YOUR Qs, A'd
First, to the restaurant chef who took the time to post a totally smart, totally informed must-read comment under the FISH STORIES entry below: THANK YOU, GRAZIE, MERCI, GRACIAS. I hope everyone who cares even a smidgen about what they eat, at home or at any type of restaurant, reads this spot-on post. The point this chef makes about buying local seafood and produce is one we all need to consider: By doing so, you not only get the freshest product at the best cost, you're supporting our local economy. And P.S. to this savvy chef: Your point about tasteless farmed salmon is also excellent; I don't know why folks adore the stuff. Can any farmed-salmon-eater enlighten us?
Next, to the anonymous poster who prefers locally owned restaurants to chain eateries: Can you hear my applause? Yup, they serve the masses. Their food reflects that.
To the poster interested in eating the authentic fare at West Lake Seafood, a Chinese fish specialist in Matawan: Do not give up. My advice is to call ahead and ask when West Lake will be getting in live shrimp (the season usually starts in March), then immediately make a reservation for that day. As soon as you are seated, order a pound or two of live shrimp, steamed. (Figure on a third of a pound of live shrimp per person.) It's a phenomenal experience; you'll be eating shrimp that taste like shrimp, not pink-tinged cardboard, not something frozen and defrosted and water-logged. Tell your server you only wish to eat authentic Chinese dishes, that you do not like Americanized Chinese fare. West Lake's management says there is only one menu - authentic Chinese for all. Some of the dishes I regularly order at West Lake are: seafood king chowder, a hot pot of eggplant, chicken and saltfish, fried bean curd with conch, prawns and chicken with black bean sauce and snow pea leaves with preserved eggs. Since I've found West Lake, I've not had to trek into New York to score my live shrimp, steamed, at Fuleen in Chinatown when the craving strikes.
Last, but hardly least, to Al/Anonymous, who wanted to know about a cool, casual place I love in Philly: I'm pretty sure you mean Standard Tap, in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. It's a true-blue gastropub, with hand-pulled beers and classic French bistro fare (get the duck confit, the mussels with house-made sausage, the extraordinary pate). It's got an urban-rustic setting both upstairs and down and, when the weather's right, there's no place in Philly better to kick back than the rooftop dining area. Standard Tap rocks.
So, where are y'all eating out this weekend? Or what are you cooking at home?
cheers,
Andy
2.23.07
Next, to the anonymous poster who prefers locally owned restaurants to chain eateries: Can you hear my applause? Yup, they serve the masses. Their food reflects that.
To the poster interested in eating the authentic fare at West Lake Seafood, a Chinese fish specialist in Matawan: Do not give up. My advice is to call ahead and ask when West Lake will be getting in live shrimp (the season usually starts in March), then immediately make a reservation for that day. As soon as you are seated, order a pound or two of live shrimp, steamed. (Figure on a third of a pound of live shrimp per person.) It's a phenomenal experience; you'll be eating shrimp that taste like shrimp, not pink-tinged cardboard, not something frozen and defrosted and water-logged. Tell your server you only wish to eat authentic Chinese dishes, that you do not like Americanized Chinese fare. West Lake's management says there is only one menu - authentic Chinese for all. Some of the dishes I regularly order at West Lake are: seafood king chowder, a hot pot of eggplant, chicken and saltfish, fried bean curd with conch, prawns and chicken with black bean sauce and snow pea leaves with preserved eggs. Since I've found West Lake, I've not had to trek into New York to score my live shrimp, steamed, at Fuleen in Chinatown when the craving strikes.
Last, but hardly least, to Al/Anonymous, who wanted to know about a cool, casual place I love in Philly: I'm pretty sure you mean Standard Tap, in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. It's a true-blue gastropub, with hand-pulled beers and classic French bistro fare (get the duck confit, the mussels with house-made sausage, the extraordinary pate). It's got an urban-rustic setting both upstairs and down and, when the weather's right, there's no place in Philly better to kick back than the rooftop dining area. Standard Tap rocks.
So, where are y'all eating out this weekend? Or what are you cooking at home?
cheers,
Andy
2.23.07
posted by Andrea Clurfeld at 9:59 AM
3 Comments:
Andrea,
That's it - Standard Tap. Now its all coming back to me. Thanks for jogging my memory.
Have a good weekend, and eat well.
Al
I'm cooking some homemade chicken pot pies...
As for reviews, here's some places that I feel could use a visit:
any of the restaurants at The Pier at Caesars - Soukai or Buddakan especially...
whatever Italian took the site of Mazi...(unprintable comment here)
The Sunday Brunch at the Molly Pitcher Inn...
Mattison Park in the AP
How about an archive of all your reviews in this blog or in the DataUniverse on the APP site?
He Whom Hates Chains...
I have been asking for an archive of reviews for years and I wish I had an answer for you all: I'm afraid there are technical difficulties beyond my purview. I pass on all such requests to the folks in charge of the Web site and will do so again with yours.
Meanwhile, Sunday is for cooking dried beans and saute-ing greens and doing all those slow-cooking dishes I don't have time for the other nights of the week. I miss cooking to the sounds of football, though. All that wham-thwack-bump gets my energy up. The idea of those chicken pot pies gets my gastric juices flowing, I'll tell you that.
Anyway, right now I've got tepary beans soaking. I understand they're firm in texture and nutty in flavor. I've no idea what I'm going to do with them, but I suspect they'll do right by me this evening, if the weather does whatever it is the weather folks are promising.
cheers,
Andy
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