rlibkind

The Fair Food Farmstand has gray hubbards, which tend to be blue and are sometimes referred to as blue hubbards. Orange/creamy inside, not blue. It's great for decorating a table, and the flesh is fine. But if you're planning on cooking or baking, I think you're better off with a neck pumpkin. Fine tasting, and lots of seedless and easily prepped meat.

Pork belly sandwich. Belly braised to perfection, then sliced, breaded and deep fried. Served on a soft hamburger bun so as not to interfere with letting the crunchy exterior and unctuous interior contrast. Branston pickle on top makes my heart go flippity-flop. (You need the bite of the vinegar pickle to set off the sandwich's richness) Apologies for the rhyme to Kewpie of Racine, Wisconsin.

They have kringle in Iowa? The only place I know - where kingle is king - is in Racine, WI. my hometown (although I usually don't admit that). What is the kringle like? I know Demark sends bakers to Racine to learn how to make a proper kringle. Plus, you could always tell what part of town someone grew up in when you asked them their favorite kringle. Still can, I'm sure. I just don't visit anymore. We get our kringle fix at Christmas time when we order from O & H Bakery. We send kringles to our friends for Christmas. They look forward to it every year. ← Bendtsen's is best. More butter than anyone else. But my wife, a Racine native, prefers O&H for the poppyseed sweet rolls. I like Larsen's for the cakes. I have no idea how the kringle is at the Elk Horn bakery, but they make it in the traditional pretzel shape according to the Jacquelyn's Danish Bake Shop website. I've also found kringle (though it's the Norwegian version and not as good that found in Racine) at a bakery in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I also understand it can be found in Solvang, California, another of America's "Little Denmarks".

They had slice the pastrami, corned beef and brisket at Hershel's in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market. No ticket checks, though.

Okay, Joe, when are you adding pork belly sandwiches to your menu?

Update on Cafe Brasil, my sister reports it was wonderful. She had the the feijoada (stew of beans and meats), her dining compansion a light fish/seafood stew made with a touch of coconut milk. Both were also on the buffet, which you could order separately without having to order the churrasco, she said. She very highly recommends Harvest, which offers seasonal food, including a spa menu option. Once again, though, not very accessible via public transit; it's near Washington U.

I get the Claxton cakes every year, and they are hardly cakey: mostly fruits and nuts. I tread it more like candy they cake.

Eric Felten's cocktail column in Saturday's Wall Street Journal featured Strega, including a recipe for a Wicked Witch: 1 oz. Strega, 1 oz. Averna amara, 1 oz. unfiltered apple cider, shaken w/ice and strained.

Geez, Davidd, you were in Elk Horn and didn't try any of the pastries at the Danish bakery? Not even the kringle? Shame!

Article in today's Wall Street Journal (I don't believe it's behind the subscriber wall, so try this link) discusses how the big three aren't identifying themselves on the label as manufacturers of "faux craft brews" they make and market, i.e., Blue Moon, Leinenkugel's. Some small craft brewers think it's deceitful on the part of the big brewers. The biggies respond, hey, if Kellogg's doesn't promote its ownership of Kashi and Toyota its Lexus, what's the problem? The article finishes by quoting one craft brewer as believing that, while the big guys may cut in to the small guys' market share, they are expanding the entire category to the benefit of all brewers, big and small. The fact I found most interesting, if largely irrelevant, is that Jake and Dick Leinenkugel, the fifth generation of the founders, manage their beer and brand for SABMiller. But while Leinie's doesn't mention its owner on the packaging, the Leinie's website tackles the issue head-on. PS: My wife thinks your basic Leinie's tastes pretty much the same as it did when she was in Madison in the 1960s and 70s; the family sold out to Miller in 1988. But then, your basic Leinie's was never considered a craft beer until SABMiller started expanding the brand a couple of years ago; before that, even under the big guy's ownership, it was just considered a decent quality cheap brewski.

Now that is hard core!

Yeah. Butter or lard, depending on the recipe. Neither is better for your health than transfats but they are considerably less efficient and economical to use because of their poor shelf-life qualities when compared to transfats. FWIW, here's what the FDA says: Here's a link to the full page from the FDA: Revealing Trans Fat.So, transfats are bad for your health. But the FDA says saturated fats (as in butter and lard and other animal fats) are no less of a problem and (probably because of their ubiquity rather than chemistry) even worse. Hey, I'm in favor of both trans fat and saturated fats. Just don't consume it massive quantities like a Conehead. Now, I'm gonna dive into that bag of Grandma Utz's chips!

Just noticed this aspect of your post. This complicates things considerably. There are only two Marriotts I'm aware of: at the airport, which is about 10 miles northwest of downtown and seven or eight miles north of Clayton, and the Marriott out on I-64/US 40, which is about 15 miles west of downtown and maybe six miles west of Clayton. Either way, a car is your best bet to get around, since cabs are scarce compared to big East Coast cities and public transit is not as good as Boston, NY or Philly. I haven't tried it, but with a new extension to Clayton the Metrolink light rail might be useful. It will get you from the airport to downtown St. Louis in about 40 minutes or, via a transfer, to Clayton in the same amount of time. At the very least I would imagine either Marriott can provide courtesy van service to a Metrolink station or downtown Clayton.

My pleasure, Shmily. I'm not nearly as expert on the St. Louis area as Mount Desert, but in the course of visiting my sister in the Clayton-University City area over the past 25 years I've picked up a few things. I've only been to Balaban's once, about 10 years ago. At the time, I thought it was considerably better than average food and probably one of the area's better establishments. I would imagine more places have caught up with it by now and, of course, 10 years ago is a long, long time in a restaurant's life and things do change. I'm waiting to hear a report from my sister who tomorrow plans to visit Cafe Brasil, a Churrasco/Rodizio outpost. Given the copious amount of meat, it may not fit your definition of healthy, though some of the chicken, fish and bean dishes off the a la carte menu may fit your needs. Again, it's located in a nearby suburban area just west of the city limits, about halfway between Clayton and Webster Groves.

Your best options are probably away from the downtown area. There are a couple of decent Asian places around, particularly near Clayton west of downtown. They might meet your healthy request, depending upon what you order. One possibility would be Mai Lee, which I've enjoyed. Since Clayton is a business center, there are a number of options in its central district. None that I know of are outstanding, but at least some offer healthier alternatives, like the vegetarian and fish offerings at Remy's Kitchen & Wine Bar, which looks like it has some nice Greek dishes, too. (I haven't been there but may try it on my next trip). The Central West End may also offer some dining options that, at least partially, meet your criteria. Alas, I think the best and most interesting foods the St. Louis area offers violate your low-fat/no-fried criteria. Things like toasted ravioli (which is really fried) and all the Italian delicacies available on "The Hill" (home to Yogi Berra and Joe Gargiola), or the classic Midwestern frozen custard at Ted Drewes (closed in January). For non-food activities, do stop by the Missouri Botanical Garden (even in winter if you get a break in the weather) and the Art Museum, which I don't think a lot of St. Louisans fully appreciate. The Contemporary Art Museum (Pulitzer funded, among others) is on my must-visit list next time I'm in town. If you are into serious music, the St. Louis Symphony is a fine band with a music director (David Robertson) I wish we could usurp and bring to Philadelphia; they are doing some very interesting programs during the first half of December, before the holiday concerts start.

I think for this to work the steak needs quite a bit of marbling/fat on it. Otherwise you end up with a weird looking crust that isn't as flavourful as when using a light film of oil. ← Shel_B plans to cook a rib eye. A rib eye isn't worth cooking unless it's well-marbled and has sufficient fat. I vote for the no-fat/cast-iron pan method (if you can't use a grill). Just let the meat sit undisturbed for two minutes on the first side, then you can move it around if you must.

Davyd's Heartland thread on Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches got me wondering about all the wonderful styles of breaded, deep-fried red and nearly-red meats: various schnitzels and cutlets, chicken-fried steak, tonkatsu, the aforementioned pork tenderloin sandwiches, etc. What else is out there that you like? I'm a sucker for jagerschnitzel, defined by its mushroom-laden "hunter's" sauce.

Davydd, you are to pork tenderloin sandwiches in the "I" states as John is to hotdogs in New Jersey. And I'm glad to see that Leinie's by your side when you took a break from prepping. The perfect accompaniment. fwiw, your beloved sandwich, in addition to being a schnitzel derivative, is pretty close to the Japanese tonkatsu, though it's served on a plate, not bread. I love breaded, fried meat! Chicken fried steak, anyone?

I need an education: what makes a pork tenderloin sandwich different from a schnitzel (other than schnitzels are usually sauced and served as entrees, not sandwiches). I'm not talking Weiner schnitzel, obviously that's a different meat. Is a pork tenderloin actually made from what I recognize as a pork tenderloin, which is a long, cylindrical muscle that's maybe just two or three inches in diameter and maybe a foot or more long, growing narrower at one end? Or is it another cut and just pounded (like schnitzel) and called tenderloin? It certainly doesn't look like tenderloin from the photo. But it does look like a schnitzel. (Simply for the curious, I really like jagerschnitzel with lotsa mushrooms!)

Can't get primer than Jim's Prime Rib recommendation. Another possibility: Jack's Firehouse at Fairmount near 22nd, though I wouldn't recommend going on a Friday or Saturday night until after Halloween, due to the 'Terror Behind the Walls' show at the old Eastern State Penitentiary across the street and all the traffic that generates. Here are a few menu selections which (mostly) fit the "plain" bill, though I'll admit ribeye with parmesan risotto is pushing the "plain" envelope quite a bit. Otherwise, have you considered Little Pete's? A whole different level, but if that's what will keep dad happy . . . If an early dinner (before 7 p.m.) is feasible, consider the Down Home Diner at the Reading Terminal Market, though it's more burgers, fried chicken and meat loaf that roast beef. Or what about Jones: Or Ted's Montana Grill. It may be upper-middle chain food, but so long as your dad can accept bison rather than beef, it's pretty plain. Or The Famous Fourth Street. You can get plain food there (well, almost plain) as well as Jewish deli standards:

Here's the response I got from Wegman's when I queried them on this issue: I did double-check on the MSC website, and, indeed, Patagonian toothfish (a.k.a. Chilean Sea Bass) from the South Georgia/Sandwich Island/Falkland Islands region administered by the UK is a certified, sustainable fisheries.

Okay, I've seen frozen seafood from all over the globe: shrimp from southeast asia, Iceland filets, New Zealand green lipped mussels. But here's a new one I found at the Wegman's in Cherry Hill NJ last week with the following notations on the label: Seabass Cheeks Product of Falkland Islands Processed in China btw, they were priced at $15/pound.

There's another vendor selling unpasteurized apple cider at the RTM: Earl Livengood. The cider, pressed from Earl's own organic apples, sells for $2.85 a half gallon. The other vendor of unpasteurized cider is Benuel Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce. (Didn't check if Fair Food Farmstand has any; if anyone else does, they're the most likely.) Earl has an outside mill press his cider, but since that's done on Wednesdays he may not have any for this Tuesday's Passyunk & South Market, though he will at Fairmount Thursday and the RTM again next Saturday. Bought a half-pint box of chestnuts from Earl to roast, if not on an open fire, in the toaster oven. $1.25. Now that summer is definitely over, there's a minor glut of soft shell crabs, at least judged by the 17 percent price reduction at John Yi's: $5 apiece rather than $6. Nonetheless, signs of both summer and autumn abound. Very late season tomatoes still available at the various farm stands, though the end is well nigh. Lots of good deals at Iovine Brothers Produce this week, including Hass avocados continuing at 50-cents apiece, mineola oranges at five for a buck, and red, yellow and orange bell peppers all 99-cents a pound. And a nice variety of apples at all fruit vendors, including Macouns at L. Halteman. Now that Hatville Deli has moved their egg sales back into the main store, rather than the stall now occupied by AJ's Pickle Patch, you can no longer buy a half dozen. Sales by the dozen only. The RTM's annual Harvest Festival started today, and it appeared to be drawing extra crowds. Down Home Diner, Harry Ochs, Giunta's Prime Shop, Nanee, Kamal and other vendors set up shop on a hay-strewn Filbert Street ("Harry Ochs Way") as blue grass music played and Vinnie Iovine drove a tractor around the block pulling wannabe hayseeds. Also participating was at least one of the Pennsylvania Dutch vendors, Fisher's, selling fresh made nut brittles. The festival continues tomorrow (minus the Pennsylvania Dutch participants, who don't participate in Sunday hours).

I made this for myself yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. (This is a variation on the Big Apple Cobbler created by George Delgado of Libation, according to NY Magazine. He used apple schnapps, I used Calvados). 1-1/2 oz. bourbon 1/2 oz. Calvados or other apple brandy Pour over ice in a highball glass, then top almost all the way with apple cider (unpasteurized if you can get it), finishing off with a splash of ginger ale. To me, bourbon offers some caramel-like flavor, so maybe this would work for you.

I've found the difference in texture more pronounced than any difference in flavor. Shedders are softer, less fibrous; hard shells are, well, tougher. As one Maine lobster pound explains: think of shedders as veal-like, hard shells as steak-like.