Lunch was three clementines and an heirloom apple - we all missed lunch because Fridays are nuts for us. They're really crazy because we got a lot of late wholesale orders on Fridays and it's also our day to go the fruit docks in Philadelphia. That's where we get lemons and limes, stuff you can't get locally and that we use in bulk.

Since we missed lunch, John picked up a whole wheat pizza with mushrooms and pepperoni from Slice before we all ran off for various soccer practices. Thank you Slice for opening in Center City!

Dinner was with the Cypresses. Their son Will is on the same soccer team as our son Manny, so we do a lot of stuff together. They had a soccer thing up in the Northeast so we did the by-the-kilo dinner at Picanha Brazilian Grill. It was so delicious! We had feijoada, rice, a pile of kale, farofa, a few chicken hearts and ended with some guava mousse. We had Brahma beer and it was so good.

Saturday, October 31
For breakfast, I made whole wheat waffles and pancakes. I make one batter that works both on a griddle and in my waffle maker because my one son wants pancakes and my daughter and Manny want waffles. So I actually had one waffle and one pancake. Then we added heirloom apples which I quickly caramelized with maple syrup from my friend's grandmum's Vermont farm. And an entire pot of La Colombe. At home we make percolator coffee, on the stovetop. It's frigging impossible to find them - when I find them I buy four.

We had the "Domenic Lunch." Domenic is John's dad - he's retired and lives in Florida now and he makes that lunch for himself every day - we have it at least once a weekend. It's prosciutto di Parma and Molinari salami, (from Carlino's), tomato basil salad, fresh mozzarella from Claudio's, olives from Carlino's with semolina bread from Carlino's. I'm in Carlino's at least once a week picking up stuff - my son plays for the Rat Pack, Lower Merion's soccer club and I drop him off at practice and go there. Their bread is fantastic, the ricotta cheese, oh!, and the people who slice the meat there - they're the superstars. That's what we call them. The Carlino's Superstars! They slice it perfectly. They call me when they're cutting into a new gorgonzola. They're like "Steph, are you going to be around? Cause we'll wait to cut the new gorgonzola." I use it to make gorgonzola cheese sauce with gnocchi, which is my kids' favorite, so I make it a lot. I make huge sheet pans of the gnocchi and then freeze them. I do get mozzarella from Claudio's though - I love that place. I think it's one of the best things about Philadelphia.

I started making French onion soup in the afternoon while making Halloween costumes. I cut up eight pounds of yellow onions and cooked them for about four hours. It takes me about eight hours total to make - I use my own broth made with soup bones from my farmer. It's topped with day-old Carlino's bread and Comte and Gruyere cheese

For dinner, we went to Chifa with our friend Mark from New York. He came down to go to the Giants-Eagles game the next day and called us and said he wanted to go. He used to work at Jefferson and he's one of the few New Yorkers that actually believes that Philadelphia has a better food scene than New York. I started with a Pisco Sour, then had steamed pork belly buns with pickled daikon, crab empanada with chili and shaved cucumber, Wagyu skirt steak with onion petals, stir-fry chinese broccoli (my favorite!), curry goat with lentils, scallion pancakes, pulpo and ended with coconut sorbet and passion fruit curd. It was so incredibly delicious.

I also ate various Halloween candy throughout the day - Almond Joys, vanilla Tootsie Rolls and Junior Mints - that's what we handed out. I could not help it!

Sunday, November 1
For breakfast I made scrambled eggs (they're Glenn Brendle's Green Meadow Farm eggs) with mascarpone and chives with lots of pepper, toasted cushino bread from Carlino's and an entire pot of La Colombe.

I started up the French onion soup again and finished cooking it around 2 p.m. and for lunch we ate several bowls of it while watching Italian soccer games. For dinner I made gnocchi with Glenn Brendle's potatoes, served with red sauce with canned San Marzano tomatoes, pecorino Romano cheese, a big salad with micro-arugula from Glenn and some Primaterra Primativo wine.

Monday, November 2
Breakfast was at least four cups of La Colombe coffee, a cappuccino and an Au Fornil croissant. For lunch, I headed to La Tierra Colombiana - I love that place. It's really close to our big kitchen up in East Falls, so I just hop on Roosevelt Boulevard. I eat there like once a week - I love the people there and I could eat 500 of their papa rellenos. That day I had buttered grilled bread, a papa relleno, black beans with saffron rice, sweet fried plantains and a tamarind soda.

For a snack, I made an acai and banana smoothie. We went to Brazil in June and ever since then my freezer is filled with those frozen acai packets. The kids love them and because I'm running - I'm training for the Rome marathon - we eat them a lot. If I don't have time to make dinner immediately when they get home from school, the acai smoothies tide them over. All you do is shove the packets in a food processor and add two bananas. Six packets and two bananas is enough for four smoothies and they're so delicious.

Dinner was cream of tomato soup that I made for the cafes earlier that day in our big kitchen, grilled fontina on cushino bread from Carlino's and a big salad. Primaterra Primativo wine again.

Tuesday, November 2
Manny was off from school so we went to the Trolley Car Diner. It was my first time there. It was interesting. They have La Colombe coffee, so I was happy. I had fried egg, cheese and bacon on a kaiser roll. Then more coffee once arriving at Capo.

Lunch was Afghan salad, hummus, Afghan bread and chatny, chicken kabob with rice pilaf and grilled vegetables and green tea at the Sansom Kabob House, which was Manny's choice and a family favorite. I love the family that owns it - before we got the big kitchen we probably went there four times a week for lunch. When they closed temporarily in August I almost cried. They're just wonderful people and they make the best kabobs. I know it doesn't sound like it, but we primarily eat vegetarian... but that's one of the few meat things I would eat every day.

Dinner was spaghetti with pesto, garlic from Overbrook Herb Farm, broccoli rabe with garlic, hot pepper and olive oil and a big salad, plus some Pio Cesare Dolcetto d’Alba wine. Tacy, our office manager/girl Friday had this monster, monster garden this year and she brought me a sack of basil and I made a vat of pesto on a late summer day. I put the pesto into ziplocs and froze it and now I break off pieces. That was a big soccer day - I had to get them all quickly to soccer and in the time it took me to boil water and make the broccoli rabe, the pesto was defrosted and I added the cheese. The kids love it.

Filed Under: capogiro, stephanie reitano, the philadelphia diet

Filed Under: empire building, snack foods, snyder's of hanover, utz

Quick Bites [Foobooz]

Filed Under: 7-11, dorchester, marriages of convenience stores, rittenhouse, wawa

Mr. Blatstein initially intended to lease his ground-floor space to established retailers, but was not able to attract any to an untested area with a bad image. Instead he divided the storefronts into tiny spaces for fledgling entrepreneurs selling clothing, art, jewelry and even magicians’ supplies. He says he has the flexibility to evict any retailer who fails to maintain a "cool space."

As anyone who has been to the painfully uncool Riverview Plaza, an earlier project from Blatstein's Tower Investments can attest to, Blatstein wasn't always so concerned with cool. This was because he hadn't yet had his midlife crisis:

When Mr. Blatstein bought the Schmidt’s Brewery, which had closed in 1987, he had no intention of creating a magnet for young people. The previous owner had rezoned the site for a shopping center, and Mr. Blatstein thought he would build one and then get out. "Then the midlife crisis hit,” he said, “and I thought, What do I do? Do I get the bright red Ferrari? And then I decided, Let me do the creative thing here. I have the opportunity to do something really cool here."

The real shocker of this article is that somehow PYT did not get a mention. Maybe the New York Times wasn't invited to the blogger's brunch?

From Abandoned Brewery to Piazza, Philly-Style [NYT]

Filed Under: bart blatstein, empire building, mediavore, piazza at schmidt's, piazza at schmidts, real estate

• If it's your dream to work with Martha Stewart, fork over $3,600 and you can have a six-week internship at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, or just drop $10,000 to do a segment on her show. [Eat Me Daily]

• Having spent the past six months eating cheeseburgers for research, one man offers up a list of advice. His first insight? "Ketchup and mustard are overrated as condiments." [Chicago Tribune]

• Cocktail aficionados, take note: Angostura Bitters are in short supply around the world owing to the sole manufacturer's recession-related troubles. [Guardian UK]

Filed Under: mediavore

MidAtlantic: Daniel Stern's new University City spot adheres to the classic name "Schuylkill Fish House Punch" and the classic recipe. $10.

Oyster House: The Sansom Street fish restaurant serves the very similar Oyster House Punch that incorporates rum, brandy, tea and citrus for $7 a glass.

Village Whiskey: Jose Garces's version is $8 and is made with peach brandy, cognac, dark rum, tea, lemon and spiced sugar.

Bonus Round for South Philly Pride : While there's no Fish House on the menu, The Franklin has invented a Passyunk Punch, which includes aged rum, Batavia arrack (an Indonesian rum), honey, lemon, chai tea and bitters aged in whiskey barrels.

Filed Under: apo bar and lounge, cocktails, oyster house, user's guide, village whiskey

Guy modeled this live, two-hour food-a-palooza after a high-energy rock concert, including traveling from city to city on two tour buses with his culinary 'krew.'

Australian flair bartender Hayden 'Woody' Wood, an effervescent entertainer and educator on all things liquid, will get the party started. Next, a local celebrated chef will demonstrate recipes from Guy's new cookbook. Finally, Guy himself will take center stage with an unscripted and wildly entertaining performance, complete with interactive cooking stations, demos, behind the scenes stories from the road, and more.

If you're a hardcore Fieri fan, there's a "Kulinary Krew" package. Cough up $150 for "prime orchestra seating; tour laminate; new edition of More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: A Drop Top Culinary Cruise through America's Finest and Funkiest Joints ; two squirt bottles; and a pre-show meet and greet with Guy Fieri."

We're not sure what the squirt bottles are for - maybe to put out the flames after you light yourself on fire when you realize you've paid $150 to see a chef pretend to be a rock star?

Filed Under: food network, guy fieri, more chefs less rock, the road show, tv land

Filed Under: barbecue, noodles, openings, pho ha, south street

First Course

Butternut Squash Bisque
Banana Bubbles, Freeze Dried Raisins, House Made Yogurt, Fried Sage 8.

Bone Marrow*
Pumpernickel, Parsley, Fleur de Sel 12.

Champagne Braised Escargot
Crispy Polenta, Wild Mushrooms, Micro Greens 12.

Tuna Tartare*
Sushi Grade Tuna, Quail Egg, Truffled Horseradish Foam, Soy in Textures 12.

Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras*
Date-Pistachio Shortbread, Plumped Iranian Pistachios, Roasted Pear, Nicoise Olive Cream, Green Tea 16.

Marinated Boquerones*
Gaeta Olive, Saffron-Nutmeg Vinaigrette, Quince Paste, Marcona Almond, Idiazabal, Crouton 10.

Butter Lettuce Salad*
Persimmon, Bulgarian Feta, Golden Raisins, Toasted Cashew, Curry Vinaigrette 8.

Second Course

Monkfish “Piccata”
Preserved Lemon Mash, Black Olive Emulsion, Broccoli Rabe, Red Pepper Coulis 24.

“Pork, Beans & Beer”
Berkshire Pork Tenderloin, White Bean Puree, Brussel Sprouts, Guinness Foam, Proscuitto Crisp 21.

Crispy Skin Turkey*
Apple Risotto, Rosemary Bubbles, Green Bean “Casserole,” Multiple Garnishes 23.

New World Paella
Scallops, Monkfish, Langoustine, Little Neck Clams, Chicken, Chorizo, Cauliflower Rice 29.

Colorado Rack of Lamb*
Parsnip-White Chocolate Puree, Petite Watercress Salad, Blood Orange, Pomegranate, Pine Nuts 28.

Slow Cooked Swordfish*
Autumn Succotash, Parmesan Broth, Balsamic-Red Onion Marmalade, Parsley Oil 24.

Potato, Potato, Potato*
Truffled Potato Basket, Puffed Potato, Red Potato, Vinegar Aioli 19.
Add caviar 8.

Marigold Kitchen, 501 S. 45th St.; (215) 222-3699

Filed Under: marigold kitchen, menus

• Craig LaBan, however, thinks the pot pie is the best dish Snackbar serves. [Inquirer]

• Phyllis Stein-Novack tips two-and-a-half toques towards Stella [South Philly Review]

• Tim McGinnis whips up a field guide to cupcakes. [PW]

Filed Under: adam erace, craig laban, cupcakes, inquirer, philadelphia weekly, phyllis stein-novack, snackbar, south philly review, stella

• Jeremy Piven says he grew man boobs from drinking soy milk. [Daily Intel]

• Rick Nichols weighs the pros and cons of the new Targets-with-supermarkets. [Inquirer]

• While restaurants like Le Cirque and '21' Club purge their wine cellars at auctions for cash, Morton's is one restaurant group poaching the bargain bottles. [Reuters]

• Michelin-starred restaurant the Starr Inn in North Yorkshire, England shuttered this week after 80 people fell ill. Authorities found the presence of norovirus, the vomiting bug that shuttered the Fat Duck earlier this year. [BBC]

• Runaway groom Todd English partied for Mr. Chow's 30th anniversary, but left when the paparazzi started taking his picture. [Page Six/NYP]

• Boxing champion Julio Chavez is opening a boxing-themed restaurant and entertainment complex in Phoenix, Arizona. [NRN]

• A California-based tomato-processing executive has plead guilty for his participation in a conspiracy (that included Kraft and Frito-Lay) to drive up food prices. [AP]

Filed Under: mediavore

• P.O.P.E. will have dollar dogs for sale during the game.

• Barclay Prime has a $16 kobe hot dog served on a homemade buttermilk potato roll.

• The Blockley offers jumbo hot dogs for a dollar during games.

Filed Under: phillies, why can't us?

Coordinates: The Khyber

Bartender or mixologist?: Suds Slinger.

Tenure at the Khyber: Who knows? Long time, dude.

Total years behind the bar: I started in the early eighties when my father would yell, "Boy! How about you get yer old man a cold one, huh?"

Favorite beer: That's a tough one. I think it depends on the occasion... I love pilsners, belgian ales, and porters. When it comes to session beers I like downing a few Kenzingers. In the bigger beer category I am a slave to Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout). It's a stout brewed with coffee and chocolate that is aged in bourbon barrels - there is nothing like it!

Favorite liquor: I'm a whiskey man. I like Irish whiskey, rye whiskey and bourbon. When the price is right I'll always go for Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon.

Favorite cocktail: I don't drink cocktails very often, but when I do its always a Manhattan on the rocks - with rye of course.

Your best customer in five words or less: Other bartenders. They know what they want. They know how to order it, how to wait for it, and especially how to tip.

Your worst customer five words or less: The General.

All bartenders should know a good joke. What's yours?: Some jumper cables walk into a bar, the bartender says, "Don't start anything!"

Have you ever had to break up a fight at your bar? What was it about?: Yeah, some jumper cables with a listening problem.

It's okay to sleep with customers. Yes or no?: Personally I'm in love with an amazing girl, so the answer would be no. Is it okay for others to do it? Sure, why not?

The best tip you ever got?: Don't stare directly at the sun.

What's the best part of the job?: The conversation, sometimes the money, and the free beer samples I get from brewery reps - I like to call 'em my homework.

What's the worst part of the job?: The conversation, sometimes the money, and occasionally the free beer samples I get from brewery reps.

What's the worst thing you've ever seen at your bar?: There is not enough room on the entire internet for me to list all of the amazingly horrible things I've seen at the Khyber. Come in sometime and I'll tell you all about it over a beer.

What's your patented drunk-handling technique?: As the late, great, and surprisingly small Dalton says, "Be Nice."

Give us one of your bartending tips-of-the-trade: When lifting kegs, use legs... and whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV.

Why should people get a drink from you rather than the bartender down the block?: Why not get a drink from both?!

Where do you like to go for a drink when you're on the other side of the bar?: Southwark, Resurrection Ale House, Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, P.O.P.E., Bar Ferdinand, etc.

What's the secret to being a great bartender?: Ask Paul E. at Ray's.

Previously:
Papi Hurtado of Savona
Leo Eisenstein of Grace
Colin Shearn of The Franklin

Know a bartender who should be part of the Bartenders Bible? Tips gladly accepted here.

Filed Under: bartenders bible, jeremy thompson, nightlife, the khyber

Filed Under: anniversaries, foodievents, royal tavern, vegan, vegetarian

• Con Murphy's, an upscale Irish pub, is now open at 17th and the Parkway. View the menu here. [Thrillist]

Filed Under: con murphy's, coup de taco, logan square, openings, university city