Andrew Fenton

Hey, I just found out that Maron Chocolates (formerly on 18th, now on Chestnut) is the oldest independent candy company in America. Since 1850, boyeeeee! I don't know if they're the best (I don't know if I've ever had their chocolates; not much of a candy guy), but that's pretty cool, you've gotta admit.

Welcome, Anne! Well, you could try going to Monks, with different friends... Nodding Head has mussels, also; while I haven't tried them, I believe they're owned by the same people. (There's a relationship of some kind between the two restaurants, anyway.) Eulogy on Chestnut St. also kicks it Belgian-style. I like them fine (but I may be a minority around these parts). Haven't tried the mussels, though. Seems to me I've heard the mussels at Marra's are pretty good. Not that they're Belgian, but you know: mussels.

And I, for one, thank Big Brother for increasing our chocolate ration from thirty to twenty grams! I'm sure that food cost is a much higher percentage of the total cost for food (even highly processed food) that is sold at market than for food sold at a restaurant. That's why fast food restaurants can offer such a "great deal" with super-sizing: a few extra ounces of fries or soda or whatever don't cost them any more labor or packaging.

Le Pichet does lentils better than just about anywhere I've been.

I have one word: plastic.

It's the same people. "Luke" is short for Lucidonio.

Is Flor de Mayo the Peruvian/Chinese ("together at last") place on Broadway near Columbia? If that's the one I'm thinking of, I had a grrrrreat roast chicken there. With fried rice.

Wow. #3 on their Worst. Chips. Ever. list. That's gotta be pretty bad.

Excellent. It warms my heart to hear about the universality of barbecue; thanks for passing along that information. As to the origins of the prohibition against pig meat among Jews and Muslims, I have the sense that there are a lot of different theories and not much consensus. Certainly as you say, it's a way to differentiate oneself from outsiders (I have a vague memory that kid in mother's milk was a favorite dish of one of Jews' rival tribes: the Amelekites or one of that bunch); so that would be an example of religion driving food culture. But there are other theories: for example, the anthropologist Marvin Harris published an essay in the 70's in which he argued that the prohibition on pork was based on the inefficiency of raising pigs in the Middle East. Sheep and cows were a better protein source, and this practical solution became codified through religion. If Harris is right (and I confess that I haven't read the essay since I was an undergrad ten years ago, and have no clue as to his scholarly reputation today) then in this case, then it's food culture that drove religion.

You know, the grilled pork loin was the one dish I had at Pumpkin that really disappointed me (though the lentils were awe!some): I thought it was kinda bland. But then, I tend to think that the loin and chop of the pig are the blandest parts, so maybe it was just me. But that disappointment aside, it's a neat little place. Gotta head back there soon. That gratin sounds cholesterolerrific, and I can't wait to try it...

True. And it should be pointed out that there are non-Muslim groups in Indonesia who eat pork (Chinese, of course, and I think Balinese). That's a good question, that I don't know if I can answer in the abstract. No question that substituting other fat sources for pork would lead to a difference in cooking methods, but I don't know if you could ascribe the difference in cooking methods to that substitution. My suspicion is that changing meats or fat sources would lead to variations on a theme rather than a wholesale revision. But you'd have to actually do some research to know for sure: either look at historical changes in cooking, or compare the food served by groups of Muslims and non-Muslims who are otherwise ethnically similar.

Isn't there an important distinction to be made between ingredients/dietary restrictions on the one hand, and cooking methods and styles on the other? When thinking about what defines a cuisine, I'd place more emphasis on the latter. Still, it would be interesting to know whether, for example, pigs were commonly raised in Indonesia before Islam arrived.

I think this is exactly right; the notion of "Islamic" food makes no more sense than that of "Christian food". Consider the two largest Muslim nations, Indonesia and Pakistan. To try to group the cuisines of these two countries together under a rubric of "Islamic food" would be pointless (and-- as Adam Balic so rightly points out-- there's tremendous variation even within what we'd call "Indonesian" or "Pakistani" food). In other words, I'd say that styles of food and cooking are culturally determined, not religously determined.

I haven't been to triple X for probably ten years, but it's the root beer that I really remember. It was good stuff then, and I'm glad to hear that it's stayed good.

Glad to have you here, Peter: welcome! I agree with you that the decor at TSJ is a little odd; it's as if they bought out a Hard Rock Cafe at auction... But I gotta say, I don't think you can even compare TSJ's ribs with the Rib Crib's. Don't get me wrong: I love the Crib, mostly because the people there are so wonderful. But the ribs are fast-cooked, so they're tough, and there's no smoke flavor. TSJ's are really barbecued, and you can tell. The only comparable product that I've had in the area is Sweet Lucy's, I think. Certainly there's nothing in Center City... though TSJ has prices to match.

I guess my point is that there are already a lot of restaurants that do the fresh and local thing. The White Dog has been doing it for ages, of course, and for a long time was pretty unique in this area, but there are lots of others now, including Django, Rx and so on. By now, nobody really blinks at the concept; it's almost expected and won't work as a gimmick. But I hasten to repeat that I don't see Farmicia's version as a gimmick.

Well, if I'm to be honest, I think the carpaccio was overshadowed in this version, too. I mean, it was good, and I liked it, but I was really blown away by that onion ring. And wondering what a Django version of a bacon cheeseburger would be.

So we had a late dinner at Django last night. It was fantastic, as always; but you knew that. What was really surprising was the venison carpaccio appetizer. It came with a "crisp onion and celeriac salad": a little bit of frisee and julienned celeriac, resting on an onion ring. That lone onion ring was one of the best onion rings I've had (and I consider myself something of a conoisseur). Nice and thick, crispy, with a slightly spicy coating. Which got me thinking that Aimee and Bryan ought to open a hamburger restaurant (call it "Stephane"). How kewl would that be?

Or cheat and use pomegranate molasses (so very much easier) or maybe that POM stuff.

Current series of ads for Holiday Inn Express: some expert on a recondite topic (nuclear physics, brain surgery, four-star cooking) appears in a relevant situation. After they show off their brilliance, it turns out that they're really your typical slack-jawed yokel, but (and this is the punchline to each ad) "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

Funny, because in my family we always called gravy "tomato sauce". Which made Thanksgiving dinner very confusing, at least when guests came over.

I think this is basically right: to be even more general, my understanding is that the two main types of ice cream-- at least, American ice cream-- are "French style" (cooked, eggy custard) and "Philadelphia style" (uncooked, no eggs). But there may be other terminologies as well.

Well, isn't the grease that you get with fatty foods alcohol absorbent? As I understood it, fatty foods eaten before drinking help raise a person alcohol tolerance. More experienced nutritiionists and drinkers than I will have to comment further. And I suspect less experienced ones, too. ← Clearly, extensive research is required. I'll report back when my findings are complete.

Bahn mi are one of those awesome foods that I just don't eat enough of. And while I have eaten lots of other Vietnamese foods in Philly, I only rarely go for a sandwich. Well, that ends today. Where's your favorite Vietnamese hoagie in Philadelphia?

To fatty food! The cause of, and solution to, all our problems.