Reading Terminal Market (Part 1)

[birder53]

Actually, I have a "what do you do with these?" question from a recent RTM trip (but not my most recent one).

Iovine's had Meyer lemons on sale a week or so ago at 3/$1.  I've read about these critters before but had never seen one in the flesh.  So naturally, I bought three.

But I imagine that Meyer lemons are not simply used in place of regular lemons.  So:  What do you do with them?

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There was a thread on Meyer Lemons some time back. I tried to find it, but my search skills are pretty bad. They are popular for lemonade. I like to use them for Aviations. Hopefully someone can find the old thread on this for you.

[rlibkind]

But I imagine that Meyer lemons are not simply used in place of regular lemons.  So:  What do you do with them?

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I tried 'em once, but don't get it. The difference between Meyers and conventional, to me, is that Meyers don't have nearly the acidity. So, if it's just lemon flavor you want but not the acidity, then I guess Meyers are what you want; perhaps it might be best eaten out of hand or in a drink. According to some web research I undertook prompted by your question, it appears to be a cross between lemon and either tangerine or orange -- not unlike the clementine, which I understand is also a lemon cross.

[mrbigjas]

But I imagine that Meyer lemons are not simply used in place of regular lemons.  So:  What do you do with them?

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I tried 'em once, but don't get it. The difference between Meyers and conventional, to me, is that Meyers don't have nearly the acidity. So, if it's just lemon flavor you want but not the acidity, then I guess Meyers are what you want; perhaps it might be best eaten out of hand or in a drink. According to some web research I undertook prompted by your question, it appears to be a cross between lemon and either tangerine or orange -- not unlike the clementine, which I understand is also a lemon cross.

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agreed wtih rlibkind, except that i do enjoy them. they're more floral and less acidic than regular lemons, so as far as i'm concerned cooking with them is pretty much out--a lot of the attraction of the meyer lemon is lost when you try to cook it. nice in drinks or as a last minute accent to something.

[cdh]

I find that meyer lemons have an herbal thing in addition to the floral thing going on... It is almost thyme-y. Particularly the zests.

[M.X.Hassett]

The Szechuan(spl) peppercorns are some of the best examples I have come across.

[MarketStEl]

There was a thread on Meyer Lemons some time back.  I tried to find it, but my search skills are pretty bad.  They are popular for lemonade.  I like to use them for Aviations.  Hopefully someone can find the old thread on this for you.

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I can see why they would be popular for lemonade--since they're not as tart, you wouldn't need to add so much sugar to your lemonade.

They might make an interesting to certain vinegars (rice especially) in a vinaigrette.

Now that you mention it, they did have a rather floral scent about them. I occasionally grind juiced lemons in the garbage disposal as a quick room freshener, and I suspect that these would work even better.

[rlibkind]

Once again, the Iovines have altered the layout of their produce aisles:

Above is the view looking toward west. The dried fruit and nuts alcove is now where the mushrooms and citrus specials were.

Above is the view looking toward the corner door on Filbert Street.

The new layout has, for all practical purposes, created another aisle. This also entailed removing the racks along the wall by the Iovine's office (same side of aisle as A.A. Halteman). The net result has been to reposition the solitary checkout that used to be opposite the office to the front of the store with the other checkouts, because the bins holding special sale items have been removed from that position and moved elsewhere.

As to this week's produce at Iovine's, the best deal appeared to be the key lines: $1 for three one-pound packs. If you feel like squeezing a bunch of these tiny fruits, invite me over for pie.

Another citrus deal: the navel oranges are reduced to five for a buck; these are the same smallish but nicely sweet fruits offered at 4/$1 recently. Also, trayed button mushrooms (or sliced) for $1; weighing out at 3/4 pound, this translates to about $1.33/pound vs. regular price of $1.99.

Cranberry beans have disappeared. Plenty of Meyers lemons available (same 3/$1 price). Limes continue to escalate this week they were 50-cents apiece; that's still better than the three for $2 price I saw at the Cherry Hill Shop Rite.

Large Spanish mackerel (but no Boston) at John Yi's priced at $2.49, iirc. The good-looking sardines at Golden sell for $2.99. However, Yi's will dress the mackerel at that price; Golden charges a buck extra a pound to prep the sardines (which is easily done at home).

Flying Monkey Patisserie is awaiting City Health Department approval of its construction plans (they oversee everything down to the type of grout used in the tile) but hopes for an opening sometime in March. At today's birthday celebration of the RTM (it's 114th), Flying Monkey provided the birthday cake and a few other goodies for tasting. I tried the birthday cake, a very nice chocolate layer affair (not flourless, thank you) with just a touch of some berry liqueur to add another dimension.

No visible construction yet on the Le Bus and Spataro moves to new locations.

[rlibkind]

Since I don't get to the RTM much on Saturdays, trying to avoid the crowds, I was delighted to see Earl Livengood there late this afternoon. Earl said he's been there continuously, but that he'll probably take a few weeks off now. I picked up rutabagas and tiny potatoes; he also had chestnuts, other kinds of potatoes, and what he said will be the last spinach for a while. He also had poke, which neighbor Sam Consylman grows in his cellar.

Onions, asparagus and radishes, among others, should start popping up in late April.

At Iovine's, cranberry beans were back (at $1.99). Vinnie Iovine said that with their new vacuum sealing machine they plan to expand the "value added" prepared veggie offerings.

[rlibkind]

Extended hours at the RTM during the Flower show (see schedule below). But be wary; especially on weekends the RTM will get a lot of extra traffic. As for the merchants, obviously the Amish stands won't be open on Sunday, nor on Monday and Tuesday when they are usually shuttered. Also, not all merchants will stay open as late as the market itself: those most likely to put in the full hours will be the vendors selling for on-premises consumption, and not even all of them.

RTM Extended Hours

Sunday, March 5: 8am to 6pm

Monday, March 6: 8am to 7pm

Tuesday, March 7: 8am to 7pm

Wednesday, March 8: 8am to 7pm

Thursday, March 9: 8am to 7pm

Friday, March 10: 8am to 7pm

Saturday, March 11: 8am to 7pm

Sunday, March 12: 8am to 6pm

Note: Although not a "public" day, Saturday, March 4, is members' preview, so there will be a lot of traffic then, too.

There will also be a paucity of parking, and unless you use the RTM's two-hour system you are likely to be goughed. Even the RTM parking at the Parkway will be in scarce supply when the Flower show doors are open.

[wkl]

rlibkind,

What's poke?

[serpentine]

Any sightings of the elusive kumquat?

(Okay, I'm making fun of Ms. Hesser a little bit, as I've seen kumquats at the 10th and Reed Acme, for pete's sake, but I am curious as to whether Iovine has any.)

[mrbigjas]

Any sightings of the elusive kumquat?

(Okay, I'm making fun of Ms. Hesser a little bit, as I've seen kumquats at the 10th and Reed Acme, for pete's sake, but I am curious as to whether Iovine has any.)

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i bought them at iovines a couple weeks ago. they have them at sue's produce on 18th street as well.

[rlibkind]

What's poke?

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Pokeweed is a very common plant which, though largely poisonous, can be consumed if one is careful about which parts one consumes and at what stage. The shoots are edible before they reach a certain stage of maturity, and Sam grows them in his root cellar and harvests them when they are safe to eat. Also known as poke salet.

[Mummer]

What's poke?

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Pokeweed is a very common plant ... Also known as poke salet.

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Tony Joe White had a 1969 hit, Poke Salad Annie, later covered by Elvis during his fat guy shouldn't be playing Vegas in a jumpsuit days. Tony Joe, who also wrote "Rainy Night in Georgia," hails from Louisiana, where the aligators grow so mean.

Poke and canned salet pics link

[mrbigjas]

Any sightings of the elusive kumquat?

(Okay, I'm making fun of Ms. Hesser a little bit, as I've seen kumquats at the 10th and Reed Acme, for pete's sake, but I am curious as to whether Iovine has any.)

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i bought them at iovines a couple weeks ago. they have them at sue's produce on 18th street as well.

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P.S. they're usually over with the herbs and meyer lemons and peeled garlic and whatnot, in the styrofoam and plastic packages that drive me so nuts.

[mrbigjas]

Carmen is Rocco's older, wiser brother.  Rocco, who had opened several hoagie outposts (The Bellevue, RTM, Ocean City, NJ, some others) was a lousy  businessman, and eventually sold the businesses to his older, wiser brother.  To  my knowledge, only the Bellevue and  RTM locations remain.  It is fitting that Carmen changed the name, since he's been doing all of the heavy lifting, hard work and quality control for years.

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carmen may be a better businessman than rocco, but if today's experience was any indication, he really needs to get some training for his staff or get an automation expert or something in there.

i walked up, no one in line, and ordered myself a delicious special. then i went over to the waiting area. there were a few people there, but not an unreasonable number, or so i thought.

after a couple of minutes, they called a number that was about 10 numbers ahead of mine. about five minutes later, the next number. i realized i was going to be in for a long wait. after about 10 minutes, i went over to glick's salads and bought some stuff. came back, waited a few more minutes, and then went to buy some shrimp. came back and my sandwich was ready. all in all, it took 20+ minutes to get a hoagie made, and there were only a few other people around. i mean, getting lunch at delilah's woulda been faster, and you know how slow that stand is.

it was brutal--everyone waiting was all grouchy and calling their friends on their cellies saying I'LL MEET UP WITH YOU IN A FEW MINUTES, THIS IS RIDICULOUS, and meanwhile it was like a slow-motion circus in there, with people just kinda wandering around and running into each other, everyone trying to do everything at once, with no rhyme or reason to the thing except for carmen starting each sandwich and handing them off.

i don't really mind all that much waiting for it, and of course the result, once again, was a fantastic hoagie. but i hope they can speed things up, or they're gonna piss off a lot of customers.

[Rich Pawlak]

Carmen is Rocco's older, wiser brother.  Rocco, who had opened several hoagie outposts (The Bellevue, RTM, Ocean City, NJ, some others) was a lousy  businessman, and eventually sold the businesses to his older, wiser brother.  To  my knowledge, only the Bellevue and  RTM locations remain.  It is fitting that Carmen changed the name, since he's been doing all of the heavy lifting, hard work and quality control for years.

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carmen may be a better businessman than rocco, but if today's experience was any indication, he really needs to get some training for his staff or get an automation expert or something in there.

i walked up, no one in line, and ordered myself a delicious special. then i went over to the waiting area. there were a few people there, but not an unreasonable number, or so i thought.

after a couple of minutes, they called a number that was about 10 numbers ahead of mine. about five minutes later, the next number. i realized i was going to be in for a long wait. after about 10 minutes, i went over to glick's salads and bought some stuff. came back, waited a few more minutes, and then went to buy some shrimp. came back and my sandwich was ready. all in all, it took 20+ minutes to get a hoagie made, and there were only a few other people around. i mean, getting lunch at delilah's woulda been faster, and you know how slow that stand is.

it was brutal--everyone waiting was all grouchy and calling their friends on their cellies saying I'LL MEET UP WITH YOU IN A FEW MINUTES, THIS IS RIDICULOUS, and meanwhile it was like a slow-motion circus in there, with people just kinda wandering around and running into each other, everyone trying to do everything at once, with no rhyme or reason to the thing except for carmen starting each sandwich and handing them off.

i don't really mind all that much waiting for it, and of course the result, once again, was a fantastic hoagie. but i hope they can speed things up, or they're gonna piss off a lot of customers.

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It was sometimes a problem at The Bellevue too, as Carmen could only rely on what help he had, sometimes good and sometimes atrocious. I would say something to him discretely, and tell him I told you to , because he really only wants to be as good as possible. He is reputation-conscious.

[mrbigjas]

It was sometimes a problem at The Bellevue too, as Carmen could only rely on what help he had, sometimes good and sometimes atrocious.  I would say something to him discretely, and tell him I told you to , because he really only wants to be as good as possible.  He is reputation-conscious.

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thanks rich--next time when i'm there and not running off to meet friends, i'll introduce myself and see if i can't mention something to him.

[rlibkind]

. . .all in all, it took 20+ minutes to get a hoagie made [at Carmen's], and there were only a few other people around.

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I had a 10 minute wait when I tried them in January and thought it was an aberration. But in watching them the problem didn't seem to be the staff; they handed him the orders quickly, and when the sandwiches were ready matched them up with drinks, etc., quickly. The problem appeared to be Carmen -- he was simply slow. Meticulous, but slow.

[rlibkind]

With the Philadelphia Flower Show in full swing, a number of RTM merchants will be open Sunday, though forget about buying from a butcher or a fishmonger. Vegetarians, however, are in luck since Iovine's will be open.

Also during Flower Show week, two vendors have set up additional, temporary stands. Where Caviar Assouline once stood there's now a temporary caffeine dispensary operated by Old City Coffee. And over by center court, in the space formerly occupied by the Sandwich Stand (and soon to become Spataro's new home), the Pennsylvania General Store is offering cookies, chocolates, candies and many floral-themed items.

As of Saturday morning Iovine's had a full skid of small navel oranges selling at 10 for a dollar. These are the same oranges that had been selling as five for a buck; Jimmy Iovine said he has to get rid of these oranges, hence the price, but the next skid will be back up to the 20-cent apiece price.

Bell peppers were a bargain again, with reds, greens and yellows at 99 cents, orange peppers at $1.49.

Kumquats could be found near the mushrooms, wrapped on trays at $4.49/pound. Large bags of end-of-season clementines priced at $4.99. Shelled peas (tray packed) were $1.49 for what looked to be 2 or 3 servings' worth. White seedless grapes 99-cents/pound.

New to the prepared veggie aisle: grated horseradish.

More changes brewing at Iovines. Under their new lease, they now have the right to sell dairy products, so expect to see milk in new refrigerated cases to be installed against the office wall.

Exceedingly large porgies at John Yi's for $2.99. Europeans know this fish as a bream (which is what it is) and it's a sweet-fleshed creature with an easy-to-deal-with bone structure. I was introduced to it many years ago at South Street Souvlaki where it was simply grilled with some olive oil and lemon juice. Also back at John Yi's, sardines at $2.99/pound, matching the price at Golden Seafood.

Lately I've been making my own fish salads (usually from some smoked fish, sometimes mixed with unsmoked, i.e., hot-smoked salmon mixed with canned salmon, or cold smoked salmon trimmings with cooked fresh salmon filet, and appropriate condiments and a little yogurt in place of mayo). But what to spread it on? Well, Downtown Cheese has an excellent "party pumpernickel". The small sized slices (about 2x2 inch) make an excellent base for hor d'oeurves. $1.69 for a pack.

The cheeses offered by Downtown Cheese and Salumeria are well worth investigating. Tonight I finished some Point Reyes Blue from California that was a pluperfect blue. But, then again, I've hardly ever met a blue I didn't like. The week before I polished off some English Wensleydale which has a slightly bitter but very pleasant aftertaste; both of these came from Downtown. Over at Salumeria a couple of weeks ago I purchased a very enjoyable Lancashire, another English cheese; this particular one was delicately crumbly, though other Lancashires can be firmer. And don't forget Green Valley Dairy, whose cheddars (try Claudia or Noble) and new brie can be obtained at Fair Food Farmstand or, on most Saturdays, directly from the producer.

Carolyn Wyman, whose books ("Better Than Homemade", "Spam: A Biography" and "Jello: A Biography") tend to focus on industrial food, is now leading walking tours of the RTM every Wednesday and Saturday at 10 a.m. Cost is $14.95 for adults and $8.95 for children 7-11. There will be extra tours in conjunction with The Book and the Cook. No reservations, but you can get more info by calling 215 545-8007.

[rlibkind]

In my review of cheeses recently purchased at the RTM I forgot to mention Nokkelost. This is a Norwegian cheese and, like most Norwegian cheeses (the exception being Jarlsberg) it's very strange. It's a rather plain semi-soft cheese flavored with carraway, cumin and clove. Spicy, indeed. Just don't bite into the whole clove.

Nokkelost is stocked by Downtown Cheese along with two other Norwegian cheeses, Gjetost and Ekte Gjetost. These two cheeses are almost the same: brown and sweet, and both are made from the whey leftover from the cheese-making process. The difference between the two: Ekta Gjetost (the original) is made from goat milk, Gjetost from a mix of cow and goat milk. It's actually not bad as a breakfast cheese or a dessert cheese; just don't expect any nuance. Admittedly, it is difficult to comprehend a cheese that tastes more of caramel than the normal earthier tastes we associate with cheese. You actually can find regular Gjetost (occasionally) at a normal supermarket.

[Judd Icious Hand]

What cut of pork do they roast for these sandwiches?

[mrbigjas]

What cut of pork do they roast for these sandwiches?

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to my knowledge, shoulder. but i could be wrong.

[KitchenMom]

Okay, RTM experts, I'm heading in from the 'burbs tomorrow and I'm wondering if I can get good osso bucco anywhere in the market. Does Harry Ochs have it? Any other recommendations? I particularly want ones that aren't too thick. While I'm at it, does anyone know anyplace to get preserved lemons? I usually make my own, but I'd like to use them before I have time to preserve another batch.

TIA for any help.

[rlibkind]

Okay, RTM experts, I'm  heading in from the 'burbs tomorrow and I'm wondering if I can get good osso bucco anywhere in the market.  Does Harry Ochs have it?  Any other recommendations?  I particularly want ones that aren't too thick.  While I'm at it, does anyone know anyplace to get preserved lemons?  I usually make my own, but I'd like to use them before I have time to preserve another batch.

TIA for any help.

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No preserved lemons at the RTM that I'm aware of. As for osso bucco, I'm quite sure Harry Ochs has them. But I'd recommend calling to check and/or have them set it aside: 215 922-0303.

Edited March 9, 2006 by rlibkind (log)