KatieLoeb

I'm recalling another felafel cart at 16th & JFK, southeast corner across from that odd little round structure that used to be the Visitor's Center. Is that the one you speak of? It was always very good. I'd always have whatever the daily "special" was and was never disappointed. Awesome lentil soup too, as I recall. It's been a long while since I worked in that 'hood, so I'm not as familiar with the cart culture as I used to be, but that Middle Eastern cart at 16th & JFK was 'da bomb...

I don't remember the 17th & Market guy being particularly nuts, or piling weird stuff on the sandwiches, so maybe we're talking about two different felafel vendors, rather than one that has been geographically misplaced. I'm going to have to make a trek to TOSOB (the other side of Broad) and investigate this felafel cart sitch when it warms up a bit...

I put in a vote for Bitar's felafel. Grilled, not fried so it isn't greasy. Delicious. There used to be a really good felafel cart at 17th & Market. Anyone who works downtown know if it's still there? It was across from Liberty Place at the southwest corner.

Which style - with mayo or with butter? They both have their charms... If you need a guinea pig/taster, you have my number....

New faves at Ken's Seafood. Hot and Sour Soup. The cure for my stuffy head today. Fantastic. 3 words. Lamb Hot Pot. Burner on the table, big old earthenware crock of broth, mushroom caps and lamby bits of all sorts, gigantic honking platter of watercress on the side. Totally awesome. And a bargain at $16.95 to boot. I'd order this again and again.

Apple cider vinegar is often touted for weight loss and other health benefits - liver detoxification, regulation of glucose levels, etc.

I second that request. Perhaps you could add your soup recipes(s) to RecipeGullet?? Pretty please??

Tonight's effort - a giant pot of cream of broccoli and cheddar soup. I had two big bowls for dinner and a few little frozen pizza roll hors d'oeuvres. What can I say? I was feeling lazy after I'd sliced and diced and pureed...

I was so busy being fascinated with perfect poached eggs I forgot to add this other tip. After opening a container/jar of food, bottle of soda etc, store it upside down in the fridge so the air pocket is at the end where it cannot escape through small cracks. Food stays much fresher, much longer this way. This has worked for me for sour cream, cottage cheese, jars of salsa or spaghetti sauce and most importantly two liter soda bottles. Soda virtually can't go flat. Or at least stays carbonated long enough for me to finish an entire bottle. Just make sure your lids or caps are tightly screwed on or locked into place.

Spinach and Cheese ravioli. Most of a full tray with jarred sauce. And most of a bottle of red wine. Just what I wanted after the day from hell that left me weeping in my car in various parking lots.

Bummer. The spiced lardo I was planning to make a fat washed bourbon with is locked in my cooler at work and we're closed tomorrow so I can't access it. I guess I'm out for this month too...

No more Fishers pretzels??? Will Miller's know to brush the still warm pretzels with butter and coarse salt?? Will it be the same?? Fishers pretzels are the absolute Holy Grail of soft pretzels. I'll be completely devastated if I can't get a good soft pretzel at RTM anymore. Do we know anything about Miller's?? Do they have operations elsewhere? Do they know what they're doing? This on top of the Eagles game is more than I can handle today. I'm off to go cry in my pillow...

Thanks Matt! I'm flattered... The two drink names I've come up with that I like the best are the Mumbai Mule, just because it explains itself perfectly well - a Moscow Mule but with all those lovely Indian flavors of pomegranate, lime and ginger together, and the Front Stoop Lemonade, just because it reflects the Philly roots of the drink. Local Bluecoat gin, homemade lemon cordial, Thai basil syrup and soda. And we don't have back porches here - we have front stoops to drink on. You got a problem wit' dat'??

What night of the week did you want to do this? The upstairs at Chick's can handle about 45 for a sitdown or 60 or so for standing room and cocktails. If you wanted to take over the whole place, you should call and talk to Chef Jim about a buyout. On a weekend night that might be cost prohibitive, but on a slower night of the week it might be feasible. Why don't you PM me and I'll see what I can find out for you... edited to add... D'oh! I just saw you stated on a Saturday. It is tough to close a place down entirely, but I'm certain if the revenue were there, any restaurateur would be accomodating. A bird in the hand...

Trader Joe's has it for $1.69 per package in Firm, Xfirm, and soft. Not too bad either. ← My local Asian market has fresh unpackaged tofu for 4/$1.00 for the smaller approx. 2.5"x2.5"x.5" squares and $0.40 each for the larger 3"x3"x1" blocks. Cheap as all hell for good nutrition. I usually just drain and pat them dry with paper towels and then slice into either smaller rectangles or small cubes and fry them until lightly browned on the outside. I can then add them to whatever I wish. The only downside to the fresh unpackaged tofu is that you need to use it fairly quickly.

Is it immodest to pat oneself on the back and add their own drinks? I certainly have a few I'm proud of that fit this criteria (in MOHO), but I'd rather have someone else nominate them for fear of appearing unbelievably smug and self-serving... I'd most certainly be flattered to death to be in such noble company.

When I first arrived and was awaiting my dining companions at the bar, drinking my self-made enormous cocktail, there was a fellow a couple of seats down, nursing a beer. Eventually two bags of boxed up and bagged food came out of the kitchen for him. He thanked the staff and left. I don't know what he ordered, but they definitely have to-go containers in the house both for doggie bagging it and to go orders. I'm pretty confident you could have the chicken to go if you asked nicely...

I called over the weekend and insisted that they save me two chickens for Tuesday. They said to call the same day, but given my schedule, I was afeared that I wouldn't wake up early enough to snag the exalted birds. They were nice about it when I explained that I wouldn't be able to call that day. The bar is a small six seater in the back of the restaurant with the TV playing Spanish news channel or telenovelas. Be careful when ordering at the bar. I asked for a Bacardi Limon and Diet Coke and ended up with a full tumbler glass of rum on the rocks and a can of soda with a tall glass of ice on the side. They charged me $9 for it, but it ended up being the equivalent of two normal drinks once I combined them. The waitress looked at me like I had three heads when I made my own cocktail out of it.

Enjoyed the Pollo a la Brasa again this evening at El Balconcito. Chicken is just the Holy freakin' Grail of amazingly moist and flavorful bird. My niece and nephew have both declared it their favorite. We also tried the mixed ceviche, which was spot on, and the grilled lobster, which was tasty but a hair overdone and dried out. Next time I want to try the beef ribs I spied on the menu. I have a feeling those might be pretty good too... I certainly hope the menu at Chifa will have a rendition of Pollo a la Brasa. I can only imagine how delicious that would be.

Fuel up the private jet, my friend... Seriously though, I've been told by folks whose palates I respect that Lotus of Siam is as good as it gets in the Continental USA. That is definitely worthy of a trip of and by itself. Since I don't gamble, a trip to Vegas would be all about eating and drinking anyway, with perhaps some brief respites for sunbathing by the pool and seeing a show. What we really have to do is convince someone to do Thai food at that level here in Philly. Why is this a cuisine that has gotten such short shrift here? Same thing for Greek food. There are a couple of places, but they're just mediocre or astronomically expensive. We're a major metropolitan area with a serious restaurant and food culture. What gives with some cuisines being ignored or mediocrity tolerated? That's a much better question, I think...

Made a really big batch of Beef and Tofu Bibim Bap tonight that ought to feed me for the better part of the week. Cost for the protein portion of the entire batch is just over $3.00. Add a fried egg to top each serving for about .14 if you'd like. Some of the rest was already in the crisper drawer and pantry. Everything else was purchased at the local Asian market. I took that slice of beef tenderloin and put it into the freezer for an hour so I could slice it really thinly. Cut the tofu into thirds and fried it up to put a piece in each serving. One medium onion 3 small zucchini, cut into matchsticks 1 package of mushrooms 1/4 pound bean sprouts 3 carrots, shredded 1/2 a Napa Cabbage, shredded 1 big block tofu (.40) about 10 oz. of beef (2.79) 2 cups brown rice, cooked This sort of veggie heavy and meat-is-secondary cooking really stretches the budget. And you can seriously get quite a few meals out of it if you don't tire easily of eating the same thing for a few days in a row.

I started mixing my mom a Seagrams 7 perfect Manhattan before dinner several times per week when I was about 7. And look where that's gotten me... I've only caught a tiny snippet of this show, but it's really fun. Looking forward to borrowing the DVD collection from a friend at some point. I agree that they are likely what we'd call "functional alcoholics". There are a lot of folks like them nowadays too, but in my experience they're mostly chefs and restaurant managers.

David: Taste is the most subjective of all the senses, I think, so if you think Plan Eat Thai is horrid, by all means don't order from there again. Clearly my mileage has varied from that assessment and I've been satisfied, if not floored by my experiences with their food. I will undoubtedly continue to order from there until such time I find something better that will deliver to me. I do agree that there are no 10's for Thai in Philly. I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas, but it's pretty high on my list of restaurants I wish to visit someday and will probably be the yardstick by which all other Thai will be measured afterward. Meanwhile, Princeton is too far to be functional for me. I'll continue to keep trying to find better Thai in Philly. I haven't been back to My Thai at 22nd & South in quite a while, but I do recall always enjoying the food there. Maybe it's time I make a revisit next time the urge for Thai food strikes me and see where it falls in the spectrum of mediocre to good that we have at our disposal.

What else did you order?? All the things I've tried were at least decent, if not stunningly delicious. Did you order delivery or eat at the restaurant?

That wasn't a plug or paean to RR in any way. I've been calling "stuff between bread" sammies for longer than she's been on the radar...