purplesachi

went to jack's bistro this past saturday night and had a pretty good meal. the bone marrow and guinness braised meat with grits (for appetizers) were good and pretty filling (bone marrow was better than what i previously had in philly at barbuzzo). main courses were sous vide duck salad and flat iron 138F, which were both excellent. the flat iron had this smoked plum tomato that brought the entire dish together (which was also served with grits). too full for dessert, but for drinks they had the bakon vodka i've been looking for (around philly) which was mixed in what they called "hawaiian martini": bakon vodka, pineapple juice, tomato juice, jalapeno. i've been experimenting with sous vide at home, so i asked how long they sous vide the duck and flat iron steak, but i was told it was a "trade secret". blah. i wasn't really wanting exact details, but i was curious to know if the beef was cooked for more than 48 hours. oh well. if i'm ever back in baltimore, i suspect i'll head back to jack's bistro.

i think you can reserve your dough the day you are going to go and eat it/ pick it up; in the past i've given them an approx time i'm coming in. BUT one important thing to know...after you reserve the dough, once you get there and tell them you are there (either for dine-in or take out), THAT'S when they make your pizza in the oven. so if you are picking it up for take out, you're still waiting a while for them to cook your pizza.

have been to Distrito (the newest Jose Garces joint) a couple of times now...it's kind of like a hot pink oyamel (literally). politburo and i happened to be there a few nights after Garces beat the blue-corn-and-mango-chutney king on iron chef, and he was serving a tuna toro ceviche that we were told he made on IC. meh - the toro wasn't nearly as luxurious as i was expecting. the most outstanding things we tried on the menu have been filete de atun tacos (tuna, papaya, carrot, chayote, wasabi aoli, peanut) which come in a pair, and the esquites (sweet corn, queso fresco, chipotle, lime). i'd skip the bone marrow, which was a complete waste of $7 (had to pick out the bone marrow with a fork, which was an awful utensil to serve it with, and hardly any marrow inside the bone), especially after just being at Ansill and totally loving the bone marrow dish there (already out of the bone, it was fried and the you spread it like butter over toasted bread )... service was probably the worst part of our visits there. servers were always bringing out dishes that weren't ours, and when i asked multiple times about dishes that we were supposed to get, our server told us not to worry and that they would be coming out very soon. we never got the dishes, yet they were on our bill at the end of the night. though, i do have to mention that we were given free churros at the end of the night because of the service mishaps. i still think i'd prefer to go to tinto...

yeah, apothecary is a great place to relax, though, i think i prefer the upstairs bar, on a slower night, when it's not super chaotic in there, and i can converse with the bartenders. i enjoyed the chocolatey rusteolo the times i've been. (i think they just started a happy hour during the week days; they are closed on mondays). and the fact that it's across the street from capogiro is an extra bonus. --- [Apothecary Lounge Closed on October 2, 2010.]

agreed. since moving back to philly, politburo and i have bluecoat around the house permanently for our gin&tonics, and it's definitely mild enough to use in our gin concoctions we've been making from the food and wine 2008 cocktails book.

beer/bar: zeno's (college and allen streets) korean food: seoul garden (locust lane) indian food: india pavillion (calder way) pizza: faccia luna (same chain as the one in alexandria, i believe; atherton street) breakfast / brunch: the waffle shop (three locations: college ave; atherton street; Rt 26 ? i think..it's been a while...)

going to madison in a few weeks...does anyone have any updated suggestions on where to eat while i'm there? i think i'm already slated to go to old fashioned... thanks in advance!

i wholeheartedly agree about amada. politburo and i went this past saturday and the best thing i had that night might have been the dessert (banana torrijas). nothing was memorable, except the extremely saltiness of every dish we tried (boquerones, pulpo, patatas bravas, etc). the pato con datiles (duck confit flatbread) could have been any meat other than duck and it was extremely greasy. the hamachi special was seared too much, creating a rubbery, tough texture to the fish. and the dip brought before the meal was reminiscent of canned tuna and capers swimming in an excess of mayo and olive oil. on top of the mediocre food, there was a very loud table at the front (next to the window) that almost started a fight with the table nearest to them (because they were asked to keep it down a bit). the waitress knew they were loud yet didn't do anything about it. i'll give tinto a try, but i don't think i'll be heading back to amada any time soon. *sigh*

has anyone tried any of the recipes from daniel boulud's "braise" cookbook? i'm thinking about making 'spicy oxtails w/ pears and sweet potatoes' or 'ham hocks with lychees and bok choy' or 'lamb shanks w/ mint, prunes, and bourbon' any hits? misses?

ah! i'm glad that someone started a post about this...i was considering trying this out just to see what the outcome would taste like. is anyone else trying it ? (though, i did consider scaling the proportions down)

i'm very partial to the rock candy ginger short ribs recipe i posted on here when i first joined. they are a little on the sweet side, but you can always adjust the amount of sugar you put in the dish. i've only received outstanding compliments everytime i make it.

man, i'm not that old, but 15 years ago i was in HS and sometimes walking home from the bus stop, i would stop in lee's hoagie house or pina's for after school treats! (unless i'm thinking of the wrong place...we're talking about the pina's that in the strip mall where graham's pub is, right?) regardless, maybe tonight i'll bike over there and see what the deal is and report back.

For a little bit more fancy, seafood meal, you might want to try Blackfish. I actually just tried this restaurant this past Tuesday and it was good. The service was really great and it's also a BYO. This past Tuesday they had truffled hand-cut fries, which, imo, rivaled those at Poste (though, the ones at Blackfish were cut a bit thicker), which I thought were a steal at $6 for a side portion (which was really large). There are a few non-seafood items (which you can probably see on the online menu) as well. Also, if you didn't want to leave Conshochocken, this place is right on Fayette Street (which is one of the main roads in this town). If you are in the cheesesteak mood, I have to agree with Hillvalley. These days, Chubby's beats Delessandro's hands down, and yes, if you're lucky, there are about 4 booths available if you can snag one. It's probably only a 15 minute drive from Conshohocken, depending on traffic of course. I'll have to re-try Pina's. I haven't been there in like 15 years and from what I remember, it wasn't that great, but who knows - it's been a long time, and considering I live around the corner, I should probably check it out. If I think of anything else in the area, I'll definitely post again before next Tuesday, because I'm always trying to find new places around this part of town!

Probably one of the better ethnic restaurants in the area, imo, is Golden Pyramid Restaurant. It's Egyptian / Middle Eastern, and might only be open for dinner (and maybe only open certain days of the week). You wouldn't think it so, because it's situated in a tiny tiny hole-in-the-wall building next to a gas station on Black Horse Pike in Mays Landing (probably only 15 min drive from Atlantic City), very close to the Hamilton Mall. It's run by two Egyptian brothers (although, I believe when when I used to live down there, one of the brothers died and the restaurant shut down for several weeks? I could be wrong) and the food is excellent. Although the surrounding area doesn't necessarily evoke passion and romanticism, what I do like is that it was BYO. Even better, there is a Canal's liquor store right across the street (you don't have to cross Blackhorse Pike!) where you can pick up some wine. Plus, because it's quite small, it makes for a cozy interior. If this place is still around, I would suggest checking it out, and maybe even calling first to make sure they are going to be open, and if they are still, indeed, a BYO. Golden Pyramid 4176 Black Horse Pike Mays Landing, NJ (609) 569-9996

this may be a silly question (or maybe one that was answered elsewhere but i haven't had the time to look... ), but if i am brining the turkey, how much faster will it cook than if i hadn't brined the turkey? i'm cooking an 18 lb turkey (using saveur's cider/apple scented recipe from the november issue - the recipe is for a 10-12 lb turkey) and i'm trying to figure out when i should put it in the oven for it to be ready to eat at 5pm. i was thinking if i put it in at noon, then it should be done by 4, which gives me time to rest it and carve it. am i way off here? any tips appreciated.