Andrew Fenton

They're both wonderful, of course. Of the two, I prefer Capogiro for a number of reasons. Still, the real solution for carpetbagger is to go to both.

My advice? Skip the crepe, and take a short walk down to Capogiro for some gelato. Trust me on this one...

I happened to drop in last Thursday (the day they opened, as it turned out.) Looked like a nice selection of meats, including bison from Lancaster County (who knew?) Saw the wagyu, but didn't ask where it was from. The folks there were very friendly and helpful; I didn't buy anything as I wasn't going to be heading home soon. But I'll pick something up one of these days and report back...

I think I saw that scene in a Hieronymus Bosch painting once...

From a picture I found, it looks more like Spam, or maybe a pork roll. I couldn't find too much information about the McPink... what I could find was that: - it's also sold in Spain; - it appears to have been introduced in response to fears of mad cow disease; and - if so, that's a weird choice of name, given that it suggests undercooked pork...

"For the love of God" is exactly the reason, at least if you keep kosher...

Yesterday, at the Headhouse market, I heeded the advice of mattohara and tried, and then bought, some of Hedrick Farms' robotic, probiotic, yogurt. Whoa, that's good stuff: rich, tangy and pimped up with a little vanilla and cane sugar. I wish I'd gotten some back in the summer, as it really cries out to be served with berries or peaches. Rocks my little world, it does.

Yeah, Philadelphia is plagued by a lot of really awful pizza places. The only delivery pizza I've been happy with is Pizza Rustica on 2nd St. in Northern Liberties. Their pizza is good; and if you crisp up the crust on a pizza stone, it's very good. I'll typically get their Quattro Stagioni pie (with mushrooms, artichokes and prosciutto) or their Schiacciata (a white pizza with spinach and prosciutto). Their number is (215) 627-1393; I think they'll deliver to your neighborhood.

That Pimm's iced tea they do at snackbar would probably go pretty well with pot pie...

Well, some of those criteria (salt level, type of meat, variety of vegetables) are totally subjective. The only really objective criterion is in the pie crust. And I do make a good pie crust; the next time I do, you're welcome to come over...

I bought one of the pies on Sunday, and it is indeed a good pie. It's unquestionably the best frozen pot pie I've had. That said, it's not as good as a good homemade pot pie (mine, for example): too salty, has less white meat than I like, and has a crust that's very good but not exceptional. On the other hand, it has a wider variety of vegetables than I can usually swing for a chicken pie (because who wants to cook half a parsnip?) And most importantly of all, I didn't have to cook it...

Thomas Keller creating quality frozen products isn't much of a story. The guy deserves to make a living, and if he's giving his name to something that's good, then bully for him. Now, Thomas Keller using frozen food in his restaurants... that's a different story.

Indeed, the pairings sound terrific: both price and serving size sound ideal. This is going to be fun...

I'm all for foie; and I'm all for $5 dishes. But I don't totally understand how this is supposed to work. Are we meant to just pop in to Le Bec-Fin for a little spot of foie? If so, great, but it seems unlikely, y'know? And what about Studiokitchen? As much as I'd relish the chance to have Shola's foie gras custard again (it's one of the best things I've ever tasted), it's not like he has ever charged by the dish: so what does this mean? This strikes me as a weird fusion of political statement and restaurant-week promotion. And like a lot of fusion cuisine, I'm not sure it's all that well thought out, or that it works all that well.

Pagoda has them, but they're only okay, not great. They'll do if you have to have soup dumplings (I had them this weekend) but they're not highlights-worthy...

13th and Spruce, indeed. And yeah, water ice is the direct descendant of granita, which is no doubt why it's often called "Italian ice". (What Americans call "granita", on the other hand, is descended from the Slurpee.) I've had very good non-fruit granita: almond, in particular, is often very good, and the granita di caffe at Tazza d'Oro in Rome is one of my favorite snacks in the world. But that's not something that, in my experience, has translated to the American version. I'll maintain that non-fruit water ice isn't really worth getting. (Also agreed that it's axiomatic that the best granita comes from Sicily: the best I've had was the almond granita at Bar Santoro in Syracuse. Second best was lemon, from a truck at Agrigento, and the third was the peach, from a bar in Messina whose name escapes me. Though there's a Sicilian-style gelateria in Bologna that has pretty darn good granita...)

We had a DDC event at Michoacan maybe five years ago. I don't remember all that much about the dinner, other than I enjoyed it (and that there was a ridiculous amount of food). But if I were in Norristown, I'd definitely give it another go.

Philly Flavors now has a branch at 13th and Spruce. Having read about their strawberry ice in one of the weekly papers, I tried that. Folks, I'm here to tell you that that's a terrific water ice; real, fruity flavor, not too sweet. Good stuff. I tried the lemon, too, which was okay, but I'll go so far as to say that that strawberry is the best water ice I've had in Philly. Oh, and the price is right, too: the small is a big cup, and is only $1.80. Such a deal!

I did go today, and they did have them, hooray! I'll be sure to save the seeds to scatter, maybe in the howling wilderness of Ardmore...

Bad news from Sam on the pawpaw front. He told me today that they've been scarce this year: four hours of picking netted him ten pounds (a small bucket) of the fruit. And all those (which he brought with him to the South & Passyunk market) went to Southwark. So head to Southwark, I guess, to see what they cook with them! Sam did say that he hopes to have more pawpaws on Saturday at RTM. I haven't been up there this week, so I don't know about FFF. But I would like to get my fix...

The Laban case got some attention last week on the NPR program "On the Media". (link to a transcript and MP3 download) There's an interview with Larry Platt of Philadelphia Magazine. Probably not too much there that's new to anybody who's followed the case at all; what's most interesting is how both the host and Platt consider the case to be basically a joke... Which, I suppose, is what it is.

No, I think that the fries do, in fact, suck; at least they did the time I had them.

Mama's now has a branch on the 600 block of South Street (in the space formerly occupied by Tommy Gunn's BBQ.) I've never managed to make it to the Rittenhouse location, but I've been to the South Street store a couple of times, and it really is terrific. They've also brought in a shwarma machine, so I guess the vegetarian thing has gone out the window. I haven't tried that, but the falafel is definitely first-rate: fluffy, well-seasoned and with a great crunch.

This may be a stupid question, but have you tried calling them? (215) 627-2485.

Awesome, I could go for a good fish taco. What's the cross street?