KatieLoeb

This is my own personal vision of hell. Locked in a well stocked wine cellar with no corkscrew.

An enterprising friend of mine once opened a bottle of wine with two Volkswagen keys wiggled down the sides of the cork and used in the manner of one of those two bladed phlange cork"screws". He was a Boy Scout in his youth and I was very impressed with this stunt. Do you have a Swiss Army knife? There's always a corkscrew on those.

Just get the Gewurz next time. It'll give you something to look forward to and an excuse to go back to Moore Bros. For what it's worth, I used to have the Herrenweg on the wine list at Striped Bass (under the former regime when I purchased the wine). It's also well crafted riesling and I have no doubt you'll enjoy it. The Jurancon with the cheese sounds interesting. Do tell how that works out.

Two of my girlfriends have Dead tickets this weekend here in Philly. I just can't go anymore. It's too sad without Jerry.

The Barmes riesling is an excellent choice because it will compliment a wide variety of foods. If they have the Barmes Sept Grains pick up a bottle of that as well. Trust me. This wine covers a lot of ground too. When I BYO I will usually bring a couple of different choices as well and then just decide when I decide on what I'm eating for dinner. I've also been known to pair my food to my wine on occasion, just for the academic exercise of seeing if I've chosen wisely. It's how we sommeliers stay in fighting shape. Have a wonderful meal at Django and kindly report back on their latest menu.

Congratulations Sara! May I wish you both every happiness! Call Feast Your Eyes and/or Peachtree Catering. They can give you a list of venues where they are "approved" (read: insured) to do business. I've worked for both companies in the past and they do very nice work. Peachtree Catering If you call Feast, ask for Lynn or Skip. Feast Your Eyes They are the owners and a pleasure to deal with. MANNA (Metropolitan Aids Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance) also has a catering arm that does very nice work and supports their very worthy cause. MANNA Catering. Due to PLCB liquor licensing requirements, the caterer HAS to provide the wine for the event. However, I'm certain they'd be happy to serve whatever you ask them to, or purchase the wines (and then mark them up outrageously) wherever you ask them to. Moore Brothers is very good at pairing wines with the menu for you. I just solved this problem for another soon-to-be bride (see the Wine Forum) who's getting married at the University Museum. The caterer will want to please their client, so if you want a different wine that costs the same retail price as the not-so-great stuff the caterer is offering, all you should have to do is ask. I'd suggest finding a caterer soon, as June is high season for weddings and the best caterers will have been booked fairly far in advance for every weekend that month. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

I've e-mailed the Food Editor and asked that very question.

Love to have you! Please note that sometimes if the kitchen's too busy they order out for pizza for staff meal. Or make scrambled eggs and thaw out the frozen brunch pastries so it's breakfast in the afternoon. On those days I'll order off the menu.

Today I'm having penne with chunks of grilled chicken, vegetables, tomatoes and basil. Pretty tasty. It's a payday so I was real busy and missed the 3PM deadline to order one of the lunch specials. I would have ordered one of our Best of Philly burgers but staff meal smelled so good I had it instead.

Alas - we did not make it. Pesky things like work and out of town travel intervened.

I would think this situation akin to hosting Muslims. I'd say don't do it unless they notice and say specifically that they aren't offended if you drink. Pound a couple of shots before they get there. That ought to hold you until they leave and you can open up the wine...

OK everyone. Time to start the write-in campaign on my behalf. But if tight abs are one of the job requirements I'd better back out now.

Oh yeah! This is gonna be FUN!!! If we get lucky maybe it'll be a nice day like today...

Sam: I've had some of the Finger Lakes rieslings (Dr. Konstanin Frank) and they are delicious. The flavor profile is definitely riesling but with much less minerality than one would be accustomed to from German/Alsatian examples. If one isn't a "rockhead" in terms of their wine preferences, then they're right up your alley.

Here you go: Frog Commissary Carrot Cake There is none better than this. This is the recipe made famous at Phiadelphia's sorely missed Commissary restaurant, one of the places that led the "restaurant renaissance" here back in the 70's and 80's. The Amazon reviews of the Frog Commissary Cookbook say it's worth buying the book just for the carrot cake recipe alone. That might be true, but it's an excellent book all around. The carrot cake does RULE.

Not implying but stating outright that an operation has to be of a certain size (and any quality) to be able to have vendors "bid" for their business. Using those controls is a great idea if one is in the position to avail themselves of the economies of scale and buying power that comes from that. Those controls limit the quality only insomuch as the quality of a company like Sysco will vary from a smaller specialty produce or fish only purveyor would. Doesn't matter much for frozen french fries but matters a whole lot for a case of mesclun mix for example.

We obviously purchase from different people. My weekly purchases of canned San Marzano tomatoes might not vary that much, but my purchases of fresh and local prodce, hopefully will. So will my dailly specials. That's the difference in a nutshell. I realize that my equations for purchasing and serving glorious locally grown Tomatoes and the freshest Bufalo Mozzarella that is available within a 50 mile radius of Philadelphia might vary ever so slightly over the course of a season, but the bottom line is whether the menu is reflective of both the season and what's a value for the customer as well as the restuarant over the seasons.

Today we had Fish Cakes, Macaroni & Cheese and fresh homemade Stewed Tomatoes. A bit heavy for a desk-bound individual like myself, but nonetheless a classic meal.

Yeah - OK. But unless you're a multi-unit operator that's buying a bajillion bags of frozen French Fries and your suppliers have to seek to beat the "other guy" for the business, this is all negligable. As I mentioned, I look at the reports and the invoices on a daily basis. A small to medium-sized client such as myself is not going to have an impact on the bottom line of a supplier nor will they have on me if all remains relatively stable. I might pay $6.45/lb. for Cull (one clawed) Lobsters (from a reliable and excelllent purveyor) on Monday and it might be $6.75/lb. on Thursday, but the fact is that my average order is 10-13 lbs. and that $3.50 will not make or break my restaurant. There really isn't anyone competing with this guy for the "fresh" and "local" business. The real point is, do I have a relationship with the best supplier I can hope for in my small geographical sphere of influence? Am I getting value for what I'm paying? Or am I cutting corners where it makes a real difference and shortchanging the customer in terms of quality of product (as they say "in the biz") at "The Center of the Plate"?

I appreciate what your driving at here, but the bid process only works if you're a large enough operation to avail yourself of it. And at that point it's Sysco vs. whomever the more regional competior is. The small to medium sized bistro/brasserie/corner tavern doesn't have the wherewithall to compete in that league. I live and work in Philadelphia, which is a fairly large urban center with a dynamic restaurant culture and nearby agricultural areas and purveyors. But there's still a short list of quality vendors to deal with. The luxury of having vendors "bid" for our business is not something that the chef or even I (as Beverage Director, I am forced to deal with the PLCB) can avail ourselves of. It all sounds good in a theoretical argument, but has little place in practice.

Clifford: You could try to do that, but it sounds like a losing argument every time, doesn't it? The truly talented (and I mean in all areas, not just creativity) chefs that I've had the pleasure of working with are buying what's seasonal both because it's the freshest and the best the local producers have to offer, AND because it's a better overall choice for the menu in terms of cost. That's what separates the Executive Chefs from the overblown Line Cooks. The word "Executive" has certain implications that are central to this interpretation.

CFO: I look at that stuff every single day, and it's included in my packet of nightly reports that are run off of the POS. But the bottom line is that the cost of goods percentage is still the same equation regardless of whether or not anyone is looking at those reports beside myself. Yeah it's a great tool, but only to fine tune things. If the chef doesn't have a basic grasp of what he/she is doing in terms of menu pricing (including those items that are the "loss leaders" on the menu), labor cost control, portion control or whatever, then no amount of throwing paper at them is going to help. Might as well use the pile of paper as an ottoman or to fuel the oven.

Let's add to that a discussion about alternate, non-organic closures like synthetic corks or Stelvin caps and why they're preferable. The purpose of this column appears to have more to do with the author stroking himself than educating anyone. His premise is illogical on so many levels it's hard to decide which fallacy to address first. It also clearly illustrates that no attempt was made to discover or explain what "corked" wine really is, what the statistical likelihood of getting a corked bottle might be (anywhere from 6%-8%), or what standard industry practices/restaurant etiquette are and why they are that way. Rubbish indeed.

If the chef was hired solely for their creative abilities and no thought or weight whatsoever was given to their abilities in the area of cost control of both labor and product in the BOH then that owner deserves to fail. And they will. Not to beat the same drum, but this is clearly WHY the failure rate in the restaurant industry is so high.

and, presumably, have more than just a pretty face and a lot of pep? maybe even some idea about wines? asking too much? A bubbly Rachel Ray of wines?? (not the best choice of adjectives, I suppose...) scroll down to read the second story on this ... Where do I send my resume? No really. If they'd pay me enough of a living wage to afford to live in London in the style to which I'm accustomed (or even a bit better) I'd be there in a heartbeat.