rlibkind

If your co-worker had thought of inviting me, he wouldn't have had this problem!

Thanks for the info, Squashblossom. I agree about your recommendation for heirlooms. They are pricier but more flavorful. They haven't shown up yet at the Reading Terminal Market, but the farm stand vendors there will have them when they are available. The various purple, black and striped varieties are excellent.

I'll put in my two cents, even though it's worth less than that because, until early June, I had never tasted a single malt. The occasion was a trip to Scotland, and I delayed my tasting of the local whisky until our last night when, at Glasgow's The Ubiquitous Chip, under the guidance of the beverage waiter, I selected a Caol Ila, an Islay malt. It didn't take me long to develop a taste for it, though I preferred it with just the tiniest splash of spring water. Based on what I have read elsewhere, and the guidance of the beverage waiter, it is among the friendlier Islays but still transmits their characteristic peat and sea flavors.

The opening and closing food scenes in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, certianly deal with food and sex (and a few other things) but hardly playfully.

Very difficult or expensive. If you can rent a car, that's best. If you can't, here are the options: Trian. You can take Amtrak between Boston's North Station and Portland. It's a 2-3/4 hour trip. It runs four times a day in each direction; I believe weekends as well as weekdays, but check Amtrak's schedule. That's as far into Maine as a passenger train will get you. Air. Commuter planes connect Boston with both Portland and both Bar Harbor. The Bar Harbor airport (code: BHB) is about 10 miles from "downtown" Bar Harbor. but Mount Desert Island has an excellent subsidized bus system that will get you from the airport to the village green, and then to most other points on the island; the local bus system has a reasonable frequency (every half hour at the airport). There is also usually a taxi waiting for all arrivals at BHB, which is located in Trenton just off the island on the mainland. Once upon a time there were direct/nonstop flights between Portland and BHB. No longer. Todah, you cahnt get theah from heah: you have to fly back to Boston! And fares for Portland-Bar Harbor are up near and above $500, never a discount. As it is fares are pricey between Boston and either Maine city. The lowest between Boston and Portland is above $200, and to Bar Harbor above $300. Bus. There's one bus a day from Boston that goes to Portland, Bangor, Ellsworth and Bar Harbor. Round trip fare is $78. Go to greyhound.com to check schedule. As for gastronomic offerings in Bar Harbor and environs. you can read this message string, which includes a rather lengthy post by your truly.

Don't be such a poop until you try them, menton1! The Jersey tomatoes I've purchased at Iovine's have been far from tasteless. Are they as good as the Jerseys and other local tomatoes of mid and late August? Of course not. But they have been tasty with decent texture. These are not winter Mexican tomatoes by any stretch of the imagination. That's what surprised me and why I bothered to start this message string on June 27. That first batch I tasted what was Jimmy Iovine described as "Number One" which he priced at $2.49 a pound. For whatever reason (either they didn't sell at that price or the profit was insufficient) he discontinued that and instead offered "Number Twos". They are a little smaller and hence, have a higher proportion of scar, and he priced them at 99 cents a pound. I could detect no significant taste difference. At this point in summer, the tomatoes taste as they should: real. But they will develop better flavor as July turns to August.

The best crab is whatever crab has traveled the least distance in the shortest time from its home to my table. In Philadelphia, that means blue crab in its hard and soft shell states. In other part of the country, that would mean a different variety. When it comes to crab, freshness is everything, even with modern refrigerated transport. Same goes for lobsters. No matter how carefully they are transported, nothing beats eating one just pulled out of the pound or, better yet, the trap.

I'm curious. I realize some recipes call specifically for Rose's. But couldn't you just use fresh limes and add sugar or syrup? Especially since for the last month, limes have been riduculously cheap (10 for a $1 at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia; close to that at the Cherry Hill Shop Rite) and of excellent, heavy juice laden quality.

Thanks for the report, Varmint. Great update! The hot dog joint sounds new. From the photo and your description, sounds like they took over the old soft ice cream stand by the small trailer park just before you hit Seawall. Wonderful idea. And love the selection of franks! I concur with your lobster pound evaluation. I've yet to be disappointed by ANY lobster pound in Hancock County; the only issue is the view, and in this category, Thurston's wins in a head-to-head with Beal's. From all reports, it seems that XYZ in Manset has closed. (I'm told the owner sold out; whether she has opened another restaurant or not, I know not.) Too bad. Superlative margaritas and pretty good Mexican food, including lengua. Get any sandwiches or pizza at Little Notch in Southwest Harbor?

Finally got to Maoz today and I concur with the previous assessments: excellent falafel, nice salad fixings (I esp. liked the fried cauliflower), good value, and an unworkable layout. It very much reminded me of the falafel counters you see in Israel, the difference being that in Israel there will be an even wider selection of salads, at least twice as much as offered by Maoz. (At some Haifa falafel stands, there would be three or four times as many different salads). After reading a blurb from Craig Laban they had pasted on the window, this comes as no surprise. Although it's a Dutch franchise, the local franchise is held by an Israeli. PS: The freshly made pitas are outstanding.

Anyone at all interested in this topic needs to read Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky (author of Cod).

Today at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market I picked up local (Columbia County PA) apricots. They were sweet, with excellent texture and a nice spicy flavor. Great for out-of-hand eating, which is how I intend to devour this basket ($2 for about a baker's dozen). And they'd been good au gratin or in tarts. What other ways do you like to serve apricots?

I've always wanted to try a version of the Upstate NY pork-beef dog so, when I found myself in the vicinity of the Woodbridge NJ Wegman the other day I picked up a pack of Zweigle's natural casing Texas Hots. They were a faint red color, but cooked up on my Weber silver B to a flaming red. They were called "Pop-ups" on the label, and I could see why: the casing burst apart over medium heat. The hot dog also expanded in size, I assume because of the water content. As to taste, it was okay. Pretty much what I expect a pork-beef dog to to taste like. But nothing special. Whether because of the water and/or fat content, it was suitably juicy. The diameter of the cooked dog was a bit larger than I like. Are there better versions of the Upstate dog? Should I have tried a Hoffman white?

Try melting some guava paste with mustard (2:1) and use it as a sauce atop grilled, broiled or sauteed boneless, skinless chick breast. Perhaps squeezing a bit of mustard out of a squeeze bottle as a plate decoration. A small springkly of crisply fried onion rings (I'll settle for Durkee's or French's canned fried onions) make a nice garnish.

The first couple times I spied, bought and consume the Jersey tomatoes at Iovine's they were what Jimmy Iovine later described as "Number Ones." He priced them at $2.49 a pound. Apparently, he either had complaints about the price or couldn't make enough profit on it, because he now has what he says are "Number Twos" priced at $0.99. Not quite as tasty, but still decent. Perhaps, Holly, that's what you've experienced: not all Jerseys are created equal, as you so noted.

"Er, Mr. Quayle, I think there's supposed to be an 'e' in there somewhere." I sit kerwreckted.

Iovine's at the Reading Terminal Market has had Jersey tomatos for a week and a half, and they are the real thing. Mis-shapen, scarred, but plump, heavy, red, ripe and delicious. The true taste of summer. Not cheap at $2.49, but such a welcome treat. Is it my imagination or are some items earlier this year? Late last week I picked up sweet, tender silver corn at the Fair Food Farmstand (50 cents an ear, $2.50 a half dozen) from a local farmer (he brought them to the market himself Friday morning), and Benuel Kauffman had Lancaster County corn at the same price. It seems about two weeks too early for such excellent corn -- the corn wasn't immature, just young and sweet. PS: Benuel's "long" beets are exceptionally sweet. Wrap them individually in foil and roast them on the grill for 40-60 minutes.

The study looks intriguing. But it was a small study with a small population. And the Pakistani diet is different from the American diet. I'd like to see a study of a larger population eating a U.S. diet. That said, I've added cinnamon to my diet. Within 3-9 weeks it should kick in, if all goes according to the Pakistan study.

AQ Cafe. which is in Scandia House on Park Ave (about 38th, I think). It's a casual lunch-only establishment in the lobby of the building, not fancy. Think Swedish upscale cafeteria. Some of the favs from Aquavit, like the herring platter, as well as a couple of sandwiches and Swedish meatballs. If you're in the neighborhood, a nice lunch stop.

When it comes to fish, I find that the simpler the better, as I expand upon below. I haven't been to Philadelphia Fish & Co. in a very long time. Anyone been there lately? (Old City, not Broad._ Adriatica does a nice job with fish. (Old City, not Broad.) What about Chinatown? Crabs in black bean sauce? Yum! Or Italian: Ristorante La Buca. (Locust & 7th) Why not one of the Greek restaurants. Hard to beat a grilled porgy or snapper. Yes, uninspired, but to my mind, a good fresh fish properly cooked needs no further inspiration. Just a little bit of olive oil and lemon juice. I guess that's why I like SSOH and the better tavernas. And there's no way a perfectly handled and shucked bracing oyster can be improved upon. (If it's not so perfectly handled, deep fry it and serve it with chicken salad.) It may be unimaginatiuve, but there's nothing unsophisticated about snapper soup or a grilled soft shell crab. Too bad you didn't think of this three or four weeks ago, when the Copper River King season began. It is usually on the menu at Twenty21 (are they still in business?) and Devon Seafood. It's the tail end of the season, so it still might be obtainable. But again, this is rich fish that hardly needs to be gussied up to be palatable. In fact, fooling around too much ruins it. Despite my lamentations in another message string about chains, if it's fancier surroundings you want, without reaching the stratosphere in prices, there's McCormick & Schmick. And it certainly meets your criteria of "around Broad".

Even I've succumbed to the forces of evil, i.e., TGIF-like chains. But only when stuck in burgs where I've been unable to sniff out anything better and failed to find a place to make me a tuna sandwich to munch back in the hotel room. Such were the hazards of working for the railroad and frequently traveling in the midwest for 20 years; there are plenty of good places to eat in that region of the country, but try to find one without guidance in Anderson, Indiana, at 10 p.m. on a Monday night. Indeed, for dinner, it's difficult in some towns because the decent cafes are open only for breakfast and lunch, or only on Friday and Saturday nights. (Praise the Lord for putting a Kewpee in Lima, Ohio, and Racine, Wisconsin. You gotta try 'em, Holly. They would be a worthy addition to your compendium. "Hamburg with the pickle on top/Makes your heart go flippity flop". I'll exempt tiny chains from my jeremiad.) For all my ranting about the forces encouraging chains to grow in downtowns like Philadelphia's, their dominance has had its most ominous impact on the mom and pop restaurants of small town America.

No argument from me on any of the points you make, Holly. They wouldn't be around if they weren't patronized, and they wouldn't be around unless they do what they do well. What I omitted from my missive (and it buttresses your point) is that the growing permanent residential population of Center City also provides a "base load" for the chains. I do find them lamentable, however, because of their economic impact. You rightly point out that the popularity of chains But if there are too many empty seats, those good restaurants may close for lack of business. Their customer base has been drained away by the chains. I've yet to make it to either The Palm or McCormick & Schmick, so perhaps they do serve snapper soup or fried oysters with chicken salad. But the invasion of the chains is unlikely to work toward the preservation of these regional foods.

Rick Nichols column today (Philadelphia Inquirer, June 17, 2004) brought a welcome focus on the chain restaurant invasion of Center City. The invaders hardly limit themselves to the vicinity of 15th and Walnut described by Nichols: Brinker International has staked out the territory between the Convention Center and the Marriott, plunking its Maggiano's, The Corner Bakery, and Chili's brands on the ground floor of the new Parkway Corporation garage. Can Brinker's other stores - On The Border, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Big Bowl Asian Kitchen, and Rockfish - be far behind? The Avenue of the Arts outposts of The Palm, McCormick & Schmick's and the Capital Grill may be classier than Brinker's brands, but they remain interlopers draining dollars that might otherwise go to more authentic local eateries. The Center City conglomeration of conglomerate restaurants is neither fluke nor conspiracy. No matter how much we may lament it, the burgeoning presence of chain eateries downtown is the rational result of local development policies aimed at fostering a tourist economy and Wall Street’s earnings growth pressure on the restaurant industry. Walk Center City and the success of Philadelphia’s tourism campaign becomes obvious. Street corners find small groups of families clutching maps deciphering the city’s grid. When the sun is shining double-decker tour buses roll by with seats filled. The Ducks became a downright nuisance when introduced to Society Hill last year. Hotel occupancy may not be as high as the city’s hospitality industry would like, but so far this year occupancy, room rates and revenue per available room have shown significant increases. That brings smiles to the faces of managers of Marriott’s three Convention Center hotels, which offer nearly 2,200 rooms, and to the operators of Center City’s 8,500 other hotel rooms. To them, the public’s massive investment to create the Pennsylvania Convention Center (bolstered by government and trade association promotional spending) has been rewarding. Whether or not the general public has earned an adquate return on its investment is arguable, but the success of the tourism development campaign created a critical mass of potential diners for the chain restaurant operators. Although Center City may lack the parking ease of strip malls astride the Interstate, the presence of thousands of hungry tourists and conventioneers proved irresistible to the group owners. Part of the allure of the chains to tourists is their familiarity. Those in a strange city welcome their sameness and reliability. To a visitor from the suburbs of Indianapolis or a Southern California gated community who rarely wanders into downtown precincts, the chains offer respite from a vibrant city center’s assault on the senses. A conventioneer could cocoon himself at the Marriott and stay under a roof 24 hours a day, except perhaps for a brief foray across Filbert Street to Chili’s. Fortunately, our pedestrian-friendly streets tend to counteract this tendency. Many find the nearby presence of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the new Constitution Center and all the other attractions of the historic district too hard to resist. Along the way, they discover Stephen Starr’s myriad outposts, the lively bar and restaurant scene of Old City, and the Reading Terminal Market. The more adventurous tourists find their way to South Street and South Philly. Word of the mouth and the city’s growing reputation as a foodie mecca no doubt help lure many tourists from the chains. More than once I have bellied up to the bar at the Sansom Street Oyster House and shared a beer and some crustaceans with a shellfish-centric conventioneer. But the chain invasion only will increase as the operators respond to financial imperatives driving them to big cities. Companies with publicly traded stock control most of the restaurants, and they face the Wall Street exceed growth expectations or be punished by investors. With the over-chaining of the suburbs and the Interstates, their largest remaining growth area is downtown America. This represents a challenge to the managers because real estate and development costs in city centers far outstrip suburban strips. When cities underwrite the tourist economy with tax incentives these costs can be partially offset. The cheap, large unskilled labor pools found in urban areas also helps overcome pricey real estate. Tourism development policies and Wall Street expectations paved the way for the chain invasion we see today. The results are lamentable and inevitable.

Marcus Samuelsson does one at Aquavit: cucumber sorbet, which makes a great intermezzo. Let's see if he puts in on the menu at Washington Square. (Doubtful.)

I do think that DiNic's precedes Tony Luke's by more than a few years, first at 10th & Oregon, and before that, tiny Nicolosi's off 7th St below Moore. When I said "Tony Luke's (the original)" I meant on Oregon Ave., vs. Junior's on 18th. I had no idea which was the oldest, so thanks for the info (though I do seem to recall that DiNic's is a long-time family business).