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When it was all ready one afternoon last week - the dry-brined turkey a rosy chestnut brown, the Sister Frances' Potatoes (named for one of the last of the famously celibate Shakers), the brothy, purposefully not creamy blue-pumpkin soup (with a sour jolt of preserved lemon), Melissa Hamilton beamed at what she had wrought: "Ah," she announced, "Thanksgiving in November!"
THIS WEEK IN FOOD
Marilyn Paige adores apple pie, but she knows her limitations.
"I can eat it, I just can't bake it," says Paige, a student/scrapbooker/photographer. "And I don't believe you can buy a great slice of apple pie in Philadelphia without paying a fortune."
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Casseroles travel safely to Thanksgiving dinner in this two-quart covered dish. Fits neatly into a woven wood basket, and the pair would make a nice gift to leave with the host.
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Every year the pumpkin parade arrives earlier - before Labor Day, even, the fluffy pumpkin lattes and baseball mitt-size pumpkin muffins emerge on cue from behind coffee bar counters. Limited-edition pumpkin ales follow, along with sweet-smelling doughnuts and seasonally confusing ice creams. And before long, chunky cans of purees are lining supermarket aisle-end displays, seductively promising smooth-as-silk pies.
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Swarthmore is awakening as a dining destination. First up, this week, is Rudi's on Park (112 Park Ave., 484-472-7686), an elegant, intimate BYOB in a restored house with hardwood floors, a romantic balcony, and lots of patio space for outdoor dining in season.
- Red or white or almost any choice will go with the big turkey meal. Here are some fine, low-cost suggestions.All the pressure should land on the chef at Thanksgiving, because when it comes to bringing the wine, there are no "wrong" answers. After all, this holiday meal is typically such a riot of divergent flavors, from tart cranberries to sweet potatoes to the meaty bird and its lusty dressing, that it's impossible for a single wine to match the feast's many moods.
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Southwestern fajitas with meat and colorful vegetables make a delicious, light meal. Typically, the meat is marinated overnight and then grilled, but I use a warm marinade and cut the chicken into thin strips to eliminate the wait.
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Sushi, for seconds The elaborately sleek, wood-clad space remains largely untouched from its brief life as Maia. But memories of that short-lived Main Line star are bound for a quick-fade if its replacement, Azie on Main, continues to serve sushi as pristine as this.
- The chef returns from Thailand for a salute to his cook- ing and collecting, in the city of his savory glory days.His preserved memory is acute and finely textured, rich with rollicking tales of late-night muskrat feeds in the Jersey marshlands, and of the grandeur of his German grandmother Oma's turtle soup, the toast in its day of the saloons of Pennsauken.
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CRAIG LABAN | RESTAURANT REVIEWS
From stuffy to the right stuff: A bold makeover, lowered prices, and a new chef cooking exciting Asian fusion signal welcome maturation.
Buying a successful business sounds like a solid idea in most realms. But in the quirky universe of Philly restaurants, where hands-on owners and chef talent often matter more than brand names, there can be unexpected baggage changing hands along with the walk-in fridge, wine glasses, and range.
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RICK NICHOLS ON FOOD
When it was all ready one afternoon last week - the dry-brined turkey a rosy chestnut brown, the Sister Frances' Potatoes (named for one of the last of the famously celibate Shakers), the brothy, purposefully not creamy blue-pumpkin soup (with a sour jolt of preserved lemon), Melissa Hamilton beamed at what she had wrought: "Ah," she announced, "Thanksgiving in November!"
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