Fables of the reconstruction

Local Programming: Italian Market Festival, May 17 & 18

The Best Philly Cheesesteak: John's Roast Pork

Just reacting to this from Duncan, let me plug my favorite sammich shop:

John's Roast Pork on Snyder Ave in South Philly. Hands down, the best cheesesteak I have ever had.

Seeded rolls, sharp provolone available, no velveeta allowed, fresh never-frozen beef, and inexpensive. If you get there after 2 p.m. you will be lucky if they are not sold out. It caters to the locals - it's out of the way, it's only open Monday to Friday, and closes at 3 p.m. It is in a whole other class from Pat's/Geno's/Jim's/Steve's.

If you don't like cow, the signature roast pork sammiches are also amazing.

On the walls, generations of wedding pictures. In particular, a large black & white photo of the late John Sr. and his bride at their wedding reception, serving themselves pork sandwiches. 'Mom' now works the register.

Eschacon '08

Come on out and meet Atrios's commenters. And people you'd want to meet.

March 28-30. Registration prices go up on March 1. Sign up now!

Local Programming: Drinking Liberally on Primary Night

Drinking Liberally starts at 6 p.m. at Tangier, 18th & Lombard Sts., until whenever (usually 8-9).  Since it's primary night, there may be more attendance later than usual. Come hang.

Local Programming: Drinking Liberally Tonight

If it's Tuesday, it must be Drinking Liberally, starting at 6 p.m. at Tangier, 18th & Lombard Sts., until whenever (usually 8-9). Be there.

Local Programming: Drinking Liberally Tonight

If you're in the neighborhood, Drinking Liberally happens tonight and every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. until whenever (usually 8 or 9) at Tangier, 18th & Lombard Sts.

Overweight People Have Lowest Death Rate

Interesting:

[O]verweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal weight, underweight or obese. ...

[O]verweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Overweight in this sense means a BMI of between 25 and 29.9.

“I believe the data,” said Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, a professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego. A body mass index of 25 to 30, the so-called overweight range, “may be optimal,” she said.

There are cautions, of course. First, being obese - BMI > 30 - is bad. Second:

The researchers caution that a study like theirs cannot speak to cause and effect. They do not yet know, precisely, what it is about being underweight, for instance, that increases the death rate from everything except heart disease and cancer. Researchers tried to rule out those who were thin, because they might have been already sick. They also ruled out smokers, and the results did not change.

The population studied is large, which means the data are probably reliable, but they don't understand the mechanism yet.

I think this advice is sound:

Dr. [Mitchell] Gail, though, had some advice, which, he said, is his personal opinion as a physician and researcher: “If you are in the pink and feeling well and getting a good amount of exercise and if your doctor is very happy with your lab values and other test results, then I am not sure there is any urgency to change your weight.”

Drinking Liberally Tonight

Drinking Liberally is tonight and every Tuesday night at  Tangier, 18th and Lombard, from 6 PM to whenever (usually 8 but sometimes later). Free hot wings, drink specials and great conversation with your fellow liberals. Come one, come all. Tonight will probably be one of the last times this year it will be warm enough that we can all sit at the outside tables.

Local Programming: Coquette Bistro and Raw Bar

A new restaurant called Coquette Bistro and Raw Bar has opened at the (heretofore jinxed) space at 5th & Bainbridge . Owned and operated by Cary Neff, who also runs Sansom Street Oyster House, it looks and tastes very promising. He's completely gutted the place, ripped down the curtains which were hiding the tall windows, laid down tile in a black and white theme, and put in a metal-front bar. Style-wise, it's impressive, down to the fire extinguishers. Sometimes a tarted-up place hides a mediocre kitchen, but not in this case. (In any case, you could get away with that in Rittenhouse, but not in this neighborhood.)

I had dinner with a friend there the other night. We got half a dozen oysters, a tomato salad, the lamb Milanese, and monk fish.  Everything was very well done, but the oysters were great and the salad and the lamb were excellent. The breads were outstanding. With coffee and homemade sorbet for dessert and a complimentary glass of wine each, the bill came to $70.  It's really a bistro menu, though, so we could have gotten away for a lot less and still had a great meal.  The liquor license is still in the works, so that means it's still BYOB for now, which makes it a pretty good deal.

Cary says they're spending the month of August working out the kinks and soliciting feedback from people. He even reads the food blogs, and takes the comments seriously. After labor day they're going to roll out a Sunday brunch; right now it's just dinner six days a week, closed Mondays. No reservations.

The Sad Truth Is ...

Although it's a refreshing drink on a warm day, Woodchuck Cider tastes not so much like alcohol as something you put alcohol into. On a beach in the Caribbean.

Honeybees Mysteriously Dying Off

NYTimes.com:

Beekeepers have fought regional bee crises before, but this is the first national affliction.

Now, in a mystery worthy of Agatha Christie, bees are flying off in search of pollen and nectar and simply never returning to their colonies. And nobody knows why. Researchers say the bees are presumably dying in the fields, perhaps becoming exhausted or simply disoriented and eventually falling victim to the cold.

As researchers scramble to find answers to the syndrome they have decided to call “colony collapse disorder,” growers are becoming openly nervous about the capability of the commercial bee industry to meet the growing demand for bees to pollinate dozens of crops, from almonds to avocados to kiwis.

Along with recent stresses on the bees themselves, as well as on an industry increasingly under consolidation, some fear this disorder may force a breaking point for even large beekeepers.

A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation.

If you have a large freezer, you might consider stocking up on frozen fruit to tide you over when apples are $15 a pound.

Energy Drinks Named for Drugs

I told you about Cocaine Energy Drink.  Here's the lovely and very talented Astrid Allen from $pread Magazine trying a can:

So how was it, Astrid?

Such a trooper. Actually, it tastes like burning. The company calls it a "fireball", and they're right.

You won't go grab a can of this when you want something light and refreshing; you'll get one when you need to hurt yourself enough to wake up.

Just coincidentally, I spotted this truck the other day:

 

It's for Kronik Energy, chronic, of course, being a slang term for marijuana. I don't know if it's the association with craving good snacks when you have the munchies, but Kronik was much smoother and tastier than Cocaine.

Curious, I headed over to Energy Fiend and, sure enough, there is also a Krunk Energy Drink, which I would have assumed was a joke if I hadn't been told otherwise.(Crunk, if you don't know, is a rap word meaning "crazy" and "drunk".)

This leaves Diesel and Tina as other possible drink names, but I really think Cocaine chose the best one.

O Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!

Redux didn't send me a case of Cocaine Energy Drink.  They sent me two cases:

Oh, and a bunch of stuff: dogtag thingies, stickers and temporary tattoos (WTF?) that all say Cocaine.

People (including a couple of Redux authorized dealers) are getting almost $10 a can for it on eBay. Someone who bought a can in a store sold the receipt for $2. I am tempted to flip it for a quick $500 or so, but I think it'll be more fun to walk into a hipster bar and make them do tricks like trained monkeys.

I'm Giving Away Six Kilos of Cocaine

While I made fun of Cocaine Energy Drink, I think it's a ballsy and clever piece of marketing.  I hope it succeeds.  As a total surprise, the very nice people at Redux Beverages are sending me a case.  That's very nice, since a single can goes for $10 on eBay.  But I'd rather have fun than make money, so I think I'll have my own cocaine party when it gets here:

 

Cocaine Energy Drink

It used to be that marketing associated a product with a desirable personality trait or lifestyle. People became inured to that, so energy drink maker Rockstar eliminated the need to make the connection by naming the product after the lifestyle, and adopted the slogan "Party like a rockstar".  Realizing, perhaps, that it might be beyond some people's imaginations to think of how a rockstar parties, a new drink has been introduced called Cocaine.

I suggest the next drink be called Twin Underage Hookers Sucking Your Dick.

Update 9/20/06 9:40 p.m.:  Welcome! to the untold thousands of people who are landing here seeking more information on Cocaine Energy Drink. The drink company's site seems to be down, and I am currently the number one result on google, so let me try in a half-ass manner to provide the answers your queries suggest you seek:

1. What's  in it?  Here are the ingredients in Cocaine Energy Drink. (Wait a minute - 700 70 calories in a 8.4 oz. can??)

2. Where can I get it? My recollection from looking at their site is that you can order it from them directly.  They didn't list any stores where you could buy it.

3. Will drinking it make me look as hip and ironic as I hope?  Only if you snort a whole bunch and then drop dead.  Go for it.

4. Where can I get more information? They seem to have a myspace.

Free Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee Tuesday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. in Selected Stores

Vroooooom:

To launch the summer season and thank the millions of Dunkin' Donuts enthusiasts, Dunkin' Donuts announces Free Iced Coffee Day. Participating shops throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Pennsylvania* will give away a free 16 oz. Iced Coffee to every customer over the age of 18 that comes in on Tuesday, June 8 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ...

 

Participating shops include those in the following counties: Atlantic, Bergen, Berks, Bronx, Bucks, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Fairfield, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Kent, Kings, Lehigh, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Montgomery, Morris, Nassau, New Castle, New York, Northampton, Ocean, Orange, Passaic, Philadelphia, Putnam, Queens, Richland, Rockland, Somerset, Suffolk, Sullivan, Sussex, Ulster, Union, Warren and Westchester.

Energy Fiend says that 50 16 oz. cups of coffee would kill me.  I should be okay, since there are only 12 Dunkin Donuts shops in center city. (Plus, it's iced coffee, so the actual coffee in the cup is much less than 16 oz.)

Survive Thanksgiving

I'll just re-print what I wrote last year about this time:

So, it's Thanksgiving Day. If you're like me, you might need some reminders on how to get through a whole day of togetherness with your family. Of course, if you're like me, you might have decided to spend the day in Key West at the clothing-optional resort with an eight ball and a very friendly poly-sci major down from Miami for the holiday who you met at the dockside bar. But, let's assume you want to spend it with your family, instead.

1. Carry no weapons, at least for one day. Even if you firmly believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms, leave them in the safe at home this time. No firearms, much lower death rate. Lower death rate = good.

2. Limit your drinking. I know, three quick drinks followed by a 1.5 liter bottle of Cabernet was your stress-reduction plan. But there are serious downsides. First, if you get hammered you are likely to pop off at the worst possible moment. Bad. Second, you are less likely to notice and be able to ward off the (probably deserved) attack on your person that results from your aforementioned popping off. In other words, if you're trashed, you can't dodge the fireplace poker screaming towards your face. Worse. Third, you have to be sober enough to execute step #3.

3. Sleep Elsewhere. Even if you're broke and mom will be bitterly disappoined if you don't stay on her couch for the night, spring for a room at a motel and leave at an appropriate time after dinner. If you're trashed (see #2), you shouldn't drive. So, stay sober, and when belligerent uncle Don starts in on his fifth whiskey, say goodnight.

4. Have an Escape Plan. Say, like me, you have a bigoted brother who is sure to mouth off about the gays or blacks or whatever. You know it's possible that he's going to say or do something that makes you really, really mad at some point during the evening. If it comes, you have to have a place to go to get away. If there is a place where you can go for a walk, do it. Keep your coat someplace handy and, preferably, near a door. If you can't go someplace in the house or out for a walk, get into the car and, if necessary, execute step #3 early. It's better to have people wondering what the hell happened to you rather than you knocking the offending family member unconscious. Trust me on this one.

These are just a few tips that just might get you through the next 24 hours without cuts, bruises or any additions to your (already-impressive) arrest record. And, Happy Thanksgiving!