ShootingShark's Profile
Looking for a New Cranberry Sauce Recipe
I love blueberries and blackberries, so I'm giving this one a try. Sounds really good, but I'll probably make a plain version too for the not-so-adventurous.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1194282/cranberry_sauce_recipes_traditional.html?cat=22
Gluten Free (and dairy free) Products - Favorites?
My niece was diagnosed with Celiacs earlier this year. She hates not eating her old favorites foods, but even worse, hates feeling "different" from everyone else. We had a family dinner last week and I wanted dessert not to be an issue for her, so I looked online and found this recipe for a chocolate cake:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/806409/gluten_free_recipe_chocolate_decadence.html
It was pretty easy to make and she was thrilled to be able to have what everyone else was having.
Self catering for Grad party
My sister just used Seersha Gourmet (sp?) in West Chester for my nephew's college graduation. The food was awesome and she said it was reasonably priced. She got boneless jerk chicken (my fav) w/ some kind of Caribbean style rice and a cucumer cream fraiche dip that was incredible. The other tray was wild salmon and saffron rice. They came with key lime pies and cream puffs filled with a Bailey's Irish Cream flavored Bavarian cream.
Even with about twenty of us digging in, there were leftovers and my sister gave me some chicken to take home. After a couple days in the fridge, it looked a little dry so I chopped it up, added some mayo, made jerk chicken salad and put it on a jumbo croissante... Probably the best chicken salad I've had.
Creamed chipped beef,
Best I ever had was at Hank's Place, Rt 1 and 100, Chadds Ford. The Wyeths are frequent guests in the restaurant. The Brandywine River museum is a stone's throw away and Chadds Ford Winery, Steven Pearce and Longwood Gardens are other nearby points of interest.
Hank's creamed chipped beef comes over your choice of toast, home fries, southern-style bisquits or Belgian waffles.
Ocean City, Maryland or Delaware Restos
Well, if you're trying to avoid the pricey places like Catch 54 and The Buttery over in Lewes, I'd suggest hitting the deck behind Charlie's Bayside-- it's a nice, low-key relaxing place to grab a decent burger or crabcake sandwich.
Right next door (almost) is The House of Welsh. If you visit, check out their crab-stuffed rockfish. Their steaks are pretty good too. Nantucket's is worth considering as well, if you don't mind the 50/50 possibility of less-than-friendly service.
If you don't mind eating a bit early, (like before 5:00pm) you can get a great seat next to the windows at Harpoon Hannah's. The service is better and it seems the food is too when you get there before the rush. Order some kind of pan-seared or broiled fish or pasta and you'll be happy with your meal. Be sure to enjoy your fill of the great breads they'll deliver to your table too-- then leave and get dessert somewhere else.
You might want to try the restaurant at Fagers Island. Can't remember the address, but when you're driving down Coastal Highway and you see the tall Coconut Mallory hotel, bayside-- turn right. One other place to consider hitting, but you'll need to plan your visit to avoid party time... Seacrets. It's a great place for lunch or an early dinner in Ocean City. Seacrets is right down the road from Fagers Island. It's got a Jamaican theme that's gone a tad over the top in recent years, but if you're in there when the college crowd isn't, you can enjoy some great jerk chicken and an ice cold Red Stripe while looking out at a stunning view of the bay. If a duck walks by while you're eating, just ignore him.
Rehoboth Beach - Crabs
Yes, unfortunately, the Crab Barn is gone. My then fiance and I discovered the place and shared a meal there circa 1986 or 87. With newspaper lined tables, wooden mallets and a load of crustaceans, it had to be one of the best, most fun and memorable meals of my life. Life goes on and things change...
I agree with Jen, you can't go wrong with Lazy Susan's.
And Allyson, wherever you are... I'll always remember the Crab Barn and our time at the DE and MD shore.
any one else have weird issues with using their coupons at Astor Place?
I don't know you and I don't know the waitress. In fact, I have no idea where "Astor Place" is located, but after reading your last comment, I decided to reply:
"Did I just catch an otherwise good waitress on a really bad night or have others had weird issues at Astor Place too?"
I can't imagine any circumstance under which an "otherwise good waitress" would treat a customer as poorly as you were treated. Perhaps she feels self-important because "Daddy" or "Uncle Steve" owns the place. Maybe she feels too pretty to be serving people their food. Then again, it may be that some previous thoughtless customer didn't give her a fair and appropriate tip when using one of those coupons. Nevertheless, that's no excuse for what amounts to her unreasonable and unprofessional behavior.
I'm sorry for your loss of a favorite hangout, but at least for me, going back again would be unthinkable. If you've ever had the opportunity to see one of the recent television specials exposing the confessions and hidden camera revelations of what irate servers and kitchen workers will do to their customers' food, you'd likely think twice about giving that young lady the chance to handle your food a second time.
Charlotte's Newtown Square: Three Strikes, You're Out.
I just had the great displeasure of eating at Charlotte's for the third time. With a little luck, it will be my last. I was first introduced to Charlotte's about 10 years ago. I was visiting friends who had just purchased a home in Newtown Square and we decided to go out for a late dinner. I believe it was around 8:00pm or maybe a little later. My friend's wife suggested Charlotte's because it was "close by and has great food". I can't recall what I had to eat, I just remember that our party of four waited what seemed an eternity, only to have our food served cold when it finally arrived at the table. Everyone commented on that fact, but no one said anything to the waitress. I wrote it off to going in later in the evening.
My next visit to Charlotte's was just a few months later. I was purchasing a "new" used car and had taken it to a local AAA diagnostic center where they do diagnostic checks for mechanical issues before you buy your car. My mother followed behind to give me a ride home. I was told the wait could be round two hours, so I invited my mom to lunch.
The only place I knew in the area was right down the street-- Charlottes. My mother was impressed with the charm of the place and the ambiance, but we both couldn't help but notice that our waitress was in tears. She would come to the table, fighting them back, take our order or deliver food/drinks, then walk quickly to the back. Twice we heard her exchanging words with someone loudly, then she'd return visibly upset. My mom felt sorry for her and when she came back to the table with tears in her eyes, my mother said very gently, "It'll be alright, hon... Are you ok?". The waitess shot back that she'd be fine if people would just leave her alone". My mom was surprised by her ignorant response and I thought the whole thing was very unprofessional. We ate our lunch and left. I was embarassed for having taken my mother there. At that point, I had a decidedly unfavorable impression of the place.
Recently, my girlfriend and I were at her parents' home on Springton Lake. They asked us to stay for dinner, but as the day progressed, plans changed and we ended up going out to eatt. Of course, her dad chose the restaurant-- and of course, we ended up at Charlotte's.
I hadn't eaten there in a decade. In the interim, my culinary tastes have only improved, so I was hoping things in their kitchen had improved as well. When I cracked their menu, the first thing I thought was that it was "Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmare". There were literally 20 apps, half a dozen salads, 4 soups and more than forty choices for entree. I could hear the English Chef saying "bloody hell" and telling Charlotte's owner that there should be fewer main courses so the chef can do them well. No kitchen can keep up with making dozens of entrees and twenty different starters. Any fan of the show knows with a menu that diverse, quality and freshness are going to suffer.
Nonetheless, one item on the menu immediately caught my eye. I'm a huge fan of Snapper Turtle Soup and when I saw it listed, I got excited. When it arrived, it was darker in color and less red than I had expected. I tasted it and felt immediately nauseated. It was litterally foul tasting and had a strange smell to it. Had I not been someone else's guest, I would certainly have said something-- but that wasn't an option.
For dinner, my girlfriend ordered a potato crusted salmon which was supposed to be in a dill beurre blanc. Unfortunately, the sauce was nowhere to be found. I ordered the Ahi tuna which, although the menu decribed as being served "rare", was completely cooked all the way through. The wasabi sauce was a bit heavy and tasted like it was "fresh" from a supermarket plastic container. Neither of us would have said anything hadn't her father spoken up. I noticed him say something quietly to his wife. In response, I saw her turn her fork over and push it through the crab imperial in front of her as she leaned in slightly and responded in a hushed tone.
Her dad called the waitress over and said, "Hon, this smells-- off." "My wife's not happy with her dish, either-- there's very little crab in it and it's runny." He then pointed over to our plates and told her, "these two are our dinner guests and they're far too polite to say anything, but I can tell their dishes were not prepared properly either... This food should never have been served."
A manager came over and the story was more or less repeated. The manager glanced over at the crab imperial and my overcooked tuna and quickly apologized. He offered to have the kitchen remake our meals at no charge. My g/f's dad declined and said this had caused him a great deal of embarassment. I remember feeling the same way there when I bought my mom lunch at Charlotte's 10+ years earlier.
Never again.
Deleware beach area
You can't go wrong at the Stoney Lonen, Second Street, Rehoboth (about 10 minutes from Lewes) http://www.stoneylonen.com/summer.html - Great place for fish and chips, clams, mussels, oysters and crab cakes. Atmosphere is casual/friendly. Walk on the boardwalk for a while, hit Candy Kitchen or Dolles for some saltwater taffy, sit on a bench facing the ocean while sipping a birch beer, walk the boardwalk some more and work up an apettite-- then head back up towards Lewes. When you get to Rt 24, make a left at the McDonalds and go down to Peddlers Villiage. Visit the General Store and try a milkshake or hand dipped ice cream.
What Now My Chocolate?
Hi Jerry,
The recipe is from page 181 of "Baking: Easy to Make Great Home Bakes". The contributing editor is listed as Carole Clements. The other main ingredients include: instant espresso coffee, hot water and whipping cream in addition to the two chocolates. The rest are for garnish and the tart base itself. The slice in the photo provided, appears to be a light to medium carmel color.
What Now My Chocolate?
I have a recipe for a Chocolate Mocha Tart which calls for the following:
6 oz. (170 g) plain chocolate
1 oz. (30 g) bitter cooking chocolate
I've never seen a recipe before that called for "plain" chocolate. Is it safe to assume they're talking about milk chocolate?
(Philadelphia) Snapper Soup
When I was a kid, my family spent summers at our place in Ocean Gate, New Jersey. My memories include hometown-style Fourth of July parades, picking wild huckleberries, crabbing from the pier at the beach or the "duck pond" and trying snapper soup for the first time. I wasn't especially interested in trying it, but did because my dad ate it. For me, snapper soup from a can just doesn't cut it. Hadfields Seafood on the 202 (Wilmington) used to sell it back in the 80's... No idea if they still do. Some very decent snapper soup could be had at the Townhouse Restaurant in Media, PA as well.
Historic Restaurant/Building for bday dinner
My vote would be for "The Gables" in Chadds Ford. I've been going there since they first opened and have never been disappointed. Following are a few excerpts from the "History" link on their website at: www.thegablesatchaddsford.com
"The Gables at Chadds Ford is situated on land that was originally part of a 138 acre land grant from William Penn to Brinton King. Around 1745, a pre-Revolutionary style house was built on the property. This was one of the first homes to be built in Pennsbury Township..."
"The house was renovated in the late 1800s by George C. King, son of Brinton King. He adopted the popular Victorian style by adding wrap around porches and twenty three gables. Two of the four original chimneys from the pre-Revolutionary style home are still visible. In March of 2002, the house was placed on the National Historic Register..."
"In 1997, Jack McFadden purchased and renovated the historic house and barn into what is now known as The Gables at Chadds Ford. The restaurant features the original frame, steel-framed doors and windows, and Benheim restoration glass. The banquet room is accented with a stunning wall of French windows and is crowned with an antique chandelier. The name for the restaurant was derived from the large number of gables..."
Btw, there's a great courtyard area out back that's perfect for dining al fresco.
Best British Bites?
Stoney's British Pub is in Delaware County, about 15 minutes down Rt. 202 from West Chester, PA. They're at 3007 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE. Great fish and chips.
Rehearsal dinner for fifty in Brandywine area
If you really need it for the full fifty guests, I don't know if they'd be able to accomodate you, but there's a nice 'special events' room at Simon Pearce on the Brandywine which can handle around forty.
http://www.simonpearce.com/CSTM_restaurantsBrandywinePDR.aspx
Cooking Classes in Mont/Chester County
If you want to learn a lot, have fun and become a better skilled, more creative cook, I don't think you could do much better than the culinary classes offered at Dilworthtown Inn. There's a wide variety of class/topic offerings and the class size strikes a balance between keeping things casual and personal. You can ask questions, taste everything that's made and feel comfortable doing so... The kitchen is warm and almost home-like, as opposed to cold-steel and clinical.
http://www.dilworthtown.com/ikk_about.asp
Concordville Inn?
United States of America: 1776 - Concordville Inn: 1777.
They've both gotten bigger, but one transitioned from serving traditional tavern food to lacklustre fare circa 1978. I can sum up the current culinary offerings by saying-- right around the time the neon lights went up on the roof, the quality went down.
Head down the road a few miles, cross over Rt 1 and hit either Chadds Ford Tavern or the Gables. You'll be infinitely more happy with the food, service and ambiance.
What is your idea of the "quintessential shore experience"
I hope I don't spoil the Jersey chain-of-thought too much, but I'll throw out my answer for a great Delaware shore experience... I've got to hit Charlie's Bayside a few times every summer and sit on the back deck, overlooking the water and enjoy a thick cheeseburger or crabcake. Very low-key, relaxed, good food and friendly service.
Great Eclair recipe?
At $6, I'd still say that adds an awful lot to the cost. Obvioulsy, there's times when premium ingredients are called for, as their flavors stand in the culinary foreground and serve to "make the dish". There's no disputing the quality of a Valhrona or Scharffen-Berger, but why use it when much of the taste-difference is going to be lost against the pastry's sweet and creamy filling?
Five dollars is five dollars. When chocolate figures prominently in a dish, I wouldn't hesitate to grab for the good stuff. Personally though, I couldn't see adding an extra $5.00 to the cost when there's going to be little or no detectable taste difference.
Great Eclair recipe?
If you're not looking to take out a second mortgage to make your chocolate topping, I'd suggest a one dollar, 5-ounce bar of Hershey's Special Dark. In a small pan, heat 1/4 cup +1 TBS heavy cream. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth then add 1 TBS (light/clear) corn syrup and combine well. Drizzle or dip the sauce on your eclairs.
What to do with a dozen egg yolks?
Pate choux-- for a batch of eclairs or bite-sized cream-puffs. Make a nice, thick pastry cream filling, chill it thoroughly and pump those perfect cavities full. Top some with powdered sugar, the rest with chocolate and enjoy!
Smorgasborg in Lancaster County, PA
Here's what I said, "find a decent Amish restaurant, pick a few apps and have everyone in your party each order a different entree".
You're telling me, in your opinion, there's not even one single decent Amish restaurant to be found in all of Lancaster?
Best Cinnamon Rolls in or near chester co.
Well, it's not Chester County, but you did say "near"... There's a bakery in the Booth's Corner Farmers Market located about 15 minutes from West Chester, in Delaware County. It's only open on Fridays and Saturdays, but their cinnamon buns are made right there in the booth behind a big glass window so you can watch the entire process unfold. From morning to night, fresh cinnamon buns go in and come out of those old ovens, only to get snapped up by customers-- usually before they get a chance to cool. They come plain or topped with your choice of raisins, pecans, peanuts and if memory serves, cashews. Can't recall the exact price, but it has always been very reasonable-- I think around $5/doz for plain. The quality isn't just "good"-- it's superior.
Last year, a family member was given some similar-looking cinnamon buns which came from Williams-Sonoma. I think the price was like $20 or $30 (high either way) and everyone agreed the quality/flavor/texture couldn't begin to touch those we've come to love from the little shop in Booth's Corners.
Here's their website: http://www.boothscorner.com/ That's for the Farmers Market-- the shop itself is called Donut Haven.
Evergreen Dairy Bar - Rt 70
The last time I went by, it was closed and looked dirty and deserted. I don't recall if it was summer though, so perhaps it is a seasonal place. My family would have only gone by there in summer, so I guess that's a possibility. But I know that about 3 1/2 to 4 years ago, there was a sign saying they would be re-opening soon. A relative who lives near Toms River told me that they heard through the grapevine, Evergreen's was sold, put under new management, had renovated the place and reopened.
I was hoping to hear from someone who could compare the old place with the new, so if you should get the chance to stop there, I'd appreciate hearing your comments and comparison. Thanks for responding.
Favorite Rehoboth Restaurants
The Stoney Lonen would be my first choice-- it offers a nice, relaxed "pub feel" with great food. Victoria's Boardwalk is a bit pricier, but the food's good and the view is awesome. I'd also say The Buttery, but if you're in Lewes, I'm sure that one already came to mind.
Evergreen Dairy Bar - Rt 70
That doesn't sound good... I heard they opened back up around two years ago, actually. If the place looked closed-down when you drove by, that's a bad sign. Would have loved to visit there this summer. Thanks for the update.
Evergreen Dairy Bar - Rt 70
When I was a kid in the 70's, we always used to stop at a small roadside joint on
Rt. 70 called "Evergreen". My parents considered it the halfway point of the trip on our way from PA to the Jersey shore. (Ocean Gate, Toms River & Seaside Heights areas) As I recall, Evergreen was mostly burgers, pork roll sandwiches, birch beer and shakes.
I heard they had re-opened not long ago. Is there anyone here who knew it then, who's also been to the new one? Care to offer any comparisons or reviews of the new place?
Thanks
Smorgasborg in Lancaster County, PA
I don't know, but for some reason I'd feel guilty about making any such recommendation. It's almost like giving someone advice on where to buy tainted fish. If you're looking for a nostaligic, glorified version of your school's eighth-grade lunchroom cafeteria food, look no further than Shady Maple.
If you really feel the need to over-indulge on a variety of foods, find a decent Amish restaurant, pick a few apps and have everyone in your party each order a different entree. Ask your waitress to bring some empty plates and let everyone at the table dig in and share.
Lancaster, PA
I'll throw out Doneckers as place for you to consider. It's located in Ephrata, PA. Depending on where you're coming from in Lancaster, it may be closer than it sounds. Doneckers was more or less put on the culinary map when a former chef who trained at Le Bec Fin took it over back in the late 90's, I believe. The food is fantastic and place just puts you at ease. It's sometimes difficult to find that blend of a relaxed environment and fine food dining. Their website is: http://www.doneckers.com/restaurant/restaurant.asp
