KatieLoeb

There's also House of Spices in the Springdale shopping center at Greentree and Springdale Roads in Cherry Hill, all of 15 minutes over the bridge. It's right next door to Rajbhog Indian restaurant and grocery and Rajbhog has a great selection of packaged frozen and refrigerated Indian foodstuffs as well. Great Indian ice creams and good samosas too. All of you that have been complaining there's nowhere to go for really good South Indian vegetarian (Mrbigjas - I'm looking at you!) haven't checked out Rajbhog. I occasionally stop in there for a bite to eat after visiting Dharma Karma salon for my threading appointment a few doors down.

You could try contacting Capogiro Gelato here in Philly. They make the best Honeysuckle gelato ever known to man. My annual wait for Honeysuckle Moscato floats is almost over. Yay!

I have no doubt Matt is waaaayyyy too busy to even be thinking about the website right now. No need to panic yet. I'm sure we'll get an update soon. Any of you over on the Jersey side of the river, let us know what you see when you drive by, eh?

V: I've got Thyme syrup as well as Orange Flower Water behind my bar right now. I'm totally intrigued by the Lemon Verbena. The thyme syrup is currently in the Parisian, a twist on a French Martini. I'm waiting for my liquor order to arrive 'cuz I'm out of the essentials for it - Hendricks gin and Lillet. I'm using the Orange Flower to make a fakeout Vesper. Pretty tasty, even without the Lillet. You know where to find me, and I suspect you know where the kitchen door is too. Stop by with your atomizer so we can play with the Lemon Verbena.

See. You all are getting my not-so-secrets down pat. edited to add: If the drink didn't need a sweet component that the simple syrup would provide, a thyme infusion directly into the spirit would work too...

There are better ways to do that. Perhaps had they hired me as their bar manager, this wouldn't have been an issue.

Were there ever Green Curry Mussels? Or I am merely confused? If I misstated it's my bad. The Grey Lodge mussels remain delicious regardless of my faulty memory.

A couple of weeks ago, on the first warm day of spring, I indulged myself by having my first glass of rose of the spring. Kind of a ritual for me, as my thoughts turn to pink wine as the blossoms come out and the weather warms up. I had a couple of glasses of the Les Sorts Rosat, from Celler el Masroig in Spain. A garnacha (grenache) based rose that's a deep salmon color, it's like a glass of Mediterranean sunshine to brighten my day. Very strawberry nose and a texture and mouthfeel closer to a very light red than a "pink" wine, if you see the distinction I'm trying to make. Another favorite of mine, the Domaine de la Courtade L'Alycastre Rose comes from the Île de Porquerolles off the coast of Nice. This is quite literally the sunniest place in France, and the wine is a reflection of that. It is absolutely delcious with the typical Provencal/Mediterranean fare of the region as it goes well with herbal and/or spicy foods. Quaffable stuff that's like a little vacation in a glass. Probably my fave rose of all.

Yeah - except this forum isn't just about those of us that know each other and hang out here at eGullet. It isn't just our personal billboard in cyberspace for our opinions on local restaurants. It's a respectable media outlet that shows up in Google searches and is referenced in the New York Times and other print media. We need to remember that out of towners or writers might be checking out a particular local restaurant or looking for dining or drinking trends in Philly and deserve to find better than the equivalent of graffiti on a junior high bathroom wall. Why do you think I care about having the thread titles be easily searchable or change them when they aren't? Just to keep your ever present wit in check? Not so much.

Jebus! I take one night off for Passover and this is what I find when I check back in. All of you back to your corners. This thread is for discussions of M alone. For any of the personal stuff you can avail yourselves of the PM system and wear it out. Stop bothering the rest of us with it. And for the record, since I know all of the players involved here, I'll simply state it's a case of strongly held beliefs and lots of (different) experiences butting heads. That's OK. We call that spirited discussion. But leave the personal attacks out or I'll be forced to put on my ugly moderator hat*, and y'all know how much I hate to do that. Consider yourselves warned. As for the outdoors, we'll be ready in two to three weeks when it's consistently warm enough out. And brunch awaits the kitchen expansion. It's sorely needed. *Ugly Moderator Hat. The hat itself is ugly, and I get ugly when I'm forced to wear it. Capiche?

You know, the mussels at Monk's are like the little girl with the little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When they're good, they're very very good, and when they're bad, they're horrid. I've had some awesome mussels at Monk's, and I've probably had an equivalent number of experiences with really sandy mussels at Monk's. Sandy mussels make me want to instantly hurl. It's no fault of theirs, but I just can't handle gritty sandy mussels. It's like waking up face down at the beach. Just nasty. Grey Lodge deserves a mention for their green curry mussels. Those are the bomb and there's a fantastic selection of beer to wash them down with. Must try Zot. I've heard good things. I have no excuse - it's like crawling distance from my house.

If you're going to bother at all, a minimum of four each, red and white is a good starting point for a small restaurant. After about 10 or so of each you'd better have a cruvinet or some sort of preservation system that is obvious to the guests and used faithfully or you'll just end up dumping a lot of wine down the sink and losing any money you might have made in volume sales. With proper preservation I don't think there's any such thing as too much, as long as storage and preservation has been well thought out. Also, a 200 seat restaurant has different options than a 28 seat restaurant. That should be taken into consideration when planning.

There are very few places I'll wait for. My neighborhood standby Dmitri's (the 3rd & Catharine locale) doesn't take reservations and never has. But they'll either give me glassware so I can enjoy the wine I've brought or I'll wait across the street at the New Wave Cafe and they'll come get me when my table is ready. More often than not I just go on nights it isn't as busy or I go later in the evening and end up being the last one out of there, as I was a few Sunday nights ago. I'll happily line up for pizza at DiFara's along with philadining or DeLorenzo's in Trenton. The wait isn't usually too long and well worth it.

Katie, before you ask me to put on my assless chaps for the spanking, hear me out.... Yes my statement does sound a bit harsh but I feel it is accurate. It is based on several meals over the last 2 years that I actually swore never to set foot in there again. Thus I shall qualify. They have 2 good dishes. The burger. The fries. Everything else I have had is just mediocre at best, it would be simply classified as OK but factoring in the egregious prices........it becomes mediocre. Dont get me wrong, my opinions are meaningless outside the context of those who go to restaurants primarily for the food and the expectation that it is presented as described and prepared properly without reliance on embellishment of prose. Here are a few snippets of my last few meals.... Oxtail ravioli with oxtail that tastes like it was braised in water. Pasta dough for said ravioli that is 4 times as thick as it should be which becomes further worse when you double up the edges for ravioli. Hardly any filling in the ravioli. The restaurant uses salt the most where it is needed the least and vice versa. Most of the food is consistently underseasoned. The butter they serve on the table is covered with a copious amount of what they call "Fleur de Sel" The "fleur de sel" is of a huge crstal size that it is impractical for butter, all you get is butter and salt bombs in your mouth. Furthemore the aforementioned "Fleur de sel" isnt actually Fleur de sel and is obviously "Sel Gris" which costs 10 times less and is noticed because it is a murky gray as opposed to the same crystalline WHITE of Maldon.......and it tastes different. The Salads are either overdressed like zsa zsa gabor or devoid of any distribution of dressing. The Mac and cheese with bacon is ABSURDLY rich to be inedible. The cheese plate has boring cheeses considering dibruno is around the corner. Mashed potatoes $7 1/4 lb of spinach $7 The apps range from $13 to $17 which is just hubris They dont take reservations but empty tables in the window are always reserved, in more than a few cases empty during the entirety of my meal, its just BS. The entrees hover around $26 to $36 The "prime" steak is not prime. The shrimp and lobster spring rolls have barely either seafood in them that they ought to be renamed cabbage, carrot and jicama spring rolls. On the face of it, these would seem "nasty" but after dropping serious coin on bad food, what can you say. The lady who manages it is very professional as is the bartender "tommy" but virtually everyone of the servers make it seem like they are doing you a favor by allowing you to eat there. ← No chaps for the spanking. They just get in the way. Listen, I'm fine with your reasons now that you've laid them out. I do, however, have a problem with you swooping in and offering to pay someone not to eat somewhere without benefit of the explanation. And I'm not just defending them as my former employers, I expect you all to be fair and state your case, not just say "That Place SUCKS!!!" and run away without any commentary that might edify the rest of us as to your logic. There will always be cases where our tastes are not the same. But I expect all of you to conduct yourselves with the same standards you'd expect if it were your businesses or personalities being reviewed and critiqued here. That's all. The Rittenhouse real estate is expensive. I'm not making excuses for it, I'm just saying I used to write those checks, so I get what the going rate per square foot is. And for most of the undiscriminating Rittenhouse wannabes, that's the price they're willing to pay. And the "reserved" tables are for the benefit of those who are so easily fooled into buying into the faux hipness. If there aren't available tables the place must be good, right? Meh. It is BS, but some of us recognize it when we smell/see it. Others don't and there are plenty of establishments in town, some at not such tony addresses or with uglier views that are happy to have a license to print their own cash and to make change for those who are buying it.

Yo V! Why are you harshin' on Rouge?? You are of course entitled to your opinion, but you need to explain yourself, not just come in with a surgical sniper attack and leave. Discussion encouraged. Ad hominem attacks on establishments, not so much without backup.

If the weather forecasters are to be believed, it will be 73 degrees and mostly sunny tomorrow. I can think of worse things than a Rouge burger and a few nice glasses of red wine sitting in the sunshine overlooking the Square. A walk to La Colombe for coffee and Capogiro for dessert and a rather well spent Philly afternoon is done.

John: Karo syrup?? Really?? What an interesting idea. Was this in place of using regular or dark simple syrup? I like the idea of using the Apple Pucker as a rinse. I can't really imagine what else to do with that stuff. Are the Underberg bitters something you made yourself, or does Underberg bottle bitters and I just didn't know that? My ex used to love Underberg. I used to make him brush his teeth - twice - before coming near bed after drinking it.

We're one of the completely closed on Mondays crowd. We'll be opening for Sunday brunch when it's warmer out, the garden is open and the kitchen renovations are done. I'll let you know when. Back to the subject at hand, I'll second Matyson for lunch, Monks if you're into having a few brews or Amada for some wine and tapas or the very reasonably priced lunch special. Rouge if you want to be a Rittenhouse hipster and sit outside. I think it's supposed to be nice tomorrow. It's a shame North 3rd isn't open for lunch during the week. That's one of my fave spots for a very diverse and affordable menu and good drinks available for a reasonable price.

Luigi: Do you mean the garage that you enter from Filbert Street between 12th & 13th? The one that has the discounted parking? Or do you mean the one that's next to the market on the east side that you enter from 11th Street? Anyone else encounter this problem? Isolated incident? Is it possible the garage was simply full? There have been several conventions and conferences in town this week. I wouldn't be surprised if perhaps the garage was simply filled up. It does happen from time to time. I was last at the market this past Monday. Hit up OK Lee produce for the $1 grab bags again, and a couple more items. For .99 each I got a bag of two big eggplants, a bunch of leeks, a bag of potatoes, a bag of zucchini, a bag of big mushrooms, a pint of strawberrries and a whole peeled cantaloupe, for $1.69 a bag of broccoli crowns, for $2.99 a big head of cauliflower. $11.61 for two full bags of veggies. I made a huge pot of Potato-Leek soup that night and have been eating the veggies and fruit the rest of the week. Tonight I'm making Eggplant Kuku from the eggplants while I'm roasting beets for Passover horseradish and slicing and dicing fruit and nuts for Sephardic Charoset. Happy Holidays everyone!!

It's OK. All lively discussion is encouraged. If it really gets too OT I can always split it off into its own topic if need be. I'm just happy I've got folks coming to visit me and play guinea pig for my drinks! Judith, you're next!

If a customer is forced to wait longer than whatever the restaurant's stated alloted time that a reservation will be held until the table is given away in case of lateness or no show, then the appropriate thing to do is for the restaurant to make the delay as tolerable as possible by providing a round of drinks or appetizers at the bar without charge. I've shaken many a free drink in my day and that's the cost to the restaurant for overbooking. However, if the restaurant does allot a reasonable amount of time for guests to eat without being rushed, gets the food out of the kitchen in a timely fashion, etc. they often end up having to buy the "campers" that are screwing everything up a round of after dinner drinks to get them to unass the chairs in the dining room. So the restaurant, even when they're doing everything right, ends up giving stuff away just to appease everyone. When's the last time your appointment at the doctor, dentist or hairdresser was actually on time? If it wasn't, did they provide refreshments or a discount??

Thanks Sadie! Glad you and your colleagues enjoyed yourselves. Your friend had a Flaming Orange Gully first. The Vanilla-Lavender sours have been quite popular this week. A girlie drink that even the boys like.

Interesting business model. Do you take reservations or just allow the place to fill up, first come first served? Does your clientele know what the appointed hour of the one seating is? Is it "boarding house style" where everyone sits down at the same time and gets fed the same thing? As Dr. Phil would say, how's that working out for you? Might you not be more profitable if you were to try and seat more customers on a given evening? I honestly don't mean to be snarky, I'm just curious how this works for you since (and I stand corrected here) virtually every restaurant that bothers with reservations at all, does so to be able to maximize their seating and profitability, by planning the flow of the diners, in ordering product, stocking the bar and wine cellar, in staffing, etc. Obviously not all, but most. I've never once suggested that yelling at a customer or being rude is an appropriate response to having a last minute cancellation. Realistically there's nothing to do but grumble about it and carry on. But my astonishment remains at how the general public doesn't even consider restaurants as being a functional business like any other, no less one that tends to operate on much tighter margins and has the highest rate of failure of almost any. There just seems to be less courtesy toward restaurants for whatever reason. As Ingrid pointed out, other industries perform poorly on a more regular basis, charge for no-shows and no one thinks a thing of it. Logically, you'd expect some level of customer appreciation and loyalty for restaurants that provide excellent customer service consistently, and you'd think folks would show the most minimal level of common courtesy and call and cancel, yet they don't, or do so when it's no longer of any use. WHY IS THIS???? No one has yet explained this to me to my satisfaction. The only upside to this is that those very expensive reservation systems that restaurants pay for, like Open Table and Guestbridge, are not just for accepting online reservations. They also allow the restaurant to keep track of customer preferences and history. Like if a certain guest has cancelled or didn't show up before. If a pattern is sensed, then the restaurant can suddenly become COMPLETELY BOOKED into the next century every time Mr. No-Show calls up. And that's exactly as it should be.

Topic title has been appropriately amended. Buy your margaritas by the glass. The pitchers are really weak.

I do. Bar reservations are done at Tinto. Got it from management at Amada.