KatieLoeb

That's interesting. I've never had this happen to me before. I wonder if it's because I use the 100 proof vodka?? Could it be that it has more "solvent" action with the citrus oils? Don't know what to tell you other than to perhaps add a splash of grain alcohol or something to raise the proof of the entire batch and then shake it up and see if it doesn't separate again. You can always lower the overall proof again when you dilute it with simple syrup and perhaps some bottled water.

I dunno. The very first time I ate at a Fuddrucker's it was up around Endicott, NY in about 1986. I thought it was good, but not great. It was a build-yer-own-burger. How bad it was depended on how much crap you chose to put on your own burger, right? I've eaten at the one in Voorhees since and thought it was a pretty decent burger for a chain, but it's just good. Not transcendant. Fuddrucker's is hardly in the same league as Rouge, Barclay Prime or even a lot of the Philly burgers we've discussed upthread that didn't make the cut for Alan Richman's article. But it's certainly at least a couple of steps above McDonald's ferchrissakes!

Nah, that tour is a little longer, at least a 7day, 6nighter. It could be done Hollywood style, a la celebrity-home tour. "See, when Katie worked there, it was actually a restaurant. And now we move on from Pompano Grille, to the next stage of her career..." ← Oh man. You owe me a new monitor. Dude. You made me spray a really good new cocktail out my nose. That was hilariously funny on so many levels I don't even know where to start. Thanks for the reality check.

Heck - for that price it's worth checking out. At worst, you can have a lot of flambeed food in your future. You do enjoy Steak Diane and Cherries Jubilee dontcha?

Oh Eric!! So sorry - I just noticed this thread today and wanted so send you my well wishes. Go, rest and enjoy your mental health days. You've surely earned them. Come back refreshed and ready to do battle with the insurance companies and get all back on the right track. This too shall pass. Please let us know when you're back up and running. I finally traded in my old clunker for some reliable transport and was thinking of all the weekend day trips I could take from Philly now. AHD was high on my list so I'll be there as soon as you're back and I'll bring a few PhilleGulleteers with me.

Rouge burger (we also liked the fries and the happy, friendly bar crowd) one night + Amada tapas/wine/"bad education"/flamenco dancers the next = the highlights of a stay in Philly just before Christmas at the Sofitel (great room, great price). ← Sheila: I see you did the "Highlights of Katie's Former and Present Employer's" Tour. I didn't know Sofitel was offering a package with rooms for that. Glad you enjoyed your stay. The Bad Educations are dangerous....

I better go snap some more up before it's all gone. I'm going to call the South Columbus Blvd. store and see if the Chard is there too. I'd definitely risk it on a bottle or two given the pedigree and the price.

JohnL: Where'd I say anything positive about regulation? I'd rather not have to deal with a non-competitive monopoly that gives me no discount incentive as a large "secondary" wholesale purchaser either. But I have no choice and given what the system was, it has improved tremendously for the retail consumer under Chairman Newman's tenure. Believe me, I've had this discussion with the Chairman more than once. But it's a legislative and taxation issue to a great extent, and not necessarily within his direct control. I'm a Libertarian at heart just like you. But I have to make the best of the situation I deal with on a professional level every day. So I have to hunt a little harder. Makes me that much happier when I find something great at a great price.

Although I'm no huge fan of Martha Stewart's brand of hubris, I must say her baby food recipes are great. As a baby shower gift I have often downloaded THESE printable recipe cards (look toward bottom of the page for the template link), laminated them and punched a hole through the corner. I then tied them with a festive ribbon around a mini-chopper or food mill and presented it to the new moms or moms-to-be. Always a big hit and a gift that really made a significant difference to mother and child.

This isn't always true. The PLCB is the largest wholesale purchaser of wine and spirits in the world. That muscle works for other items besides the Chairman's Selections. As an example - try pricing a bottle of Dom Perignon right around New Years in Jersey and then in PA. PA is usually cheaper by ten or 15 bucks. Between the Chairman's Selection and the declassification of some Special Order products to listed, the "border bleed" to NJ and DE has been staunched. In fact I know folks from NJ and DE that now come to PA to buy some wines! If you want to talk about how many times over we'd paid to rebuild Johnstown since 1936 (at a usurious 18%!!), go pour yourself a big 'ole glass of wine and we can debate about that for hours...

Funny you should say that. It occurred to me that our runaway waiter might have told the kitchen to "stick it to that wine bucket bitch on Table 23".

Wow. That was an impressive and very compact rant. Bravo Greg! You're a cynic. I like Rich's comment about the only bad publicity being evidence. I suppose after the bell demotion debacle your feelings are well earned. But I know you're right about the dining public. It's just a shame about that "Lemmings effect" that a review can have. I'm your fifth.

did ya take them?[/size=1] ← Nah! They've been there for a while, I just hadn't noticed how many had collected in that one spot. But if you need one, just let me know...

Funny, I thought of this thread earlier today when I went into the liquor room at work this morning and saw half a dozen of the Crown Royal bags hanging off the side of one of the shelves where the liquor is stored.

Big bowls of whipped cream or yogurt could be the foam for chile peppers crash landing on your tongue...

I tried the Don Pedro Soutomaior Alabarino 2003 earlier this week and really liked it. $14.99/bottle and quite refreshing. Not sure if it's actually a Chairman's Selection or not, but I found it out in Lancaster last weekend. Website shows a bit of inventory locally. I found this wine to have a pleasant aromas of peaches and citrus. Very elegant with good bracing acidity. I had it with a grilled tuna steak and it was great. I imagine this would delicious with virtually any type of fish or shellfish, particularly those that were simply prepared. Also tried the Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes 2005 last weekend with Szechuan at Tifco's China Bistro. Who'dve thought that Argentinian wine and Szechuan food could share a table, but it worked really well! Torrontes is a very aromatic varietal from Argentina that is similar in profile to a Riesling or Gewurtraminer, a lot of floral aromas (rose petals and jasmine) and a hint of residual sweetness. I've had it before (we serve the Santa Julia Torrontes at Amada) but found this to be a particularly interesting example of it. Quite well balanced for a wine that was so young. A bargain at $11.99. I hope more of this lovely wine becomes available soon.

Mike: You beat me to this one. I just had a bottle of this with my dinner last night. Fabulous wine at an amazing price. Much more French in style than big and blowsy Californian in style. Incredibly smooth and well balanced. Lots of bright black cherry and cassis flavor with a hint of spice and cocoa too. Brilliant stuff at $10. I'm going back for more! And you are correct. I think this is a second label of Freemark Abbey, who has consistently put out excellent wines over the years. ← My local store shows 1,263 units on hand! Could this be right? Has anyone tried their Chardonay? ← There's a lot of this around, but I'm not sure that 1,263 units isn't a typo. I didn't see the Chardonnay desplayed at my local shop yet, but the website shows some inventory there. I'll probably go back a buy half a case of the Cabernet and some of the Chardonnay to try as well. Jeff L if you try the chardonnay first please report back!

Casinos are notorious for this sort of usurious pricing. I'd always ask to see a wine-by-the-glass list (especially in a casino) so I'd know what my options were, both price wise and in terms of varietals and producers. I don't know what I want until I know what I can have. Blindly ordering the "house wine" will often leave you surprised by either poor quality, high prices or both.

Mike: You beat me to this one. I just had a bottle of this with my dinner last night. Fabulous wine at an amazing price. Much more French in style than big and blowsy Californian in style. Incredibly smooth and well balanced. Lots of bright black cherry and cassis flavor with a hint of spice and cocoa too. Brilliant stuff at $10. I'm going back for more! And you are correct. I think this is a second label of Freemark Abbey, who has consistently put out excellent wines over the years.

I haven't read the article in question, but I think we've gotten enough of a flavor of the sort of opinions Ms. Green is putting forth from Mano's original post. We're entitled to agree or disagree with her premise. I think she makes several valid points. Having worked in enough restaurants around this town, her assertion that: This isn't entirely off base. The best and most skilled waitstaff I have come across definitely want to work in places that have a liquor license. But not only for the mercenary reasons the increase in their check average implies. There's a sense of professional pride in being able to suggest wine pairings, etc. or bring a cocktail that mixed just to the diner's preferences to the table. The waitrons at Fridays are choosing to stay in that niche because they have neither the knowledge or skills to handle a more complex menu and more sophisticated beverage program. Perhaps the waiter's themselves aren't "foodies" and have no interest in that for themselves either. I've seen many waiters that are passionate about food and wine educate themselves first and then get a job in a better restaurant both to persue their own passion and to be able to put that new knowledge to use with their guests. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy that's a win-win for everyone. The obstacles presented by the PLCB to restaurateurs have to do with the astronomical cost and scarcity of liquor licenses and the non-existence of any sort of discounting for bars and restaurants that are purchasing huge wholesale quantities of wine and spirits. In fact, the Chairman's Selection products aren't available to restaurants at the PLCB warehouses. We'd have to go make a special trip to a "Specialty" store and purchase the items like a regular consumer. I don't want to buy just a case - I want to buy enough to have around for a little while. When you get into time and costs involved with reprinting wine lists, informing the staff about the new product, and coordinating the purchase of potentially tens of thousands of dollars of product every week, that special trip looks less and less appealing, no matter how badly I'd like to have that wine on my list and pass those savings on to my customers. If I order that very same wine from my purveyor that's carrying it, then it has a different code number and a different and higher price. So I'm back to where I started, trying to find products that offer good value for both the customer and the restaurant, and try and offer enough of a range of products and prices that will translate into pleasing the guests and making money for the restaurant. It's a tightrope walk, but I haven't needed a net yet. If the PLCB would institute case discounts or some other purchasing incentive for wholesale purchasers of product (as opposed to the 6% Licensee discount that is currently completely obliterated by the 7% taxes) then perhaps things would be more like they are in other states, where free enterprise and competitive pricing make it possible to have lower margins. BYOB's are a great option for a restaurateur that doesn't want to be saddled with the startup costs associated with purchase of a liquor license and the increased liability insurance costs, stemware, breakage and other costs that go along with it. They are also forgoing a valuable revenue stream. It's a tradeoff. Some folks actually don't want to bring their own wine to a restaurant. That's fine too. That's why there's chocolate and vanilla, and places with and without liquor licenses. To make a value judgement about which sort of place is "better" or what direction this is taking the culinary world in Philadelphia sounds like the wrongheaded idea to me.

The Snapper Soup at Sansom Street Oyster House is the best. Need to have the little shaker of sherry on the side to jazz it up "to taste". ← OMG how could I forget one of my absolute fav's?? SSOH Snapper soup is a must! Although it did taste better when Katie worked there. ← Thanks Cherie! I think that's 'cuz the wine on the side was better...

Yay Megan! So happy to see you blogging and visiting some of my favorite haunts, as well as some more obscure (at least to me) places. Looking forward to your visit to Pegu! I was just at Chelsea Market about 3 weeks ago and was stunned by the number of bakeries per square foot! Every other storefront was a bakery! Must be the population density that requires so many baked goods. That Blondie looked really good...

Amen sista'! YESSSSS!!! As God as my witness, any bar I ever run and have some say in the construction elements will have this feature. There's a reason they don't want you to get tooo comfortable. This is part of the "reading the customer" element that some bartenders are geniuses at, and some simply aren't. Didn't your mamma tell you it's impolite to put your elbows on the table? I try very hard to be this bartender. I'm at a distinct advantage having constructed the program where I am. It helps to know the menu well too. I love having a customer ask me to pair wine with each course. That makes my day!

You're welcome. Lee How's Hot and Sour is the benchmark for all others for me. Noodle soups at David's Mai Lai Wah are pretty good. House special wonton is good too. The Seafood Tom Yum soup at International Smokeless BBQ is great. Big chunks of pineapple, tomatoes and other weird veggies. Lots of mussels, clams, squid and shrimp too. The Beef Satay soup at Pho Xe Lua is awe inspiring. Big thick chow fun type noodles, lots of big chunks of beef and chunks of pineapple (I never realized how much I love pineapple in my soup until eleborating my favorites here... ) Their Pho is awesome too. The cream of mushroom soup at Friday, Saturday, Sunday hasn't changed in a million years and it never will. And it shouldn't. It's just perfect the way it is. French Onion soup at Le Bar Lyonnaise is great, as Cherie mentioned. The French Onion soup at Rouge is pretty good too. Chicken Matzo ball soup at Kibitz in the City at 7th & Chestnut is delish. Any of the soups I've tried there have been excellent. The Snapper Soup at Sansom Street Oyster House is the best. Need to have the little shaker of sherry on the side to jazz it up "to taste".

From what I understand, PW is kosher now, and not upscale at all. Betty the Caterer is another kosher. Culinary Concepts might be decent. Jeffrey Miller as well. Shackamaxon. There's tons of little mom and pop caterers that have emerged in the last 5-7 years that are all solid. ← Peachtree & Ward gone Kosher?? I don't think so. I did a job for them several months ago as a "rent-a-sommeliere" for the evening and the food they served was definitely not kosher. The pate was right next to the cheese... Unless that's a really recent change.