KatieLoeb

The problem with the lunch truck situation at Penn is that they've herded them all into several "food truck ghettos" at 33rd & Spruce by Franklin Field, over by the Pottruck Health & Fitness center at 37th & Walnut and up and down 38th Street facing Wharton. Some trucks disappeared after that re-organization effort. It used to be they were all over campus, wherever the cart owner had their license approved for. There were amazing Korean and Thai trucks along Walnut Street outside of the Annenberg School that seem to have disappeared. The one Thai truck had a dish called "Crying Tiger" that was spicy enough to take the top of your head off. Damn that stuff was good!

This morning the kitchen made us scrambled eggs and steak for breakfast accompanied by a really tasty Salsa Fresca made by one of the amigos on the kitchen crew! Yummy!

Lisa: Stroll down the block and see me. I've got the Magic Hat No. 9 on our beer list for the autumn.

King of Felafel at 16th & JFK has always been the go-to Felafel cart for me. Delicious felafel, hummus, baba ghanoush, grapes leaves and lentil soup. Good gyros too. I really like the fruit salad lady at 16th & Walnut. She always has standalone containers of sliced mangoes in the summertime and bags of cherries and grapes available too. Can we change the title of this thread to Philly Roach Coach Reviews??

Don't miss the Maeght Foundation on a short trip to Saint-Paul-de-Vence! Or the Chagall museum in Nice. Two of the most beautiful museums I've ever visited.

Lyz: Ask and ye shall receive... Lookie Here Scroll down to about the fifth post.

You've heard the phrase, "A Philadelphia lawyer". I think the "fictitious name registration" only cover's someone trying to steal your EXACT name. So Famous Ray's isn't Ray's. There's definitely something funny going on with this one.

I second Bonny Doon. I also enjoy Merryvale Vineyards site, if for no other reason than to gape at the glorious Cask Room and remind myself how beautiful it was. I took a wine seminar in that room and it was just a gorgeous venue. Also love to look at the Artesa Winery site, again because it reminds me of a pleasant afternoon there quaffing their wine in the sunshine on that lovely terrace overlooking some of the prettiest scenery in Carneros. Architecturally it's probably one of the most interesting things I've ever seen. Beautiful fountains and sculpture garden yet it looks like it was dropped into the side of a hill by an alien space ship. Exceedingly

I'm no lawyer, but it would seem that the employee in question is undoubtedly "profiting" from having worked there, and that any "trade secret" from a restaurant, whether it's a recipe or the script that the reservationist uses when they answer the phone can be protected by an employer from "theft". It's not just WHAT they do, but HOW they do it that makes a business successful, and an employer has every right to try and keep "his way" of doing business to himself. The way to do that legally is through requiring confidentiality agreements from the staff. It's a pain in the ass to police that stuff, unless someone does something egregious like write a tell-all book.

Excellent review, Shinyboots! And your pictures came out great. I too, enjoyed dinner there and thought it was an excellent value for the quality of food and level of professional service. I sent some friends there last night that were looking for "something new" that was also BYOB and got a rave review phone call from them this morning. West Philly is turning into our Philly's little outpost of great values! Between the wonderful BYO choices like Rx, Nan and now Marigold, and the various ethnic choices like Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Ethiopian and Senegalese, it's well worth the short drive over the bridge to go exploring.

Jaymes: You did such a marvelous job of getting us such a great rate last time and then couldn't join us. Here hoping we get to meet this time and do a little of this:

I've won two chili cookoffs with my Turkey Black Bean and Chorizo chili. The recipe is in RecipeGullet somewhere in cyberspace. I also won a food trivia Jeopardy type game at a local gourmet shop. To be fair, and since the judge knew me and my background, they purposely didn't ask any wine questions. Had to ring a bell and answer quickly as well as correctly identify a few things by taste or smell when blindfolded. I won a gift certificate that allowed me to purchase my Kitchenaid blender, hand mixer and a big cutting/carving board.

I don't understand how the second place can legally use that name. When one sets up a business (at least in PA) you go though a "fictitious name registration" process that prevents you from using a name that is already asoociated with another business. Even a businessman whose name was actually McDonald could not open up a hamburger place called McDonald's. Or a better Philly example would be someone else could not open a cheesesteak place called "Jim's Steaks" - the name is already spoken for. Don't they do this in other places???? And they absolutely should go litigious on their asses. That's disgraceful to take someone's help and then steal their good name that way. A first year law student could try this case. That's way too easy. I hope they have picketers outside when they open. What kind of schmuck promises his investors that he's going to STEAL someone's hard earned name and reputation and doesn't have a single dissenting voice?? Sounds like the investors and the front man deserve each other.

Maggie: I was just thinking that it's time for me to start the holiday batch soon! Great minds think alike! My car is in the shop until probably tomorrow afternoon or Saturday AM at the latest. I need to go hit the store and get some more 100 proof vodka to start it with and another 1.75 Liter bottle of Denaka to finish it with over the weekend.

I think he means Malt Vinegar, as is traditional with Fish 'n Chips. The other idea is just too digusting for words...

A very dear friend of mine used to make white, milk and dark chocolate dipped pretzels, potato chips, and OREO cookies every holiday. They were the most amazing things and everyone loved them.

Hi Jon: I like many of the suggestions in your article and have a few more of my own. To go with an off-dry white (BTW the recommended Lazy Creek Gewurztraminer is one of my favorite wines in the whole world!) I'd also suggest trying to locate a Scheurebe (Riesling/Sylvaner hybrid) from Germany or Austria. Great acidity like riesling but with a softer side that really compliments roast turkey and cranberry sauce. A nice Alsace Edelswicker could also fit this category and be well suited to pair with the usual Thanksgiving fixins. For a drier white I also like Soave with roast turkey. The red suggestions in your article are also excellent. Beujolais is the perfect match for turkey, particularly a nice Cru Beajolais served very slightly chilled. The Zinfandel with turkey thing has been done to death, and I think it works only when the turkey is in a more peppery preparation. And even then the high alcohol content of many California zins runs the risk of setting your palate aflame if there's any hint of spiciness in any of the dishes. Pinot Noir usually has the elements like earthiness and a slight herbal undertone that compliment both the roast bird and many of the usual side dishes (stuffing with mushrooms or even Green Bean Casserole has Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup in it! ) that grace most tables. Grenache can be very tasty with turkey or a Dolcetto that's low tannin and medium bodied also goes very well with those sorts of dishes.

Looking forward to that discussion. I've already a few ideas for you, but am eagerly anticipating seeing the menu firm up before making any suggestions.

Bummer! I did get the impression from the website link upthread that they were participating. Damn shame you didn't get to try their chocolates. They're possibly one of the most amazing artisanal food products I've ever tried in any category. The flavors are insane and insanely well presented. I forgot to mention the Saffron-Rosewater.

I make my whole berry sauce with fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, unflavored gelatin (aids in thickening once refrigerated) and a healthy splash of Grand Marnier toward the end. Everyone loves it. The other one I make is Cranberry Jalapeno sauce from FabulousFoods.com. That goes particularly well with deep fried turkey.

That's kinda cool!! I'd definitely check it out, if only for the novelty of it. My only concern would be that without human intervention the "dispenser" doesn't know if a bottle is corked or has been opened a tad too long. Certainly though, it is a novel enough concept to draw people to try things they normally might not and to feel no snobbery or condescension for their choices. That can only be a good thing.

According to Michael Klein's Table Talk column today, Sammy's has closed. No big surprise here. You?

We serve our frites here at Rouge with a Sambal Mayonnaise dipping sauce on the side. They're very addictive as my waistline could attest...

It' so much easer to open the Richebourg (or whatever) out of someone else's wine rack than it is your own...

I'm only partially sorry for doing this to you, and that's only because I'm a stalwart supporter of local businesses and because the Jubilee Chocolate folks really have their hearts in the right place. If you check out their website you'll see how sincere they are in their commitment to the local community and I have to applaud that. I just have to. Not to mention that their product is so excellent and so tied into supporting local commercial and even non-commercial growers (the elementary school garden mint they use in the mint chocolates) that I have to cheer their efforts to do greater good through chocolate. Heck - how could anyone not support the greater good through chocolate. It'd be downright un-American not to!