2006 November Archive at gas•tron•o•my

Archive for November, 2006 Page 2 of 3

The Coventry Deli

Published

Gastronomer

on November 20, 2006

in Deli, Philadelphia and Restaurant Review

. 0 Comments

November 16, 2006
Cuisine: American (Traditional), Delis, Sandwiches

2000 Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: 215-972-8310
Website: www.coventrydeli.com

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THE BASKET LUNCH - In a wicker basket you have a choice of a salad or a deli sandwich (with two deli salads and a pickle), a piece of fresh fruit, our own baked goodie, gum, hard candy, chips, condiments, paper goods and a wet-nap ($11.75)

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The office always orders lunch when we have meetings. Today we ordered from the deli located on the first floor of our building. I’ve eaten there a couple of times for breakfast because they have excellent oatmeal.

I had a ham and cheese sandwich on some sort of grainy bread with Dijon mustard, a tomato slice, and lettuce. The sandwich was pretty good, but sadly the cheese was American. Not a real cheese (N.A.R.C). To make up for it, the meat was piled on high.

The two deli salads were a macaroni salad and a coleslaw. The macaroni salad was decent enough. Even though it tasted like a prepared salad from the grocery store. The coleslaw tasted like it came from KFC. Pass.

The baked goodie was a giant cookie from an outside manufacturer. The cookie was extremely large because it contained two servings and 520 calories. I ate 2/3 and saved the rest for later.

I gave my co-worker my chips (Herr’s original) and candy. I saved the piece of fruit, a green apple, for later.

The Coventry Deli makes a great oatmeal, but only a so-so basket lunch.

Rachael’s Nosheri

Published

Gastronomer

on November 20, 2006

in Deli, Jewish, Philadelphia and Restaurant Review

. 0 Comments

November 17, 2006
Cuisine: American (Traditional), Delis, Sandwiches

120 S 19th St, Philadelphia 19103
Btwn Chestnut St & Sansom St

Phone: 215-568-9565
Website: http://rachaelsnosheri.com/

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Entree I: Hickory Dickory - oven roasted turkey breast, ham, Swiss cheese, tomato slices, lettuce & Russian dressing ($6.95)

Entree II: Whole Wheat Bagel with cream cheese ($1.75)

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Ricky and I hit up Rachael’s for lunch. I like to refer to this deli as the Astronomer’s ex-Girlfriend’s Restaurant. Ha!

Ricky had the Hickory Dickory sandwich, hey, that sort of rhymes. He thought the presentation was lacking, but the sandwich itself was very tasty. Possibly even tastier than his sandwich from Paninoteca, but he is not certain.

My bagel was perfectly toasted and smeared with a good amount of cream cheese. I like toasted bagels, but I hate melted cream cheese. What a conundrum.

I’d like to return to Rachael’s for some real Jewish fare, like matzo ball soup and knishes.

Maggiano’s Little Italy

Published

Gastronomer

on November 20, 2006

in Italian, National Chain, Pasta, Philadelphia and Restaurant Review

. 0 Comments

November 18, 2006
Cuisine: Italian

1201 Filbert St, Philadelphia 19107
At N 12th St

Phone: 215-567-2020
Website: www.maggianos.com

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Whole grain and white bread (complimentary)

Entree I: Full Order Spaghetti with your choice of meatballs or Italian sausage; served with our meat or marinara sauce ($14.25)

Entree II: Full Order Chicken Pesto Linguine - Linguine pasta tossed with roasted chicken, pesto, and pine nuts in a Parmesan broth with a hint of lemon ($15.95)

Dessert: Homemade Profiteroles - Pastry shell filled with vanilla bean ice cream and topped with our own hot fudge and fresh whipped cream; dusted with cocoa powder and powdered sugar ($1.95)

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The night before James Golden’s marathon debut, the Astronomer and I accompanied him to Maggiano’s for some pre-race carbo-loading.

James and I shared the spaghetti with meatballs, which was made with linguine. Perhaps the kitchen was out of spaghetti the night we dined? Anyhow, the linguine with meatballs was FANTASTIC. The best pasta with meatballs I’ve ever had! The meat sauce was slightly spicy because of the flavorful sausage bits, which James and I really appreciated. The meatballs were the size of my fist and were so delicious. We shared a large order, but couldn’t finish it so we split the leftovers. I enjoyed my half for lunch today and it was just as good as on Saturday night.

The Astronomer ordered a large order of his old standby - linguine with pesto. Maggiano’s interpretation of pesto is quite good, but a bit on the mild side because the sauce is brothier and less oily than the average pesto.

For dessert we all shared a profiterole. It was delicious. You can’t go wrong with ice cream, hot fudge, and a puff pastry!

Even though Maggiano’s is a chain, I can’t help but love it.

Whole Grain-Buttermilk Pancakes

Published

Gastronomer

on November 12, 2006

in Breakfast and Recipe

. 0 Comments

Hearty breakfast fare from Rick & Ann’s in Berkeley, California.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (about) butter, melted
2 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
Pure maple syrup

Mix first 7 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, 2 tablespoons melted butter and molasses in large bowl to blend. Add dry ingredients; mix just until blended. Heat griddle or heavy large skillet over medium heat. Brush with butter. Working in batches, drop scant 1/4 cup batter onto griddle for each pancake. Cook until brown, about 3 minutes per side, brushing griddle with more butter as needed. Serve with syrup.

Makes about 20 pancakes.

Bon Appétit
September 2000
Rick & Ann’s, Berkeley, CA

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Substitutions: Used only whole wheat flour. Did not use butter and molasses in batter.

Cranberry Cornbread Mini-Loaves

Published

Gastronomer

on November 10, 2006

in Bread and Recipe

. 1 Comment

1 cup unbleached AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup oil or butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, slat, and soda until thoroughly blended. Mix in cornmeal, wheat germ, and nuts. In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk, oil or butter, and eggs. Stir liquid mixture into dry ingredients just until blended. Fold in the cranberries. Pour into 4 greased 5 1/2 x 3-inch loaf pans. Pre heat oven to 375 F. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 4 mini-loaves

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Substitutions: I halved the recipe and made one big loaf. Used only whole-wheat flour. Did not use walnuts. Used dried cranberries. Used applesauce instead of butter/oil.