KatieLoeb

If you're looking for great French food try Deux Cheminees, which I sang the praises of HERE. New American food would be Django, which was already suggested, or Matyson which is another BYOB that I like very much and find equally creative to Django. The desserts at Matyson are particularly amazing, so if you're going to treat yourself to something to stick a candle into, Matyson is a good bet.

Heard an ad for this on the drive down to Cape May last weekend. Sounds like fun. If any of the BBQ places I tried on the DDC Rib Run I are in y'all are in for a treat. Look for Kingfish, Uncle Deweys or Rib Shanty. All three were excellent. Now I want ribs...

Yes. The Number 1 I'm talking about is in the 800 block of South 2nd St. It'd be my third choice after the other two. Picking up from Chinatown is still the best bet. Otherwise try Golden Empress first.

And if money is no object: Nicolas Joly Coulee de Serrant Phil Nectar of the Gods. Nothing else like it. A transcendant experience the first time you try this. The Vouvrays of Prince Poniatowski or the Montlouis from Francois Chidaine are also excellent. There's a wide range of styles available in Poniatowski wines, ranging from bone dry to quite sweet. All are of extraordinary quality. The Montlouis appellation is sort of the "Blue Collar Vouvray" area and the wines are often a great value simply because they aren't from the "high rent district" of Vouvray. Any of these wines are aromatic and well balanced with sweetness, honeysuckle aromas and bracing acidity. Truly one of my favorite things next to a plate of Spicy Tuna Tartare.

Golden Empress Garden on 5th Street between South & Bainbridge (215-627-7666) is pretty reliable, as is Number 1 China (215-271-8982) in the little strip mall with the Wawa at 2nd & Christian. Golden Empress is "nicer" as they have sit down dining as well. Another one in a pinch is South Garden at 220 South Street (215-413-0200). Also has sit down dining and is a bit nicer than Number 1 on 2nd Street. I usually just go to Chinatown on my way home from work and pick up takeout when authenticity and a fierce jones for something particular (Lee How Fook's Hot & Sour Soup or David's Mai Lai Wah Salt & Pepper Squid) strikes me. If having it delivered to me is necessary, then any of the three choices above are perfectly adequate. (BTW - I didn't realize we were practically neighbors!)

Nicely done!!! You hit several of my favorites and my usual route at Katz's, Russ & Daughters and Yonah Shimmel with your first three stops on the LES. I'm duly impressed with your ability to bravely keep eating.

I just recently tasted through several of the Villa Maria Wines and was quite favorably impressed. Affordable, great value and high quality. Everything comes with Stelvin closures. I'd be happy to drink my share of these, as well as some of the other delights that NZ has to offer the serious wine enthusiast. Hopefully it shouldn't be too difficult for the NZ winemakers to increase their exports. Seems that their products are gaining in notariety as well as becoming more mainstream for the general wine drinking public. Between restaurants and the wine media, it should be a relatively simple task to increase demand to meet the tidal wave of incoming wine at the shore.

Sliced and served with yogurt or that liquid yogurt drink whose name escapes me right now. Sliced and allowed to macerate with a bit of Grand Marnier or bourbon over vanilla ice cream. Halved, cut side up and sprinkled with brown sugar and run lightly under the broiler.

I recommeded doing this while back. Having worked in a restaurant with an active Pastry department, I just asked the Pastry Chef for the old scraped out vanilla pods (which they had in abundance) and threw a big handful into a few bottles of bourbon. Several months later it makes a tasty sipping bourbon or is delicious mixed with Coke. Also good in a Samhattan. Good one, Sam!!

I recommeded doing this while back. Having worked in a restaurant with an active Pastry department, I just asked the Pastry Chef for the old scraped out vanilla pods (which they had in abundance) and threw a big handful into a few bottles of bourbon. Several months later it makes a tasty sipping bourbon or is delicious mixed with Coke.

The Caviar Assouline shop at PHL airport between Terminals B/C has caviar and cream cheese sandwiches and smoked salmon to die for. That not good enough? I've also heard there's some Asian place (Sky Bistro?) at PHL that has an interesting wine-by-the-glass list, but I haven't been there. Independence Brew Pub has great beers and decent bar food.

Maybe where you are, but in PA the minimum wage is $5.15/hr. and the bussers earn $4.23/hr +tips. Servers make $2.84/hr. +tips. The only FOH employees making minimum or better are the service bartenders ($6.00/hr.) and the hostesses (varies from $10-$13/hr. depending on their level of expertise in juggling a tiny and exceedingly busy dining room)

Hey Holly - can I bum a ride? This sounds like too much fun to miss! Atkins friendly and everything! Medium Rare here if that fits into the screening process...

Rachel: I have ONE POUND of Zhataar at home that I purchased at the local Lebanese grocer. Way too much for me to use in this lifetime, but they didn't have any smaller bags! I had thought of putting a bit into the tzatziki, so perhaps I'll do that to the leftovers when I get back. Your tzatziki looks yummy too! As does the rest of the picnic. Got any other ideas to use it up? Need some?

That's a good question. I don't know that I've ever actually cooked what *I* call a "Jersey Tomato" (see above photo for my personal reference point). I've always just eaten them in salads, on sandwiches or literally out of hand like an apple. Yes - there are many varieties of "Jersey Tomatoes" that are grown in NJ, but always thought the "Jersey Tomatoes" were the big assed Ugly Duckling mishappen mutant looking ones that come out in summer and taste amazing. Any of you New Jerseyites familiar enough with the species to clarify this issue?

YEAH!! Holly's right. The logic just doesn't add up. And soft bread?? MOST Philadelphians prefer Provolone?? Say Whaaaat??!!?? Right there they just blew whatever little cred they started with. You could fill the Delaware River and float several barges overflowing with cheesesteaks down the oceans of Cheese Whiz this city consumes annually. Sorry boys. You've revealed yourselves for the fraudulent pretenders you are. Pffft. Time to climb into the Munchmobile, put it into drive and actually CROSS the river (there are bridges that make this easier) to do some real research.

Oh sorry - I thought this thread was about a different sort of voyeurism...

Say WHAAAT? That's gotta be the wierdest one yet...:shaking head: This sounds like more old school patriarchal nonsense about women being "unclean" or "possessed" at that stage of the lunar cycle. Not like I've ever gotten that way or anything... Muwahahahaaaaa!

I learned the same practice in Scouts. We also had to be sure the the blade faced down and the sharp edge (e.g. when handing someone an axe or hatchet) faced away from both people towards the side. We were also taught to say "Thank you" once we had the knife/axe firmly in hand and could not let go of the object until the other party said "Thank you" (in the event that were the hander and not the handee). I just got Mario Batali's "Simple Italian Food" book today. The cork with the octopus tip is the first thing I happened to notice when thumbing through the book. There must be something to it if Molto Mario swears by the practice. From my childhood: If you swim in less than one hour after eating you'll get cramps and drown (this has been disproven) If you swallow gum it stays in your stomach forever and does not get digested Swallowing a spoonful of dry sugar will cure the hiccups (this really works due to sugar's granular nature - salt or sand would do the same thing but don't taste as good) Chocolate causes acne Perhaps this is a question I should pose to Mario during his Q & A! Mario, can you explain the cork/octopus phenomenon????

Isn't that also called Labneh in other countries? Or is Labneh fundamentally different? I found a Turkish recipe for "Creamy Yogurt-and-Walnut Dip" http://www.sudairy.com/mer/recipes/creamy.html Labneh is a yogurt cheese. I think it is usually plain. Labneh from the Lebanese grocer is actually what I use to make my tzatziki. Saves the draining step *(for the yogurt at least,) if I don't feel like dealing with it.

Hi Mario, Thanks for joining us at eGullet! You and/or you and partners have several very successful operations running in New York right now. Do you have any interest or plans to open branches of your restaurants in other cities? At the casinos in Atlantic City or Las Vegas? How about joining your New York city fellow chefs Alfred Portale or Marcus Samuelsson and making a break for Philly (on your own, not under someone else's auspices)? Alternatively, do you have any immediate plans for new and different restaurants/retail wine outlets in New York? Thank you again for taking the time to participate with us. I know there's a large number of members of the eGullet community, myself included, that are very fond of your restaurants, cookbooks and television programs.

And the latest report from Rick Nichols: Washington Square

I suppose you could leave out the dill, or perhaps use a small amount of fresh mint instead? That classic combo of fresh dill, garlic and lemon just tastes of Greek food to me.

World's Easiest Tzatziki I peel and seed about four cukes and then put them through the shredder disc into the food processor. Dump into a colander, salt and allow to drain. Press down on the solids to get out as much cucumber juice as possible or the end result will be quite watery. Meanwhile, I put the chopping blade back into the processor, drop two garlic cloves into the running machine, and then stop and add two cups drained yogurt, a lot off fresh dill, and the juice of one lemon. Whirl around until the dill is finely chopped. Dump into a large bowl, add the cucumbers back into the mixture, incorporate everything and taste for salt and pepper. That's it. I just made a big batch a few nights ago. It's pretty good on top of a cold piece of leftover chicken too!

As a suggestion by someone who never has eaten them: They could make an excellent base for a pasta dish originating in the Campania region around Naples: Pasta with crude tomato sauce. The tomatos need to be absolutely ripe, of course. After peeling and deseeding (but keep all liquidity) and cuttting in small cubes or thin sticks, marinate the tomatos with som basilic leafs, a bit EVOO and two squashed garlick cloves for some 10 minutes. Take out the garlick. Add salt and pepper. Mix with still very hot, boiled pasta (fetuccine, linguine, ziti, penne, etc.) . Serve wihtout parmigiano. Irresitible. Edited for 8 typos Boris: We could mail you some Jersey tomatoes! Since you haven't had the pleasure I thought I'd include this: The Jerseys are the two very large ugly misshapen ones toward the top of the picture. In summer you can eat these out of hand like an apple. Or thick sliced with just a sprinkle of sea salt. They are absolutely the best tasting tomatoes on earth. Not sure if it's the soil or climate in NJ that makes it so, but whatever it is, it is consistent from year to year.