KatieLoeb

Different tour is only $20/person. 2 hours. Stops and samples at several stores. They'll do it on our schedule. I think if we start at 12:30pm that should be fine. Better plan?

I don't know about the load in information for the RTM. I'll leave that to rlibkind. I have a message to him awaiting a response. This just in, however. I have made contact with local historian/cookbook author Celeste Morello. She is available to be our tour guide for the Italian Market on Friday afternoon. Cost is $35/person or $350 for a group of 10 or more people with stops along the way for tastes and her impeccable knowledge of the market. Her tours have been featured in many local and national magazines as the best in the city for the Italian Market. You can read more about it HERE. I would be interested in doing this if others feel the same way. But my budget doesn't include travel expenses, so I don't want to presume on behalf of anyone else's wallets. I certainly think a professionally led tour would be really interesting, and I'm certain I'll learn a lot of things I don't know about the Market even though I'm a local. So what say ye? I told Ms. Morello I'd get back to her after the weekend. Let me know if there's interest in this.

If you have some peaches and a home smoker you can make a Smoked Peach Bourbon Smash, recipe for which is found in my book. Peaches and bourbon have such a natural affinity for one another, and the addition of the smoke just gilds the lily. Good stuff. A drizzle of peach syrup atop your mint julep is a thing of beauty as well, as I'm certain I've mentioned before. That may be one of the best bartender tricks I ever learned.

Brainstorm hit me when I was discussing my limoncello recipe with someone down in New Orleans this week. The addition of the one lime is to bring that slightly floral quality that the Sorrento lemons have. So what if I tried pink grapefruit-cello with the addition of one tangerine or clementine to also add that floral element?? Or would this work to vastly improve a straight orange arancello?? I'll be a little busy in the next few weeks to start a test batch of this, but will report back when I get it together...

Try the Angel's Envy. Jefferson Reserve or Eagle Rare 10 yr. also good choices in your range...

Packing for Tales. Anyone that wants to introduce themselves stop by the Octavia Books stand in the lobby of the Monteleone on Wednesday 4:00-5:00pm or Friday 5:30-7:00pm. I'll be signing copies of my book and would be happy to meet some of you fellow eG cocktail nerds.

I'll be somewhat incommunicado for the next few days. If anyone has any serious issues, please inbox me with a private message or email me. Otherwise, I'll set up the EventBrite stuff next weekend or early next week and we can start getting some committments for each event.

I made a nice daiquiri for myself the other night using the proportions from THIS great Jeffrey Morgantahaler video on Small Screen Network. Used Mount Gay gold, regular 1:1 simple and fresh lime. Second round I used 1/2 oz. lime juice and 1/4 oz. yuzu juice and it was brighter and even tastier. That might be going onto my cocktail menu at work...

Chris: The thread just got moved here. Makes sense although I'm still a bit confused as to how we qualify as "Heartland". But excited for the events we have lined up. Should be a blast and I'm really looking forward to all of it. Glad you'll be joining us!

20th Century is a very good drink. My first reaction was the same. You're going to put what in the same glass?? But it's diverse flavor profile is what makes it work. It's delicious. Bright and refreshing on the front side and mysterious and savory on the back end. Bizarre but yummy. Some things are not ours to question...

Chris: Those are good ballpark figures. I'll be as specific as possible as soon as I hear back from everyone else with numbers etched in stone. I sent an email to the event coordinator at Zahav and asked about a flat $65 or $75/person charge inclusive of tax and gratuity and with the kitchen adding a little extra somethin' somethin' to the regular tasting menu. I'm also going to find out the cost for a guided group tour of the Italian Market given by a local author that wrote the Italian Market Cookbook. Maybe we could do that in the early afternoon on Friday, still have sandwiches at Paesano's, have time for a gelato at Capogiro for dessert, do the StrayBoots tour of Old City in the late afternoon and have time still to shower and change for our slightly later dinner. Sound like a plan??

I just found the coolest thing online. Anyone ever heard of Strayboots.com?? I think I'm going to check this out when I'm travelling next. But I think it could be a totally fun thing to do during the Heartland Gathering. I've lived in Philly for a really long time. Lived longer here than I haven't, in fact. I'd love to find a new side of my city and I think doing an Amazing Race type trivia tour/treasure hunt would be a really fun activity. We'll have some time Friday morning or late afternoon to perhaps explore this idea. We could do the tour of Old City before our dinner at Zahav perhaps. The beauty of this idea is that it's totally flexible timing wise. Could be a blast. What do you think?

OK - lots of news on this today. I heard back from Chef Solomonov today. They are very excited to have us and will be putting out a feast for us to share, which will have many vegetarian options. The Mesibah dinner for a group is $48/person with tax, gratuity and beverages not inclusive. I received an email from their events coordinator regarding this. I will reply and ask if they can give us a flat rate that includes tax and gratuity to make this all a bit easier. Drinks can be on a cash and carry basis or we can start our own tabs so the non-drinkers do not have to support the rest of us unfairly. The private dining room seats a maximum of 25 people. Small hitch. Because it's a Friday night, there is a minimum "spend" of $3000 for use of the private dining room at prime time. Understandable, as this is one of the busiest restaurants in town, with good cause. The food is unique and delicious. Our group would not be able to reach that minimum without a huge bar bill, which doesn't work for our group. However, if we start dinner at 9:15pm there's no minimum. A little late, but since it's family style salads and apps first, we should move along at a comfortable pace. I kind of prefer to eat on the later side so that works for me. I will be happy to put down the deposit on my credit card to guarantee our reservation. But I'd like to firm this up soon as I'll be unavailable for most of next week. I don't know what the cost per person was at past "fancy" dinners during Heartland Gatherings. At $48/person + 8% tax + 20% gratuity that comes out to $61.20/person. If I can speak to the event coordinator and Chef Solomonov and ask for that flat rate of $65 or $70/person and ask them to go above and beyond the "usual" menu this will be truly spectacular. A link to the usual mesibah tasting menu can be found here. According to the info I received today menu includes: 1. Six assorted salads and hummus with fresh laffa bread 2. Approximately six of our favorite appetizers in quantities so that all guests can enjoy 3. Three family style entrees (lamb, chicken and eggplant) 4. Dessert for each guest Everyone let me know your thoughts on this. In other news, the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival is the same day as we were planning our Potluck. This means the RTM will be crowded, but it's a really great festival and a lot of fun. If we shift everything a bit later (especially after our later dinner on Friday at Zahav) and start out at say 2PM at RTM, we can have Bob Libkind take us on a guided tour of the market, we'll have the seats in the piano court for a late lunch of PA Dutch treats or whatever vendors strike our fancy (get thee your cheesesteaks and Roast Pork sandwiches now!) and then have the Rick Nichols room and kitchen available to us in the late afternoon to start our preparations. And still have a couple of hours of the market vendors being open for last minute purchases at the best pantry in the city right outside the doors. Folks can take the morning or early afternoon to explore some of the other fine historical or cultural sites in the city like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Constitution Center, Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation, the Franklin Institute or the Rodin Museum. There's so much to see here I don't want to overschedule our eating to the point that our visiting friends don't get to see the city at all. If we really try to make this as much of a true "potluck" as possible, with advance preparations taking place in hotel kitchens or at the kitchens of our locals, this should work out really well. The inevitable delays of trying to make elaborate meals come out in a timely fashion can be avoided and we can really enjoy each other's company and truly break bread rather than wait for bread to bake! We utilize the kitchen for prep, reheating and plating for the most part. It will be August in Philly and big heavy meals aren't really the best choice anyway. Rather than preparing an elaborate stuffed fish fillet for an entree, perhaps think along the lines of a ceviche that's ready in a couple of hours. We'll have wonderful fresh produce and proteins at our fingertips. It's just a matter of smarter menu planning. And coordinating the logistics. But I think this can be done. And I have every confidence the results will be spectacular. Again, let me know your thoughts on this. Lastly, the Sunday brunch will be at 11:30am on Sunday at Han Dynasty in Old City. My boss assures me he'll be pulling out all the stops for this. Costs should be in the $25-30/person range. I'll get confirmation as soon as I see my manager this weekend. So that's the latest. Lots of news! Everybody let me know what you think, but I think this is shaping up to be a fun weekend! Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Will be speaking with Chef Solomonov this week. I'll let you know as soon as the details are hammered out. I will inquire about vegetarian options specifically, since you've asked.

I might be able to come up for Sunday brunch. Maybe Saturday, too. Let me see if I can work this out. I would love to see you Philly folks again. Oh and we'd love to see you too!! Keep us posted on your progress in planning. Sunday brunch will be early, but not obscenely so. Folks will have planes, trains and automobiles to catch, but we'll also be coming off the big potluck dinner the night before, as well as the restaurant having to be prepared for us. Fortunately, I have an in with the boss now, seeing as how I work there, so we should be OK.

This is heartbreaking news, but clearly Chef Gilmore was ready to move on. I'm sure this wasn't an easy decision for him. I will forever have a fond place in my heart for Gilmore's after the spectacular Chaine de Rotisseurs dinner we enjoyed there. Best of luck to Peter and his staff in all their future endeavors. It was a unique restaurant in the area and will be missed.

Aww, Holly. I thought I could convince you to lead one of the tours. C'mon. You have to come to some more events. If I throw in a trip to Capogiro on Friday would that convince you??

Tried to stop by Khmer Kitchen, a new Cambodian place at 6th & Morris Streets on Monday but they were closed. They were kind enough to let me in and give me a menu, and they seemed very nice. Place is getting a lot of traction on the local food blogs of late and (FWIW) stellar reviews on Yelp. I don't know very much about Cambodian food, so I'm excited to learn about an entirely new cuisine.If anybody wants to go check this place out for lunch in the next couple of days, gimme a holla. I'm in!

OK - I'll look into EventBrite, but I do pretty well with Excel, so PayPal might be fine too. More importantly can I get an up to date roll call of those folks that expect to join us for this. Time to start getting tentative head counts so I can have a better idea of what I'm talking about to the chefs/restaurateurs we'll be visiting. I'll start with myself: KatieLoeb 1 OK everybody. Even you local folks, I need to know who's coming. Speak now or forever hold your peas...

That looks interesting. Might have to give that one a go. I have all the fixins too.

Holly: Vedge might indeed be an interesting idea for Thursday. I'm not sure Kate and Rich will be down with the BYO Bacon, however. I had dinner there in May with out of town relatives who were blown away by how innovative and delicious the vegan menu was. I might add that the cocktails were quite impressive also. I had something the bartender was working on that had muddled raw asparagus, fennel, aquavit and some other stuff in it. Needless to say I approached this with much trepidation, but the raw vegetables were not too herbaceous or nasty at all. Quite delicious in fact. I left extremely impressed with the place. Problem might be the size of our group and the cost however. Reservations are brutal to get there, even with quite a bit of advanced notice. If we were going on a Tuesday or Sunday night we might have better luck, but a Thursday night they are likely booked fairly far in advance. Although Vedge is certainly one of the more unique restaurants we have to offer, I also am not certain if a vegan restaurant would be everyone's first choice, given all the omnivorous options we have here. Let me know what you all think... As for costs, I'm still working that out. I should be able to have costs for the dinner at Zahav fairly soon. I'm hoping to keep that in the $35-50/person range for a family style feast of their specialties. I'll discuss the menu with Chef Michael Solomonov as soon as I'm able. The brunch at Han Dynasty should be $25/person. Both restaurants have a bar that would be pay as you go for those that are indulging. I'm hoping to get some sponsorship from my local wine and liquor reps for the potluck, and I'll take care of cocktails and wine for that night. As hostess for this weekend, it only seems fitting that I do what I do best for the potluck, and leave the cooking to the rest of you. I will likely set up a PayPal account, or use my own for the pay in advance events. Can someone explain to me how this has been handled most efficiently in the past??

bsims: thanks so much for the kind words! The drinks at the Alex's Lemonade Stand event were developed after the book was long in production and were the product of working with what products were donated for the event. House Spirits of Portland, OR and Vita Coco were both sponsors, so the beverage director for Vetri restaurants and I came up with those two cocktails the weekend before the event after a brainstorming session at Alla Spina. I can't reveal the recipes yet, since tweaked up versions of those very drinks will be featured at a tiki pop up event in August at Rum Bar. Since you're obviously local to me in Philly, you shouldn't make any other plans for the evening of Thursday August 16. Details about the event can be found here. The teaser video is awesome! I thought we were going to burn the place to the ground, LOL!!

Tentatively here's what I've come up with so far: Thursday evening: Perhaps a cocktail and snacks crawl? Not sure about this one since my original plan is no longer viable. Friday morning/early afternoon - tour of Italian Market and sandwiches for lunch at Paesano's, 9th Street between Washington and Christian Streets Friday evening - Dinner at Zahav - 2nd & Walnut Streets Saturday morning/early afternoon - tour of Reading Terminal market, lunch, shopping for potluck 12th & Filbert Streets Saturday evening - Potluck at Reading Terminal Market Rick Nichols Room 12th & Filbert Streets Sunday morning/early afternoon Szechuan brunch, Han Dynasty 108 Chestnut Street I'll see if I can create a map on Google that's more specific and includes some of the other historical and cultural sites so folks can get oriented.

Wow. That's a pretty good deal! Hotwire is an excellent resource as well. I actually just used it recently to book my hotel for my upcoming trip to New Orleans and got an excellent price too. Pretty much any hotels that are listed in the Convention Center area or Historic District will all be quite close by. On the other side of City Hall, the Rittenhouse Square area is also close by, but that tends to be the much nicer (read: more expensive) four star hotels. If anyone has questions about a specific hotel or area please let us know. I'm sure either I or one of the other PhilleGulleteers can jump in and answer for you.

Steven, my sincere congrats on the new position. It sounds perfect for you! Although I haven't been around for the entire decade, I've spent countless hours here, both as member and moderator. I've made many lifelong friends here. I've learned more things than I can count. It's an awesome place you've helped build here, and through your stewardship, it has a strong foundation. Don't be a stranger. It won't be the same without you.