Brunch worth munching in the Northeast?

I have a friend visiting this weekend from out of town and I said I'd take him to brunch in Philadelphia. But he's staying in the Northeast and won't have a car at his disposal. Are there brunch places worth visiting on Roosevelt Blvd. or am I going to have to pick him up just to take him back to Sabrina's or Morning Glory?

Miss Clare in Philadelphia

Soupy Greek Restaurant-style Orzo

I'm looking for suggestions on how to achieve that soupy, almost creamy Greek restaurant-style orzo. You know, the unctuous, ubiquitous side dish flavored with lots of onion and the occasional whole black peppercorn or piece of canned diced tomato that accompanies lamb shanks or grilled fish.

I'd imagine you cook the orzo in chicken broth and then after it's drained, finish it with lots of finely chopped onion sauteed in lots of butter.

If someone has a recipe I'd appreciate it!

Miss Clare in Home Cooking

Citifield Chow

Yes, they came in a plastic tub, that's why I don't know what brand they are. I think they were sold by the quarter pound.

Miss Clare in Outer Boroughs

Citifield Chow

Sorry to repost this, but I am desperate for an answer:

Re: the outfield deli

Does anyone know what brand of gummy bears are available in the CitiField deli? A friend shared some of them with me at one of the on-deck series games and they were FANTASTIC. They're like Proust's madelines of gummy bears. I don't think they're Haribo, because there was a pale blue gummy bear in the mix and Haribo gummies don't include a pale blue bear.

Miss Clare in Outer Boroughs

CitiField Chow Preview

Re: the outfield deli

Does anyone know what brand of gummy bears are available in the CitiField deli? A friend shared some of them with me at one of the on-deck series games and they were FANTASTIC. They're like Proust's madelines of gummy bears. I don't think they're Haribo, because there was a pale blue gummy bear in the mix and Haribo gummies don't include a pale blue bear.

Miss Clare in Outer Boroughs

Do you enjoy rare-to-medium poultry?

Absolutely not. I cannot abide chicken that is not cooked all the way through. I even dislike the flavor and texture of brined poultry--even though it's cooked through, its juiciness is offputting.

Then again, I loathe touching raw chicken and treat it as if it's plutonium.

Miss Clare in General Chowhounding Topics

Restaurant Gift Certificates in Myrtle Beach?

My aunt and uncle have a place in Myrtle Beach, and I'd like to get them a gift certificate to a nice non-chain restaurant for Christmas. My first thought was Collector's Cafe, because I know they've eaten there before and enjoyed it.

Any recommendations?

Miss Clare in General South Archive

Looking for a swank bakery near Perth Amboy, NJ

One of my girlfriends is celebrating a big birthday this January, and she's looking for a fancy, multi-tiered, fondant-covered cake for her party. She likes the work of Pink Cake Box bakery (http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/) but they're closed the week of her birthday.

Can anyone recommend a stylish bakery in the Perth Amboy/Red Bank/Westfield area that can do a tasty, pretty, glamourous cake for her?

Miss Clare in Mid-Atlantic

Guilty Pleasure

Orange Fanta soda from the Dominican Republic. Made with real cane sugar, so you know it'll rot your teeth good.

Funfetti frosting. (Get the Betty Crocker kind. Pillsbury changed the recipe and it's not as good anymore.)

Gardetto's snack mix.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Queso fundido from Tijuana Taco Stand in Wilmington, DE. A crock of melty cheese that comes adorned with roasted poblanos, mushrooms, or chorizo. I ask for all three and smear great gooey gouts of it on hot tortillas.

The supreme nachos platter, also from Tijuana Taco Stand. A mountain of house-made chips, covered in cheese sauce, crumbles of chorizo, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, more cheese, etc. I have been known to run my fingers across the bottom of the plate and lick them clean to get the last of the chorizo-and-cheese goo.

Hot dogs and baked beans with white bread smeared with lots of soft, salty butter and a glass of milk. I make it for dinner every year the night before my birthday (it's what my mother ate for dinner the night before I was born).

French toast made with just eggs and milk in the batter, served in a pool of butter and with ketchup on top.

Miss Clare in General Chowhounding Topics

BEST PHILLY CHEESE STEAK

In the city: Tony Luke's, though I admit I'm more a fan of the roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe.

In the suburbs: La Spada's in Aston, PA. They use a better quality american cheese than most places I've been to and it gives the whole steak a luxurious creaminess. Throw in the deeply caramelized onions, and you have a winner.

Miss Clare in Pennsylvania

Good bakeries in the burbs?

I heartily second the recommendations for The Bakery House in Haverford and Aux Petits Delices in Wayne. For about ten years in a row, on even years I'd get the raspberry genoise cake with raspberry buttercream from Aux Petits Delices, and on the odd numbered years I'd get the chocolate mocha cake from The Bakery House. My family augments our Christmas cookie tray with two pounds of the Christmas butter cookies from Aux Petits Delices and a pound of a mix of the fancy cookies (palmiers, almond lace cookies, meringues, etc.) Aux Petits makes absolutely phenomenal homemade candies and truffles as well; their vanilla caramels are full of deliciously runny, buttery caramel and you can feel the tiny vanilla seeds crunch in your teeth.

The Bakery House is justifiably famous for their beautiful fruit tarts on a shortbread crust filled with homemade pastry cream and adorned with an assortment of fresh fruits. I have already talked about their magnificent chocolate mocha cake. Their muffins are very good as well, though I was not a giant fan of their cookies (but I'm not much of a cookie person). Beware, though: The women who own the place have A LOT of attitude. My family refers to the place as "The Bitches of Bryn Mawr."

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Aux Petits Delices
162 E Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA

Bakery House
604 W Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA

Miss Clare in Philadelphia

Soy sauce + butter = yum!

One of my favorite vegetable side dishes is broccoli roasted with red peppers and garlic cloves. I dress the veggies with cubes of cold butter, some liberal splashes of soy sauce, and red pepper flakes, and roast the whole mess in a hot oven, turning everything a few times. Fantastic on its own or served with soft, cheesy polenta and some roasted Italian sausages.

Miss Clare in Home Cooking

post holiday cravings

After all the heavy food I've eaten in the last three days, I am dying for something a bit more virtuous. I cannot wait to get home and make myself a light soup of chicken broth, stelline, shredded carrots, and a chiffonade of lettuce with lots of fresh cracked pepper and a drizzle of very good extra virgin olive oil.

Miss Clare in General Chowhounding Topics

Best sandwich I ever invented

I made something like your CB&J last week: Trader Joe's Tuscan pane, spread with natural peanut butter, blackberry jam and slices of brie, fried in a little butter. It was DELICIOUS, but even I was like, "Ugh, heavy. Need to walk around the block to work some of it off."

Miss Clare in Home Cooking

Best sandwich I ever invented

I have all of these ingredients in the fridge at home. Hello, tonight's dinner.

Question: Did you peel the apple slices first? Did you caramelize them a bit before putting the sandwich together or did you put them in there raw?

Miss Clare in Home Cooking

Your choice for Trader Joe's BEST item

The two Trader Joe's items I adore the most are the Chicken Tamale Pie (chunky chicken in spicy sauce topped with black beans topped with a cheesy slurry topped with poufy, tender cornbread) and the Triple Ginger Snaps. The Ginger Snaps in particular I can't keep in the house, or I will eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks.

What are these Peppermint Jo Jos? A cookie? A candy?

Miss Clare in Chains

Admit it... There's Some Dishes at Chain Restaurants You Like

I think being a Chowhound is being able to appreciate good food ANYWHERE, from a greasy spoon that turns out outstanding pancakes to a lunch cart that makes amazing kabobs to a little Indian lunch counter where you're the only Anglophone in the place to a three-star white tablecloth place in Napa to, yes, a national chain restaurant. The key is to let down your guard and get over your prejudices.

So, without shame or false modesty, I cop to a fondness for the following chain things:

Kung Pao anything at P.F. Chang's
Cheesy Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell
Blue cheese chopped salad at Outback Steakhouse
Baked potato soup at Houlihan's
Barbeque chicken salad from California Pizza Kitchen
Gingerbread loaf from Starbucks
Cheddar garlic biscuits from Red Lobster
The thing at Coldstone Creamery with the coffee ice cream, Heath Bar, roasted almonds and caramel
The Awesome PBJ sundae from Friendly's
Mai Tais from Chart House restaurants

Miss Clare in Chains

Admit it... There's Some Dishes at Chain Restaurants You Like

Thank you for posting this recipe. I swear the Red Lobster biscuits are made with crack cocaine, they are so addictive.

I am making these TONIGHT.

Miss Clare in Chains

Best sandwich I ever invented

Do you have Oroweat breads in your area? Arnold goes by Oroweat in the south/western US, and the Oroweat Health Nut is the same as the Arnold Health Nut. (When my parents go on vacation in the west, I make them bring me back a loaf of Oroweat Oatnut bread, which I love because of the funny name and because I can't find it back east.)

http://www.oroweat.com/

Miss Clare in Home Cooking

Vegas Lunch Solo ~ Dinner Itinerary

Since you have your dinner itinerary planned and Burger Bar is already on your radar, I'll make a couple lunch recommendations.

I third the recommendation for Bonito Michoacan. Outstanding Mexican (NOT Tex-Mex) food and terrific margaritas. Make sure you order the guacamole prepared tableside.

If you have a car or are willing to wait for a cab to pick you up again at the end of your meal, Table 34 is an excellent restaurant in an odd location--a corporate office park. It's technically still in Las Vegas, but it's quite far from the strip.

It was a few years ago that I was there, but I really enjoyed the lunch I had at Border Grill at the Mandalay Bay. We sat outside at a lovely misted, shaded table that overlooked the pool.

If you eat a late breakfast (the breakfast burrito at--don't laugh!--the Excalibur coffee shop is enormous and delicious, filled with eggs, cheese, crispy hash browns and chorizo, and served with a side of really hot salsa and avocado wedges) have high tea somewhere. The Petrossian Bar at the Bellagio and the Verandah at the Four Seasons at the Mandalay Bay serve two of the best in town.

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Table 34
600 E Warm Springs Rd Ste 180, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Border Grill
3950 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Petrossian
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV

Verandah
3960 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Miss Clare in Southwest

Chef Tell's Passing

I'm a native of the Delaware Valley and Chef Tell was a fixture of the Philadelphia cooking scene. I loved watching his cooking shows as a kid--I always season my food with "Salz und Pfeffer."

Miss Clare in Food Media & News

Best sandwich I ever invented

Toasted or untoasted, Arnold Health Nut bread makes an excellent sandwich. I like the classics like peanut butter and good blackberry jam, peanut butter and ripe banana, peanut butter and Nutella, or Nutella and ripe banana (but not peanut butter, banana, and Nutella--that's just too much). It has lots of personality to stand up to a thick layer of cream cheese with peach hot pepper jam. I also like to make a sandwich of Italian tuna packed in olive oil, cracked black pepper, a pinch of fleur du sel, a handful of arugula and a splash of vinegar on toasted Arnold Health Nut bread slathered with dijon mustard. It's like a sandwich and salad all in one.

I swear I don't work for them, but if anyone from the Arnold company would like to send me a few loaves, that'd be great!

There's a deli near my parents' house that makes a sandwich of a pile of =thinly sliced turkey, lots of crumbled blue cheese, sliced green apple and honey mustard on black raisin bread. It's THE BEST.

Miss Clare in Home Cooking