Reading Terminal Market (Part 2)

[mrbigjas]

scatter them by a river. they got rivers in ardmore?

i saw a dude there today who got a huge bag of them. one after another after another, expertly feeling each one. cleaned out the basket, practically. i was going to ask him what he was going to do with that many, but i didn't want to intrude.

at fair foods they had a few as well, but they were completely green and THREE DOLLARS EACH. it's not often that livengoods looks like a bargain, but at $2.95 a pound they were about eight times cheaper than fair foods. plus they were all green at fair foods. everyone knows pawpaws aren't any good till there's plenty of black all over them. someone gotta learn them folks somethin.

[lfabio2007]

We did our usual sunday market thing and got to fair foods. Once there, we noticed they were sadly out of mushrooms, but we did pick up the (excellent!) lamb and some cheese.

We also found DiNic's closed (!!!) after finding Schezuan closed again (!!!x2). I swear the latter hates us.

[lfabio2007]

We did our usual sunday market thing and got to fair foods. Once there, we noticed they were sadly out of mushrooms, but we did pick up the (excellent!) lamb and some cheese.

We also found DiNic's closed (!!!) after finding Schezuan closed again (!!!x2). I swear the latter hates us.

[rlibkind]

Pawpaws were available Thursday at Earl Livengood's when he appeared at the Fairmount & 22nd market. Earl's buddy Sam had a bunch of small, very ripe ones on display, but had some larger, not quite as ripe (but still ready) specimens in the truck available. I took three and let them sit on the counter overnight, then turned them into pawpaw chiffon pie, which was smooth, perfume-y and rich (pureed pawpaws and gelatin mixed in after custard had thickened, then whipped egg whites and cream folded in after the mix began to set). Since the three large pawpaws I purchased were a bit shy of a full cup, I pureed a banana to stretch it out. The resulting product still had a pronounced pawpaw aroma and taste which, after all, is banana-like.

Maybe Earl will have some Saturday at the RTM. If it does, grab them. Pawpaws make great ice cream, too.

The corn we picked up from Earl was still quite nice, especially considering the season is basically over. The Brandywine tomatoes were still tasty, too. He also has chestnuts available.

Today I introduced an English friend to the wonders of Tommy DiNic's roast pork (rabe and cheese); she was instantly won over, both by the sandwich and the variety of foods available at the RTM. She's got some great seafood in North Devon, along with lamb, but nowhere near the diversity of fresh food products as here. She observed, however, that the shrimps and other shellfish back home would cost in pounds sterling what we pay in dollars -- in other words, twice the price.

Since it's apple season I invested in some sharp Canadian cheddar ("rat cheese") and brie at Downtown Cheese. Either will go well with the Cox Orange Pippins I brought back from my New England trip.

A key focus of the RTM's marketing plan in coming months is to target new condo residents in Center City. They've identified 5,000 such households and will be sending them oversized promotional postcards now, before Thanksgiving and Christmas, and again in the spring, coupled with a giveaway. The idea is to make sure they are aware of the market, especially the Sunday hours.

Signs posted in the former Foster's space would lead one to believe the market has found a tenant ("Coming Soon..." but without any additional hint.) RTM General Manager Paul Steinke has been trying to lure another kitchen hard goods retailer and indicated a couple of weeks ago he was negotiating with one which would enable the market to retain the show kitchen space as a separate entity.

Benuel Kauffman has got unpasteurized apple cider again. As well as orange and white cauliflower, and those elongated red beets about which I always rave.

AJ's Pickle Patch featured pickled kielbasa today. Great beer food. It brought back great memories: a mere four decades ago I regularly consumed the vinegared sausage at an off-campus Irish bar ("Terry's") with draught PBR.

[lancastermike]

Benuel Kauffman has got unpasteurized apple cider again.

Just what I was going to ask you about, Bob. I live in Lancaster Co. and I'll be damned if I can find any for sale anywhere. My wife thinks that is ok as she does not want me drinking unpasteurized cider. However, I'm willing to risk it. Maybe I'll give our mutual friend Sam a call and see if he can hook me up

[MarketStEl]

Paul told me Saturday that Amy's Place is moving into the former Foster's space and expanding its merchandise lines. No cookware, but Paul tells me that didn't sell well at Foster's. Plenty of kitchen gadgets and related items, though.

A propos of nothing else, I remain pleased with the meats I get from Charlie Giunta. I'm price-conscious enough that I still buy at the supermarket, but when I want good stuff, he's become my go-to butcher. I told a friend I wanted to commandeer his grill two Saturdays hence, and I have a new Crock-Pot to christen. I see Giunta's has spare ribs for $1.99/lb. Guess where I'm getting spareribs for both purposes.

[Manley]

Paul told me Saturday that Amy's Place is moving into the former Foster's space and expanding its merchandise lines.  No cookware, but Paul tells me that didn't sell well at Foster's.  Plenty of kitchen gadgets and related items, though.

A propos of nothing else, I remain pleased with the meats I get from Charlie Giunta.  I'm price-conscious enough that I still buy at the supermarket, but when I want good stuff, he's become my go-to butcher.  I told a friend I wanted to commandeer his grill two Saturdays hence, and I have a new Crock-Pot to christen.  I see Giunta's has spare ribs for $1.99/lb.  Guess where I'm getting spareribs for both purposes.

←

Sandy, I've been really happy with everything I've purchased from Giunta's in recent months and he is now my butcher of choice in the market. Charlie, in particular, is very accommodating about special cuts and the like. We tried his spare ribs at the beginning of the summer and they were great. He trimmed them down to a proper St. Louis cut for me, as well. Great stuff!

[MarketStEl]

Want a Kansas City sauce to serve with those St. Louis ribs?

Forget KC Masterpiece. Make your own clone of a Kansas City original.

[Sony]

I was in Philadelphia for a conference for 4 days. Before I left yesterday, I hit Reading Terminal, made my rounds, and bought entirely too much food to bring back to Ithaca, NY. Though Ithaca’s Farmers’ Market is great, Philadelphians are incredibly fortunate to have such a great resource in the community.

The produce spread at Iovine Brothers is incredible! Got an oyster mushroom grab bag, turnip greens, escarole, a red bell pepper, scallions, and prune plums. At OK Lee, I picked up a bag of limes. A few habaneros from Fair Foods finished up my produce purchases.

In my state of meat deprivation (I've decided to abstain from all flesh except for fish for a month), I bought chicken sausage at Martin’s (one of each variety), and hanger steak, turkey scrapple and bulk lamb sausage at Guinta’s. Oh yes, and a smoked turkey leg at Godshall's. How nice it is to actually talk with true butchers, and friendly ones at that! I’ve never had scrapple so I’ll give it a shot in 2 weeks….

At John Yi’s, I bought a bluefish for dinner tonight, and in an adventurous state, also picked up one of their “special” packages of whiting roe. The fish was beautifully cut and fresh (I simply roasted it over potatoes per Hazan directions). I'll cook the roe later tonight for dinner tomorrow.

I had a lovely time chatting with Andrea at Downtown Cheese and bought a sliver of Beaufort d’Alpage Chalet. She kindly also sent me home with samples of Brie des Meaux and Epoisse.

In any case, this was my RESTRAINED shopping list! I'm hoping to make my way there again soon!

[MarketStEl]

I was in Philadelphia for a conference for 4 days.

American Dietetic Association, perchance?

I work with Connie Holt, the registered dietitian on our School of Hospitality Management faculty at Widener. (Edited to add: I'm not on the faculty; my job is to get our faculty in the press.) If my assumption is correct, you all must have been in your element in the RTM!

Before I left yesterday, I hit Reading Terminal, made my rounds, and bought entirely too much food to bring back to Ithaca, NY. Though Ithaca’s Farmers’ Market is great, Philadelphians are incredibly fortunate to have such a great resource in the community.

The produce spread at Iovine Brothers is incredible! Got an oyster mushroom grab bag, turnip greens, escarole, a red bell pepper, scallions, and prune plums. At OK Lee, I picked up a bag of limes. A few habaneros from Fair Foods finished up my produce purchases.

In my state of meat deprivation (I've decided to abstain from all flesh except for fish for a month), I bought chicken sausage at Martin’s (one of each variety), and hanger steak, turkey scrapple and bulk lamb sausage at Guinta’s. Oh yes, and a smoked turkey leg at Godshall's. How nice it is to actually talk with true butchers, and friendly ones at that! I’ve never had scrapple so I’ll give it a shot in 2 weeks….

At John Yi’s, I bought a bluefish for dinner tonight, and in an adventurous state, also picked up one of their “special” packages of whiting roe. The fish was beautifully cut and fresh (I simply roasted it over potatoes per Hazan directions). I'll cook the roe later tonight for dinner tomorrow.

I had a lovely time chatting with Andrea at Downtown Cheese and bought a sliver of Beaufort d’Alpage Chalet. She kindly also sent me home with samples of Brie des Meaux and Epoisse. 

In any case, this was my RESTRAINED shopping list! I'm hoping to make my way there again soon! 

←

So I guess the conventioneers are in the mood for much more than sandwiches after all!

Edited October 4, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[rlibkind]

Though Ithaca’s Farmers’ Market is great, Philadelphians are incredibly fortunate to have such a great resource in the community.

←

The Ithaca Farmers' Market is a wonderful one, indeed, especially now when all the hard-to-find varieties of apples are available there.

But comparing the Ithaca market to the RTM is unfair to both. They are two different animals. Farmers' markets, like Ithaca's as well as our own Headhouse Square and others, are primarily devoted to an incredible variety of picked-that-day produce and other farm products which have had no or minimal processing (fresh meats, eggs, dairy). Public markets are more like über convenience stores, devoted to many of the same items that can be found in a farmers' market (though perhaps not quite as fresh and lacking the more obscure produce varieties) but also offering the whole panoply of comestibles: produce, meats, eggs and dairy, for sure, but also cheeses, fish, baked goods, processed foods, specialty foods, etc.

To cite just one example of the difference: At the Ithaca Farmers' Market you've got one of the nation's great artisinal cheese producers, Northland Dairy. But they only offer three or four different sheep cheeses. Here, Downtown Cheese (and Salumeria) offer many scores of excellent cheeses, some of them as worthy as Northland's but, alas, we don't get Northland!

But you're right, we here in Philadelphia are fortunate to have the RTM as well as the farmers' markets.

Sounds like you treated a visit to Philadelphia's RTM the same way I treat a visit to Ithaca's Farmers' Market: load up the larder!

[Sony]

I was in Philadelphia for a conference for 4 days.

American Dietetic Association, perchance?

←

Guilty . I figure that there must be a few conventions going on simultaneously in Philadelphia on any given day, but I probably gave myself away as a public health dietitian by referring to the market as a valuable community resource. (vs 'a really great place to buy groceries!')

Since we were right across the street, a lot of people were wandering over there for short stints. Me, I hauled my butt over as soon as the last presentation ended on the day before I was leaving to do an hour-long "exploratory" visit (e.g. What do I prioritize to cram into my suitcase?)

This is where the kindness of the vendors really shone through. Larry at Martin's set aside the sausages in the freezer so they could serve as ice packs for my other groceries. Andrea set aside the cheese I wanted to buy so I could swing through and pick up without having to wait a long time. Everyone was perfectly willing to wrap things up with ice.

But comparing the Ithaca market to the RTM is unfair to both.

Agree. Poor expression of my thoughts. I didn't want to discount the esteem in which I hold the Ithaca Farmers' Market, but Reading is unique and another valuable (abeit different) community asset....

em, I mean, great place to buy groceries. Ithaca really doesn't have a public market, and I wish I had the opportunity to visit Headhouse. Next time.... .

[mrbigjas]

Since we were right across the street, a lot of people were wandering over there for short stints. Me, I hauled my butt over as soon as the last presentation ended on the day before I was leaving to do an hour-long "exploratory" visit (e.g. What do I prioritize to cram into my suitcase?) 

you put a bluefish in your suitcase for the ride from here to ithaca?

that is some serious dedication.

[Tim Dolan]

Took 3 friends to Dinic's for some roast pork sandwiches on Monday after the Phillies' rally downtown. Of course, everybody loved it, and we all had to complain about how it sucks that we normally have work in the 'burbs and can't go to the RTM everyday for lunch.

[mrbigjas]

here's a nice article on sam consylman in the bulletin yesterday.

[Sony]

Since we were right across the street, a lot of people were wandering over there for short stints. Me, I hauled my butt over as soon as the last presentation ended on the day before I was leaving to do an hour-long "exploratory" visit (e.g. What do I prioritize to cram into my suitcase?) 

you put a bluefish in your suitcase for the ride from here to ithaca?

that is some serious dedication.

←

Guilty again. Can't find bluefish much in these parts. It was a plane ride back, not a car ride. My last extreme food packing adventure was 4 raw beef tongues...but that's another story.

The fish wasn't so much a problem as the roe- since it was packed in a plastic container with a snap-on lid, some of the egg sacs burst with the change in pressure on the flight back, and there was a little...um...leakage.

Again, this was where the secure wrapping of the packages by the kind staff at John Yi's saved me. The plastic container was wrapped in paper, put in a plastic bag, and that bundle was tied in a bag with ice. This whole shebang was put into a plastic grocery bag and tied tightly. There you are- packing fish roe for a plane ride 101!

If this was NOT a direct flight back, I probably wouldn't have had the guts!

My friends call me "weird" and "crazy"- I prefer "dedicated"!

[rlibkind]

It's that wonderful time of year when some summer produce can still be found yet autumn bounty is in full harvest. Benuel Kaufman, for example, still offers cherry tomatoes and corn (both bicolor and white) along with cauliflower (orange and white) and apples. Earl Livengood featured concord grapes, heirloom tomatoes, and sweet potatoes to demonstrate bi-seasonality.

I would have indulged in what is for me a fall classic -- pumpkin ravioli from Pasta by George served with a sage-inflected brown butter -- but the weather forecast says wait. Instead, it will be hanger steak (from Giunta's prime shop) on the grill with Ben's corn to match the 85-degree daytime temperatures.

Among the apple varieties available Ben sells Macouns at $1.49 as well as Asian pears at $1.99. And unpasteurized apple cider, too.

Over at Iovine Brothers Produce a new addition are matsutake mushrooms, $41.99 if you can afford them. If you haven't read last month's food issue of The New Yorker magazine, find it -- a fascinating article about the PNW's mushroom foraging industry centered on this fungi delecti.

Also at Iovine's, Hass avocados back down to $1 apiece. Limes and lemons were three for a buck. Over at O.K. Lee, the limes were 4/$1, and you could also buy a bag of seven for a buck. OKL's cactus pears, ripe and ready, were 50 cents apiece.

In addition to the usual varieties and sources of salmon, John Yi featured king salmon from "chili" this week, $11.99. I always thought king (a.k.a. "chinook") salmon was strictly a wild product, but that's not the case. Although most of Chile's salmon aquaculture is devoted to the Atlantic salmon, it also exports farm-raised king and coho salmon. (King salmon was also the main salmon farm-raised in British Columbia, but Atlantic salmon is now dominates the industry.) In other fishy news, Boston mackeral has pretty much disappeared, but Spanish mackeral is abundant at prices of $2.49-$2.99 for this delicious fish. We should start seeing fresh sardines (juvenile herring, actually) in the RTM fish shops soon.

Musical stalls

As Sandy reported earlier, Amy's will move into the former Foster's space to sell kitchen hardware, though the inventory will be more practical and design-centric than the merchandise Ken Foster sold there. The new stall is projected to open Nov. 15, but it will only occupy the front half of the space.

The rear portion of the space will remain the market's demonstration kitchen, which will lose its side walls in order to open up the space (though it will still remain a bit hidden from the market's flow, unless you're heading to the ladies' room). RTM GM Paul Steinke says a Temple instructor is considering moving into the kitchen to operate for-profit classes there.

In the space Amy will vacate Steinke hopes to lure short-term vendors in 10-foot stalls selling "Christmas market" type items. One seller of linens is among those he's courting. He says it would represent a return to what once was one of the market's mainstays: day-stall vendors who leased space by the day. Day-stall rents are $35-$150/day, varying by day of the week.

Steinke also reports he has one party interested in the Natural Connection space to sell groceries and sustainable/natural household products. No deal yet, however.

Between the slices...

Attention Roast Pork Sandwich Fans: Expect DiNic's to expand its hours to RTM closing within the next week or two, as soon as Tommy Nicolosi can hire an additional staffer. His new ovens were delivered and installed recently, capable of roasting a total of nearly 500 pounds of meat simultaneously (though he's not figuring on using all of that capacity most of the time). The expansion also required moving most of his refrigerator capacity out of the stall.

While most everyone laments the Phillies' loss Saturday night in Colorado, there's a bright side as far as some of the RTM sandwich vendors are concerned: When the Phillies played their first day game against the Rockies at home last Wednesday, business was off considerably. Tommy said he did one-third less volume, and Hershel's reported similar numbers.

[rlibkind]

There's another vendor selling unpasteurized apple cider at the RTM: Earl Livengood. The cider, pressed from Earl's own organic apples, sells for $2.85 a half gallon. The other vendor of unpasteurized cider is Benuel Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce. (Didn't check if Fair Food Farmstand has any; if anyone else does, they're the most likely.) Earl has an outside mill press his cider, but since that's done on Wednesdays he may not have any for this Tuesday's Passyunk & South Market, though he will at Fairmount Thursday and the RTM again next Saturday.

Bought a half-pint box of chestnuts from Earl to roast, if not on an open fire, in the toaster oven. $1.25.

Now that summer is definitely over, there's a minor glut of soft shell crabs, at least judged by the 17 percent price reduction at John Yi's: $5 apiece rather than $6.

Nonetheless, signs of both summer and autumn abound. Very late season tomatoes still available at the various farm stands, though the end is well nigh. Lots of good deals at Iovine Brothers Produce this week, including Hass avocados continuing at 50-cents apiece, mineola oranges at five for a buck, and red, yellow and orange bell peppers all 99-cents a pound. And a nice variety of apples at all fruit vendors, including Macouns at L. Halteman.

Now that Hatville Deli has moved their egg sales back into the main store, rather than the stall now occupied by AJ's Pickle Patch, you can no longer buy a half dozen. Sales by the dozen only.

The RTM's annual Harvest Festival started today, and it appeared to be drawing extra crowds. Down Home Diner, Harry Ochs, Giunta's Prime Shop, Nanee, Kamal and other vendors set up shop on a hay-strewn Filbert Street ("Harry Ochs Way") as blue grass music played and Vinnie Iovine drove a tractor around the block pulling wannabe hayseeds. Also participating was at least one of the Pennsylvania Dutch vendors, Fisher's, selling fresh made nut brittles. The festival continues tomorrow (minus the Pennsylvania Dutch participants, who don't participate in Sunday hours).

[rlibkind]

Emily Teel of the Fair Food Farmstand is pushing the persimmons. They're grown by the same South Philly amateur orchardist who supplied the stand with figs about a month or so ago. Also at the farmstand, white cranberries. They are not a different variety, just an immature berry and, because of that, tarter, so add extra sugar. The white cranberries were selling for $6 a pint vs. $4.50 for the red.

Earl Livengood had fantastic red beets last week. They appear to be a similar variety to the cylindrical beets Benuel Kauffman sometimes features. I roasted Earl's in the oven (400F for about 50 minutes) and they are as sweet as any beet I've ever had.

Now's the season for pumpkin ravioli. Pasta By George has a nice pumpkin-riccotta version, though they aren't cheap: $10.99 for 12 raviolis (yielding two portions for an entree, four for appetizer course). I made a simple sage brown butter sauce for them.

Jeffrey Roberts, author of the Atlas of American Artisinal Cheese, was selling and signing copies of his book last Saturday in the same table spot formerly occupied by Green Valley Dairy, next to the Fair Food Farmstand. Roberts, a former Philadelphian who's been in Vermont doing his cheese thing, was fascinating to talk with. You might have seen an article in the Daily News in advance of his visit, which also included a cheese tasting at DiBruno's. More about the book here.

Green Valley is among the cheesemakers profiled in the book, but they no longer sell direct to the customer at the market. However, you can purchase their cheese at the Fair Food Farmstand. The Amish producer is concentrating on restaurants and the wholesale business. If you haven't tried it, their Pennsylvania Noble is a wonderful cheddar.

Over at the former Foster's space, shelving and display units have been delivered for Amy's Kitchen, which hopes to open in its new space a week before Thanksgiving.

[rlibkind]

With a new hire, DiNic's is expanding its hours. They'll start slowly beginning tomorrow, Nov. 4, with Sunday hours. Eventually the goal is to extend weekday hours until the market's 6 p.m. closing.

[rlibkind]

Much of what I have to report today can be said in pictures. So here goes:

Cauliflower diversity at Benuel Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce.

Very nice looking radicchio at Fair Food Farmstand.

White and red cranberries at Fair Food Farmstand.

Some of the German wursts and specialties from Rieker's now available at Dutch Country Meats.

I erred in my pricing report Friday on this Fair Food Farmstand cranberries. They are $6 for white and $4.50 for red per quart not, as previously reported, per pint.

Harry Ochs had some exceedingly good looking lean beef in his display case today, simply marked for either cubing or grinding, priced at, iirc, $4.49 (or was it $4.99?) a pound. Nick said it was shin with the bone removed. I picked up a pound and a half, single grind, and made it into a beef base for a cottage pie I'll finish making tomorrow. The braised ground meat (with onions, beef bouillion, thyme, worcestershire sauce, Kitchen Bouquet for color) was nicely beefy with a tender yet toothsome texture, probably because shin has some decent colagen content. I think this meat would be all wrong for hamburger (much too lean), but great for chili and other ground beef dishes that should simmer on a low flame for a while. The ultra lean meat ultra caused me to add a little extra oil to the pan while browning. Although it was more expensive per pound that the ground sirloin, it was nearly as economical because the sirloin is somewhere around 17-20 percent fat; if the shin was 5 percent fat I'd be surprised. The only other time I've used shin was to cook it whole Chinese style (that, too, was delicious).

Don't be surprised if one or two of the vendors from Headhouse Square set up shop at the RTM in the future, either during the winter and/or other days of the week when Headhouse isn't operating. Hendricks Farm and Old Earth Farm are prime candidates, according to market GM Paul Steinke.

Steinke also said he has vendors lined up for the "Christmas Market" which will occupy the space being vacated by Amy's Kitchen in their move to the old Foster's store. If he gets additional interest, he'll expand the seasonal vendors to the old Le Bus space.

[rlibkind]

The last of the summer wine? Not quite, but Earl Livengood had what has to be the last of the raspberries Saturday. Couldn't bring myself to buy any given the month of the year and the temperatures.

Exceptionally large chestnuts are available at Iovine Brothers in their refrigerated case by the checkout closest to Filbert Street. They are U.S. chestnuts and priced at $5.99 a pound in one-pound clamshells. I've been roasting them for more than a week and they are very good, rot-free with a high yield. Better than what I bought earlier from Earl Livengood.

Mackeral are back, $2.49 at John Yi's. In a few weeks we should start seeing a wider variety of fish for the holiday season.

Before the end of the week, Amy's Place will move to its new location (the former Foster's, opposite Fair Food Farmstand and Pennsylvania General Store) offeriing an expanded stock of practical kitchen hard goods to go along with decorative items.

To fill the space Amy is vacating, at least temporarily, the market has attracted seven vendors to a "Christmas Market" similar to the temporary gift stalls that sprout up this time of year in Mittel Europa. To accomodate all seven the market will also place them in the adjacent space occupied by Le Bus before it moved.

Behind the new Amy's is the market's demonstration kitchen, which should see increased activity beginning in the new year. In addition to Temple classes, instructor Ann Florio will begin a full schedule of classes under the name La Cucina. Florio is a proponent of "learn Italian while you cook".

The market was scheduled to start a recycling program this week, with receptacles for customers to recycle paper, aluminum cans, and plastic.

Links to two items I've reported elsewhere:

Country Time pork in short supply due to truck accident

DiNic's experiments with meatballs on Sundays

Edited November 13, 2007 by rlibkind (log)

[rlibkind]

You may have read Friday's Philadelphia Inquirer article about the food shortfall at Philabundance, which serves about 600 regional food banks, soup kitchens, shelters and other relief organizations. In particular, they had a critical need for turkey.

Reading Terminal merchants came to the rescue, donating 25 turkeys. Contributing were all the RTM's butcher shops (Dutch Country Meats, Giunta, Godshall's, Harry Ochs, Martin's, and L. Halteman) as well as Hershel's Deli and The Original Turkey. If you'd like to find out how to donate food, contact Philabundance at 215 339-0900 or surf to www.philabundance.org.

Terminal briefs

Something I've missed before but won't in the future: anise biscotti at Termini's, $15/pound . . . . Have I not being paying attention or has the price of eggs jumped? Over at Hatville Deli a dozen large whites cost me $2; just a few months ago they were selling for $1.50. Still, that's less than supermarkets are charging . . . . Hershel's Deli plans to bring in Gus's Pickles (and sauerkraut, too) for retail sale . . . . Amy's Place was supposed to have opened at its new location Saturday, but when I left the market at 10 a.m. they were still moving stock over from the old space . . . . The market didn't seem crowded when I was there from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, except for Iovine Brothers Produce, which was overflowing half an hour after opening with pre-holiday shoppers . . . . Charles Giunta of Giunta Prime Shop says he can special order goose from Eberly's for your Christmas dinner.

Tom Nicolosi says DiNic's will only offer meatballs on Sunday, so as not to compete with Spataro's across the aisle, which has meatballs on the menu full time, but is closed on Sundays. For today Tom was preapring beef-pork meatballs . . . . The 50-cent apiece Hass avocados at Iovine's last week were awful: they seemed not too far gone when examined in the bins, but once opened at home the same day as purchased they were clearly over-the-hill. No wonder they were priced so cheaply. This week a Hass avocado will cost you $1.99 . . . . Among the items purchased yesterday on my menu last night: Short ribs (English cut) from Harry Ochs, braised in red wine/beef stock with a mirepoix; leeks from Earl Livengood cooked au gratin in a bechamel sauce; fingerling potatoes from Livengood.

Edited November 18, 2007 by rlibkind (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Spent some time at RTM today shopping for holiday produce. Lots of great grab bags at Iovines and there will be a lot of soups in my future this week. Creamy asparagus soup tonight and wild mushroom with thyme and Madeira for Thanksgiving dinner. Yum. Also picked up a few bags of cranberries for the two kinds of cranberry sauces I make every holiday - Cranberry-Orange with Grand Marnier and Cranberry-Jalapeno with Tequila. Is it any surprise that my cooking has lots of booze in it?

[rlibkind]

RTM's Paul Steinke believes the addition of the model train display in the terminal's headhouse, organized by the RTM, boosts overall traffic at the market itself.

Bill Kingsley, who was a leader in efforts to preserve the market in the 1980s when its existence was threatened by the then-proposed convention center died last week. Steinke said he was a regular visitor at the market until he took ill. Kingsley was 73.

To my mind, the building of the convention center has been a mixed blessing for the RTM. The push to build the center directly led to the availability of funds to rehabilitate the market (before the rebuilding water leaked from the trainshed above and puddled all over the market floor, among other significant structural problems), and the presence of conventineers has provided a good source of revenue for many of the merchants; at the same time, this has created pressure for more lunch stands and trinket-sellers rather than the market's traditional vendor base of butchers, bakers, fish mongers, cheese mongers and produce sellers and other fresh food purveyors. The convention center's impact on Center City, including the Reading Terminal Market, will be explored by reporter Tom Belden in an Inquirer article in the near future.

RTM Briefs

It's not exactly margarita weather, but this was the week to buy limes at Iovine Brothers Produce: 10 for a buck. Recently they've been three for a buck . . . . I'm still waiting for the expanded variety of seafood to start showing up for the holiday among the fish mongers . . . . Stephen Starr stopped by Hershel's and proclaimed the corned beef sandwich the best he's ever had. He instructed five of his chefs to stop there to learn how to make a proper sandwich. (If they add it to the menu at Jones, it might hurt Kibbitz across the street.) . . . . Hershel's expects to start carrying Gus's pickles and kraut this week or next . . . . Amy's is open at the new location, and nearly half a dozen stalls have replaced it and other relocated vendor to form a holiday market selling gift item through the holidays. They include The Clay Place (pottery), Desert Designs (Egyptian imports), Contessa's French Linens, Jootz (glass giftware and pet beds), Nimba Traders (decor items from Indonesia and Thailand), and Siberia Creations (birch bark boxes, etc.) . . . . Charles Giunta of Giunta's Prime Shop is complaining that he's having difficulty selling veal because not enough people are willing to pay the price he needs to carry it . . . . DiNic's probably will extend its hours to 6 p.m. weekdays this week . . . . Hendricks Farm and Griggstown Quail Farm didn't make it to Headhouse Square this week, but you can find their cheese and pot pies, respectively, at the Fair Food Farmstand, which is open every day but Monday at the RTM . . . .