots of things for kids. My twins loved the place. Saturday night we went back to the hotel and ordered pizzas and wings and stuff from Pizza Peddlar, all of which were also quite good,(though the Enzo's pizzas were better) and listened to great stories and anecdotes from various uncles and aunts to make it a fun end of the day. I have a very fun family.
  16. definetly call in advance. it's byo if you choose to eat there. nice atmosphere good service. worth making a bit of a trek for. ← Thanks for the suggestion, a bit far afield for us, and I think 80 or so folks with kids would kinda overwhelm a place like Sovano.
  17. Well, the family all arrives THIS Friday, so sampling in advance is outa the question. The cousins involved in planning this weekend have been woefully tardy in their planning. I'm thinking Enzo's is the place that will be nearest our hotel, the Microtel just off 202.
  18. Dont worry, I thought of that; but 80 people is a lot of trouble to haul 1.5 hours.
  19. I'm looking for VERY VERY good pizza for a family reception at our hotel on Friday in West Chester. The many loud Italians in my family are, for the most part, very discerning pizza fanatics and like thin crispy pies. Any suggestions for where I might be able to get 25-30 pizzas for Friday night in West Chester???
  20. Iberia or Iberia Peninsula are, to me, the most consistent rodizio places on Ferry, and the service done well enough to get you in and out in relative quickness if you desire.
  21. For my 51st birthday I opened a bottle of 1999 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine. Nice strong hiss when I popped the bottle cap, steady slightly syrupy pour into the glass, with some sediment in the bottle. After about 30 min warming up, the beer still had a quarter -inch head, nice plum and baked peachy aromas. A little fizz still available for the tongue, and a nice dried fruit initial taste, with a slightly sticky mouthfeel. Lit up a Ramon Allones Riserva torpedo from Cuba and the SNBF stood right up to that hefty cigar. A decnt pairing, not perhaps the best one, but the cigar lent a burnt crust note to my glass of roasted peach cobbler-like barleywine. A nice way to end the day: crickets chirping in the wood, a candle lit on the deck, a nicely aged barleywine and a good ceegar.
  22. Great story and twin reviews of the two locations of Delorenzo's in today's Trenton Times, specifically in its Good Times weekend magazine section. And Food Editor Susan sprague yeske confirms what we have stated here: the pies at both locations are identical and still expertly made. Bravo Sam and Gary Amico!
  23. Mad props to the Grande Bartendrix! I was finally able to see Katie in action not too long ago at Chick's and she was mixing up a storm, even during Philly Beer Week! I found it fun to watch the reaction on people's faces as they took their first sips of a Katie Kocktail; priceless!
  24. And the reason I like the Grey Lodge for a cheesesteak is esoteric, but significant, I think: where else in town can you get a really good cheesesteak AND a huge selection of microbrews, on tap and in bottles. I really dont think that combination exists ANYWHERE else in the city (unless the new Memphis Taproom is serving a cheesesteak).
  25. I stand by my current favorite cheesesteak at the Grey Lodge in NE Philly. They use sirloin to start, dont chop it up and serve it on really tasty DePalma rolls. And the fries are killer. Get a bowl of mussels or clams as an appetizer too. And well, it's also a craft brew and bourbon mecca. Now that's a quinella to win.
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