KatieLoeb

House of Tea is my favorite source. It's great quality, it's walking distance from my house and the shop smells SO good! The teas are wonderful and they are the source for every decent restaurant in Philadelphia as well as other cities that ship in their products.

I have to agree with the cross-training idea suggested upthread. It was SOP at the Striped Bass under the former regime. Anyone that was hired in ANY FOH position had to spend at least one shift answering the phones, bussing tables, running food, barbacking/service bartending, and trailing/being a server. They also had to do one shift behind the line - in chef whites and all. And we had a very pretty and central open kitchen that was very much the focal point of the room. No screwing around, no yelling, no foolishness was tolerated and if you couldn't hack your shift behind the line, even if you were going to be a hostess, it was grounds for dismissal. We weeded out a lot of potentially disastrous employees that way. It was a good system and although I can't say it completely erased the line between FOH and BOH, it certainly gave folks a better understanding and respect for their co-workers. I never understood why the line cooks and sous chefs didn't have to spend a shift waiting tables though. I thought that would have been a useful experience, but I guess it was the Talent vs the Trained Monkeys thing again.

My understanding of this is that you are taxed on items you sell, not on items you give away. When I fill out the forms for monthly Sales taxes and Liquor taxes to the Commonwealth of PA, the sales figures I enter are net of comps.

Jason: I don't think you or Rachel need apologize to anyone. The Big House Red sounds like a great choice to make the stew with. I'd have been severely disappointed in you if you'd dumped the bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin in the pot to cook with! I'm sure the Bourgogne natives use local "table" wine to make their stews with too.

We have some very excellent teas at my restaurant that we purchase from House of Tea which is a local and excellent tea purveyor. Although I am more of a coffee drinker most of the time, I occasionally get the urge for a good cup of tea. We have press pots at the restaurant and I'll usually make myself a cup of Vanilla Rooibos or Earl Grey. For at home I've purchased their Earl Grey with Violets and it's very delicate and tasty as well as the Four Red Fruit for Iced tea in the summer or the Russian Caravan which is incredibly fragrant and warming. The store is conveniently located just a few blocks from my house, so I'll walk over just to smell the place and buy one or two teas. It smells so good in that shop!

Hell hath no fury like a hormonally unstable woman that's been mocked!!!

Don - get out of here before some homicidal women come track you down!! Sheesh - do you poke sleeping bears with a sharp stick too??

Do tell! ← The gentleman that taught me this neat trick, Stuart Devine of Villa Maria Wines New Zealand, will begin participating in a "Chat with Stuart Devine" thread in the wine forum starting this week. All of Villa Maria's wines are Stelvin capped (screw top) so asking him about proper tableside opening procedures would be a great question. The thread should be started by this evening at the latest. Any other questions you have about the NZ wine industry or winemaking practices would also be welcome.

Certainly you could find appropriate Texan v. New Engand fare for that evening. Chili and Clam Chowder. Fajitas and Lobster. Hell - just serve Surf and Turf. Cattle and Lobster. Cape Codders and Margaritas on the side. My friends and I will be cracking open a bottle of 1992 Cabernet to watch the returns come in. Seemed appropriate since we're supporters of the administration first elected in that vintage.

Some of the best goulash I've ever had in my life was prepared by my friend Sabine in Vienna on New Year's Eve. She started the goulash early in the evening and left it simmering on the back burner for the inevitable 2AM kitchen raid. Goulash is a righteous prophylactic cure for a hangover.

I recently tried one of these Australian Shiraz-Viognier blends (definitely NOT this one, but my notes are at my office right now) and it was just heinous! Really tight, the little bit of floral and softening influence that should have come from the Viognier was completely overwhelmed by the big New World fruitiness of the Shiraz. It ended up smelling (and I'd imagine tasting) a bit like stale floral scented nail polish remover. Blech! In my notes that evening I recall calling the wine "Faux Rotie".

The chef here uses truffle oil swirled on top of all kinds of creamy soups including muchroom, white bean, butternut squash, etc. It's very good that way. Another restaurant where I used to work made a really delicious Potato and Fontina Pizza that had truffle oil drizzled on it at the last second.

There is not one theater in western Washington that is showing this movie. Is it a limited release? ← It is a limited release. It opened in larger cities (I presume they mean NY, LA and SF) on Friday 10/22. The Philly premier was this past Tuesday followed by a wine tasting. One of the wines they were serving at the tasting afterward was Iron Horse Pinot Noir. If you have an "art house" type movie theater near you that might be your best bet of finding it. I doubt this one will ever be taking up space at the 16-Plex Cinema at the mall. It's too esoteric.

Sounds like we need a few stout hearted DDCers to pop by and convince the owner that more ethnic = better as far as we're concerned. Sounds like a potential weekend breakfast stop, presuming they are open then.

There is nothing better in this galaxy than Nutella spread on a halved warm, plain buttery croissant. NOTHING.

I suggest you all go check out the new film, Sideways, which has already been reviewed by stout hearted eGulleteers HERE There are many hilariously amusing wine tasting room scenes, as well as a "bad behavior" meltdown from the protagonist toward the end of the film who is pissed off by the tasting room employee's reluctance to pour him a full measure.

Attended the Philadelphia premier of this film on Tuesday. The quest for the perfect Pinot Noir. It's very amusing. The wine tasting scenes are priceless. For serious wine geeks, I'd say go see this in the theater. Others could probably wait for DVD. The scenery is spectacular and some of the in depth conversations about wine between Paul Giamatti's character and Virginia Madsen's character are really beautiful prose about wine. Great stuff if you're really into the subject matter.

I realize this entire thread is now OT, but I have to add my congrats. The Sox rocked this season and reversed the curse with style and spunk. I've been a Schilling fan ever since he was a Phillie. Dude has brass ones. Bleeding on the mound and limping around. Damn. The team with the most guts and heart definitely won this year. There's no stopping determination like that. To keep this food related I did have Oyster chowder for lunch today. That's New England-ish, isn't it?

Gabe: I think the 5th Street store may have a little of the Zin still in stock. Franklin Mills had lots last Sunday. I'd call first to any of these stores just so not to waste a trip. I saw the Three Thieves and thought the jug was a marketing gimmick. Clearly it is, but if the wine is good it's worth a try.

HERE is the latest in coverage on this event. Anyone else thinking of attending??

As a former employee at Moore Brothers, certainly I can attest to the fact that there were many customers in the database with PA zip codes. Sure folks would cross the bridge and come buy wine there, and it was selection, price and mostly I believe, the customer service that was the draw to doing that. But the issues with the PLCB are more about the fact that the agency is a self-sustaining "middleman" in the process and there's an instantaneous 50-60% markup from "wholesale" before the shelf price is set. Most bottles of wine that aren't hard to find or "boutique" type productions (much of which is what Moore Brothers specializes in) are anywhere from $2-5 cheaper in NJ, where competition between retailers and genuine free enterprise creates better pricing. The PLCB is also the largest purchaser of wholesale wine and spirits in North America (possibly the world) so this sometimes works the other way, in the customer's favor, as it does with the "Chairman's Selections" that I've been crowing about lately, or with certain widely available/high demand products like Dom Perignon around New Years Eve each year. That's usually a bit cheaper in PA because the state buys so damn much of it they can cut a great deal for the enormous quantity they purchase. My biggest complaint is that the "discount" given to restaurants is useless. A "licensee" in PA has, with the permission of the Commonwealth "authority to dispense liquor, wine and malt or brewed beverages on weekdays and on Sundays during the hours provided by law (if you have a Sunday license) and to purchase liquor at a 'discount' at a Pennsylvania State Liquor store". The "discount" of 6% off any purchase invoice totalling over $50 is completely negated by the 7% sales tax. There's no incentive for restaurants or better pricing over "retail" so that once the wine bottle is priced on a wine list at 2.5-3 times the restaurant's price, it's astronomical. It's no wonder that the BYO culture is thriving in Philadelphia. Wine loving customers can eat great food and bring their own wine for a fraction of the cost most licensed restaurants would charge for the very same bottle. I realize this is the case with all BYO restaurants, but it seems more exaggerated here somehow, because of the initial price increase and because the PLCB is a self perpetuating agency, that has no incentive itself to move toward privatization, lest it commit suicide and put a lot of State civil servants out on the street. That markup not only provides those salaries and administrative costs, but puts a lot of dollars into the Commonwealth coffers. The state of affairs has improved dramatically under Chairman Jonathan Newman. He's a bit of a wine aficionado himself, so he's consciously seeking out better products and cutting some pretty killer deals. The staff at the stores is better trained and the stores themselves are a lot more pleasant than they used to be. But it's never going to improve for restaurant buyers like myself and restaurant customers, until there's a better discount offered to purchasers for resale.

Katie, While we are glad to have Deidre amongst us, please don't sell yourself short !! You have been bestowing wonderful advice and tips upon us for quite some time and we hope that it will continue ← I'm trying my best. I feel responsible as the Mistress of Potables to make sure you're all drinking well, and frugally whenever possible. So I guess that makes me a simultaneous bad influence and good influence.

Mike: Glad you enjoyed it! I'm tellin' 'ya - that's gotta be the most luscious zin I've had in awhile at virtually any price. The fact that it's only $8 is a BIG bonus! I tried the Burgess Syrah a few nights ago and it was really good too. More like cocoa dusted bacon on the nose but really high quality as well. Tried the 2000 Cabernet with dinner at Branzino on Monday evening (writeup to follow later this week when I have time!) and again - a winner!! Go buy the Burgess wines folks!!! They're all good and all have an incredibly high price-value quotient. I love it when I stumble on stuff like this! Mike - I too, remember the days of "Combat Zone" PLCB stores where you'd walk up to the thick bullet-proof window and ask for what you wanted. It made you feel like you were doing something vaguely unsavory. Bleah! I'm glad that the Chairman is a wine lover - he's definitely improved things to the point where it's almost like free enterprise retail in any other state.

thanks, you're all correct, i was a too broad.. and why not focus on Italian since Seattle's not known for that... I'll check out Vetri and Il Portico. I may have to schedule a second night also since Pif and Django sound excellent as well. thanks for all your input! ← If you decide to stay that second night and hit one of the local BYOB's, check the PA Forum for the latest suggestions of great wines available at the PLCB HERE We've all been buying and trying and comparing notes, so you'll have some guidance as to what's been a particularly fantastic wine value most recently. If I can provide any further assistance, don't hesitate to post or PM.

:rubbing her hands together with glee: Ehhhxcellent! Deidre wins most valuable new player award!