KatieLoeb

I'd strongly agree with JeffL on this one. Stuff that is bulletproof like a simple steamed lobster or oysters or clams on the half shell are fine at Lobster House, but anything that requires cooking, saucing or attention on the stove is not their strong suit. Think thick wall paper paste overly roux filled clam chowder or overcooked flounder and you'll get the drift. However, sitting out at the end of the dock in the sunshine with a steamed lobster and corn on the cob in front of me is a ritual I will repeat at Lobster House several times each summer. It's the best.

She won't pour Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir or Gewurtztraminer juices down the drain. Both much too tasty and a nice wine flavored non-alcoholic alternative for the teetotaling guest. Le Mousseaux sparkling cider is also delicious and appropriate for toasts. Either of these will have your guest happy and not feeling left out of the festivities.

How about Creme de Cacao or Godiva if you're looking for a chocolate flavor to add to Champagne?

Opening to the public today - May 31, 2006. Greg - I'd be happy to go with you any Tuesday night I'm not working. I want to go back and try some more of those yummy drinks!

I'm so in (except the weekend of June 24-25 when I'm on call for the Manayunk Arts Festival at my other job) for this! Can we please please please ask her when the Honeysuckle will be in season so we can bring the Moscato d'Asti and have floats for breakfast. Now THAT'S the Breakfast of Champions right there!

Philadining, Dining Companion Chuck and I had the rare pleasure of being invited guests at tonight's soft opening of Cantina El Caballito, a new Mexican gastropub at 1651 East Passyunk Avenue between Tasker and Morris Streets. This great addition to the Philly dining scene is brought to us by the fine folks that own Royal Tavern and the Khyber Pass. Imagine a gastropub like Standard Tap or Royal Tavern that was in Mexico and you'll have a good idea of what has been accomplished at Cantina El Caballito. A great neighborhood place for a drink of your choice and a nice meal. Just perfect. A very cool concept that is extremely well executed. The room is warm and inviting, with cool architechtural details that include lots of perforated tin shades over the wall sconces, lots of candlelight and small hints of exposed brick that show under archways in the bar, and through several "windows" in the dining room. Comfortable booths line the wall on the far side of the room. The bar has an astounding tequila selection (try the El Tesoro de Don Felipe Reposado for sipping after dinner), and some really interesting and creative drinks that feature both the abundant tequila selection and some creative use of juices and agua frescas in the cocktails. The favorite of the evening was the Bicicleta which contained a hibiscus agua fresca that gave the drink a most refreshing flavor and beautiful color. Fantastic summer drink. A close second was the Cadillac which was a guava based margarita. Tambien un refresco muy bueno! Chef Miguel Aguilar (formerly of Alma de Cuba and Valanni) creates cuisine that isn't quite as down and dirty as La Lupe or Veracruzana's, but isn't as fusionesque or high falutin' as Lolita's either. It walks the fine line between authenticity and "utility", with appetizers like perfectly crunchy beef empanadas that miraculously are still perfectly textured even once they cool down, a delicious quesadilla served with cilantro creme, and crispy flautas. Entrees include a chicken with mole sauce that is perfectly spiced, a banana leaf wrapped snapper with Mole Verde and cilantro rice that was everyone's favorite dish of the evening, vaca frita tender fried skirt steak, and a pork and bean soft tortilla wrap that was earthy and delicious. We also tried the chile-chocolate mousse dessert and the Platanos Machos which were sweet ripe plantains with a very delicious custard-like sauce. Everything was well prepared and delicious. Service was friendly and well informed, and our waitress Danielle was extremely helpful with suggestions. I'd like to wish the management and staff the best of luck when they open to the public later this week on Wednesday 5/31. But I don't think they'll need it. They've got the formula down and they've hired a great staff. This one's going to be a winner for sure.

Dude - you were right in my 'hood and didn't even call me. Pfffft.

I think they're called Cheng-Du Noodles. They are the cold peanut buttery and sesame sprinkled noodles. But I like those from time to time. And I usually put a few drops of chili oil in and mix them up. Nothing to disprove by the way. Defintely the best delivery of authentic food. There are a few contenders for Chinese-American delivery, but STH takes the prize for sure for authenticity brought to your doorstep.

London Grill and Rembrandt's are both not too far away. Illuminare supposedly has very good pizza, but I haven't had the pleasure.

But of course. I was at home. I had my leftovers for dinner tonight. They were still delicious.

I just spoke to Chef Matt directly. His lease is good through at least the end of July. After that I guess it might be month to month or sketchy at best. He is actively seeking a new venue - his preference is Center City Philly but I'm certain he'd be happy to look at other appropriate venues. I think the Narberth suggestion is certainly a good one, as the rent certainly wouldn't be anything like what Center City rent might be (about $6K/month in prime areas!) and might allow him to keep his pricing reasonable. If anyone has a lead on a good restaurant space feel free to PM me. I'll pass the information on to Chef Matt immediately. We must make it our (utterly selfish) mission to keep Matt and Fuji here in Philly!!

There is nothing comparable to Moore Bros. Aside from the paricular selection of high quality affordable wines, Im not sure anyone else takes the pains to ship and store (and deliver) the wines at cellar temperature. I stopped by yesterday and both Greg and Dave were present. Greg promises to offer tastings and classes in the 2nd floor, which should be pretty interesting. ← Excellent! Greg's classes are the best. I learned a whole lot of what I know about wine from Greg back when I played "teaching assitant" (read: Polishing Monkey/Glass Rack Schlepper) for Greg's University of Pennsyvania wine classes that were taught at the London Grill.

David: Thanks for reminding of this. I dug out my Tasty House take out menu and availed myself of their delivery service this evening. My lips are still tingling from my Spicy Dumplings, Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup and the spicy cold noodle dish that escapes my memory. All of $15 with a tip to the achingly polite and English-languange challenged delivery dude. And I have leftovers for later this weekend. Spankin'!

My personal answer to this quandry (which may have much more to do with the 350 pound diner at the next table behind you that makes it impossible for me to get to the other side of the table I can normally access) is to very politely say "Pardon my reach please..." and pass the plate to the diner on your (now) far side, with the hope that you'll understand I'd have done it the proper way had I been able to do so. That seems to go over a lot better than "Hey - tuck it in Fatso!"

Agreed. And this is the prettiest time of year to visit. Sit outside at any of the many high level heuringen overlooking the Danube and sip some Gruner Veltliner or Riesling sitting in the sunshine under the apricot trees. It's really quite lovely and well worth the day trip from Vienna. You can visit the monastery in Melk or the castle in Dürnstein while you're out that way. It's a nice place to visit.

Wait a second! Does Apamate have a back garden or tables on the street I failed to see on my inaugural visit?

I've used the Riedel Restaurant series before (in fact they're what I use at home) and while not unbreakable, they can stand up to a bit more commercial level abuse than the standard Spiegelau, Schott-Zwiesel or regular Riedel series glassware that breaks if you look at it crosseyed from across the room. I've already e-mailed Mikasa inquiring where to locate a sample of their unbreakable glassware. So the answer is yes, definitely they might take away some business from Riedel, especially if the claims of non-breakage prove to be true.

I'd be more concerned about breaking out the unlabeled eyedropper to add strange liquid to other peoples drinks lookng highly suspicious...

Right on! That's some funny shit right there...

Read THIS thread, THIS thread and THIS thread. That ought to get you started at least. My favorite of my own creation that I think has some potential to become a classic is the Red Feather Boa. It's in the last thread Right HERE. There's lots of inspiration and great recipes in those threads. I find the eG cocktails forum to be a constant source of inspiration.

I confess the kitchen at Amada makes the ginger simple syrup for me, but it seems to be a pretty simple affair (so to speak). Lots of sliced ginger boiled in the syrup until thickened and then allowed to cool. We keep it in squeeze bottles at the bar (with a couple of slices of the ginger floating in it to identify it) as it's in one of our specialty cocktails. As for your pineapples, just muddle some chunks of pineapple up with the limes and a little less sugar than normal. Proceed as for a regular caipirina. Caipirinas are quite tasty with pineapple! Even just a splash of pineapple juice is good, but freshly muddled sweet fresh fruit will bring it to a new level.

I just watch a little of the rebroadcast of the final show and caught the judges' comments on the wine pairing with the artichoke dishes. Overall, the concensus was that the pairing worked. ← I'll have to watch again in rerun. I could have sworn I heard Tom and someone else say that it didn't work. edited to add: That's valid. What could be bad about pork belly and anything to wash it down with?

I haven't a single doubt that if the judges had hated the desserts, Tiffani would have been more than happy to give Dave the "credit" then. I was yelling at the TV myself. "What the hell are you apologizing for??!!??" Well - he did manage to show up and assist his arch nemesis. He even graciously gave her his dessert recipes. He wasn't too drunk to produce a lot of oooohs and aaahhs from the judges. Given his history with Tiffani I'm surprised he didn't actively sabotage her, even with the cameras rolling. I'd certainly have been sorely tempted. He might be a bitter queen, but she made him that way. He certainly doesn't seem to be the sort to be nasty without provocation. And his food consistently - even more so than Harold's - got raves from the judges. Precisely my thoughts. Hard to believe someone so bitchy and insensitive could think Harold was stabbing her in the back. I was almost laughing when she mustered up those crocodile tears because now she can't travel the world. That wasn't even what the money was supposed to be for. I was flabberghasted that one of the duos of food chosen was ARTICHOKES to purposefully be paired with wines - big paint stripping tannic reds no less. BAD idea! Artichokes make virtually any wine taste like a sip of orange juice after brushing your teeth. Blech! Even if there had been some whites, maybe Gruner Veltliner or Txakolina offered up to pair with the artichokes, that choice was quite revealing of how little Tiff knows about wine and food pairing. Do we think that Stephen just let that one pass through as revenge??

The ending was inevitable. Tiffani does not work well and play with others. She can't lead because she's an abrasive bitch. Not a single one of her colleagues had her back because they were tired of her stabbing them in theirs. The most s-s-s-s-stunning example of hoisting herself on her petard was when she tried to take credit for Dave's dessert that he so graciously allowed her to use. She flat out lied (AGAIN!!) and got busted for it. She obviously doesn't even learn from her own past mistakes. Miguel had her number a while ago. She's a snake. This time she threw herself under the bus by lying and trying to take credit for someone else's hard work. Although this type of national exposure might be a good thing for most of the contestants, I think Tiff has revealed far too much about her character, or lack thereof, to get any offers for work after all this. Congratulations to Harold. He demonstrated himself to be Top Chef in every regard.

Rouge Brasserie Perrier Jake's (Manayunk) London Grill Marathon Grill Anjou