Price Drop on Temples; No More Buck-a-Shuck

The price of temple oranges at Iovine Brothers Produce dropped a bit this week. Today they were four for a buck; last week it was $3. The oranges are a tad smaller, but they weigh out at about a pound and a half for four fruits.

On the other side of the Reading Terminal Market, Pearl's Oyster Bar discontinued the late afternoon Buck-a-Shuck deal. Operator David Braunstein said not many eaters took advantage of the offering, and the few who did rarely ordered anything else. Since Pearl's doesn't offer alcoholic beverages, it was tough to justify continuing.

Meanwhile, Pearl's started work this week on a refurbishing of the restaurant. The walls will get a new treatment, as will the signage, there will be new butcher block tables (though the counter will remain unchanged for now) and the colorful figurehead will be moved to a more prominent position.

Today was the last day for the old information booth at the 12th near Filbert entrance to the market. It will be replaced with a new stall where volunteers will answer questions from tourists, like, "Where is the Convention Center?"

Citrus Season!

Tangerines at Iovine Brothers now selling at 5/$1

Now that we're officially into winter, it's time to shift our fruity focus from pomes to citrus. Although I've got my full stock of Newtown Pippin apples in cold storage to get through January and, perhaps, February if I hoard my hoard, my fresh fruit purchases have turned to oranges and their close relations. (Alas, my statin regimen prevents indulging in grapefruits and other pomelos.)

Right now I'm working my way through Temple oranges I purchased at Iovine Brother's Produce in the Reading Terminal Market for a quarter apiece. Small navels tend to sell for the same price, as do tangerines (though this week they're featuring them at 20 cents). Large navels are 50 cents, but the gargantuan Jumanjis for over-stuffing a stocking call for a 99-cent investment.

Just eating them plain is a joy, especially the easy-to-peel temples, tangerines and other mandarins. The perfumes they exude upon peeling is right up there with good whiskey, bacon and vanilla in my olfactory Hall of Fame. After eating a spicy or rich entree, the sweet bite of citrus is a great palate-cleanser. No wonder so many Asian restaurants slip a few chunks of orange on the parting plate along with a fortune cookie.

Still, I think I'm game this season for doing a bit more than taking my oranges straight. Although I usually only make sorbets in warmer weather, the great looking juice oranges (usually the Hamlin variety) may prompt me to get out the juicer and make an icy winter treat.

Another option may be a composed salad where oranges and beets take center stage, perhaps with a sprinkling of walnuts and little bits of chevre in a plain vinaigrette (or, alternatively, using orange juice as the base of a vinaigrette to top the other ingredients).

If I'm more ambitious, there's the orange flan from Jose Garce's mom. But since I'm less ambitious there may be an orange chiffon cake in my future.

Besides orange-flavored beef, a staple at some Chinese restaurants, I'm hard-pressed to think of other meat-centric dishes incorporating oranges. If anyone has some ideas, please comment on this post.

For fish I might try Norwegian chef Andreas Viestad's variation on a sauté meunière wherein both the fish filets and orange sauce are spiked with ginger and cloves. 

Citrus On Parade

It's citrus time at the Reading Terminal Market.

Over at Iovine Brother's Produce Spanish clementines are the star, $4.95 for a five-pound box. The skins aren't quite as zippery as they'll get a little later in the season, but they peel easily enough and have a good sweet-tart taste, as is appropriate for this variety of mandarin orange, which some contend is a lemon-orange cross.

I spied at least three varieties of navel oranges today, one selling for four for a buck, another for three for a buck. Jumanis were two for a dollar. Tangerines, grapefruits and other citrus fruits are also coming into season.