rlibkind

That's something that's easy to say, tougher to prove, one way or the other. Here's at least one fact: RTM management has made efforts over the past year to find additional work/storage space for merchants who need it. Ask Steve of Hershel's. They were going gangbusters selling pastrami and couldn't keep up with demand, nor did they have anyplace in their stall to add more cooking capacity. RTM found it for them. There may well be other examples of which I'm unaware. Now, onto some logic. RTM management's desire to keep the place buzzing 'til the official 6 p.m. closing is no secret. That didn't come about because they wanted to get rid of Rick or anyone else. But if the market is going to insist that merchants stay open 'til 6 p.m., they've got to provide them with the means. How could Tommy possibly stay open 'til then if he didn't have the capacity to meet the demand? The market, by finding a way to help Tommy increase his capacity, provides the economic incentive for Tommy to stay open later and sell more meat. If that's conspiracy, I'm all for it.

More about Tommy's broccoli rabe and even greater news, here.

In another PA topic, bluehensfan notes that Tommy DiNic's experimented with broccoli rabe late last week. I'll add to that, and more. Joe and Tommy told me Saturday that they were quite surprised how well the rabe was received. They tried it a few years ago and it didn't go over very well at all, so they dropped it. But they now plan to add it regularly. But there's even bigger news. Tommy said RTM manager Paul Steinke has made available some additional space elsewhere in the market for most of his refrigeration needs. When that happens, probably late summer or early fall, Tommy will quadruple his low-temp oven capacity. That means more pork, beef and everything else. And with that added cooking capacity, Tommy will stay open and serve until 6 p.m. market closing! No more running out of meat by 2 p.m. That's very much in line with RTM management's goal of keeping all businesses open 'til 6 p.m. and increasing business levels. Tommy likes it because it means more revenue for him and looks forward to it. And to answer everyone's obvious question: No cheesesteaks.

There are active efforts among all the parties involved to reach a resolution, and, as Joe noted, Rick's rally and news conference was called off for today. That's because enough progress has been made, but no deal is cinched. Monday Rick will meet with the RTM board's leasing committee. Again, no guarantee that this will be resolved without going to court, but the parties are talking.

Both sides have been playing chicken, Holly. Rick has a legal problem. And RTM has a relationship problem with many of its tenants. Like you, I hope both sides can find an accommodation that works.

No matter what your views on the basic issue, why should RTM hire a second-rate attorney? Sprague gets results. Just ask the Inquirer. I doubt RTM is nervous on any legal grounds: while one can debate the wisdom of RTM's decision not to offer Rick a new lease, nothing I've learned through the press and in talking with some of the principals leads me to believe there are any grounds under which a court would order RTM to grant a lease. For good reason Rick and his attorney have tried to make this a PR case, not a legal case: they are unlikely to prevail in court. Hiring Sprague tells them RTM's board is firm in its position and will not cave to a PR onslaught. This will cause Rick's attorney (and Rick) to reassess the likelihood of legal success and the costs of trying. RTM hired the big gun as an effort to avoid the expense, delay and uncertainty of a trial, not a sign of weakness.

← An illogical conclusion (and spot-on wrong) if I have correctly unobfuscated Rick Nichols' closing paragraph. If Rick Nichols is opining that Rick Olivieri (too many Rick's here) is fighting against the interests of the market, his fellow merchants, the customers and the City of Philadelphia, I'd ask Rick Nichols to detail the thinking that led to such a conclusion. I fail to see how Rick Olivieri trying to save his business of 25 years does any damage to the interests of the market et al. ← You call it as you see it, Holly. But one can acknowledge the logic of your conclusion (that keeping Oliveri's business would not harm the market) while still asserting that bringing in someone else might strengthen it. You obviously don't agree with that interpretation, but it has as much logic as the one you posit.

Rick Nichols' column in the Inky today, which can be found here, was nearly a "on-the-one-hand-this, on-the-other-hand-that" kinda of piece, until you came to the last paragraph. Parse it closely (not the easiest sentence to understand, and I suspect Rick, who knows how to write a clear, declarative sentence, obfuscated purposely) and you can figure out what he really thinks:

That inconsistency -- some dishes sublime, others obvious miscarriages that should never have gotten through the pass -- was a hallmark, if you will, when McAndrews was at Rembrandt's. Last time we ate in Rembrandt's main dining room while the kitchen was still under his supervision, I had a wonderfully savory cassoulet-like concoction which warmed me up all over; She Who Must Be Obeyed sent her absolutely awful calves liver back -- twice ! Finally the owner intervened and presented her with a steak, instead.

It's called Mirai. And a very nice corn it is. Very sweet, with cobs full of consistently sized kernels. Farmers near Philadelphia have been growing it for about three years. It can be had at the Reading Terminal Market in late July and well into August, though it's a tad more expensive.

At Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market leg on the bone can be obtained at US$4.99/pound, which is pretty much the same price as Peter the Eater cites for eastern Canada. The popularity of shanks has, unfortunately, driven up its price. But I'm a lover of fatty cuts, so shoulder is less expensive than leg, and breast even cheaper. I love the fatty cuts so much that about a month ago I asked one of the butchers at the Reading Terminal Market to save me the trimmings from when he frenches rib chops, which he usually puts into the grinder. He sold me a two pounds, which included the ends from the breast riblets with a little bit of bone, for what worked out to be US$1.80/pound. They were yummy, after marination in yogurt, then highly seasoned before indirect grilling.

What he said. Though I can understand one being hijacked by a Salumeria prosciutto hoagie with all the fixings, including artichokes and house dressing. Or even a pastrami sandwich at one of the RTM's newest additions since you left for Spotted Cow Country: Hershel's East Side Deli, which puts Ella's Deli to shame. (If you do go for the pastrami, ask them not to trim all the fat off -- lean pastrami is a sin.) Just save room to beat the heat with a dish of ice cream at Bassetts.

Yummy, Phil. I'll be at Dano's Friday evening after stopping across the lake to stock on some Wiemer's. Saturday morning will be time for a revisit to the Ithaca Farmers' Market where some Bergeré bleu from Northland Sheep Dairy has my name on it.

You get what you pay for. In this case, mush. Either defrosted improperly or simply sitting in water too long. Whatever. Not spoiled, mind you, as in dangerous to eat. But not pleasant. The flavor was barely okay. But the texture was awful. FWIW, I grilled them with a butter-fish sauce-lime juice baste.

The whole chicken from Mountain View Poultry was quite nice. I cut it into "sixths" rather than quarters (separating wing and its little drumstick from breast) and grilled them with simple seasonings. Juicy, tasty.

Not much to add to Sandy's comprehensive report, but here goes... I was shocked and appalled with the "margherita" at Illuminare. It used to be excellent. Now it's non-existent. On top of this, I thought it inexcuseable for the cheese to be burnt. That means either one or both of two things: cheap cheese and not enough attention paid by the cook. Given that there were only a handful of tables occupied, if the problem was inattention that's even worse. But as Sandy says, the space, indoors and out, is gorgeous. Over the past year I've enjoyed the fried calamari and panini there, so visit if only for the ambiance and decent enough fare. I had pizza at Rembrandt's (the malfatto) a couple of months ago, and while it was okay, I was turned off a bit by the excess greasiness -- it actually made the middle of the crust a bit soggy on the bottom. That problem appears to be banished, at least as demonstrated by our clam pie which, in all honesty, would have been better without the in-the-shell clams. They probably steamed the clams first, then placed them on top of the pie in the oven. Would have been better with fresh clams just taken out of the shell and placed on the pie. And why did they place five clams on a six-slice pie? Ran out of clams? (Well, yes. I spoke with a friend who arrived as we were eating, and she tried to order the clam pie but was told it was 86'd.) I would have liked a little bit more garlic punch, but then again, I'm one who believes it's pretty hard to use too much garlic. My beer, btw, was Grimbergen Blonde, a trappist but not at all heavy. Surprisingly crisp with light fruit and spice. Although not a classic summer beer, it goes well with the season. (Jim Anderson, a former Fairmount resident who operates a pub, restaurant and hotel about 10-15 miles outside Inverness, Scotland, introduced me to this brew when I stopped by his wonderful establishment for lunch three years ago. His place, The Anderson, is in Fortrose, Black Isle.)

<a onblur= href="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1183876680/gallery_7493_1206_315913.jpg"><img'>http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1183876680/gallery_7493_1206_315913.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1183876680/gallery_7493_1206_315913.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div> Today was the second week for the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market and I was there. Over at North Star Orchards, field grown tomatos were much in evidence, $2.50/pound. I purchased three hefty specimens; they aren't pretty, due to skin cracking, but based on the one I enjoyed with lunch, they are superior in flavor. Real tomatoes have arrived! I also acquired a fresh chicken from Mountain View Poultry Farm (they sell fresh and frozen chicken and turkey, as well as grassfed meats, organic produce and organic eggs) which I'll cut up and put on the grill tonight. I'm looking forward to tasting the chicken. Pictured on the right are some fresh shallots and flowers at the Blooming Glen Farm stall, immediately found upon entering on the Lombard Street side. The number of merchants seemed about the same as last week, but like then, there were a number of spots that were posted as space for a particular vendor, but no one was there. Perhaps I arrived too early (10 a.m., the market's opening hour) or perhaps they were no-shows. Since everyone was talking about the daise last week, I bought a bunch from Queen Farm to mix in with the red butter lettuce from Wimer Organics. Over at A.T. Buzby, they said the canteloupe was a couple of weeks early -- they started picking last weekend. Based on the wonderful melon aroma that wafted throughout my car by the time I got back home to Fairmount, I'd say it's a good melon. We'll crack it open tonight after it's chilled. Here's my full shopping list for today: MOUNTAIN VIEW POULTRY ($14.05) Whole chicken, $3.99/pound NORTH STAR ORCHARDS ($4.50) Tomatoes, $2.50/pound A.T. BUZBY ($5.50) Canteloupe, $3.50 Corn, 50-cents @ WIMER ORGANICS ($1.80) Lettuce QUEEN'S FARM ($1.50) Daise

Joe, glad you've gone from lurking to posting, so welcome to eGullet! Please don't hesitate to bring both the facts as you know them and your valuable perspective as a merchant to the discussions here. It assuredly will help keep us focused and honest! The role of the lunch vendors in support of the market's mission is an important subject, one I hope we can explore in greater depth and detail.

If you're gonna do brats, may as well do Miesfeld's of Sheboygan. As good as Usinger's is (and they are, they are!), Miesfeld's is even better.

Jersey tomatos have arrived at Iovine Brothers Produce: Everyone else appears to have greenhouse tomatos. But the local field tomatoes should start to appear in two to three weeks. Get ready! Langoustines (a.k.a. scampi, Dublin prawns, etc.) usually sell for close to $20 a pound, frozen, imported from Thailand or other Southeast Asian producers. Golden Seafood had them for $8.99 today, already thawed. I bought a pound (about five langoustines) even though I figured they're on sale because they're already defrosted and have a very short shelf life. They'll get grilled tomorrow (doubt I'll be able to eat them tonight after Pizza Club) and I'll report on the quality. The Livengood Family will host its annual farm tour and corn roast for customers on Sunday, July 29, on the Morningside Drive farm on the outskirts of Lancaster. The evening meal will be pot luck. For details, stop by the stand Saturday at the RTM, Tuesday at the South & Passyunk Market, 3-7 p.m., or Thursday at the Fairmount Market, also 3-7 p.m. Or call the Livengoods at 717 464-2698. Cactus pears (also known as prickly pears or, in Israel, sabra), have been back at Iovine's for the past two weeks, $1.99/pound. Usually I find them at O.K. Lee during the season, which runs from now through late fall, but not this week. Among Iovine's other offerings: English cucumbers two for a buck; hydroponic red peppers (slight scars), two pounds for $1; green bell peppers 99 cents, orange and yellows, $1.99. Local string beans of various types are plentiful. Earl Livengood is charging $3.95 a pint for green beans, wax beans and yellow Roma (flat) beans. Benuel Kauffman's wax and green beans go for $2.99/pound. Since I didn't weigh Earl's, can't say which is a better bargain. Berries and cherries remain plentiful. Here's the price breakdown. All are from local orchard except Iovine, which is offering West Coast dark cherries). Dark sweet cherries: $2.99/pound Iovine, $4.30 pint/$9.00 quart Fair Food Farmstand, $3.95/$6.95 Benuel Kauffman, $3.95/$6.95 Earl Livengood. Queen Anne cherries: $4.75/$9.50 Fair Food, $3.95/$6.95 Kauffman. Pie (sour) cherries: $4.00/$7.50 Fair Food, $6.95/quart Kaufman, $2.95/$5.50 Livengood. Blueberries: $4.00/$7.50 Fair Food, $4.95 pint Kauffman, $4.50 Livengood. Red raspberries (half-pint): $4.00 Fair Food, $3.95 Kauffman, $3.95 Livengood. Black rasperries $3.00 at Kauffman's. A very brief shopping list for me this week, since I'll be visiting Headhouse Square tomorrow: IOVINE BROTHERS PRODUCE ($2.94) Lemons Limes Bananas EARL LIVENGOOD (Approx. $8.50) Dark cherries Red onion KAUFFMAN'S LANCASTER COUNTY PRODUCE Black raspberries GOLDEN SEAFOOD ($9.26) Langoustines HERSHEL'S EAST SIDE DELI ($4.30) Lox

You should have looked at page 26 as well as page 27. Anyone who does will discover that the violations found on May 5, 2006 were corrected by the time of reinspection 10 days later. So, they were made aware of a problem and fixed it. That's hardly the lengthy "history" of problems you suggest. ← Bob, Actually the point that I was trying to make was not so much as to pick on the Down Home Diner, but showing that Rick has been singled out by management and given the boot because of politics. As another example, Franks-A-Lot and Tokyo Sushi were both on the chopping block a few years ago but were given time to "clean up their act" because of problems with their operations. My question is why was Rick not afforded the same opportunity as these vendors? ← I was strictly addressing the insinuation made about the Down Home Diner. It was very unfair. Franks-a-Lot and Tokyo Sushi had operational problems/real lease issues that had to be addressed; they were given a chance to address them and did. Let's face it, there are no lease issues with Rick's, at least in terms of lease violations, rent payments, etc. It's either about politics and retailiation (if you believe Olivieri) or it's about making the market better (if you believe the RTM). Or perhaps it's a bit of both, which is more likely than any single explanation.

You should have looked at page 26 as well as page 27. Anyone who does will discover that the violations found on May 5, 2006 were corrected by the time of reinspection 10 days later. So, they were made aware of a problem and fixed it. That's hardly the lengthy "history" of problems you suggest. Given your suggestion, if one wanted to reward those operations at the RTM that have brought it renown, Down Home Diner would be a likelier candidate than Rick's Steaks. It also has more convenient hours than any other business at the market -- it's open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weeknights, vs. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (allegedly) for other merchants, though many don't open until 9 or 10 and some close as early as 4:30. (Some of this has to do with security issues: the Down Home Diner has access from the street through it's own door, and access to the rest of the market can be restricted. But that's quibbling. If enough other operators in the market wanted to operate those hours, all the other market's doors would be open earlier and later.)

Channel 29 web page report here .Click on the "Sidebar / Related Items / Video" box to see the video report. KYW News Radio web page story here. No audio available.

I'll be driving out of Old Forge heading south on a Monday later this month, and would appreciation suggestions for a brunch/lunch stop in the Utica area.

[Moderator note: The original Reading Terminal Market topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Reading Terminal Market (Part 1)] As scheduled, Foster's Gourmet Cookware pulled up stakes after the close of business last Saturday. So if you want to buy a kitchen gadget at the RTM you're out of luck. Market GM Paul Steinke still looking to sign a vendor in that line, but nothing yet. Foster's reopens Aug. 1 at 399 Market, consolidating the kitchen-centric stock of the RTM outlet with the home style offerings of the Third Street store.