mrbigjas

Aw, I always loved Chef Chen. I'm gonna see if I can go.

Nice going, Rich!

I'm just messin with ya, ludja...

Another option is to drink more and get that tolerance up there!

Did I mention that most any drink they make for $4 or $4.25 in a regular 8 oz glass, can be made as a "large" in a pint glass for $6? I've sat and watched people drinking pints of melon balls until I wanted to puke just watching them. Katie can tell you more about wholesale liquor in PA, but basically they don't get much of a discount from the retail price, which is one reason why bottles of wine cost so much in restaurants here. This bar is a weird place. A weird, smoky, stinky, no-draft-beer-havin, no-kitchen-havin place that I call home entirely too often. But that's neither here nor there. To bring this back to the original topic, I've never had a $15 martini.

I was there during the italian market festival, but it was too crowded. I'll head over this weekend if possible.

Lots of volume doesn't make up for a high liquor cost. Ever. OK then let's look at it more closely: 1.75L = 59+ oz. remember they're pouring a one-oz shot here. 1.75L Jim Beam at the state store: $22.99 + 7% tax = $24.60 $24.60 / 59 = $.42 per shot I just called a beer distributor: 30 packs of Pabst are $12.85 + 7% tax = $13.75 $13.75 / 30 = $.46 per beer $3 special = $.88 worth of booze = 29.3% cost And while that's not including spillage/freebies, it's also not including the small shots of beam that they're selling for $2 each. Also keep in mind that while this is a filthy dive bar, it's not necessarily THAT cheap a bar except for the special. Local beers (Yuengling, Rock) are $3 a bottle; nicer beers (e.g. Victory Hop Devil) are $4. Regular-sized shots of Makers Mark are $4 or $4.50.

I was at the truly weird International Foods Warehouse in Lodi NJ a coule years ago and one of their vendors was handing out free cheese samples. One of them is a sort of spongy cheese with fine holes in it that comes from Cyprus. They were cuttign slices, throwing them onto a non-stick griddle and then serving when it was totally browned and almost crunchy on both sides (almost like a slice of burnt crusty pizza cheese that's still soft in the middle. I loved it. They claimed that it's a popular breakfast food in Cyprus but I have yet to ever find that cheese again. I have a friend from Cyprus, and might be able to help you out with a name for that cheese when he gets back. Re: the original topic. I'm from Philadelphia, so I know from cheesesteaks. But when we were kids and were hanging out at my grandparents in upstate PA, we'd make sandwiches with steak-umms, which we'd microwave for a minute or so, and then take them off the grease-sodden paper plates we'd cooked them on and unwrap a piece of orange american cheese, and put that all into a non-crusty "steak roll" and microwave for another thirty seconds or so to get everything melted. Man that's nasty. Wish I had one RIGHT NOW.

It's because they slaughter chickens really young nowadays and their bones aren't hard, is all. It's unappetizing, but doesn't (necessarily) mean your chicken is undercooked.

They pour the shots out of the $22.99 1.75L bottles, and the shots are small--1 oz. shots, I'm pretty sure. They buy the 30 packs of Pabst which are nearly always available, so I think it's less than that. The margin is probably somewhere between what stephenc said above, and what you just described there. And they make up for that lower margin in lots and lots of volume.

Yes. Let us give thanks.

i've been stuck on pizza and burgers for most of the summer now. i gotta rethink this whole approach to summer food, though, as larb hasn't crossed my mind. i think this thread needs a jump start so that it's all kindza in my face. Hm, this bump mighta just determined my dinner tonight. Maybe not, though, since I have some fat tomatoes to eat, and they don't really go.

The spray is called rot-stop or something to that effect. I've done a bunch of research on this because of issues I've had with the same thing, and apparently blossom end rot is caused by an inefficient uptake of calcium by the plant. The cause of the Ca uptake problems is often water issues--exactly what you said--periods of lots of rain followed by dryness. So basically this spray is some kind of calcium based solution (CaCl if I'm not wrong), which you put directly on the plant, and supposedly it acts very quickly to stop the problem. I don't know this from personal experience, though--I bought a bottle this year, but haven't had to use it since only the first few tomatoes on each of my plants were rotten. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Nah. There's a place on or just off 130 somewheres called Mexico Lindo which is excellent. I've never felt unsafe there. They have my favorite goat tacos I've ever had.

Are you an organic gardener? If you're not, there's a spray you can get that'll prevent that problem.

Nizzice. Go for it, yo.

I love those green zebras. They're probably my favorites for a tomato salad, because of how they are firm and hold their shape and texture when cut, and at the same time have enough acidity that they don't get insipid like some of the sweeter yellow tomatoes tend to. Also they look nice.

What's up with the raw onions? Interesting. Of the two big ones down there, I came to prefer Geno's to Pat's years ago, and just have been going there without thinking about it for a while. I'ma have to go back to Pat's next time I'm in the neighborhood and in the mood for a cheesesteak (admittedly those two factors don't coincide very often).

The tomatoes I've been getting from Kauffman's have been anything but tasteless.

I've never gotten sick at Pho Ha, so I'm gonna keep going until I do. Yeah or the seafood tom yum or the hue-style pho! aw yeah. Xe Lua is my definitely favorite vietnamese restaurant in town, though. No, maybe Nam Phuong. No wait, maybe the Palace. ah, who knows.

It's a weird place, all right. We went shortly after it opened as Le Cyclo, and it was odd from beginning to end. Good grilled pork though.

Well, it appears that the Ba Le folks took over Le Cyclo--or maybe they owned it all along, and just changed the name to appeal to more people--and call it Pho Ba Le now. We stopped in today because it's been a while since we had pho and the line at Pho Ha was long. It was interesting for several reasons: first, they use honeycomb instead of bookleaf tripe. It was cooked perfectly--not mushy and not chewy. second, they give you a chunk of the rib and stewed beef in every bowl, no matter what you order. third, there is no tendon anywhere on the menu. I asked for tendon in mine, and the waitress didn't bat an eye, just said, OK tendon--but they didn't put it in, which I didn't realize until about halfway through the bowl. Fourth, they have a spicy oily paste that they serve with it. i asked what it was, and the waitress said, "spicy sauce." I said, yes, but what is in it, and she said, "some kind of hot oil." It's delicious. fifth, they serve a huge platter of very fresh sprouts, peppers, thai basil, limes, and sawtooth herb with it. I haven't seen sawtooth at other vietnamese places around town, although I've had it in boston and new york. It tastes like cilantro, in case you're wondering. Finally, the broth was more lightly flavored and less fatty than Pho Ha or Xe Lua. Anyway, it's slightly more expensive than Pho Ha (like, $5.70 instead of $4.95 for a small), but tasty. Slightly less diner-y atmosphere. They still have tablecloths on a lot of the tables. They still have the plasma TV playing bad pop music above the bar. That is all I have to report.

I'm convinced--an outing is necessary, and I don't have a car. Who wants to go?

Thanks for the report! I've been meaning to make it to Fuji for a couple years now--I really do have to go.

Rhubarb's obviously a fruit; otherwise why would it be in a pie? kidding. carrot stems and leaves are delicious. they taste like carrots, in the same way beet greens taste like beets. I put them in salads and occasionally stir-fry them.