KatieLoeb

The tomalley (the green goo) is like caviar. I can take it or leave it. That doesn't bother me as much as absolutely knowing that I'm eating something that should be defecated. Blech! I realize that I'm completely neurotic about this. But I was so sick for about three days afer eating those uncleaned and "unclean" shrimp that I just have no other controllable reaction. Even if it wasn't the shrimp (maybe I'd just gone out for shrimp right before coming down with a stomach virus. Who knows?) and I understand that intellectually, there's nothing that will ever make my wretching reflex get over un-deveined shrimp emotionally.

For breakfast on LBI I'd always suggest Kubel's on Bayview Avenue in Barnegat Light, Uncle Will's Pancake House in Beach Haven, or Mustache Bill's Diner also in Barnegat Light. Good eggs +meat of choice +carbs of choice filling eating. Nothing too fancy, but perfectly serviceable for breakfast. It's been awhile since I've been out to a fancy dinner on LBI since my friends and I are usually of the "Fire up the grill" types. I think the Owl Tree is no more. I've read good things about Yellowfin, although have also heard it's pricey. Plantation also looks quite nice, but I have no personal experience. Good seafood is easy to find and Boulevard Clams or Harvey Cedar's Shellfish Co. are both good. I had a great dinner at a place toward the southern end of the island. Outdoor deck, great food, and a nice atmosphere but I'm blanking on the name. I'll try find out and post back when I do. Have fun! I love LBI - it's very relaxing (at least at the north end!) and the beaches are really nice.

Most of the time I find them barely noticable. And a number of blind-tests have suggested that they don't have any impact on taste. Your taste my differ, of course, but "un-deveined shrimp" certainly aren't one of my restaurant pet peeves. I got violently ill eating un-deveined "all-you-could-eat" steamed shrimp at a buffet when I was a teenager. Now I can't even look at them unless they're deveined. :shudder: Let's face it, a shrimp is basically an underwater insect. An arthropod is an arthropod. It's a simple creature with a one way digestive tract. Add to that that shrimp are "bottom feeders" (they're eating other creature's shit) and that wraps it up for me. The "vein" is shrimp shit, plain and simple. Not yet redigested other fish shit. It skeeves me fiercely.

Sara: This varies from restaurant to restaurant. Terms and conditions for each certificate are clickable before you buy them. I'd think two people could easily use up a $25.00 certificate just on food at Sansom St. though. Heck, just go for their happy hour special and eat a boatload of the oysters and clams on the half shell and a bowl of the best Snapper soup that still exists in this town. (RIP Bookbinders)

Credit for the original "Eureka!" call on this one goes to dbrociner, who posted this in the NJ forum and it was subsequently moved to General Food topics. I just posted this heads up for the PA peeps. OK - everyone together now. [singsong]Thank you dbrociner!!![/singsong] Glad everyone is getting certificates to their hearts content. I wonder if Restaurant.com is experiencing a serious spike and not knowing why?

Rachel: Another excellent place to get nice silver for a song is to hit the thrift stores and hospital/Junior League/Etc. thrift shops in the higher rent districts. I go to a couple of thrift stores out on the Main Line west of Philly (home of mansions and setting for The Philadelphia Story) and have made out like a bandit on silver pieces, gorgeous vintage barware and even a couple of vintage watches! The key is to go where the rich folks put their stuff out to pasture in the name of "charity".

Thanks for the heads up. I was bummed yesterday when Devon Seafood and Sansom Street Oyster House were out of stock. Just picked up a few of each for the startling price of $3! I think I'll be making good use of these for some happy hour oysters or mussels and a glass or two of wine.

Sara: Actually I'm not sure that's true. I think it depends where the oysters are from. For instance the water in the Gulf of Mexico gets pretty darned warm during the "non-R" months and at certain temperatures is basically a giant seething cauldron of bacteria. Perhaps a knowlegeable chef or food safety expert could chime in here?

I'm sure I was dashing given the humidity under the tent while it poured rain. I had a lot of fun even though many restaurants either didn't show, or bailed early. DiBruno's, as a sponsor, had a huge presence. 10 tables in a big ring o' cheese and all things tasty. I was so busy preparing for the event I didn't get a chance to post a notice about it here, but next year, everybody better be there! It's a great cause and a fun, tasty night. Feast Your Eyes catering bought their chocolate fondue fountain. With a whole setup of marshmallows, fruit, pretzels and graham, you run your treat under the chocolate streams (a Wonka river) and wait for it to harden (so hard to wait that long!) Gourmet magic-shell, I was googly over it. Afterwards, the DiBruno's entourage went to Geno's for steaks wit whiz and birch beer. My Beau (Paul) fancies Jim's on South Street, so I was thrilled to take part in THE South Philly experience. Back on topic, I very much look forward to May 10th, the upper crust of the food world on the upper deck of the Moshulu. Lisa: This is one of the first few years I haven't participated in this event. Definitely one of the highlights of the food calendar in Philly, I think. Most of the very best restaurants show up and show off their very best stuff. In fact, if I'd been more on top of things I might have been able to weasel myself an invite, but it just slipped my mind. Glad you had fun. And the Feast Your Eyes folks are really nice. I didn't know they'd gotten a chocolate fondue fountain! YUMMM!! That sounds incredibly hard to resist. I'm sure it's a big hit with the wedding and Bar/Bat Mitzvah crowd too. Who wouldn't want to have that at their party?? See you on the 10th!

I've seen him do this many times. I'm convinced it's a combination of the walking, the metabolism of a hummingbird and two hollow legs that allow Herb to eat more food than five sumo wrestlers in training combined and still remain a normal sized non-mordbidly obese person. It's actually kinda scary Looks like a good time was had by all and an inordinate amount of entrails were consumed. The oysters looked really good.

Hi all: I stumbled across this thread when it was still in the NJ forum. In case any of you missed seeing THIS post, I just bought a whole mess of restaurant gift certificates for about $18.00! The discount code (48831) really works and you get 70% off the usual discounted price. So a $25 gift certificate that is normally $10 becomes $3!!! Amazing. Although some of the Philly area restaurants are already sold out, and some are in the far reaches of the universe, I still managed to snag three 50% off certificates to Taco House, two 50% off certificates good all day Saturdays and Sundays to the Riverview Deli (brunch anyone?), a couple of $25 gift certificates to Mambo's in Trenton where we had such a lovely DDC dinner awhile back and one $25 gift certificate to Cafe Habana. Not too shabby for 18 bucks and change.

Excellent Sara! Bring as many DC Gulleteers as you can! Can Heather come??? (Heather, are you listening? This could be as much fun and certainly more upscale than Pizza Club!)

Too early or too late? 8:30 is probably the best I can be there Sorry SG - that's just too late to start a multi course meal on a "schoolnight", so to speak. You could always stop by for a cocktail and a howdy though. I'm certain that could be arranged.

Go Sara!!! Woo-hoo! TWO new Dr. eGulletarians in Philly. We're getting just a bit too smart for ourselves, aren't we? Soon the PA forum will be the intellectual epicenter of eGullet!

Andrew: Sounds like a "festive" time was had by all. Can we presume both by your reappearance on eGullet and the tequila soaked festivities of last night that you did indeed turn in the thesis today on schedule? Rock on Dr. Fentonstein!!!

Too early or too late?

Well said mags.

Update! The Moshulu tasting extravaganza will be moved to Monday May 10th, the day after Mother's Day. I just spoke with Chef Tim and the restaurant has a wine dinner booked on the earlier date he was unaware of. Fine. This should give us more time to plan and e-mail out "official" DDC invites to this fabulous soiree. Tim assures me he and the staff won't be too whupped from the day before to handle this. I personally always need to recover from working a Mother's Day. It's the worst day in the restaurant industry. Tim is a brave and hardworking lad. Or maybe he's just nuts. Tim and I will be meeting after work this evening to discuss logistics, menu, wines, cost, timing, etc. I will try to keep this as convenient as possible for as many people as possible. I know from past events that our participants come from far and wide for these dinners - from as far south as Delaware and as far north as Princeton. This being a weeknight, I'd like not to start too early so as to allow for travel time. I also don't want to start so late that what might be a long tasting dinner goes too late for folks that have to work the next morning, have to go home and relieve the babysitter, etc. The larger crowd we have, the longer the dinner will take. Feeding twenty people a 6 or 7 course menu takes much less time than feeding seventy five people the same thing. We'll discuss this and come up with the wisest compromise that we can. I don't want to exclude anyone that might wish to join us, but I also don't want this to turn into a really long ordeal on a night when people have to work the next morning. Capiche? So there will be no bitchin' y'all, got it? Stay tuned for details...

So you don't know! Looky here: Round 19 Winners YAY! A Golden Gully just for me! I'm so honored. I'd like to thank the Academy, and let my esteemed colleagues know it was humbling just to be included with them...

Thanks for the help Holly. You're in a better position to publicly state your opinions than I. So true! Not to mention that they'd currently be taking up valuable seats that should be filled with the asses of paying customers.

Yum! I LOVE Strawberry Lemonade! In fact, a caterer I used to work for always served that as a non-alcoholic beverage option in the summertime. It was delicious. And yeah - what couldn't be improved with a wee bit of vodka?

You say this like it's a bad thing. Funny. I just don't think dissing my employer on the World Wide Web is a particularly bright idea in terms of my longevity as an employee, do you? Besides, even if I sang his praises it seems that Zachy's mind was made up regardless of what I might say. I guess taking the bait didn't seem to serve any useful purpose either. I share my work experiences with people close to me that I trust and whose opinions and advice I value, much like anyone does in a similar situation.

Thank you.

Thanks Jinmyo. Appreciate the props. Although I often feel like the guy on the old Ed Sullivan show who was trying to keep all the plates spinning at once without letting anything crash to the ground, as I said, this is all an excellent learning experience in keeping the restaurant functional and up to date with our creditors - both the past ones that are due adminstrative claims from the bankruptcy and the present ones that drop off products and services at the doorstep every day. That and making payroll and making certain the appropriate funds are transferred or sequestered (e.g. like gift certificate sales) is my full time job. Well - that and taking care of the beverage ordering and cost control. I like to think of myself as a spreadsheet geek with a taste for beverage management!

Lancaster County, PA New Hope, PA/Lambertville, NJ (I realize this is basically your backyard, but there are some lovely inns with spas and some great restaurants) The new Borgata complex in Atlantic City Chesapeake Bay - Crisfield, MD for crabs and scenery. Take the ferry to Tangier Island for an afternoon. Brandywine Valley. Great restaurants and Longwood Gardens and Museums. The Frank Lloyd Wright houses, etc. Good grief - come to Philly! Stay at the Four Seasons and treat yourself! And you know there's plenty of wonderful restaurants.