KatieLoeb

Once we've nailed down the dates I will look into speaking to the Convention and Visitors Bureau and/or some friends in the hotel biz about blocking some rooms. Is everyone cool with August 9-12?? Shall we proceed??

Unfortunately, most of your better French options aren't necessarily open for lunch, lest you consider Le Bec Fin or the hotel restaurants like the Fountain, 10 Arts or Lacroix. If you care to expand your horizons, either Amada, Garces Trading Company or JG Domestic would be good choices. If BYO isn't an issue for you, Matyson does a lovely and affordable lunch with an intriguing menu. Fork has an innovative menu and an excellent chef. No one place hits the bullseye for all of your criteria, but if you aren't stuck on having a French lunch, then you will do fine if you can be more flexible. Unfortunately the most intriguing option, the Farm and the Fisherman, is only open for dinner. Not French, but incredibly fresh farm-to-table cuisine in a lovely and quiet atmosphere. I'm certain your friend would be impressed with that.

Absolutely! I rarely shop in bulk, so if I'm at the grocery store I'm seeking immediate gratification anyway. It's likely cooked the same or next day latest...

Take out hot and sour soup, preferably Lee How Fook if I can drag myself out to fetch it, otherwise Szechuan Tasty House delivery. If I'm so bad off I can barely make it down to the kitchen then it's Progresso Chickarina all the way or Chicken-in-a-pot from the Famous 4th Street Deli around the corner...

August 9-12, 2012???

OK folks. Time to resurrect this thread. Had the pleasure of a "planning" lunch with Chris Hennes and his lovely Mrs. over the holidays and I've worked out a tentative plan for the four day weekend. Thursday evening - cocktails, craft beer and hors d'oeuvres welcome party at my home base, Tapestry. Everyone can settle in to their hotels, etc. Friday day - tour of the Italian Market. Lunch at Paesano's for the best sandwiches on earth in a town known for it's sandwiches. Friday evening - dinner at Zahav, modern Israeli cuisine prepared by one of Philadelphia's finest chefs. Saturday day - tour of Reading Terminal Market, prep for group pot luck dinner Saturday evening - Pot luck dinner, hopefully at Reading Terminal's new kitchen space with the best pantry anyone could ask for right outside the door. Sunday brunch - Szechuan dim sum brunch at Han Dyansty. Han happened into my bar last night and he said he would be delighted to prepare either a dim sum brunch or a tasting menu for our group, no matter how many we are. Awesome!!! There's plenty of time in between events for folks to go find a cheesesteak, an ice cream float, or have a snack at any of the other excellent dining establishments in our city, visit any of the historic sights, the Art Museum or whatever strikes their fancy. Don't want to overload with too many things to do, but I think this tentative schedule works pretty well. So what do you all think?? Shall I proceed with the plans? Who's up for letting me and my fellow PhilleGulleteers show off our fair City of Brotherly Eats?? What say ye? I'm game if you are!

Han stopped by my bar last night for a drink/bite with a few of his crew. Manayunk is going strong and he's spending a bit more time up there now. I'll have to go check it out next time I'm up that way visiting the corporate offices of my new employers. Everyone I know that lives up that way is beyond excited, though.

Thrift store finds: Tupperware Deviled Egg holder - $2 Temperature probe Meat fork, new in package - $3 Good scores.

The cocktail menu that's currently in place was crafted prior to my hiring. I like your idea, but since I didn't name it, I'm not comfortable RE-naming it. I didn't know about the French 77 though, so that was enlightening. New menu will soon feature more of the house made Katie-esque bar mixers, cordials, etc., so many of the classics will still be available, but simply be off-menu...

I gifted a friend with a programmable slow cooker and Healthy Slow Cooker cookbook. Does that count? I haven't gotten all my presents yet, so I might still have something to report back...

You can make your own superfine sugar by buzzing regular granulated through the food processor if you wish. Or make simple syrup. It will increase the liquid volume a bit, but the sweetening power at 1:1 is almost the same. And of course you're taste testing before serving this to guests, yes? So it will be fine regardless...

Nice menu!! I hope everyone is staying over and not driving anywhere after all that... Depending on the size of your champagne flutes there might be a problem fitting all that liquid into the glasses. Most flutes hold anywhere from 5-6 oz. so there might be a bit less bubbly than you've calculated in your Seelbach, for example. If that's the recipe proportions you've found, you might have to scale back proportionately if you test the glasses with water and I am correct. Of course if you have large flutes, my point is moot. Try and find some dry apricot or dry peach eau de vie for the Fish House Punch, lest it become too sweet....

Do you still call it a French 75 with the St. Germaine added to it? Yes, we do. It's really just a tiny splash, maybe a barspoon worth at most. St. Germaine is like MSG. It adds "deliciousness". In this case it adds just a hint of sweetness and floral in the background of all the other stronger flavors.

Ilana, thank you so much for taking the time to share your corner of the world with us. It was fascinating!! I love the diversity you have available to you. And I dare say this is the first time I've ever seen a pregnant camel, no less in a food blog! Of that I am certain! I feel like I know so much more about you and about your part of the world now. I hope I am fortunate enough to visit some day. There is so much I would like to see and explore. Thank you for opening our eyes to it. Best wishes to you and your family for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

Spice Terminal is leaving?? Boo indeed! That sucks. They've always had what I've needed there, and it made the shopping so much more convenient to have a vendor with herbs, spices, teas, etc. right on premise. I hope another vendor with similar products takes the space. That is definitely needed there...

I've been drinking hot chai tea as my night cap the last couple of nights. I discovered cartons of organic Chai concentrate at the Wegmans Market and have been enjoying it with cognac and rum. Tonight's iteration with Smith & Cross was delicious. The spices in the tea were perfect with the funky pot stilled rum. But now I need a new bottle of Smith & Cross...

A friend of mine that's a Nashville native raves about the Catbird Seat. I'd definitely suggest checking that out.

I make my French 75 at the restaurant with Bombay gin, fresh lemon juice and a splash of St. Germaine topped with sparkling wine. Lemon twist for garnish. It's easy and delicious. Plymouth mixes well in most any cocktail, but for this application I like a slightly more junipery option. It needs to stand up to the acidity in the bubbly and the lemon juice.

This month's meeting of the Philadelphia chapter of LUPEC this past Monday was a day of shooting clays and drinking scotch. I've never really warmed up to scotch whiskeys but I'm learning. After our afternoon with firearms and hot scotch spiked cider (afterward, for those of you concerned for our safety) we were treated to a tasting of Glenfiddich scotches hosted by Heather Greene, the Glenfiddich brand ambassador, and one of the few female whiskey experts in the world. Our hosts for the event were the Trestle Inn, a recently reopened whiskey and go-go bar here in Philly that boasts one of the finest selections of brown spirits in the city. Delicious Glenfiddich based cocktails and a tasting through the 12 year, 15 year and 18 year old single malts was very enlightening for me. I thought all single malts were really peaty and smoky, but now I know better. The flask with me during the day was filled with Balvenie Doublewood, which is another single malt I've grown quite fond of. Definitely a day filled with activities appropriate for proper Scottish ladies.

This isn't a dress rehearsal. Get the big bottles of the real thing. At the final reckoning it will all be a moot point...

I was lucky enough to help make this delicious turkey go away on Thanksgiving this year. I know it was smoked on the outdoor Weber. Other details will be confirmed and posted in the near future. He was quite tasty. Served with a slightly spicy jalapeno cranberry sauce.

I am fascinated by this idea. Full on photo documentation please of the pit roasted emu.

I've seen a kitten sized rat or two in the basement of a former place of employ that had an old sewage drain underground behind it that ran directly down to the river about 4 blocks away. The rats would literally chew their way in through the concrete walls. One jumped out of the bread bin one night and landed with a resounding THUD and waddled away because it was so fat. :shudder: I let out such a blood curdling scream the lone bartender upstairs thought I'd encountered an axe murderer downstairs. The mice were of normal size, but incredibly bold. They'd come out in the middle of lunch service and scamper through the dining room in broad daylight. I once had a customer tell the very flamboyant busboy about a little "friend" underneath a nearby table. He put his hands on his hips and said in his best outrageous tone, "Well you didn't FEED him, did you???" I was laughing so hard I couldn't fire him. It was just too funny. The look on those customers faces is one I shall never erase from my mind.

I haven't checked out the new incarnation of Minar Palace, but I loved it back when it still lived on Sansom Street. Can't imagine it being different. If you do check it out, report back as I'm always looking for good Indian too.

Ekta. Thank me later...the chef is a former Tiffin guy but the food seems less tamed by overproduction and dumbing down for the masses.