sara

Hi Oh, it all sounds so lovely. Unfortunately price IS an object. Merion Tribute is $3000 for an afternoon. Bartram is $2200. Has anyone been to an event at the Print Center? They appear to be relatively inexpensive--$500 for 4 hours. Their caterers include FYE and Frog.

Thanks so much! Bartram's does sound great; still waiting to hear about rental prices tho.

Where is Andalusia? Can anyone else think of restaurants in Philly that could hold a reception of 75-100 people, have good food, and won't cost a fortune? I know of Davio's and Brasserie Perrier, and some hotel restaurants, but don't like those ideas... Another question--any experiences with the catering at Cibucan?

Thank you all. Party Space does seem to be a nice site, pretty useful. A little corporate tho, and I'm sorta hoping for something less pricey, maybe off the beaten path a beat. Does anyone have any thoughts on Bartram's Garden in West Philly and/or Shackamaxon Catering? Perhaps someone has attended a wedding at the Garden in the past? Thanks!

Ok, after much delay due to an extended vacation--here's the report! Liam & I went to Rx with a friend as soon as my movers pulled away on Thursday July 29. We arrived at 5:30, and found ourselves still noshing and talking well after 8, when we needed to be on our way to NY! I've been eating at Rx since it opened, watching it go through multiple chefs--and I must say this latest development, the addition of Tim to the lineup, is a fabulous move! The menu is more interesting and electic than ever, full of yummy ingrediants, and each dish is deceptively simple in preparation, packing a great deal of flavor--and without overwhelmingly the diner with gigantic portions. We each did the $25 prix fixe, 3 courses, available Tuesday-Thursday nights. This is an AMAZING deal. I hope it doesn't go away- it should be a great draw for the locals. We started with: White shrimp risotto: garden zucchini, truffle essence, summer onion coulis Rx gnocchi: chanterelles, micro arugula, truffled parsley puree Grilled day boat calamari: Gaeta olives, lemon, almonds The pastas were wonderful--tender, rich, yet not heavy. My calamari was full of spice and vigor, and perfectly cooked. For my entree I had a special--wild striped bass, corn/bacon/nut-crusted, with chanterelles, butternut-chardonnay broth. AWESOME, silky. Liam and my friend each chose the braised short ribs: creamy morels, yukon gold hash, sauce Bordelaise. The ultimate falling off the bone comfort dish--kudos to Tim for having the balls to serve this in July. We then had many desserts--balsamic strawberries, bread pudding, chocolate cake, and another that's slipping my mind. A real sugar high. Lucky y'all who get to enjoy Tim's cooking at Rx when he really has a chance to "settle in" -- whatever that means; he's already cooking far beyond the capacity of many of Philly's chefs who've been there for ages.

Hi, Well, I'm engaged! LiamDC and I will be getting married next June. So, we need some help. We'd like to get married in Philadelphia, either in or very near the city--and we want great food & wine, of course! Couple of questions--does anyone know of caterers or locations that allow us to either provide our own wine or request specific wines? What are your thoughts on the best (meaning creative food- no stuffed chicken breasts or salmon), but also reasonably priced, caterers in the area? Do you have location ideas (think 100 people, red wine allowed, a/c, not costing more than a few thousand, no hotels)? Thanks--we appreciate it! Sara

Hi Yes, it is pretty here in Boothbay at the moment, tho much warmer than I'd like. What happened to the nice cool summers here? It's in the 80s! At the moment I'm at the new Moosehead Coffee House (near the library), which has wifi. The days of internet-less Boothbay are gone. Restaurant update-- The Lobsterman's Coop has always been a favorite, but has taken a dive IMO. We went the other night, and at 7 pm they were out of steamers, and any lobstahs bigger than 1.25! Lots of pissed off people there. Next day, we did Robinson's instead, and not only did they have everything we wanted, but the lobsters tasted better. This is a switch from my experiences in years past. Ok, off to Damariscotta for oysters!

Hey, this thread is great. I'll be moving into S. Hancock St, two blks from downtown, in 3 weeks. Since I won't have my kitchen set up for awhile, recommendations for takeout/delivery in the area, and places that are reasonable, delicious and walking distance would be much appreciated!

VM, Glad you had fun. I thought the 45 min chicken had been mentioned on the thread before--sorry it wasn't. But I've found that 45 min FLIES by when in the company of Derrick and his lovely cocktails.

Liam and I hit Yanyu tonight. This was a very good value for RW. I had three courses: tuna tataki (very clean, Japanese), big duck (excellent pekeing duck), and roasted sea bass (melting, delicious); along with two glasses of paired wines (South African sauvignon blanc and pinot noir), for $40.04. Liam had a tasting: lily bulb dumpling, big duck, crab cucumber sunomono, honey roasted sea bass, jasmine rice, crispy garlic shrimp; along with three paired wines (chardonnay, fume blanc, malbec) for $45.04. Thus, two different menus were offered, each $30, each with an optional wine pairing. Service was very polite and prompt; but the atmosphere was a bit lacking, probably due to an inexperienced rw crowd--several women were yapping loudly on their cell phones! Argh...

This is terrific news and I'll be checking Greg & Tim out this Thursday night after my movers depart!! It's been terrific watching my West Philly neighborhood flourish into a place that could house a 'destination' restaurant.

Well, Mendocino is definitely "doing" restaurant week, rather than not doing it. At our dinner there last night, LiamDC and I found our server, Jesse (of the big mop of black curls) to be rather excited by RW, in fact. As was the sommelier, eager to help, advise, chat...we had no sense that he felt put upon by RW customers, nor did he try to upsell us at all. We ended up with a $33 bottle, an 'interesting red' from their list, 2001 Quivira Dry Creek Cuvee, which was an electric blend of several grapes including Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, ? It was a bit young, but quite likeable, and for bonus points we'll probably visit the vineyard while in Dry Creek next month. (Two small glitches--the waiter removed our wine glasses when told we'd ordered wine, and the sommelier returned with 2 of the same kind; also the sommelier walked over with the wrong bottle the first tme and had to go get the right one.) I'd suspected Mendocino would be pleasant about it being RW, based on JRage's posting; and indeed, I think many others thought the same--the place was nearly empty at 6:30 when we arrived, but quite full by 7:00 pm. You've already seen the RW menu, since JRage posted it--about 4 of the 9 apps have upcharges (but they range from $2-4); 1 of the 7 entrees; none of the desserts--tho the cheeses aren't included in the dessert list. Prior to dinner we were served a dish of warm olives--YUM! The warmth was a nice touch, unusual. I started with the chicken liver bruschetta, sauteed shallots, peaches, duck bacon, grilled sourdough. This was a lovely dish. I really like chicken liver, and I made some just the other day, but thought very highly of these. The peaches added a nice sweetness to the dish that made it palatable for Liam, who isn't a lover of the taste of liver. It was a very generous portion; two big slices of sourdough topped with at least a 1/2 lb of chicken livers. Liam began with the lamb loin carpaccio, parmesean crisp, baby argula, fennel pollen, saba ($2 upcharge). The lamb was paper-thin, very nice--could have used a bit of black pepper tho, and there wasn't any on the table. Unfortunately, the dish as a whole didn't mesh; the pieces didn't fit together, the parmesean crisp tasted a bit soggy/stale. My entree was the grilled wild king salmon, horseradish potato salad, purslane, keta-chive creme fraiche. Most of this dish was the potato salad ( a huge heap), the creme fraiche (which included plenty of salmon roe) and the lovely purslane. There was a relatively small piece of salmon on top; that said, it was cooked perfectly to medium-rare, and was quite fresh. My only complaint about this dish was its surprising heaviness--the combination of potato salad and a creme sauce actually made this plate feel like a large large portion--I have half of it here with me for lunch today. Liam had the grilled marlin puttanessca, bucatini pasta, cherry tomatoes, green garlic, olives, capers, anchovy, chili flakes. Again, oddly, while the components were nice, this dish didn't hang together well. The marlin was very good, again medium-rare, but it sort of sat to the side of the pasta dish. And unfortunately, while I love bucatini, I thought it didn't hold this particular light sauce very well. And there was quite clearly too much oil--oil was left all over the plate. We ended with a blueberry/peach cobbler with cinnamon ice cream (me) and chocolate pot de creme w/ whipped cream (Liam). The cobbler was good but wasn't served hot. I didn't get a taste of the pot de creme! All told, food and bev came to about $100. This certainly isn't a bad deal, especially for G-town, and overall, I thought the food was above average--and one definitely didn't leave hungry. Most importantly, the restaurant dealt with each customer ( I could overhear conversations at the 2 neighboring tables) with plenty of respect, and actual enthusiasm for RW. That's nice, for a change. Tonite, on to Yanyu!

I'm on my way to Mendocino--will report back!

I agree- this kind of approach pisses me off. I'm probably going to cancel tonite's reservation. The meal I'd choose would cost me $45 without tax,tip,alcohol--not such a great deal after all.

There's the place at Annandale Rd and Rt 50 that I like, called Secret Garden, we discussed this a while back. Is that Hee Been--not sure of the non-Anglicized name...

Still too full to move, let alone write a review of last night's dinner...(ok I was a very bad girl and preceded the meal with drinks at Ginger Cove and Rosa Mexicana and guac too...bad bad girl AT least my partner in crime isn't feeling too great today either!) but wanted to be sure people had seen the new website: MiniBar More to come...

I made a tomato sauce last night of fresh tomatoes, spinach, fresh basil, shrimp and the yellow plums. They were a terrific addition to the sauce--adding a slightly sour note, some acidity, and great color. I'm no longer afraid to mix up the veggies and fruit in a pasta sauce!

Well, according to the folks on the show, the growth of ethnic restaurants in the DC area represents the changing face of restaurants here; at least that's what I got from half-listening. What headline news! Come on, IMO, that's been the strength of DC-area restaurants for at least 10-15 years. Leaving the DC area for awhile made me miss the abundance of Vietnamese, Korean, and Salvadorean in the area. Philly still has nothing like it. But is this a new thing? I think not. Guess it depends on what "new" is...

It's kinda boring so far.. I submitted a q, but am tuning out..

Oh, that sounds wonderful! But unfortunately I am without a food processor or food mill this summer. What do you think about combining yellow plums with shrimp and tomatoes, perhaps in a sauce?

Hi I have a bunch of yellow plums. I know I can grill them, or make a cobbler. But does anyone have suggestions for non-dessert options? Salads? In a pasta? Thanks!

First, I nominate that this topic be moved--Rocks? Second, I think these are two very different restaurants. I've been to both in the last week, and I went for different reasons. You go to Palena for rockin' cocktails and great comfort food--and stellar service. You go to Indique for very good, interesting Indian food. The cocktails and service aren't as good there, tho the atmosphere might be a tad cooler. Both will be mildly crowded on a Saturday night, as any good place is. You know, if you're up for some real fun, you could make a night out of Cleveland Park. Sit at Indique's bar and start with a tamarind margarita at Indique, and a few appetizers--the calamari for sure. Move across the street to Palena for another cocktail, and the burger & fries or chicken & fries. Then go back across the street to Coldstone Creamery for ice cream, or down to Bardeo for a glass of wine and some cheese. Finish off by shooting some pool at Atomic!

I'm going to agree with Liam on this one. I'm a huge zin fan, and have never been impressed at Calvert Woodley. But the other day at Circle I found a bottle of Andrew Murray's Tous Les Jours. Not easy to find on the East Coast, IMO. Priced the same as the bottles I bought at AM's Tasting Room in Los Olivos.

VM, The entire area around the bar, with many tables, as well as the outside patio, is known as the cafe. You can order anything off the cafe menu, as well as anything off that night's dinner menu--ala carte. In other words, whereas the dinner menu is only offered prix fixe, like 3 courses for X, and doesn't list prices for separate dishes, you, sitting the cafe, can order anything you want off that menu--individually. It's the best deal around, by far. Those in my party the other night were musing aloud why ANYONE would ever sit in the back, formal part of the resto. The plates, by the way, ain't that small. There's nothing small about a 1/2 a brilliantly roasted chicken. Or a big ol' perfect burger. I think you'll be fine going by Palena around 7:30 on a Saturday night, esp during the summer. Just not with a large party--then you're much more likely to have a wait.

Went back to Lolita recently. Here are a few piks of the wonderful food we enjoyed-- these are the lamb and duck entrees.