rlibkind
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Andrew, this week's Fair Food Farmstand newsletter (click here to see the current week's version) listed "Fresh bacon (uncured pork belly)" from Meadow Run Farm, Lititz. My guess is that you could always call for a special order, though I'd make sure to call a week ior 10 days in advance. Maybe Country Time can supply it, which would be fantastic. Tom Forrest, who sells at the Chestnut Hill and Swarthmore markets sponsored by Farm To City, might have it, too.
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I've been checking the supermarkets for the last few days. So far, nuthin'....Anyone having any luck out there?
I got them late last week at a Shop Rite in Philadelphia. Oddly, they weren't with the other Keebler products in the cookie aisle, but only on an end cap. FWIW, Oreos timed a sale to the week Kellogg's/Keebler's reintroduced Hydrox, pricing their cookies at about a buck less for a standard-sized package.
She Who Must Be Obeyed and I did a taste test. She's got a better taste memory than I do and concluded that today's Hydrox is pretty close, though not identicial, in taste to the pre-1999 formula. (She also prefers the taste of Oreos; I favor Hydrox.) We both agreed that Hydrox was less intensely sweet. I thought Hydrox had a better chocolate taste. We also agreed that the design motif of the Hydrox was more interesting.
Strictly in the interest of science we replicated our experimental comparison numerous times, in all permutations: biting into the whole cookie; separating the sections and eating separately (including just licking the creme filling); and dunking whole cookies in milk. The scientific method demands replication and replicable results, after all.
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What does it take to hang the Wine Spectator "Award of Excellence" on the wall of a restaurant. We all know the answer is not much. I found that out a few years ago when visiting a restaurant proudly displaying the award whose wine steward told me they didn't offer any German rieslings because he didn't like them.
Here's further proof: Osteria L'Intrepido di Milano, a hoax perpetrated by a blogger/author in which Wine Spectator issued the award to a bogus restaurant and wine list.
Of course, the perpetrator of the hoax, Robin Goldstein, is hawking a book. And Wine Spectator did call the restaurant (getting an answering machine message saying it was temporarily closed), as well as get a confirmation by finding it on Google Maps as well as seeing comments about the restaurant on Chowhound, so WS at least made a cursory effort to check the existence of the restaurant, though they should not have been so easily bamboozled or believe that finding something on the web automatically establishes veracity.
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RTM GM Paul Steinke advises I erred in ascribing the donuts at the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival to Fisher's in my previous post. They were being made and sold by Beiler's, the Pennsylvania Dutch bakery at the market.
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Try the Fair Food Farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market. The selection of cuts is more limited than at a butcher stall, and it probably will be frozen. Dwain Livengood also sells his own beef at center court in the RTM on Saturday, frozen, though I don't know for sure if it's totally grass fed (though I suspect it is).
Giunta's Prime Shop used to handle it, but it didn't sell, so Charles been going with grain-finished beef (though of the non-hormone, non-antibiotic variety), which is very tasty and reasonably priced.
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The Clark Park Farmers' Market, sponsored by The Food Trust, will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Saturday, Sept 6. In addition to the market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be music and other activities throughout the morning and for a few hours beyond market closing time. In addition to the Saturday market, there's a smaller Thursday afternoon market.
I made my first trip since spring to Clark Park and was overwhelmed by the produce offered by about a dozen vendors. You can see a gallery of the photos I took here. Great variety of tomatoes, plenty of summer fruits and veggies of all types. Because I had been to the Reading Terminal Market the day before, the Fairmount market the day before that, and was planning to get to Headhouse the next day, I limited myself to some fresh corn and yellow summer squash. They went great with the loin lamb chops I acquired at Giunta's Prime Shop at the RTM.
At Headhouse on Sunday plenty of heirloom tomatoes were in evidence at Culton's Organics (photo above), though I passed these up in favor of their "Currant" tomatoes, tiny little beauties on the vine smaller than "grape" tomatoes. Their highest use is probably just popping them into your waiting mouth, but I used them a quick pasta sauce last night, augmented by just a touch of onion and garlic. Yum. I also picked up some Mirai corn from Culton's, 50 cents an ear. More Headhouse photos from this week's trip here.
A brief tomato digression. As much as I love the different flavors and characteristics of the various heirloom tomatoes, I certainly don't disparage the basic "field" tomato. Get them ripe off the vine and they not only taste great, they offer a good bargain. And when it comes to picking a tomato for my BLT, I'll pass up the Brandywines, Cherokee Purples and Green Zebras for a good old field tomato, so long as it's ripe and fresh-picked.
Over at Fairmount on Thursday I talked with Dwain Livengood, who said he'd be killing some of his chickens over the next week, so they'd be available fresh rather than frozen. The birds are in the 3-4 pound range, and it's best to reserve them. I'll pick up mine this Thursday at Fairmount, but they'll also be available Tuesday afternoon at South Street and Saturday at the Reading Terminal.
Also at Fairmount, Bill Weller is selling some great produce. The cantelope I bought two weeks ago and the watermelon purchased last week were both flavorful and sweet. Last week I also purchased some donut (saturn) variety yellow peaches and turned them into cobbler. Their skins don't peel as easily as regular peaches, even after the hot water/ice water shock treatment, and there's a higher proportion of peel to flesh, so they are probably best used as a fresh-eating peach rather than in cooked and baked applications where you'd want to peel them. Still, even with the extra work and stray pieces of skin, the cobbler tasted terrific.
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If you plan to make BLTs with all the luscious tomatoes tomatoes available, you can't go wrong with the Green Meadow Farms product double-smoked by King's Butcher Shop in Paradise, sold at the Reading Terminal by the Fair Food Farmstand. Then again, the applewood smoked bacon available at Harry Ochs works, too. And I've got a package of Country Time's uncured bacon (also from Fair Food) sitting unopened in the fridge which I'm going to try soon.
As noted in another post, Livengood's is offering fresh killed chickens at the moment. Dwain Livengood said they'd be available fresh rather than frozen at $3.80/pound whole. The birds are in the 3-4 pound range, and it's best to reserve them. I'll pick up mine this Thursday at Fairmount, but they'll also be available Tuesday afternoon at South Street and Saturday at the Reading Terminal.
At the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival earlier this month, Nick Ochs got into the spirit (photo above) with some overalls and a straw hat. As usual, the festival attracted strong summertime crowds to the market, and the pony cart rarely traversed the block with an empty seat. Fishers was making donuts in center court, and I tried a hot oe as soon as I arrived about 8:30 a.m. Alas, the oil must not have been hot enough: I could have fried a flounder with all the grease this baby absorbed.
Both Iovine's and OK Lee offer local produce as well as the same California, Florida and Mexican imports you'd find at a supermarket (though usually at a lower price). Jersey tomatoes and Pennsylvania corn are among Iovine's offerings, as well as local eggplants, green beans, etc. Finds from further afield recently have included raw peanuts and black figs.
Plenty of local produce can also be found at L. Halteman's and Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce. Benuel Kauffman has expanded across the aisle (photo below) to some of the space formerly occupied by Dutch Country Meats.
Across the aisle (between 12th Street Cantina and Martin's Meats) is the vacant space once occupied by Natural Connection and, before that, Margerum's. David Schreiber has finally got his financing in place and signed a lease, so work will begin soon on converting the spot to his Jonathan's Best grocery. "The store will carry a wide variety of gourmet groceries and packaged foods, plus pre-made sandwiches, salads and their signature line of soups to eat in or take home. Dave, a native Philadelphia, hopes to open in October," said Paul Steinke, RTM general manager.
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The fact that Dwain Livengood has signs advising he'll have fresh chickens available next week prompted me to start this topic as a resource for finding quality poultry.
Anyone who cares to share their sources for good bird (fresh or frozen), please post here.
As info, Dwain said they'd be in the 3-4 pound range, priced at $3.80/pound, whole birds only. You should reserve one to be sure you get it. They'll be available Tuesday afternoons at South Street, Thursday afternoons at Fairmount, and Saturdays at the Reading Terminal Market as long as supplies last, which probably won't be too long.
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You can get Bassetts shipped in six-pint lots, next day UPS air (insulated container, dry ice), from Pennsylvania General Store. 15 different flavors to choose from (French vanilla, rum raisin and raspberry truffle would be my picks, but they're all good). I think after 147 years in business Bassetts has finally learned how to make a decent ice cream.
Here's the link to the order page.
It's $40 + next day air shipping.
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Fishing continues for Copper River salmon. The state held another one-day season yesterday, Aug. 11. It was for sockeye and coho. It's the Copper River king salmon season that is generally over by early summer.
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As a native of Union County, though displaced for many years in Philadelphia, I have fond memories of the various "White" and "Blue" burger stands. After a late night newspaper shift I'd head to the local at Stuyvesant near Walker/Oakland, a "Blue Diamond" iirc, but maybe it was a "White Diamond". Long gone, of course. Last spring, en route to Best Provision to pick up some Syd's dogs, I stopped by the Roselle White Rose, East First & Walnut. As satisfyingly greasy a slider as ever.
All these burgers, I believe, are best approached not as hamburgers, but as meat-flavored onion sandwiches -- particularly those made in the style Steve described, with fresh onions.
None of the "Roses" or "Diamonds" or "Castles" or "Towers" exists in the immediate Philadelphia-South Jersey area, but the spirit of the meat-flavored onion sandwich lives on at Roney's (Rt. 130 & Haddon Ave., it's either Camden or Collingswood), which may have been a former White Tower.
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Indeed, Lutz's makes a great frank.
To clarify, the Lutz frank competed under the trade name German Valley Foods, and competed in the Frankfurters/Wieners-Emulsified category. As "grand reserve" champion, that means they placed second. (Dewig Meats of Haubstadt, IN, was grand champion by, as John noted, a mere three points, 905 vs. 902, on a scale of 1 to 1,000.)
There were 25 categories, ranging from Andouille Sausage to Summer Sausage-Cooked.
Haen Meat Packing of Kaukauna WI garnered the most top awards, winning grand champion honors in Bacon (Heavyweight), Ham-Semi Boneless, Dried Beef, and Ham-Boneless. Haen earned second place under Summer Sausage-Cooked.
Maplewood Meats of Green Bay didn't do to shabbily, either, with first places in Frankfurther/Wieners-Coarse Ground and Specialty Game Meats, second place for Meat Snack Sticks, third place for Summer Sausage-Cooked,
Here's a link to the full list of winners, PDF format.
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Iovine Brothers was busting at the seems with summer produce Saturday, including local sweet corn. I went for the very fresh green beans Saturday, priced at 79-cents. Another great bargain were the scallions from Delmarva. Instead of breaking them down and trimming for sale, they were selling in bags containing about a dozen bunches for $1.99. These weren't old veggies Iovine was trying to get rid of, either; they needed only normal washing and trimming. The decidedly non-local limes prompted me to make many a summer cooler at 8 for a buck.
Earl Livengood's open-pollinated corn, both at South Street and the RTM, is exceptional this year. And in another week or so, Fair Food, if it follows previous years' form, will start selling Mirai, an incredibly sweet Japanese hybrid.
Benuel Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce, also no slouch when it comes to selling quality in-season corn, has grown across the aisle, occupying some of the space vacated by Dutch Country Meats. Ben went so far as to move one of the refrigerated displaty cases to make way for a market wagon filled with the summer's bounty.
Still no signs of Jonathan's Best, the grocer slated to take over the former Margerum's/Natural Connection space across from Dutch Country Meats. Some of the butcher space was supposed to be taken over by the Amish pretzel stall. No signs of any of that yet.
After a year's hiatus the RTM's annual Pennsylvania Dutch festival is back, and among the activities will be an auction of Amish crafts (including a handmade quilt) conducted by Moses B Smucker Auctioneers of Narvon. More details on the event (to be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday) at the market's web site.
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Once upon a time, there were Watermelons, Canteloupes and Honeydews, with an occasional Casaba or Persian to behold. Today we've got lots more choice. I don't have the slightet idea what variety is pictured here, but I can attest to its deliciousness.
From the outside, it didn't look like much. Hard, very wax skin (no netting like members of the cantaloupe family usually evince). But its aroma was enticing and was clearly ripe and ready for eating. The folks behind the stand at Beechwood Orchard (Headhouse Square last Sunday) didn't know what it was, other than it was ready to eat.
I cut it open Monday evening and was overcome by the aroma. She Who Must Be Obeyed was also overcome, but her reaction was totally different from mine. SWMBO quite accurately characterizing the smell and taste as "perfumey". To me, that's high praise for a melon. To her, it qualifies the melon for the trash can.
When a melon is good there's hardly a more refreshing fruit. This melon was damned good, one of the best I've ever enjoyed. I urge you to try new and different melons that you spy at the local farmers' markets this month, the peak of melon season.
Headhouse Square boasted more than melons, of course. Entering the market from the Lombard Street side one is immediately impressed by the tomatoes and other produce displayed by Blooming Glen Farm. Next week I'm definitely going to buy some paste tomatoes for gravy! Of course, it's hard to pass up the red and sungold cherry tomatoes for fresh pasta sauce or the yellow tiny pear tomatoes. This time of year, it's hard to go wrong buying any tomato (though it's possible if you restrict your tomato buying to supermarkets).
Speaking of pears, they're here. At least a variety that Buoni Amici called "Startlingly Delicious". I didn't buy any to test that proposition, but maybe this weekend I will. There are a gazillion varieties of pear, but a quick Googling failed to turn up one under this name. But it appears to be a Bartlett relation.
Peaches and blackberries are in full form. (Blueberries have basically run their course, unless, like me, you brought four quarts home from Maine). At last Tuesday's South Street market, Sam Consylman's Raritan Rose peaches sold at Earl Livengood's stall were gone by the time I arrived an hour after the opening bell. Beechwood Orchards (which is at South Street as well as Headhouse) featured both red and white donut (Saturn) peaches, red and white tradition peaches, and nectarines, iirc.
Highest on my list of produce offered by Beechwood (after the melon!) is the Santa Rosa plum. When they're good and ripe (black rather than red) they are incredibly sweet and flavorful. And juicy: Be sure to eat them over the sink.
Over at Culton Organics I picked up some yellow beets that, from the exterior coloration, could have been confused with rutabagas. Praise the lord, they didn't taste like those bocci ball Swedish turnips! I had some of those sweet red cylindrical beets I always rave about sitting in the crisper at home, so I roasted a couple of each on the Weber Silver B and enjoyed them with some simply grilled Bell & Evans chicken parts (breast for SWMBO, whole leg for me). Properly stored in the produce crisper, beets will keep for at least two or three weeks, sometimes more. (Beets are roots, and in days of yore they were among the foods that went into a family's root cellar to last the whole winter. Just remove any leaves and all but maybe an inch of stem, leaving the root end unmolested. Wipe off any loose clinging dirt - but do not use any water - and store in the fridge.)
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I concur with dyjee, no reason not to use halibut heads. What you want to avoid are heads and bones from oily fish, like salmon, mackeral, bluefish, etc. Otherwise, any heads and bones from any white fish should work well. Among the flatfish, I would imagine a hefty halibut head might work slighty better than flounder, fluke, etc., but not dramatically so.
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If your talking only about 10-15 minutes from your freezer to theirs, just about any insulated bag will do. Just make sure it's solidly frozen before you begin transport.
For longer journeys I'd recommend finding a source of dry ice. Some convenience stores carry it, as well as some Wal-Marts. In larger communities there's likely to be an ice supply company that handles it and is willing to sell retail. I bought 10 pounds of dry ice pellets last weekend for a road trip at about $2 a pound. I imagine two or three pounds will hold a half-gallon or gallon of ice cream for two or three hours; for larger quanities and/or longer hours, it will take more dry ice. You'll want to use an insulated container of some sort (cheap styrofoam works well), just don't transport it in the passenger compartment of your vehicle for more than 10 or 15 minutes unless you've got at least some windows open. While the carbon dioxide is not in and of itself poisonous, it will displace air as it sublimates from solid to gas. Put it in a trunk that doesn't leak into the passenger compartment and you'll be fine.
Since the dry ice probably will keep the ice cream considerably colder and harder than your freezer at home, allow some thaw time at the other end.
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While visiting a Marblehead friend last September, she took us to the Barnacle on Front Street, right on the water. Perfectly acceptable basic fried seafood, good fries, and oysters. Good place for beers and fried clams while breathing salt air.
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As you can imagine, the meatballs (and mashed potatoes and french fries) were there for folks who didn't want to get their hands dirty or just don't eat shellfish from the shell; plus for the kids. I didn't see too many of the shell buckets set on each table get filled.Honestly you stopped me dead in my tracks with that menu. Unlimited crayfish and meatballs...what a combo!
Then again just seeing the words unlimited crayfish would certainly turn my head. Sounds like it was some good, tasty fun.
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Just the opposite. You need a de-construction manual.Do the crayfish require any assembly, and if so, does IKEA provide a tool and a perplexing pictographic instruction sheet?More on that jelly: no more weird than cranberry sauce with turkey; for all practical purposes, lingonberries are a Northern European variety of cranberry.
The fest was a blast, the crayfish delish. I spoke with the head chef/food service manager, and he said he was concerned he wouldn't have enough, but it turned out it was plenty, with lots left over. The Swedish Am. C of C pretty much populated the entire event and conducted a raffle as well as an auction for EWR-Stockholm tickets. The event looked like a great success, so I expect it will be repeated next summer.
Absolut brought the Kurrant (sp?) and one other flavor; Flying Fish, Summer Farmhouse Ale and an Amber. Absolut was mixing cocktails, but they were willing to pour shots, too, which is much more in keeping with Scandinavian drinking tradition than cocktails; basically you accompany your akavit (which is a particular type of vodka flavored by one of many different herbs, though the real thing should include caraway) with a beer. That's what i did.
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See my RTM comments here.
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I'm off to Maine, so I won't be posting about local stuff for a couple of weeks. (I'll undoubtedly be putting in my two cents on the New England board about what I find in restaurants and markets.)
But before I go, just a quick, exceedingly brief comment:
Wow! Both the RTM and Headhouse were chock-a-block with the full range of gorgeous summer produce this past weekend. All that was missing was blackberries, and since peaches have appeared already, they won't be far behind. The apricots are juicy and luscious, the blueberries spicy, the tomatoes real (including heirlooms), the white corn sweet and corn-y. Doesn't matter whether you to to the RTM, Headhouse or any of the neighborhood farmers' markets, all are offering the best of summer. Indulge!
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Since the meatballs are served in brown gravy with jelly on the side, is it rude to ask if the crayfish are served in some unfamiliar way?
Just simple steamed/boiled crayfish. Akavit, Beer or Vodka are the preferred accompaniments. Lingonberries are only for meatballs or dessert.
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We'll be stopping in Lowell MA (Doubletree) Friday en route to Bar Harbor. Last year I had a forgettable Greek dinner, and a few years ago some Latin American.
Seems like Southeast Asian is the way to go, since there appears to be a substantial population from that region in town. Any recommendations? Southeast Asia Restaurant looks good.
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The Ikea on Columbus Blvd. will hold a Swedish crayfish festival tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are limited to 250, and as of late yesterday afternoon more than 200 had been sold.
The menu is unlimited crayfish and meatballs, along with soup, applecake, and probably french fries, though not the traditional meatball accompaniment of mashed potatoes.
Absolut vodka and Flying Fish brewery will be handling out samples of their wares.
Lake crayfish are a staple of Swedish summers, hence the Ikea fest which is the first one held by the Philadelphia store. A couple of other Ikeas in this country have held them.
Price is less than $13 a head, including taxes, for the all-you-can-eat repast. A ticket also entitles you to 15% off at the Swedish food market on the first floor, which will stay open until 10 p.m. to accommodate festival attendees. I see Lingonberries and Greenland shrimp in my future.
Expect lots of blue and yellow decorations. The event is co-sponsored by the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce.
Trenton fine dining
in New Jersey: Dining
Posted
Though I don't have a lot of first-hand experience, I would expect that if you include Princeton in your "Trenton area" definition, the options would expand exponentially.