eG Foodblog: CaliPoutine, MarketStEl & mizducky - The Shrinking

[mizducky]

For those of you who live in San Diego, this is not the IMO highly overpriced Saigon on Fifth in Hillcrest, but the much more modest, and much more keepin' it real, Saigon Restaurant on El Cajon Blvd. in City Heights. I love this place. I wind up eating here at least every other week, but usually come on my own and have just a bowl of bun bo Hue or one of the com tam (broken rice) or bun (rice noodle) combos. In fact, there's one waiter who knows me so well that I have to speak up quick or else he'll just assume I want the bun bo Hue.

But tonight we were a party of seven, so we could try out a bunch of different things and share them all around. And what a bunch of stuff we wound up with!

Mr. E and I got there early to secure a table (Saigon does not take reservations), and ordered some cha gio (crispy spring rolls) and goi cuon (rice paper rolls) to keep us occupied until the rest of our party showed:

(By the way, many of these Vietnamese words have bunches of diacritical marks on them that I don't know how to reproduce, so I'm just going for the letters.)

Once we were assembled, a couple of us put our heads together over the menu and came up with the following:

Banh Tam Thit Nuong (char-grilled pork and shredded pork over rice noodles):

Ban Xeo (crispy rice flour crepe filled with sauteed bean sprouts and other goodies, meant to be eaten by breaking it in pieces, wrapping a piece in lettuce with herbs, dunking in a dipping sauce, and devouring):

Chicken and rice claypot (sorry, forgot the Vietnamese for this one and all subsequent dishes):

Deep-fried boneless duck (oh man, this was so good--and the pickled cabbage on the side was lovely too):

I think this one was called "Shrimp tossed in butter" in the English on the menu--garlicy salty shrimp with head and shells intact, fried until head and shells were crispy good. These were yum too. Actually, everything was yum!

Oh, and because we felt we had to get a vegetable dish just to keep up appearances, we got this eggplant dish, which had an intriguing sweet-sour sauce with a sneaky delayed-onset chile kick:

Our delightfully droll waiter was amused at how much food we ordered. But we seven did succeed in making a respectable dent in it all. I wound up taking home only a little leftover duck, most of the eggplant (it arrived last on the table when most of us were sated), and a tiny bit of leftover claypot rice. Best of all, even though this meal was one of my designated premeditated splurges, on reflection I did not eat an egregious amount of anything. I felt full, yes, but not overly or painfully so. Oh yes, Mr. E was quite happy with his share of the meal too. He found the chicken-rice claypot especially to his liking.

And here's our happy well-fed party leaving the restaurant:

From left to right: Candice, me, Dale, Mr. E, David, and Laura. Not pictured because he's wielding my camera is Doug.

And now, from the sublime to the ridiculous ... I'm home, digesting this wonderful meal, while swigging away at one of my guilty pleasures:

Some people find this stuff over-the-top in flavor and sweetness, but I love it. For some strange reason it's becoming really scarce in supermarkets around here--I hope that doesn't mean Pepsi's discontinuing it. I'd be bummed.

[CaliPoutine]

Hi All,

I'm very excited because " I get to eat out tonight". YEAH!! We're meeting Eg member Pookie in London at Prince Albert Diner.

Of course I love to cook and bake, but it just feels like that was all I did this week.

I made a cottage cheese/fruit thing for breakfast.

I mentioned this before in my other foodblog, but I really like the Michigan Brand Cottage cheese. I find the cottage cheese here in Ontario to be too wet and soupy.( if that makes sense). I like a dryer curd. My favorite is Knudsen, but alas, its not carried in MI.

Robin took some pics of the fridge. We bought the fridge in October. I think we're still both trying to get used to the French Door style. We passed on the water dispenser because we have culligan and because we thought we were going to buy a RO system for the entire house. We then decided to wait on that for awhile. Robin likes to drink her water at room temp while I prefer mine freezing cold.

I bought the egg nog after xmas at Wal*Mart in Port Huron,MI. I'd planned to bake a cake with it, but never got around to it before we started the diet. I've heard that it can be frozen. Its a dulce de leche flavor and its good until Feb 8th.

The green case on the side is for my Byetta when I go out. The log cabin is sugar free. I empty out half of it into another container and then mix in real maple syrup. The flavor is great and I only am taking in half the carbs/sugar.

Robin wanted me to show you that I do actually go grocery shopping in Ontario. Not everything I buy comes from the states.

Edited January 12, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[racheld]

Before time flies, may I request "hands?"

[Margo]

Such an entertaining and educational blog on all sorts of levels, you three.

I feel like I'm at one of those parties where everyone is so smart and verbal, the conversation just clips along and I sit back in awe. Thanks for a great week.

[Anna N]

. . .

We passed on the water dispenser because we have culligan and because we thought we were going to buy a RO system for the entire house. We then decided to wait on that for awhile. Robin likes to drink her water at room temp while I prefer mine freezing cold.

←

Edited January 12, 2008 by Anna N (log)

[Shelby]

. . .

We passed on the water dispenser because we have culligan and because we thought we were going to buy a RO system for the entire house. We then decided to wait on that for awhile. Robin likes to drink her water at room temp while I prefer mine freezing cold.

←

I have a hard time staying hydrated so I learned from a friend that it's much easier to get down 8 ozs of room temp water than 8 ozs of ice cold water. Though I much prefer icy water, I down 2 big glasses of room temp water each day just to make sure that I am getting at least some into my system. I usually try to do it early in the day - kiss a toad first thing...........................

Edited to try and fix the quote thing but....................

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[CaliPoutine]

We had veggie subs from Subway for lunch. I added some hummus I made last week.

I started some bread from the new book " Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day".

Its supposed to be even easier than the no knead bread( Which I've never made). You mix flour, water, instant yeast and salt. Let it rise for 2 hrs and then bake 4 loaves on a pizza stone. Or, they reccomend leaving the dough in the fridge for up to 14 days. Its supposed to taste better with age. I used some while whole wheat flour in place of some of the AP flour.

[CaliPoutine]

I have a hard time staying hydrated so I learned from a friend that it's much easier to get down 8 ozs of room temp water than 8 ozs of ice cold water. Though I much prefer icy water, I down 2 big glasses of room temp water each day just to make sure that I am getting at least some into my system. I usually try to do it early in the day - kiss a toad first thing...........................

As much as I've tried, I can't drink room temp water. I actually don't have a problem getting down really cold water. I think I'm just used to it.

[mizducky]

I have a hard time staying hydrated so I learned from a friend that it's much easier to get down 8 ozs of room temp water than 8 ozs of ice cold water.  Though I much prefer icy water, I down 2 big glasses of room temp water each day just to make sure that I am getting at least some into my system.  I usually try to do it early in the day - kiss a toad first thing...........................

←

Oh yeah, I'd learned that about temperature and beverages somewhere along the way, by trial and error. In fact, I kind of prefer my beverages at room temperature or slightly cooler as opposed to ice-cold, with three exceptions: in cases like my ice-instant-coffee concoction, when I'm deliberately trying to mask the flavor ; when it's 90 degrees out and I'm trying to cool off; and when it's an alcoholic beverage that's supposed to be cold.

Interestingly, my old Former Fearless Roommate a.k.a. Rockstar Bob taught me another thing about beverage temperature: ice-cold beverages are not a good thing to be drinking when you're about to use your vocal cords for something strenuous like singing (or public speaking, for that matter). I used to go nuts with making sure he had room-temp water at gigs--clients would duly note the line in his rider that specified a case of bottled water, but would miss the part that said ROOM TEMPERATURE in capital letters, and then look baffled when I told them they'd gone to the trouble of icing the water down for nothing.

[Smithy]

Such an entertaining and educational blog on all sorts of levels, you three.

I feel like I'm at one of those parties where everyone is so smart and verbal, the conversation just clips along and I sit back in awe. Thanks for a great week.

←

That is exactly my sense of this blog. The three of you are very articulate and have been providing interesting discourse during the week, in addition to interesting food and scenery shots.

Its supposed to be even easier than the no knead bread( Which I've never made).  You mix flour, water, instant yeast and salt.  Let it rise for 2 hrs and then bake 4 loaves on a pizza stone.  Or, they reccomend leaving the dough in the fridge for up to 14 days.  Its supposed to taste better with age.  I used some while whole wheat flour in place of some of the AP flour.

←

Before this blog closes, I hope you'll post more about this book - or else post about it later, in a separate topic. I'm really curious about the book and have been considering adding to to my already-overblown collection.

[racheld]

I started some bread from the new book " Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day".

←

I sat down here without my glasses, to check in real quick before dinner guests arrive, and until I looked at the flour bag for reference, I thought I was looking down a five-gallon bucket.

rachel, who used to cook for 300 at a time

"used to" being the best part

[CaliPoutine]

topic

Such an entertaining and educational blog on all sorts of levels, you three.

I feel like I'm at one of those parties where everyone is so smart and verbal, the conversation just clips along and I sit back in awe. Thanks for a great week.

←

That is exactly my sense of this blog. The three of you are very articulate and have been providing interesting discourse during the week, in addition to interesting food and scenery shots.

Its supposed to be even easier than the no knead bread( Which I've never made).  You mix flour, water, instant yeast and salt.  Let it rise for 2 hrs and then bake 4 loaves on a pizza stone.  Or, they reccomend leaving the dough in the fridge for up to 14 days.  Its supposed to taste better with age.  I used some while whole wheat flour in place of some of the AP flour.

←

Before this blog closes, I hope you'll post more about this book - or else post about it later, in a separate topic. I'm really curious about the book and have been considering adding to to my already-overblown collection.

←

I actually dont have the book yet, but I did start another topic about it.

Edited January 13, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[CaliPoutine]

I started some bread from the new book " Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day".

←

I sat down here without my glasses, to check in real quick before dinner guests arrive, and until I looked at the flour bag for reference, I thought I was looking down a five-gallon bucket.

rachel, who used to cook for 300 at a time

"used to" being the best part

←

The bucket is actually a Hellman's Mayo container( supersized) that I swiped( it was finished of course) from my other job.

[CaliPoutine]

We're home from dinner. We actually tried to go to Pier 1 afterwards to use a gift card we've had for almost 4 years but they were closet at 7pm. Huh? Its a Saturday night.

This is for you Tammy!!

I actually prefer malts over shakes so I decided to spurlge and have one with my dinner. I brought my own malt powder( this brand isnt sold in Ontario) and I asked them to add some when they made my shake.

Robin had a chipoltle chicken burrito. She enjoyed it, but its not like any burrito we've had before. I dont know many places that serve fries w/ a burrito.

I had the veggie burger. I ate 6 onion rings and I'm paying for it now. I'm so full and a bit nauseated.

This was more food than I've eaten at any one sitting this week. I only ate about 3/4 of the burger.

In addition to a printed menu, they also have a menu board.

Edited January 13, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[mizducky]

I've got a bunch of photos from my day so far, but posting them will have to wait a bit because I'm about to run out the door to dinner. I'm not sure yet whether my host tonight will be too camera-shy to let me photograph his dinner, but I will attempt to be persuasive. See y'all in a bit...

[mizducky]

Okay, I'm back from dinner ... and, uh, there was an unexpected hitch with the dinner photos ... but before I get to that, let me show you all what happened with the first part of my day.

Mr. E had yet another group, this morning, meeting at a local coffeehouse at 10am. So since I was going to be out and about anyway, I decided to tack on a little food tourism for your enjoyment. I had a banana before I headed out the door, got Mr. E to his group, and then headed south down the I-805 to the Southcrest neighborhood, just north of where San Diego gives way to National City, and the home of one of my new favorite market finds, Gonzalez Northgate Market:

Despite the similarities in name, this market is a very different kettle of menudo from North Park Produce. It is one of the latest outposts of a large and prosperous regional chain of Mexican supermarkets, and it is huge. As you probably have noticed by now, I am not the world's greatest photographer ... but I think the following shots give a hint of just how big and glitzy this place is. The produce department alone dwarfs that of a lot of mainstream supermarkets I've been in:

They have a whole service counter just for ceviches and other prepared cold salad-type concoctions:

Their own in-house tortilleria:

A big taqueria/hot foods/take-out/dine-in area (note that pizza gets equal billing with carnitas and all the other goodies:

Plus a huge meat and seafood counter, a bakery, and a full line of groceries both American and Mexican (not pictured because my shots didn't come out). Truly this has got to be the Disneyland of mercados. You can read more about the Northgate Markets, and the family behind them, here.

I mainly dropped by here because I wanted to show this place off to you all, but I couldn't resist picking up a few produce items, plus a little something for the road:

Man, there's nothing like blogging to reveal to oneself one's booming level of caffeine consumption! I knew I was getting more caffeinated than I had been in awhile, but this is getting kind of ridiculous.

Anyway, I toyed with the idea of getting an early lunch from Northgate's takeout department, but decided that where I really wanted to grab a meal was back up north a little ways, at another of my favorite places:

The Big Kitchen is a beloved institution, a breakfast/lunch joint with a hippy-dippy flair that serves as a kind of clubhouse for the artsy/alternative inhabitants of San Diego's South Park neighborhood. Alas, its proprietor, the irrepressible Judy "The Beauty" Forman, was out of town today, so I did not get to be greeted with her trademark "Tres bien!" nor serenaded by her to the tune of whatever rock'n'roll oldie was playing over the PA at the time. But I had my usual enjoyable time chatting with the friendly staff, and communing with the lifesize effigy of Jerry Garcia:

All the walls of this place are plastered with photos, political bumper stickers, posters, clippings, paintings done by customers, and random other assorted gewgaws--including a photo of Whoopi Goldberg, who every single person who ever writes about this place feels obliged to namecheck, as she did indeed work here back before she made it big. What most writers fail to mention, though, is that Whoopi probably did not stand out all that much from the rest of the staff here, or from the regulars, for that matter. The whole lot of 'em are characters, like the cast of "Cheers"--that is, if Cheers had been the on-site watering hole at Woodstock.

Oh yeah, also on the wall of the BK can also be found this:

Yep, Ms. Yummo hit this joint during one of her Forty Dollars a Day jaunts. And according to the staff, she apparently did her usual thing and tipped lousy.

And what did I have here, besides some nice chat? A lovely big bowl of lentil soup:

Oh yeah, and more caffeine. The BK's coffee is nice and strong, and they keep your cup topped off till you holler "uncle."

So, suitably fed and buzzed, I made my way home. Along the way, I happened to drive right by those side-by-side bars Sandy and I were discussing earlier, Bourbon Street and Lei Lounge--they're under a mile from my home. So I decided to grab a couple of photos of them, looking uncharacteristically quiet and peaceful this early in the day:

By this point in the evening, they're probably both jam-packed and partying up a storm.

So here's the stuff I bought at Northgate Market:

The recently-started topic on parsley, elsewhere on eGullet, inspired me to have some new fun with the herb. Nothing complicated--I have in mind combining the parsley with the cucumber and Mexican green onions into some kind of salad. I'll see if I can get to that before the end of this blog--let alone before this bunch of parsley goes bad like too many of its predecessors have done before I could use them up. (The tangerines are more fodder for our fruit bowl.)

I had some paid work I needed to tend to this afternoon, but in breaks between hunks of work, I grazed on some of the leftovers from last night's dinner at Saigon:

And then it was time to head off for dinner ...

(To be continued)

Edited January 13, 2008 by mizducky (log)

[mizducky]

So ... about that little hitch with the dinner photos ... it's called: getting so involved in talking and cooking and eating (and imbibing) that I forgot to take any photos. So I'll just have to paint you a verbal picture.

Actually, I'm pretty excited about this--which is probably why my camera got neglected. Some months ago, my church did their annual "Dining for Dollars" fundraiser, in which various church members auction off dinners and other services to others in the church community. Not only does it bring in a bunch of cashflow for the church budget, but it's turned into a wonderfully fun way for members to get their food-geek on, and a great social outlet as well. Of course I couldn't resist putting together a dinner proposal for the auction--mine was billed as a "Pan Asian Fusion Feast" (code for "Ellen gets an excuse to cook all her favorite dishes from various Asian cuisines!"), for up to eight persons, to be served in the winning bidder's home. And guess who put in the winning bid on my dinner? My church's senior minister, is who. Yikes! The heat is on!

So the Feast is scheduled for the end of this month. At some point I asked my minister if I could drop by his house in advance to scout the layout of his kitchen and dining room, and get an idea of how I'm going to stage this production. He responded to the effect that, as long as I was coming over, why not come for dinner? So that's what I did tonight. And just to make things more interesting, he asked me to give him some pointers on how to improve his stir-frying technique.

I arrived to find him and his wife in their big roomy well-equipped kitchen, with an eclectic assortment of veggies already cut up and ready to go: onions, carrots, broccolini, scallions, green bell pepper, and cabbage. He also had some nice big shrimp (head and shells off), and an assortment of Asian condiments. I passed on all the more involved prepared sauces, and went with a few basics: soy sauce, hot chile oil, and some sherry, as they didn't have any Shaoxing or other rice wine on hand.

Presently we got all the veggies into a reasonably hot wok (hurrah! they have a gas range!), got 'em all seasoned up nice, popped the shrimp on top and the lid on top of that, and executed a very acceptable stirfry/braise. We had that over brown rice, accompanied by a lovely sparkling white wine from a vinyard in Temeculah that they have a wine-of-the-month deal with. They offered chocolates and some very dangerous brownies for dessert; I had about a one-inch cube of brownie, and felt good about that.

Dinner conversation ranged from congregational goings-on and current affairs, to my proposed menu for that upcoming Feast. That menu and other associated details, I think, would probably be a little too off-topic for this blog; however, once the blog ends, my intention is to start a new topic all about it. So stay tuned for further developments!

[Abra]

Oh Gonzalez Northgate Market, I pine for thee! One thing you really can't find in France is Mexican food.

[MarketStEl]

(Okay, here's how it goes:

I had sat down around 8:30 Saturday morning to compose a post about Friday. Starting around 9, Saturday got in the way. It's only now that I'm getting back to finishing that post.)

In case the Quote of the Day didn't tip you off, Friday was what has become a typical bad winter day in Philadelphia. Over most of the past several winters, our precipitation has come in the form of rain, not snow. What happens now is that the storm fronts draw warmer air up from the south ahead of them, so the temperature rises from its normal range in the 30s to low 40s into the 50s and even 60s -- then it rains. A lot.

Friday was that rainy day.

A co-worker had brought in a stash of pretzels, so for the second day in a row, I started my day with one. Only this time, I had the right mustard.

I usually take a break from brown-bagging on Fridays. As a rebate I was expecting from buying an image-editing/vector graphics program arrived the day before, I had some cash to spare, so I asked some co-workers whether they might want to join me for lunch at Mil-Lee's. My boss agreed.

Mil-Lee's is only open for breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday. That way, the restaurant only needs a single shift of workers. My guess is that the fellow who rides up with me on Train 330 (the 7:25 R3 West Trenton train from Market East) stays after closing to clean up in the kitchen, for the restaurant opens at 7 am and closes at 2 pm. My train is scheduled to arrive in Yardley at 8:16 am; it actually arrives between 8:20 and 8:25 am.

He was in the kitchen when we got there, and he gave me a wave midway through our meal. The place does very good business during the day, so they probably don't need to keep longer hours.

Chickens are the dominant decorative element at Mil-Lee's.

From these pictures, some of you might quibble with my description upthread of Mil-Lee's as "what Alice's Restaurant would probably look like today." But let us not forget that Arlo Guthrie sang about that place back in 1970. Alice would be a good bit older now, and quite likely have handed the place off to her daughter. Her customers, having aged with her, would probably have also gone from tie-dye to needlepoint and moved their decorating tastes closer to those of their parents. I think Alice would probably have wanted to run a cheery, homey place in her later years. Oh -- and she definitely would recycle that trash rather than dump it and get nailed by the local fuzz.

And you really can "get anything you want" here -- assuming that what you want is straightforward diner fare. As a friend of mine said, "Any place that serves breakfast all the time is doing something right."

Note the "Breakfast for Lunch Special" at the bottom of the specials.

My boss -- I warned her I'd toss her into this report --

Kim Meiser, Corporate Communications Manager, Warehouse Distribution Group, Activant Solutions Inc.

--called my attention to the "Sexiest Steak" -- "lots of beef & mushrooms & peppers & onions & bacon & melted cheese" -- but in one of those occasional outbreaks of restraint I have, I had by then decided to order the barbecue chicken breast sandwich.

This grilled chicken sandwich also comes in plain and Buffalo versions.

Kim, even more sensible, ordered a roast beef wrap.

I told Kim I thought the barbecue sauce tasted like Cattlemen's. This prompted a brief discussion of a relative of hers who lived in Kansas City for several years and aches for good barbecue where he lives now. I also filled her in on how Rich Davis' KC Masterpiece sauce has left everyone with the wrong impression of what Kansas City sauce should taste like.

This was the first time I'd eaten here and not ordered their chili, which I find I love despite its being on the mild side (I usually prefer mine incendiary, and make my own that way). It's got lots of huge chunks of onion and peppers in it. Like the chili, the sandwich was simple and tasty.

One of the waitresses noticed me snapping away. When I told her what I was up to, she replied, "That's fine, just as long as you're not from the Health Department or the IRS."

The menu here also states, "Is there something you desire? Ask us and we'll try our best to make it! If we don't have the ingredients, we'll try our best to get them for your next visit."

I'll keep that in mind the next time I feel like lobster Thermidor.

Mil-Lee's Breakfast and Lunch

75 South Main Street

Yardley, PA 19067

215-369-2400

7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday

Nearest SEPTA service (c'mon, you all know me by now!): R3 West Trenton Regional Rail line to Yardley station. Proceed north (left relative to a West Trenton-bound train) on Main Street about 1/2 mile (10-minute walk).

Edited January 13, 2008 by MarketStEl (log)

[MarketStEl]

This is probably as good a time as any to bring up the subject of discipline as it applies to me.

If you haven't taken anything else away from this blog, you should have copped wise by now to the fact that any sort of weight management regimen requires almost constant discipline. One must be conscious of what one eats in a way that most of us aren't, even in this era of nutrition labeling and Michael Pollan.

The reason most diets fail is because most diets require not just discipline, but asceticism of a sort. Even the Atkins diet, which lovers of cheesesteaks (hold the roll) adore, requires you to all but rule out entire categories of foods.

When doing so means the difference between life and death, as in the case of someone with renal failure, one adapts. But for everyone else, doing so is very difficult. Regardless what I said way back near the start of this blog, the Weight Watchers point system does have the virtue of making discipline relatively painless, and it's even easier to implement than the old "dietary exchanges" I remember my father trying to follow when he decided he needed to lose some weight and get back in shape in his mid-40s. (Have I told you all yet that as I grow older, I realize more and more how much I am like my father? That even extends to us both being men of letters. He sorted them for the Post Office Department, which became the United States Postal Service towards the end of his career there.)

One of my more stubborn character flaws is a lack of discipline. I've started projects and let them hang; made mental notes to myself to do something and then promptly forgotten them; taken up challenges only to abandon them when the slogging got difficult. (I got a book of sudoku puzzles as a Christmas present from a co-worker the year before last. The back quarter of the book, which is where the very hard puzzles are, is full of unfinished puzzles now.)

One of the things I liked about working at Widener was that the Wellness Center was just a 10-minute walk from my office. I could go down on lunch hour and get in a half-hour workout. It was easy to work exercise into my daily routine, and as a result, I did so. Now, with no gym handy and the canal towpath subject to the vicissitudes of the weather -- and, my boss warned me, of defensive mother geese in the spring -- I find I'm not getting what I need. As a result, going off dietary discipline (such as it is) has more immediate consequences. In just a little bit, you will see me go off dietary discipline spectacularly.

Edited January 13, 2008 by MarketStEl (log)

[MarketStEl]

Ellen: So how did Mr. E like Tillamook Cheddar? Personally, I think it's a notch or two above Cabot -- which is still one of the best cheeses you can find in the supermarket dairy case.

Unfortunately, unless Whole Foods decides to start carrying it again, I won't be able to enjoy it -- the Acme where I buy it has discontinued it. The Super Fresh hasn't carried it for at least two years; it looks like what they did is run a six-month trial.

Of course, Vermont Cheddar in general enjoys a top-notch reputation in the East, even though there are also several very good producers in New York State. America's Choice New York State Extra Sharp Cheddar is my default cheap cheese (Acme's has a slightly sour/metallic off-taste that I find off-putting).

[CaliPoutine]

Morning all,

While I'm waiting my turn for the treadmill( its so easy to exercise now!!), I thought I'd post what Robin picked up for me yesterday. We have a small ebay business where we sell vintage items( christmas, collectible, kitchen) She made a local thrift store run and found these. She always tries to find some kitchen related item for me( do you see why we had to put an addition on our house?) when she goes out. Summer is the best time around these parts. You should see the treasures she finds.

The platter says Wagner on the back. The bowl is a nice heavy glass and I'll use it for catering jobs. The canape maker is funky, the copyright on the enclosed book is 1986. She paid .75 for that and the bowl. The platter was 3.00.

Robin has requested oatmeal for breakfast. I think I'll have a bigger breakfast ( eggs, bagel, grits) and skip lunch.

[MarketStEl]

So: the time between the beginning of my post on Friday (I had six mixed drinks that evening -- two at Bump at happy hour and four at Pure between 9 and midnight -- and noshed on some Rustico cheese and crackers after that) and my wrapping that post up this morning, I:

--had a half-hour conference call

--went to get soft pretzels for the roomie

--went grocery shopping...I realized once I got to the Acme that I hadn't brought my camera along; as a result, I've now done three foodblogs without once showing you the inside of a store in Philadelphia's dominant supermarket chain. I don't know whether I will have the chance to correct this error in this blog

--met a man a friend of mine wanted to fix me up with for coffee...he was a few years older than me, had worked in a warehouse, was on disability, and didn't get out that much; I gave him a walking tour of the Gayborhood, which he appreciated -- even though he lives in Mount Airy, an integrated middle-class neighborhood in Northwest Philly about 20 minutes from Center City by train, he had never been to any of the clubs -- but I wouldn't say we clicked

-- came back home and doctored up some spaghetti and meatballs partner's BF had brought with him with this

In the left-hand skillet: Chopped green bell pepper, chopped mushrooms, chopped onion, chopped garlic. In the right: a pound of ground beef. These were combined and mixed with some homemade tomato cream sauce. There's enough left over for me to take some to work for lunch this week.

--went and made myself pretty, walked up to Market Street, caught the El at 13th...

Note the ad for V8 juice at the far right. I used to do this when I ate a hamburger all the time; I wonder how many others still do? Obviously, enough for a clever ad agency to use this to promote better nutrition through vegetable juice. I still like to keep my burger and my salad separate, but now I eat the veggies too. I also did this with that chicken sandwich at Mil-Lee's. I don't know why I bothered to eat the underripe tomato, though.

...and went out to the First District Plaza (headquarters of the First Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) in University City to attend this.

Michael Hinson just stepped down as Assistant Managing Director and Liaison to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Community for now-former Mayor John F. Street. Hinson did an outstanding job raising his boss' sensitivity to gay and lesbian issues, which he was in a position to do because he supported Street when most of the gay community, myself included, backed his opponents. (Thus proving once again that you should never put all your eggs in one basket and never underestimate anyone's ability to learn and grow.)

Me with Michael Hinson at the tribute. As you can see, I was very much underdressed.

The organizers (including a choreographer friend of mine who urged me to come) put together a grand tribute, including a dance performance by that choreographer's company, a film tribute, and a grand repast catered by the fellow who runs the classiest soul food restaurant in the city.

KeVen's catering business is housed in the First District Plaza, and he runs a restaurant on the top floor. Needless to say, he is the preferred caterer for anyone wanting to hold an event in the ballroom on the same floor.

There were roasted veggies, cheeses:

I was able to identify herb-crusted, spicy cream cheese balls, Pepper Jack, Cheddar, prosciutto and Provolone rollups, and Swiss cheese. I didn't eat any of the baked Brie. I have no idea what the slightly sweet, slightly peppery orange semi-soft cheese was; anybody who can identify it on sight is welcome to fill me in.

chips, cocktail bread and dips:

two kinds of pasta salad (I only photographed one):

a fruit arrangement:

and fish -- bluefish and salmon.

And those were just the hors d'oeuvres!

The dinner itself was a complete upscale soul food feast: Ham, turkey (which I usually don't associate with soul food), fried chicken, tilapia, cabbage, collard greens, mac and cheese, and sweet potatoes.

And a salad with raspberry vinaigrette.

In addition to helping myself to a little bit of just about everything on the hors d'oeuvre buffet, I threw caution to the winds in the dinner line too.

The saving grace, if you want to call it that, is that it meant I had no room at all for the cake at the end of the evening.

Edited to fix incorrect picture.

Edited January 13, 2008 by MarketStEl (log)

[racheld]

This page 9 has been a three-cup affair, slowly savored first thing. I cannot say that I have ever been so mesmerized by a single page of eGullet---the pictures, the markets and restaurants and the outings, the SELVES portrayed and displayed, and most of all---the WRITING.

I wish this blog could go on for another week---there's still so much to see and do, and even if these three stayed home, just cooking and chatting, it would be splendidly interesting and informative and memorable.

The personalities have shone through, the words have touched on so many subjects so profoundly and wittily, the pictures and the lives have jumped off the page. From Garcia to Gay Rights, from Health to Happy Hour---gamut, indeed.

I cannot tell you how much I've enjoyed this, and how I wish it could go on and on. Is that a possibility, just for this super-triad to open a thread and contribute from time to time? I hope so---you three are a marvel, and I've loved every minute of this.

rachel

Edited January 13, 2008 by racheld (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Robin was hungry when she finished her time on the treadmill so I gave her a banana with a bit of peanut butter. Our favorite pb is Jif.

As I mentioned before, she requested Irish Oatmeal. She adds some peanut butter too.

I had 1 whole egg w/ 2 whites. I probably added a Tbls of light mexican cheese blend( Sargento) on top. I brought home fabulous bagels from Florida when we were there in December. I always scoop them because I actually prefer the crusty parts rather than the doughy parts. I used some light whipped cream cheese. Last but not least, I had a bowl of instant grits( 3 points). I grew up eating grits in Florida, even though the area I lived in was predominately transplanted NY jews. I'd rather have grits than home fries. I also drank a glass of non-fat milk.

I use about a tsp of splenda on my grits.

Robin's requested Pizza tonight. I was watching Eat, Shrink and Be Merry on Foodtv Canada and coincidentally, the Podeleski sisters were making pizza.

I'm off to find the recipe.