eG Foodblog: MarketStEl - Today in History

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

So today I was following a vehicle with a Widener University license plate and I thought, "Now where to I know that from?" Is it you? Do you work there?
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I'm going to answer this question in that roundabout fashion of mine that sometimes drives people up a wall, but I'm doing it this way to see if you know much about Widener history.

If you do know about the school's past--I did mention its previous identity in my first foodblog--you should be able to answer both questions by just looking at this photo, which I had also contemplated using as a teaser for this foodblog:

Yes, that's my desktop at the office. No, I haven't used the voucher yet. It's good through the end of the month, so I'd better get cracking.

Edited October 25, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I'm free at last!

Seriously, though, serving as foreperson of the jury in this armed robbery trial has been quite an experience--at times frustrating, at times enlightening, a bit of a challenge and ultimately ennobling. We were 12 people of varied backgrounds, eight black, four white, evenly split between men and women (both across the board and within the racial groups).

We spent two days wrestling with all the legal notions you hear about in civics class but don't really experience unless you go through something like this. You may think someone is guilty, and there's plenty of evidence that points that way, but did the Commonwealth prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt? The answer to that question is not as simple as it might seem, and after having to wrestle with this question along with 11 other people all intent on doing justice but not quite seeing eye-to-eye on how that should be done, I'd like to suggest that the next time you hear about a jury verdict that sets an obviously guilty person free, you take a deep breath and count to 100 before blasting the jury. (FWIW, in our case, we ended up convicting our defendant on some counts and acquitting him on others.)

Despite our differences, we ended up with a great deal of respect and even affection for one another, and some new friendships were made in the process--over lunch as well as during downtimes in deliberations. As jurors are sequestered for deliberation, the court takes our lunch orders and has them delivered (at no cost to us). As I can't show you what we ate--cameras are forbidden in the Criminal Justice Center--I'll just have to describe it for you.

(An aside: I realize I'm out of chronological sequence here. I'll get to Monday dinner presently. My breakfast routine has changed since my last foodblog, but since it still doesn't vary much from day to day, I'll clue you in to the change on Wednesday.)

Both yesterday and today started with a cup of coffee and a piece of apple-spice cake courtesy of the Salad Express eatery in the Reading Terminal Market, which has a counter set up in the jury assembly room.

Monday our lunches came from a place called Lunch to You, which none of us had ever heard of. We picked items from a mix-and-match menu that had a confusing section about "platters" when everything being offered was either sandwich fixin's or salads. I ordered a chef's salad and got an unimpressive mixture of a heap of iceberg lettuce, four tomato wedges, strips of ham, turkey and Swiss cheese, and a small tub of "French" dressing that looked more like "Thousand Island" than French. ("More mayonnaise than ketchup," quipped one of my fellow jurors.) Along with this came a small bag of chips, a can of soda and a small cup of pasta salad--small shells in a nondescript sauce, just like what came with the sandwiches everyone else ordered when they couldn't figure out what made something a platter. I think that were this place on trial, we would have voted to convict them of indecent assault on innocent lunchmeat.

Today's lunch was much better, catered in from a South Philly sandwich shop called Johnny M's (or something like that; I forgot to take notes). This place had Italian hoagies, steaks, roast beef, corned beef, wraps, meatball sandwiches and even pizza. I ordered meatballs with Provolone cheese (I'm waiting for the right moment to work the hoagie and cheesesteak in this week). I had the meatball sandwich with provolone, served on a cute little torpedo roll. Wraps were the majority choice of the rest of the jury. The ingredients were fresher and the food better prepared than yesterday.

After we delivered our verdict, three of us--who had been eating lunch together regularly since the trial started the previous Wednesday (we went to the RTM on the first three days, when we were free to leave the building for lunch; jurors get 10 percent off their purchases there if they show their juror badges)--went off to celebrate with a drink and a bite to eat. I suggested we try Vintage, the wine bar on 13th Street not far from where I live. Unfortunately, it was 3:30 p.m., and Vintage opens at 4. So Arnie Rosemoff, who lives in the far Northeast, suggested the one place he knew in the immediate area.

Unbeknownst to him, Arnie played right into the theme of my foodblog with this suggestion. Established in 1860, McGillin's Old Ale House is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the city. The two-story building on Drury Street (a half-block long street between Chestnut and Sansom off 13th), built around 1900, used to have three stories before a fire in the late 1940s destroyed the top floor. (It survives in the menu cover illustration.)

The bottom two have that old-time pub feel. The three of us ate on the main floor.

That's Arnie on the left. On the right is Charles Fitzpatrick, a recent Penn JD/MBA grad who is launching a music distribution business from his West Philly home while at the same time looking to join a local practice in intellectual property law.

While the beer list is thoroughly up-to-date:

McGillin's house ale and lager are brewed for the bar by Stoudt's Brewery in Adamstown.

the rest of the place is bursting with nostalgia, though the current owner has spruced it up a bit.

One wall is a tribute to vanished Philadelphiana. I'll wager that many of you who have ever spent time in this place will recognize all the names and logos in this picture:

From left to right: A Lit Brothers sign salvaged from 8th and Market subway station, J.E. Caldwell Co., John Wanamaker, CoreStates Bank (beneath the Wanamaker signature) and Strawbridge & Clothier's "Seal of Confidence" trademark (partly obscured by flag), depicting William Penn's "never written, never broken" treaty with the Lenape Indians.

as well as this name more commonly associated with New York:

Gimbel Brothers' original store was also at 8th and Market, cater-corner from Lit Brothers.

I decided to start off with a Philly seafood-house favority, snapper soup.

McGillin's was perfectly respectable--nice and thick with large chunks of real turtle meat.

I followed that with this sandwich, one of the day's specials.

Called the "smothered mother," it had roast beef, onions, roasted peppers and mushrooms, all topped with melted provolone cheese and served with cole slaw and roasted potatoes with Cheddar cheese on the side. (Have any of you noticed yet that I :wub: :wub: :wub: cheese?)

This was hearty and satisfying, and would have gone better with Arnie's Victory Hop Devil than it did with the Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale that I ordered.

Prices are very reasonable, and the food is solid and dependable.

From here, Charles met up with a couple of friends of his, and the four of us (Arnie left to catch his train back up to Somerton) finally did make it to Vintage.

This wine bar and bistro on 13th below Sansom has caught on in the six or so months since it opened. The narrow space doesn't feel claustrophobic, thanks to a high ceiling and full-height front window. The centerpiece of the bar is a large chandelier made from empty wine bottles:

We all tried varieties we had never had from Vintage's extensive wine list. I'll have to ask Charles next time I see him if he remembers the name of the wine he had, which blew me away with a finish that tasted of blueberries.

From Vintage, I headed home, where I fixed Gary--and ultimately Chris--Hamburger Helper and a side of veggies, then sat down to write another resume and work on catching up on this blog. As it's now after midnight, I'm going to respond to a few comments I missed and then turn in so I can wake up feeling something like refreshed.

Edited October 25, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

"Pinchot" in the headline refers to Governor Gifford Pinchot ®, who ran Pennsylvania for two non-consecutive terms in the late 1920s and early 1930s
interesting! i thought it was referring to bronson pinchot.

You are kidding, aren't you, James? James?

The "AOB" in the sign announcing the beer special stands for "America's Oldest Brewery." D.G. Yuengling and Son of Pottsville, Schuylkill County, was founded in 1829, and the Yuenglings currently running the brewery are the fifth generation of family brewers. Yuengling Lager is one of the many joys of living in eastern Pennsylvania--a beer with real body and craft-brewed character at a mass-market price. (Those who prefer the watery stuff can drink Bud Light for the same price on game days.)
unfortunately yuengling stopped making their best beer (chesterfield ale) available on tap, which is a real loss for those of us who don't like our beer as sweet as the lager is. on the bright side they still make it in cans, so you can find it in my fridge at any given time...
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I'll have to try a Lord Chesterfield Ale sometime--it's the only one of Yuengling's brews I haven't had yet. (Well, that and the Light Lager.)

But after your comment and Arnie's this afternoon about the pumpkin ale, I've decided that I must like my beer on the sweet side. I think this must have originated with my first taste of Dock Street, Philadelphia's original* microbrew, which has been relaunched this year--the brand's new owners are opening a brewpub at 50th and Baltimore in West Philadelphia, a location where I don't think a brewpub could have even been proposed five years ago.

*Edited to add: But it was not the original microbrewery in the city. It was contract brewed by a company in Utica, New York.

Edited October 25, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

lancastermike · October 25, 2006

So today I was following a vehicle with a Widener University license plate and I thought, "Now where to I know that from?" Is it you? Do you work there?
←
I'm going to answer this question in that roundabout fashion of mine that sometimes drives people up a wall, but I'm doing it this way to see if you know much about Widener history.
If you do know about the school's past--I did mention its previous identity in my first foodblog--you should be able to answer both questions by just looking at this photo, which I had also contemplated using as a teaser for this foodblog:
Yes, that's my desktop at the office. No, I haven't used the voucher yet. It's good through the end of the month, so I'd better get cracking.
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I can answer this one, Sandy but it may be cheating. I do know were you work and I also know what PMC stands for. If I'm right it had two diferent meanings. the first was Pennsylvania Military College. Am I crazy that I remember they used the same initials to mean Penn Morton College for a short time before becoming Widener U? Am I making that last partup out of some strange idea?

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

Good morning and happy Hump Day!

Today is Wednesday, October 25, the 298th day of 2006. There are 67 days left in the year.

Today's Philadelphia forecast: Back to life, back to reality under partly cloudy skies. Forecast high 55F, forecast low 37F.

On this day:

In 1415, the army of Henry V of England defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt.

In 1854, British general Lord James Cardigan staged his ill-fated attack on a heavily armed Russian brigade at the Battle of Balaklava--the inspiration for Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade.

In 1923, the United States Senate began its investigation into the Teapot Dome scandal, which will eventually ensnare several members of President Warren G. Harding's administration. In 1929, one of them -- Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall -- is convicted of accepting a bribe while in office, becoming the first individual to be convicted of a crime while serving as a presidential Cabinet member.

In 1938, Francis J.L. Beckman, archbishop of Dubuque (Iowa), denounced swing music as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people," warning that it would lead down a "primrose path to hell."

In 1955, the Tappan Stove Company introduced the first microwave oven for the home kitchen, using technology licensed from the Raytheon Company, where the microwave oven was invented in 1947. Priced at $1,295--more than most cars sold at the time--the wall oven did not sell well.

In 1971, the United Nations seated the People's Republic of China and expelled the Republic of China (Taiwan) from membership.

In 2001, Microsoft launched the Windows XP operating system.

Famous people born on this day include:

Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer, in 1825 in Vienna.

Georges Bizet, French composer, in 1838 in Paris.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor, in 1881 in Malaga, Spain.

Anne Tyler, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant), in 1941 in Minneapolis.

Helen Reddy, Australian pop singer, in 1941 in Melbourne.

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

I can answer this one, Sandy but it may be cheating. I do know were you work and I also know what PMC stands for. If I'm right it had two diferent meanings. the first was Pennsylvania Military College. Am I crazy that I remember they used the same initials to mean Penn Morton College for a short time before becoming Widener U? Am I making that last partup out of some strange idea?
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No, you didn't make that up.

Pennsylvania Military College began admitting returning veterans as civilian students in 1946. By 1966, the civilian program had grown to become larger than the Corps of Cadets and gone co-ed, and at that point PMC adopted the name Penn Morton College for the civilian program.

Edited to add: The Corps of Cadets and both institutions' names disappeared in 1973, when the college Board of Trustees voted to rename the institution for the family of benefactor Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr. (1923-2006), who also served on Widener's Board of Trustees for many years after his generous gift in 1973 helped save the institution from insolvency.

Edited October 25, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

Ohh, cheesesteaks and hogies! bring them on!

They're on the way. I promise.

funny about weird Al being born today, have you caught his latest? It's "Trying to Catch me white and nerdy." Very funny stuff, he's not lost his touch. You can catch the video at yahoo.

Like "Weird Al," I used to listen to the Dr. Demento radio program during my high school years--the radio station that carried it in Kansas City ran it at 11:30 pm on Saturday night, just as I was getting off my copy boy shift at The Kansas City Star. So I listened to it on the way home from the paper, and it permanently warped my taste in music, just as it did Al's. :smile:

I'll have to check out "White and Nerdy." I think it came up as a featured song on Rhapsody this morning -- "Weird Al" currently tops their artist list, so the song must be getting a lot of streams and downloads. I can't believe he's 47, either.

So, what do you put in your meatloaf? My nephew swears by a touch of brown sugar, it makes the loaf taste like there's a little ham in there. It works.
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Usually, I use either ground beef and ground pork or prepackaged "meatloaf mix" -- the ground beef/pork/veal combination that most supermarkets carry now.

However, after Monday night's meatloaf, I think I'm going to change my recipe, for this was the juiciest, tastiest meatloaf I ever fixed.

For all we may spread our wings and seek adventure when dining out or cooking in, I do believe that all of us at some time or another crave the comfort foods we grew up on--the "all-American," "homestyle" "Mom food" (forgive me for sounding like a Zagat Survey review!) that just about all of us who grew up in the United States ate at least occasionally, if not regularly, as children. (I'm sure I will hear something from Hispanic and Asian Americans about how their Moms cooked none of these things during their childhoods, and indeed, I'm sure I'm slighting comfort foods that are now as American as tacos in making this statement. However, I wouldn't be surprised if third-generation Asian or Hispanic Americans had parents who did rotate meatloaf or (especially) spaghetti and meatballs -- an Italian import into the (Anglo/German-)American comfort food pantheon -- in with the staple dishes of their own cultures.

In fact, it was an "Italian import" that made my Monday night meatloaf so tasty--namely, a pound of mild Italian sausage, casing removed and crumbled, added to the two pounds of ground beef I usually start with.

Of course, that's just the base ingredient. Meatloaf requires additives to truly shine. Here are some of mine:

I usually take the jazz rather than the classical approach to preparing foods I am intimately familiar with like meatloaf, so the amounts I am about to give you are definitely approximations, unless you see the word "(measured)" after them.

This meatloaf received about 2 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes, a like amount of oregano, six minced cloves of garlic (exact count), 4 tablespoons of dehydrated minced onion (measured) and one cup of seasoned ("Italian style") bread crumbs (measured).

Then, for good measure, I grated some Parmigiano-Reggiano:

and added that to the mix--about 1/3 cup in all.

I then added two beaten eggs and 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce (measured) to the mix and went to town.

The melange was pressed into a loaf pan:

and baked for an hour at 350F.

Meanwhile, I got to work prepping the veggies:

That's right--fresh carrots and frozen peas. I added some tarragon to the mix for added flavor.

while Chris peeled the potatoes for boiling in salted water. (I have to watch my use of salt in cooking, for Gary has high blood pressure, but I figure that salted water should be OK.)

About an hour later, everything was ready to go. Please forgive my not having photographed the finished loaf before I sliced it, but doesn't this look delicious?

Note the absence of any sauce on the top. That's because I usually serve my meatloaf with brown gravy. I have, however, been known to top it with Gates' Bar-B-Q Sauce during the last half hour of cooking.

Put it all together and you get:

Chris raved about the meatloaf. The Italian sausage's seasonings and higher fat content made a world of difference in the moistness and taste of the meatloaf.

Oops! I said fat. Well, I haven't been following any of the weight management tricks I've been trying to follow since starting jury duty, so I guess it doesn't make much difference right now.

Speaking of weight management: It's time for me to head down to the Wellness Center for a workout--the first I've had since last Tuesday. I'll see you all after I get back to the office.

Jen Keenan · October 25, 2006

Sandy, your explorations make it very hard for me to restrain myself! Both the Irish and the Latvian (and, I think, the German) branches of my family immigrated through Philadelphia. My Latvian grandma moved from the family farm in Trexlertown to live in the Latvian community in West Philadelphia, where she met my Latvian grandfather, married him, and had my mom at the old Women's Hospital there which no longer exists. She worked at both Bookbinder's and Gimbel's at times, and I of course have very fond memories of being taken to see the holiday light show at Wanamaker's in Center City. Is it any wonder I went to Penn? (Oh, duh, that's where my parents met, although whether that really was such a good idea was later to be proven by time :hmmm: )

My little sister just graduated U Del and moved there, to the Bella Vista neighborhood of South Philly. I visited her over Labor Day Weekend and had a whole new part of the city opened to me! She also took me on a very quick drive around the Penn campus, which has indeed changed almost entirely since I left in the early '90s. Much of the city has changed since then, I believe drastically. I know that some people are rather touchy about the "sixth borough of New York" comparison but I believe this is rather an error of proximity than reality. In truth, I have lived in many smaller- to medium-sized cities that have all been improving lately since people returned to city life. And honestly, I have heard no one ever make that kind of reference who wasn't in PA.

Can you perhaps comment on how your food choices have improved in the last 15 years? I remember little but pubs and ethnic restaurants, with the occasional fresh food treat like Le Bus (which used to be near Penn). Now it seems like you have a lot more options in dining. How excited are you?

bavila · October 25, 2006

Hi Sandy,

I'm surprised to see turtle soup in Philly. I've always thought of this as a New Orleans/Creole dish. Any connection in origin? Is the Philly version usually seasoned with cloves and finished with sherry?

How'd you make your brown gravy for the meatloaf?

Thanks and happy birthday!

mrbigjas · October 25, 2006

"Pinchot" in the headline refers to Governor Gifford Pinchot ®, who ran Pennsylvania for two non-consecutive terms in the late 1920s and early 1930s
interesting! i thought it was referring to bronson pinchot.
You are kidding, aren't you, James? James?

hahahaha as balki once said, 'you can pretend to be someone else and get free soup bones, but sooner or later you're gonna have to dance with the butcher.'

I'll have to try a Lord Chesterfield Ale sometime--it's the only one of Yuengling's brews I haven't had yet. (Well, that and the Light Lager.)
But after your comment and Arnie's this afternoon about the pumpkin ale, I've decided that I must like my beer on the sweet side. I think this must have originated with my first taste of Dock Street, Philadelphia's original* microbrew, which has been relaunched this year--the brand's new owners are opening a brewpub at 50th and Baltimore in West Philadelphia, a location where I don't think a brewpub could have even been proposed five years ago.
*Edited to add: But it was not the original microbrewery in the city. It was contract brewed by a company in Utica, New York.
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yeah chesterfield is real hoppy for a mass-produced beer. definitely not sweet. you may not like it, actually--but that's OK, as my dad used to say, that's why there are two flavors of ice cream...

re: dock street, they did have a brewpub at 18th & arch, where they brewed some beer. the bottled stuff on the shelves was contract brewed, though. at least later. i wonder if rich is around here somewhere to help remember...

sandy, was that sandwich from mcgillins so big that it was, like, two open face sandwiches, or did the pic just look that way? man that looks good.

MarketStEl · October 25, 2006

This just in....

Good morning and happy Hump Day!
Today is Wednesday, October 25, the 298th day of 2006. There are 67 days left in the year.
Today's Philadelphia forecast: Back to life, back to reality under partly cloudy skies. Forecast high 55F, forecast low 37F.
On this day:
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In 2006, New Jersey joined Vermont and Massachusetts in the ranks of states whose highest court interpreted the state constitution to require the state to extend the same legal and financial benefits to same-sex couples that it does to married heterosexual ones. In the majority opinion in Lewis v. Harris, just handed down, the New Jersey Supreme Court took the same stance Vermont's did in not stipulating that the state allow same-sex couples to marry, but requiring the legislature to craft a status that extends the identical benefits and privileges as marriage.

(Yes, there is a side theme to my history openers each day besides food, where I can find it in each case. October is also GLBT History Month. The link I just gave you is to the official GLBT History Month web site, put together by Equality Forum, a Philadelphia-based organization that stages an international GLBT symposium and festival here every spring. Equality Forum's public relations director, Mike LaMonaca, is an acquaintance of mine--we met when we both worked at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated.)

More vittles to come.

Edited October 25, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

FabulousFoodBabe · October 25, 2006

Sandy, you have GOT to write a book. I know, I know, in your spare time ...

mizducky · October 26, 2006

Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I'm free at last!

Y'know, Sandy, we're both carrying a bit more, erm, padding than back in our college days, but I'd still recognize that whimsical smile anywhere. (Or at least I'd like to think so. :smile: )

(Have any of you noticed yet that I cheese?)
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Oh yeah--and I also recall you mentioning that cheese was perhaps your most major nemesis in your efforts to eat more healthily. So I, a fellow cheese freak who had been despairing of ever finding a lowfat cheese that did not taste like crap, would like to heartily recommend one of my little dairy salvations: Laughing Cow Light cheese. These little things taste remarkably good (probably because they're a French product--I don't think the French would tolerate crappy "diet" cheese for an instant). Obviously they're no replacement for a super-gourmet chevre or such, but for an everyday snacking cheese they do pretty damn well.

Kouign Aman · October 26, 2006

Great smile, great to see your hands at work *, and oh my! A meatloaf recipe to try.

I dont have meatloaf in my personal pantheon of comfort foods, but the Tenor does, so thanks!

*racheld likes these things to include photos of handwriting, I like pix of hands.

racheld · October 26, 2006

Great smile, great to see your hands at work
*racheld likes these things to include photos of handwriting, I like pix of hands.
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I DO, TOO!!! I asked for hands AND writing, way back yonder, but that's one thing about getting old---nobody pays any attention to you. In my case, that's just as well. :raz:

And I've never been any closer to Philadelphia than Titusville, but I've loved these tours you give every now and then.

Kouign Aman · October 26, 2006

*racheld likes these things to include photos of handwriting, I like pix of hands.
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I DO, TOO!!! I asked for hands AND writing, way back yonder, but that's one thing about getting old---nobody pays any attention to you. In my case, that's just as well.
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I stand corrected, I say while backing away carefully, hands held protectively high..... :raz: right backatcha! :rolleyes:

MarketStEl · October 26, 2006

Sandy, your explorations make it very hard for me to restrain myself!

That's the idea!

I may be an adopted as opposed to a native Pennsylvanian and Philadelphian, but I have come to love both the city and the state as though I've lived here all my life. I hope that my posts here, as before, let some of that love shine through -- to the point that some of you might want to visit someday. You'd be rewarded richly for doing so, for if you're willing to embrace it in all its maddening, frustrating, messy glory, this is truly (in the words of the local tourism promotion folks) the place that loves you back.

Both the Irish and the Latvian (and, I think, the German) branches of my family immigrated through Philadelphia. My Latvian grandma moved from the family farm in Trexlertown to live in the Latvian community in West Philadelphia, where she met my Latvian grandfather, married him, and had my mom at the old Women's Hospital there which no longer exists. She worked at both Bookbinder's and Gimbel's at times, and I of course have very fond memories of being taken to see the holiday light show at Wanamaker's in Center City. Is it any wonder I went to Penn? (Oh, duh, that's where my parents met, although whether that really was such a good idea was later to be proven by time )

Latvian community in West Philadelphia? Where?

Unless I'm very much mistaken, that community is history now. I wouldn't know where to find it, or any culinary traces of its existence (what would those be, anyway?).

What is there now are Africans. Ethiopians, Eritreans, Senegalese, Liberians--these communities have made the area west of the Penn campus their home, opening up some damned good restaurants in the process -- Fatou & Fama and Dahlak, to name two.

My little sister just graduated U Del and moved there, to the Bella Vista neighborhood of South Philly. I visited her over Labor Day Weekend and had a whole new part of the city opened to me! She also took me on a very quick drive around the Penn campus, which has indeed changed almost entirely since I left in the early '90s. Much of the city has changed since then, I believe drastically. I know that some people are rather touchy about the "sixth borough of New York" comparison but I believe this is rather an error of proximity than reality. In truth, I have lived in many smaller- to medium-sized cities that have all been improving lately since people returned to city life. And honestly, I have heard no one ever make that kind of reference who wasn't in PA.
Can you perhaps comment on how your food choices have improved in the last 15 years? I remember little but pubs and ethnic restaurants, with the occasional fresh food treat like Le Bus (which used to be near Penn). Now it seems like you have a lot more options in dining. How excited are you?
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I did my own rant on "the sixth borough" back in my first foodblog, so I'm not going to repeat myself here. What has been said about Mexico sometimes applies to Philly, with appropriate adjustments: "So far from God and so close to New York City."

Not only Penn but the whole city has changed a lot in the past 10 to 15 years. The city has gotten a lot cooler and more interesting. I don't think that W.C. Fields, were he alive today, could quip as he did, "I went to Philadelphia last Friday, but it was closed." Our insecure, parochial souls went into paroxysms of ecstasy when a writer in National Geographic Traveler last year proclaimed this burg "The Next Great City," but the guy was on to something. What he was on to, I haven't figured out exactly, but I think it may have something to do with the expansion of choices in nightlife, dining and living options, both in the heart of the city and in some of the outlying sections. You'll get to see one of those outlying sections tomorrow.

When I moved here, there were Ethiopian restaurants--two of them, one in Center City and one at 45th and Locust. The latter was called the Red Sea then; it's called Abyssinia now. The former is long gone. But there were no Jamaican places, nothing serving up West African fare, no authetic Mexican restaurants, nothing from South America, nothing from Russia, and only the Warsaw Cafe representing Eastern Europe. You will find all of these and more here now.

Hi Sandy,
I'm surprised to see turtle soup in Philly. I've always thought of this as a New Orleans/Creole dish. Any connection in origin? Is the Philly version usually seasoned with cloves and finished with sherry?
How'd you make your brown gravy for the meatloaf?
Thanks and happy birthday!
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I can't tell you how snapper soup came to be part of Philadelphia's culinary tradition. But since this blog is all about history, I will see if I can look that information up and post it later. It is finished with sherry, but cloves have nothing to do with it.

Actually, this batch of gravy was left over from a batch I made from the pan drippings when I made roast beef the week before.

But usually, brown gravy for meatloaf involves a cheat. Mine is "Better than Boullion," a concentrated flavoring base made from stock. It's got a good deal of sodium in it, but less than in boullion, and a richer beef taste to boot. I mix a teaspoon or two of this with the fat from the pan (another reason I don't cover it with tomato sauce or ketchup), a couple of tablespoons of flour (or one of cornstarch) and enough water to make one cup. I then add a little browning sauce (Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet) to add color.

I'll have to try a Lord Chesterfield Ale sometime--it's the only one of Yuengling's brews I haven't had yet. (Well, that and the Light Lager.)
But after your comment and Arnie's this afternoon about the pumpkin ale, I've decided that I must like my beer on the sweet side. I think this must have originated with my first taste of Dock Street, Philadelphia's original* microbrew, which has been relaunched this year--the brand's new owners are opening a brewpub at 50th and Baltimore in West Philadelphia, a location where I don't think a brewpub could have even been proposed five years ago.
*Edited to add: But it was not the original microbrewery in the city. It was contract brewed by a company in Utica, New York.
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yeah chesterfield is real hoppy for a mass-produced beer. definitely not sweet. you may not like it, actually--but that's OK, as my dad used to say, that's why there are two flavors of ice cream...
re: dock street, they did have a brewpub at 18th & arch, where they brewed some beer. the bottled stuff on the shelves was contract brewed, though. at least later. i wonder if rich is around here somewhere to help remember...
sandy, was that sandwich from mcgillins so big that it was, like, two open face sandwiches, or did the pic just look that way? man that looks good.
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Dock Street Amber Beer first appeared on the scene in 1985, in bottles only. It was brewed for the Dock Street Brewing Company of Philadelphia by the F.X. Matt Brewing Company of Utica, N.Y., brewers of Utica Club Cream Ale. Dock Street Bohemian Pilsner and Illuminator Bock came along about two years later, and the brewpub off Logan Circle in 1991 or thereabouts. It opened a second brewpub in the Reading Terminal headhouse in 1993, which was purchased by Independence Brewing a few years ago. The rise of a host of other very good microbreweries and brewpub restaurants throughout the region (Victory, Yards, Flying Fish, Independence, Sly Fox, Iron Hill, Stoudt's...) ate into Dock Street's franchise as well. I can't say for sure what happened, but the company all but disappeared by this time two years ago. (I think it may have had something to do with their effort to expand beyond this region.)

Anyway, the company has been acquired by the owner of Pizza Rustica on the Penn campus. The bottled beer is back in stores, and they are jumping through the hoops needed to open a brewpub and pizzeria at the Firehouse Farmers' Market site at 50th and Baltimore.

No, James, that pic wasn't an optical illusion. I contemplated combining the two topped bun halves into one single sandwich but quickly realized that would be impossible. And it tasted as good as it looked -- the current owners have invested in their food as well as their building.

BTW, James, you've got to meet me sometime soon. I just bought myself a pair of black Italian dress loafers that I think would meet with your approval.

Edited to fix nested quotes.

Edited October 26, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

mizducky · October 26, 2006

But usually, brown gravy for meatloaf involves a cheat. Mine is "Better than Boullion," a concentrated flavoring base made from stock. It's got a good deal of sodium in it, but less than in boullion, and a richer beef taste to boot.
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The all-vegetable version of "Better Than Boullion" is pretty damn tasty too. I go through jars and jars of that stuff. They also have a mushroom version that I've been meaning to try.

MarketStEl · October 26, 2006

Going back to Monday:

Vince left me something besides good cheese and tasty leftovers on Sunday night. He also left me fruitcake.

Okay, it's not really fruitcake, but to us, it might as well be.

When I told him I really didn't care for Starbucks coffee, he said to me, "We got this from a friend a while ago, and we don't like Starbucks either. So when I put stuff together to come down, I thought, 'Maybe I should bring this to Sandy. Maybe he might like it.'"

Funny thing was, I brewed a pot that night before sitting down to post. And it didn't taste burnt. It was actually rather mellow.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk! The University of Kansas is Mom's alma mater -- BSN '54, MSN '70, the first black woman to receive both degrees from the school. On my most recent trip back to Kansas City, this past June for my 30th high school reunion, I bought a blue T-shirt with only the words "Rock Chalk" emblazoned on it. I like to keep folks guessing, and while nobody in Kansas City would have to guess anything, nobody around here knows what this phrase refers to. Now all of you do -- it's the chant that goes up at KU football games.

After making another pot the next morning, I decided that this must have been because I used less coffee than normal.

My weekday breakfast routine has changed, by the way. It now consists of this, or something similar:

with this mixed in:

This was something I was tipped off to by a friend and former Penn colleague, Jeff Harris, one of the most attractive older black men I know. He started eating this combination for the same reason I am now -- to lower my cholesterol. (I may just have to bite the bullet and acknowledge that I won't get anywhere on this unless I stop eating some things in addition to starting eating others.)

I still pack salads for Gary and me every morning, though.

Speaking of morning routines: If you're reading this blog, hhlodesign, here's a little history just for you. My journey to and from work ordinarily takes me past a milestone in American architectural history twice each day.

The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society building, designed by architects George Howe and William Lescaze in 1932, is universally acknowledged as the first International Style (or Modernist) skyscraper in the United States. It marked a radical departure both for Howe, a Philadelphia architect who had up until then worked strictly in the American eclectic tradition, and for local banks, which had up until then favored Greek Revival or neoclassical designs for their buildings. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982 or thereabouts, and it still looks as fresh and new as it did 74 years ago. The former PSFS boardroom on the 33d floor has been preserved beautifully. It's a striking space with a great view of the city.

The large windowed space on the second floor used to be the main PSFS banking hall. It is now the grand ballroom of the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, which occupies the building now. The street floor, which housed a dress shop when the building was PSFS headquarters, now houses a seafood restaurant, Sole Food. The CN8 cable channel broadcasts its morning show live from the corner space in the restaurant; before that, NBC10 (WCAU-TV) used the space for its morning talk/variety show, 10! The news ticker you see crawling across the top of the window is still NBC10's.

On the way to jury duty Tuesday, this truck was parked alongside the building:

Could someone please explain to me how it's come to pass that slapping a NASCAR logo on something instantly turns it to gold? Does it makes vending machine fare taste better too?

helenjp · October 26, 2006

Meatloaf! I immediately made one for dinner. Living in Japan, I forgot about the existence of things like meatloaf for years on end. We'll be having ours with rice and miso soup, of course.

I keep envisaging you trying to resist the urge to take photos of lunch in the jury room!

bleudauvergne · October 26, 2006

I have also been thinking about meatloaf since reading it on your blog. I's on my list now. I think that meatloaf's success lies in the accompaniments. You serve a lovely plate. Thanks for this blog, Sandy.

MarketStEl · October 26, 2006

I have also been thinking about meatloaf since reading it on your blog. I's on my list now. I think that meatloaf's success lies in the accompaniments. You serve a lovely plate. Thanks for this blog, Sandy.
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You're welcome.

But as you are host of the France forum, I'd like to ask you:

Is there anything like meatloaf in French cooking?

I would think that some pates might count, but I'm not sure.

MarketStEl · October 26, 2006

Now that I've started the day with a question:

Rise and shine!

Today is Thursday, October 26, the 299th day of 2006. There are 66 days left in the year.

Today's Philadelphia forecast: Mostly sunny and breezy, with the winds of the past few days dying down this afternoon. (The mighty wind of the candidates running for election will not abate until Nov. 7.) Forecast high 55F, forecast low 39F.

On this day:

In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned.

In 1825, the Erie Canal opened across New York State, connecting the Great Lakes -- and thus the interior of the country -- with the Atlantic Ocean (via the Hudson from Albany south) for the first time.

In 1881, the Gunfight at the OK Corral took place in Tombstone, Arizona.

In 1905, Norway declared independence from Sweden.

In 1948, a dense smog caused by pollution from local smelters settled over Donora, Pa., and remained there for the next five days, killing 20 and hospitalizing more than 7,000. The disaster led to the first meaningful state and Federal laws to combat air pollution.

In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem declared himself President of the Republic of Vietnam after receiving 98.2 percent of the vote in a suspect election.

In 1958, Pan American World Airways inaugurated the first transatlantic jet service between New York and Paris using a Boeing 707. British Overseas Airways Corporation inaugurated New York-London jet service the same day.

In 1977, the last natural case of smallpox was identified in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this day the date smallpox was officially eradicated.

In 1992, the latest effort in Canada to "bring the Constitution home" -- the Charlottetown Accord -- fails in a nationwide referendum.

In 2002, Russian troops storm a Moscow theater, bringing to an end a three-day siege by Chechen rebels; 50 rebels and about 150 hostages die in the fight.

In 2006, I discovered how to make Starbucks coffee drinkable: Just use less of it per pot.

Famous people born on this day include:

Friedrich of Saxony, in 1473 in Torgau.

Georges Jacques Danton, French revolutionary leader, in 1759 in Arcis-sur-Arbe, France.

Mahalia Jackson, American gospel singer, in 1911 in New Orleans.

Francois Mitterand, president of France from 1981 to 1995, in 1916 in Jarnac, Charente.

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, in 1919 in Teheran.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and U.S. Senator from New York, in 1947 in Chicago.

William "Bootsy" Collins, American funk guitarist, in 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Edited October 26, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

JanMcBaker · October 26, 2006

Hi Sandy--

I've been enjoying your blog all week! Another winner of course. And a happy belated birthday to you. Comments on various bits--

I got a bit misty seeing all those signs from departed Philadelphia department stores in the pictures from McGillin's! Guess that makes it rather obvious I've never been there......

Your meatloaf looks great, and sausage in it sounds like a great idea! I'm sure I'm not the only who's now thinking "Geez, it's been a while since I've made a meatloaf..."

Tonight's the meat fest at Picanha, which I can't attend. Still going, Sandy? If so, have a good time, and have a chicken heart for me! :cool:

hathor · October 26, 2006

I had Italian meatloat at a restaurant in Rome. It was a combination of pork, veal and lamb and I forget what they called it, but it was meatloaf.

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