KatieLoeb

Farmer's Market finds today. Gorgeous mint and fresh Peach cider! I'll be messing with this later tonight and let you all know what I come up with. I'm told the cider is pretty sweet by both the salesperson and a few customers that had tried it before. I think I'll do some sort of tall peach julep like concoction and find some citrus and bitters to dial it back with...

Perhaps I stand corrected, then. I dunno. Just seems logical to me, but if others have had good results, then have at it! Please do report bck, with photos if possible. I'd be very curious what the end result looks like. The last single infused batch I made (pictured HERE) came out really red and so mellow it tasted like strawberry Kool-Aid. Seriously. It was pretty deadly because it went down so easy. Definitely turned a few non-tequila drinking friends into fans of TPMA, at least.

But hasn't the proof already been lowered on the original batch by the inclusion of all the water/juice/sugars of the first infusion?? You're not starting with 80 proof tequila anymore. Might it not be wiser to simply start a new batch with the better berries and compare them or even combine them when finished? After a point the tequila will reach saturation and you'll just be wasting good fruit that might have yielded a better result when starting from scratch, no?

No. There's no outdoor seating.

That's true. And I suspect you won't be missed if you choose not to dine at Meme again. I think it's a shame that you're choosing not to dine there again simply because the waiter either didn't come out and hold an umbrella above you for the entire duration of your meal or the chef was too busy to come out and personally say how sorry he is that it's raining. Given the circumstances, that was about all that could have been done and there was a dining room with other dog-free diners that needed tending to as well. This is true. But I doubt most of those diners made a conscious choice to do something that effected their service and dining experience should they be caught in circumstances out of their control. So their reasons seem far less trivial, and certainly much less vindictive, should they choose not to return. Says you. I'd be curious what the waiter's take on all this was. That would be the other side of the story I think would be most illuminating. You've made that abundantly clear. But again, I'm just not sure what wasn't done except for perhaps more fawning and apoligizing for the two things that were out of their control. It was not the restaurant's fault that you chose to bring your dog. In fact, they could have refused you service, even outside. Not all restaurants with outdoor seating are dog-friendly. And it wasn't their desire that it rained and drove away other potential customers. So again, what was it that wasn't done? Sounds like just a lack of options on their part due to a decision you made and an unfortunate set of meterological circumstances. (emphasis added) I'm more concerned about your dogged (pun totally intended) insistence that the restaurant didn't treat you like a king when there was little to be done, and complete lack of recognition that you were responsible for the end result because you sealed your own fate by bringing the dog. What I'd like to see is an admission that you learned something from this experience other than to be punitive toward the restaurant. Some sense of personal responsibility in all this. A little humility would go a long way, but that's hard to see past the unnecessary comment about your entree, your dog resembling a Ferrari, etc. How the dog looks or the fact that you were well dressed bears no impact on the end result. A couple in jeans and T-shirts with a butt ugly dog wouldn't have been allowed in either. Just like all the other pet owners I described in my last post. Regardless of whether they tipped appropriately. Perhaps the mythical couple with the ugly dog would have asked for their check, paid up and left. And not put the restaurant in the untenable position of trying to "go the extra mile" to impress you when it seems a near impossible task to do so. Perhaps a hard look in a mirror and an analysis of your own actions might reveal something other than a well dressed, low maintenance, dog owning restaurant patron. I'm waving my white flag on this discussion.

So will you be checking the weather forecast for thunderstorms and purposefully bringing the pup in tow, to see if those other pet friendly neighborhood restaurants "go the extra mile" when it starts to rain? Does that seem a fair criteria to judge them on? Will they risk their livelihood and business to see if they can impress me? Of course they're happy to take the dog owners money. And the cat owners money, and the ferret owners money and the pot bellied pig owners money. And if it starts to rain they won't invite any of those people and their ark full of animals inside either. I doubt the conditions for that particular storm are repeatable, but even if they were, it seems that perhaps you haven't really taken anything away from this experience except an intransigent belief that the restaurant was "wrong" and you are "right".

I don't think that most of the folks that answered are in the food industry either. "Just customers" seem to understand that the restaurant was in a no-win situation with you and the dog. Here's how. 1. Your choice, yes? You weren't being selectively persecuted, as you've implied. The other parties didn't have a "guest" with them that could get the restaurant shut down. 2. Again, why should they comp your food because it unfortunately rained on you? Why press your suit for you? If the waiter spilled something on you, then absloutely they should pick up your dry cleaning and dinner. But they did nothing wrong. I'm certain the restaurant didn't want it to rain and keep other customers away... 3. Because the owner didn't wish to risk his business. A kind word might have been in order, but other than that, there was little to be done given that the dog couldn't come inside, and you wouldn't/couldn't leave him tied up outside. 4. I have to wonder what the review of the food has to do with anything. The caliber of your meal has little to do with your problem with the restaurant at this point, or the unfortunate rain, so stating that one item was not enjoyable, certainly could be read as a slam, even if it wasn't necessarily intended as such. 5. That pretty much answers it's own question, does it not? If you are questioning whether to be angry and bitter, it seems the emotions are already formed. 6. Is there any bigger slam against a restaurant then to say you'd not return? It seems that you are shifting blame for an inauspiciously timed act of Mother Nature to the restaurant. 7. And now your just martyring yourself. Seriously. Your experience sucked. No one likes to be wet and miserable. But I think perhaps a nervous dog with separation anxiety is not the ideal dinner companion regardless of the weather. Unless the weather is crystal clear, neither you nor the restaurant are clairvoyant. The second step of logic to bringing a dog (or small child for that matter) out to dinner is, "what would happen if something goes wrong?" Even the calmest most well behaved dog could turn on a child that teases them, or jump on a waiter carrying a yummy smelling steak (hell - I've almost jumped on a waiter carrying a yummy smelling steak if I were hungry enough and my food was taking too long!). They're DOGS ferchissakes! It's not like they understand the implications of manners and such. And by the way, I love dogs and wish I could have one, but my lifestyle does not allow it. I wish dogs (well-behaved ones, of course) were allowed in restaurants here, but they are not. And the penalties for flagrantly disregarding that are stiff. Again, I ask you to consider the scenario where your livelihood could be placed in jeopardy, and ask yourself what you'd do. I don't think you're being malicious, but I suspect you're not understanding the tone of your post when it comes out of this side of your mouth. It's something we're all guilty of at one time or another. "But I didn't mean it that way..." are famous last words preceding many a disagreement. I suggest you give Meme another try on another night that you leave the dog at home. And sit inside. No chance of anything ruining your dinner except a preconceived bad taste in your mouth. And if you pretend that none of that ever happened, maybe you can start from scratch and enjoy what is a truly lovely restaurant with a talented chef and very professional staff when it isn't pouring rain on your head.

I'm still not getting the sense that you truly understand that the restaurant could be shut down permanently for being "indulgent" of you and your pet, regardless of a sense of entitlement and regardless of a sudden nasty rainstorm. I'm not trying to give you a hard time here, but I'm not seeing any grasp of the real issue here from your side. You were asking the restaurant to risk their business in a way that reveals a pretty hefty sense of entitlement. I don't remember what it is that you do for a living, but try to imagine some scenario that could put your professional license/credentials/whatever at risk for "indulging" a client. I presume you'd refuse to do so. Do you still feel that client should have the right to now go badmouth you or take their business elsewhere?? Particularly if the circumstance leading up their requiring your "indulgence" was a result of their own unfortunate decision? You took your dog out to a restaurant knowing you'd have to eat outside. It rained. No one's "fault" but certainly not the restaurant's responsibility to risk their very existence because you feel they should "make it up to you" somehow. Seems pretty straightforward to me...

Salty Pomeranian 2.0 oz. Pearl Persephone Pomegranate Vodka .5 oz. Lime Cordial (homemade is best. Rose's will do.) .5 oz. fresh Lime Juice .5 oz. simple syrup (1:1) 2.0 oz. Ruby Red Grapefruit juice Shake over ice and pour into salt rimmed Collins glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

1. It is a grievous Health Department violation to bring the dog into the dining room of the restaurant. Period. No rain, no spinning it differently, no anything. You might as well have asked the chef or the waiter to defecate and not wash his hands all in plain sight. They could be fined, shut down, etc. and as was mentioned upthread those reports are available online, as well as having that lovely notice posted on the door turning away/scaring off business indefinitely. It is absolutely not in their best interest to let the dog in the restaurant. Even for a minute. 2. Another customer could be seriously allergic to the dog, even if the restaurant was trying to be nice. Do you want to be responsible for setting off an asthma attack or fit of anaphylactic shock? Really? 3. Waiter isn't clairvoyant. If you want your stuff packed to go then just say so. 4. How busy the restaurant is that night is completely irrelevant to items 1-3. Even if the dining room was completely empty with tumbleweeds rolling through it, they can not let the dog inside. Another customer could show up and report them to the Health Department. Should they lose their business (possibly for good) because you got unlucky and it rained on you/your dog? At any point did anyone consider tying up the dog outside under the awning and moving dinner indoors for the human members of the party? Why was this not an option? Yeah - this is all quite unfortunate, but not the restaurant's responsibility to "make up" to the guest. There has been no slight here, either real or imagined. The guest chose to bring their dog to a restaurant where they would clearly have to sit outside. If the weather turned on them it sucks, but is not the restaurant's responsibility, anymore so than if I brought an elderly relative who got tired or cranky or ill and had to be taken home (and they're allowed to be inside!). The proper response from the guest is "Check please!!"...

Chocolate-Chile Bread Pudding. Oh yeah. You oughta be able to use up at least a little bit of that in a bread pudding made with dark chocolate chips, the very best stale croissants/brioche/whatever eggy bread or challah and some subtle heat provided by the pureed chipotles. Drop a basic spicy custard over the torn up bread with the chocolate chips mixed in. You'd have to actively work at making this bad.

I like the way you think. In a similar vein, having a bar/restaurant in a state where regular retail were possible and all manner of obscure and not-so-obscure cocktail ingredients were available and affordable. A creative and accessible chef that had a similar vision and was committed to having both the food and beverage menus succeed/function together on equal footing, and was committed to sourcing the very best products with which to do that. I'm lucky enough to already have part of this be true. If only I could do something about the PLCB my life would be complete...

This explains more about the wrong dorm than any theory I might have had. Anybody end up getting their stomachs pumped?? You also definitely had frat brothers with better taste/palates than the cretinous lot I was hanging with at the Pi Lam Human Barbeques...

Holly: Waking up in the wrong dorm was usually a side effect of being young and foolish, only ever so slightly aided and abetted by the frat house punch, no? You clearly must've been attending a finer class of frat parties than I ever did. We usually got grain alcohol and artificially colored and flavored powdered "red Kool-Aid-like" substance du jour, mixed in a trash can that was lined, if you were lucky. My hope is that the Goslings/Cognac/apricot brandy mix is sufficiently balanced with good tea, fresh lemon and spiced simple syrup to be a pleasant quaff that creates new memories for those unfamiliar with the old school Philadelphia Fish House Punch on which it's based. I'm delighted that you enjoyed it. And I'm always happy to keep whomever the designated driver is supplied with tasty non-alcoholic beverages all evening. All they have to do is ask.

That'd be sharp, aged provolone, yes? Regular provolone is too tasteless. Needs the stinky edge to stand up to the broccoli rabe. I may have to go get me one of these on my way to work now... Damn you!

Rick Nichols take on our Grand Reopening in today's Inky. Mr. Nichols has been as much of a regular as one can be when we've only been open for 7 days. And his calling our Negroni "serviceable" is high praise indeed. Today's astonishing statistic. We sold 4000 oysters in our first 6 days open. And that's just from the raw bar, not counting the roasted oysters or the oyster stew. Pretty impressive maneuvering from our team of rock star shuckers.

White chocolate Godiva and Amaretto (Luxardo, the real stuff, not DiSaronno). Dark rum and Starbucks liqueur. Mozart/Godiva Dark Chocolate and Grand Marnier. Tuaca/Licor 43 and Frangelico. Famous Grouse and Mozart/Godiva Dark Chocolate . (Scotch and dark chocolate are delicious together!) Irish Whiskey and White or Dark Chocolate liqueur for a Chocolate Irish coffee. Brandy and Chocolate. That ought to keep you busy....

Another vote for the Fabuloso. It's cheap, it's works really well, and it comes in delicious scents like Lavender and Ocean Fresh. It really makes the place smell clean...

I made up a drink I called a Cantonese Crusta that was a hit back at my former place of employ: 2 oz. Bourbon (I like a light wheated bourbon like Maker's or Basil Hayden for this application) .5 oz. fresh lemon juice .5 oz. Canton ginger liqueur .5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino .5oz. homemade ginger beer Dash Orange bitters Shake and strain into a chilled ocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

Better than John's Roast Pork? Better than Paesano's?? I find that hard to believe...Perhaps it's equal, and found in an unexpected locale, but it can't be better. I just don't believe you. I'd have to try it for myself before I'd even consider putting it in the same league. Philly RPI (Roast Pork Italiano) seems to be its own thing, that can't be replicated anywhere else. Like Speidies or Chicago pizza or bagels anywhere but the NYC metropolitan area.

Luigi: I'll be behind the bar Thurs-Sat. evenings this week. I'd be more than happy to accommodate your thirst for a Negroni. I can only hope it's as good as it is in Turin. I promise I'm using good ingredients. The scenery may not be the same, but the drink ought to measure up.

Exactly. And I confess that when I have these, it is most often in this application. weinoo - the ketchup is by request only. That's why they ask the inevitable "Salt? Pepper? Ketchup?" question just before they cut your roll in half and wrap you up in foil. I prefer hot sauce too, and usually ask them to scramble it right into the eggs. But that tends to piss off the cart owners that don't want to use up another coffee cup to scramble in.

That was my first thought too! Food Porn Smackdown!! Yeah!

Here in Philly. the Roach Coach (local parlance for street food carts) Egg-n-Cheese sandwich (with or without bacon/sausage/ham/turkey bacon/pork roll and always with processed American cheese) is a breakfast staple. There are long lines at almost every corner cart every morning. However, the eggs are scrambled, usually in a paper coffee cup before getting placed on the flattop. The last thing the vendor asks before wrapping it up is "Salt? Pepper? Ketchup?", which is the title of a local food blog rating Philly cart cuisine.

Tonight I cracked open a bottle of 2007 Mad Bay Shiraz I'd picked up at Columbus Blvd. store a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised. At $9.99/bottle it's a good deal for a nice spicy, jammy berry flavored shiraz. Tannins aren't overwhelming either. I suspect it might be even better with food, but not too shabby as "cocktail wine", the category I use for sippable-without-food wines.