Remembering Michael Holahan

Mike and Julie with William, James and Isabella

Mike Holahan's death last week, at age 57, leaves a void for his family – his partner in life and business Julie, daughter Isabella and sons William and James – as well as shoppers and fellow merchants at the Reading Terminal Market, and the Philadelphia food community.

I won't repeat the facts of Michael's life, including how he started the Pennsylvania General Store and his leadership of the Reading Terminal Market Merchant Association. You can read them in his Philadelphia Inquirer obituary and at the funeral home's website.

Instead, I'll simply recount two parts of his life (with some video help): one I only learned about after his death, the other one I lived with him.

What I didn't know was how committed Michael was to his church and religion. But I should have, for it was an extension of his love for his family. I learned of this when, seeking directions to attend his funeral, I visited the website of Michael's church, Gloria Dei, and found among the list of sermon videos one Michael delivered on March 13, just three days before he died. It shows the side Michael I knew -- funny, friendly, thoughtful and lightly showing his knowledge of food production -- and the side of Michael that I didn't know, committed to making a better world through his faith. This 20-minute video captures the man:

Another Michael is the one I first met more than 25 years ago, a man passionate about food and the people who bring it to our tables. This was when he started the Saturday Morning Breakfast Club, a gathering of foodies on that day which attracted anywhere from a half-dozen to three dozen participants.

Our topics were wide ranging, and frequently featured guest speakers, both merchants and outside experts.

One of the more memorable sessions was for Valentine's Day. Mike had arranged for the pastry chef from Deux Cheminées to discuss how to make chocolate truffles. Unfortunately the pastry chef had emergency dental surgery, so the restaurant's proprietor, Fritz Blank took his place, bringing along a friend who was attending the Philadelphia national convention of the Association of American Scientists, who Fritz knew through his former career as a microbiologist. The friend was Harold McGee, the author of On Food and Cooking. McGee brought along samples of cocoa beans both fresh and in various stages of processing and explained the science of making chocolate. So as not to disappoint the many ladies who attending in hopes of making truffles, Fritz gave them the recipe.

The Saturday Morning Breakfast Club also served as an introduction to the people of the market, including its managers (Marci Rogovin when the club started, then Paul Steinke when he came on board), and merchants. Ann Karlen stopped by to talk about the Fair Food Farmstand before it opened. Luminaries from the Philadelphia food community also visited to share their stories and expertise, including Jack Asher of Asher's Chocolates (Mike sold a food invention of his, Keystone Crunch, to Asher). Indeed, the regional history of chocolate manufacture was one of Mike's passions: you can read an earlier entry on this blog about a talk he gave on the subject here.

I don't have any video of our sessions at the Saturday Morning Breakfast Club, but when Mike was president of the Reading Terminal Market Merchants Association they briefly put together series called "Cooking IQ". Here's one where Mike interviews Tom Nicolosi of DiNic's on how he cooks his meat, and shows the inquisitive foodie that was Michael:

Signs of Spring

Beyond today's balmy temperatures there's another sign of spring: stores are stocking Easter candy. Here's the Zitner's selection at the Pennsylvania General Store at the Reading Terminal Market.

Of Donuts, Hoagies and Cold Cuts

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, before Starbucks and before Dunkin' Donuts, you could get a cup of coffee at the Horn & Hardart automats in Philadelphia and New York City. The last automat closed more than 20 years ago, and the once common high-tech eatery (for the times) has since been the subject of at least one museum show.

But you can still get the coffee.

The Pennsylvania General Store now stocks the H&H beans on its Reading Terminal Market shelves. Last time I checked they only offered the whole bean variety. H&H's sole blend, Liberty, is also packaged in a ground version.

More Time for Hoagies

Even though there are plenty of good hoagies in this town, one of my favorites remains those made by Salumeria, the cheese monger/Italian grocer at the RTM. Especially when I augment their house dressing with marinated artichokes on my prosciuitto or Italian hoagie.

Now, I can get them beyond lunch time. Earlier this year Salumeria extended its hours for hoagie-making until 5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday. Now, if only they would start making them before 11 a.m., I could eat one for breakfast.

Emulsified Meats. Yum!

In addition to sausages the new Wursthaus Schmitz has a nice selection of German style cold cuts. Most come from from Rieker's, the wurstgeschaft in the Far Northeast. I'm a sucker for the olive bologna or veal loaf. Also nice is the suelze, select bits of tongue and other "lesser" cuts suspended in aspic with piquant pickled carrots. If you'd like a purer rendition of tongue, walk over to L. Halteman; although there's still a little gelatine to hold it together, it's more tongue-meaty.

New Item From Sweetzel's

As autumn approaches you can always count on seeing Sweetzels ginger snaps and spice cookies on store shelves.

Last Saturday I noticed a variety new to me stocked at the Pennsylvania General Store in the Reading Terminal Market: Spiced Mini Cremes. Basically, smaller versions of the spice cookies sandwiched around a creme filling. On line they're selling for $2.29 for a 12-ounce box; I'm guessing they're the same price at the store.