KatieLoeb

A chef friend of mine realized that the dusty bottle of Remy Extra that was hidden behind all the other bottles at an old job was not included on the inventory and therefore wouldn't be missed. He eventually drank it all up as STINGERS ferchissakes! Sheesh - what a waste of spectacular Cognac. Mixed with $7/bottle cheap white Creme de Menthe. GAH!!!

We should call and see if they stop serving huevos at a certain time. According to the lovely lady I just spoke to: "Se puede tener desayuno todo el dia..." OR Breakfast is served ALL DAY. I'll see you gentlemen there...

Austrian Cucumber Salad with paper thin sliced cucumbers & onions, dressed with white vinegar and Styrian Pumpkin Seed oil, salt and pepper. Delicious!

Ahhhhh...so your family is the source of the old adage "Cool as a Cucumber."

Learn how to switch out an empty keg. Learn how to change the syrup on the soda gun. Decide who will be the Service Bartender (the one getting the drinks for the waitstaff as opposed to directly for the patrons) on any given shift and what their tip out percentage from the staff will be for hooking them up all night in a (hopefully) timely fashion and making sure they get their tips. Learn how to make Bloody mary mix, sour mix, and any other house made blends for cocktails you want to have around. Learn a few goofy bar tricks. Re-read Psychology 101 - you'll need it for those slightly melancholy drunks.

An unnamed chef friend told me that his dinner there on Wednesday evening was so aggressively and appallingly bad and badly served that they comped his and his four companions $250 check without even flinching. One has to hope that the low level of service improves over time. And that the bratty little Spawns of Satan who live in the condos upstairs stop throwing trash down onto the patrons on the outdoor patio. edited to correct check amount

It will undoubtedly wake me from my weekend Beauty Sleep but I suspect I can manage...

I'm in. What time?

For those of you that might not have seen THIS article in the Philadelphia Daily News on Wednesday.

Now that I've seen the photo: I am truly impressed. That cake is a work of art.

Hearty congrats to Steve and Colleen! YAY!!! Go eGulleteers!

Bad Katie! Sorry Sam....

I went to Angelina recently and found it highly mediocre. Starr should know better than to try and do Italian in NY... You need to revisit Pasion--I think it's slid tremendously in the past few years. My last meal there was simply awful. Ever since Guillermo Pernot got involved with Trust...which is now a Starr restaurant. Will we soon be able to say that about many of Philly's restaurants?? Sara: Guillermo cut his ties with Trust and presumably Mr. Starr ages ago. If you've experienced a downslide in your experience at Pasion, that isn't the reason. There may be other reasons, but that particular dog doesn't hunt. I confess I've not eaten a full scale dinner at Pasion in some time. I used to eat there every day when I worked there (one of the perks of being Office Manager) and I will occasionally sit at the bar and have a few glasses of wine and an appetizer. I haven't noticed any decline in the food or the service, but perhaps that's due to the limits of my experience.

Rockhopper: I *LOVE* Severino's and used to shop there frequently when I worked at Moore Brothers in Pennsauken. Very nice place with very nice help. Love the cheeses too. Another great place right in that little shopping area is Patisserie de Manille, a lovely bakery on the little side street across from McMillan's Bakery. It's run by a lovely young Filipino woman who's name escapes me right now. She's the one that turned me onto Le Me Toujours in Marlton because she supplies their desserts to them.

Actually I hear there's pretty good stuff at the new stadium. But I haven't been personally yet. Hit Tony Luke's at Front & Oregon if it isn't on a Sunday when they're closed. Have Roast Pork, Broccoli Rabe and Provolone sandwich with a little extra gravy on it. You'll thank me later...

I absolutely that Pineapple-Mint. I'm working on a new brunch cocktail for here at Rouge that incorporates those flavors. It'll be sorta like a Pineapple-Mint Mimosa. My experiments thusfar have been quite tasty!

Try THIS for wine events in your area. Have fun. And yeah - we always do figure it out, but sometimes its part of your goofy charm. edited: My bookmark was pretty old. The format has changed and is far easier to deal with.

Rock on with the Burmese then....

The very fact that it took until today for anyone to post speaks for itself. Everyone was too full of food, and dare I say, too full of whatever wine we managed NOT to spill to run home last night and plunk down in front of the monitor. Jeez that was fun! I too had the Crispy Chicken Livers and was amazed at how "un-livery" they tasted. I managed a taste of Gary's Eggplant & Mozzerella Rollatini and it was also delicious. Ditto on the Squash Pasta (in fact I think Rich and I ordered almost all the same things) and a taste of the Veal Tortelloni that were tried. I had the Veal Ragu on Pappardelle rather than the scallops, but again, everything was incredibly well prepared and tasty. Ravenna really respects the ingredients and doesn't fuss too much with them. Rather like a restaurant in Italy would. Dinner was like a mini-vacation. And I drank too much wine, as I am wont to do on a vacation as well. Thanks and kudos to David and Judy for putting together such a fabulous feast. It was wonderful to see everyone again and I can hardly wait for the next one, whether we do Jamaican or Rib Run Redux. Bring it on!!

I want your budget and storage space... 30 rieslings, eh? Awesome! Depends what state you're in whether "rips" and volume discounts are allowable. PA, with it's PLCB (hint: the "C" stands for CONTROL) is not known for being progressive in this regard. Things are looking up a bit - the new PLCB Chairman is into bringing better wine to the masses, so the bulk buying power of the state of PA (which BTW, is the largest liquor buyer in the country) is getting put to use to pick up ends of vintages, closeouts, etc. and passing those savings along to the consumers as monthly "Chairman's Selections". In May I picked up some Arrowood Syrah Saralee Vineyard 2000 for $17.99. I've seen that quoted in the wine press for close to $40!! This works far better for the average consumer than it does for the restaurant purchaser. Since the restaurant has to deal with a particular warehouse where our orders are delivered, they don't have these special deals that are available at the "Specialty" stores. Great for recreational purchases, not so much for my wine list, though. On an amusing note, in PA the orders that a restaurant places with a wine purveyor are called SLOs, meaning Special Liquor Orders. A regular consumer can place an SLO order also for a non-store available item, but it's a one case minimum usually and you have to put down a 50% deposit etc. A friend of mine calls them SOL's - as in Shit Outta Luck!

Barbera d'Asti for me, if available. Otherwise a glass of Syrah or Petite Syrah does just fine with a burger. Thems be good choices. Barbera d'Asti go well with so many types of food. Burgers may be about the only food that I'll pair with a California red Zin. Otherwise, Zins are just way too big to match with food. I think Barbera d'Asti is just about the best thing in the world with grilled meat. It is "burger wine" if ever there was one. Just most places don't have it, or the ones that do don't serve burgers. I think I might get some here at Rouge for by-the-glass. We do make a mean burger...

Nothing wrong with being pro-anywhere, particularly if it's where your experience, knowledge and preferences lie. I've tried some of the Leasingham wines and they are indeed delicious. From what I'm told the climate in Clare Valley (long warm/hot days and cool nights) is quite amenable to grape cultivation. Sounds like a lovely place. I hope I get to visit someday. Be very careful shipping wine. The extremes in temperature that your cases will be exposed to could completely ruin your investment. Just a heads up. I've had good luck bubble wrapping wine bottles and placing them neatly between my clothes. Better to declare them though, because the Customs agents would like nothing better than to confiscate your stash and live large having an upscale dinner themselves. I'd be delighted to join you for dinner when you get back to NJ. Not sure where you're located but we could surely meet somewhere in the middle. Or if you're feeling adventurous you could come check out some of the many excellent BYOBs in Philadelphia and do a bit of sightseeing. I'd be honored to play tour guide. Cheers right back atcha!

Barbera d'Asti for me, if available. Otherwise a glass of Syrah or Petite Syrah does just fine with a burger.

In California, there is no exemption for servers - they earn the full minimum wage. I guess every state differs. Every state does differ - both in whether or not the server makes full minimum wage and in what that minimum actually is. None can be below the federal guideline, but it can vary a bit as it does between PA ($5.15/hr.) and DE ($6.15/hr.), for example.

I think I read somewhere that Piazza has an enviable cellar of his own. That mag of D'Yquem ought to be gathering some dust in it for some time if he holds on to it for as long as he was told to. You better be throwing a pretty big party to kill a MAGNUM of D'Yquem. I'd hate to open that and not finish it. Maybe he can hold it for his 60th birthday party or something.