dcal

They do take checks. My kid wanted to go for his birthday a few weeks ago. The wait staff was super nice and patient with a party of 12, including kids and a baby. The bill was reasonable, the pizza was great and I paid with a check. It was Memorial Day weekend, so I called to check that they would be open, as they have the leeway to be closed pretty much whenever they want and still have plenty of business. He told me then he would be closed 4th of July weekend. It's not difficult to understand.

Backyard burger dog is ok, but they use their usual chili which has beans. Good in chili on its own, but not my preference on a hot dog. B-Quik is an unreasonably good choice.

Brown sliced Manda sausage and chopped onion in a splash of vegetable oil in a dutch oven. Remove sausage. Add enough water to amply cover beans. I use the "fast-boil" method instead of the overnight soak -- bring beans to a boil and let them boil for approx 10 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and let the beans cook until done, adding water as necessary.

For years I had a problem with some of the beans not getting done thoroughly while some were too mushy. I heard somewhere that not adding salt until the beans were soft would remedy this problem. Not sure why, but this has proven true for me. SO -- after beans are as done as you wish -- season with Tony's, Tabasco, s&p, etc. Add browned sausage in last ten or fifteen minutes of cooking. I have been known to throw in a touch of cajun brown gravy mix to thicken the gravy if necessary.

The Advocate chose Kraft Original. ?????? The decline of Food Focus has been very sad.

Went for lunch yesterday. Club Royale on croissant with added sliced avocado. Mmm!

I am voting for the place on Calais. It was also "Tomato Grill" for a brief moment. No idea what they served. Vegetarian? That makes six different incarnations.

Tried South of Philly Saturday. Very good! I hope they can override the cursed location and the current road construction.

The dinner at Monmouth Plantation is very good - but is not private as mentioned in a previous post -- not really even at the private tables. We had a very bad experience at Pearl Street Pasta -- waited forever for food that was jut ok. There was a problem in the kitchen AND a problem with lack of waitstaff. Obviously an off night.

At our family reunions (usually at the fairground) there was a ton of homemade food--but I would look for the Danny's box! There was always at least one.

Re: Bourbon House... went in there Friday night because it was convenient, and we just needed a drink and an appetizer while waiting to meet some friends. We got the Crab Fingers Bordelaise, and they were literally the best food we ate all weekend. Can't say anything about the other menu items, but the crab fingers were great.

I was in a similar situation -- don't like Subway, but that's all I had to choose from. So just ate a toasted Spicy Italian on parmesan oregano bread with mozzarella, red onion, spinach, bell pepper, olives, banana peppers and oil and vinegar. It was good and different. Almost quasi-muffaletta-ish.