KatieLoeb

Good Heavens! That Steak Frites is amazing looking! As soon as I'm not so busy I'm going to take up a certain Frequent Dining Companion's invitation to trek out to the exburbs to check this place out.

Catew: Hi. I'd suggest going to Lee How Fook on 11th Street. There's anough "standard issue" fare on the menu to please your elder boy as well as the world's best Hot n' Sour soup, Lemon Duck and good hot pots. You should be able to feed everyone happily. Another fave of mine is David's Mai Lai Wah at the corner of 10th & Race. Their dumplings are amazing as well as their Salt & Pepper Squid. Both the dumplings and the squid come with the most amazing ginger dipping sauce. Their noodle dishes are also excellent. If you think Vietnamese might do the trick, then Pho Xe Lua (9th & Race) has great Spring rolls, soups and vermicelli dishes with all manner of good stuff on top that all of you should like. Inexpensive to boot. If you look back through the PA forum there is a thread on Chinatown favorites that includes all of the above and some other suggestions.

<sigh> Some of my favorite wines (I do that sparkling Ratzenberger!) with fabulous food from my favorite chef and my favorite dining companions. Sorry I missed this but I've been busily doing wine research. It looks like you all comported yourselves admirably without me. Excellent wine pairings, especially for last minute! Well done. And I think the days of record breaking competitive full contact wine drinking at SK are coming to a close. Not necessarily a bad thing either.

OK y'all. Last call for the hotel room I have reserved in my name that is still at the low low Pig Pickin' group rate. If anyone still needs a room at the Brownstone please PM me by Thursday or I am cancelling the room in my name. I'm still coming. I've just found a roomie!

You're far too modest. Your hushpuppies are the ne plus ultra of the genre. Light and perfect in every way. I can hardly wait to have them again.

Sour mix?? A tiny splash of lime juice or grapefruit juice? A bit of lemon juice in the spirit of a sidecar?? That's how I usually adjust for sourness in a cocktail. Bitters are just, well, bitter. Not that they don't have their place in cocktails, but you did say you were seeking sour/tart. How about cranberry juice or pomegranate juice?

Are we still having the fried chicken smackdown??

I had some grilled octopus that rivalled Dmitri's in Philadelphia at Pier House. It was quite tender and tasty. Also tried a pretty tomato salad. Fresh and delicious. New ownership is doing good things at Pier House.

Doilies??!!?? We don't need no stinkin' doilies!! Just line the pans with some waxed paper ferchrissakes! We're easy. This is an outdoor Pig Pickin' not a Debutante party. Except for the pig, I mean.

Sheesh! Cut the poor guy a little slack! A day off here and there in the summertime won't make the restaurant gossip machine grind to a standstill. There's always something happening/opening/closing, etc. and we'll all find out about it eventually. Sometimes we even scoop the esteemed Mr. Klein ourselves, no?

Does the fact that Rachel Ray included Villa di Roma in her "$40 a Day" visit to Philly tarnish its reputation any? (It was her lunch stop.) ← Probably gave it more street cred, if anything.

My only complaint with Radicchio would be the noise level. It's quite loud in there, so there's a lot of repeating oneself to their dining companions. Otherwise the place is awesome. Service is gracious, food is serious and the vibe is quite nice.

I think these were precisely what Capaneus and SaxChik had as their apps. Both very tasty. The white bean, shrimp and asparagus dish looked a bit more deconstructed than how you describe it though. Or maybe I just didn't get a good look at it before it got cut apart and messed about with the fork.

I think of the two, Villa di Roma has better food, but far less "atmosphere" than Ralph's. And the waiters are definitely part of the ambiance at Ralph's. But for really good South Philly "red gravy" style food, Villa di Roma wins hands down. The cooking at Ralph's is too sloppy and inconsistent.

<ahem> The Limoncello that's currently infusing on top of my fridge. ← Thank you. I may not be able to keep track of all the potent potables. And those are sort of for the crew anyhow, right? ← Aye aye, Captain!

There was a veritable Who's Who of Philly restaurant folk having dinner at Radicchio last night. In addition to Shola and Marc Vetri were one of the partners of Cuba Libre/32 Degrees/Brulee as well as the chef at Pod who is moving to NYC to open the Manhattan branch of Buddakan later this year. It speaks highly of the place that so many professionals dine there on their evening off. How this place is flying so under the radar is definitely an interesting question. I confess I had eaten there once before and enjoyed it, but hadn't been back in a couple of years. No real reason, but I swear this place has gotten *better* because I didn't remember it being quite this stellar or I'd have been back sooner! Everything we had was fresh and well prepared. Even the complimentary bruschetta were just right. I particularly enjoyed my grilled calamari that had chunks of fresh tomato, olives and capers on the plate with it. It was even better with a drizzle of Bartolini Lemon Oil ($12.99 @DiBRuno's) and Villa Manodori "Artigianale" Balsamico ($42.99 @DiBruno's) on it. Gotta love a man that carries his own condiments with him to the BYOB. Thanks for sharing Shola! MottMott's Langoustine were particularly impressive as well, and three of them to the serving was even more so. SaxChik's Mozzarella salad and perfectly al dente pasta was delicious and the veal that Capaneus had looked really good too. Lots of good wines for sharing amongst ourselves and Shola and his lovely dining companion capped off what was one of the most surprising and enjoyable meals I've had in a while. Reasonably priced as well. Total for two courses each with a generous tip came to $35 per head. Not too shabby. They'll be seeing more of me at Radicchio in the future.

Back when I was at Striped Bass, the Pastry Department always had tons of already scraped out vanilla pods laying about. I stuffed a handful of those into some bourbon and let it sit for a couple of months. End result was delicious. Know any professional bakers? Maybe you could get their used pods from them?

<ahem> The Limoncello that's currently infusing on top of my fridge.

I agree. Make MORE EGGS!!!!! Get a couple of THESE and we'll be jammin'. I have some funky party tapes that I made back in the eighties that have a pretty wild mix of tunes on them if you'd like me to bring them along. One tape has four versions of "Heard it Through the Grapevine" in a row (Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Creedence and the punk version by The Slits), there's lots of Motown and old New Wave too. I also own two different Best of the Seventies and Best of the Eighties sets of CDs. Good no-brainer party music. Just let me know if you want me to pack any of these.

The smoked turkey leftovers make the very best grilled sandwiches. Cranberry-Horseradish mayo, smoked turkey and Jarlsberg cheese on good brioche, challah or potato bread, buttered and grilled until crispy outside.

Damn! Those all sound good! Debbie, there needs to be a pile of books for sale on the Deviled Egg table! No doubt they'll all be gone by the end of the Pickin' along with the eggs!

Percy: You were sorely missed. The subject of your absence was definitely discussed. But you were having fun too!

Between two flesh-sides-facing sides of the same fresh salmon place two bunches of fresh Dill, Coriander seeds, sugar, kosher salt, crushed peppercorns, a healthy sprinkle of Cognac. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a large loaf or baking dish. Weigh down with foil wrapped bricks or heavy cans. Cure weighted down for three days. Unwrap and drain and scrape off seasonings. Serve freshly sliced with a spread of blended goat cheese and cream cheese with fennel seeds and toasted baguette slices. None of this is ever left over.

Here's the litany of wine pairings we were blessed to enjoy with our SK repast: First Course:"Soup to Nuts" Tomato, Boquerone, Horseradish, Picual Olive Oil Kabocha, Miso, Fugi Apple, Lemon, Mosto Oil, Curry, Maple Syrup Miso, Shiso, Tahini, Black Truffle, Takikomi Wakame, Peas Marcona Almond, Rabbit, Onion, Jerez, Bay Leaf Remelluri Rioja Blanco 2001 Turley "White Coat" 2002 Both of these wines were an interesting match with the various soups. The rioja blanca was a particularly refreshing choice that was unfamiliar to all of us and the Turley had a very interesting floral touch from the Viognier in the blend. Both very interesting wines that were a pleasure to experience. Oh - this course is never to be replicated. Heard it from the horse's mouth himself. Too much running around for one chef in an evening. This course alone qualifies as a culinary marathon for the one plating it. Glad to be there for the one-time-only magic act. It wouldn't be as special if it were that easy to do, right? Second Course: Foie Gras Two Ways Glazed Unagi Chanterelles and Sea Beans Porcini – Shoyu –Mirin Kijoshu Seiryo Sake Ratzenberger Bachracher Wolfscohle Riesling Spatlese 1998 Chateau Tieussec Sauterne 2001 There was much anxiety and angst in choosing the Sake and the Riesling to compliment this course. The sake was such an unusual choice, an aged sake that was very oxidized and rich, yet it worked with the foie gras well in a way that was completely counterintuitive to the "usual" choices of rich and sweet wine that generally plays off of the richness of foie gras. I can't explain it, yet I really enjoyed it. The riesling was a more conventional choice but this one had just the brightness and acidity necessary to do battle with the foie. The sauternes was a glorious surprise that was the perfect counterpoint to the other wines with this course. A reminder of why sauternes is the nectar of the gods. Third Course: Smoked Waygu Steak "Tataki" Tosazu, Jalepeno, Lemon Balm, Sorrel, Spring Onion. El Castro de Valtuille Bierzo 2002 Concha y Toro Terrunyo Carmenere Cachapual Valley 2003 OK. This smoked Wagyu is the "beefiest" thing ever. Really. The Bierzo is a Spanish wine from the arid plains north of Madrid in the old heartland of Castilla y Leon. The local grape is the much unheard of and hence underrated Mencia which produces a wine of extraordinary berry character with a lot of underlying earthiness. Big and chewy, yet elegant if such an irony can exist in wines. The perfect foil for a big-assed beefy dish like this. This might have been the money shot match for the evening. The Carmenere was a nice contrast, and I confess I don't usually enjoy Carmenere. This one was very deep and chocolatey and cedar-ey. Smoother and more soft than others I'd tried before. Maybe I just hadn't had the right one yet? Fourth Course: Pork Quintet Loin "Weiner Schnitzel", Cranberry Orange Relish Cured Pork Belly, White Bean Fondue Pork Galette with Pistachio and Truffle Braised Tenderloin, Prunes, Essence of Bergamot Milk Poached "Involtini",Tuscan Ham, Sage Two Hands "Lost Highway" Shiraz 2002 Branson Coach House "Coach House Block" Greenock Shiraz 2003 Turley Contra Costa County Duarte Zinfandel 1998 Gabriel Billare Pommard Beaune Epenottes Premier Cru 1996 Five courses of porky goodness? What to do? Four ridiculous wines to match, of course! Where to begin?? The two Aussie Shiraz were gigantic and lovely. Big fruit flavors but still soft and approachable. The Turley zinfandel was a spicy contrast to the shiraz and the subtlety and elegance of the Burgundy explains exactly why Jeff was a deer frozen in the headlights the first time he tried this lovely wine. This explains also, why there is chocolate and vanilla. Contrast is good. The varied preparations of the pork made the varied wines an interesting experiment in personal taste. I'm not sure which combinations were best, since most of the wines complimented at least 3 of the five courses. Tough call. Not a bad situation to be in. I think the big zin was best with the pork belly, but it was all good. Cheese Course Point Reyes, Cabrales, Cashel, St. Augur,Stilton. Chateau Haut Bernasse Monbazillac 1998 OK - this had to be the coolest presentation of the evening. Lavender steeped in hot water wafting up from beneath the world tour of blue cheeses garnished with the slightest drop of lavender honey. Yeah. That works. YUM!!! This was really a work of art, and a very academic and fascinating tour of blue cheeses of the Northern Hemisphere. The Monbazillac was perfectly balanced acidity with sweet botrysized fruit. Perfect with blue cheeses. Perfect with almost anything, in fact. Dessert Coffee Scented Chocolate Sorbet, Cocoa Nibs, Butterscotch and Hazelnut Bavarois, Salty Crispy Rice,"LeBlanc" Hazelnut Oil. Banfi Rosa Regale Bracquetto d'Acqui 2003 Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Jimenez Sherry Yeah, sure. We'll eat dessert after all that. You'd think we'd need funnels and plungers, but NO! Everything is so delicious we stuff ourselves to proportions heretofore only seen in disgusting Monty Python skits. Jokes about "wafer thin" mints abound as we dig into our last course. And it's so etherially light we're dumbfounded and grateful in the same breath. The sherry is the perfect foil for the nutty and butterscotch layers and the Bracquetto is delicious with the dark chocolate hiding at the bottom of our glasses, and the cocoa nibs mixed in. It becomes a two fisted war between spoon and wine glasses. Not a bad way to go if one were forced to choose their exit strategy. So hopefully this explains the graveyard of bottles and corks that have been evidenced above. I think one more bottle would have made the photo with Pedro holding the detritus of the evening impossible. We barely got that picture taken before there was a crashing to the ground of all manner of empty bottles. I am honored and privileged to have borne witness to this evening of comradery, fine dining and imbibing. The food, wine and company could not possibly have been better. I'm dieting for the next four months in penance.

For now, I'll only add that Shola truly outdid himself. He's a maniac under normal circumstances, but the gyrations of culinary detail and plating he went through last night were astounding by anyone's standards. I have all the wine info written down but I'm too tired (and sadly too sunburned from the afternoon at the Tomato Festival in Camden) to handle it now. I promise to post it ASAP when my shoulders stop throbbing.