Andrew Fenton

To think, I hadn't been back to Rangoon in almost a year! Too long. We went last night to discover that they've done some work on the decor (new paint, etc.) and spiffy new full-color menus. They've also raised the prices a little, especially on fish: appetizers are around $7, chicken and beef, $11 or $12, and seafood around $16. (It's still a heck of a deal. Dinner for two was $31: cheap!) Like Phil A., I tend to order the same things: 1K layer bread, crispy Burmese tofu, tofu salad as appetizers. Which is what I ordered this time, and they were as good as they always are. I actually tend to like the small plates at Rangoon more than the large ones: we also got the chili chicken, which was okay, but sort of salty and one-note flavor. I liked it well enough (polished off the whole plate), but it didn't rock my casbah in the way that the tofu salad did. I should have re-read this thread and ordered the festival rice... next time.

Rangoon is open for lunch, and is always good. Ditto Vietnam. I've never had the sandwiches at Capogiro, but reliable sources say they're pretty good. And it's one stop shopping when it comes to dessert. And there's also El Vez around the corner, if you're into that. (I think the food is pretty good, and it'd be less obnoxious at lunch.)

You can read her archived columns here. Since I don't usually read the South Philly Review, I hadn't read her work before. But you don't have to read many articles before you get the idea. It'd be easy to make fun of her cranky-grandma style-- but I'll hold off, because what's the point? She's writing for an audience that only marginally overlaps that of eGullet. That, and the economics of neighborhood newspapers, mean you're not going to get anything in the same solar system as cutting-edge food writing...

Yeah, I noticed that sort of service overkill as well. But (with the exception of dude touching me), I chalked it up to it being the early days of the restaurant. I got the sense that not everybody is totally sure of what they're supposed to be doing at any given moment. But I imagine they'll get it down soon enough: the place has only been open for a couple of weeks.

Anne, apology accepted. Steven, no surprise that I agree with what most of what you've written. But as to one point: That's what I thought; and it's mostly the case when it comes to fast-food chains like Burger King. It seems to be less the case when it comes to sit-down, casual dining chains. At least, of the first four chain websites I looked at when thinking about this topic-- Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, Applebee's and Red Lobster-- none has that information for their menus. Two of them-- Olive Garden and Red Lobster-- do have nutrition information, but only for their light menus. To me, that suggests that these four chains worry that publishing that information will hurt their business.

I'm not sure why you keep on dragging in all these assumptions about what I mean to say-- they're not based on anything I've actually said. So let's just dispense with all of that: I haven't made any claims about proper nutrition, or what people ought to eat. Honestly, I don't particularly care what anybody else eats. My point all along has been very simple. Give people information so that they can make their own decisions. I don't care how they get that information, and indeed, the best thing would be for restaurants to provide it on their own. That's what the internets, and little plaques and booklets, are for. At this point, your remaining substantive argument against providing this information seems to be that "the feds need it to the tenth decimal place." But this is clearly untrue: just look at all the nutrition-labeled food products in your refrigerator and cupboard. No decimal places there.

Anne, by focusing on fresh vegetables, you keep ignoring the main source of calories in a meal. I'll sayt it again: that tomato might vary in its nutritional details, but it only represents a tiny fraction of the caloric value of one of these dishes-- like 30 calories total, out of 1,500 or 2,000. The bulk of calories, as you concede, come from processed foods, or items like butter and cheese. Those are quite predictable, which is why the pound of butter and the Kraft cheese in my refrigerator have calorie counts printed on the package. I've never heard of CSPI or anybody else suing over this information: have you? But even if all that weren't true, there are a hundred things for which we accept good-faith estimates every day-- for example, vehicle MPGs, which can vary quite a bit from car to car. Somehow people manage to make decisions without being paralyzed by a lack of hyper-precise information. I'm no fan of CSPI, mind you-- I think they're often off-base, and a little silly. But that doesn't mean that the idea of providing people information (even if it isn't accurate to ten decimal places) is a bad one. I think you're greatly exaggerating the problems involved.

You speak the truth, on all points. STH has been our go-to delivery joint for a while now, and I've been completely satisfied with their delivery track record. (It probably doesn't hurt that I make a point of tipping very, very well.) But man, that food is greasy. The combination of oil and spice pretty much guarantees that I'll be up in the middle of the night... The twice-cooked pork is an obvious culprit, but the Szechuan braised beef and the ma po tofu are also pretty bad, that way. (Ironically enough, the deep-fried food is less oily than a lot of their dishes.) It's just a shame that their food is so, you know, tasty. Because it really just doesn't agree with me so much.

"Welcome to the jungle, Mr. Ventri [sic]. We got fun and games."

I was at RTM yesterday and gave Hershel's a try. I thought the pastrami was quite good: nice and fatty, with a great flavor. The meat was a little thickly sliced-- but it's also clear that the workers are still learning. In time, I'm sure they'll get it down. I agree, too, with Vadouvan: the cutting boards were pretty cluttered with meat scraps and ends. (Which actually looked pretty tasty in their own right; still, better to keep things neat.) I had a talk with one of the owners-- Andy, I guess, as he hadn't heard of eGullet. He said business was good; indeed, even at 3 PM or so, they were doing a pretty brisk(et) business. It definitely has a niche, and I'm sure I'll be back. When could I *not* do with a Reuben, after all?

See if you can get an entree-sized portion of the budino... Okay, maybe not, but be sure to get it for dessert. I suspect that any of the pizzas-- octopizza excepted-- would fit the bill just fine. The pizza alla boscaiola looked really good. And if you want to go a little nuts (because hey, go Katie! it's your birthday!) you could split the steak. The couple next to us were eating it, and it looked pretty freaking amazing.

As far as I know, with one big exception-- osso buco and risotto Milanese-- risotto traditionally isn't served with (in the sense of alongside) anything. It's usually a separate course. That's how I prefer it; it's such a wonderful dish that it deserves the individual attention. I make all kinds of risottos. It's a pretty adaptable dish, really, and I'll just toss in whatever good, fresh ingredient I have on hand. Interesting you mention salmon, though... the other night I had the bright idea of using leftover smoked salmon in a risotto. A little funky, and not one of my best efforts, I'm afraid...

Anne, while it's true that agricultural products can vary widely, it's also true that chain restaurants are extremely good at managing their supply chains and maintaining consistency. That's the whole point of a chain restaurant. Consistency is also a reason for using more highly-processed, non-seasonal ingredients. And more often than not, that's where the calories live-- not in fresh fruits and vegetables. Or to put it another way, it's a safe bet that the 2,000 calories in that chicken broccoli pasta aren't coming from the broccoli...

Points two and three are trivial. Chain restaurants have plenty of resources to estimate the nutritional content of their dishes; and those dishes don't vary much from restaurant to restaurant. (That's the whole point of a chain, after all.) Chains also don't offer many specials; but if they do, so what? Nobody's saying that there can't be some flexibility. Your first point is more interesting, though. I don't know how numbers can have a scolding, let alone a punitive tone: they're just numbers. If, as you've said, you already know what you're eating, why would it bother you to have those numbers easily available? Exactly; and publishing the nutritional information would make it easier for some to count calories; others could choose to ignore it. What's the matter with that? You're making two separate, and contradictory arguments. First, that everybody knows the nutritional content of what they are eating (and so making that information available is unnecessary). And second, that you'd rather be in the dark about the specifics of what you're eating (and so that information should be unavailable to all).

Sure, people know it's a lot of food. Do they know how much food it is? It has been shown repeatedly that people are lousy judges of portion size. Even something as simple as the size of the plate can throw perceptions off. So I'll ask again: what's the matter with giving people facts?

How is it nanny-ism to provide information? Seems to me that it allows people to make informed decisions for themselves: that is, exactly the opposite of a nanny.

As the kids say nowadays, "quoted for truth."

Unfortunately Jeff Chodorow thought so......... http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/4163...is_italian.html ← Okay, that's pretty funny! I suppose English is Italian in the same way that Cuba is in Asia...

I was at Osteria last night, too; soon after Dr. Shack, I think. Everything was good. A couple of dishes were very good. the TRIPE was great: mild, almost sweet flavor, tender (something that's very rare for tripe). This was one of my two favorite dishes of the night. The OCTOPUS was also quite good. Very tender (except at the tips of the tentacles, which is to be expected). the TORTELLINI IN BRODO was disappointing. The capon tortellini (as mentioned upthread, really more like won tons) were plump and juicy. But it's a dish that stands or falls on the strength of the broth, and this broth was only okay; it didn't have the meaty intensity that characterizes the best versions of the dish I've encountered. I was pretty happy with the PIZZA LOMBARDA, about which much has been written already. They know how to make a good pizza there, for sure. A little dish of CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA was outstanding. (It was also $10 for maybe two artichoke hearts. At that price, it had better be outstanding.) For dessert, we had TORRONE CANNOLI, with a sort of frozen torrone filling with candied fruit. It was okay, not outstanding. The POLENTA BUDINO, however, rocked my world. It had a rich, buttery, intense flavor; the dessert preparation is a great way to bring out the sweetness of the corn. This is a great dessert. A couple of minor service issues: the missus ordered coffee and received cappuccino; and one of the waiters kept touching me on the shoulder as he talked to us. I know that this is less formal than Vetri, but seriously: unless you're buying me dinner, don't touch me, OK? (Also, there was a porchetta tonnata special on the menu last night, which the waitress referred to as a Sicilian dish. It's not.) It's an interesting place. It's not especially "authentic" (whatever that means, I know); for one thing, it's pan-Italian and not regional, and for another, there are lots of concessions made to its American context. That's in no way meant as a criticism: there's nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, and it only makes sense to acknowledge that the restaurant is on Broad St. and not the Via Garibaldi. In either case, it's recognizably Italian, not Italian-American, which is a good thing. It's also the best Italian meal I've had in Philadelphia. It's maybe not quite as good as some of the hype would lead one to believe (this is in my opinion, of course), but it is very good. There was nothing I tried that blew me away or opened my eyes to a new experience (except maybe the pudding), but with the exception of the tortellini, everything was solid. As to the issue of price: yeah, it's expensive. $16 for an octopus isn't cheap, but it's also not highway robbery: it is really top quality octopus, prepared very well. I don't think there's any way to make that dish not expensive and keep the quality. That said, it's expensive enough that while I'm sure I'll go back, I don't think it will be any time soon. I can't get worked up about the name. English isn't Italian; and you'd never see an Italian restaurant simply called "Osteria"; this name just signals Italian-ness more than anything else. If it were called "Osteria Vetri", I'd be bothered, maybe.

A little bit of anchovy paste will also work well to pump up the umami in a stew; a tube lasts a very long time in the refrigerator.

Hey Evan and Jeff-- that's a nice looking oeuf there. What's it lying on: some sort of croûte?

True, true. Or even better, the 4th Circle: Now canst thou, Son, behold the transient farce Of goods that are committed unto Fortune, For which the human race each other buffet; For all the gold that is beneath the moon, Or ever has been, of these weary souls Could never make a single one repose. Wait, I thought that was Chef from South Park...

Some people chew their cuticles... ← Whose cuticles, though? Remember, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't... er, how does the rest of that go?

Well, the most banned-- and certainly transgressive-- food you could eat would be human flesh. Unfortunately, that's hard to get nowadays. (Even Hufu seems to have gone under.) Maybe you could come up with some sort of pork-based human substitute?

Sorry, I don't buy the idea that Bouchon has to use frozen fries for reasons of consistency. Heck, Five Guys makes fresh-cut fries, and they're very good and very consistent. I'm not a fan of McDonald's fries. Vadouvan, you're of course right that this isn't about the French Laundry. Still, Keller has gotten a whole lot of ecstatic press for the Bouchon frites over the years. He literally wrote the book on them-- or at least, has that recipe for fresh frites in the Bouchon cookbook. So using frozen frites in his restaurants is deceptive. I'd hope that a restaurateur could maintain integrity and quality across all levels of his restaurants, not just at the top. (As Marc Vetri seems to have done... just to put this back on topic.)