rlibkind

Sounds great. But after checking the web link, I'm not surprised. The owner has a number of other diners, one of which I've tried before, The Colonial in East Brunswick, and is simply wonderful and good value. The other diners in the group are: Pines Manor, Edison, and Americana, East Windsor.

Same goes for Elmora Bagels on Elmora Avenue in Elizabeth. Alas, they have stopped making bialys.

Asparagus was much in evidence at today's "Third Thursday Producers' Corner" event at the RTM, and not just in this frittata: There were also place settings from Foster's featuring candles surrounded by an asparagus stockade: A goodly sized crowd was on hand for most of the first hour, enjoying some of the tastes: red or white sangria from Blue Mountain Vineyards, asparagus cooked in a bamboo steamer or the pictured frittata in frittata pan (both from Fosters), green salad from Fair Food Farmstand, honeycomb from Bee Natural, bread with white bean spread from Metropolitan Bakery, and jam on Metropolitan bread and John and Kira's (formerly Jubilee) chocolates from the Pennsylvania General Store. As 5 o'clock neared and passed, however, the crowd thinned. The theme, "Al Fresco entertaining", wasn't much in evidence except in the displays/place settings from Foster's. Now, if they had had a pushcart selling tube steak's from Al Fresco's umbrella stand . . . .

Cabbagehead's savory custard would also go well with some mushrooms as well as that salad.

I enjoyed a previous incarnation about six years ago, when Dano operated a similar establishment on the grounds of Standing Stone winery. It was delightful and the epitome of casual dining. Although my travels rarely bring me to the Finger Lakes anymore, if they do I would make a point of visiting the new place. As an aside, although it's been out of business about five or six years, his former eponymous restaurant in downtown Ithaca was marvelous. The food was excellent in a mittel-European style (though using local whenever possible), the wine choice wide-ranging without being overwhelming (as well as appropriate to the menu), and the service absolutely on target.

Its website says it's only open on Fridays and Saturdays during May.

One of the finest Finger Lakes producers, Herman J. Wiemer, is located about 30-40 minutes due south of Geneva on Rt. 14, on the west shore of Seneca Lake. Great rieslings in the Moselle style; and try the ice wine, too. Since I don't know what Geneva and environs offers in terms of food, I concur with Dryden's recommendation to head east to Skaneateles, about a one hour trip along U.S. 20. In addition to the finer establishments there's always Doug's Fish Fry for very nicely fried fish, whose proprietor was less than happy when Bill and Hillary spent a week on vacation there; instead, they went to the Blue Water Grill. However, avoid The Krebs; pedestrian food, even if it is a landmark establishment.

It's hard to underprice Iovine's when the brothers set their mind to it. While locally grown strawberries were selling at about $2.50 to $4.75 a pint, Iovines was selling one-pound clamshells of Mexican berries (nearly two pints' worth) for a buck. Of course, there's a reason why Iovines has to underprice everyone else: The Mexican berries just can't compete on taste. The local berries ares superior and they are getting better. The two pints I picked up at Earl Livengood's today ($4.75 a pint or two for $9) taste like peak season berries, even if they are an early variety. Considerably better than what I bought Tuesday at Rineer Farms at the South Street market (though I suspect their berries will be better this coming week, too). By the left I left the market at 10:30 Fair Food Farmstand had maybe one pint left ($2.50); although Benuel Kaufman had a sign proclaiming a price of $3.95, iirc, he had none on display. He did, however, have rhubarb, and was also selling individual-sized rhubarb pies. Fair Food had both globe and French breakfast radishes for a buck a bunch (I popped one of the FBRs into my mouth upon returning home, and it had a tad ofr sweetness (which I'm sure cooking would intensify) as well as a subdued but there peppery bite. Local scallions still omnipresent at the local produce vendors. Earl Livengood's strawberries Asparagus is another example where Iovines displays its pricing power: $1 a bunch. I don't know whether or not they were local (doubtful, but possible), but they certainly were a good deal. The local purveyors (Earl, Benuel, Fair Food) were selling them for up to $4 a bunch. If you want fiddleheads, visit OK Lee ($11.99/pound). Iovines' ramps priced at $3.99, not as long in- the-tooth as they were a week or so ago, but not as perky as when they first arrived at the market in April. The real bargain of the day at Iovine's? Avocados. The U.S. Hass crop from the San Diego area has started to arrive, and Iovines had them at 2/$1. They are smallish, but it's still a good price. Also at Iovines: Tray-packed plum tomatoes worked out to a buck a pound, vs. $1.99 for loose ones. Seedless green grapes 99-cents for a bag weighing just under two pounds. String beans 79 cents/pound. Pepper report: greens and oranges 99-cents, reds $1.29, yellows $3.99. What's different about this photo taken at Iovine's today? Answer: there's no display board showing prices on top of the bins. Instead, prices are displayed (unshown in photo) at the base of the bins. This only holds true in the center aisle at Iovines; it was removed to give a better view of what's happening from the managerial post on the front end. Still waiting for the 2006 run of Pacific salmon to arrive; the frozen king was selling at Yi's for $12.99. Soft shell crabs $5 apiece or two for $9, Today was flea market day at the parking lot across the street from the RTM. About four dozen vendors. As part of the RTM's deal with flea market operator Tony Soprano (yes, that's his name, really) no food vendors are permitted. Here's a photo taken from the fifth floor of the parking garage

Pierson's e-mail said 2-7p, but I wouldn't count on anyone being there before 3 or after 6.

Yes, it's Strawberry Season! Here's what was offered at Tuesday's South & Passyunk market: These came from Rineer Farms, one of two new vendors at the South St. market. The berries were priced at $3.75 a pint box. They tasted pretty good, but they are, after all, early season berries. Wait two weeks more and they'll be even more luscious. Here's a wider view of Rineer's stand: They also offered scallions (green onions), spinach and, iirc, asparagus. Another new vendor this year is Forrest Acres, specializing in pork and poultry. Proprietor Tom Forrest told me he usually butchers two hogs a week. The hogs are a Berkshire-Tamwood hybrid. The pork chops looked great, not at all lean with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending upon your point of view) dose of marbling. I plan to cook them tomorrow. From Earl Livengood I purchased a single smallish tomato for $1.35 ($3.95/pound). Poke, asparagus, scallions and spinach was available. A returning purveyor, Highfield Dairy, selling goat milk and cheese, along with some cow cheese, was also there today. Bob Pierson of Farm To City, in a brief e-mail announcing today's start of the season, wrote that "Big Sky Bakery will return in several weeks and Paul Hauser in July when his peaches are ripe ".

There's no single deli that offers the best of every item they sell, imho, not even DiBruno's. But by selective shopping, you can approximate it. DiBruno's and Claudio's cover a lot of the bases as far as Italian is concerned. The Famous does well with some of the Jewish staples (we'll wait to see how the new kosher style deli at the RTM does), and for German you can try Rieker's in the NE and, at the Reading Terminal Market, Dutch Country Meats for a small but excellent selection of bolognas, head cheeses and veal loaves (as well as a few brats), L. Halteman's for some smoked items as well as some sausages, and even Hatville Farms which generally carries cheaper stuff but does have a couple of items worth purchasing (like souse). (I dearly miss Siegfried's for German style cold cuts). Another national purveyor of Italian cold cuts is Volpi from "The Hill" in St. Louis; some of their meats (many of which are at least as good as Citterio and Fioruci) contribute to the superiority of Salumeria's hoagies. I concur DTBarton regarding the superiority of most supermarket cooked turkey breast over deli turkey; that sometimes holds true for roast beef as well.

Did you ever go to a sausage factory? Or the public galleries at the House of Representatives? The former reminds me of an old joke: This "greenhorn", a recent immigrant to the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century, gets a job in a sausage factory. The foreman patiently shows him his job and demonstrates how to do it: using string to separate the encased meat blend coming out of the sausage-making machine into individiual links. Try as he might, however, the greenhorn just didn't get it: it was like Lucy on the chocolate production line, unable to do it right or keep up; the few links he managed to create were of highly uneven lengths. The foreman, recognizing the problem and with even more patience, re-instructed the newcomer on how to wrap and secure the string around the sausage as it emerges from the machine, explaning: "If at wurst you don't succeed, tie, tie again."

Harry Ochs, among others, sells Boar's Head all-beef, natural casing franks. It's not Best Provisions (Newark) nor Ussinger's (Milwaukee), but it is very, very good. And, at least for the products I've tasted, Boar's Head isn't just marginally better than D&W, it's lots better. Although I'm a "newcomer" to Philadelphia (I only moved here 27 years ago from Hoboken) I've never thought D&W was a superior product.

The Rittenhouse Square farmers' market was supposed to have started up today. Any reports? Earl Livengood says he'll start this week at the Tuesday afternoon (beginning at 3 p.m.) market at Passyunk & South. The following week he'll start going to Fairmount & 22nd on Thursdays, same start time.

It is a can of worms, and one that market management has been unable or unwilling to crack. The reason, for lack of a better word, is Tradition. Flying Monkey is the least of the culprits. Only a handful of merchants stay open until 6, and the Pennsylvania Dutch merchants aren't even there Mondays and Tuesdays, and quit by 3 p.m. Wednesdays and 5 p.m. other days. I've found food store proprietors to have widely differing attitudes. There are others like those Pike Place fishmongers who appreciate the payback they can gain by working those hours. Iovine's is like that, and they'd be there on Sundays and until 10 or 11 at night if the RTM would let them, or they could convince other merchants to do the same so that all could benefit from the traffic. There are others who simply wish to do as well as they've always done, and have no need to expand/grow their business. It's like the Italian bakery or pizzeria that makes the same amount of dough a day, and when it's gone, it's gone. Some of the merchants at the RTM have the same attitude.

Since tomorrow is Kentucky Derby Day, it's time to make Mint Juleps. That's what I plant to do with a beautiful, big fragrant bunch I purchased for a buck from Benuel Kaufman. Local asparagus everywhere! Price per bunch: Kaufman $3.49 (2 for $6); L. Halteman $2.69; Fair Food $4. Just why do bell pepper prices bounce around so much? At Iovine's today, reds and greens and oranges 99-cents/pound, yellows $3.99. String beans a bargain at 79 cents. I picked up a large, heavy mango at Iovine's, which appears ready to eat, for $1.49: Iovines had both English seedless cucumbers ($2.49 apiece, each weighing about a pound) and Persian seedless ($1.99/pound). The English cukes are tightly wrapped in plastic since their flimsy skin doesn't travel well; the smaller Persians, however, have a less delicate rind and come unwrapped. As far as preparing goes, treat them the same. Both make excellent Scandinavian-style quick pickles. Baby fennel at Fair Food looked intriguing, though expensive at $4 for a small bunch. Had one of the fishmongers had fresh sardines available I would have made buccatini con sardi for dinner tonight. Soft shell crabs $5 apiece at Yi's, $3.99 at Wan's (since I didn't look at them side by side I can't affirm they are the same size, which could account for the price difference). The excellent halibut steaks at John Yi went up a buck in price, to $10.99. Pennsylvania General Store will be adding another line of chocolates: John & Kira's (formerly Jubilee Chocolates). PAGS also vends a luxurious line of Swiss style truffles made in Lancaster County by a genuine Swiss chocolate maker as well as the Philadelphia standard, Asher's. John & Kira's hasn't been regularly available at the RTM since Assouline Caviar closed shop there last year. The RTM will be marketing the court area by Fair Food, Pennsylvania General Store, Blue Mountain Vineyar, Bee Natural and Metropolitan Bakery as the "Local Produce Corner" with special events on the first Thursday of each month. (The area is also home to Green Valley Dairy, cheese-maker every Saturday.) This month, on May 18 from 4 to 6 p.m., the free tasting event will be "Al Fresco Entertaining". Also on the market calendar, the sixth annual Fireman's Pancake Breakfast this Saturday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to noon. All proceeds benefit the Hepatits 'C' Awareness Fund. Old City Coffee will teach you the basics and then some of coffee roasting May 17 beginning at 4 p.m. The Reading Terminals jazz band does its regular gig Friday, May 19, from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

Consider a savory custard ringed with morels and other fresh mushrooms (chantarelles, perhaps?) and spring vegetables, like asparagus, sauced in a light wine-butter emulsion. I would imagine a riesling would work very well with this (but then, I think riesling goes well with just about anything). I'd avoid truffles with this: too much of a good thing.

Rebecca says she officially opens at 10 a.m., which might account for the paucity of goodies in the cases at 9:30. I've suggested to her that, at least on Saturdays, she might want to consider officially opening when the market does at 8 a.m.

Salicornia (sea beans) have 2 grams sodium per 100 grams fresh weight. That's a pretty high salt content. Raw green beans have only 6 milligrams sodium per 100 grams, celery 80 mg per 100g, kelp (seaweed) 233 mg per 100g. So, at 2 grams (2,000 mg), salicornia would seem to be a record holder for salt content in a vegetable.

Sea beans are not a seaweed. Rather, they are a plant that grows near the sea, and do take up a bit of salt. They are more properly known as salicornia, more commonly known as samphire or glasswort. A couple different varieties are consumed in different parts of the world. As Bill noted in starting the current topic, they go great with seafood. You might also want to try them tossed in a vinegar pickle (just a touch of sugar added to vinegar and water).

Just to build on Vadouvan's comments, and repeat what I noted earlier, within the same species what's more important than the geographic location is the freshness and handling of the fish. That will have a much greater impact on the taste and texture than whether the fish is from the Copper River district or Taku or Bristol Bay or wherever. I think the reason the Copper River King I've had has been so good is because of the quality of the catching and shipping and the swiftness with which it is brought to market. My basic attitude in buying fish for cooking at home or ordered in a restaurant is what's best today, not what fish is it. In other words, I'd rather have a Jersey blue right out of the water than a week-old salmon, but I'd rather have a week-old salmon (properly shipped and handled) than a two-day old Jersey blue.

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I sampled the plain chocolate layer cake from Flying Monkey. If you're looking for the "decadent" style dense like a brick chocolate cake with barely any flour, or a "lava" cake or a cake that's more ganache than anything else, don't buy the Flying Monkey's version. But if you're looking for a chocolate cake that's cake, then you'll probably enjoy this example, as we did. SWMBO observed that the frosting was of a creamy European style and remindered her in taste of the Ice Cube chocolate candies, a German chocolate that derives its distinct flavor and texture by using coconut oil for the fat rather than cocoa butter or other food industry oils. The cake itself, she thought, tasted of Dutch process cocoa. My taste in chocolate can't divine such subtleties, but I licked my platter clean.

You may well be right about Devon; I've never tried it, just knew they had it. Thanks for the warning. I don't know whether you ever had it at Cutter's or Twenty21, but, in the 16 years since I first ordered it there (I've only missed a couple of seasons since, including last year when I was in Petersburg, AK), they cooked it to my order, never overcooked (and I like mine on the rare side). There is also a Copper River sockeye run, in addition to the king run. In fact, all varieties of salmon have a Copper River run. The largest of the Copper River runs is sockeye, with 1.3 million fish hauled in last year, vs. 34,500 chinook (king). A lot of what people buy as "Copper River Salmon" is, indeed, Copper River salmon, but if it isn't marked as king or chinook, it's probably sockeye. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it is a delicious fish, too. It's just a bit different in fat content and flavor. Your slow roast sounds like an absolutely delicious way to enjoy the salmon, but I'd hesitate to flat out state it's the "best" way. Grilling works, too.

Don't know about M&S. Howver, Devon Seafood has had it in the past.

I think they are the same family, but as R.W. Apple writes in that NYT article, oysters harvested from a neighboring bay might taste different if they catch the prevailing tides or some other marine effect. Mook Sea Farm, from whom I bought my oysters for my oyster bar a few years ago had his flats in the Damariscotta river, about eight miles up-river from the ocean but there is still a pronounced tidal activity there. The salinity factor is essential. Pemaquid Oyster Company, in neighboring Walpole, might also sell their oysters with the Damariscotta tag. Pemaquid Point is at the end of the same peninsula and features an oft-photographed lighthouse. ← I asked because I had Pemaquids a few years ago at Primo and thought them swell.