KatieLoeb

It is, quite literally, Exit ZERO on the Garden State Parkway. And it's not the end of the world but you can see it from there. On a clear day you can see the shores of Lewes, Delaware from Sunset Beach. Lewes, DE. Now that really is the end of the world.

kastle: I'm certain I speak for all of us when I say it was a pleasure to help. But now, of course, you are obligated to report back after this meal and let us know which wines you served and how they were received by the guests. Our curiosity will kill us (or at least mine will!) otherwise.

Books Martini glasses earthenware cazuelas serving pieces

Oh my gosh! Freihofers! I went to camp in New York State when I was a kid and I learned to love Freihofer's baked goods. The chocolate chip coookies are the best. I swear you could bury a box of those for years and then dig them up and the chips would still be melty as if they'd just come out of the oven. Made all the other commercial baked goods pale by comparison. You should definitely consider some PA Dutch desserts for your regional spectrum. Shoofly Pie and Whoopie pies come to mind as excellent choices.

This wasn't about slow. It was about rudeness and a complete inability to multi-task even the simplest requests. Don't ever walk past a restaurant manager with empty hands. It's just bad policy. I do know better. I notice more than the average bear. All I wanted was some stinking ketchup. Apparently her conversation with her friends (yes- she was clearly socializing and ignoring other customers) was infinitely more interesting than doing her job. But whatever. It would have been fine had she just been the slightest bit apologetic. She wasn't. She treated my dining companion and myself as an intrusion on her day. That shit don't fly with me. Ever.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! This is going to be fun! So glad to see you blogging JAZ! Looking forward to the cocktail recipes especially. Oh - and that bar is simply fabulous.

I like to rim the glass with white Worcestershire sauce and then some sort of seasoning mix that I've powdered by wizzing it through the coffee grinder. This gives you virtually endless possibilities for subtle flavor differences. Old Bay Seasoning, Middle Eastern Zhataar, Italian Seasoning, dried citrus zest, etc. could all be powdered and used to rim the lip of the serving glass. Another way to vary this drink easily (aside from the obvious - tequila = Bloody Maria, Aquavit = Danish Mary, Gin = Red Snapper) is to vary the produce in it. Aside from the usual celery sticks you can use light steamed asparagus (white looks particularly attractive), skewered olives with various stuffings, carrot sticks, cucumber spears, etc. And lastly, there's the idea of infusing whatever you like into the vodka and going from there. I've had good success with horseradish vodka, basil vodka, paparika vodka, etc. Go nuts. The possibilities are without bounds.

Actually the bad service experience I had there was even more egregious than this. Staff standing around and chatting after I had actively requested something. Waitress rolls her eyes at me as if I were a nuisance, not her livelihood and goes back to keep chatting. Afterward, she walks past me empty-handed (i.e. not with someone else's hot food that I could understand would be a priority to deliver first) and still forgets my condiments. I had to ask again. By the time it arrived my food was ice cold. Then I was held hostage until the waitress decided to check back and finally drop our check. It was insulting and amateurish service at best. I haven't been back since. I'm surely not going to wait on line to be treated that way. There are way too many other good places to go.

Sandy: I know Tacconelli's has numerous Best of Philly's to their credit. Lorenzo's at 9th & Christian. Franco & Luigi's in South Philly.

I doubt it but the link I provided above has the contact info on it. Call and ask.

Most chefs use a spoon that's stuck in their chef pants dirty back pocket, taste the sauce then put the spoon back in the dirty back pocket. I knew a chef whose dog kept chewing through the back of his chef's pants because the pocket tasted so good. Many chefs stick their fingers in a sauce. Sorry. This is done all over the place. However most chefs are also washing and wiping their hands constantly too. I don't think he's going to last long. I was pleasantly surprised by his Lamb 3 Ways preparation (and the Tempranillo was a great choice to accompany) but the wine pairing being de riguer is going to get old really fast. Being a sommelier implies you have a good palate. Even if you're a brilliant home cook, it doesn't necessarily mean you can cook. Especially in the commercial big leagues. I wouldn't last five minutes on the line in any restaurant I've ever worked in, nor would I try to. Those guys do their job and I do mine.

Wow - all my favorite chefs and home cooks in one article. Awe inspiring! Karen - I'll ask Adrienne our pastry chef about the bananas. I think they seal them in with some caramel and then do the sous vide cooking for a relatively short time (compared to cooking meat, for example) just to soften them up a little bit. Then they're served on top of a square of chocolate cake, topped with almond milk foam and surrounded with a saffron sauce. They're sooo good!

That's hilarious. Perhaps if there were more mommies drinking $16 cocktails there'd be less need to question the obvious.

Too cool for school! Nice job gentlemen!

Rich: I'd thought of those too, but I don't think either serves lunch. I thought that's what we were looking for.

My suggestion for the Clos de Coulee de Serrant came after kastle said money was no object. I agree it's a risky choice, but has the potential to be utterly transcendant and brilliant if it works. There are few dishes short of a butter poached lobster that I'd consider a spot on match for such an unusual wine. But it's just soooooo delicious and inspiring I thought it would be worth a shot. If nothing else, it will certainly leave an impression with the clients. It remains the most interesting and unusual wine I've certainly ever tasted. Sadly, I don't have enough Clos de Coulee de Serrant cross my path to suggest a specific vintage (), but a bit of research of online tasting notes for whichever vintages might be available to kastle locally ought to reveal enough information to take the plunge, if so desired. Any of the biodynamically grown wines from Nicholas Joly would be a safe bet for quality.

Not sure how "fancy" this qualifies for, but if your internet friend is any kind of a beer aficionado you simply must take him and his wife to The Grey Lodge for some fine pub food and the best draught beer selection in the city. There's a thread HERE that talks about the Grey Lodge and the menu a bit. The Northeast is a bit of a culinary wasteland except for good ethnic food (Tierra Colombiana, Korean BBQ) or the Grey Lodge. Not sure how far you're willing to drive but you might have to cross into Montgomery County for "nice" grub, if that's really what you're after.

Thanks Katie,I did not sleep for a few days because I wasn't sure how it was gonna come out. I am glad y'all liked everything.I will try to make it to your place this week. ← Wow, really? You were remarkably calm last night! Not bad for a guy with an imminent review...

I am going to Brian Streeter's Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Cookbook dinner. Evan ← If that sashimi grade tuna Philadining and I tried is any indication of what your dinner will be like, you should be quite pleased.

Interesting comment. Maybe eGullet could splinter off a wholly-owned PR subsidiary. We would have a staff of more than 30,000 to start. I'm not joking. I think the Society would make a terrific Restaurant PR firm and generate some money at the same time. As a lawyer Steve, you could make this work. ← Sheer genius! I've seen better/smarter advice coming from this site than I've seen dispensed to most of the restaurants with high priced PR agencies representing them.

And as if by clairvoyance, Kirsten Henri's review of Raw: Ooh Baby, I Like It Raw appears in today's Philadelphia Weekly. Congrats to Executive Chef Greg Ling and Sushi Chef Sam Yoon for the kudos to their excellent dishes!

I'm in agreement with Philadining on most everything. I thought all of the cocktails were too sweet and the Washington Square entry was certainly the best of the bunch. But where was I when the invitations to create a recipe and enter the contest went out?? I heard about this too late. I'll have to check with my contacts and make sure they have my e-mail for future events. And big surprise. The porky things were our favorites! That dish from Margaret Kuo's was delicious in every way and the lotus chips with green tea dip garnish was as lovely as it was tasty. Cauliflower soup was a big hit too. This event was obviously a big PR lead-in for B&tC but there was a good sampling of participating restaurants on site and lots of good eats to be had. Unfortunately, several places ran out of food quickly - before the event was over, so getting there early and often is crucial, I think. I'm attending the Paula Wolfert dinner and the Cocktails event with David Wondrich at Red Sky. The dinner with Ted Allen at Washington Square is also intriguing. Anybody else going to these or other events?

A picture speaks a thousand words. This is why it was so much easier for me to wait for our friend Philadining to post the photos of our stunning meal at Raw. Honestly, everything was soooo good! Beautiful presentations, combinations of flavors and incredibly high quality ingredients. Apparently Chef Greg Ling has managed to get a hot tub sized sous vide bath installed in the back and is having fun with his new toy. The results are amazing. I have to say that those sweetbreads were positively the best thing I've ever tasted. The texture was indescribable. Still a bit of light crunch on the outside and the insides were tender and spongy, just like they should be. These caused an attack of "eyes-closed-bliss-face". Really delicious. I also have to back up what CherieV said upthread. The bartender was quite knowledgeable about the sake selection and quite helpful in explaining the selections we had in our flight of four. The sake were all delicious as well, but I agree that the Ozeki was the most complex and interesting of the four. But there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. A very well thought out flight and a bargain to boot. I can't think of anywhere else I could enjoy so many varieties of sake in such a pleasant atmosphere. The bar is very sleek and sexy, and the vibe inside the restaurant is very Zen. Small candles flickering everywhere, nice clean lines. A really pleasant place to go eat the best Japanese food I've had within the city limits. My thanks to Greg and staff for making our evening such a treat. I know they'll be seeing me again very soon.

Nice work Mike! Those both sound delicious. Aren't the folks at Fee's the best? A real old family company providing real customer service. Gotta love it.

There's some good information and an online source HERE. I just tasted a flight of 4 different sakes this evening and every single one was good. I'll try and find my little card with the names written on it to see if you can maybe locate them through Google by product name.