KatieLoeb

Oh yeah! What was the only thing left they could do to make Johnny sexier? Give him that charming brogue in Chocolat. <swoon> My heart still belongs to Hugh Jackman, but damn! Johnny was mighty sexy in that one...

Here's one suggestion for cheesesteaks: Donkey's Place

You were here and you didn't let any of us know???!!!??? We coulda showed you around or sumptin', sheesh! Of course had there been any true Philadelphians on that plane you'd have had to fight to the death to keep those steaks

Any food scene from Like Water for Chocolate is incredibly sensual, but I'm particularly fond of the scene with the Rose Petal Chicken dish. And the obvious 9 1/2 Weeks blindfolded in front of the fridge scene can't go unmentioned. The cavorting cucarachas made me laugh out loud too!

Clearly we live in the most litigious society in this galaxy. There's no doubt about that. I also have no doubt that some idiot that brought the cake might attempt to sue the restaurant anyway. I don't think the case would last long, but guaranteed some A-hole would try it. Probably the same jerks that brought the cake without asking and thrust it at the hostess expecting to be "served".

Below you will see my initial post in this thread ... which was my very first thought .. liability: (as the daughter of a lawyer) (to the tune of "Happy Birthday to you" I just might sue, I well might sue, With lawyers on staff, It's curtains for you. Spoken like the daughter of a lawyer for sure!

The liability issues of the guests getting food poisoning from the food THEY BROUGHT INTO THE RESTAURANT would be enough to put most restaurants off of the idea, I'd think. And again, it's just presumptuous as hell to do this without calling first. There's no explaining it away without the courtesy of the phone call to ascertain the restaurant's policy first. Period.

I also got some pretty nice maters on Saturday at the Head House Farmer's market. They were big and very heavy. Not cheap either at $3.69/lb. But delicious. I didn't catch the farmer's name but he said he's at (I think) 5th & South Streets on Wednesdays as well. He's the guy with the white picnic netting over the little cups of samples. One taste and you'd buy them too.

Little did I know what I'd started with the inncoent query about food superstitions...

Having lived near their place in Arlington (as well as a stone's throw from Little Saigon) for many years, I have a soft spot for Pho 75 on Washington Ave. which has the same ownership as the Pho 75's in Northern Virginia. Pho 75 is very good. And they've never made me hurl. That works for me.

My guess is that this is going to happen from time to time because the "crimper" that attaches the foil and cap to the bottle neck is sometimes going to press the whole thing on too tight. I think this is the point of loosening the entire foil first, so you can then get the bottom part to turn and make the rest of the trick happen before you try to deftly and discreetly flip off the cap with your thumb. I like the Argyle myths page. It makes a lot of valid points. Actually about 95% of the wine in the world is meant to be drunk within 3 years of its release. The fact that most of it only lasts three days in the hands of the "average" consumer doesn't surprise me in the least.

My favorite place for pho is Pho Xe Lua in Chinatown. An Extra Large (which is basically big enough to do flip turns in) is like $6.00 or something. Cheap as dirt for more soup than you could possibly eat. The broth is very good and the other menu items are excellent as well. I hosted a DDC dinner at Pho Xe Lua a while back. Photos of our past dinner can be viewed HERE. Food there is excellent and you can eat like a king for a pauper's price. Some of the other soups are also delicious. I like the Beef Satay Soup, and the Seafood Noodle soup as well as the variants of Pho.

This place is in the 6th & Washington strip mall that also houses International Smokeless Barbeque. Gary (SouthJerseyEpicurean) and I went a while back and proclaimed it to be "Le Cyclo Bizarro"! We had a very odd experience with the customers being segregated (Asian or Western), hard time making ourselves understood to the waiter, and really bizarre loud Asian techo-pop rave music playing the entire time we were there. I can't remember any of the other strange events but I'll ask Gary when I speak to him. It was wierd on so many levels I think I've blocked the entire experience out. I've always liked Ba Le, so hopefully the new ownership will tone down the wierd vibe. Pho Ha made me really ill once and that was enough for me. That place is really kinda filthy inside in the dining room, so I can only imagine what it looks like behind the swinging kitchen doors.

I've taken both a cousin of mine that works in the film industry and has eaten sushi all over the world, as well as a native born Japanese friend to Fuji and both have declared it to be awe inspiringly good. That's good enough for me. Most of the chefs I know eat sushi at Fuji (if they know about it). Another high recommendation in my book. Let the nay sayers and they of little faith stay away. Easier for me to get a seat at the 8 seat sushi bar on short notice.

CoolPapaBell: Nice report! Looks like you put a dent into several of the better eating establishments in the general vicinity! I've always said that Matt Ito of Fuji could kick Chef Morimoto's butt in anything but a sumo wrestling match. Nice to hear that others concur. Personally I think Fuji is better than Sagami as well. Once for my birthday Chef Matt made seared diver scallops sliced horizontally and sandwiching a small piece of seared foie gras. It was possibly one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten. The uni he serves in a Chinese soup spoon with coconut milk and a dollop of caviar on top is also pretty close to heaven.

Yes. It's a store, not a restaurant. food tv did a story about them and i didnt remember seeing seating.....i guess as long as i bring my own utensils i can sit on the sidewalk....i dont think i would last knwoing i had pocketful of nova or caviar Russ & Daughters also makes the most delicious cream cheese and caviar spread. Taking home a container of that for your next bit of toast or a bagel is sublime. Topping it with some of their ethereal smoked salmon is just obscene...

she's good. she's very good. Love 'ya Tommy. Mean it. It was only a matter of time before someone thought up a tableside "procedure" for dealing with this. Otherwise the waiters wouldn't be needed any longer and the entire "ambiance" of wine service would go to extinction, along with the corks. This is a boon for all the bad/lazy waiters who won't get spanked anymore for not having their wine keys with them at work. Better get used to this folks. Cork alternatives are here to stay. Whether Stelvin caps, glass stoppers or "crown closures", the scarcity and price of cork in addition to loss from organic cork "infections" has made this the wave of the future. Nowhere to go but bigger market share. I suspect Mr. Stelvin's children and grandchildren will want for nothing...

Did we date the same boyfriend?

I hope the Frug is at peace, finally. Between the old Julia Child programs, Graham Kerr's Galloping Gourmet shows when I was just a child (what a silly drunken fool he was back then!) and Jeff Smith, I learned all about a world of food that was foreign to my mother's kitchen. I still have the bibliography of Frugal Gourmet books and refer to them often. The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors is positively brilliant (and there are used copies on Amazon for less than $1.00!). I found the cultural and historical information just as interesting (if not more so) than the recipes. The man was a wonderful and passionate teacher, and for that alone he will be sorely missed. Jeff Smith, I bid you Peace.

There actually is a "proper" procedure for removing a screw cap. You hold the bottle out at arms length with label showing up to the customer. You then loosen the ENTIRE foil section with your dominant hand. Then turn the BOTTOM portion of the foil until it cracks and takes the screw cap up half a turn. Gently flip the now loosened screw cap with your thumb until the cap comes off in your hand. Pour small taste for customer, pick up where you left off with a cork... This was shown to me by the marketing manager for Villa Maria wines of New Zealand. Their entire line is in Stelvin enclosed bottles.

My mother, may she rest in peace, was the original "Old Wife" and source of this sort of nonsense superstitious crap. Once when I dropped a fork while washing dishes she said, "Ooohh, Katie. You know what that means, don't you?" "No Ma, I don't. What does it mean," I said. "It means you'll be having a male visitor." (slight variation to previous poster) Without skipping a beat I looked her dead in the eye and said," Well shit - if I'd known that I'd have dropped the Barbeque Fork!" The look on her face was priceless. She never repeated any of those silly superstitions to me again.

Don't they just drink copious quantities of Aquavit???

I've heard very good things about the Red Car wines but haven't had a chance to try them yet. Now I'm going to have to call my distributor and ask her bring some over for a taste! Can you reveal the prices paid for these lovely wines? (I realize the price will vary from state to state, but just wanted to get a ballpark price point). Thanks for the report!

A pale white oval shaped mark covering the entire backside of my left thumb. Came from accidentally splashing myself with caramel while making a Pumpkin Flan for Thanksgiving about 8 years ago. That stuff is like napalm - it sticks and completely destroys the flesh beneath. Absolutely exquisite pain. I had it wrapped with Silvadene oitment (side note: this shit is the bomb on serious burns - prescription only) on it for two weeks until it looked even vaguely human again.

Everthing is a la carte. You could ask them to install some acoustical paneling to cut down on the noise level, but I doubt there'd be time before you got here for a job that extensive.