rlibkind

Lots of good stuff at Livengood's today, including saffron. Mrs. Livengood (above) even brought in saffron flowers (a variety of crocus). She suggested adding a thread or two to a pot of potatoes just a minute or so before they are done boiling to give them a lovely color and hint of saffron flavor. Livengood's still had a few raspberries; Earl said he was surprised the frost didn't get them, but it was a light frost. They are delicious. In addition to the berries, I picked up some exceedingly fresh celery and what I assume is about the last of the season's tomatoes. Lots of good fall veggies at Livengood's, along with green and concord grapes. Stopped to look over Giunta's Natural & Prime Meats, which just opened this week. Impressive looking meats, reasonably priced. The chickens are Bell & Evans, an excellent quality bird (the same brand sold at Whole Foods under their own name). The beef and pork comes from a producer in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Vande Rose Farms. The producer also does hams; this week Giunta's only had spiral cuts, but I'll be on the lookout for steaks. Vande Rose's materials say they raise Duroc hots, "a 175-year-old pure breed known for its juicy and flavorful meat", and hereford beef. Construction has started on Hershel's deli in the former Spataro's space. No sign of a start yet on the new stall for Le Bus. At least a couple more vendors will be joining the Sunday opening program, including Tommy DiNic's. So, while you may not be able to buy a beer while watching the Eagles game at center court, at least you can get your sammie. Last week the only sandwich places open were Salumeria and Bassett's Turkey. The latter had very large lines last Sunday. Vinnie Iovine said that while last Sunday was slower than any other day of the week, it was still well worth opening. This week will be a fairer test: no big convention, no event like the Harvest Festival, and competition from the Eagles. Here's how Bassett's Turkey looked last Sunday:

Livengood's had their own saffron today at the Reading Terminal Market, $3.50 for a very small group of threads. Mrs. Livengood even brought him some saffron flowers:

Reading Terminal Market will have a TV in Center Court for Sunday's 1 p.m. Eagles-Tampa game. No huge screen, but at 32-inches it will be enough to keep tabs on the action while shopping.

That location isn't that crazy. Another pretty good restaurant (at least when I was a frequent visitor to Ithaca a few years back) is located just a couple of blocks away, Pangea. But this bistro looks great, based on the history of the chef/owner and the menu. Gotta find a reason to get back to Ithaca and taste what's been happening. (Particularly Dijon's confit duck on pumpkin risotto with fried sage - sounds like a fantastic autumn combination.)

The market is not open after 6. Official hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. All merchants (except the Pennsylvania Dutch) are supposed to be open and ready to serve customers during these hours. Merchants also have the option of opening for the new Sunday hours of 9 a.m.-4 p.m. My remark about 7 p.m. is merely "wish list" thinking. If fruits and veggies are what you want, you can depend on Iovine's to be open whenever the RTM doors aren't locked. If they could I think Vinnie and Jimmie would be open 24 hours a day!

Receiving the following email from RTM today:

I've never heard of poultry spleens here in the U.S., but Dan Rogov says chicken spleens go into "Jerusalem Grill" which is quite a tasty mix with bits of this and that and seasoning.

Looks like Franksville, Wisconsin, lost the title to Wishek. They used to grow a lot of kraut (cabbage) in Franksville and let it ferment in the field (at least it smelled that way).

they would have come back sooner, you know, but business has been dying off.... ... but seriously, there's been stiff competition for their convention. Of course it's tough to schedule anything, since they're always late.... thank ya folks, thank ya. i'll be here all week--try the veal, and don't forget to tip your waitresses. ← I'd love to play bad girl moderator here but it's just too silly... ← Geeez, I thought I'd be able to slip that one by under the radar!

Nearly Saturday-sized crowds at the Reading Terminal Market's first "test" Sunday for 2006. Fair selection of food purveyors open, as well as sellers of other wares and food-for-on-premises-consumption. RTM Manager Paul Steinke said five merchants opened who did not earlier indicate they would be, including the Thai food stand. Jim Iovine hopes that, based on how busy the market was today, some merchants who stayed closed but were "on the edge" of opening will be next Sunday. Longest line around noontime was at Bassett's Turkey. Other only places selling sandwiches were Salumeria and the Down Home Diner. Now, if only the Beer Garden could be open and put in a projection TV for Eagles games! Good turnout today might have been influenced by the Harvest Festival, which included food stands out on Harry Ochs Way (Filbert Street) and free tractor-pulled hayrides around the block. There is a fair-sized meeting starting tomorrow at the Convention Center which might have made the Sunday undertaking more profitable: the National Funeral Directors Association, which hasn't met in Philadelphia since 1950. The fee per car Parkway charges the RTM Merchants Association for customer parking in the garage goes up by 25 cents January 1 (to $5.50 from $5.25). Customers who spend $10 at the RTM are charged $2 for two hours, so the merchants provide a significant subsidy for shoppers. The association has to figure out whether to hold steady on what the customers pay or increase it; and because Parkway's machines aren't good in providing coin change, the merchants may consider raising the amount customers pay by an even dollar, which would also lessen their subsidy. As expected, Spataro's made the move to its new location this week, directly opposite Tommy DiNic's. Under their new lease Spataro's has added cheesesteaks to the menu, so Rick's Steaks now has a direct competitor. Speaking of new leases, they incorporate a new clause, which Steinke says will be enforced, requiring merchants to be open for business and prepared to serve customers until the official 6 p.m. closing time. All too many merchants start shutting down and cleaning up at 4-4:30 p.m. It's probably asking too much for them to stay open until 7 p.m. so those who have to stay in the office late can stop by and pick up something to eat at home, but that's definitely on my wish list. This past Thursday I picked up those fall raspberries at the Fairmount Market from Earl Livengood. They were spectacular (I served them alongside the chocolate buttercream topped chocolate cupcakes from Flying Monkey). The fall crop had lots more flavor than the summer berries. If he has them Tuesday at South Street, don't hesitate.

Lots of good quality Winesaps available at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market -- L. Halteman's stand Monday-Saturday, Benuel Kaufman's Wednesday-Saturday. I bought some today from Ben @ 99-cents a pound (three-pound minimum, otherwise he charges $1.49; Halteman's is 99-cents regardless of quantity, iirc.

Daniel, I know it's probably too late for suggestions, and the following is not for a wine, but could be quite tasty with those crostini: hard cider. A good quality apple (or even pear) cider would be a great addition. Especially a bubbly version: years ago I regularly consumed a fairly inexpected French bubbler, Pur Pom, but I haven't seen it in ages. But there are some decent American ciders, too. You just have to look for them.

I know it's October, but would you believe Earl Livengood featured raspberries this past Saturday? The price of limes (but not lemons) dropped considerably. Over at O.K. Lee's, a bag of 7 to 10 went for $1 on Saturday; Iovine Brothers was selling them loose at six for a buck. Also at Iovine: Hass avocados $1 each, fresh peanuts in the shell back at $2.49. Bell pepper survey: greens and reds 99-cents/pound, oranges and yellows $3.99. Mix-and-match: nine varieties of apples at L. Halteman's, all priced at 99-cents a pound. Kaufman's featured slightly pricier Macouns and Winesaps; I found the Macouns lacked their usual snap. Plenty of unpasteurized cider available when I stopped by about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. On the fish front, headless sardines at Golden $3.99, the same price as headless smelts. Over at John Yi's a fish I haven't seen in a while, bonita; it was prided at $2.50 each for whole fish. Spanish mackeral filets $3.99. King salmon $13.99. Soft shell crabs still around at $4 apiece (slightly pricer per at Golden, but available at that price if you buy five). Spataro's was scheduled to make the move to its new location today, opposite Tommy DiNic's. (On Saturday they were hanging the new menu signboard.) That clears the way for Hershel's Deli to begin construction at the old Spataro's stand, with the goal of a November opening. In other moves, Giunta's Meats aims to open this Saturday; no decision yet on whether it will be open on Sundays. LeBus is scheduled to start work this week on its new stall. This Sunday marks the first Sunday opening of the "test" this year. As of Saturday about three dozen merchants had signed on. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This coming weekend also marks a two-day Harvest Festival, including the Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin contest: There seems to have been an improvement in the parking rates at the Parkway garage across 12th street. With the RTM discount ($10 purchase), the rates for time beyond two hours have gone down. In the past, if you stayed past the two hours for two bucks max the rates kicked up into the stratosphere. Now their a bit more reasonable: $6.50 for up to 2-1/2 hours, $11 for up to three hours. If I recall correctly, in the past the rate shot up to the $20 range if you stayed beyond two hours.

Decisions, decisions, decisions! In no particular order: Braised short ribs Braised lamb shanks Grilled/broiled lamb rib chops Braised then grilled lamb riblets (breast) Slow roasted lamb shoulder Slow roasted pork butt Pork Belly Beef navel (when prepared as pastrami) Outer trim from beef prime rib roast Pittsburgh rare hamburger (made from mix of 60% chuck, 20% short rib, 20% sirloin) Braised veal breast

The RTM's Sunday hours start Oct. 15. So far, nearly three dozen vendors have signed on for the Sunday openings this fall. Among the fresh food purveyors, all three fresh fish stalls, Iovines, Harry Ochs, and Fair Food Farmstand will participate, as expected. Among the missing (not counting the Pennsylvania Dutch stands, of course) are O.K. Lee Produce, Godshall's Poultry, Coastal Cave, Downtown Cheese, and Martin's Quality Meat. The initial Sunday is coincident with the RTM's annual Harvest Festival, which will be held that Saturday and Sunday. Hay rides around the block for the kids, extra goodies for the foodies on Filbert Street (Harry Ochs Way), which will be closed to vehicular traffic, other than hay trailers.

It's not usually thought of as a pie variety, but Winesaps/Staymans work pretty well. Hold their shape quite reasonably.

You mean Twenty21, don't you? What had been Cutter's changed ownership and names several years ago. I loved those gorgonzola waffle fries, too, but Cutter's took them off the menu about six or seven years ago, iirc. Have you been back and have they been reinstated?

e.d. Smith uses Northern Spy apples: website. Retail product under the e.d. Smith brand is available in Canada. Although they do do private label work for U.S. Supermarkets, including Wakefern (Shop Rite) and Wegman's, they limit this to salad dressings and marinades. Couldn't tell from website whether the pie filling is available in U.S., but although Northern Spy is hard to find as a fresh apple, except at the stands of orchards which grow them, they are a big canning apple, much favored by processors. Not only in canned apple ie filling, but for frozen apple pies. Although their website doesn't specify the variety, I would suspect Comstock uses Northern Spy, too.

Northern Spy or Rhode Island Greenings for pie. Not the easiest apples to find, but they are available in the Northeast.

I've always had a soft spot in my heart (to say nothing of plaque in my arteries) for the Chinos y Comidos (sp?) joint on Washington between 2nd & 3rd, at least the one that existed when I lived in Hoboken in the mid-1970s. It was awful but filling, a guilty pleasure if ever there was one.

Marc's creamed corn suggestion is intriguing; another possibility might be grits.

I've found the smoked fish at the Famous (under its new ownership) of good quality and expertly sliced. Like other good appy stores, they don't add the onions and cream sauce until they've sliced the herring, and they will put the onions and sauce in a separate container if you like.

Good advice! I bought some from Sam at the South & Passyunk market this afternoon... so very very good. And yeah, custardy as all getout. Why have I gone so long without eating these before? ← I turned the pawpaws I bought Saturday into a quart of ice cream tonight. Read all about it here.

Every year at this time, I buy a couple pawpaws from a vendor at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, Earl Livengood. And each year, eating them fresh, I commit myself to making something else out of them. Today, I finally did: ice cream. I used a cooked base, adding about a cup and a half of strained pawpaws (about five pawpaws) and a scant teaspoon of vanilla, to half a quart each of whole milk and half-and-half (not ultra-pasteurized), in addition to the sugar (just shy of a full cup) and two eggs. (I didn't go for a true French base, that would have been much too rich for the fruit, but I did want a little more richness than a Philadelphia-style recipe usually produces.) Wow! It's aging in the fridge's freezer now, but it was superb right out of the ice cream freezer. The pawpaw flavor came right through: banana-like, but with a subtle acid accent, just a little spicy. Many recipes call for adding a little lemon juice and/or substantial quantities of orange juice; totally unnecessary. The key, as in all fruit ice creams, is to make sure the fruit is absolutely perfectly ripe. In the case of pawpaws, that means they will have considerable brown patches on the thin green skin. You'll know they're ready when you walk into the kitchen from the out of doors and are delighted by the tropical fruity scent -- all the more incredible given that pawpaws (the largest native American fruit) grow in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states as well as the South. Each fruit has about a dozen or more rather large black seeds, but it's easy to separate the flesh from the seeds with an implement (I used the back of a wooden spoon) to mash the pulp through the strainer. PS: Don't confuse these pawpaws, Asimina triloba, with the tropical fruit sometimes called pawpaw, which is another name for the papaya.

Article in Sunday's T, the travel magazine of the New York Times, looked at a Finger Lakes wine tour, including stops at two of my favs, Hermann J. Wiemer for wine, and Dano's Heuriger for food. Based on the article, I'd like to taste two of the dessert wines mentioned, Lamoreaux’s Riesling Ice Wine and Anthony Road’s Trockenbeeren. The article failed to mention my favorite hamburger / applie pie spots, the Triangle Restaurant in King Ferry.