KatieLoeb

Let's bump up this Oldie but Goodie. Philadelphia Magazine has kindly provided us with the master list of Feast of Seven Fishes Dinners for the entire area. Sadly, I will undoubtedly be working on Christmas Eve to allow some of my co-workers the night off for a holiday I do not celebrate. But I'll certainly be calling around to see if any of these restaurants might be serving these treats on any other nights that week to see if I can get a Fishie Fix in before the holiday!

A truer statement was never made, and I missed it! Maybe I'll have to go on a hunt for it... Tried a couple of new things tonight. The Fra Guerau Rosato 2005 ($7.99) is a dark pink/pale red rose from Spain amde from Syrah, Merlot and Tempranillo. Lots of berries on the nose and a pleasant finish. Didn't match as well with my Mexican grilled shrimp, rice and beans as I'd hoped, but still a very tasty and pleasant wine. I'll finish the rest tomorrow with some hummus, pita bread, tabouli and stuffed grape leaves and I suspect that will match far better. Y'all know me by now. I loves me my pink wines! Other bottle wasn't a CS, but also a great deal. La Yunta Torrontes 2005 from Argentina, also $7.99 a bottle. Torrontes is a delicious, fruity and aromatic white with a hint of residual sweetness much like a nice riesling with a more floral component in the nose. Pairs outrageously well with spicy food like Szechuan, but I liked it just fine with Jose's Ginger-Chicken-Lime soup that I had as my first course. Nice grapefruit and melon flavors that really made the gingery spiciness sing. A steal at eight bucks. I'm going back for more. This would pair well with a lot of things. Both these purchases were made at the 12th & Chestnut store, both toward the back of the store. But you could always look it up online and see if there's any closer to your front door.

Wow! Impressive line up of cocktails at Pegu. I'm simultaneously impressed and not at all surprised that your heads hurt today! That toro looks amazing as does your ramen lunch.

I called to confirm and Jose's has the Chicken-Ginger soup again, now that it's cold out. I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!

I was right. Diageo, a division of Southern Wine & Spirits carries the Hennessey in PA. I've searched through my rolodex and have found a local Sales Specialist. I'll PM you his details and perhaps if you send him the pictures he can tell you what it is you have there.

Muddle a couple of basil leaves in tequila and fill with ginger ale and ice. Very tasty and refreshing on a hot day.

Looks like they have real china and they're selling La Colombe beans and have the requisite La Spezzia (?) rental machine that La Colombe provides, so I'm guessing that's what they're serving. FWIW, there were certainly enough coffee cups out on the few tables for me to believe that the clientele is drinking whatever they're serving, and the owner seems to know his stuff.

Happy Birthday in advance then! Have a lovely time and great dinner, wherever you end up. A full report is now de rigeur...

According to Craig Laban, the city's best burger trophy goes to Good Dog, with a two bell review from Himself. According to the article the foie gras has been out of the burger mix for some time as well. So it's just a regular tasty and juicy burger with no magical ingredients except the hidden stash of blue cheese inside. Yeah, that'll do as well. I feel I must post Mr. Laban's brilliant haiku that this delicious burger has inspired: Cheeseburger, I hold Mischief heart of liquid bleu You melt into mine Love it!

Applejack might be interesting too. Kind of like a caramel apple! Hot milk punch recipes were popular in the old days. I suspect something akin to a hot dulce de leche milk punch with hooch-of-your-choosing could be a mighty fine way to spend a chilly evening. Of course now between this thread and Donbert's blog I have to go buy some SCM tomorrow and make dulce de leche and test this theory myself. It's turned quite chilly and very windy here in the last couple of days and this might be what I need when I get home late at night, frozen from walking to the house from my car. Damn you people! And damn me for being so easily lead...

Dulce de Leche must be tested on small warmed bites of plain buttery croissant...

The Ciroc is tasty because it is grape based, not grain based. Mauzac Blanc and Ugni Blanc, to be precise. The process is described HERE. Brings a whole new level of aromatics and flavors to the party. No surprise to me that a wine lover like yourself would be intrigued and easily won over by it. It is very smooth stuff with subtle citric and floral overtones in the nose (much like white wine) and less of that hot grain "bite" that most other vodkas possess.

Wow! That is a seriously cool looking bottle! No clues for you, but thanks for posting the pic. Makes it easier to visualize what you were talking about. My suggestion would be to find out which liquor purveyor reps the Hennessey in PA. It might be Southern Wine & Spirits, but I could be wrong. I'll see if I can find out for you and post tomorrow. Sending them the picture might get you a better and more informed answer to this mystery. If you do convince your DH to bust that puppy open I'll be there anytime, anywhere, just name it!

This is what happens when you go shopping after pegu. A man with a mission. ← My thoughts exactly!! Great to see you blogging Donbert! I'm excited to see the cocktail experiments (both your own and the various trained professionals you visit) as well as the SCM Project and the other fun places you're eating. Blog on brother...

So garriga...has your birthday dinner passed, and if so, how was it? If it's still upcoming, have you decided on a reservation yet? We nosey folks want answers to these pressing questions.

I looked all over for this thread and couldn't find it! Thanks Phil! This lovely little cafe deserves all of our business. The owner is quite charming, the vibe is very neighborhood-ey, and the hot chocolates are delicious! The hot white chocolate was a bit less viscous than the thinned-pudding texture of the darker version, but was very subtle and tasty. The dark was just overwhelmingly thick and chocolatey. And I mean that in a good way. The mini pastries are perfect for that I-just-want-two-bites after dinner sweet. Loking over the bill of fare there's a fairly extensive selection of teas, coffee and all its permutations, both domestic and imported sodas, chai, chai latte, etc. There are pastries and croissant sandwiches too. Cute little place! I'll certainly be back.

The suggestion of Suilan is a good one, but I thought you'd mentioned having dined at the Susanna Foo in Philly before, so that might not be new ground for you. The Borgata also has the new-ish Bobby Flay Steaks, Michael Mina's Seablue, Wolfgang Puck's American Grille, and Luke Palladino's Specchio. Personally, I think the signature dish at Seablue, the Lobster Pot Pie, and a few nice glasses of Viognier or a nice white Burgundy would be the way I'd spend my evening. I haven't had it personally, but I'm told it's crazy delicious. It sounds like the perfect cross between haute cuisine and comfort food to me, and with the right wine on the side, a fabulous dinner that couldn't be replicated elsewhere.

The Kay and Ray's Dark Potato Chips (far right, third bag down) are hands down the tastiest chips I've ever had. Really potato-ey, and made even tastier by the extra cooking. Lardy chips at their finest. Not too salty to my taste, although I confess I'm too busy stuffing them in my mouth by the fist full to read the nutritional info on the side of the bag. Does anyone read the label info on the side of the bag on snack foods?? Worth the occasional hour and change drive out toward Lancaster to find them. I always bring several bags home that last shamefully too short a time in the pantry.

Cracked open a bottle of the Chairman's Selection Whitehall Lane Merlot 2005 tonight to enjoy with my late night dinner after work. I was eating Middle Eastern mezze style since I'd loaded up at the "Olive Bar" at the Wegman's in Cherry Hill yesterday afternoon. I had both roasted garlic and spicy hummos, whole wheat pita breads, stuffed grape leaves and some tabouli salad to accompany the wine. This wine is tasty, but a bit thin. I suspect it might benefit from a little more time in the bottle, as it's still quite young. But again, at $12.99 a bottle, might be worthy of laying a few down in the hope that time will be kind to it, and the knowledge that it's a solid producer will shine eventually through. Certainly quite quaffable, in it's present state, if not as impressive as I'd hoped. But very drinkable, in an awkward adolescent kind of way. Hopefully we all grow out of that geeky stage eventually, don't we?

Depends on the size of your statistical sample, I think...

I'm not sure I can tell you anything about it until I taste it. So when am I invited over?? PS - I'll second the nice to see you around!

I usually love getting in my car when some fabulous food find has been perfuming the interior for awhile. One of my fondest food memories was bringing some melons home from a side-of-the-road farmstand in Lancaster County one Labor Day weekend and the car smelling sweet and delicious for days thereafter... I guess you're saying this doesn't work so well with cheese?? So the Rav smells like ass, then?

You're a braver woman than I. I thought you meant that tail end that we unceremoniously refer to as the "Pope's Nose". Brava. You are curious and courageous, an excellent combination of attributes.

Philadining and I visited La Puebla tonight and have decided that this is the Holy Grail of Tacos al Pastor. Never had better ones anywhere on the planet. Real pieces of pineapple in with the pineapple infused pork that's been cooking on the circular gyro-like spit in the back all day long. Also tried the delicious Frijoles al Charro - big honking bowl of porky, brothy smoky goodness with chicharrones floating on top. Oh baby. Really awesome rib sticking fare for a chilly evening. Some grilled spring onions and a molcajete filled with freshly made guacamole to round out our feast and life is good. All this yumminess and two beverages come to the whopping total of $17.00. I freaking love this place... Pix to follow from Phil when he has time. You'll be drooling over the visuals.

Please do report back! It's been quite awhile since I've been to Deux Cheminees (I should be embarassed to say that), but Chef Fritz Blank changes his menus seasonally, so I'm certain that nothing I had would still be on the menu. DO NOT FAIL to ask for a tour of the library. It's the most impressive cookbook collection known to man, as well as housing the most gorgeous dining table I've ever seen. Apparently a friend of the chef had built the dining table out of wooden wine crates that bear the names of various wineries from all over the world. Apparently the friend also passed on soon after completing the table. It is truly one of the most beautiful handcrafted items I've ever had the pleasure of viewing, and made that much more dear by the story attached to it. I covet that table with every fiber of my being. The couple of times that I've been there, I've always asked to see the library, and on one occasion surprised the chef sitting peacefully with his cat, watching TV in his bathrobe. He seemed less bothered than I was by it. He's a really fascinating man and someone I could talk to for hours.