Andrew Fenton

dude, it's sarcone's! ain't no better hoagie rolle available than their own! actually, if you want to be finicky, you could point out that the bread (used for the medium or, I presume, large hoagies) is way way better than the rolls (used for the small). Which is why I always get the medium. It's totally not because I'm a pig.

Monovano, you might also seek out Chickie's Deli. They make a first-rate hoagie-- especially their veggie, tuna special and Chickie's special hoagies-- and also use Sarcone's bread.

Well, if it's as good as the fajitas at Chili's, it's gotta be worth a try! I'll check it out.

Yum. Is it mostly bi bim bap/ kal bi/ bulgogi sorts of dishes, or do they also have the full-on Korean dishes?

Not so great. I'm sure they could make the tofu without the pork, and it'd be almost as good. There are maybe a half-dozen strictly vegetarian options-- though they may be made with fish sauce, I don't know. There are plenty of options for piscitarians, though, especially if they are dried shrimpetarians...

Went back to Aqua last night, and had another nice meal. The place was packed-- granted, Friday night at 8 is prime time, but there was a line out the door. We were four people, and waited maybe ten or fifteen minutes; if you're going with a big group, it's probably worth it to call ahead. Roti canai and Aqua tofu were as good as before. Sambal squid was... shrimp paste-y. You want to make sure you like that flavor before ordering it. Mango chicken was fine (it's not a dish I like all that much, but my co-eaters did), but I enjoyed the pineapple beef. Oh, it's totally worth it to save room for dessert: there are a few dishes wrapped in roti: coconut paste, fresh banana or mango, etc. We had the peanut pancake with coconut ice cream, and it was pretty great.

... and I did, today! I thought that the organic beef dog was pretty good, and the chili nice and spicy. And I'm always psyched when I go to a place that serves fresh lemon- and limeade. Service was friendly, and more efficient than I was (I walked away from the counter without paying and had to be gently reminded that the food wasn't free...) The bill for two dogs, two lemonades, and fries was $15, which doesn't seem too unreasonable to me. Next time I'll try some of the more exotic sausages. I definitely haven't had enough baby animals in my diet lately.

Yum. What did you do for the flatbread, Percy? Seems like this would be an ideal use for leftover short ribs. Guess what I have in the freezer? Guess what I'm going to cook, real soon?

I went back to Aqua last night, and ordered the Aqua Tofu and the sambal squid "extra spicy". They were indeed very spicy (and tasty, especially the tofu). The owner explained that he could kick them up even a notch or two higher if we wanted.

Just ate what's probably one of the last peaches of the season. Boo hoo! But now I'm eating the first Asian pear of the season. Woo hoo!

I know, and I'm totally not trying to pick a fight with you (or anybody else). I'm just trying to get a sense of whether the wood oven is something that's based mainly in tradition, or whether there are specific effects that come from a wood oven-- and more importantly, why.

I'm not so sure about that. After all, there are industrial and scientific ovens that can get up to about a billion degrees. I don't know why you couldn't make an electric pizza oven that would get as hot as you would want it to.

Okay, maybe this should go into the "absurdly simple cooking questions", but what's the importance of a wood-fired oven? I mean, heat is heat, right?

It's a short article, and probably worth reading. According to it, the freeze is a reaction to alcohol-related murders: Others know the situation far better than I do, and the article may be misleading. But it suggests that if there's a critique to be made of the freeze, it's that it's a hysterical over-reaction to a real problem.

According to the article, neither.

Speaking of planning: Holly is too modest to toot his own horn. But for those areas of the country where he's traveled, you won't find a better guide than his website.

Not sure I understand your post. "Too bad there is no way to search based on route..." Yes there is. As you go on to point out. But it's not free, right?

googling spirits from the vasty deep: 6516 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, 19149 - (215) 533-0356

Better. Oh, another totally natural combination is goat cheese and truffles. Goat milk isn't exactly the same, of course. But I bet you could figure out a clever way to pair it up...

Sounds like you're maybe not so into desserty things. But if you change your mind, Philadelphia's Capogiro Gelato makes a rosemary goat milk gelato that is out of this world. You could give that a go.

Which in itself might point to a national characteristic (and by "characteristic", I mean "stereotype"); the American propensity for adopting, adapting and remaking other peoples' products. Oh, in other news: according to British scientists, mice don't actually like cheese.

Great summary, Judith. Reading the section on cheese reminded me: if you can get hold of some buffalo ricotta this month (or any month), do it. It's a blockbuster cheese: sweet, rich and light at the same time, with a little bit of fruitiness, like apples or pears. It's tough to get in the US compared to mozzarella, but is absolutely worth it.

Yeah, it was great, and thanks to Diann for putting it together. I will say that I'm relieved that the pig head conversation went the way it did, rather than veering off into Lord of the Flies territory. Too much food? Probably; the tapas were so good that by the time the pork came around I wasn't too interested, I'm afraid. I was too full-up on that terrific short rib flatbread, or flat-rib shortbread, or whatever it was. Yow. Still, my only real regret was that I didn't manage to snag that pig carcass, to lug it home and make some awesome roasted pork stock.

What a cool idea! Combines the homey satisfaction of eggy-inna-bready dishes with the joy of stuffed tomato. I'll have to give it a try.

First, let me be the first to admit: I am a lazy, wasteful barbarian. OK? we're agreed. Then I'll follow up to say that when corn is as cheap as it is in late summer- like 10 cents per ear- I don't bother checking it in any detail. I'll eyeball it, but it's not worth it to me to stand around feeling up a bunch of ears. Instead, I just buy extra (because there's always room for corn, right?) and if I get home and find that an ear or two isn't so good, I toss it. No big whoop.