KatieLoeb

In addition to Francois Chidaine (whose wines I love and have served in my restaurant), you should try and visit Prince Poniatowski's estates. His Vouvray run the gamut from bone dry to sweet and he occasionally makes a sparkling as well. All are of excellent quality.

What he said. Just bring home as many bottles of Savennieres and Clos de la Coulee de Serrant as you can carry.

An excellent post, Sam! As soon as I figure out how to work my digital camera, I'll show you all my cool antique barware. My pride and joy is a Deco era collapsable cocktail shaker that comes with it's own leather case and collapsable cup into which to strain your concoction. Something no proper Prohibition era gentleman would travel without, I suspect.

Ah Chris. Thanks for mentioning the Septs Grains. Anyone here in Philly that's been to a BYO event with me has tasted this wine at some point or another. I'm still serving it by the glass at Rouge and I won't take it off the list until the vintage runs out. Love this stuff. And of course Chris is correct in saying that all of the Barmes-Buecher wines are meticulously crafted. They are proponents of biodynamic farming, painstaking viticulturists and strong believers in low yields and careful crafting of their wines. The fact that they own plots in some of the most desireable Grand Cru vineyards of Alsace is icing on the cake. Finding the Barmes-Buecher wines is as easy as clicking on Wine Access Wine Finder and filling in your appropriate inrformation. It will locate the closest retailer to you that carries these wonderful products.

Because I'm a freakin' genius??? Really - sometimes I scare myself...

Susanna Foo Duh! Sometimes I can be such a . Since I don't frequent her restaurant the most obvious of nominees slipped my mind.

Good one. Unfortunately, most of the female chefs in Philadelphia are Pastry chefs, in my experience. Some folks would probably argue for Alison Barshak of Alison at Blue Bell, even though it's technically outside of the city. I like Susanna Goihman of Azafran. If catering chefs are eligible then Lynn Buono of Feast Your Eyes gets a vote too. Our own dear AliWaks is toiling away at Tria and adding her inimitable touch to their limited menu.

Now THIS is brilliant! An excellent idea that sounds like it yields intriguing results.

This one's easy. Watching the gulls drop them onto rocks or the sea otters pounds them against their chests with rocks. This too was a happy accident. Storage of grapes or grape juice in closed amphorae with ambient yeasts doing their thing. The resultant "juice" was kicked up, stored longer and had wonderful psychotropic properties. Fermented beverages were preferred over the contaminated water in most places. Those that consumed these fermented beverages had better resistance to disease and lived long enough to reproduce. The trade of this wondrous substance gained popularity in the religious enclaves that perfected viniculture in the early Middle Ages (see Cistercian Monks for reference). The very word "Divine" has it's roots in "the vine".

If you like BYOs, then Herb's suggestion of Matyson is an excellent one. Menus are HERE. Also, if you like Latino cuisine, Azafran on 3rd Street between South and Bainbridge is consistently delicious and reasonable. The pulled chicken with arepas is a classic and their filet served with yuca fries sounds like a standard choice with a slight twist that your hubby might like. They also have the coolest bathroom ever, with a guest book! Very cute place. A review is HERE. You could do worse for Italian than the restaurant at your hotel. In addition to having the world's best wine bar, the food is good too. I've always been fond of the homemade pastas - the Papardelle w/Lamb Bolognese Sauce with a glass of an earthy Rhone Syrah on the side does me right in cooler weather. French style there's Caribou, which you've tried, Brasserie Perrier, or of course [shill] you could come visit me at Rouge. Our menu isn't online but please PM me if you'd like me to fax you a copy. [/shill]

That was a poetic and awe inspiring post. As much as I can understand this sequence of events intellectually and academically, your post has made me understand it emotionally. Thank you for that.

I've experimented with this approach as well, and although it does get more flavor out, the end result is much harsher to my taste. One batch I made in the past I started with just enough Everclear to cover the peels and then used regular (80 proof) vodka for the rest. That was pretty good, but I've found the 100 proof vodka to be the best compromise that yields the best tasting end product all around when diluted with the simple syrup, water and more 80 proof vodka to taste. This is true, and I've certainly made very good limoncello using the vegetable peeler. What the microplaner does is speed up the process because there's more surface area of peel exposed to the alcohol. When I've done the limoncello with strips of peel I had to soak them between four to six weeks. With the microplaner it only takes 10-14 days.

If you love wine then you really can't miss the bar right in your hotel. They have a 120 bottle cruvinet and all wines are available by the glass. There are also interesting and "thematic" flights of wine available such as "Rhone Rangers", "Macho Cabs", etc. Panorama's bar at the Penn's View hotel is probably the very best "grownup" bar in the city, or almost anywhere. I happen to like Tangerine, of all the Starr restaurants, because the food isn't an afterthought following the decor, the cocktails and the waiters' uniforms. But if I were only having one meal in Philly I'm not sure that would be my choice. Perhaps if you told us a bit more about what sorts of things you like and what your budget for dinner is we could be more helpful.

Mongo: If it's unopened it should keep almost indefinitely, unless it's been exposed to some pretty horrible treatment (i.e. been in the trunk of the car through two summers).

Doesn't anybody else but me love Ravenous Cafe in Healdsburg?? I thought it was quite creative and interesting. Very reasonable for the quality of preparation and service as well. Bistro Ralph was also good in that area. Sondra Bernstein, chef/owner of The Girl and the Fig was guest chef here at Rouge for this year's Book and the Cook festival here in Philadelphia. She's a really cool lady and a very accomplished chef. I loved her preparations and have a copy of her cookbook that I'm working through.

For actual cookware, these are the results from Consumer Reports to which I am a subscriber: Nonstick sets. The Calphalon Commercial Nonstick, $500 for 10 pieces, is great for a demanding cook who's willing to pay a premium. The set did everything well, and has companion pieces you can add as needed. However, it's heavy. Simply Calphalon Nonstick, $200 for 8 pieces, and Cook's Essentials, $125 for 10 pieces, weigh less and are better choices for cooks on a budget. Of the three, only Cook's Essentials claims to be dishwasher-safe. Uncoated sets. Best of this type was the Wolfgang Puck Bistro Collection. It has 20 pieces (including a 6-piece tool set and a nonstick frypan) and costs $150. It's oven-safe up to 425˚ F. Other very good sets include the Farberware, $250 for 10 pieces, Tools of the Trade, $250 for 12 pieces, and Magnalite, $115 for 8 pieces. I own the Calphalon Commercial Nonstick and I love it.

The sweetest juiciest strawberries of the season A cold bottle of Moscato d'Asti and gorgeous flutes to drink it from that will glint beautifully in the sunshine A soft blanket to lie upon in the grass A boombox to play romantic music (definition of romantic music will vary wildly for various individuals)

Who the hell is going to decant and pour the thing when the time comes? Will they have to hire a crane?!? A flotilla of dwarves dressed as sommeliers? Form before function in the name of conspicuous consumption. <yawn>

I can think of worse demises than drinking lots of BIG ASSED wines. However, leading them down a primrose path to pauperhood is definitely a possibility.

Perhaps they'll go the route of Nigel Tufnel in This is Spinal Tap and start handing out 110 points. "It's better because it goes to 110!!!"

I split this off from another post because it was OT for that thread and I should have known better than derailing it myself! Besides, it deserves it's own thread I think there should be a "Philly Iron Chef" competition. That could actually be really interesting. If such a thing existed, whom would we all nominate to participate? I'll start: Matt Ito - Fuji (Iron Chef Japanese) Shola Olunloyo - StudioKitchen (Iron Chef Mad Fusion) Joseph Poon - Joe Poon's (Iron Chef Chinese) (I would have nominated Susanna Foo for this spot but Joe is just so entertaining) Jean-Marie Lacroix - Lacroix (Iron Chef French) Any other nominees? [Please pretend this is the first post. I can't get this to show up prior to the other two responses already because I split off only a portion of my previous post]

Amen to that! Matt Ito is the true iron chef. Sunra: Hello and Welcome! An auspicious first post that I am obviously completely in agreement with.

Villa Masa is pretty good commercially available limoncello, albeit a tad too sweet for my personal taste, but I'm still fonder of the homemade because I can tweak it just the way I like it. I've had the Caravello Orangecello and that's quite tasty.

Looks like Rocco won't be passing under the awning that bears his name anytime soon: DeSpirito Barred From Rocco's I repeat my earlier assessment: "Faust! Party of One! Your table is ready!" Let this be a lesson to all who dare to place personal gain ahead of honest work and a decent work ethic. You reap what you sow. Sometimes what goes around comes around so fast it could give you whiplash...

My understanding is that Rx is up and running (as it has been for some time - it's not a "new" restaurant) quite well with both Greg and Tim in the house as of this writing. They will be closed for vacation during the week in August that Tim mentioned earlier, but are welcoming guests each and every evening right now. If I am incorrect I hope Greg or Tim will point that out, but my plan is to try and get there for the first time (certainly not my virgin voyage to Rx) with Chef Tim at the stove before they go off on their vacations the 3rd week of August. Gentlemen?? Do I require correction?