Mummer

A fancy-schmancy Starr joint not about the food, V? Say it ain't so...

Michael Klein notes that New York Magazine listed the two Starr spots among the top new places and Tony Luke's pork Italiano in the dushes under $10 category. Table Talk 1/25/07

My take is that the fat cats, in this case the grocery stores, are playing within the rules and expanding their margins. The huge prepared foods areas in supermarkets are not only driven by we consumers who don't cook as much, they're there because they make more money. (Imagine that.) So, as restaurant operators, the superstore adds the silly cash register required by the silly law administered by the silly bureaucracy and make more money. Nothing silly about that, and the shareholders (or owners waiting for the right opportunity to sell - are any of them left?) are happy. Yeah, the liquor license might have been at a restaurant, but most of them can't afford it - isn't that what's being said on that other thread?

That was impressive...I'm sure Mrs. mrbigjas is proud of you. And the just-in-case-we-didn't-have-enough-to-eat-post-fortune-cookie-game chocolates smackdown was groovy, too!

I had a similar dilmena when returning from Austin a couple a years ago. My sister and I had been to Lockhart for a meat-a-thon during my visit, but I had Texas airport bbq when my flight was mucho delayed and I had to eat something. Then I was diverted to Memphis by airline demons. What should I find but a local bbq establishment, with a number of airline uniforms in their queue. I wasn't that hungry, but I asked the right question, "What would Holly do?"

This will happen right after the state sales tax is eliminated. Unlike the very expensive to operate roads, the liquor monopoly is a cash cow bundled with several thousand jobs. It's here to stay.

Perhaps the Rich Pawlak/DDC curse extends to people as well as places. Just kiddin', Rich... ...as our buddy Marinade's got another tasty winter menu happening. It's politics stomping on something that's good for the people, once again.

Since Mayor Street made his Gross Clinic announcement this afternoon, Jas, your office shouldn't be staying in for lunch.

The drinking issue is, indeed, a complex one. Everybody in the industry trumpets the politically correct and legally expedient advice: DRINK RESPONSIBLY! Except the bottom line is based on how many cases of liquor/wine/beer the manufacturers, distributors and retailers (PA in this case) can move. Of cours they want to sell more. And this also extends to the bars and restaurants. They'd love for you to drink too many very profitable $12 pours or outrageously marked-up bottles, except that people become dangerous when they drink too much. And that can bite the sellers on the ass! As for Conti's appointment, as long as the state's in the liquor business, politics will be there. This ugly maneuver can't be surprising.

Those were really good, Mme. TarteTatin! The amuse, not on the printed menu. Funny I could remember all 3 flavors of gelato but I completely vegged (fished?) out about them. Timing is everything. A dozen courses can cause a little fog...

Four of us had a delightful meal last night at Mandoline. (It was on the ISO, thanks Jeff L.) One of our crew was SEPTAed, so we had a chance to chat with Chef-proprietor Todd, his right hand man (another) Jeff and our server before we were seated. I asked Anna her name - this isn't the kind of place where you get a robotic introduction with a "Can I bring you our special (code for extravagantly priced, but otherwise ordinary) drinks?" request. It's a BYO, so they can't use that tired script, anyway. Among other things, we chatted about that 24 course tasting menu I'd had in Chicago last month, setting up a running joke about food numbers and quantity for the night. (So the pizzaiolo says, "You want this cut in 6 or 8?" "Six, I could never eat 8 slices.") We'd been there before, so we asked them to choose for us. The starter was a demitasse cup of creamy, buttery squash soup. It was excellent; I never would have ordered it. We were off and running. Anna brought three more apps, then we opted for a couple more. Beet salad, lobster truffle mac n' cheese, duck rillette, venison ragout with pappardell pasta and the house signature goat cheese pistachio cake. We shared everything Chinese restaurant style. Dunno which I'd pick second if I could only choose two, but I give top billing to the pistachio cake. There's something about warmed cheese that floats my boat and the fig/balsamic kicker did just that. The beet salad (another thing I wouldn't have chosen) was quite nice - thin, sweet, vinegary beet slices and more (Humbolt Fog) cheese. Who can argue with confit or lobster mac? Nice chunks of tomato in the venison pasta, too. Todd said earlier that Jeff really knows how to cook - we knew that from the DDC dinner when Todd was home with his new son - but he and Todd were just getting started. (6 courses, so far.) The first two entrees were filet and red snapper. The round, red beef treat was topped with a box (a foie gras croquette;) the jus had sun-dried cherries. This was one fine plate; the liquid became Madeira/foie gras jus when Madame quartered the croquette. It was my favorite. The snapper with wild rice was tasty, too, but I was really grooving on the beef. The second pair were the veal breast and cod. The veal, listed upthread with the prix fixe chat - aside, Philly dining needs more prix fixe deals - rocked, with its tasty pear nibbles while the large piece of cod sat upon a shiitake noodle cake. We were all running out of steam (only 10 courses, but larger than tasting menu portions) by then and didn't quite finish those two. We passed on dessert (TarteTatin got a reprieve since you-know-what was 86ed) but all ordered coffee. Chef Todd sent us a platter of gelato anyway - sweet potato praline, apple clove sorbet and rosemary goat's milk - the best was the one you just had. We all thought we got our money's worth at $55 each (including Anna's tip) as we disappeared among the cadets and midshipmen into the night. (Army-Navy weekend was getting started on Thursday evening.) The prix fixe here is the best food deal since StudioKitchen closed. Go.

The Rotunda at the Ritz Carlton is one of Philadelphia's greatest/coolest spaces. I had an excellent meal at the Grill there, also. Capogiro gets my "must eat" vote.

I prefer eGullet as the board of the cognoscenti rather than that over-moderated one for the masses. As for the links, I find it easier to piece together two lines from the on-line version than to rekey them from the printed page. But you're right that the web publishing software could handle them better.

I was late getting to the paper today (11/15,) so I just read Daniel Rubin's column on local food blogs. Everybody also has an opinion, so read it and make your own. I've some new links to follow...

Is that the building that was HA Winston & Co many years ago? More space would be a good thing for Carmine's.

Blue Cheer, who taught the Summertime Blues to a few people too young to remember Eddie Cochran. Then came Live at Leeds and, you know. The Khyber, only about the music that they've done for years, is around the corner from great dining at Amada and Mandoline on Chestnut. There are many other local options including the twenty seven Steven Starr joints that dot the area like the pimples on the underage kids trying to get into the club. If you want a good hoagie or cheesesteak, try Campo's at 2nd and Market.

Those meats were portioned for our party of five, more or less. And if they weren't, we behaved as if they were. Some of the more loaded skewers made their way to other tables. (Not that we weren't offered as much as we wanted.) It wasn't very crowded last night, so the roasts were refinished over the fire rather than moving directly from our table to another. I appreciated that almost every cut was an end cut.

Jeff L organized a small group for dinner yesterday. Photo's and his comments on MarketStEl's blog. Jeff and I were there early so we had a fine chat about food and life and food. We agreed that most suburban restaurants suck, we miss StudioKitchen, we enjoy the DDC, and that Trenton tomato pies, especially DeLorenzo's, rock. Life is good for both of us, and I assured him that Alinea is all that. When Saxchik and Matt arrived, we got busy. The fresh pineapple and the shortrib were my favorites at the buffet table; the unpictured pork sausage was a great starter from the skewer parade. The brisket was tough, but I finished mine anyway. Later in the meal, I wouldn't have. The sirloin, pork loin, pineapple and flank steak were my favorites, in no particular order. We all struggled to walk out of there. Still, I think the full monty is much preferable to buying by the pound, but I'd feel differently if I lived in the neighborhood. With all that meat, you want to eat it straight from the skewer. We dropped Sandy at his eponymous transport (nobody calls it the blue line, he says) and returned to the land of mostly sucky reasturants. Thanks again for the ride, M&L.

When you're in Philly 'burbs, Davydd, you can visit Mama's in Bala-Cynwyd for a monster cheesesteak. They work a big mess o' their house blend of cheeses into the meat as it's finishing, creating a cheesesteak log. BTW, I recognized you're tenderloin avatar as something I ate frequently while I was at Purdue. Great sammie!

I thoroughly enjoyed essentially the same meal about a week earlier than Tammy. I emailed Ronnie Suburban when I learned I was coming to Chicago; he brought together several veterans to join my brother and me. Thanks again, Ron. We were warmly greeted and visited the kitchen to meet Chef Achatz before we started. Service was impeccable while the food was extraordinary. The filmstrips here are great to see, but there's nothing like tasting in real time. (It was a lot of time, but it didn't seem so.) The presentation adds to the wow, but the proof was in my mouth. Not all of the twenty four tastes made my all-time top ten list (duh!), but almost every one deserved consideration. I thought the finish, from the hamachi thru the desserts, was particularly strong. That's no easy feat due to the bar set by the earlier dishes and the hour.

What they said about Carmine's. The Pub of Penn Valley and McShea's in Narberth both do better than bar food. Sang Kee Asian Bistro in Wynnewood is the go to for Chinese. Dakota Pizza is across the parking lot for cheesesteaks. Mama's Pizzeria on Belmont Avenue in Bala-Cynwyd does monster cheesesteaks.

With a conflict on Wednesday, I'm happy about the change. I haven't seen the gang in a while and I want to share about that tasting menu I had in Chicago the other evening...

Is pulled spinach trendy? ...Jamaican for vegetarians? I'll bet some hip New York place pulled it first.

sacrebleu, how can they explain this obvious oversight? ← Sounds like a conspiracy of the crappy pizza joints, trying to blanket the area with mediocrity. And is Trenton really in this area? How about either Newark?

Don't give Harrisburg too much credit. That's where politicos go to do nothing, or worse.