KatieLoeb

In my living room, I have a lovely "sideboard" type cabinet that my father had custom built in the 40's. It's has a rotating center cabinet that has spaces for rocks glasses and such in it. The center spins outward and then is a convex semi-circular shelf unit with the holes cut into it for the glassware. The outer ends each have a door with a shelf-divided cabinet. I need to get two new glass shelves cut for the end cabinets. I really don't use it as the bar. That's currently located downstairs in the dining room, closer to the refrigerator for ice and mixers. When I get the shelves replaced I'll then use it for cognac and other post dinner "relax in front of the fireplace" type libations as it's located, coincidentally, right near the fireplace! I'll post some pics when I get a digital camera. That'll be quite soon as I really need one!

I didn't have enough notice to make a batch of the award winning Turkey, Black Bean & Chorizo chili. My friend whose parents host an annual Super Bowl shindig at their suburban manse didn't call me until last night. "I just thought you'd show up, Katie!" Such a guy. My mother would roll over in her grave if I ever showed up anywhere uninvited! Usually their spread involves a a cheese platter, a roast turkey, a roast beef, requisite sandwich fixins, big pot of chili (which I've assisted with on many occasions), and lots of desserts and coffee. I might bring along a bottle of infused vodka or a nice bottle of wine so as not to show up empty handed. That's another one of those "mom rules" drilled into me when I was growing up.

To strains of As Time Goes By in the background... [Voiceover of Captain Louis Renault, Prefect of Casablanca Police Dept.] "I'm shocked - shocked - to find pot smoking amongst eGulleteers is going on in here!" [/Voiceover of Captain Louis Renault, Prefect of Casablanca Police Dept.] [Katie's voice] "eGullet, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" [/Katie's voice]

Ha! Mercifully I already did that back in September HERE. And I wouldn't dream of following this blog. I eat much too randomly, and don't cook nearly as much as I'd like to. It would be a painful bore after this glorious week of Gsquared's detailed descriptions and beautiful photos. Who's up to bat?

Nice turn of phrase El Gordo! I'm having dinner with a magazine editor friend of mine. I'm certain she'll appreciate that one

Don't confuse the guy from the West Coast. In Philadelphia's finer restaurants, Surf and Turf is a hot dog with a fish cake crammed on top of it. Oh yeah! Forgot about those! Quite right. I stand corrected. Carry on...

Not sure if I want to be responsible for starting a Bathroom Graffiti thread so I'll just pick up here since I've been reminded of some really good ones by this other post. In men's rooms (I've been told): "Players with shorter bats must stand closer to the plate" [way above the urinal in smallish letters] "What are you looking up here for. The joke is in your hand" In a women's restroom at my alma mater, University of Pennsylvania. In response to a printed sign on the paper towel dispenser that read: "One towel dries BOTH hands" someone wrote: "Yeah - but for $22,000 per year I'll take TWO, thanks!"

Steve: A very valid point, well stated. I'm certain Mr. LaBan will find it interesting as well. I'll drop him a line so he can see this suggestion.

Chris: So what's stopping you?? Jump on US Air, hightail it here (wait 'til it warms up a bit. The weather lately might be shock to your beach loving sensibilities) and live out your cheesesteak fantasies. We Brotherly Love types would be happy to show you come of the other haunts too. You can't leave without a Tony Luke's Roast Pork sammie and some good Taconelli's pizza. And a hoagie from Chickie's. Maybe a Surf 'n Turf dinner of Cheesesteaks followed by Crabs at Bonk's Bar? It'd be sacriledge to come so far and not do it ALL!

Thanks for reminding me. I have a draining meat loaf pan set that the inside of has peeled away. I've had it for about 2 years, but have only used it 5 or 6 times. No longevity on this product at all. And I didn't scrub it with steel wool or anything more than a dish sponge. Piece of crap that should definitely qualify for an exchange. I love the pan - I just hate that's it's so inferior in it's construction. Taking it back tomorrow and asking it to be swapped out with the nice uncoated nonstick model they have now.

Success at last! This blog, Katie, is a fiendish plot to lure susceptible (and preferably nubile) young women to Africa where they will be kept in durance vile. Phone me for your plane ticket. Thanks Big Daddy!

Just so you know, although I failed to post sooner - Mackerel Snackerel had me in tears of laughter at my desk. In fact, one of my co-workers came in and asked what the hell was the matter with me, I sounded positively insane. After I was able to sit upright, I read them that portion of your post and they too, left my office holding their sides with laughter. Too damn funny!

Holly: The White Dog Cafe here in Philadelphia has a "Republicans" and a "Democrats" room. They're both unisex.

And you're surprised??? My first thought when you asked was "No way anyone is going to derail this pleasure cruise". Thank you so much for sharing your lovely home and fantastic meals with us. Should you experience a desire to adopt, I qualify as an orphan and will gladly work for food and ambiance

Chad: I hope you mean "paint-stripping" (nice description, BTW ) in terms of tannin, but not in terms of alcohol content. High alcohol wines make the heat in spicy foods even more pronounced. In fact, it might even blow out your palate to the point where your taste is impaired, rather than enhanced. Keep to alcohol levels of no more than 12.5%. Anything higher than that will make the spice in your foods take on a nasty harsh edge and make everything taste hotter. Red or white is your choice. For white I'd stick to Alsace or Germany, a riesling as previously suggested or an Edelswicker. For red you could find a nice Cotes du Rhone, or the Salice was actually a nice suggestion. I really love Dolcetto, which is low acid and has relatively mild tannins. I think it goes with almost anything.

Sass on the side?

What she said. It's a pre-feminist holdover from when men were still gentlemen and paid for their dinner companions and didn't necessarily count on gettin' lucky on a first date. Menus for Chef Tables at Striped Bass were alway printed without pricing. The host already knew the pricing as they'd set up the dinner. Menu was on the left side, wine selections on the right side, wines would be priced ONLY on the Host's copy of the menu.

I've never been fond of this flavor of "passive-aggressive" reviewing. And it's pretty common, it would seem. Basically boils down to saying "It was good, but it was awful". Makes it difficult to figure out what point the reviewer is really driving at, unless it's merely their own taste preferences. It's kind of like asking, "Do you walk to school, or carry your lunch?"

Hi Steve: His e-mail address is printed at the bottom of each article/review he writes. One of his points to me about NOT joining in the discussion at eGullet was that he already had plenty of mail to answer on a weekly basis from his readership. I don't know that the Inky website has actually done any Q & A's yet. I think Mr. LaBan thought his employers might not take it well if he were to do his first one with another website, since the Inquirer has its own website. Even if they aren't utilizing it as effectively as the Post. I like the idea of the weekly availability of the reviewer.

Yeah he is! Ooooohhh. This might be worth a visit to SF's after all. I wonder if Ming would wear those bike shorts I'm so fond of

There's a bit of cream sherry in the stock for our French Onion soup. Almost any type of sherry or brandy makes a nice and flavorful addition.

Nice lineup! The Argyle is a fave and I'm certain the Fixin and Pommard won't disappoint. It should be interesting to try the Oregon examples next to the Burgundian and then contrast with the California examples. See if my theory regarding the Pacific NW wines being closer to Burgundian in style holds up and let me know, wouldja? Enjoy!

I had a nice chat yesterday with Sondra Bernstein of The Girl & the Fig restaurants in the San Fran area, who will be the participating chef here at Rouge for Book and the Cook. Our dinner is scheduled for Saturday March 20. She's a former Philadelphian and a graduate of The Restaurant school. Chef Michael came into my office to let me know he'd be transferring Sondra to me to discuss wine selections for the dinner. The first thing she said to me was, "Oh - I know your name! I read your posts on the eGullet PA forum all the time!" How cool is that!

PA Liquor Laws. Don't. Get. Me. Started. Actually, in Pennsylvania, a "Liquor License" permits the "Licensee" (Bar or Restaurant) to: - Purchase wine and liquor at a 6% discount (over the PLCB's own "retail" outlets aka "the State Store") for purchases totalling over $50. - Re-sell said products at "retail" (presumably with a markup. Buying and reselling at "cost" would be directly competitive with the PLCB. It would also be a serious waste of time ) - Possibly (if the appropriate additional fee has been paid) perform Sunday Sales. BYOB's DON'T possess a liquor license. Hence - BYO. There is no prohibition against a restaurant that DOESN'T have a license GIVING AWAY wine or liquor - they just can't SELL it without the LICENSE to do so. As for corkage fees, it is meant to discourage customers from BRINGING their own into a LICENSED establishment. Cost of a liquor license (at least in Philadelphia) is currently up to about $150K. Not to mention liability insurance. What if someone gets trashed in your restaurant on wine you didn't actually SELL them? Can you flag someone if you didn't sell them the offending spirits? What if they drive off and kill someone? I think it's all about the liability myself. Not to mention it really isn't cost effective to allow customers to bring in their own wine when it's a major source of revenue. However, lately there's been a trend toward allowing BYO in licensed establishments on traditionally SLOW nights, like Sunday-Wednesday. Even the venerable Georges Perrier's Le Mas is allowing it on Sundays. I suspect as the economy improves () we'll be seeing less and less of that. I doubt that many restaurateurs would risk losing their license over allowing wine into their establishments if it were patently ILLEGAL. However, due to the PLCB (the 'C' stands for CONTROL) any wine consumed in a LICENSED establishment is presumed to be purchased through the "appropriate" (read: PLCB) channels. That's why a restaurateur could lose his license for say, driving over the bridge to NJ and buying the same products at a fairly significant price advantage and hauling them back in his SUV for delivery under cover of darkness through his kitchen door or loading dock. Now THAT'S a punishable offense. [rant] But that's also about the PLCB self-sustaining its very existence as well as the employment of hundreds of mid-level civil servants that have state jobs, all the benefits that are implied with that, and squelching the slightest whiff of competition or free enterprise within the boundaries of the Commonwealth. [/rant]

St.-Emilion??? Sorry - I couldn't resist. There are some nice merlots coming out of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Schiopetto and Pighin are two excellent producers. From CA, I like the Storrs Winery St. Ysidro and Havens from Napa. Both in the $25-40 range and very rich and tasty without tasting like "Merlot Lozenges". It's all about the aging potential. Cabernet can last a lot longer than Merlot. But as nice as it is to lay stuff down for far-into-the-future reference, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Since I can't take it with me, and I've no one to deed my tiny "estate" of wine to, I'd just as soon find things I can enjoy now and into the not-so-distant future