Scrapple Scion Dies

Although gone for 30 years from the Reading Terminal Market, Joseph W. Srode Jr. was remembered as the owner of one of the market's original stalls. Strode, who died April 8 at age 83, was the third generation partner in Strode's Sausage & Scrapple, the West Chester family business that started in 1875

When the Strodes first started selling their products at the Reading Terminal in 1893, they were one of the few suppliers of pork products in the Philadelphia region and as a result had one of the earliest USDA inspection numbers — 71. Much of the popularity of scrapple in the Philadelphia region beyond the Pennsylvania German community can be attributed to the Strodes. They sold the West Chester business to the Daniel Weaver Company of Lebanon, which in turn was acquired by Godshall Quality Meats of Telford. (Not the same Godshall's at the RTM poultry vendor.)

Another Sign of Spring at Reading Terminal

About five thin stalks of ramps will set you back $3.99. This sure sign of spring was prominently displayed in front of the checkout lines at Iovine Brothers Produce, Reading Terminal Market.

Donut Debut at Reading Terminal

The Reading Terminal Market has needed a full-time donut stand for years, as I've regularly reminded market management at every opportunity since before starting writing this blog. The only time fresh donuts have been available has been during the Pennsylvania Dutch festival and other special events.

In few weeks I'll be getting my donuts. The Bieler family, which operates both Bieler's Bakery and AJ Pickle Patch, is reconfiguring the latter to add the fried treats. To make room, Alvin Bieler will be dropping the packaged, jarred and canned items now sold at AJ. The salads and barrel pickles will remain, and the stall will be renamed Bieler's Donuts and Salads.

Saturday was the last day for AJ. In coming week's the Bieler's will be reconfiguring the space and installing donut-making equipment and display cases.

To clear out the stock, on Saturday AJ was selling the canned and jarred items at $2 apiece: a nice savings considering they retail for $4-$6. I picked up some some pickled vegetables, tomato jam, grape jelly and red currant jelly.

I wouldn''t expect the Bielers to emulate Federal Donuts' exotic flavors. Plain and sugared, perhaps glazed or frosted, with cider donuts in season. Maybe some jelly or creme filled donuts, too. But if you want chicken, you'll have to settle for the rotisserie birds up the aisle at Dienner's -- or visit one of Federal's two shops.

Although Bieler's will no longer sell the canned and jarred items, a similar stock is carried by Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce. Another seller of similar goods (though tending to be international in origin rather than Lancaster Countian) at the market is Jonathan Best.

Otolith's Great (Frozen) Fish

It's not from the Gorton's fisherman, thank heavens. The frozen fish sold at some Philadelphia farmers' markets by Otolith Sustainable Seafood is among the finest fish -- fresh, frozen, dried, cured, whatever -- I've tasted.

This past Saturday I quick thawed (according to package instructions) a filet of King (a.k.a. Chinook) salmon purchased in early November from Otolith's stall at the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market. I cooked it about as simply as you can: hot cast iron pan, maybe a tablespoon or two of neutral vegetable oil (expensive olive oil would be wasted in this application), just salt and pepper as seasoning. The filet (which I cut into two six ounce portions) was a tad over an inch thick, so over the medium high flame with a hot pan it just took a little over 10 minutes to cook. I served it alongside a rice pilaf studded with raisins, pine nuts, gently sautéd onions and par-cooked diced carrot, seasoned with half a teaspoon each fresh ground cumin and cardamom seeds and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, plus salt and pepper.

The fish turned out succulent, beautifully colored with a deep salmon flavor. The leftover oil in the pan smelled fishy, but the fish didn't. She Who Must Be Obeyed, who detests "fishy" fish, devoured her portion. The crispy skin was a real treat: you could package this stuff and sell it next to the pork rinds at Wawa. If tuna is chicken of the sea, a good salmon is heritage pork.

Although some of the credit goes to the variety of salmon (Chinook is my favorite, closely followed by sockeye) the real reason for its deliciousness goes to the way it was caught, handled, frozen, shipped and stored.

Based on what I could divine from Otolith's website, it appears this fish was caught out of Sitka in Southeast Alaska in September. My guess is the fish was caught by trolling, in which the salmon are hooked and handled individually, rather than gathered with a seine or gillnet. The fish are headed and gutted onboard, iced, then brought ashore where they are quick frozen.

The care in handling is why frozen fish frequently can be better than fresh. That was certainly the case with the Chinook I ate this weekend: it was as good as any salmon I've ever had, including some meals in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest!

This is not a fish for the parsimonious. If I recall correctly, the filets are $23/pound. Still, that's a competitive price: it's what you'd pay for fresh Pacific Northwest Chinook at any qualify fishmonger in season.

In addition to Chinook, Otolith sells Sockeye, Coho and Pink salmon, halibut, rockfish, Pacific cod, sable (a.k.a. black cod), shrimp and King crab, all from Alaskan waters.

Otolith sells most Saturdays throughout the year at the Rittenhouse Square Farmers' Market.. I expect they'll be at Headhouse when it reopens the first Sunday in May. A few retailers also carry Otolith frozen seafoods, including Green Aisle Grocery in South Philly, and, in West Philly, Milk and Honey Market and Mariposa Coop.

High on Kwak

Doesn't the rabbit on this point-of-sale display look like a low-life drug pusher?

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.

OK Produce To Expand at Reading Terminal

Nanee's Kitchen in its new space, formerly Coastal Cave

Greengrocer OK Produce (formerly known as O.K. Lee) will expand into the space recently made available when Nanee's Kitchen moved within the Reading Terminal Market.

Although it will remain smaller than the market's behemoth produce vendor, Iovine Brothers,  the additional square footage will make OK's operation more efficient, as well as creating additional selling space

The agreement for OK to take over Nanee's old spot fills in the last remaining leaseable space at the market, according to Paul Steinke, the RTM's general manager. "It's a nice position to be in," he acknowledged.

More space could open up, however, if Downtown Cheese succeeds in lining up financing for a move it's been considering to the market's Piano Court, opposite Metropolitan Bakery and Golden Fish Market. Under that plan, Downtown Cheese would take over most, but not all, of the Piano Court seating area.

Of course, if Downtown Cheese stays put, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Steinke would turn some of the Piano Court into vendor space.

Border Springs Farm has won the market's approval for the design of its stall, to be located in the former Basic 4 space across from Godshall's and Franks-A-Lot. Owner Craig Rogers, who still has to obtain various city approvals, hopes to be open in six to eight weeks. Too bad the lamb purveyor won't be open in time for Easter.

Winter Doldrums

Besides my own personal inertia, one reason this blog hasn't been updated regularly has been the lack of excitement in what's available at the produce markets. It is, after all, late winter, with no local produce (except for what's coming out of hydroponic growers), and the opening of farmers' markets is about two months away.

Even the citrus fruit offerings haven't been inspiring.

And while I like greens, there's a limit to how much kale I want to eat. (Has anyone else notice what a "hot" food item kale as become this year?)

Still there is some interesting produce out there, so long as you're willing to open up your wallet and let the food miles pile up, especially for items coming in from Mexico and South America.

Iovine's Produce, for example, had some asparagus today. And the bagged red and green seedless grapes are nice and reasonably priced at $2.99 for a two-pound bag. Fresh chickpeas (garbanzos) in the shell remain on Iovine's shelves for $3.99/pound. Alas, frying peppers, which for the last three weeks have been priced at a bargain 79 cents a pound, have nearly doubled to $1.49. Green bell peppers, though, were 99 cents today.

Any decent sized orange will set you back 50 cents, though smaller ones can be had at three for a buck. Florida juicers are 4/$1. A dollar's worth of lemons (3) can probably be squeezed enough to generate enough juice for a lemon meringue pie (it did for me a few weeks ago).

I'm not a big egg eater, but the difference between what supermarkets sell and what's available at the Fair Food Farmstand is amazing. Fair Food's are considerably fresher, with deep orange yolks that hold their shape. Yes, they are pricier -- even Fair Food's non-organic eggs are $3.50/dozen -- but when you've got eggs this fresh and good available it's worth the premium. They made a rich lemon curd and pristine meringue for that pie.

Though still a bit dear, the price of broccoli rabe has eased a tad, much to the relief of Joey Nicolosi of Tommy DiNic's. Joey experimented with other greens, and especially liked the way Swiss chard worked with the sandwiches, but he's sticking with rabe and spinach as the offered greens.

Rick Steaks Tries Again

Rick Olivieri is trying a third new location for his Rick's Steaks business after flailing at two others following eviction from the Reading Terminal Market,

A Chester County newspaper reports that In April Olivieri is due to open at a new market/food court in suburban Kennett Square close to the mushroom farms that some non-purists like to put atop their cheesesteaks.

Initially Rick landed at the food court at the Bellevue. When that didn't work out he moved to Liberty Place. That, too, came to an end.

Will the third attempt at reestablishing his brand work?

Here's the story from the Daily Local News.

Lamb Man at Reading Terminal Market

Craig Rogers, Shepherd

Craig Rogers, whose business card identifies him as "Shepherd", is rarin' to go with his forthcoming Reading Terminal Market stall. Last Saturday he was behind the counter with future staffers for his Border Springs Farm retail outlet.

The necessities of dealing with designers and architects as well as city building and health officialdom means it will be a while before the first little lamb part is exchanged for cash at the stall, located where the Basic Four vegetarian lunch vendor had held court.

Rogers raises two types of sheep: Katahdin and Texel. Katahdin is a "hair" sheep which sheds its wool, which makes the breed ideal for warmer climates. Texel is a breed which produces excellent wool. Both, however, offer good, lean meat yields.

Border Springs' RTM outpost will sell lamb for cooking at home as well as prepared lamb dishes, including sausages. Lamb bacon will also be available, Rogers said.

The stall is being designed by the same firm responsible for Zahav restaurant, where owner/chef Michael Solomonov's lamb shoulder banquet is likely to have its centerpiece originate at Border Springs' pastures.

Spanish Mackerel Returns

"A fish of high quality."

That's how Alan Davidson describes the Spanish mackerel in his indispensible North Atlantic Seafood. A larger cousin to the Atlantic or Boston Mackerel, both offer a meaty, clean-tasting sign that spring cannot be far off.

But what to make of the price?

Last Saturday at the Reading Terminal Market the price was $1.99 a pound at John Yi. Today's price at Whole Foods (Callowhill and 20th) was $4.99. I could see no difference, visually, in the quality of the fish. And I'll be willing to wager that John Yi has a higher turnover of the variety than Whole Foods, so the former's is bound to be fresher.

Because of its size, the whole fish is better baked than sautéed, though I've done the latter with fillets.

Another piscatorial sign that spring is nigh at John Yi's: roe and buck shad. Undoubtedly from Florida. The local Delaware River run is usually in May.

Waiting for Breakfast

I'm not an egg person for breakfast. But I love grilled cheese and I love sausage. Which means I can't wait until two of the newest lunch stands at the Reading Terminal Market start offering food for the barely-awake set.

Valley Shepherd Creamery hopes to open their panini machines for breakfast sometime in the near future, but not quite yet. Right now you can't get a grilled cheese until 11 a.m.

Same goes for Wursthaus Schmitz. I'm told their sausage sandwiches are quite tasty, but I haven't been by at lunchtime yet. Still, I think bratwurst on a roll is a great wake-me-upper.

A third new lunch vendor, Keven Parker's Soul Food Café, has a waffle maker, but that's for chicken and waffles at lunch.

Speaking of breakfast, I regularly buy whole bean mocha java from Old City Coffee and enjoy it most mornings at home. But as much as I enjoy it, and the coffee Old City brews on premises, my fav coffee for sipping on site at the RTM is the java from Flying Monkey Bakery. IIRC, it comes from Vermont Artisan Coffee. Hardly local. But then again, when's the last time you saw a coffee plantation in southeastern Pennsylvania or South Jersey?

Eating Place Owner in Coma

Samuel “Junior” Esh, longtime owner-operator of Dutch Eating Place and Lancaster County Dairy, was seriously hurt in a fall last Sunday while playing football with his church youth group, Reading Terminal Market General Manager Paul Steinke reported earlier this week.

Esh hit his head hard on a concrete floor and is hospitalized with a serious head injury at Lancaster General Hospital. Doctors performed surgery on Monday afternoon to relieve swelling in his brain.

"Reports are that it went well.  We are told that he will remain in an induced coma for the next 8 days to give his brain time to heal," wrote Steinke.

You can view a You Tube video of Junior preparing home fries here.

Broccoli Rabe Crisis - Part 2

Broccoli rabe can be had, but it's expensive. The wholesale price has nearly doubled, ranging from $50 to nearly $70 for a 20-pound case; it's usually about $32-35, reports Jimmy Iovine of Iovine Brothers Produce in the Reading Terminal Market. He isn't carrying it at all right now, because the wholesale price translates to a retail price of $3.99-$4.99 a bunch. It usually retails for $1.99-$2.99.

Joe Nicolosi of Dinic's at said he couldn't obtain rabe at all for a day or two, and now he's paying upwards of $65 a case. Joe tried red Swiss chard as a substitute, which he said worked well, though it's more sweet than the slightly bitter rabe. But since spinach is also dear these days, along with other vegetable crops from Southern California's Imperial Valley and Arizona growing areas, the chard may have to do. Although he hasn't tried it yet, Joe is thinking about cooking chopped Brussels sprouts with pancetta as another roast pork topping alternative.

Italian To Mexican

For a few decades now, some of South Philadelphia's Italian neighborhoods have been recolonized by other ethnic groups. Mexicans have staked their claim to a number of areas, as a visit to the blocks of Ninth Street south of Washington will attest.

Over at 8th and Watkins, a long-time Italian bakery is trying to span both worlds.

Las Rosas bills itself as both Mexican and Italian. I tried a sesame-seeded Italian bread (long style) and enjoyed it. The Las Rosas loaf is on the light side, more like Sarcone's than Frangelli's, with a nicely crackly crust. I also sampled one of the Mexican pastries and savored that as well: a small sweet pastry filled with guava paste.

Most recently the shop was DiGiampietro Bakery, a short-lived try by Danny DiGiampietro in the business. Danny, who still owns the building, went back to his day job of jobbing Sarcone's breads to sandwich shops like DiNic's. His bakery, in addition to making very fine hoagie and steak rolls, did a very nice pizza, too. Before Danny took over, it had been an Italian bakery under different ownership for decades.

Broccoli Rabe Crisis!

Greens in better days at Dinics

"SUPPLIES VERY LIGHT. DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY."

That's how the U.S. Department or Agriculture describes the drought-ravaged market for broccoli and broccoli rabe in the winter growing areas of Southern California and Arizona. The bitter green adorns many Italian-style roast pork sandwiches in Philadelphia.

It's hardly available at any price, and is likely to stay that way for four or five weeks, Iovine Brothers Produce was told by its primary supplier.

And that puts purveyors of the sandwich like Joe Nicolosi who operates Tommy Dinics at the Reading Terminal Market with his father in a quandry. Should he use another green, like Swiss chard? Or perhaps Chinese greens? Or maybe just forget about it until supplies in reasonable quantities resume.

With crowds expected to swamp Dinics beginning next weekend with the opening of the Philadelphia Auto Show across the street at the Convention Center, Dinics doesn't want to disappoint its cutomers. But there may be no choice.

Creamery, Soul Fooder To Open This Coming Week

Staff at Valley Shepherd Creamery fits in some training Saturday before stall's opening

Eran Wajswol and Jamie Png

KeVen Parker's Soul Food Café will be serving up food starting Monday in the former Delilah's space at the Reading Terminal Market. Two days later Valley Shepherd Creamery plans to begin selling cheese, cheese sandwiches and accompaniments.

Parker, proprietor of Miss Tootsie's on South Street (he can't use that name at the RTM because Marion Iovine D'Ambrosio already has a claim on Tootsie's for her salad bar), built the stall in record time. There's still more work to be done, but he told RTM General Manager Paul Steinke he'd be open Monday. That should give him enough time to work out at least some of the kinks before the auto show crowds descend next weekend.

Both Parker and Valley Shepherd owner Eran Wajswol received their certifications this past week from the city health department.

Valley Shepherd won't begin cheese-making operations at the stall for another week or so, according to Wajswol's on-site cheese-maker, Jamie Png. But the full range of cheeses made at the creamery in Long Valley, N.J., will be available, along with paninis. Helter Skelter, a raclette-like cheese seen at the bottom right of the photo of Wajswol and Png, will serve as the base for three of the sandwiches.

More Lambs Come To Market

Vegetarian Stall Gives Way to Red Meat

Valley Shepherd added Krispy Kreme-like
 neon sign above its cheese-making room

 

There's an ovine outbreak at the Reading Terminal Market.

In addition to the soon-to-open Valley Shepherd Creamery in newly created Avenue D retail space, a southwestern Virginian sheep meat and wool operation will take over the space vacated by the Basic 4 vegetarian lunch counter.

Border Springs Farm will set up shop selling fresh and frozen lamb as well as prepared lamb-based foods (sausage, shepherd's pie, etc.). Owner Craig Rogers operates a similar stall at Union Market in Washington, D.C., but primarily sells meat to restaurants. The farm is located about halfway between Roanoke, Virginia, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The Philadelphia store will allow Rogers to expand his retail presence and extend his restaurant-supply business into the Philadelphia market.

Two existing butchers at the market -- Charles Giunta of Giunta's Prime Shop and his brother Martin of Martin's Quality Meats -- offer good lamb selection, including three different types of chops, as well as leg, neck and breast cuts. They primarily use domestic sources for lamb, whereas supermarkets use both U.S. and Australian/New Zealand meats. The Fair Food Farmstand sells lamb from producers in both eastern and western Pennsylvania.

2013: More Changes at Reading Terminal Market

Tile art promotes one of the milk sources for Valley Shepherd Creamery

Valley Shepherd Creamery plans on opening its retail cheese and panini shop early in the New Year, reports Paul Steinke, general manager of the Reading Terminal Market.

In late fall the creamery installed the tile art pictured above. The tiles were manufactured in Bucks County at the former Mercer tile works.

Expect construction to begin soon after the New Year arrives on one relocated stall and a new vendor at the Reading Terminal Market.

Nanee's Kitchen, purveyor of samosas and other South Asian fare, is finishing up details with its contractor so it can begin work on revamping the former Coastal Cave space. In addition to continuing to sell hot items for RTM lunchers, they plan to add some grocery items.

KeVen Parker will be working on his soul food restaurant, carrying on the tradition established in the same spot by Delilah Winder.

A bit further into the future will be the move of Downtown Cheese to what is now the Piano Court.

No announcement yet on what will go into the space formerly occupied by Basic 4 Vegetarian Café. But think meat.

City Grinch Steals Salmon Seller's Christmas

Erik Torp

The city's Department of Public Health was the Grinch that stole Christmas for one retailer at the Reading Terminal market this past week. It shut down Taste of Norway, which since September had been selling smoked Norwegian Atlantic and steelhead salmon from a daystall located in the former Coastal Cave space.

Erik Torp, one of the two entrepreneurs behind the business, said the health inspector was "just doing his job" and couldn't have been nicer in carrying out his duties. But the shut down on Thursday couldn't have come at a worse time: the height of the Christmas and New Year's food shopping season.

For now you can still purchase the half-pound packages of smoked Norwegian Atlantic and steelhead salmon at Downtown Cheese where proprietor Jack Morgan has, at least temporarily, taken on the line. And at $10 for a half-pound package, it's a bargain for a quality product.

Giving out free samples of salmon is what first attracted the health inspector's attention, but the basic reason for the shut down is that the business didn't have a retail food establishment license. Torp has no problem paying the fee, but it could take months to obtain one, he said.

"We look on this as a temporary setback," said Torp, who serves as Norway's honorary consul in Philadelphia, where he owns and operates a shipping brokerage as his main business.

"Our supplier in Norway is very happy with the exposure their product is getting, and the Reading Terminal Market is a unique place to be," he said. For that reason Torp hopes to reopen in the space Nanee's Kitchen will be vacating when the South Asian eatery moves to the Coastal Cave space. This time, with a retail food license.

Looking even further into the future Torp said he'd love to sell salmon sandwiches. But that would involve even more certifications from the city.