cinghiale

Aber wie!!! The hands-down WORST thing the north has to offer. As Alberto said, iggitiggitiggit. I'll throw in: Grünkohl -- long-braised, finely chopped kale w/Kassler or sausage (e.g., Pinkel), terrific winter dish Handkäse -- a skimmed, sour-milk cheese, served mit Musik, with onions supplying the music, together with a glass of Appelwoi, more of a wine than cider Saumagen -- stomach stuffed with ground beef and bread crumbs Rouladen -- flank or round steak rolled up with bacon, mustard, pickles, onions, etc. Schweinshaxe -- roasted pork hocks, always good in a beer tent Kaiserschmarrn -- sort of a cross between a pancake and a crepe, sweet, served with raisins Grüne Soße -- quark with h-b eggs and a variety of herbs (parsley, dill, chives, sorrel, cress, chervil)

I'll third the kudos on the report. Glad you enjoyed the BYO experience. IMO, there are others that rival Pif. Be sure to launch a debate thereon prior to your next trip.

I guess we can now add Inn Philadelphia to this list, according to today's Table Talk. Brunch in the back garden was always nice. Dinner was uneven, but you couldn't top the guys singing show tunes to Miriam's piano for entertainment, IMO. Also, wasn't there some early upscale ice cream joint at Broad and Spruce or so in the 80's -- something like Thomas Sweet?

Strolli's -- like eating in someone's home, w/fettucine Alfredo for something like $2.50 Palumbo's -- real old-school, w/all those photos of the "star" guests Walt's -- for the ambience, really Saigon -- pre-Vietnamese explosion, so "exotic" BITD Frög & Commissary -- Thank you, Steve Poses Il Gallo Nero Fratelli Rago If you could get food at the East Side Club, I'd nominate that, too.

Excellent post, right down to the each mouth-watering detail. Thanks, Alberto. One Q: When you said "...and eventually garlic and/or white wine (both not used at Al Vedel)", did you mean eventuell, as in "possibly" or "occasionally", or is it customary to include garlic and wine but Al Vedel chooses not to?

I second, third, and fourth that reco (as in my usual number of them). I reproduce them at home, when I can find the Japanese cucumbers.

For you baseball fans out there, the Al Hrabowski. But since few in my circle got the joke, it's now called: The Mad Hungarian 4 parts Absinthe (I've usually got the 30-mg stuff on hand; otherwise, Absente) 1 part Hippokratész (a Benedictine-like Hungarian liqueur that's gotten damn hard to find in the Philadelphia region) Shake over ice. Strain into -- well, I don't know whatcha call 'em, sorta small, Collins-like glass, bigger than a cordial glass but shape is important. Drink sets up in three layers of green, in a way reminiscent of those 70s lime Jello "specialty desserts" that Cosby was hawking early in this career with them. I like the way the sweetness of the liqueur cuts the harshness of the Absinthe, kinda spicy-sweet. I caution about over-indulging, yet on more than one occasion, guests have required assistance upon leaving. It apparently also makes for good dreams.

Just curious: such as? How many grease stains would you give their pastrami sandwich, for instance?

Well, it's been sold actually, according to today's Inky. IMO, that place blew. Simply godawful food. I dunno how it got to be such a hangout for politicos and wannabes. The owner of Kibbitz is buying it, and according to the article, he's a stickler for authenticity. So, maybe we'll have a good deli finally in the QV.

Well, sorta. I was there last week. My DC and I each had the $120 omakase. Since it was her first time, she had the "standard" dishes. Since I've been there before, I got (unsolicited) a completely different menu. There seems to be myriad possibilities within the omakase. An article in the Weekly awhile back reported about a woman who had the omakase something like every night for a year, and they never repeated a dish.

Word.

By all means not the case in this instance. Click ici Edited to underscore the bona fides of the French advocate

Oooooh. I'm reminded of an epic battle waged on this board a few years back. The unyielding French advocate has since packed his lunch box and moved elsewhere.

I second that damn! Were you at the table with the people from Bliss? Did you see me giving Chef the razz treatment? I came equipped with barbs from his daughter, fellow eGer kellytree. Maybe I got a better duck because I told our server to hold off firing it until we could have another round of oysters. That probably put us into one of the last plates of the night, since it took forever to get the damn things (they came out together with the duck, a gaffe I didn't feel like going into upthread). BTW: I found Kinkead sitting alone at the bar when I went for a smoke after dinner, and we chatted a bit. I was a tad loopy by this time, so did I dream that he said John Mariani was there for service? Do you know? If so, there's probably gonna be excellent PR coming up for Bookie's. Also had a little tete-a-tete with him. From my email to kellytree about the meal: Those were the best choices I could come up with in my condition

I was told in Germany that one always gives a token payment in exchange for a knife. As a pure gift, the knife might "severe" the friendship. The transaction evidently prevents this.

"gild the lily" "the main event"

Got to Bookie's last night for the appearance of Bob Kinkead, of Kinkead's in DC. First off, the restaurant looks fabulous. Gone are the tired, dowager-like trappings. Still looks like a seafood house, just a modern one now. One nice touch: a large table, maybe an 8-top is set into a large, curved wall that is painted a delightful salmon. I chatted with the long-time manager, who said that the restaurant is now 1/3 the size of the old place. The kitchen's been redone and is now semi-open. Business has been brisk. The place was certainly full last night, with 80 in the books for Kinkead and the rest coming for the lobsters, I guess. Service still needs polish. Our server was pleasant enough, but lacked much to say about the pretty thin wine list. And the runners made several gaffes, the first being that we had our first course before we got the amuse. That said, the staff are very friendly -- the sheer opposite of the service in the prior incarnation. On to the food. I don't think Bookbinder's was the proper forum for Kinkead's dinner, a sentiment which he seemed to share. Granted, his cookbook is about seafood, but with a decidedly different approach. From what I could see on other tables, people were there for lobsters and crabcakes. Bookie's can try to modernize their menu all they want, but people, especially the tourists, are gonna come for the old standbys. Amuse: Grilled Oysters and Pancetta: I don't know that I've ever had oysters paired with a pork product before, but this was really good. The pancetta, surprisingly, did not overpower the oysters. Primo: Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Mushroom Broth, Creamed Leeks, and Frigo Parmesan: A standout. All the notes were perfect in this. The ravioli were done just right, the mushrooms (including morels) were terrific, and the broth was powerful. Man, together with the leeks ... I could eat this everyday. Fish: Pepita-Crusted Salmon with Chilies, Corn and Shrimp Ragout: This dish was well executed. I'm not a big salmon fan, but the pepita seeds (which Google tells me is a type of pumpkin seed) gave the fish a nice zest. The spicy corn ragout was delicious. Meat: Muscovy Duck with Clementines, Port, and Viriginia Ham: Very, very good. An excellent composition. The duck was perfectly prepared and balanced so well with the citrus and port combo. Simple yet elegant. Dessert: Pecan Carrot Cake Roulade with Brown Sugar Sour Cream Ice Cream: Unremarkable, other than having too long a name. Wine was a Duckhorn SauvBlanc for, I think, $60, which would be a very reasonable mark-up. After dinner cocktails were downright cheap -- I had a Rusty Nail for $5.50. The bar is very spacious and recommends itself for happy hour if you happen to be in Old City.

I've purchased lobsters in bulk several times from Samuels & Sons, which as Katie noted is at the food distribution center by the stadiums. I've always been pleased with everything I've had from them (softshells, salmon carcasses, etc.) They sell to retail, but it's set up for wholesale. Just go into the office and place your order. Then you give the order slip to a manager outside, who gets it filled for you. Kinda cool seeing all that fresh fish, huge cleaning/scaling operation, and so on.

Thanks for the report, Kim. I'd been considering going, but I am somewhat averse to the Starr emporium, having never had an outstanding meal at any of his outposts (OK, other than Morimoto). Esp. at those price levels, I'm backburnering that visit. I disagree about the space, though (at least, as rendered under the Stein regime): I think it's pretty spectacular and is a suitable stage for what should be terrific food. I have problems getting relaxed in "cozy" settings, like 21, Oceana, Bar Lyonnais.

Terrific piece, Nancy. The issue of the rating system is the subject of a cover story in this month's Philadelphia Magazine, which covers similar issues in connection with the opening of a high-end restaurant and the review by the food critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Craig LaBan. Read it here, if you like. As for the star system (scale of 1 to 4 bells), LaBan had the following to say: As you point out, restaurateurs, though, are more concerned about the stars than the "soft-tissue", probably because many readers don't really bother with the nitty-gritty, just the bottom line. So: for better or for worse, isn't it the critic's job to assign a rating, regardless of how inherently flawed the system may be? One can argue all day about the fairness of it all (and surely this is a topic on most boards here), but if the short-attention-spanned public just wants the nutshell (after all, most will remember the number of stars longer than the description of the carpaccio), isn't it appropriate to expect the critic to offer that?

Not so fast. According to the U.S. Customs website: I got nabbed with three homemade Rotewurst from Hungary. Story: On clearing customs in Philly once, my wife inadvertently headed toward the scanners instead of "nothing to declare". Before she could correct her course, the agent asked her to place all of our bags on the belt. As the bags pass thru the scanner, the inspector says, "One sausage in this bag; two sausages in here." I don't know how they do it. They were gonna fine us $50/wurst. A quick glance between us, and my wife brings on the tears, while I'm "yelling" at her for trying something so stupid. They let us off. Also, if you're caught "smuggling", you may end up on some sort of list, forcing you to submit to inspections upon every entry.

At least M. Klein is out in the open -- BTW he gave a shout-out to scoates in Thursday's Table Talk.

Now Laban is jumping on the bandwagon: Today' Inky Food section reports that his review appears this Sunday.

Here's the earlier, "lukewarm" thread: Cafe de Laos

I did last night. Walked in at 8:30 w/out a res and took a table in the front next to the bar. My friend and I shared a number of small plates and all were terrific. Smelts were smaller but more flavorful than last time and really rocked with a pint of IPA. Rabbit confit salad was still there (off the menu) and still great. Had a pork napoleon with it that was pretty creative, though the addition of honey had it verging toward cloying. House pinot noir pulled it together, though. The farmhouse salumi/pate/cheese plate is certainly competent, though they could do w/more than 4 micromini wedges of cheese. Their version of pineapple upsidedown cake was IMO enjoyable for its decided under-sweetness -- not yr mom's brown-sugar bomb, that. Finished w/a bottle of delightful frizzante ($25 for 375 ml). Service was impeccable. Also, I dig the classy "uniform" of the bar staff -- white shirts w/sleeves pushed up + black tie. They look good in front of that really beautiful old bar.