KatieLoeb

Chris: Raspberry syrups are so easy to find commercially (and remain shelf stable that way) I find it hard to believe that making one's own would be a better alternative. I use Routin 1883 Raspberry syrup at my bar and it serves its purpose very well. If you really want to infuse some fresh fruit flavor into a drink I suggest muddling a few berries into it. But the commercial syrup is much more consistent and available in every season. I make my own syrups for stuff that doesn't exist. Stuff that does exist is generally better than I can do on my own. YMMV.

Actually, perhaps Todd will have a bit more time with his family, now that he'll be working for someone else, rather than himself. And that's a good thing. Sleepless nights with an infant are expected. Sleepless nights over one's business are just bad. Todd, here's to wishing you as much peaceful sleep as you can get with a baby (soon to be TWO) in the house.

So the chef character in Ratatouille was a veiled reference then?

Like Lisa, I'm sad that Mandoline is closing. We had a truly lovely meal there together a while back. But I'm still glad there's somewhere we'll be able to go and eat Chef Lean's food. I've always liked Deuce, but I bet his take on the menu will only make it better. Best of luck at Deuce, Todd. I'll be in to see you soon. Lisa - Dinner and a movie??

This place is just great. One of the best selections of spirits I've ever seen assembled in one bar, which is always a good start towards some fine proper cocktails. I had a Sazerac there too, and although it wasn't mixed with the same level of passion or flair I saw displayed at some of the places mentioned upthread, it was quite serviceable, as I recall. I suspect if there's a 'tender there that's passionate about mixology one could have a slew of fine libations presented to them over the bar at d.b.a.

Those are the very places/people from whom I had my best drinks in NOLA. You just saved me typing the exact same thing. I thought the Ramos Gin Fizz was pretty tasty at Absinthe House as well. The Carousel Bar in the Monteleone seemed to have a pretty good crew, although I think they were understaffed for the onslaught of cocktailians they were faced with during the Tales conference. One of those bartenders was so in the weeds one night I thought the poor man wouldn't ever see the light of day again. But that wasn't his fault. The Beverage Manager should've been shot for not staffing properly for a conference of notorius drinkers.

Anyone that voted for a cheesesteak or facsimile thereof rather than a Roast Pork Italiano from Philly is just wrong. Vesuvio's is right around the corner from where I live/work. I love those guys, I truly do. But cheesesteaks, contrary to popular belief, are NOT the best sandwich to be had in this town. They just aren't. Vesuvio's isn't known for their cheesesteaks. This is a fluke and I'm curious how it happened. Could the PR machines be at work? How a restaurant that isn't known for it's cheesesteaks (or it's sandwiches in general, at least as far as I've known) could end up on this short list in the company of Katz's pastrami or Central Grocery's Muffaletta and other Holy Grail sandwiches is a mystery to me.

Major kudos to anyone who comes up with a successful pairing for this course. ← I'm thinking Chenin Blanc. Maybe a sparkling Vouvray? Or to take a radical left turn - Gruner Veltliner....

Sebastian: I completely forgot about Restaurant Week! It's a special promotional week of $30/dinners all over the city. Good that they were able to find a slot for you earlier in the evening. Good to know I still have a little bit of mojo left. But I think Melissa probably has more dirt on me than vice versa. Have a great time and let us know how you enjoyed it.

Sebastian: There's is a "Chef's Tasting" option on the regular Amada menu that is a bargain at around $45-50/person. With a group your size I might try and call ahead and see if they might do something special and interesting for your guests with a bit of advanced notice. There's a private dining room in the back of Amada that might be perfect or might be too large depending on how busy they expect to be on whatever given night you choose to come in. Certainly a phone call and a chat with a manager should yield the best results for all concerned. Call and speak to Melissa. She's the GM and ought to be able to help you with planning a group event, even if it's a small one. Tell her I sent you. If there's an issue with "wanton navel baring" or over-conservative dining companions, I think that anything involving scantily dressed women and gyrating hips ought to be avoided.

Astor is currently out of stock on the R & W Violette and Apricot. I tried to snag a bottle of Violette today to bring back to Philly with me, but to no avail. <sigh>

Although the idea of having the Moroccan dinner sounds like fun, unfortunately neither Marrakesh nor Fez has particularly good food. Fez is far better in my experience, but it's just not that great. The belly dancers are interesting, but don't make up for the mediocre dining experience. The food strikes me as the Moroccan equivalent of Applebee's. They're clearly making boatloads of the same stuff ahead of time and serving the exact same menu to every table. Meh. Just not so interesting. The bastilla was infinitely better at Fez, as I recall, but still overly dusted with powdered sugar and the spices were dumbed down for the American palate. I'd suggest a chef's tasting and pitchers of sangria in the smaller private dining room at the back of Amada. Food is much better, and the Chocolate Five Ways dessert ought to really please your crowd.

Look for Zubrowka. It's readily available in most non-fascist states.

Sandy and I were obviously cross posting. Reading terminal Market was first on my list too. A roast pork Italiano at either Reading Terminal or John's Roast Pork or Tony Luke's. Gelato at either Capogiro stand. A great cup of coffee/espresso/capuccino to go at La Colombe. Enjoyed on one of the benches in Rittenhouse Square while watching the dogs and children playing. Great cheap Mexican food at either Taquitos de Puebla or Jose's on North 10th Street. Late night Chinatown excursion for whatever strikes your fancy. I'm partial to the Beef & Broccoli Chow Fun with Satay sauce and the dumplings at David's Mai Lai Wah at the corner of 10th & Race.

Mulderbosch from South Africa also makes a delicious cabernet rose that I've tried in the past. It was the first of it's sort I'd ever seen and I really loved it.

I snapped up two more big assed bottles at the 19th & Fairmount store today - one for the restaurant and yet another for myself. I'll be drinking very good bourbon for quite some time into the future, but that's OK with me. I'm happy to pay less than premium prices for more than premium bourbon anytime.

Tonight's variant. Perfecting the exact proportions for a drink to match the pork loin course for the Cocktail Dinner we're having at my place of employ on Sunday evening. Chef Jim and I collaborated on this four course/four cocktail pairing, and this was the only drink I had only a conception for, but no actual practice making. Apple Manhattan 2 oz. Eagle Rare 10 year old bourbon 1 oz. Berentzen's Apfelkorn Apple Schnapps .5 oz. Punt e Mes Dash of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters Shake and strain over fresh ice with a cherry. The amaro vermouth dials back the sweetness of the bourbon and apple schnapps while still adding the vermouth aromatics that are necessary to call this a proper Manhattan. Very good on the first try. I don't think I'll tweak this any further.

I'm with Andy on this one. The two step lever is the way to go. I haven't used a different wine key since I got my first one in that style. It's particularly helpful for those really long corks in German and Alsace wine bottles.

The Mama's at 6th & South is right around the corner from me at Chick's, and is quite often my late lunch/early dinner of choice before my shift starts. Bad, bad non-observant Jew that I am, I went over there this afternoon in the hopes of scoring a shwarma sandwich for lunch and was disappointed, but not surprised, to find them closed for Rosh Hashana. My bad. Happy Holiday to those of you that are celebrating. Mama's will be back after Yom Kippur. And I'll be there for sure...

An impulse (but wise and frugal purchase) of a 1.75L bottle of Eagle Rare 10 year old bourbon led to some play this evening. First tried some fresh ginger muddled in .5 oz. Velvet Falernum, dashes of both Peychaud and Fee Orange bitters and then topped with 1.5 oz. bourbon and .5 oz. Apry. Really spicy and bit too sweet so a big splash of Bitter Lemon took care of that. I like the apricot and bourbon together - seems a natural match with the spicy ginger. Need to work with this some more. My second pass was an attempt to play with my Kassatly Ajyal Jallab Syrup, that I'd bought several months ago and hadn't really gotten around to fooling with yet. It's a very thick and sweet date and rosewater flavored syrup. The drink I made with it was much too sweet since I'd underestimated how thick and flavorful the Jallab syrup was. Much smaller doses are in order for the next attempt. I'm thinking something along the lines of a Marrakesh/Maghrebi Manhattan, substituting all or part of the sweet vermouth with the Jallab syrup. I'll report back when I have better success and actual proportions figured out.

Wow. Hip-hop vodka in PA. Who'da thunk it. My latest bargain is the 1.75 liter MAGNUM of Eagle Rare 10 year old bourbon that's on closeout for the low low price of $35.99. Yes. That's right. The regular 750ml bottle @ $24.99 is still one of my faves, but when I saw this big-assed bottle at the 7th and South Street store I snapped it up. There's still a few more sprinkled about, so run and get yours before they're gone! This is great bourbon even at the regular price, but the humongous bottle makes quite a statement. Could be a fabulous gift for the bourbon lover in your life. Or yourself, if you think like I do.

It got really warm and humid here again the last couple of days so I went with a round of Watermelon-Basil mojitos for shift drinks for the staff tonight. I'd bought a container of watermelon to snack on and never got to it so it seemed as good a use for it as any. I'd forgotten how much I like those flavors together and how utterly refreshing it is on a hot muggy night.

Peet's was the first coffee I ever mail ordered, after having tasted some that a friend had brought back from San Francisco. It was a revelation to me that coffee could taste that good, and that special. And hell yes about the not tasting burnt part. It's delicious stuff and I sought it out when I visited Northern Cali for the first time a few years ago. Mr. Peet was a revolutionary. Those other guys got nothin' on him. A hard working immigrant that really knew the business from the ground up is what it took to teach those upstart Americans how to do it right. Amazing that he's finally getting credit where credit is due. I'm not surprised it took an obituary to shine the light where it always belonged. R.I.P. Mr. Peet. I presume you'll be manning the coffee bar in the great beyond...

A bit of refrigerator/pantry clean out this evening led to a big pan full of Southwestern Caponata. Cubed peeled eggplant sauteed with diced onion and minced garlic until softening. Add in one can Ro-tel tomatoes, one small can tomato sauce, cumin, ancho chile powder, oregano, Penzey's Salsa seasoning, salt and pepper, half a jar of drained and rinsed sliced salad olives, a couple of tablespoons of drained and rinsed capers, one large diced roasted red pepper, one third cup each sherry vinegar and sugar, and a handful of golden raisins. Cook down for about 10 to 15 minutes and allow to cool. This was very good on crackers and I suspect will be even better tomorrow when it's cold all the way through.

Those delicata squash I bought were unbelievably sweet. Served them with some Honey-Orange butter and a bit of salt and pepper. Tasted like sweet potatoes. Muy delicioso. I'm getting more of those and roasting them next time. I microwaved them this time and they were fabulous, but I think would be better less water logged. The nuker is quick, but doesn't really carmelize too well. Nonetheless, great squash. It's easy to eat my veggies when they're this good. Peaches are very sweet too. The whites are a bit less ripe and somewhat crisper than the yellow ones, but still some of the best of summer.