KatieLoeb

More importantly, is there a bar at which one might avail themselves of a glass of the fine wine selection you described?

Deep fried anything gets soggy pretty fast Some Pizza (DiLorenzo's Hudson Street being my best example) Anything breaded is better right away Anything battered is better right away (never order Fish n' Chips for later) Salads Almost all desserts These dishes are the karmic balance for all those things like soups and stews and chili that are better the next day.

That is so cool. I'm going to be in Allentown this weekend, too. Thanks! ← I can judge from your level of excitement that there's a slew of homemade dishes waiting to happen. So when's the Portuguese feast, my friend??

Chris, please don't forget to let us know when the shows are actually airing. I presume they'll tell you when you're there what the air dates will be. Go get 'em! It'll be interesting to see someone I know understands food do the judging for once. I've often thought their choices for judges were questionable at best.

What he said. That's a cheesesteak hoagie. I have yet to go check out the joys of a Schmitter. I've only had the "Thanksgiving on a Roll" sandwiches at McNally's. I had no idea that Quakertown was so odd...

Two words: Gruner Veltliner. Much like licking the patio tiles. But delicious wine nonetheless. Many whites have a distinct mineral undertone (or even overtone in certain examples like Muscadet) and it's most certainly part of their charm. Next time you have a nice glass of Muscadet in front of you, wash down an oyster on the half shell with it. It's one of the most sublime food-wine pairings I know of.

I could probably find out where Amada buys their authentic Spanish charcuterie meats, but it might not be local.

That's awesome Chris! Enjoy yourself. I'm a "celebrity judge" for a local Philly food competition in a couple of weeks but will hopefully be able to retain my anonymity on a national level.

and that brings up the whole cheesecake/beefcake thing: cheesecake, yes, it exists. but beefcake?! what the hey is that?! ← Or "He's such a biscuit", as in Hot as a...or makes me melt like butter on a...

Which is how it should be done. A former employer of mine insisted on taking any reservation from any concierge at any time, even if it inconvenienced the local regulars. I thought that was stupid and told them so. What good is it to make a good impression on an out of town visitor that may never come back to your restaurant again?? It's nice that all their friends and colleagues back in Dubuque heard about their lovely meal in Philly, but so what?? Where's the utility to the restaurant? Every guest and reservation is important, but if it's about preferential treatment, then the locals should definitely be getting it.

Holly, We have discussed milkshakes, and while we thnk they are a natural addition to hot dogs and fries, we are limited in this particular location by the lack of square footage. Perhaps in store #2. The HotBurger HamDog is basically a hot dog that is scored in such a way that it curls upon itself creating a vessel to hold any number of toppings; Oh why don't I just show you this picture: Pretty neat, huh? Look for our opening on January 16th!! Eric ← Eric: That's pretty neat! Did you register that name yet?? You'd better. I see a slew of imitators coming around the bend... Very cool and I wish you the best of luck for a prosperous venture in this New Year! I'll definitely go out of my way to stop by on my next trip through North Jersey!

And after the Mummer's Parade comes the Two Street Parade, where the bands (by now quite <ahem> festive) march down 2nd Street to the Mummers Museum for the last of the partying. I might add that my house is right on the 2 Street parade route and the revelry was so loud and intimidating that my little cat Dulcita was sitting on her haunches like a Meerkat in the window of my office and GROWLING at them. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen her do. I wonder if all the feathered costumes looked like giant birds or something? Yes - all bets are off on New Year's Day in Philly.

Great story Ya-Roo! I enjoyed that immensely. I can totally relate to the single-over-forty thing and the less than ideal dates. Although it's been awhile since I've had an experience like yours, I can appreciate the sentiment behind your appreciation of vanilla, in all its guises. After all, you have to wonder about a guy that needs "toys" to impress you on a first date. Sheesh! You didn't even get to "kick his tires" first! Oh yeah. He might like that.

I attended a wine tasting luncheon at Happy Rooster several months ago and the food they served was delicious. I used to stop in there for an after work drink on the way back to my car from Sansom Street Oyster House once in a while too. It's a nice place and the food is quite good. Oddly, it always seems to be a place I'll stop for a drink but don't usually think of it when I'm perusing my mental Rolodex for dining. That might have to change. The Happy Rooster also has an incredibly well stocked bar, albeit a little pricey. The bar manager there (whose name is escaping me at this particular moment) is great. I've had some very interesting conversations with him about all kinds of spirits and drink mixing and wine, etc. He's quite passionate about his job. I totally respect that.

Actually if Philly cheesesteaks included all this stuff as standard issue I might like them better. I like chicken cheesesteaks and roast pork Italiano sandwiches so much better than regular beef cheesesteaks, despite their availability practically anywhere around here.

In true Philly fan fashion all I can come back with is: "There's always next year!"

Charles: I wasn't suggestion that Buck's is comparable to Olive Garden, only that there's all manner of places that stay in business, mostly because tolerances and taste are subjective. I do wonder if Chef Greenwood is going to be able to withstand the backlash of a frivolous lawsuit against a paying customer. That's likely to leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, even her most loyal clientele. I work in the restaurant industry and know first hand that the customer isn't always right, but you do your best to accomodate politely. I also realize I don't have to like the chef to enjoy their food (I can think of many examples of this), but I'd have a hard time dropping any money into the pockets of someone I found to be a reprehensible ass no matter how good their food is. I'd rather put my money in some one else's register. Someone I like and respect as a person as well as a chef. I suppose being in the business I hear more "insider" info than the average consumer so I can take that into account instead of just the usual reviews.

Quite impressive! Those look almost as good as the authentic animal. I think most of the cheesesteak joints slice their meat slightly frozen on a deli slicer. I'm still waiting for someone to start a Roast Pork Italiano thread with pictures.

Maybe I am missing the point but it was 4 am. Isn't it kind of acceptable logistically to not have a fresh fry policy at that hour? I mean, at 4 am I suspect most people ordering are drunk and not picky palates at that hour. I will also go as far as to say that non-picky palates like the frozen variety better. For all I know they woke some guy up to make Daniel's fries! Maybe I am too forgiving........ Evan ← A four star hotel, or a place that bills itself (both literally price-wise and figuratively) as such should not be serving sub-par institutional frozen fries that the dive bar down the street and the state penitentiary are also serving. It's just wrong on too many levels. Especially for $30 bucks a plate with a cheesesteak at the FOUR SEASONS. And while you may or may not be right about the state of sobriety of people who generally order room service at 4AM, clearly Daniel was still able to keep his palate at that late hour. And hey - some folks may get in after a delayed flight or whatever and be so exhausted and out of other options that room service is their only option. They might not be drunk (but might be happier if they were). If you're going to provide room service at all then it needs to be done right. I'd bet a sizeable chunk of change that there's some low level line cook watching a portable TV down in the kitchen at 4AM, and not someone that's "on call" and needs to be woken up. If there's trained professional staff in the kitchen (who's probably making a pretty high dollar/hour rate to take the graveyard room service shift and deal with all the divas and jackasses that call with ridiculous requests at ungodly hours of the morning) then it just needs to be done with the seriousness that a place of that reputation and prices implies.

So does the Olive Garden. There are undoubtedly folks that will continue to patronize establishments regardless of whether the service is bad. Maybe they don't know better. There are folks that will patronize establishments where the food is just plain bad, or the place is filthy or resting on their laurels or whatever. Happens all the time. Clearly those customers don't know better. There's little hope of making them learn because sadly, just like taste in food, what some people are willing to put up with is also subjective. This is exactly how a lot of bad restaurants stay in business. I'd be interested to see if this attitudinal chef can withstand the bad publicity this will undoubtedly cast upon her. No matter how good her food is that old saying just isn't true. There IS such a thing as bad publicity.

It is bitchy and stupid and very inhospitable, but if one was asked specifically NOT to post the photos (even after they were taken) then all you have to do is comply with their request and post about what assholes they are. Oh - and never patronize their establishment again. That will do them more harm than photos of the food. And this is about revenge, right?

Google the word "mocktail" and see what it gets you. Perfect a good sangria recipe or two. Look up all the wine based drinks in any number of good cocktail sites. Is it not possible to extend the license to spirits for additional monies?? Is there some sort of zoning issue involved?? Seems silly to have a "liquor" license and then not be able to serve the largest revenue producing items. Might as well go BYOB.

That's a good point. A whole lot of "lesser" establishments in this town manage to have real french fries. What's so hard about that??

Me too, obviously. An extremely close second lately has been the Buffalo Trace bourbon, which has been on sale for $19.99 this month in PA.

Oh my god. I thought it was just me. I love the Horsey sauce at Arby's. It's better than any other horseradish/mayo type condiment I have been able to find thusfar because the balance of hotness and richness is just right. I'll have to try the recipes above. Thanks everyone!