mrbigjas

ouch. that sucks. i've had several really decent meals there, but the last was probably a year ago. too bad.

i have to admit that i diced the potato pretty small--maybe 1/3 of an inch--so really it only took a few minutes to cook through. besides, when something is this good, what's 20 minutes compared to 10? i hope that you'll include a couple more parsi recipes before you're done, if you have a chance. i've never had anything from that cuisine before, and if this was any indication.... those little dumplingy blobs in there are called 'rivels.' when i was growing up, this was pretty much my favorite soup in the world. i've found that with cilantro when you fry it--or really, cook it in any way--it removes a lot of the flavor that some people describe as soapy or metallic, and others think of as fresh, leaving only this vaguely earthy/herby base note. if you made this and just didn't garnish with the fresh leaves, you might not find it so offputting.

percy, i just made this this morning. my god is it good. how have i lived my life this long without this dish?

i don't really have a problem with the article, to tell you the truth. sure, i've been an ardent defender of the area my whole life, but it takes a long time for a city to change its image. and philadelphia had a bad one in the rest of the country for a long time. any article of that sort is going to take that kind of tone. at least we're not here anymore: http://mrbigjas.freeshell.org/pics/philanotbad.jpg i still think that the thriving byob restaurant scene is something that should recommend this city to not only dedicated eaters, but to restauranteurs as well. the relatively low rents, and therefore the ability to follow your own restaurant vision without the pressure of keeping up a cellar would, i think, be really appealing...

went over tonight about 730--and had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated! this place has gotten popular fast, especially with the young korean crowd. so on to report: four banchan: pickled greens, kimchi, shredded daikon and myulchi (the little bitty fried fish). all were good, but i have to admit that i'm spoiled by woo rae kwan and their seemingly endless dishes of banchan, to the point where if 8 or 10 things aren't set on the table i'm disappointed. i have to get over that, though, since really they're the only ones who go to that extent, in my local experience. but on to the dishes: dolsot bibimbap with spicy pork: this was definitely a highlight of the evening, a huge bowl of rice with the spicy pork, the various mushrooms, seaweed, vegetables and of course the fried egg. abundant and varied toppings made it a great example of the dish. haemul pajun: the traditional seafood pancake was given a unique touch by being cut into pieces and served on a fajita skillet. what a great idea, keeping the pajun crisp and hot while you're eating it. the rice flour it's made of tends to get gummy, and this is a great solution. actually this is probably the second best haemul pajun i've had in the area, second only to the one at pojangmacha, which defies the laws of physics by barely being held together by anything. mixed bbq: kalbi, spicy pork, and thin-sliced fatty beef were as you might expect--korean bbq is what it is. changing the grate before the fatty beef was brought out was a nice touch, as are the retractable vent tubes for over the grill (that didn't entirely work when it came to the fatty beef--the place filled up with smoke, and my clothes smell like it). serving the bone from the kalbi and the pork was nice for those of us who like to grill and then gnaw on the bones. oxtail soup: it says on the menu 'cooked for 48 hours' but the oxtails didn't show it--some pieces were tough, while others were rich and meaty. the broth was cloudy and very lightly flavored. note: also served in a stone bowl, which kept it very hot. probably our least favorite dish of the evening, although it had its moments too. udon noodles with black bean sauce, scallop, vegetables, etc: noodles and sauce served separately; this was kinda gloppy, but tasted good. it wasn't bad but wasn't great either. service was a little funky, but very nice. a couple weird things: 1. they were out of soondae 2. they'd stopped serving naeng myun because it's no longer summer, which i understand, but still i wanted some and it was on eht menu... 3. they were out of tea. now that's just weird. 4. they were out of... something else i ordered. i started off with soondae? no. nang myun? no. (the other thing?) no. can we get some tea? out of tea. an inauspicious start to a night that nevertheless turned out very well. (unfortunately i don't know the name of that barley tea that you can usually get by the pitcher at korean places, but since our server wasn't korean i suppose it wouldn't have mattered.) five of us were stuffed for $15 each before tip, which is pretty damn reasonable. anyway: the food was overall very good; it's close to home for me, and cheap. i think service/availability issues will work themselves out; i wouldn't be surprised if soon you'd need reservations--assuming they'll take them. good for the midori mart owners! everyone go!

finally got to marigold this tuesday. i still don't take pictures of dinner when i'm just out with my wife, so descriptions will have to suffice. we started with what i called beef and salt several ways--carpaccio, tartare, and a tongue-stuffed fried olive. the carpaccio had lemon zest and sea salt and fennel fronds on it; the tartare was plenty shalloty and had crunchy salt crystals in it (can't let that sit around, or they'd dissolve, i imagine. interesting), and olive was... a fried olive. this dish was fabulous--the only problem i had with it was the olive overwhelmed the tongue. but it was fried with a perfect shatteringly crisp exterior. and the meat was fantastic. along with that we had chilled tomato soup--a silky soup of tomato, with a couple of ridiculously good small oysters, shredded cucumber, some small candy-sweet peeled grape tomatoes and tobiko. the tobiko was the green kind, so it had the hint of wasabi. this dish was just about perfect, the essence of the end of summer. i really can't imagine a much better starter. we both went with fish for dinner. mine was roasted grouper, which came on a bed of chickpeas, olives, squid and braised kale. you know the old adage where you should cook squid either 30 seconds or 30 minutes, and in between they'll be tough? these were definitely on the 30 minute side of things--meltingly tender, tasting mainly of the slightly bitter (kale), earthy (chickpeas), salty (olives) broth with a little of the sea. excellent. the other dish was braised monkfish, which came in a curry sauce with apple/celeriac ravioli. it was even better than the grouper, i think--i know it seems basic, but it's very easy to overcook monkfish and make it rubbery, and this was tender as can be. the combination of curry, apple, and the parsley-ish celeriac was good stuff too. we had a cheese plate that was good if not full of strikingly memorable cheeses--garrotxa, a beer-washed cheese of some sort, and a mild blue. dessert was a napoleon of port-soaked figs, lemon-brie reduction with a sage creme anglaise. now this was interesting--the figs weren't TOO port-y, the cookie bits were insanely good, and sage in a dessert? lemme tell you it worked. i had heard the portions were tiny, but we didn't find them so at all--especially the cheese plate, which may have been a bit too big. all in all, it was a delicious meal. maybe not as crazily inventive as i had heard things were up there with the old chef, but really delicious in every way--well thought-out, well-executed, and overall a great meal, running just about $100 including tax but not tip. (wine: cambria pinot noir bench break vineyard, which was nice as a big before or after dinner wine, but which i was exhausted with by the end of the meal)

other italian byob possibilities: pesto is a nice italian byob on south broad street. porcini is at 21st & sansom. la baia does a solid if unspectacular job at 17th & lombard. bronzino is on 17th near spruce. la viola is on 16th near spruce (good but tiny, packed in tables) la locanda del ghiottone is down in old city and i had a great meal last time i was there. trattoria lucca is a byob on passyunk ave just below broad--not sure of the exact address. if you go, get the fried mozz. it's amazingly good. i haven't been back there in a year or so... i gotta do that. and katie didn't mention the address, but chickie's is at 10th & federal in south philly. i would have no problem sending a tourist to geno's or pat's. i mean, sure there are better cheesesteaks, but they're not bad at all, and it's all part of the fun of visiting. i prefer geno's for a more consistent product on a regular basis.

that's basically the principle, but there's a little more to it than that. somewhere on this site i gave a recipe for basically kinda faking it at home--someone was doing a philadelphia-themed party. but i just spent about 20 minutes searching for it and i couldn't find it...

when it comes to greens, dinic's only has spinach, to my knowledge, so it's not like percy had a choice there. it's excellent garlicky sauteed spinach, slightly spicy with red pepper. i would eat it plain if they offered it as a side. in fact, i do, at home, a couple times a week. (edited to clarify that i make sauteed spinach; i don't buy dinic's) for those of you who don't know, several of us have been on a campaign for years (for me, it's been since before my chowhound days, which were before i signed up here) to make the roast pork sandwich the true ambassador sandwich of philadelphia, replacing the cheesesteak. you could say it's all part of a great sandwich culture--the troika of cheesesteak, roast pork, and hoagie is pretty unassailable--but the king is the roast pork, if you ask me. with aged provolone and greens. you can't forget the greens, because they make it a complete meal in a bun. a sloppy bun, soaked with pork juice.... oh man. guess what i'm having for lunch tomorrow?

nice market report, percy! you're a powerhouse of consumption. i'll just mention the brisket from dinic's is roasted for about 6 hours, and is a relatively recent offering. it's a really good sandwich, but if you only had one to get i'd stick with the pork. the produce place you pictured is iovine bros. (pronounced eye-oh-vine, i finally confirmed recently after years of wondering), a really fabulous place. if any of you are interested in the market and what all is there, you can check out (mostly) me and rlibkind yappin about our finds on this thread here. that's interesting about the thai place--i had no idea it was that close to the real thing over there. one or two other notes: i love old city coffee, which is the roaster you picture. i know a couple of people who don't like their style, but i think they do a great job. and bassett's peach ice cream is the greatest ice cream in the universe.

oo, good thought. i always forget about this one till i have it again, and then whenever i do i think, 'why don't i have this more often?'

that spy valley reisling from marlborough that they sell at the specialty stores is inexpensive (less than $15), and very nice with lighter foods, asian dishes, etc.

great, thanks!

that's an interesting plating. looks like the lamb crash-landed and skidded into place. mayday! mayday! incoming! i kid! i kid because i love! piquillo

nope, i don't see them there. googling on "chinese cured pork belly" turned up this link (warning: PDF file). when i buy some i'll start a new thread on what to do with it. thanks!

Right you are! Pork belly, pork rashes, same thing. 3 layers coz you see the meat, fats and skin clearly. ok then since we're discussing pork belly, i have another question for all of you knowledgable people here in the chinese forum: tepee, the pork belly you used to make this dish looks fresh. whenever i go to the asian market i see these pork belly portions that are sliced about an inch wide and look like they're cured (maybe with soy/sugar?) and smoked--the meat is dark brown, the fat is dried, the skin is leathery. what sorts of dishes are those cured pork bellies used for? anyone have any recipes? i always think of buying a piece, but i'm not sure what i'd do with them (not that that's ever stopped me before).

neat stuff, tepee. one question: what do you mean by 'three layer pork?' is that just pork belly? or something different?

i didn't know beam made old overholt. how about that.

can we please not talk about this show as if it's something to be proud of? edited to say: i don't wanna derail this thread by busting on christina cooks, so let me just add that i'm happy for sara moulton, moving to a situation that appears much more in line with her style of show. i'll be sure to catch it whenever i can. it's interesting to me, this shift. for years she (along with emeril) was kind of the face of food tv--cooking live was on for an hour every day, and she had another show before sara's secrets that was on as well, that i can't remember the name of. but as food tv moved away from the straight-up instructional cooking shows and into the celebrity chef, reality tv, 'lifestyle' kinds of things, her place on the channel got eliminated. and now when i think about her shows, it seems like PBS is a more natural fit for her, even though she didn't change all that much--her station did.

colameco's food show is one of the best shows out there. it strikes a great balance--a combination of interviews with chefs, information about restaurants, and recipes. it's NY-centric, but hey, if you're gonna be based somewhere, it may as well be new york. anyway, it's great. everyone watch it.

thanks for the review, sockii! i've been waiting and waiting, but i had just noticed that it's open the other day--i also miss midori mart, but hope that miran is good enough to make up for it. i was going to go with some friends on friday, but they all bagged out on us... hmm, maybe it's time for an ISO dining friends post... edited to say that i picked up a menu the other day, and several things stood out from the usual korean places around town: --they have soondae, the pasty blood sausage that is the only korean food i've ever had that comes with no adornment except a dish of salt; also abai soondaegook, which is the same sausage in a soup --they have beef tongue, as well as pork neck, as options on the bbq portion of the menu --the dolsot bibimbap options, including beef, chicken, spicy pork, octopus, eel, tofu or shrimp looks good.

holy moly, percy. if it weren't for your posts on the dinner thread, i would think you were fancifyin' things just for the blog. good on ya. i don't think the duck/fennel thing is all that weird, though. one of the first times i went to studiokitchen he did a star anise scented duck breast, so i learned that the whole duck/licorice thing ain't a bad thing at all...

i suspect this sort of thing is why that priorat was your and my favorite at that first tasting (and why i was so disappointed with a cambria bench break pinot noir we had tonight--but that's another story entirely).

i put it on the floor. the burner is in the floor below a little platform, which coincidentally is exactly the size of my pizza stone. works pretty good. heating it up to 550 for a long time first, the first pizza cooks in 5+ minutes, if i make it really thin.

It's very complicated. T. monococcum (=piccolo farro = "einkorn"), the most "primitive," is diploid. T. dicoccum a.k.a. T. turgidum subsp. dicoccum (=farro medio = emmer) is tetraploid (i.e., the offspring of T. monococcum and a wild relative with a different genome). T. spelta a.k.a. T. aestivum var. spelta (=gran farro = spelt) is hexaploid (i.e., emmer plus a third genome from a different wild grass). You are unlikely to see piccolo farro, so you will have one of the other two or a mixture even. At the end of the day it most likley doesn't matter too much. But to in case you are ever in Montana "Emmers marketed and grown in Montana and North Dakota are often mistakenly referred to as spring spelt.". So in the USA real emmer non-spelt farro medio could infat be sold as "Spelt". ← Well, that REALLY cleared things up. ← ha! i had the same issue in this thread here... if only they'd put the latin name on every bag, so we could know for sure what we were getting...