KatieLoeb

My understanding is that the EVOO is from the first pressing, so it's the strongest and most fragrant. The regular stuff is from later pressings to get the last of the oil out of the pomace and has more "pits and stems" influence since it isn't the first bit out. Kinda of like the second cup of tea out of the tea bag. Not as good or as strong as the first.

Tom: From what I've gathered from my new best friends and a bit of research on my own regarding their wineries, Fonthill has the smallest production at about 200 cases each for their Dust of Ages Grenache wines. All their vineyards are in McLaren Vale. Annvers has holdings in McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek as well as Adelaide Hills and specializes in Shiraz and Cabernet. Two Hands is by far the largest operation with holdings in all the aforementioned places as well as Padthaway, Barossa Valley and your beloved Clare Valley. Although best known for their Shiraz wines, they also produce Grenache, a Shiraz-Cabernet blend and a low alcohol fizzy and sweet Moscato type wine. The Moscato sounds really interesting, and I've yet to see it on these shores. I didn't have the pleasure of trying any of the Fonthill or Annvers wines since they didn't have any with them, but I will be on the hunt for them so I can try them and e-mail my new buddies and tell them how much I love their wines. I'm pretty sure after hearing them talk about the care they put into it, I'm very unlikely to be disappointed.

There was one on Broad Street not so long ago. That was good for a few drunken late night slider runs as I recall...

There's been some rumblings about this lately amongst the DDC crowd. I suspect it will be a subject of some discussion on Monday evening when there's a whole mess of folks assembled. Could end up being the July or August event. We've been talking "Rib Run Redux" since the first one! You coming Monday??? The Ravenna menu David put together looks awesome!

I really have to tell this tale before the finer details escape my brain. I went to dinner last night at Le Me Toujours in Marlton, which I have sung the praises of here many times. My dining companions for the evening were SouthJerseyEpicurian Gary and the Fentons. I had received an e-mail mid-afternoon from Canal's Bottlestop, which is a rather large wine shop also located in Marlton, NJ and is perhaps a short half mile and right on the way to our dinner destination. They were hosting visiting winemaker/co-owner Michael Twelftree of Two Hands Wines of Australia. He was to be at the shop from 4:00-6:00 PM to talk about his wines and autograph a few bottles for the interested wine geeks. I've had Two Hands wines many times in the past and they are of excellent quality. In fact they're usually sold out by the time I find out that one of the local shops have them in stock, because there's a small cult of folks that know and love these wines and snap them up the minute they hit the market. We used to carry the Two Hand's "Angel's Share" Shiraz on the list at Striped Bass and that's where I was first introduced to Two Hands wines. I called the shop to see if there was any chance that Mr. Twelftree would be hanging around just a bit later so we might be able to catch him for a moment and purchase a few bottles of his wines. The very nice Wine Manager named Rob introduced himself and said to call when we were on our way and he'd be able to give me a better idea if there was still a crowd or if they could wait a few minutes for us to arrive. Alas, when we called, they were just getting ready to leave for their dinner at LE ME TOUJOURS. We stopped a bought a few bottles of the Two Hands wines that Rob had Michael autograph for us and had very kindly put aside. And off we went to dinner. Kai, the owner/MaitreD' of Le Me Toujours knows me well and knows what a wine geek I am, so he was kind enough to sit us at a table next to Michael Twelftree of Two Hands, Mohammed Ansaar of Fonthill Winery and Wayne Keoghan of Annvers Wines, as well as Ron Sanders of Vine Street Imports, their local distributor. What fun!!! Might as well have been the Rolling Stones at the next table as far as I was concerned. I was in Wine Geek Heaven. All throughout our dinner we were swapping tastes back and forth with the wine guys. They definitely came armed with some big guns too. A 1990 Chateauneuf-du-Pape whose maker escapes me (I should have been taking notes but I was having too much fun to be pedantic), several other examples of Australian wines that are carried in Vine Street's portfolio as well as a wine that Ron tried to stump me with. He poured a lovely amber wine into a glass and asked me to guess what it was. It smelled all the world of minerals, humus and citrus zest . There's one and only one wine on the planet that smells and tstes like this wine did. But my second thought was "what silly fool would share this with strangers" and didn't go with my instinctual first guess. It was Clos de Coulee de Serrant. DAMN!!! Shoulda trusted my gut! In turn we shared some of our Ratzenberger sparkling Riesling and a bottle of Unti Grenache rose that Gary and I had brought along respectively. Turns out that Ansaar's (I believe the gentleman prefers to be called by his surname) Fonthill Winery specializes in Grenache wines and he thought the rose was pretty cool. Wayne and Ansaar eventually came over and sat at our table with us and we shared stories about Australia and their families and children and basically just had a wonderful time. Indeed we were having so much fun that we ended up giving Wayne and Ansaar a lift back into Philly to their hotel which was quite near where the Fentons and myself all live. Way way Our dinner was also spectacular, lest I forget to mention that here. The highlights for me were the Spicy Shrimp Tom Yum soup (which I always order as it's my favorite rendering of this dish I've ever tasted), the Golden Pouches dumpling appetizer, a Tuna Carpaccio special appetizer that I ordered that had lots of capers and had been marinated in some sort of citrus, Gary's Bronzino that was flaky and delicious and the Raspberry Crusted Rare Tuna dish that I had ordered as my entree that was just about the most perfect thing with the pink wine. Yum!! I barely remember dessert, but I think Beth's mousse-like tropical fruit confection was my favorite. All in all a spectacular evening with inordinate amounts of great food, great wine and great company. I must book my trip to Australia immediately...

Fear not - although many folks are into the Whiz, there is almost always a selection of American, Provolone or Whiz at any given cheesesteakery. I like Provolone myself. Inorganic cheese doesn't really float my boat either.

You lost me at the green peppers. Otherwise, it sounds like a reasonable facsimile, with different cheese. But it is just a facsimile. Someday you'll hopefully come and visit and we will happily whisk you off for the full tour and the real deal. And a Roast Pork sandwich too!

All of these are perfectly plausible, however, a phone call to ascertain the restaurant's policy toward BYOC ahead of time is absolutely crucial. Anything less than a call to speak with the Chef/Pastry Chef/General Manager and explain the special tradition, or determine that the restaurant itself truly cannot provide the specific type of cake desired is just flat out rude and incredibly presumptuous.

[shameless shill] I just spoke with the kitchen. There Halibut, Black Bass and Striper in the house. Preparation for tonights dinner special is as yet undecided, but Chef Matt says you could order any fish you'd like as the Special du Jour since they're here. Call me if you need a rez and I'll have them make a note that you're FOK. [/shameless shill]

As one who does payroll for a restaurant I can tell you that it's LESS than minimum wage + tips. In PA the current minimum wage is $5.15/hr. Waiters make 2.84/hr + tips, bartenders and busboys make 4.23/hr. + tips. That's why gratuities are customary in this country. In Europe they actually make a living wage, so the tip percentage is lower.

I put in a pretty heavy duty (1.5 HP, I think) one when doing some minor home renovations a few years ago. Haven't had any issues with it like I did with its predecessor. Then again I haven't put a whole bunch of horseradish root peelings down it either. Having to remove the elbow joint under the sink and getting bombarded with the fumes of horseradish in that confined space was punishment enough to teach even this dense soul her lesson. I always put the citrus fruit segments and shells down because it makes the kitchen smell so nice.

They aren't that unique. Unfortunately. But it probably has something to do with what I was talking about above. If you're well acquainted with the owners of any of these establishments I'd be curious what their reply would be if you asked them why their wine selection isn't even remotely on par with their food. Then give them my phone number...

Welllllll.... There are too many facets to this question to give a single pat answer. Like you Craig, I'm surprised when I see a restaurant with a chef that truly respects his raw materials serving crappy wine, but it certainly happens. I think this particular issue is usually more of a "structural" problem, meaning that the restaurant wasn't structured with a position for a Sommelier or Beverage Director. It happens all the time. I'd have a lot easier time finding a job if every restaurant needed someone like me or at least realized that they did. It could also be that the restaurant truly can't afford someone in that position. Or that the owner/GM/Chef/Head Waiter fancies themselves a Sommelier and takes on a responsibility they have neither the palate nor the cost control experience to handle. Often an overburdened owner/manager will turn over the wine list to one purveyor, who will appear to be doing them a favor, but will undoubtedly be lining his own pockets on the commissions he receives for stacking the wine list with his own product line. Obviously They-Who-Make-These-Decision don't realize the value of having someone in that position, and are willing to let someone that isn't solely dedicated to the bottom line of the Beverage Department and it's effect on the overall bottom line of the restaurant handle things in lieu of a qualified individual. Sucks, don't it? The "payola" aspects that you mentioned are another side to the overreaching abililty that the Crapola Cuvee du Merde producers have to influence the market with (for lack of a better phrase) marketing. Small producers don't have the bucks or quantity of product available to them to afford a Marketing Department that's able to pay for and place advertisements in magazines, commercials on TV, product placements on reality shows, donations to Chapters of Wine Brats all over the US, etc. The little guys that are producing smaller quantities (not necessarily "boutique" small, but not on refinery scale) of good to great wines just can't compete with that. Me personally, I'd trust a dude with dirt under his nails that actually knows how to ride a tractor long before I'd trust a well manicured "Wine Marketing Executive" in an Armani suit, but that's me. In my personal experience, and with the statistical sample of wine salespeople and the winemakers they bring to visit me that I've been exposed to, I've had far better results with the former rather than the latter.

I can guarentee it wouldn't be Clos de la Coulée de Serrante. Prolly some kind of pinot grigio....... If only it were the Clos de la Coulée de Serrante...we'd be a happier society and going to work (at least for me) would be a joy... This only goes to prove that wines made on a refinery-not-a-winery scale, and have the deep pockets funded by unleashing the oceans of this drek on a basically uneducated market are taking over the world. Someday there will be a better educated consumer that realizes that in between the 2 Buck Chuck and the overhyped/overpriced cult wines there's a virtually inexhaustable supply of excellent wines at an excellent value, no matter what their price point is within those parameters. But first they have to stop believing the four page full color ads and TV commercials for the junk wines, and believing that the "ratings" are anything but advertiser and dollar driven. <sigh> :climbs down off soapbox:

I believe that's Spiedies, and yes they're awesome. A friend of mine from Binghamton introduced me to them at a beach barbeque and I've been craving them ever since. Definitely worthy of seeking out. See HERE

I purchased a bottle of Absinthe in Brataslava in 2001. I think the idea of having something "forbidden" overwhelmed my good sense. It still sits in my liquor cabinet as I'm afraid of it. It smells pretty weird and my one brave friend that tasted a bit of it pronounced it "bizarre". And he likes Underberg! Someday I'll have to find a recipe to use it in. That souffle sounds like a possibility.

Richie: Glad you enjoyed your visit. I see that all was pretty much as predicted, and that was to be expected. And there was no doubt in my mind that the Roast Pork would be an epiphany, which is why I recommended it. That's one serious sandwich that does not get it's due compared to the more plebeian cheesesteak. But that's also OK. More for us who are in the know... Give a shout out next time you're heading this way. You've barely scratched the surface of the multitidinous and excellent eats to be had here in the Land 'O Brotherly Sandwiches.

I just recently purchased this lovely seriograph for an empty stairwell in my house: I still have to have it framed, but I just loved it the moment I saw it. Samovars are VERY cool. Someday I hope to have a nice silver one for parties.

Just to update this thread. I had dinner with a large group of friends at Sweet Vidalia in Beach Haven this past Saturday evening. It was very nice, the service was excellent and the ambiance was pleasant as well. We called and made a reservation for 10 people at 9:00 PM. Table was set and waiting for us when we arrived. The friends we thought were stopping to pick up the wine hadn't, so we ordered and then I walked across Bay Avenue to Murphy's to select some wines with a co-conspirator. The staff was kind enough to hold my and my wine buying companion's soups hot in the kitchen until we arrived back from the wine errand. We both tried the signature dish, the Vidalia Onion soup. It was delicious, creamy and very soothing on a cool evening. I ordered the Braised Lamb Shanks with Risotto Milanese and Lavender Jus for my entree. It was excellent! The meat was tender and falling off the bone and the risotto was perfectly al dente. I tried a few of my friends dishes like the Tuna Tartare and the Roast Chicken entree and they were also very well prepared. The check came out to around $380 for ten people with a generous tip inclusive. I'd definitely recommend trying this place if one were on LBI for dinner. It doesn't feel like a "beach restaurant", it feels like a quaint and sophsticated Urban BYOB.

KatieLoeb, I believe someone's taken your Limoncello receipt and found yet another astounding practical application. Me, I get magnalite. The pittier the better--kidding. My fave find is this glass cheese keeper, with an instructional lid and raised feet on the insided, the whole being a depth of four dessert plates. It was in mom's garage and came with a sewing machine... Rock on Limoncello Fans! And keep those brilliant ideas coming... On a separate note, my latest find was a pretty etched glass pitcher/decanter over Memorial Day weekend while I was down in Cape May. It's tall and thin and probably holds about 24 oz. I think it was $3. Although the surface area isn't wide enough to qualify as a true decanter, it would certainly be lovely to serve wine from that wasn't in such serious need of actual decanting.

Try This Page. It's where I go to find out about Pugliese wines I may have tried at tastings.

These are what I remember as being around for quite some time: Dmitri's - the old original location still going strong at 3rd and Catharine. Ghiottone on North 3rd Street Overtures on Passyunk just below South. Nan at 40th & Chestnut. Alisa Cafe is Upper Darby. The old Figs near the Art Museum. Dmitris is one of the granddaddies of BYO in Philly. And the food is just as good now as it was when they opened. The Sugar Snap Peas with Feta cheese are my favorite vegetable side dish in the entire city. Sitting at the bar (counter) facing the tiny little open kitchen I often wonder how they can put out that much food, that consistently for that many people each night. It's awe inspiring to watch.

I'm liking the idea of "building" my own meal with the various portion sizes. Since I tend to dine with people that like to share I think that's a great option. Other restaurants that I know do at least a small portion and a large portion are The Tasting Room in NYC and Martini Beach in Cape May, NJ. It works well in those places and I'm certain it will be well received here as well. Especially with such a talented chef at the stove.

Here's the blurb re: Washington Square. "...Global ingredients and distinctive flavors will highlight the small, medium and large portions available at this indoor/outdoor operation..." Sounds good to me. I hope it's more about the food than the decor. That's a great concept and a great chef to pull it off.

Andrew: I think the concept is Global snack food or something like that. Definitely NOT Scandinavian exclusively. I have the info about it somewhere - I'll update when I find it.