KatieLoeb

Wow. You mean they've actually made the mental connect to the fact that their host is as exciting as watching paint dry? Thank heavens they've shown at least a tiny modicum of self-reflection here. The next Mrs. ex-Billy Joel is attractive, but painfully dull. Does this mean there's hope for a hostess with some personality? So where exactly do I send my resume?? I might not be a size two or as pretty as she is, but I promise I'll grill those contestants within an inch of their lives!

which would make for an interesting "personal ad": Exquisite woman seeks similar male, option: entertaining lavishly. Has two full sets of china, flatware, and silver. Male must cook divinely, serving, optional. All wines included with running commentary. Matrimony after fine dining. Call Kate Loeb ... ← Savvy Sommeliere Seeks Similarly Sophisticated Soulmate....

When I got married (I'm now divorced) we already had three households (mine, his, my mother's) worth of stuff combined so the usual things were really unnecessary and already existed in multiples. We registered for some good kitchen knives, small kitchen appliances, a KitchenAid mixer, a good pressure cooker, some decent wine glasses, etc. and were fortunate enough to have friends and family that were kind and generous enough to get us what we'd asked for. We also asked for cold hard cash and used that to pay for our belated honeymoon. I still have two full sets of "formal" china, everyday dishes and flatware, mom's silver service, and all of the wedding gifts.

It's funny. The new BYO policy is not going over too well with some of the longer time staff at Jake's. Many of them have said they made a conscious choice to work there and not at a BYO because of the higher check average and how that translated into their tip average. Other said they were afraid it would draw a restaurant filled with water drinkers and appetizer eaters, and fill up the seats for very little translation into money in their pockets at the end of the shift for the same amount (or more) running around. I think diners like you and your wife will try the place on a BYO night and (assuming you enjoyed the experience) would still come back on another occasion when the BYO might not be in effect and be just as happy. Unfortunately, not everyone is like you. Tonight I only had one table that BYO'd. They were very nice and still ordered two appetizers, an entree to share, dessert and coffee and an after dinner glass of Sauternes, so they weren't there to be frugal! I see both sides. I hope that the policy will draw some new clientele that will happily return on other evenings, whether or not it's BYO on those nights. Hopefully this will translate into busier nights and more revenue overall on what are traditionally slower nights. Hopefully, it all balances out in the end. As far as I know I'll be working next Monday if you want to come in and see me! I usually work Wed/Thurs nights but I have some prior commitments next week and swapped around those days.

Well...WE did! Tacconelli's has been on The Best Of... on the Food Network already, but it's worth a stop while you're here, even just for yourself. It's some damned fine 'za. Fat Guy will back me up on this one. You definitely have to try a Philly Surf 'n Turf hotdog while you're here. Fishcake mushed onto a hotdog. They're delicious and cheap and definitely not something you see anywhere else I'm aware of. Holly can direct you to the best of those, but I'll join you for that outing if I can! There's good cheap ethnic eats of all sorts here, but I'm not certain it's things that are that unique to Philly. The Polish eateries, bakeries and kielbasa factory in Port Richmond might be an interesting angle. There's a pocket of Ethiopian restaurants in West Philly. Dahlak's is my go to. Great Loatian/Thai place (Vientiane Cafe) out that way too. If you come while it's still warm out you can try some wooder ice (aka Water Ice or Italian Ice) from any one of a number of stands in the area. Those are good and cheap. Great hoagies at Chickie's Deli are somewhat off the beaten track. Let us know exactly what you're looking for and I'm certain if we don't already know about it, we'll help sniff it out!

Chris, you can take a gander through THIS very long thread (the real stuff starts around page 6) and have a look at some of our earlier exploits, which include Tacconelli's. Here's a picture of one of Tac's best - White pizza wth Tomato, Spinach, Garlic and Pepperoni: There really is no "Philly style" pizza. There's all different styles. But here it's all about the crust. If you read through all of the Pizza Club threads in the PA forum you'll see there's a wide variety.

This all smacks of the same stench as the rabid vegetarian wearing leather shoes telling me what I should eat or not to wear fur. Pfft. I think others have hit the nail on the head. This is a chance to try and look like humanitarian/animal rights heroes when the real issue is an economic one for the store chain. Which makes me want to boycott their opportunistic hypocritical selves as well...

Can't vouch for the food, but a cocktail at Top of the Mark at the Mark Hopkins Hotel will avail you of the finest panoramic views of the city you could find anywhere. Live jazz, a 100 martini menu, an adult vibe, and if you go to watch the sunset, the city twinkling at your feet. It's spectacular.

Joining the trend of having BYO nights is Jake's in Manayunk. On Sundays and Mondays from now through the end of September, you may bring your own wine to the restaurant and pay no corkage fee on those evenings. This means Jake's is joining Georges, Sovalo, Brasserie Perrier and a few others in allowing customers to bring their own bottles on selected evenings. Are there any other restaurants that I haven't mentioned that are doing this? Has anyone availed themselves of this policy, and if so, how do you think it effected your experience at the restaurant? Full disclosure: I am waiting tables at Jake's a couple of nights per week.

I've waxed poetic about this wine before, but the Domaine de la Courtade L'Alycastre Rose is really one of the nicest roses I've ever tried. It would be spectacular with any type of Provencal cuisine and is even delicious for sipping by itself. Pretty salmon color in the glass, smells like strawberries and sunshine, it's grown on the Isle de Porquerolles off of the French Riviera, between Marseilles and Nice, quite literally the sunniest place in France. Delicious stuff and reasonably priced.

Whoa whoa whoa, no one told me that Sabrina's closed!!! ← Sabrina's hasn't closed, but Greg was making a shameless pitch for brunch at his restaurant Rx. He can do that with full disclosure in his signature and because I think we all realized he was saying it somewhat tongue in cheek. This thread is for/about Honey's so let's stay on topic. Buckethead, if you want to start a "favorite places to have brunch" thread in the PA forum, have at it. I'm sure there are plenty of places to debate.

← Hence the obtuse "orange flower" reference upthread.

I had a nice dinner at Vidalia toward the south end of the island either last summer or the one before. I think I may even have posted about it. Don't know if it's still open, but the food was really good, the service and decor a bit more "citi-fied" than I was used to on the Island, it was BYOB and there was a liquor store practically right across the street. My yearly trip to LBI should have been a couple of weekends ago, but sadly I had other obligations that weekend and missed it.

i looked it up when i read rich's post: $20 for the 1999, $30 for the 2000. ← WOW! Sounds great. I'll have to go find me some of that before it all disappears.

Can you imagine? I don't know what I would say if someone did THAT! Right. It would be pretty obviously awful of them. But I did have one fellow try. He was a notorious cheapskate and one of the reasons I developed my system. So I lingered a little at the table, pretending to be looking for my car keys, then after everyone else had started out, I stood up and dropped an extra $5. This guy saw me, and started to turn back to retrieve a portion of his tip, but his wife kept pushing him, saying "Oh no you don't," and she kept pushing him, right out the door. ← Good God. What a scumbag. Thank heavens he has a smart, understanding (and obviously incredibly patient!) wife. How'd a jerk like him land a good woman like that?

Nice. Sounds like a lovely dinner. Can you tell us a little more about the menu and wine pairings? And what's the cost of admission for the fabulous Tassinaia?

The pasta dishes I've had at Panorama have always been excellent, and I believe the pasta is all freshly made on premise. I confess I've neither noticed whether there is gnocchi on the menu nor sampled it if there is, but I'm certain if they make it, it is excellent. Plus you can't beat the wine selection! La Famiglia also has excellent pastas. Either of these might be a tad too fancified for what you had in mind, but the food definitely fits the bill. I'll join the chorus singing the praises of Chef Adamo's fresh pastas at Penne. They are really good.

A word to the owners at Standard Tap or Royal Tavern might make it happen. Maybe Chef Miguel at the new Cantina could do a Mexican spin on Pepperpot - sort of a hybrid Pepperpot/Menudo type thing? That might be quite tasty. I suspect it's too warm out now for thoughts of Pepperpot soup. Everyone is into gazpacho for the summer...

That's what I'm talkin' about right there! If you seek something that is quintessentially Philly and not to be found anywhere else, you have to go have breakfast with Carman. Other purely Philly options would include the obvious aforementioned Cheesesteak and Roast pork rivalries, as well as warm pretzels from Fisher's at RTM, hoagies from Chickie's Deli, Bassett's ice cream, Capogiro gelato for sure, Taconeilli's pizza, some African cuisine in West Philly, Johnny Hots dogs, Bluecoat gin (a local potstill produced gin), or a BYO dinner at any of the many options at your disposal.

You?? Unkind? Quibbling over wine? Et tu, Capaneus? Nah! Sheesh. You had me scared there for a minute. I was wondering who you were and what you'd done with the real Capaneus...

I'd love to know the answer to this question (antique barware fetishist) and more importantly, what'd 'ya mix up there brotha'? Looks mighty tasty.

I'm not Ludja... but yep. It's made with poultry too. Schmaltz means fat. Any fat, but primarily animal. Nothing was better on a Friday night than being the first one to Baba's house and running to the kitchen to snack on the gribenes before the rest of the cousins got there . But we didn't use the rendered fat for bread - we just cook/ed with it. ← Thank you Pam! Your answer is just as good. There's no doubt that schmaltz with the cracklings in it regardless of the critter it came from, is a treat. Horrible for you, but a treat nonetheless.

Ludja: Isn't this also done with chicken (or goose) fat and gribenes?? Like the original meaning of heartstoppingly delicious schmaltz mit gribenes? Most nice Jewish mamas wouldn't make it with pork...

In a word - NO!!! I wonder if it's written into the winner's contract that they can still be fired when it's revealed that they suck at kitchen management, haven't a clue about food and labor cost control and have no leadership skills because they've never had to work or play with others, in any industry. At least on Top Chef most of the contestants had a clue because they were at least peripherally in the industry. This is just cruel and unusual. Why don't we have a new reality show where we take a housewife, a cab driver, a stock broker, an attorney, an assembly line worker, a radio producer, a public relations executive, a waitress, an actuary, a short order cook, a bartender and a journalist and see if we can train them to do brain surgery in a few weeks time. We can get a real pompous ass of a surgeon who really does think he's God to verbally beat them into submission. They can start with simple biology class type dissections and work their way up to more complex neurosurgery. Final challenge is to remove a tumor on live TV. Sounds like it would sell in Hollywood...

Bob: Glad my cohorts behind the bar were able to take such good care of you. Sorry I missed you, but I hope your next visit will be at lunchtime during the week so I can make sure you get to try some of the other dishes you missed on this trip.