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Happy almost December! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the in-between holiday time. Here’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods….
Spanish Stuffed Peppers – An original recipe from The Blog that Ate Manhattan. With a little help from my friends (and family)…
Where I Ate
Valley Green Inn in the Wissahickon Valley. The perfect location for a lovely Thanksgiving luncheon, capped off with a walk on Forbidden Drive, one of my favorite places in the whole world.
White Dog Cafe in West Philly. Founded in 1983 by social activist Judy Wicks, and still going strong today, with several locations around the Philly area. The White Dog was among the very first farm-to-table restaurants in America, and continues to support local farmers, food artisans and brewers with a focus on sustainability and ethical, chemical and pesticide-free practices. Located in three connected Victorian townhouses, the original White Dog is as quirky and charming as ever, though this old timer misses the attached shop, which has been replaced by more dining space. We thoroughly enjoyed our Kennett Square mushroom omelets and Pork Belly Benedict made with Pork Belly from Ironstone Creamery in Pottstown, as well as the uninterrupted, prolonged sit our waitperson allowed us with our dear friends Amy and Noel.
Trattoria Moma in Mount Airy, Philly. Well, technically, we ordered in with my dear friend and hairdresser Wendy at her awesomely remodeled apartment after she cut and colored my hair at her salon. Moma made us delicious pasta, which we washed down with a surprisingly good and affordable red called The Banished from 19 Crimes Wines (great marketing…) and followed with two long and rousing game of Rummikub. Always love seeing Wendy (and beating her at Rumikub…)
Charles Pan-Fried Chicken. Charles Gabriel, famous for his pan-fried, old-school method of frying chicken at his Harlem-based restaurant, has morphed his business post-pandemic to carry-out only and graced us with his presence (and his chicken) here on the Upper West Side. The chicken is delicious, crispy on the outside and incredibly moist inside. The mac and cheese is among the best I’ve tasted. Sadly, the coleslaw was off the menu the night we ordered. We’ll be getting carry-out again, I’m sure!
What I’m Learning
Mostly everything on Amazon is now an ad. It’s true. Ads now comprise most of what your search results retrieve on Amazon. Personalized recommendations, sections showing what other have bought who searched for your item or what customers who viewed this item also viewed – Gone. It’s a new income strategy for retailers. But it does not drive sales of products, it just brings in revenue from ad sales. And worse – other online retailers are copying Amazon. Buyer (and Shopper) beware!
What I Saw
Matisse in the 1930s – At the Phila Museum of Art. Saw it with my dear artist friend Amy Cohen – I highly recommend bringing an artist along when viewing art! The exhibit was beautiful. Especially interesting were the studies and preliminary work to the mural Matisee painted at the Barnes Estate, and which now lives just across the Parkway.
Frank Gehry’s renovation of the Phila Museum of Art is quietly spectacular. One (major) complaint. They moved Jacob Epsteins sculpture “Social Consciousness”, from the back steps of the museum to the U of Penn campus. The statues were the starting point of “Only Connect”, Amy’s performance piece that showed at the Museum (and for which I was proud to provide a voice over for one of the segments). We’ve vowed to go visit the piece at Penn in the near future
Photo from Association for Public Art
What I’m Craving
These apricots, grown in California and touted by Sally Schmitt and Ruth Reichl as THE best apricots in the world.
What I’ve been watching, listening to and reading
Irene Cara Acapella – Can’t stop listening to this bare vocal version of What a Feeling from Voceaux , who creates acapella versions of iconic live musical performances. RIP Irene..
Somebody Feed Phil visits Philadelphia! A fabulous episode that starts off (where else?) at the Reading Terminal and ends up at Zahav, hitting hot spots new and old in South Philly, Fishtown, Roxborough (Go Dellessandro’s!), the Northeast and Olde City in between. Phil’s wife is from Philly’s suburbs (with an accent to match), so he’s got an insider’s take on the city. Here’s a list of where Phil went. I’ve been to a few. Looks like I’ve got a project when we move to Philly…
NPR How I Built This Podcast – Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. OMG this guy is gonna’ actually rein in the outlandishly over-priced pharmaceutical market. Just shows you what good things can happen when billionaires use their wealth for good. Now if Cuban can just fend off those who will try to stop him… A must listen for everyone. And while you’re at it, check out Mark’s site Cost Plus to see if there are cost savings to be had for your prescriptions.
The Best Chef in the World. A brief documentary about Sally Schmitt, original owner and chef at the French Laundry, long before there was Thomas Keller. She and her husband Don raised 5 kids while starting the iconic farm to table restaurant long before that phrase was even coined, cooking simply, locally and ethically, complemented by local wines. Sally recently left us, but fortunately left behind her memoir, Six California Kitchens, complete with recipes and sage cooking advice. In future blog posts, I’ll be sharing some of it what I’ve learned from reading it.
A SONNET FOR THE BOSS I thought he would never age. He seemed a different breed, Gliding effortlessly, tirelessly across the stage. Born to run, indeed.
A bard whose biceps and pectoralis strained The seams of a sweat-soaked, clinging black T-Shirt, He pulled across a low-slung electric guitar again and again, Stirring heart, mind and groin in concert.
Now he stands alone on bare stage straining To pull memories from an acoustic held high against a softened gut, Black T shirt hung loose, creped skin draped o’er biceps waning His voice a gravel road bumping ‘oer long worn ruts.
Sans drum and sax and bass, the words, like new, emerge again He stirs us now with poetry, rewrit with wisdom’s pen
-Margaret Polaneczky
That’s it, folks! Have a great last day of November !
