I have searched far and near for these elusive sausages since migrating from the D.C. area to no avail. I would love to hear they are available, but I've been to most of the popular sausage vendors without luck. I hope that changes, though!

Currently go to school at Rutgers. Nothing chow worthy, as has been said. Best options are Donkey's and there's a decent lunch truck on 5th street next to the law school called "Black-Eyed Susans."

Anyone know where I can find grass-fed beef tallow either in the city or in South Jersey?

On a side note, if you know where I can find any of the rarer animal fats(e.g., lamb tallow, duck fat), preferably grass-fed or pastured, I'd love to know! The only thing I've found so far was duck fat at D'angelo Bros. in South Philly.

Thanks!

Is there anywhere in the Philly area I can get real ranch dressing? I'm talking made with dairy(e.g., buttermilk) and no vegetable oils. Everything I see now is soybean oil. Thanks!

I often bring a Primo's Italian Diablo to my brother in CA and a close friend in FL. Holds well in a cooler.

Zimmerman already did that though. Not that I disagree with the choice.

410 Bank Street in Cape May gets rave reviews from my mother. I went years ago, but don't remember it well, and I was too young to appreciate it. It's not extremely small, but it's not huge. They have pictures and a menu on the site.

http://frescoscapemay.com/410bankstre...

But how could you turn down hoagie fest? ;-)

Judging by the date, I think the OP may have changed the idea... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/858249

+1 on the beets. Different and good. Also, If you split the Lamb Sheppard's Pie, it would be a good size for your trip and is pretty good, though not a must.

Agree. They are still very good.

You could pick up a few different cheeses or delicacies at DiBruno Bros and eat them either in the upstairs cafe or outside. Also Tria I believe has a good cheese plate if you wanted a different scene.

The outdoor seating at Parc could be nice depending upon the weather.

I myself particularly enjoy having a drink at The Continental and in the lounge at the Dandelion. These may not be the best option for foods though.

Hope this helps!

To Buckethead: I'd say South Philly. If I must be more specific, then I agree about Paesano's. My favorite two sandwiches in the city are both there.

To Bluehensfan: I have not. I could go on all day about NOLA food, but I have not tried Camelia Grill. Any good?

If we include the burbs(NJ), I would throw in the Pop Shop in Collingswood. They do foot longs on brioche, but they do one with fried onions and cheese whiz that is definitely worth any gastro-intestinal problems that may ensue.

I also haven't had one in a while, but when I was younger my father used to take me to Nifty Fifty's for the Texas Tommys, and I remember them being very good.

This is true. I've been to NOLA a few times, and people rave about the burger at Port of Call. I had it and was entirely unimpressed; it was certainly no better than an average burger in Philly.

This just reaffirms my intuition that Philly is the sandwich capital of America and possibly the world. Such quality AND quantity.

The Pop Shop is very good. Great place for meal or dessert. Excellent suggestion.

As for dessert in the Mt. Laurel area, options are somewhat limited. The first that comes to mind is actually over in Berlin(15 mins or so of a drive straight down 73) called Sundaes. They do very good ice cream and water ice. McMillan's bakery in Westmont has the best cream donut I have ever had along with some other less impressive, but still good sweets. I will probably get harassed for this, but the Cookie Express(huge cookie covered in ice cream) at Champps in Marlton is one of my favorites in the area.

As far as regular restaurants go, I cannot vouge for these, but Siri's and Aldo Lamberti in Cherry Hill receive lots of love on the Jersey board. My folks have been to Siri's, and they liked it very much. I enjoy the Old School, Northern Italian dishes at La Posata also in Marlton. The Library II has a good steak(I think it's in Voorhees). Bobby Flay has an outpost of one of his burger joints in Cherry Hill. Hope this helps!

Not to start a huge debate, but the shake shack food is not inherently bad for people with the exception of maybe the fries. It's only when you compound the fatty beef, the sugar and milk fat in the milk shake and the oil in the fries with a lack of exercise, and you do so a lot that it becomes bad for you.

Also as HungryintheBurbs points out, the meat is natural without antibiotics or hormones, which are bad for you.

I only say this so that people don't feel so guilty about a delightful meal such as a burger and a shake. Enjoy your burgers, fellow 'hounds!

Not to derail, but has anyone tried Crown's? The place looks kinda scary(figuratively) but smells phenomenal.

Anyone have a shake? I'm looking to compare this to Nifty Fifties in terms of burgers and shakes as that is the gold standard for this type of fare in my book.

I must agree with all. As in any done-up, highly publicized food contest or review, greats are always missed, and the best never comes out on top. I have had the Central Grocery Muffuletta, Katz's Pastrami on Rye, the Fried Oyster Po Boy at Johnny's, the Chili Half-Smoke at Ben's and a few other notable sandwiches which escape me. Katz's could compete with Philly's offerings, but I don't think I've had another sandwich out of Philly which would make the top 10 here.

To display my bias, I think Bourdain is the only one I would trust to do this type of contest, and even then I would be skeptical.

I think the better option would have been to decide the best of each sandwich locally(e.g., the best roast beef in Chicago). Then if you wanted, you could go on and compare them nationally.

Avoid Talk of the Town at all costs. That's by far the worst cheesesteak I've ever had. I've heard that they can make a good one, but they clearly demonstrated their ability to make a bad one to me: two strips of steak and a layer of american cheese on a forgettable roll.

It really doesn't seem like they go wrong. Had the apple dumpling there with heavy cream and that was amazing. I guess it depends on whether you want sweet or savory, but you really can't go wrong.

I was eyeing the No Repeat Beer Week. I've heard Monk's is a straight mob, and from what I understand they usually offer some very acquired taste beers(e.g., sours) and I'm not a huge fan of belgians to start with. I've heard to stay away from Monk's in general because it's a mob the whole week, but I'll look into it.

I was interested in some of the things Teresa's was doing, so I'll look even more into that.

Are the sampling events generally bottomless? I was thinking about opening tap, but I wasn't sure if the sampling was stingy or not.

I really became interested in beer just after last year's Philly Beer Week, so this year I'm looking to get into some of the events. Only thing is, the website doesn't offer the best descriptions, so I'm curious as to what events are best to check out. I have heard the crowds can be a mob at some events, so I was wondering if anyone has any experience as to what the best events are to avoid the crowds but get some brews that are generally not found in Philly(definitely not any local brews). Anyone have any suggestions/experiences?

Also feel free to discuss the beer pairing events, as they are certainly chow-relevant.

The bread is good, don't get me wrong, but I prefer something slightly less substantial than Sarcone's for a hoagie. Sarcone's would be perfect for a roast pork or roast beef because it can sop up all the wet juices, but I like my hoagie kind of dry(minus the oil). I find that the Sarcone's roll completely overshadows all other ingredients in the hoagie so much that I end up feeling like I just ate a loaf of bread rather than a real sandwich. I think Liscio's fits the bill a bit better for a hoagie.

They are the best cream donut that I have had personally. You do know they have a post in Westmont right? It's really not too far from the city, so if you're 20 minutes from Philly, you're probably 30-40 mins. from that location. I have not had any of the others you mention, but they have the best cream donut I've ever had and that is their best item IMO. They certainly have a lot of things worth picking up if you go though(e.g., pepperoni bread, cupcakes, danish, cakes, and other donuts). The smell alone is almost worth the trip...

+1. Isgro's seems more oriented towards regular bakery sweets, and their Mascarpone cannoli(only kind they had when I went) was terrible.

Just had a vanilla buttercream birthday cake from McMillan's that was outstanding. Have not been let down by them yet.

Cannolis from Termini Bros. are the best dessert I've had in the city. Franklin Fountain gets lots of love for their ice cream. Beau Monde has some wonderful dessert crepes.

I personally thought the cupcakes and whoopie pies at Flying Monkey were very disappointing. The treats at Beiler's in the market are much better.