Philadelphia: Reading Terminal Market

Jason Schlessman and I visited Reading Terminal Market, which is a century-old market in Center City Philadelphia. It has a wide range of vendors, including both ingredients and food stands.

Lunch was at Pearl's Oyster Bar. We were in a seafood mood, but an additional attraction was that they have a counter, so we didn't have to walk around and eat. I tried the combination platter. As you can see, it was a festival of fried food: trout, scallops, oysters, and crabcake. The crust was excellent. The crabcake was pretty good, though it was sort of drowned out by all of the other foods. I enjoyed the fried trout---this wasn't how I would think to prepare a trout, but I liked it.

We then went onto the main reason to go to the market, Bassett's Ice Cream. It is 150 years old and the only original tenant of the market. Jason went for a cup of ice cream. They do an incredible volume here and it's strictly standup, but that's how you want to eat ice cream.

I had a malted milk shake---these are hard to find and I take advantage of them whenever I can. Their ice cream didn't disappoint. It's very rich and (I hate to say it) creamy. A few other places I know of make ice cream this good---Rick's Rather Rich in Palo Alto comes to mind---but I haven't yet found anything in Atlanta to match.

Comments

Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...

Blue Ridge Parkway: Pisgah Inn

I've wanted to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway for a long time. I finally got my chance and started driving from the southern end. Just about dinner time, I ran into the Pisgah Inn near the high point of the Parkway. It's a lodge and restaurant. It promised to be just the dinner experience I had hoped for. Here is the view from my table: The restaurant is nice but casual, as one would expect in a national park. The servers were all extremely friendly and helpful. I tried the pork chop, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In addition to the cole slaw and squash, it came with a cauliflower and beef soup. For dessert, I splurged and had a piece of apple pie. The crust was very buttery and it capped off the pork perfectly. This meal was the perfect capstone to a day full of unexpected pleasures.

Autumn Harvest in the North Georgia Mountains

Fall has its own harvest and rituals. One of mine is to enjoy the apple crop. So I got in the car and drove past Clayton to my favorite farm stand, Osage Farms. Before I looked for produce, I enjoyed a half rack of ribs from Tomlin's BBQ; sorry, no photos, I was too hungry. With my hunger sated, it was time to get down to business. I surveyed the huge selection of apples and was about to select two small bags. Then I saw this box of assorted apples for only $12. Assorted apples are exactly what you want for a variety of baking needs---a mix of varieties gives the best flavor. I also picked up some eggplant, peppers, and okra. My next stop was the drug store in Clayton for a root beer float. Their soda fountain is a reminder of a simpler time. My next stop was Blue Ridge Honey Company. They sell an impressive array of beekeeping equipment as well as maintaining a large honey processing operation. They also stock beeswax; you could make one heck of a candle with some...

Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Search This Blog