Andrew Fenton

Here is a link to an opinion piece on this topic, from Monday's Inquirer.

I also go to Dairy Queen. I like Blizzards. A lot.

I agree on the quality of the article. It's easy to just shit all over OG (if this thread goes on for any length, we'll see plenty of that); harder, and more interesting, to take and evaluate them at face value. In particular, I'm oddly impressed by this final paragraph: How... deeply uncynical on Marcella's part. But it's a good question: how would OG do if it emphasized authentic Italian recipes?

So I went back to Sammy's last Thursday. Had a similar experience to last time: the ribs were okay to pretty good. The rest of the food was so-so; ditto the service (lots of staff standing around, and apparently only one hard-working guy actually waiting tables). Turns out the happy hour is only at the bar, but we really wanted to sit outside, so we bagged on the cheap drinks. That was okay; the view of the river is terrific. And on Thursday nights, the women's beach volleyball league has its games: also a great view. Then I read Craig LaBan's review, from Sunday: That seems like the sort of anecdote that can kill a restaurant...

Typo in that URL... try this oh, the humanity!

Word to that! I bought my KA grinder/stuffer about six months ago, and it's been seriously groovy. Definitely worth every penny. As to the pre-ground meat. I'd avoid it: grinding your own is really easy and fast, you have more control over the product, and it's cheaper. I've only bought ground hamburger once since I got the grinder, and have been very happy about that. So I'd say that a grinder/stuffer is exactly what you should be looking for. I've never seen soy casings, but would be interested in trying them. Usually I just use hog casings, but I have friends who don't dig on swine, and I'd like to be able to share chicken sausage with them...

Gaaah! You're right, of course; my aristocratic upbringing made me make that slip. I'm going to go hang my head in shame now.

The supermarket in the town where I went to college had a policy of "if it scans for more than the listed price, it's free". It was common knowledge among us college kids that almonds would scan for more, but for some reason, the supermarket folks never fixed the price. So every time I went shopping, I picked up a package of free almonds. I ate a lot of almonds for a couple of years there...

I ate at Lacroix back in May and thought it was wonderful. The food was as good as any I've had in Philadelphia, very creative and exciting. Decor is beautiful and I was impressed by the knowledgable, low-key service. My sense is that it's cheaper than the Bec (but on the other hand, I wasn't paying.) Since it sounds like y'all want to do it up in a big way, that's what I recommend. But I kind of like Rich's idea. Maybe you could reserve the deck at the back of the Moshulu for the two of you? That'd be pretty damn romantic, unless it rains...

Where's John's Hot Sausages? Delaware Ave, north of Spring Garden. Of course, the other thing to get there would have to be the surf n' turf special.

another article on Caseificio Claudio

But in the real world, people use "grok" to mean "understand" or "get".

There are tons and tons of places that are good, cheap, and filled with locals. What are you in the mood for? Philadelphia specialties? Sandwich-type places? More upscale dining? Ethnic?

ahh..carmina burana...i'd imagine the church in germany would have been a tad diff tho'... Just to bring this back to food, I'll mention that the restaurant outside the abbey at Benediktbeuern (aka the "Burana" of Carmina Burana ) serves awesome food even today. In particular, their dumplings (which in most South German restaurants are heavy and nasty) are delicate and tasty. Made with leftover pretzels, I think. I could be a monk there, no problem. Kloster Benediktbeuern

That is one hell of a story. (But then, if there's a bad beef sphincter story, I haven't heard it.) Fabulous.

I've also seen it made with walnuts, which I don't think you'll ever see in baba ganoush.

Lose? Never, for I am the invincible TITANIUM CHEF!

I think I'll only go if I can challenge the chef and win a free meal.

I know I always get mad when I hear people say "beef" or "pork" instead of "cow" or "pig". Damn you, William the Conqueror, and all your pretentious followers!

I really like pine nuts. Funny how you never see those in a snack-nut form; I'd love them. Don't like peanuts much, at least as a snack, though I do like them when they've been butterfied.

Yah, that "rule of thumb" etymology is pretty well confirmed as bogus. There's a similar bogus etymology for "picnic", which claims a nasty racist origin for the word.

In the past, this has been the basis for my go-to biscuit recipe; I tweak it by rolling and folding the dough a few times, which seems to make them flakier. Recently, though, I've been using the biscuit recipe in the current Cooks Illustrated (called "Mile-High Biscuits" or something like that). It's a completely different biscuit style (softer, taller and cakier), which is a nice change. I think it could be tweaked, using some of this thread's suggestions, especially using part cake flour. Will give that a try...

Veteran inveterate foodie Richard Pawlak Extroverted veteran inveterate foodie Richard Pawlak Extroverted veteran inveterate foodie Richard Pawlak (who likes his vittles) Massive congratulations, Rich! That's great news, and I'm very psyched for you.

hee hee hee

Don't you mean grammar? "Grammer" is obsolete, but a real variant, sorta like "clew" for "clue". Somebody's showing off...