Ted Qualli, deputy communications director on the mayor's staff, finally responded today to my inquiry regarding the rumors that Mayor Street is opposed to continuation of Sunday hours at the Reading Terminal Market. Here's what he said:

"The mayor supports the Sunday hours."

End of story (I hope). Of course, the Sunday hours were established as a "test", so it's yet to be determined if they will be made permanent by market management.

Le Bus moved into its new quarters last week, opposite Bassett's Ice Cream.

Work progressing on Hershel's East Side Deli, but as of this past weekend opening is still a bit off. It would be nice to see it in business before New Year's.

Cactus (prickly) pears were back at OK Lee; deep, dark purple specimens which made great margaritas. Figure one fruit (79 cents) yields enough pulp/juice for two margaritas if you don't skimp on the booze.

Benuel Kaufman had Arkansas Black apples in stock last weekend. This hybrid is a great storage keeper.

After one message and three telephone conversations with underlings since last weekend, I've yet to hear from the mayor's communications director about the reports regarding the mayor's position on Sunday openings at the Reading Terminal Market.

As noted earlier, some merchants report Mayor Street is opposed to continuation of Sunday hours at the Reading Terminal Market, which were introduced earlier this fall as a "test" through the end of the year.

There could be any number of different reasons for the failure of the mayor's office to respond, not all of them nefarious:

• It simply could have slipped through the cracks. (Unlikely, given my four phone calls since last weekend, but still possible.)

• The communications director hasn't been able to discuss it with the mayor or other appropriate source in the office. (Also unlikely; if a political/government press officer isn't conferring with his/her client daily, he/she isn't doing their job.)

• They want to blow me off simply because my blog and eGullet aren't considered significant. (More likely than the previous two possibilities -- and who's to say such an assumption isn't correct )

• The mayor doesn't have a position. (Certainly possible, but there's no reason not to communicate that. If he wanted to hedge, the mayor's spokesperson could simply say: "As RTM management indicated, this is an experiment, so we'll let the experiment run its course and allow RTM management to assess the experiment rather than prejudge it.")

Of course, there is at least one other possibility, one that, at this point in time, I think the most likely: the mayor does have a position, but wishes not to communicate it at this time.

As further update to my initial report, two different sources at the RTM have told me they have heard the reports of the mayor's opposition to continued Sunday openings. One source was at a loss to pin down the origin of the rumor; the other thought it originated with a member of the Reading Terminal Market Corporation's board.

FWIW, when the Sunday opening proposal was presented to the RTMC board, the one representative directly appointed by the mayor as his representative, Peter Iacovoni, voted in favor of the experiment.

The Reading Terminal Market merchants who have been open on Sundays are, by and large, pleased with the results. Some are grateful, because the additional sales are helping to overcome the rent increases under the new leases.

But now, some merchants fear the Sunday experiment is threatened. They hear that Mayor Street does not like the idea of Sunday openings and may act, through his representatives on the Reading Terminal Market Corporation Board, to prevent making Sunday openings permanent.

I've got a call into the mayor's office to confirm these reports and will report once they get back to me.

More than half of the non-Amish merchants have been participating in the Sunday openings, and traffic has been growing. Last Sunday more than 15,000 visited, less than a normal Saturday but pretty close to the weekday average.

Although the overwhelming sentiment of non-Amish merchants is supportive of Sunday hours, it would be disingenuous to suggest that view is universal. A number of merchants understandably enjoy having their Sundays free for church, family or other non-mercantile endeavors. The issue, though, is this point of view may be forced upon those who do not share it. Market management has made it clear Sunday openings are strictly voluntary.

A tower of collard greens reaching toward the rafters, lovingly built by the staff at Iovine Brothers Produce prior to opening today, was decimated by mid-morning into a pile of rubble. Collards are popular for Thanksgiving, and these exemplary greens were snatched up fast. But don't worry, there are plenty of crates weighing down the pallets in storage, so there will be plenty if you show up any day prior to Thanksgiving.

Hormone-free, natural turkeys are very poplar this season. Even Martin's Quality Meats & Sausage had a case filled with the au naturel birds.

Martin's brother, Charles Giunta of Giunta's Prime Shop appears to be doing just fine with his new store. Last week I picked up some veal loin chops and broiled them simply. Delicious flavor, though if you prefer the unnaturally-raised "white veal" you'd be disappointed since the natural, humanely-raised product comes from slightly older animals which have been allowed to roam, hence, their muscles are more developed and meat is firmer, though tastier.

A new pie maker appeared today: Wooden Spoon Bakery. She's a home baker. I tasted a sample of the apple and it was very nice with a buttery crust.

One of the better fish bargains today over at John Yi's was the haddock filets, at $5.99/pound. Once home I took some fish stock out of the freezer, put some of Cope's Dried Corn (available at Pennsylvania General Store, Benuel Kaufman's and most local supermarkets) in milk, and later today plan to make some fish chowder. Black sea bass looked good and nicely priced at $3.99/pound for whole fish. Dry scallops also a relative bargain at $11.99/pound (they were two bucks more at Wegman's yesterday).

Didn't spy any cactus pears at OK Lee's today. I'm going to keep checking.

L. Halteman continues to have the largest variety of apples. Local Barlett pears starting to look a little long in the tooth. Benuel Kaufman says he'll start selling Arkansas Blacks next week. This variety is one of the best storage apples available; buy them now, put them in your fridge's crisper and you'll still have sweet, crispy apples in February. Benuel continues to be well stocked with preservative-free cider.

Outside of the apple-smoked bacon I bought two weeks ago (excellent), I made my first major meat purchase at Giunta's Prime Shop today: a chuck roast, just under three pounds, which I'm going to slice and use in a carbonnades flammandes. I'll let you know the results. (I picked up some unsmoked salt pork belly from Dutch Country Meats to use as a fat source and flavor it.)

Le Bus begins its move to the new location (opposite Bassett's Ice Cream) next weekend and figures on opening for business there sometime the following week. Work to convert the former Spataro's space to Hershel's East Side Deli should pick up this week, once the tile arrives to place on the newly-installed walls.

Add L. Halteman to the purveyor's who will be offering non-factory farm turkey this season. Also, Giunta's has Eberly's capons, which are surgically rather than chemically castrated; it's a perfect roasting bird, especially for those who favor the juicy white meat these big-breasted birds produce.

Down Home Diner has added a full roster of soups now that the cooler weather has arrived. Six soups were on the menu this Saturday: seafood gumbo, tomato bisque, chicken noodle, potato leek, black eye pea, and beef-barley. The signboard says they are all homemade.

Also a sure sign that summer (and gin and tonic season) is over: the price of limes and lemons both 10 for a buck at Iovine Brothers. And yellow and orange bell peppers also a bargain at 99-cents a pound, same price as green peppers; reds were $2.99. Seedless cucumbers also a relative bargain, two for a buck. California seedless grapes a good deal: two-pound clamshell for $1.49.

Not too much sign of visible construction at Hershel's East Side Deli yet. Spataro's seems to be settled in nicely at their new location. Flying Monkey added an attractive awning a couple of weeks ago, brightening the look of center court.

I wanted to try a ham steak from Giunta's Prime Shop, but so far they only have the spiral cut hams. So, instead I picked up a ham steak at Harry Ochs for the first time. An excellent slice of ham, better than any other I've purchased at the RTM since Moyers left, and, indeed, it at least matched Moyers in flavor and texture. Price was $6.99/pound, iirc, but well worth the premium.

Giunta's does have a nice selection of fowl, including Eberly's chicken. The ducks are on my radar for purchase later this fall.

What was missing from the produce vendors, imho, are baking apples. Sure, there are varieties available that can be baked in pies, cobblers or by themselves with success (the Jonathons, Winesaps and Romes come to mind), but it would be nice to see some traditional tart baking apples available, like Rhode Island Greenings, Northern Spy, or one of the sweeter Pippins.

Dedication of the restored neon sign set for Thursday, Nov. 9, 4 p.m. at the corner of 12th and Harry Ochs Way (Filbert Street). It used to hang on the RTM Headhouse at the corner of 12th and Market. Philadelphia architect Robert Venturi will be keynote speaker.

Lots of good stuff at Livengood's today, including saffron. Mrs. Livengood (above) even brought in saffron flowers (a variety of crocus). She suggested adding a thread or two to a pot of potatoes just a minute or so before they are done boiling to give them a lovely color and hint of saffron flavor. Livengood's still had a few raspberries; Earl said he was surprised the frost didn't get them, but it was a light frost. They are delicious. In addition to the berries, I picked up some exceedingly fresh celery and what I assume is about the last of the season's tomatoes. Lots of good fall veggies at Livengood's, along with green and concord grapes.

Stopped to look over Giunta's Natural & Prime Meats, which just opened this week. Impressive looking meats, reasonably priced. The chickens are Bell & Evans, an excellent quality bird (the same brand sold at Whole Foods under their own name). The beef and pork comes from a producer in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Vande Rose Farms. The producer also does hams; this week Giunta's only had spiral cuts, but I'll be on the lookout for steaks. Vande Rose's materials say they raise Duroc hots, "a 175-year-old pure breed known for its juicy and flavorful meat", and hereford beef.

Construction has started on Hershel's deli in the former Spataro's space. No sign of a start yet on the new stall for Le Bus.

At least a couple more vendors will be joining the Sunday opening program, including Tommy DiNic's. So, while you may not be able to buy a beer while watching the Eagles game at center court, at least you can get your sammie. Last week the only sandwich places open were Salumeria and Bassett's Turkey. The latter had very large lines last Sunday. Vinnie Iovine said that while last Sunday was slower than any other day of the week, it was still well worth opening. This week will be a fairer test: no big convention, no event like the Harvest Festival, and competition from the Eagles. Here's how Bassett's Turkey looked last Sunday:

Nearly Saturday-sized crowds at the Reading Terminal Market's first "test" Sunday for 2006. Fair selection of food purveyors open, as well as sellers of other wares and food-for-on-premises-consumption. RTM Manager Paul Steinke said five merchants opened who did not earlier indicate they would be, including the Thai food stand. Jim Iovine hopes that, based on how busy the market was today, some merchants who stayed closed but were "on the edge" of opening will be next Sunday.

Longest line around noontime was at Bassett's Turkey. Other only places open selling sandwiches were Salumeria and the Down Home Diner.

Now, if only the Beer Garden could be open and put in a projection TV for Eagles games!

Good turnout today might have been influenced by the Harvest Festival, which included food stands out on Harry Ochs Way (Filbert Street) and free tractor-pulled hayrides around the block. There is a fair-sized meeting starting tomorrow at the Convention Center which might have made the Sunday undertaking more profitable: the National Funeral Directors Association, which hasn't met in Philadelphia since 1950.

The fee per car Parkway charges the RTM Merchants Association for customer parking in the garage goes up by 25 cents January 1 (to $5.50 from $5.25). Customers who spend $10 at the RTM are charged $2 for two hours, so the merchants provide a significant subsidy for shoppers. The association has to figure out whether to hold steady on what the customers pay or increase it; and because Parkway's machines aren't good in providing coin change, the merchants may consider raising the amount customers pay by an even dollar, which would also lessen their subsidy.

As expected, Spataro's made the move to its new location this week, directly opposite Tommy DiNic's. Under their new lease Spataro's has added cheesesteaks to the menu, so Rick's Steaks now has a direct competitor.

Speaking of new leases, they incorporate a new clause, which Steinke says will be enforced, requiring merchants to be open for business and prepared to serve customers until the official 6 p.m. closing time. All too many merchants start shutting down and cleaning up at 4-4:30 p.m. It's probably asking too much for them to stay open until 7 p.m. so those who have to stay in the office late can stop by and pick up something to eat at home, but that's definitely on my wish list.

This past Thursday I picked up those fall raspberries at the Fairmount Market from Earl Livengood. They were spectacular (I served them alongside the chocolate buttercream topped chocolate cupcakes from Flying Monkey). The fall crop had lots of more flavor than the summer berries. If he has them Tuesday at South Street, don't hesitate.

I know it's October, but would you believe Earl Livengood featured raspberries this past Saturday?

The price of limes (but not lemons) dropped considerably. Over at O.K. Lee's, a bag of 7 to 10 went for $1 on Saturday; Iovine Brothers was selling them loose at six for a buck. Also at Iovine: Hass avocados $1 each, fresh peanuts in the shell back at $2.49. Bell pepper survey: greens and reds 99-cents/pound, oranges and yellows $3.99.

Mix-and-match: nine varieties of apples at L. Halteman's, all priced at 99-cents a pound. Kaufman's featured slightly pricier Macouns and Winesaps; I found the Macouns lacked their usual snap. Plenty of unpasteurized cider available when I stopped by about 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

On the fish front, headless sardines at Golden $3.99, the same price as headless smelts. Over at John Yi's a fish I haven't seen in a while, bonita; it was prided at $2.50 each for whole fish. Spanish mackeral filets $3.99. King salmon $13.99. Soft shell crabs still around at $4 apiece (slightly pricer per at Golden, but available at that price if you buy five).

Spataro's was scheduled to make the move to its new location today, opposite Tommy DiNic's. (On Saturday they were hanging the new menu signboard.) That clears the way for Hershel's Deli to begin construction at the old Spataro's stand, with the goal of a November opening.

In other moves, Giunta's Meats aims to open this Saturday; no decision yet on whether it will be open on Sundays. LeBus is scheduled to start work this week on its new stall.

This Sunday marks the first Sunday opening of the "test" this year. As of Saturday about three dozen merchants had signed on. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This coming weekend also marks a two-day Harvest Festival, including the Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin contest.

There seems to have been an improvement in the parking rates at the Parkway garage across 12th street. With the RTM discount ($10 purchase), the rates for time beyond two hours have gone down. In the past, if you stayed past the two hours for two bucks max the rates kicked up into the stratosphere. Now their a bit more reasonable: $6.50 for up to 2-1/2 hours, $11 for up to three hours. If I recall correctly, in the past the rate shot up to the $20 range if you stayed beyond two hours.

The RTM's Sunday hours start Oct. 15. So far, nearly three dozen vendors have signed on for the Sunday openings this fall.

Among the fresh food purveyors, all three fresh fish stalls, Iovines and Harry Ochs, and Fair Food Farmstand will participate, as expected. Among the missing (not counting the Pennsylvania Dutch stands, of course) are O.K. Lee Produce, Godshall's Poultry, Coastal Cave, Downtown Cheese, and Martin's Quality Meat.

The initial Sunday is coincident with the RTM's annual Harvest Festival, which will be held that Saturday and Sunday. Hay rides around the block for the kids, extra goodies for the foodies on Filbert Street (Harry Ochs Way), which will be closed to vehicular traffic, other than hay trailers.

Every year at this time, I buy a couple pawpaws from a Earl Livengood at the Reading Terminal Market. And each year, eating them fresh, I commit myself to making something else out of them. Today, I finally did: ice cream.

I used a cooked base, adding about a cup and a half of strained pawpaws (about five pawpaws) and a scant teaspoon of vanilla, to half a quart each of whole milk and half-and-half (not ultra-pasteurized), in addition to the sugar (just shy of a full cup) and two eggs. (I didn't go for a true French base, that would have been much too rich for the fruit, but I did want a little more richness than a Philadelphia-style recipe usually produces.)

Wow! It's aging in the fridge's freezer now, but it was superb right out of the ice cream freezer. The pawpaw flavor came right through: banana-like, but with a subtle acid accent, just a little spicy. Many recipes call for adding a little lemon juice and/or substantial quantities of orange juice; totally unnecessary.

The key, as in all fruit ice creams, is to make sure the fruit is absolutely perfectly ripe. In the case of pawpaws, that means they will have considerable brown patches on the thin green skin. You'll know they're ready when you walk into the kitchen from the out of doors and are delighted by the tropical fruity scent -- all the more incredible given that pawpaws (the largest native American fruit) grow in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states as well as the South. Each fruit has about a dozen or more rather large black seeds, but it's easy to separate the flesh from the seeds with an implement (I used the back of a wooden spoon) to mash the pulp through the strainer.

PS: Don't confuse these pawpaws, Asimina triloba, with the tropical fruit sometimes called pawpaw, which is another name for the papaya.

New t-shirts at the Down Home Diner for sale. One bright red shirt is emblazoned with: "I [heart] Bacon", another with "Eat More Scrapple".

To accompany some pork, apple cider is ideal. Benuel Kaufman has the unpasteurized, unfiltered variety. I bought a quart today for $2.25. If you've never had it (and don't have a serious immune system disorder), get yourself some. It's a rare seasonal treat.

A fish I've rarely seen before at the RTM: Yellow Pike, $14.99/pound for filets at John Yi's. They also had halibut filet on special at $10.99.

O.K. Lee had a good deal on limes, a bag of about eight for 99 cents, and bags of about half a dozen lemons at the same price. (Iovine's was selling the limes at 5 for a buck, lemons 3 for a buck.) Other good deals at O.K. Lee included mixed colored peppers (red, green,yellow) at 99 cents for a two-pound bag, 79 cents for all greens. Lancaster County Bartlett pears, 99 cents for a 1-1/2 pound bag. Red cabbage, 39 cents.

Pepper survey at Iovine Brothers: Reds and Greens 99 cents, Oranges and Yellows $3.99. About six varieties of eggplants, with prices at 79 cents for the local purples and going up from there. Hass avocadoes back down to a dollar apiece. The chantarelles looked particularly good this morning, but as pricey as ever at $34.99. Small black radishes, $2.49/pound.

Would you believe pumpkin pie flavored coffee? UGH! But Spice Terminal had it among its flavored coffees today.

More cases delivered and partially installed at the new Giunta's butcher shop; they still have a long way to go if they intend to open this month.

A sure sign of fall: apple cider. Benuel Kaufman says he'll have it starting this Thursday at his Reading Terminal Market stall.

I ate that big apple Sam Consylman sold me last Thursday. Definitely a Delicious on steroids, though with more flavor and slightly less sugar that those mealy Washington State examples. If I was going to give an apple to a teacher, this would be the one.

Next Monday at the market will be the "Local Food Expo," sponsored by the Fair Food Project. A similar event was held last spring for the restaurant and food supply industry, but this fall's event will be open to the public on Sept. 25 to 4 to 6 p.m., giving us mere consumers a chance to meet more than 20 family farmers and food producers from the region, showing and offering samples of the goods they offer.

On this week's RTM agenda (Thursday, Sept. 21), the monthly "Producers Corner" program. "Indian Summer" is the theme with samples to taste of tomato and corn salad, peach cobblers, plum tarts and sangria.

Some of the new cases are ready to be installed at Charlie Giunta's new natural meat store. There's a lot of work to be accomplish quickly if he's to make his goal of opening before the end of the month.

No way will Hershel's deli be open before the Jewish high holydays; although design work is complete the vendor still needs permits from the city's Health and L&I departments. Until that happens, Spataro's stays put. LeBus, however, figures on beginning construction of its new stand this month.

Blackberries were briefly availble at Benuel Kaufman's this past Saturday morning ($2.95 per half pint), but by the time I left the market at 11:15 they were gone. That's probably it for the season. Lots of Barlett pears at $1.49/pound. White peaches and green and colored bell peppers sold for $1.99, prune plums for $2/pint.

Over at Iovine Brothers, local green peppers featured at 50 cents/pound, but all the colored varieties (none local) priced at $3.99. Local Gala apples also two pounds for a buck, local eggplant 79-cents a pound. Another sign of autumn, pomegranites $1.99 apiece. Hass avocados $1.99 (vs. $1.49 at O.K. Lee). Black figs $2.99/pint, red and green seedless grapes 99-cents, red globe, black seedless and muscatine grapes $1.99. Looking at my receipt I noticed that it offerd a 10 percent discount at the Down Home Diner; Jimmy Iovine said he's had that offer for months.

Also offered at O.K. Lee, orange and yellow cauliflower at 99-cents a head. Excellent cactus pears still 79 cents apiece.

The Fairmount market was brimming with lots of good things today, as well as a new (to me) vendor, Cressley's Greenhouses and Produce Farm. I'll let these photos speak to some of the variety:

Earl Livengood's vegetables
Cressley's tomatoes, eggplants, peppers
Sam Consylman and his apples

In addition to Brandywine and German stripped tomatoes, I picked up corn, peaches, canteloupes and, a special treat, apples from Sam Conslyman's tree. The smaller of the apples held by Sam is most likely a winesap relative. I ate a small one immediately after bring it home, and it was crisp and flavorful, sweet enough but not overpowering. The other apple appears to be a relative of Delicious, either a forebear or a cousin; it's huge, but I haven't tasted it yet.

Sam took a walk by his local waterway near Lancaster this morning to check on the Paw Paw trees. He spotted the first fruit to drop, though it still wasn't quite ready. (Paw Paws are harvested after they drop; the art is to gather them before any critters do.) He expects they'll be peaking in 2 to 3 weeks.

Late season raspberries much in evidence. Best deal was at Iovine Brothers, $3.99/pint for what appear to be locally grown berries. Over at Fair Food Farmstand a half pint sold for that amount. Earl Livengood also had some. Blackberries $6/pint or $3.75/half-pint at Fair Food, $4.95/pint at Benuel Kaufman's. Lima beans, shelled or not, plentiful at Livengood's, Kaufman's and L. Halteman's.

Benuel Kaufman continued to have donut peaches at $4.99/pound or $6.96/quart, nectarines and yellow peaches were $1.99/$3.95. On the plum front, prune plums $2/pint, Santa Rose $2.50. Nice variety of cherry and pear-shaped tomatoes, $3.95/pint. (Photo at right)

Over at L. Halteman there were all types of plums as well as peaches and pears for $1.89/pound (a dime cheaper if you buy three pounds). Also, another sign of autumn: acorn squash, 59-cents. Also, Bartlett pears and three different types of apples: ginger gold, sansa, "tydomen". The last one is actually Tydeman's Red, a crispy, juicy McIntosh type apple. Sansa is a cross between Gala and Akane, slightly more acidic than a Gala. Ginger gold is a Golden Delicious-Albermarle Pippin cross originally found on Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

Another good deal at Iovine's: dollar bags, weighing about two pounds, of mixed red and green U.S. seedless grapes (presumably from California). Local peaches 79 cents. Figs $2.99 pint. Bell pepper survey: local greens 79 cents, non-local reds $1.99, oranges and yellows $3.99. (For colored peppers, you'll get fresher peppers at one of the RTM farmstand vendors.

Found at this afternoon's Fairmount market: summer and fall. At Earl Livengood's concord grapes (photo right) could be found next to peaches. Also for sale, carrots and tomatoes (photo below right). Another harbinger of autumn: celery and celeriac. The celery was incredibly fragrant and sold with full roots attached with thin stalks and profuse leaves ($2.50 for a small bunch). I'll be chopping them up to go into salmon salad tomorrow.


Today's Fairmount market had four different produce vendors. I also purchased corn, yellow pear tomatoes, individual fruit pies, cucumber, garlic, blackberries ($3.50/pint). I restrained myself from overbuying, because the peaches and yellow plums and brandywine tomatoes looked good, too, but I've still got some at home. I'll wait 'til I hit the RTM Saturday.

It's been a while since my last full report, so there's a bunch to catch up on:

John Lohac of Green Valley Dairy is back from three weeks in France. He spent two of the weeks on a family vacation in Provence, but the other week was in Meaux where he learned more about making brie. He'll be putting those techniques to work soon, so expect some interesting cheese to emerge. As it is John thinks his Noble, which is a cheddar, tastes like French Comte; while both cheeses are pressed, cheddar's curd is cut (cheddared). In addition to hawking his cheese on Saturdays across from Golden Seafood, Green Valley Dairy cheese can be found at the Fair Food Farmstand.

The Reading Terminal Market will inaugurate a new ad campaign next month under the theme "Make It Your Market." Samples of the campaign can be seen on the wall behind Salad Express and across from Foster's. The current campaign utilizing old-fashioned produce illustrations will be largely abandoned.

O.K. Lee Produce and Earl Livengood have cut a deal where Livengood has an acre under contract to OKL. The deal enables OKL to sell some produce under Pennsylvania's WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, which provides additional food subsidies for low-income, nutritionally at risk pregnant, breast-feeding and certain postpartum women, infants and childen up to age five beyond the normal WIC program.

Stopped by the Down Home Diner for the first time in a while and enjoyed perfectly done peach and blueberry pancakes with a side of scrapple and that 200-mile coffee. Jack McDavid is easing out of the Down Home Diner operation and, for all intents and purposes, it's now being run by a young man whose name I failed to remember. But he's doing a great job. He's been tweaking the menu (Philadelphia cheesesteak omelet added), but it's the same approach and quality and largely the same staff, including in the kitchen. There are also card inserts on the tables explaining what scrapple is (and isn't) and the wonders of thick cut, high quality bacon. If you haven't been to the Down Home Diner in while, treat yourself and stop by.

Charlie Giunta is moving ahead on his natural meat store. As of last Saturday, all the old cases from the former A.A. Halteman's were gone and work was about ready to start on roughing out the space in the aisle between Iovine Brothers and L. Halteman. Also as of last weekend, work had yet to begin on moving Spataro's. The reason: continuing permitting and equipment delays for the Jewish style deli that will go into Spataro's space. Spataro won't be moving until the deli is ready to begin work.

Now, onto the pricing...

Over at Iovine's Saturday. California strawberries continued to be featured at two pounds for a buck. For a buck, I picked up a bag of shredded cabbage (white and a little red, plus some carrot) for making coleslaw. Clementines $4.99/box. Although local tomatoes are at their peak, Iovine's was selling bagged Canadian hothouse Romas for a buck a pound. Also from Canada, Ontario grapes for $4.99. Local purple eggplant 79 cents. Italian prune plums $1.49, West Coast Bing cherries $1.99. California Mission figs, $3.99 a pint. Washington State blackberries $4.99 a half-pint.

The blackberries were a better deal almost anywhere else Saturday. Over at Fair Food Farmstand organic berries were selling for $6/pint; Benuel Kaufman had conventional blackberrries for $4.99/pint. It's salsa-making season, and you could do worse than make some from the Fair Food's tomatillos, $3.50/pound. Low-spray peaches $2.50, conventional nectarines and white peaches $1.25. Organic plum tomatoes $2. Concord grapes $3.50. Small lemon cukes pricey at $1 apiece.

In addition to blackberries Benuel Kaufman featured donut peaches for $4.99 a pound or $6.95/quart. Nectarines and yellow peaches $1.99/pound or $3.95/quart. Prune plums $2/pint.

On the seafood front, John Yi offered deals Saturday on Canadian farmed salmon: $3.99 for center cut filets, $2.99 for tails. Meanwhile Pacific NW fish were selling for $13.99 (king), $10.99 (sockeye) and $8.99 (coho). Large seabass priced decently at $3.99, softshell crabs $4 apiece. Over at Golden the soft shells were also $4 apiece, with a four for $15 deal to save you two bits per crustacean.

More redesign of vendor stalls at the Reading Terminal this past week. Fair Food Project largely completed their re-do. Now customers can pretty much walk through the stand with the register in the middle. Even self-serve out of the meat freezer. And lots more bin space for produce, though one has to wonder how it will look in the dead of winter when local produce is virtually non-existent except for some hothouse items. The Mirai corn was 50 cents an ear (or three for $1,25, iirc), which compares favorably with the other farm stands. Iovine Brothers was selling their farmer's corn at three for a buck. Fair Food also featured lemon cukes at 75-cents each.

Over at OK Lee, the cactus pears are of much better quality than just a week ago, and still priced at 79 cents apiece. The photo at right shows what they look like, before and after skinning. Cactus pears (a.k.a. prickly pears) come in a variety of colors. You want to select firm, but not hard, fruits with minimal scarring. These babies peeled easily with a sharp paring knife and were sweet all the way through. Some pulp clung to the skin, so I scraped it into my food mill along with the main body of the pulp. After going through the food mill, I took unpassed seeds and their clingy pulp and pressed them in a strainer to get every last bit of delectible edible fruit. To dense juice of the five cactus pears I added the juice of two large limes and the equivalent of 1-1/2 cups sugar, in the form of sugar syrup.

Back at Iovine Brothers, both green and black figs were available at $4.99 a half pint. Both lemons and likmes were selling for 25 cents apiece when I visited on Thursday morning

Earlygold has joined MacIntosh over at Halteman's as the first apple of the season. Benuel Kaufman had some blemish-free pears for $1.49/pound.

A couple ziggarats of corn (pictured at right) flanked the new cross-over aisle at Iovine Brothers this morning. Jimmy Iovine said one of his managers, Charlie, thought it up and executed the design. It can withstand pulling single ears out of the base: just don't grab a dozen from there.

New fruit to me: Quenepa, also known as Spanish lime, mamoncilla, genip, chenet, limoncilla and a number of other monikers. At first I thought they were uncured olives, but they are a tart-sweet fruit. The pulp surrounds a single large seed, so you just pop a fruit into your month and suck off the pulp, discarding the seed when you're done. Iovine was selling them for $2.99 a pint.

Lemons back down to 25-cents apiece at Iovine. They also had Chilean clementines: a five-pound box for $4.99.

If you like tomatillos in your salsa, both Fair Food and Iovine had them. I spoke too soon about the disappearance of apricots: Fair Food had them today, though no one else had local 'cots. It may be late in the season, but Earl Livengood featured some sweet Bing cherries from a orchardist a bit north of him; pretty tasty, $3 a pint.

Tomorrow is Earl Livengood's annual farm tour and corn roast plus pot-luck evening meal. He supplies the corn, you supply a pot-luck dish, preferably from something you purchased from him. It runs from 2:30 p.m. to sundown at the Livengood Family Farm, 1648 Morningside Dr., Lancaster. phone 717 464-2698 for details and/or directions.