rlibkind

As noted by rgruby, the advantage is easier cleaning, the disadvantage lack of fond. If you never intend to make gravy from a roast, go for non-stick. Otherwise, stainless steel.

Here's the info from the weekly Fair Food Farmstand (Reading Terminal Market) weekly email

Clementine, Mandarin, Tangerine, Satsuma Citrus reticulata, Family: Rutaceae Loose, peelable skin (compared to other oranges) is one of the more important defining characteristics.

Katie, have you taste-tested it with Laird's bonded vs. applejack?

The last of the summer wine? Not quite, but Earl Livengood had what has to be the last of the raspberries Saturday. Couldn't bring myself to buy any given the month of the year and the temperatures. Exceptionally large chestnuts are available at Iovine Brothers in their refrigerated case by the checkout closest to Filbert Street. They are U.S. chestnuts and priced at $5.99 a pound in one-pound clamshells. I've been roasting them for more than a week and they are very good, rot-free with a high yield. Better than what I bought earlier from Earl Livengood. Mackeral are back, $2.49 at John Yi's. In a few weeks we should start seeing a wider variety of fish for the holiday season. Before the end of the week, Amy's Place will move to its new location (the former Foster's, opposite Fair Food Farmstand and Pennsylvania General Store) offeriing an expanded stock of practical kitchen hard goods to go along with decorative items. To fill the space Amy is vacating, at least temporarily, the market has attracted seven vendors to a "Christmas Market" similar to the temporary gift stalls that sprout up this time of year in Mittel Europa. To accomodate all seven the market will also place them in the adjacent space occupied by Le Bus before it moved. Behind the new Amy's is the market's demonstration kitchen, which should see increased activity beginning in the new year. In addition to Temple classes, instructor Ann Florio will begin a full schedule of classes under the name La Cucina. Florio is a proponent of "learn Italian while you cook". The market was scheduled to start a recycling program this week, with receptacles for customers to recycle paper, aluminum cans, and plastic. Links to two items I've reported elsewhere: Country Time pork in short supply due to truck accidentDiNic's experiments with meatballs on Sundays

'Tis the season for hot chocolate. Stopped by today, and She Who Must Be Obeyed adored the Aztec, flavored with cinnamon, cardomon, nutmeg and clove. I went for the dark sippng chocolate. Truly, an indulgence.

As I said earlier, naked hot dogs should be supplemented with regular hot dog rolls. I mean, how hard is that? I also guess you're skirting with the law. Be prepared for hassles.

Where in Pennsylvania will your brewery/tap room be? You say the hot dogs are in an electric chaffing dish is all you can afford right now. If the budget is that tight, have you seriously examined the entire proposition? Can you afford a refrigerator? A sandwich station? What type of space will you have for food prep?

Sounds great to me. But I'm not most people. What is the nature of the flak: that you'll only serve hot dogs, or you'll only serve this hot dog on a plate, not a bun? If the customer wants to have the dog on a traditional side-sliced American hot dog roll, let them. Seems to me it wouldn't be too hard to have some plain American hot dog rolls around, and serve the Pork dog you like, though it might be a good idea to have a second chafing dish with an all-beef dog for those who prefer that style. As for broadening the menu for beer-friendly food without significant kitchen investment and staffing expense: Homemade chili (keep it in a slow cooker during business hours) High quality cheese and cold-cut plates I'm sure there are lots of other real simple ideas out there. But gotta run now. Edited to add following: I'm back. If you want to stick with some German theme, how about: Leberkäse sandwiches (nothing more than a cold cut) on good rye bread Herrings (they keep nearly forever in the fridge) Cook those hot dogs in your beer. Perhaps mit kraug. Consider a few other wursts (brat, weiss, knack, etc.) to keep in the fridge and cook to order in an electric skillet with kraut, beer.

An accident on the Schuylkill Expressway has put a major dent in the availability of high-quality pork in Philadelphia. About two weeks ago Country Time Farm's owners Paul and Ember Crivellaro were injured when their truck was rammed from behind by a tractor-trailer on the expressway. Both were hospitalized overnight in ICU, but the injuries turned out to be less severe than initially feared. For that, we are all grateful. The pork they were bringing to town wound up cushioning the blow and may have helped save them from more serious injury or death. But the pork was lost. And there's no word on how soon the Crivellaros will be able to produce, butcher and distribute more product. In the meantime, stocks are low. At the Fair Food Farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market today only a handful of packages of boneless cutlets and one pack of chops were available. The Crivellaros also supply a number of restaurants with their pork.

London Grill in Fairmount has "Meatball Mondays". Now DiNic's has "Meatball Sundays". Tommy DiNicolosi is experimenting with meatballs at his Reading Terminal Market landmark. I caught Tommy this morning shaping a beef-pork-veal mix. Before leaving the market about an hour later, I tasted one. It was quite nice, and the sauce was even better. Tom said he used skin from a fresh ham to help flavor the tomato-based sauce. Tommy insists he's just "playing" with meatballs and hasn't added them to the regular menu. But you can expect to see them on Sundays. Last week he tried a beef-lamb meatball which he said turned out well (just a little bit of lamb; mostly beef). For this Sunday, get there early: Tommy only prepared 10 pounds of meat. Edited to fix spelling

Siouxie, Yes, the Down Home Diner is at the Reading Terminal Market. The diner is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (til 8 p.m., but after 6 p.m. only entrance is on Filbert Street). It's not at all greasy, and easily manageable with knife-and-fork, though I did pick up the wings to eat in-hand, as well as to finish off the thigh and drumstick. With just a modicum of care you won't get your clothes messed up. (Perhaps that's a point against this chicken!) I do want to emphasize that it's a plain-tasting chicken; very little in the way of seasoning. But the chicken itself is very good and, based on this one experience, nicely fried.

The difficulties in establishing a new public market are noted in a recent Associated Press article. It looks at the attempts to start up a market in Portland, Oregon, whose organizers look to Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market of Philadelphia for a successful template.

Down Home Diner Cast Iron Chicken This topic got me hungry for fried chicken, so I thought I'd try the Down Home Diner's yesterday for lunch. This plate arrived at my counter seat maybe six or seven minutes after ordering, so it's hard to believe it was cooked to order. But it tasted that way. Very succulent chicken (at least the thigh, drumstick and wing; the breast was, as expected, just a tad dry). It was, however, very lightly seasoned, so if you definitely prefer spicy chicken, this isn't for you. It also has no breading or batter: just a thin coat of flour (or was it fine cornmeal?) to help it crisp up nicely. The chicken was cut and fried in two pieces: thigh-drumstick and wing-breast. The breast had the ribs and all bone cut away from it, but still attached to the wing; this, I would imagine, would help it cook more evenly. Nice trick, and also made dealing with it on the plate much easier. The potatoes were fine, though the portion looks bigger than it was: some broccoli and cauliflower was underneath them. The veggies were definitely not over-cooked; in fact, they were a tad under-cooked, and cooked very plainly. Price: $7.50.

I thought you were a person of definite opinion, Bluehensfan. Can't make up your mind? CHOOSE: RABE OR SPINACH! Well, at least that's a definite opinion. It happens to be wrong. I eat there at least once a month (indeed, I enjoyed the cast iron fried chicken yesterday, but more regularly indulge in the various breakfasts) and haven't visited the porcelain god once. Nor has anyone who has dined there with me. Never even a pang.

Just so folks know (and I realize it's off-topic but facts have to be corrected), the opinion pages of the WSJ are very conservative, but the news and feature pages are anything but; if anything there's a liberal bias to the news pages. eas: thanks for letting us know about Felton's musical inclinations. I see is CD is a reincarnation of the work of one of my fav arrangers, Marty Paich's dek-tette legacy.

What Andrew said re: the crepe place. It's the worst food at the RTM. Tried it once: never had a cardboard crepe before. But as good as Capogiro is (and it's very, very good), why would you want to walk past Bassetts?

Others have mentioned the Reading Terminal Market upthread, but let me add my endorsement. From the Loew's, just cross walk north on 12th street (or enter through the Reading Terminal Headhouse and work your way to the rear to Filbert Street) to the RTM, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 'til 5 p.m., Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Pennsylvania Dutch merchants closed Sunday-Tuesday; not all other merchants are open on Sundays, and many tend to close earlier than the official 6 p.m. closing on weekdays.) Here are my recommendations for breakfast and/or lunch at the RTM: Down Home Diner (mid-scale) or the Dutch Eating Place (downscale) for breakfast. Try the scrapple at either establishment. Down Home diner open 'til 8 p.m. for dinnner (use Filbert Street entrance). Since the Down Home Diner was established by Jack McDavid, who hails from western Virginia not all that far from the Tennessee border, you might want to skip lunch or dinner there, since I'm sure you can find excellent examples of this style of cooking back home. But breakfast is superb and the biscuits exceptional. Roast pork sandwiches from DiNic's. Get it with greens (spinach or broccoli rabe, your choice) and aged provlone. But the sausage, scallopine, brisket and pulled pork are also fine. Hershel's Deli. Corned beef, pastrami and brisket sandwiches. The hand-carved pastrami is right up there with the best New York offers. Salumeria. Not your typical Philadelphia hoagie. Get it with the house dressing and artichokes. For a more traditional, but excellent hoagie, go to Carmen's. It may just be pizza, but it's very good pizza at Pasta By George. Or go for the lasagne or eggplant parm. Nanee's Kitchen offers very credible South Asian fare. The various fritters are quite tasty and filling. For dessert, Bassetts Ice Cream is a must. My favored flavors include raspberry truffle, French vanilla and rum raisin. The Loew's is also convenient to Philadelphia's thriving Chinatown, just another block behind the Reading Terminal Market. Any number of dim sum establishments to chose from (Ocean Harbor is a fav of many eGulleters; some disparage Joy Tsin Lau, but their chicken feet, turnip cakes and other goodies are quite good.) The following repeats Sandy's (MarketStEl) recommendations, but Rangoon offers Burmese food, which you won't find in many places. For excellent, tastebud-numbing Szechuan fare both the hole-in-the-wall Szechuan Tasty House and the more commodious Chung King Garden are the real deal. If you're in the mood for a wide-ranging beer selection, there are two excellent venues near the Ritz. On 16th Street is Monk's Tavern, offering Belgian fare along with the beers. On Sansom Street just east of Broad (not far from Capogiro) is Ludwig's Garten. The Alsatian onion tart or the Jagerschnitzel will warm your tummy on a cold autumn evening. I wouldn't presume to send you to barbeque, since you're coming here from Tennessee. But given your inland residence, perhaps seafood would be in order. Just west of 16th Street can be found the Sansom Street Oyster House. Lots of different oysters, of course, along with clams and a full roster of fish house standards. I've found the service iffy lately, but the cooking always satisfies. They know how to handle the deep fryer there. And try the snapper soup, a Philadelphia tradition (add a splash of sherry to cut the richness). During Happy Hour at the bar, Blue Point oysters from Long Island or clams on the halfshell are $5 for a half dozen, iirc. There's frequently a Happy Hour special for a $5 plate of fried smelts, perfect for nibbling with beer.

Much of what I have to report today can be said in pictures. So here goes: Cauliflower diversity at Benuel Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce. Very nice looking radicchio at Fair Food Farmstand. White and red cranberries at Fair Food Farmstand. Some of the German wursts and specialties from Rieker's now available at Dutch Country Meats. I erred in my pricing report Friday on this Fair Food Farmstand cranberries. They are $6 for white and $4.50 for red per quart not, as previously reported, per pint. Harry Ochs had some exceedingly good looking lean beef in his display case today, simply marked for either cubing or grinding, priced at, iirc, $4.49 (or was it $4.99?) a pound. Nick said it was shin with the bone removed. I picked up a pound and a half, single grind, and made it into a beef base for a cottage pie I'll finish making tomorrow. The braised ground meat (with onions, beef bouillion, thyme, worcestershire sauce, Kitchen Bouquet for color) was nicely beefy with a tender yet toothsome texture, probably because shin has some decent colagen content. I think this meat would be all wrong for hamburger (much too lean), but great for chili and other ground beef dishes that should simmer on a low flame for a while. The ultra lean meat ultra caused me to add a little extra oil to the pan while browning. Although it was more expensive per pound that the ground sirloin, it was nearly as economical because the sirloin is somewhere around 17-20 percent fat; if the shin was 5 percent fat I'd be surprised. The only other time I've used shin was to cook it whole Chinese style (that, too, was delicious). Don't be surprised if one or two of the vendors from Headhouse Square set up shop at the RTM in the future, either during the winter and/or other days of the week when Headhouse isn't operating. Hendricks Farm and Old Earth Farm are prime candidates, according to market GM Paul Steinke. Steinke also said he has vendors lined up for the "Christmas Market" which will occupy the space being vacated by Amy's Kitchen in their move to the old Foster's store. If he gets additional interest, he'll expand the seasonal vendors to the old Le Bus space.

With a new hire, DiNic's is expanding its hours. They'll start slowly beginning tomorrow, Nov. 4, with Sunday hours. Eventually the goal is to extend weekday hours until the market's 6 p.m. closing.

When Crown's good, it's very good. When it's bad . . . That's the problem: consistency among the various outlets. That's where Popeye's shines, as a good franchise should. Last time I checked, "Cast Iron Fried Chicken" was still on the menu at the Down Home Diner, though I haven't tried it in a while. FWIW, I think Jordan is not only maintaining high food standards at the DHD, but has made great service improvements.

Yes. They appear to be supplied by the cheesemakers rather than taken for the book, but there are some excellent photos.

Popeye's spicy.

Emily Teel of the Fair Food Farmstand is pushing the persimmons. They're grown by the same South Philly amateur orchardist who supplied the stand with figs about a month or so ago. Also at the farmstand, white cranberries. They are not a different variety, just an immature berry and, because of that, tarter, so add extra sugar. The white cranberries were selling for $6 a pint vs. $4.50 for the red. Earl Livengood had fantastic red beets last week. They appear to be a similar variety to the cylindrical beets Benuel Kauffman sometimes features. I roasted Earl's in the oven (400F for about 50 minutes) and they are as sweet as any beet I've ever had. Now's the season for pumpkin ravioli. Pasta By George has a nice pumpkin-riccotta version, though they aren't cheap: $10.99 for 12 raviolis (yielding two portions for an entree, four for appetizer course). I made a simple sage brown butter sauce for them. Jeffrey Roberts, author of the Atlas of American Artisinal Cheese, was selling and signing copies of his book last Saturday in the same table spot formerly occupied by Green Valley Dairy, next to the Fair Food Farmstand. Roberts, a former Philadelphian who's been in Vermont doing his cheese thing, was fascinating to talk with. You might have seen an article in the Daily News in advance of his visit, which also included a cheese tasting at DiBruno's. More about the book here. Green Valley is among the cheesemakers profiled in the book, but they no longer sell direct to the customer at the market. However, you can purchase their cheese at the Fair Food Farmstand. The Amish producer is concentrating on restaurants and the wholesale business. If you haven't tried it, their Pennsylvania Noble is a wonderful cheddar. Over at the former Foster's space, shelving and display units have been delivered for Amy's Kitchen, which hopes to open in its new space a week before Thanksgiving.

If anyone is interested in finding great American cheeses, or just has a hankering to learn more, there's a book published this year worth finding: Atlas of American Artisinal Cheese by Jeffrey P. Roberts (Chelsea Green, White River Junction, Vermont, 464 pp, $35). Roberts profiles more than 350 American cheesemakers and includes info on how to order, whether on line, by phone or at the farmstand. He tells of one cheesemaker who sells her entire output only once a year at a Maryland sheep and wool gathering. Although it's designed as a reference book, it was pure pleasure to go through entire sections of the book, which is arranged geographically by region, and then by state. It opened me up to lots of new cheesemakers, and told me things I didn't know about some of my favorites. On my next trip to Wisconsin to visit the in-laws, I'm going to plan our excursions around this book!