rlibkind

Antonio's sounds like they make a good dog, especially since they start out with a decent frank. But a real North Jersey Italian dog is not grilled: it's deep fried, a la Tommy's or Charlie's. The 'taters and onions and peppers are also deep fried.

RTM now up to 43 out of 76 vendors for Sunday. They are: 2th Street Cantina Amazulu Amy's Place Bassetts Ice Cream Bee Natural Beer Garden Blue Mountain Vineyards Braverman's Bakery Chocolate by Mueller Coastal Cave Cookbook Stall De Village African Art Down Home Diner Downtown Cheese Don't Forget Your Pet Famous 4th St. Cookies Flower Basket Foster's Gourmet Cookware Golden Bowl Golden Fish Market Harry G. Ochs & Sons Iovine Bros Produce John Yi Fish Market Market Blooms Natural Connection Nanee's Kitchen Nomad Trading Old City Coffee Olympic Gyro Original Turkey Pennsylvania General Store Profi's Creperie Rick's Philly Steaks Rocco's Famous Italian Hoagies Salumeria Salad Express Sang Kee Shoe Doctor Termini Brothers Bakery Terralyn: Bath, Body & Spirit Wan's Seafood Young Botanicals

Thanks for all the suggestions! We made it to Edie's for breakfast. My wife had a bacon and egg sandwich, I went for an eggless sausage and cheese sandwich. Both on hard rolls (a.k.a. kaisers). They were just fine. As it is, the folks we went to see ratified Edie's and noted approvingly that the western omelettes are made with cooked rather than raw veggies. Edie's itself is a fantastic place, almost a throwback. Good and friendly service. And a friendly group of regular customers: one regular was congratulated by everybody (including us) for marking his 91st birthday; another customer, a lady of a certain age in purple, came over to our table and said how much she liked my wife's outfit. (My wife wishes to return to Edie's. PS: We were dressed for a funeral.) The night before, not having eaten since a late lunch, we went to the Broadway Diner in Red Bank for a late night snack after visitation. Again, very friendly, very good service (the waitress must have read a book on the psychology of getting better tips: almost every time she approached our table she briefly placed her hand on my shoulder). We kept it simple: sandwiches (tuna, BLT), a shared side of fries, one regular milk, one chocolate milk. All competently prepared and served. The diner itself is a classic in-town (vs. roadside) diner, slightly L-shaped, complete with rotating cake display stand by the entrance. Nicely decked out for Christmas. Lots of intense late night girlfriend conversations going on in several booths. I'd go back.

For any US resident who can't take the trip over the ocean, tripe sandwiches just as described can be found at George's at Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market. Rated 5 Grease Stains by Holly Eats.

Cherries (sour) and chili peppers works might well. Made some about a year ago with frozen cherries. Yum. Can't recall precisely, but I might have used jalapeno.

You enjoy tree bark and roots in your soft drinks, yes? Why not stalks? (Like you, however, I draws the line at cruciferous vegetables.)

Smart woman, that Katie Loeb. You're not missing anything. Trust me! BLEAH!! 'scuse me while I duck now... hehe ← Curlz, you have uttered blasphemy. Your penance shall be a year of Oscar Meyers wieners -- with ketchup, not mustard -- for you

Although I'm not convinced of the utility of this particular line from All Clad, cast aluminum does have its place. Nordic Ware products, for example, are cast aluminum.

Depending where you are in Bucks, Griggstown Quail Farm just north of Princeton, might be closer than the 9th St. or Reading Terminal Markets. It's possible this is where merchants at 9th St. and the RTM get theirs anyway.

Any suggestions for a quick, easy and good weekday morning breakfast stop in immediate Long Branch-Red Bank-Eatontown area?

GRAPEFRUIT IS NOT CELERY. I WANT MY DIET CEL-RAY!

You can order Watkin's or Bakewell Cream online. Both avoid aluminum and both are double-acting. You can make your own from scratch with just baking soda, cream of tartar and cornstarch, but it would not be double-acting, i.e, create gas bubbles for rising both upon contact with liquid and later when heat is applied during baking. So if you make your own, don't stir it too much after adding liquid (that helps the gas bubbles escape) and after combining with liquid, get it into the oven as soon as possible.

Cel-Ray is the most important flavor. Without it, they'd take away Brown's medical degree. (At Ratners on Second Avenue my sister, who detested Cel-Ray, always got a ginger ale from "Mr." Myers.) And, yes, the cream soda, diet or regular, is second rate. The diet cherry is good, but I find the AC store brand at Super Fresh and A&P its equal. Now, if only they made a diet celery! A dish that brings to mind Dr. Brown's is one served by Marcus Sammuelsson at a tasting dinner he did at Cornell's hotel management schol about five years ago; as an intermezzo he served a celery sorbet.

Looks like a mini Reading Terminal Market, Daniel! Did they have souse and scrapple? Where on Rt. 27? North of Princeton?

oh! that explains why their slices cost the same... by george used to sell a potato and caramelized onion pizza that i loved, but they don't have it anymore, and no one knows what i'm talking about when i ask for it. i feel like i'm in the twilight zone or something. i love their pizza. i'd like to get a fresh one made sometime and eat it directly out of the oven--i suspect it would stand up to some of the best pizza places in town--but at this point i've only had slices. ← I agree -- they've got the best pizza no one ever talks about in the city. And better than some that are talked about. Hmmmmm . . . sounds like a definite Pizza Club outing. Perhaps coupled with a quick trip to or from Fairmount for Rembrandts and Illuminare, perhaps.

I think George's has a very decent pizza, and the prepared foods I've tried have been good. The eggplant parm makes a wonderful low-carb lunch! Last week I picked up some of the frozen pumpkin ravioli; declicious served with sage butter. By all means, try it. Same owner also operates Mezze in the center court.

For what I guess is about a year my local stores in Philadelphia and nearby NJ have not carried Diet Cel-Ray. Now, I understand why: the diet version of this classic is no longer in production! Dr. Brown's other flavors, though fine, just don't match up to Cel-Ray. Guess I'll just have to deal with the extra sugar in the regular version to accompany my pastrami. But still, what a loss!

Yes, lamb, but now that I think about it, I imagine veal would work.

Nov. 26 visit Addendum No. 2 Forgot the mushrooms at Iovines: The mushrooms look neat here, because it was taken shortly after the market opened at 8 a.m. before we customers had a chance to mess them up. The porcini were back at $39.99 a pound.

I'm not a big gland fan, but nice to know Harry has them. I did buy my beef navels there last week, but they had to be ordered. Now, can we get veal cheeks? I"ll have to ask. As you proved, if you don't ask, you won't know. But I won't ask about lights. I haven't wanted to know since I accompanied my dad to fix an an abbatoir's refrigeration system.

Nov. 26 visit Addendum Benuel Kaufman was low on Arkansas Black apples today, but he expects to bring a lot more in next week. He had Pink Ladys, Stayman Winesaps and other varieties. Also well stocked (as of 9 a.m.) with unpasteurized cider. Earl Livengood finished his outdoor market season Tuesday at Passyunk and South, but he's still at the Reading Terminal. We adore his tiny little potatoes, which we fry up (unpeeled) in a little oil with onion, garlic or leek. I also bought chestnuts today. Keep them in the 'fridge until you cook them.

Saturday, Nov. 26 visit I arrived right when the market opened this morning at 8 a.m. and found a parking space on Arch. That means it will be a slow day, what with refrigerators overstuffed with turkey leftovers. The sandwich and trinket merchants should do fine today with holiday shopping crowds, but the meat, fish and produce vendors aren't expecting a plethora of buyers. Earlier this week I stopped by Whole Paychek for red meat (one of the few areas where this chain offers some decent value). Since I was planning on a Mexican dish, I thought limes would be nice for margaritas. Wrong. At 50 cents each for conventional Mexican limes, I passed them by and drank beer instead. So, how much were the Iovine brothers getting for the same limes at the Reading Terminal Market this morning? A mere 20 cents. (Same price for lemons.) Another big Whole Paychek/Iovines price difference: Bananas. Yes, the Whole Paychek banana is "organic", but is that really worth twice the price (99 cents vs. 49 cents per pound)? Some other interesting pricing disparities among citrus fruits at Iovines today. Florida navel oranges were five for a $1, but Florida juice oranges were 4 for $1. Reason? I'm only guessing, but I think the navel orange crop is new to Florida (in this country navels are traditionally grown in California) and the growers are attempting to establish a market presence. Also, the juice oranges were simply better: for the same size orange, the juicers were heavier (not unexpected). That's a good rule in judging citrus fruits of all kinds. Pick out the heaviest individual fruits in its variety; it will be loaded with juice, which is what you want. The Mexican Haas avocados at Iovines were the largest I ever recall seeing, and they were ripe and ready at $1 apiece. Grab bags remain great deals. A five-pound bag of sweet potatoes for $1 represented a substantial saving over the 3 pounds for a dollar price in the bins. Maybe these sweets weren't quite as perfect looking, but they'd mash just fine. Among the bell peppers, greens were $1.49, while reds, yellows and oranges were $1.99 (not a bad price for the yellows and oranges). I usually do not buy out-of-season berries, but it was hard to resist the Costa Rican blackberries at $1 for a half-pint. They smelled good and didn't look bad (though the individual berries are small). They will be lunch today in some yogurt. Although you may not wish to think of bird after Thursday, if you've got a crowd to feed a much more succulent alternative to turkey is capon. L. Halteman, Harry Ochs and Godshall all carry capon for the holidays, and all were priced at just under $3 a pound. What sets this castrated cock apart is (1) lots of breast meat and (2) juicier breast meat. If you want cheap wild salmon, John Yi has it: Alaskan salmon filets at $2.99 a pound. Of course, this isn't sockeye or king (which go for $10-14 a pound); although the clerk couldn't tell me, it most likely is either chum or pink salmon, which usually winds up in cans. Still, this would be very appropriate and economical to use in salmon cakes or even salmon salad or spread. In fact, I would be perfect as a spread if you chopped in just a little bit of a strong smoked salmon for added kick along with capers, finely chopped herbs (dill or chives) or sweet pickles. (To my mind, it would be a waste to use king or sockeye for a canape spread unless you had some scraps as leftovers.) Also at the fishmongers: good-looking swordfish steaks at $7.99; same price for cod steaks at John Yi's. Halibut fillet $11.99 and steaks $10.99 at Golden Seafood. Where Yi was selling farmed striped bass (actually a white bass-striper cross) for $4.99, Wan Seafood was offering wild striped bass for the same price. Has anyone else noticed there a box for tips on the Golden Seafood counter? Yellow railroad tracks are painted down the central aisle between Arch and Fibert to direct visitors to the holiday model train exhibit at the Reading Terminal Headhouse. I saw it last year and enjoyed it immensely. Not quite as impressive as the layout at Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry, but the terminal's layout is only temporary and impressive nonetheless. Take the kids of all ages to see it.

I don't think the fish will be any fresher Monday than Saturday (in fact, it will be less fresh). Difference is that the fish mongers can probably do a better job of storing it to hold.

The RTM will be open. However, the Pennsylvania Dutch section is normally closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and the day after Christmas would not be an exception to this rule. In addition, it's conceivable some other individual merchants may close; however, most wait until after New Year's to take a brief vacation.

I find it difficult to believe that any changes would be due to the sale of the product line from one industrial food company (Groupe Danone) to another industrial food company (Heinz). The sale includes the factories. (There's no guarantee the current manufacturing facilities will remain, of course. If Heinz determines it can maintain desireable distribution but take advantage of manufacturing efficiencies elsewhere, they will). The acquisition is still being reviewed by the UK Competition Commission, which is not expected to rule until next April.