rlibkind

What's next for the premium space Ochs vacated Monday? RTM general manager Paul Steinke has yet to make a decision, but says he has plenty of businesses that want to locate in the market, which is currently 100 percent leased other than the Ochs stall. (More will become available when the market's renovation is completed late this year.) One possibility I broached with Steinke would be for an existing lunch vendor to take over the space, which fronts on center court, and put a new purveyor of food to cook at home in that business's spot. Steine said that might be particularly attractive in light of the renovation of the market now underway and which will become more visible to shoppers this summer. What you can be sure of is that no chain businesses will be allowed, nor will the market's ratio of purveyors (butchers, fish mongers, greengrocers, etc.) to other businesses be reduced.

You're a mensch, Holly.

Since both Holly and I received the same email yesterday from Paul Steinke, RTM general manager, about the Ochs situation, there's no reason not to make it more widely known, since Paul's reason in sending it to both of us was to get the info out into the public domain. Here are the salient points Steinke made: There's no reason a butcher can't thrive in the market, as Charles Giunta has shown with his relatively new shop. Where Giunta's is strictly a butcher (having given up on his rotisserie chicken experiment), Ochs had tried to move into deli and prepared food -- at least half of the case were filled with either items for reheating at home or Boar's Head cold cuts -- with little success. Nick did less and less of cutting meats to order in the last few years. I continued to shop there for chuck ground to my order for burgers, even as little as a pound which Nick and his staff happily provided. I would also occasionally buy a chicken breast or piece of lamb there, but Giunta (and to a lesser extent his brother Martin) had won over a good hunk of my meat-buying loyalty. In addition, those who have more knowledge about the subject than I say that Nick's butchering skills, while good, just weren't up to the level of his father and late brother, Harry Jr. That move to prepared and deli items was undoubtedly an attempt to keep the business viable, since few people were prepared to pay the prices Ochs had to charge for his excellent prime, dry aged beef. And those who were willing to consider meat as an investment vehicle spent most of their dollars at Whole Foods -- my market sources tell me Ochs took a big hit in revenue when Whole Foods opened at Callowhill and 20th Street and never recovered. (Even I, maybe three or four times a year, buy from the butcher case there.) There are neither heroes nor villains in this story. Just changing times that exempt no individual or institution from its demands.

Go back to the numbers, Holly. Nick's real troubles aren't because of market management, nor does the market have an obligation, legal or spiritual, to bail out that business. I don't think the other butchers would be pleased to pay higher rent to pay off Nick's $221,000 in loan and rent arrears debt.

Losing the Ochs name at the market is regrettable, just as it was when Noelle Margerum pulled up stakes. Tradition is to be valued. But who among us can afford to value tradition at $21,000? That said, clearly it wasn't the $21,000 in back rent that was causing Nick's biggest problems. Based on Michael Klein's report today, Nick was facing more than $200,000 in judgments on loans issued by two banks. To suggest that an evil RTM management bears responsibility for putting Nick out of business replaces fact with fantasy. Bad luck and/or bad management, or some combination thereof, is the culprit.

Other than the salmonids, because fresh water fresh are relatively mild in flavor I favor the simpler preparations. The flavor is there, it's just delicate. Simple roasting with simple enhancements would be one option (though I agree that deep frying is a tasty and traditional method). Then again, as Hungry C suggests, the idea of fish balls (or quenelles, gefilte fish, etc.) makes a whole lot of sense. Especially when you use those heads to create a sauce, broth or aspic. You didn't mention smelts. One of the finest fresh water species around. Can you get those? Broiled, pan fried or deep fried, absolute deliciousness.

The Reading Terminal opens at 8 a.m., but you won't have much luck at most of the lunch sandwich vendors. By 9 a.m. you might be able to get a sandwich at Dinic', but not for certain. You should be able to score at 8 a.m. at Herschel's, though. The hoagie places at the RTM probably won't be set up then, other than breakfast sandwiches at Spataro's. I can't think of any decent sandwich place in center city and environs where you could grab something for a 5 a.m. train.

Eric Rygg of Kelchner's Horseradish Products, based in the Philly suburb of Dublin, is mustard royalty. That honor was certified Friday night by none other than the Clown Prince of Mustard-dom, Barry Levenson, founder and Grand Poobah of the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, just outside Madison. The event celebrated the winners of the 2011 World Wide Mustard Competition and also featured the First Annual Iron Mustard Chefs Challenge. And no, I'm not kidding, though Levenson frequently does. At the event Rygg accepted medals for three mustards produced by his family-owned business, which includes Kelchner's and Silver Spring Farms of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Within the Horseradish/Wasabi Mustard competition Kelchener's Hot Mustard with Horseradish took the bronze medal, while gold went to Silver Spring's Beer 'n Brat Horseradish Mustard. (Brats, keep in mind, are almost as identified with Wisconsin as cheese curds and the Green Bay Packers.) Silver Spring's Organic Deli Mustard took the silver medal in the Organic Mustards category. Rygg is president of Kelchner's, a firm which has another Philadelphia area connection since it markets condiments under the Bookbinder's brand, which it acquired a few years back. Kelchner's also has a substantial distribution business of products from other manufacturers, so they handle the oyster crackers you find filling the bowls at the Oyster House on Sansom Street, as well as providing the horseradish. (Rygg is trying to convince Sam Mink, owner of the Oyster House, to ice the tableside horseradish because the product rapidly loses pungency once opened and allowed to reach room temperature.) It's horseradish, rather than mustard, however, that flows through Rygg's veins. In 1929 his great grand-father Ellis Huntsinger started Huntsinger Farms in Eau Claire. Today Huntsinger is the world's largest grower and processor of horseradish, so it was no accident that when Kelchner's was put up for sale a year or so ago the Wisconsin family firm acquired it. You can read more about the event, including the Iron Mustard Chefs Challenge and details about the National Museum, in my blog post.

The Hilton Garden Inn, btw, is at 11th & Arch: you don't even have to cross a street to get to the Reading Terminal! It's literally next door. Another option: Chinatown, which is where you're hotel is located. Just walk down Arch to 10th Street and you're there. Lots of possibilities there, including dim sum if you take yourself away from sandwiches. Hershel's cures its own pastrami and corned beef in the basement of the RTM. Philadining was spot on about Carmens and Salumeri. I prefer the latter, usually ordering the proscuitto hoagie with house dressing (a vinaigrette variation) and paying a little extra for the marinated artichoke garnish. No one has mentioned hamburgers! I'll leave most specific recommendations to others, though for an "almost" fast food experience I adore 500° on the 1500 block of Sansom Street, about a seven or eight block walk from your hotel. Good french fries, too. It's just a couple doors away from the Oyster House: try the snapper soup, a lightened version of a Philadephia classic. And say hello to eGulleter Katie Loeb at the bar if she's on duty.

Lots of seating areas within the market, including the central court, so that's not a problem. Altho market closes at 6 p.m. (and many merchants, despite constant nagging to stay open later by management, tend to shut down between 4 and 5), the Down Home Diner remains open late, 'til 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 p.m. Sundays. It has its own entrance when rest of market is closed along Filbert Street. The Down Home Diner is my breakfast recommendation, but lots of folks like the Dutch Eating Place, and you can also get a breakfast sandwich at Smucker's and eat in center court. Hershel's East Side Deli can make you up a lox or whitefish platter or bagel sandwich; they also make killer potato pancakes for breakfast or lunch. At the Down Home Diner I usually go for the biscuits and rich man's gravy, but the pancakes are always good, and you can get a side of scrapple. Old Dutch Eating Place has eggs, as does the Diner, pancakes, scrapple, etc. Sometimes at the Old Dutch I'll go for chipped beef over home fries.

Thanks, Ronnie, for reminding me about North Shore's product, which I'm certainly going to try. What I'm after, primarily, are imported aquavits. Linie and Aalborg are generally available at local liquor stores here (or at least across the Delaware River in NJ, away from the grubby paws of the PaLCB stores. I figured that in an area with a relatively large Scandinavian heritage population, the regional distributors might be importing a broader selection. I'd love to get my hands, for example, on another bottle of Gilde or Simmers Taffle (from the Norway's sole commercial distiller, Arcus) or some of the better products from Sweden or Denmark.

I'll be in Madison, Milwaukee and Racine for a week starting this Wednesday. Since the region has a big Scandinavian heritage I thought I'd have better luck finding a selection of Aquavit in Wisconsin than back home in Philly. Any suggestions on what liquor stores have any?

Copes Dried Corn, which is a Pennsylvania Dutch product, is incredibly shelf-stable. And it's exactly what it sounds like. You can get packets of it at the RTM's Pennsylvania General Store and Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce. Use it to make deeply corny creamed corn, corn souffle and lots of other stuff. It's not an instant food; most recipes require soaking followed by cooking -- figure a couple of hours start to finish, largely unattended. You may well find other non-perishables at the Pennsylvania General Store you might want to bring home, since they only sell food products (and a few crafts) made in the Keystone State. For example, before there were Hershey's Kisses, there will Wilbur's Buds. Hershey ripped of Wilbur's idea. Sweetzel's Spiced Wafers are usually available only from late summer through winter, but I believe the Pennsylvania General Store stocks it year round. It's much like a ginger snap (which Sweetzel's also makes), but this features a variety of spices. Make sure you have plenty of milk on hand when you decide to open a box! The store also sells a variety of jams and preserves, but as noted by noinacs, Kauffman's has a very nice selection of them, as well as jarred pickles and condiments, like chow chow. Sweet As Fudge Candy Shoppe has a great collection of candies, especially the penny variety which no longer cost a penny. But last year they started stocking the re-introduced Bonamo's Turkish Taffy, a delight from my North Jersey childhood. Hard to find elsewhere. If good spices are hard to find in your neighborhood, you might want to try the Spice Terminal stall in center court. An incredible variety of loose teas can be obtained at the Tea Leaf. If you can't find decent coffee beans in your neck of the woods (highly unlikely these days), then you'd want to stop by Old City Coffee. Salumeria isn't DiBruno's (the classic Italian grocery in South Philadelphia, with a Zabar's like branch in center city), but they do offer a good if limited selection of imported Italian foods which are non-perishable. Salumeria and Down Town Cheese have great cheese selections, but few of these could be considered non-perishable. Although it is best refrigerated, there is some good beef jerky to be had at Smuckers Quality Meats. Keep in mind that the Pennsylvania Dutch merchants are only open Wednesday-Saturday (though a few have added Tuesday hours recently). You might also want to check out the Fair Food Farmstand. Although it's primarily devoted to fresh produce, meats and dairy, they do have some interesting dry, canned and jarred goods. Should you be in town on a Saturday or Sunday, I highly recommend visiting one of the farmers' markets in or near center city. Rittenhouse Square on Saturdays, Headhouse Square on Sundays. There are also farmers markets in nearby neighborhoods during the week, but they tend to have no more than half a dozen vendors apiece. Although they are mostly devoted to fresh produce, there are some non-perishable products available. Although I know you've already had plenty of lunch advise, I've got a page on my blog devoted to this subject: Munching at the RTM.

Two vendors at the Reading Terminal Market offered locally-grown asparagus last weekend. Ben Kauffman of Lancaster County Produce was selling his for $3.99 pound, but he only brought about two pounds to market and was sold out before 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. He had a more plentiful supply today, as shown in the photo. Steve Bowes, the farmer who sets up his stall Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the piano court, offered his priced by the bunch, the price worked out to nearly double Kauffman's. Expect to see more asparagus this weekend at the same stalls, as well as at the Rittenhouse Square and Clark Park farmers markets on Saturday. Fair Food will have some at the RTM as well. And, of course, Headhouse Square when that farmer market begins the 2011 season on Sunday, May 1.

A purported computer glitch at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is holding up two transactions related to Philadelphia markets. The LCB has temporarily "lost" applications of Blue Mountain Vineyards and Molloy Molloy's. The former is seeking to sell its wine at the Rittenhouse Square farmers' market. The latter, as previously reported here, is a venture of the Iovine brothers to take over the Beer Garden at the Reading Terminal Market and recast it as a gastro pub. The computer glitch is expected to delay each of the endeavors by a couple of weeks.

Ramps and morels are sure signs that spring is here -- even if they have to be "imported" from other states. Iovine Brother's Produce has had them for the last few weeks. Initially, as as you can see from this photo, the ramps were thin on the leaves, but the bulbs were nice. Since then the leaves have been broader and more useful. Great to add to home fries made in bacon fat. I used the morels (along with hedgehogs and chanterelles) to surround a de-ramekened portion of crustless quiche; I topped the fungi with a shallot-inflected beurre blanc. That and a good baguette welcomed spring to my kitchen. The ramps were priced at $1.99 for a small bunch, which, IIRC, is a better deal than last season. The morels have been superb (as they should be at $69.95/pound): bit, not dried out, relatively clean. The Chilean grapes have yet to reach bargain levels so far this winter, but with the season peaking south of the Equator, maybe they will soon. The best price I've seen for seedless whites has been $1.49, but they're usually $1.99; reds and blacks are $2.49 and up. I actually found a better deal for bigger seedless whites at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago: that's a rare occurence given than Iovines usually beats WF on both quality and price for just about everything.

Beyond Aalborg and Linie its difficult to find the many of the fine Scandinavian aquavits. I'm craving Simmers Taffel and Gilde from Norway. During my month in Norway last summer I had a different one every night.

It's a standard part of our eating, and it's called London Broil by the purveyors at the Reading Terminal Market. I Particularly like to grill it with a dry rub of coriander and cumin. But it's amenable to a wide range of flavors, just like chicken cutlets.

Making Avenue D as lively and inviting as the other aisles in the Reading Terminal Market is the aim of a $2.7 million design unveiled Thursday. The detailed plans for the aisle which zigs and zags around the back wall and rest rooms in the rear of the market were shown at meetings with market merchants by Paul Steinke, the RTM general manger, and representatives of the designers, Friday Architects/Planners. The construction could be completed as early as October. Among the key components: Expansion of Center Court through relocation of Flying Monkey Patisserie; Addition of a multi-purpose area to be used for general public seating and for private meetings, in space currently housing Miscellanea Libri and merchant storage; Relocation of the demonstration kitchen so as to visually become part of center court and serve as an extension of the multi-purpose room; More than doubling the number of stalls in the women's rest room; and Addition of about 1,300 square feet of leaseable space. I've posted a full report on my blog here.

I'd eat it.

It ain't PR when you follow your talk with action (Fair Food). Yes, the RTM is not a mall. But it is a conglomeration of retail businesses in the same way. Some management tools and approaches that a mall uses are not necessarily counter-productive when applied to a public market like the RTM. The main difference is that the RTM is not there to maximize profit for a private-sector landlord; rather, it's to support its mission. And part of that mission is to assure the financial viability of all its merchants as well as the entity (the RTM) that makes their businesses possible. I can't think of another "hundred year" merchant other than Ochs. And I still say it would be grossly unfair to subsidize one butcher at the expense of the others. If they can make a profit paying their fair share, so can Ochs; if Ochs can't, then they need to rethink their business. The other butchers shouldn't be forced to create profits for Ochs by giving up some of theirs to subsidize Ochs' rent. The late Harry (and his son Nick) are indeed, sweethearts, nice guys, and purveyors of excellent meat. But they don't need the sweetheart deal Holly proposes to survive and prosper.

Nick Ochs told me this morning that the dispute, in his view, is over when he should have started to pay higher rents under the lease he signed in August. Nick is optimistic that the matter will be resolved and he will remain in the market. RTM General Manager Paul Steinke has told one and all that if Nick makes a dent in the back rent, the suit will be withdrawn. I think the concerns that the RTM would become just a tourist mall, a la Quincy market, are overdone. Just look at the market's mission statement and operating policy guidelines, as well as its actions in finding new vendors and helping existing ones for the proof. Rick's Steaks (clearly a tourist-oriented business if there ever was one) has ceded to an expanded Fair Foods offering an incredible variety of local produce, meats and cheeses. (And four stalls are now selling cheese steaks, where there used to be just one.) The market found a way to retain a specialty pork butcher to replace one who folded, and brought in a new local farmer when Earl Livengood decided to concenterate elsewhere. The RTM's proposed acquisition of Farm to City likewise demonstrates its commitment to local food. Indeed, the lunch counters and and non-food vendors actually subsidize purveyors like Ochs, the other butchers, fish mongers and produce stalls. Under the market's policy, they pay less rent than the others. As for an additional subsidy for Ochs based on longevity, that would raise the hackles of the other fish, meat and produce vendors. Why should he get a better deal than them, especially his competitors? Do you think Charles Giunta (Giunta's Prime Shop), Martin Giunta (Martin's Quality Meats), Moses Smucker (Smucker's Quality Meats) or Amos Riehl (L. Halteman) would stand for that? The market's "Purveyors" -- the term the market uses for the market's butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers -- all pay the same basic rent. The "Food Basket" (dairy, coffee, bakery, etc.), "Mercantile" (non-food) and "Food Court" (lunch stands, etc.) vendors pay higher rents. For a more detailed discussion of how the market structures its leases, and some of the history behind it, I've prepared a "white paper" on my blog: RTM Lease Structure.

I won't run you out of town. Beef on Weck is a classic. I'm just disappointed Wegmans in Cherry Hill stopped making Kimmelweck rolls.

Consider beans rather than potato. Very traditional with lamb, including lentils. One of the wonders of beans is how well they work with other flavors. Another advantage: many can be prepared in advance and simply reheated (though lentils tend to become too soft; but since they cook so quickly compared to other beans same-day prep is not an issue).

Brisket should be on the list. At the Rrading Terminal Market we've got two entries across Center Court from one another. Tommy DiNic's is best known for roast pork, but he makes a tasty ever-so-slightly Italian flavored brisket. Then there's Herschel's, which makes an excellent Jewish style brisket. I always ask for a fatty cut, just as I do for thr house-cured pastrami. Both stalls use whole briskets, not points or first cuts. Way to go!