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Everything posted by KatieLoeb
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They didn't weigh it down with extreme amounts of salt, like everything I ate in Galicia? I've had some terrific, unrubbery octopus at Greek and Italian restaurants. I've also had some good octopus dishes in Chinese restaurants, but cuttlefish is more common in Chinese restaurants here in New York. And Chinese like more chewiness, so keep that in mind if you're thinking of ordering squid, cuttlefish, or octopus at one. You are unlikely to get the kind of perfect texture I get every time at a good Greek restaurant like Pylos, which is in my neighborhood. ← No, actually it was quite well seasoned, allowing the smoked paprika and good fruity olive oil to dominate. I agree about the "textural" preferences at Chinese restaurants. If you're prepared for chewy it's one thing, if you aren't - EWWWWWW... I think the Greeks have it down with the octopus preparations. I've never had bad octopus at a Greek restaurant. Must be a cultural thing with generations of fisherman and chefs contributing to the expertise. Speaking of Italian preparations of odd sea critters, is anyone fond of scungilli?? I think it's conch by any other name, but I've always enjoyed a good plate of scungilli with pasta.
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True, but you might still be hungry. Again, Susanna Foo like Le Bec Fin is the killer deal at lunch. $24.95/person for three courses of your choosing of Soup or Salad, Dim Sum, Entree or Dessert. THAT is a bargain. The a la carte menu at dinner tends toward precious portions. I'll go for lunch anytime though.
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I've tried Greek, Spanish and Japanese preparations. Here in Philly, the gold standard is the grilled octopus at Dmitri's. Slightly charred at the edges, tender and in a vinaigrette. Absolutely delicious. I've had a baby octopus salad at a Japanese restaurant and it was also very tasty and tender. Much to my and her parents surprise, my then 5 year old niece loved it too. She ate up a whole order! That's my girl! Most recently I've had the Spanish Pulpo Gallego at Amada here in Philadelphia. Boiled to tenderness, cut into tiny rings and sauteed in good olive oil, topped with smoked paprika and a bit of Arbequina olive oil. Also addictively tasty. And excellent as Marco Polo suggested, washed down with a glass of Spanish wine either red or white. I have to admit, the only octopus preparation I haven't truly loved is Tako sushi. Too rubbery and not very flavorful.
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I'm sipping a caipirinha made according to Cachaca Dave's instructions right now. I'd forgotten how much I like these. edited to add I'm going to be hating myself tomorrow AM. These go down waaaaayyy too easily.
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Not yet Holly. Some time in November is the target date. I'll post as soon as I hear anything. Hopefully you'll see me behind the bar at lunchtime!
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Thanks gentlemen. I'm so glad you both enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed working with the management and staff at Amada putting together the wine list, the specialty cocktails and sangrias and helping to train the staff so that the service would be well informed. Jose is a perfectionist who made me work very hard, but the end result was definitely worth it. I hope that the beverage program is a worthy compliment to the wonderful food and service that the restaurant offers. It's a pleasure to be associated with it. No one has tried the charcuterie yet and that may be one of my favorite aspects of the restaurant. Freshly sliced to order authentic Spanish cured meats and cheeses with fantastic house made garnishes to accompany the cheese. The fresh Queso de Cabra is a young soft spreadable goat's milk cheese that's just awesome with Roasted Garlic Dulce de Leche spread along with it. So simple, yet so delicious. I suspect the charcuterie will become a popular spot for the equivalent of a Spanish "Ploughman's lunch" as soon as word gets around that you can have some Serrano ham sliced to order with baguette and a short caña of beer.
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I program the POS system with three different buttons for each vodka and two for each gin. I calculate a 2 oz. pour for "ABSOLUT", a 2.5 oz. pour for "ABSOLUT COSMO/RX" and a 3.5 oz pour for "ABSOLUT UP". Using a priced modifier key to add a certain amount for "Cosmo" or "Rocks" or "Up" doesn't tell me anything at the end of the week when I look at a sales report. Knowing I sold 300 shots of Absolut doesn't tell me how much liquor should be gone from my inventory. Knowing that I sold 100 Absolut mixed drinks, 100 Absolut Cosmos and 100 Absolut Martinis at an average pour of 2.7 oz. DOES tell me something useful. I can also price the liquor on a fair sliding scale depending on the price of the bottle. The customer is being charged for the fair portion that goes into their drink and I can keep tighter control on costs, loss, theft, overpouring, etc. I also have a spreadsheet with all the cocktails "reciped out" on it so I can calculate the total number of ounces of each liquor used that way. Definitely saves a lot of money in the end. Just as a business can make loads of money on liquor, it's the easiest place to lose it as well. If these sorts of controls aren't in place then you could be bleeding from every orifice and never know it until you went broke.
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Thanks Jamie. I like my dives when I'm feeling so inclined and my upscale establishments as well. It's never really a fair comparison though, because the dives will use the 1.75L bottles or sell the cheaper "well" brands whereas an upscale establishment doesn't really have those options open to them. Factor in the costs of "ambiance" in terms of design, better real estate, accoutrements, service, etc. and the "downscale" bar owners are making a killing, even though their clientele would never suspect it. And the upscale customers continue to bitch about getting "price gouged" by nicer establishments with higher costs. It's a tough balance to achieve appropriate pricing, fair profit and good value for the customer.
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Perhaps they were trying to shed a bit of new light, Katie. ← Agreed. But the criteria needs to be stated up front for anyone to get a clue what they're really profiling. Nowhere did I see an explanation other than: Doesn't explain lunch vs dinner, a la carte vs prix fixe or anything remotely similar. It's skewed and needs to be stated as such to have any validity whatsoever. What about "off the beaten track" restaurants like the Ryland Inn in NJ? Might not hit their criteria or radar screen because it doesn't draw the "expense account" crowd. There's plenty of examples of places like that. That's my point and I'm sticking with it.
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Interesting. It seems they're basing their "most expensive" tag on the "tasting menu" or "prix fixe" dinner menu options only. Le Bec Fin is expensive if you do the prix fixe dinner option, but is a comparative bargain for lunch at $54/person prix fixe. I'm surprised that Morimoto and/or Striped Bass didn't make the cut for high end Philly restaurant choices if prix fixe menus are the criteria. Ordering a la carte isn't considered in this survey and that clearly skews the results. I wonder how valid any of the results are if they aren't taking real check averages into consideration or factoring in a la carte ordering or lunch checks, provided the restaurant is open for lunch.
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Simple answer - A LOT! Depending on what type of place it is and whether you are serving "well" drinks or using well liquors for Happy Hours and other such promotions it remains a separate and valuable revenue stream. Even at upscale places where the cheap "well" brands are replaced by call or even premium brands, the cost of goods will generally be lower than food or wine and the profit protential tremendous. The only thing that can make more money than selling liquor is draught beer.
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Happy Birthday Sandy! Cheers!
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I saw this too and was quite curious. Haven't seen them in my local stores yet though. I like regular Fresca and tequila in the summer time. Quite refreshing.
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Excellent choice Holly! Let us know what you had and what you thought.
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Recipe it out. If you pay 24.99 for a bottle of Belvedere vodka and are making a cocktail that requires 2.5 oz. of it then the formula is thus: 25.4 oz (in a standard 750 ml bottle) @ 24.99 = .98/oz. .98 X 2.5 = 2.45 Not counting mixers or any other liquor(s) that might be in the drink, it's costing him $2.45 to make that cocktail. Other liquors should be calculated the same way. Mixers and garnishes tend to fall into the "cost of doing business" for me, unless it's something really special or expensive. Then figure out what's an acceptable Cost of Goods for that drink and multiply. If you want to have your cost of goods at 25% then quadruple the cost. 2.45 X 4 = $9.80 So you then charge $10 for the cocktail with 2.5 oz. of Belvedere in it. I know you're all shaking your heads now, but how do you think bars make money?? And that dive corner bar is making a hell of a lot more money charging you $4 for a shot of cheap well bourbon than a nice upscale place is charging you $10 for a shot of Knob Creek. Do the math people. - Banker's Club Bourbon = $8.99 per liter (33.8 oz.) = .26 oz. (even cheaper if they use 1.75L bottles) - Knob Creek Bourbon = $26.99 for 750 ml (25.4 oz.) = 1.06 oz. for a 2 oz. drink the dive bar charges $4.00 for something that costs them .52 = 13% Cost of Goods for a 2 oz. drink the upscale establishment charges $10.00 for something that costs them 2.12 = 21% Cost of Goods Factor in service, ambiance and accoutrements (nice linens, quality stemware) and the upscale place starts looking like more of a bargain.
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Standard Tap has great bar grub. So did Dark Horse and Black Sheep under Ben McNamara's tenure as Capaneus noted. He's back at the New Wave Cafe so their food just took a decided upswing back to the good old days when they had great bar food. London Grill and White Dog also have excellent bar menus.
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In its heyday, Cafe Nola was great. That being said, its heyday was over a decade ago. Carmine's in Narberth is the only decent Cajun food to be had in the area that I'm aware of. There is a place called Melange Cafe in Cherry Hill that gets mixed reviews. It's a Cajun/Italian fusion restaurant, whatever that means.
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Aside from my future endeavor of opening Philadelphia's first "Fey Bar", can we try and keep this on topic? Thanks. Carry on...
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The barstaff at Southwark is pretty professional and mixes a fine cocktail.
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It's a toss up between a well made Manhattan, probably Knob Creek if available or a Calvados Sidecar.
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People pay for bottled water, do they not? One could easily invest in a filtration device that would pay for itself many times over, yet they don't. Seems like a very expensive bit of trickery to me. Then again, I can't stand tonic water so it makes no difference to me.
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You know what they say: "If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem."
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
KatieLoeb replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Oh Criminy! I'd completely forgotten about that. Let's just say this was good blueberry flavors and smells in "real" wine vs. "blueberry wine" which is a totally different thing. Tasty, but different. Lest we not forget they also had tomato wine. -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
KatieLoeb replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
I'm sipping a glass of 2001 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Merlot. I bought it online, but the Product Search shows about 5 cases available at 12th & Chestnut. I don't think I've ever tasted a wine that tastes more like blueberries! It's delicious. A bit of leather and spice as well. Very much in the mold of California Jolly Rancher Merlot flavor, but nonetheless a very pleasant quaff. Even more so at $12.99. -
Bahn Mi definitely counts, although I don't think of it as a uniquely Philly sandwich. Keep the pictures coming...