Reader Mail

Hey there, food lovers.

Reader Mail is coming at you early today. There are a couple of questions that have appeared recently in the comments section that I'm working on getting answers. And more food news is coming on Friday.

Stay tuned.

(Hey! I just heard that the UD Blue & Gold club is closing this summer?? More to come on that soon.)

Recently, we blogged about "Project Runway" guru Tim Gunn being spotted at the Wilmington train station. Gunn apparently has been spotted in Delaware more than once.

(And, did you see, that the former Bravo fashion series is finally coming back to TV - but it now will be on Lifetime? Good news.)

We're working on getting an interview with the classy Mr. Gunn. In the meantime, a reader sent me a funny email that I don't think she'll mind me sharing about her husband's encounter with the sharp dressed man at the Wilmington train station over Thanksgiving last year:

My husband: "My wife and daughter watch you all the time on the show and love it. As you can see I have no style."

Tim, being polite, since my husband was dressed in grubby jeans and a T-shirt: "Well, you have your own sense of style."

Nicely done, Mr. Gunn. What a gracious, classy guy.

The mailbag is stuffed today. Keep the email coming. You ask. We answer. Every Friday (or earlier.) Email me at ptalorico@delawareonline.com.

TO CLARIFY: LOYAL GUESTS SING PRAISES FOR LAMBERTI'S CUCINA

QUESTION: Hello Patricia,

I am writing to you on behalf of Lamberti's Cucina on Centerville Road in Wilmington.

I recently discovered your postings regarding our restaurant and I wanted to make a clarification. In talking with our different guests, we discovered that they had taken it upon themselves to write reviews about their experiences on various sites, including delawareonline.com.

Neither of the reviews below that you posted on the site were written by any member of the Lamberti organization. The reviews may sound suspicious, however, I assure you, they were written by our loyal guests.

We make it a point to talk to our guests when they come in to dine with us, this is how they would know so much about our operation. We pride ourselves on giving a great dining experience for each guest that walks into Lamberti's Cucina on Centerville Road.

When we see a review, especially a positive one, it is encouraging to see our hard work rewarded. For any negative feedback, we do our best to correct anything we can with our customer service. For you to suggest to the online public that we are writing reviews ourselves, it is disheartening for us because it is not true and it gives negative feedback and thoughts about Lamberti's Cucina.

We have no way of responding to these comments of yours, except through you directly, the one that is suggesting such. Please consider posting this in reponse to the comments you have on your site.

Thank you for taking the time to read my email.

Regards,
Denise Sanfarraro
Marketing Coordinator

Lamberti Restaurants

ANSWER: Thanks for the email Denise. And your letter has been posted. Part of my job is to be skeptical about information I receive - and share with readers. My Spidey sense begins tingling if letters sound too familiar or read almost too "P.R." ish. Restaurants are very lucky to have such loyal guests, which it sounds like this organization does indeed.

IS ARSENAL CLOSED?

QUESTION: Do you know what happened that the Arsenal on the Green is closed? They said they couldn't tell us when they cancelled our reservation. Thank you.

ANSWER: OK, this gets a little confusing, so bear with me. I called the Arsenal at Old New Castle at 30 Market St., in historic New Castle, and Sue Ellis told me that the restaurant was "temporarily closed." While banquets were being honored, the eatery would be closed "to the public for a while." Then I was asked to call the nearby Jessop's Tavern at 114 Delaware St., for more information. Both restaurants are owned by Dick and Tika Day, but the actual Arsenal building, which dates back to 1809, is owned by the state.

The director of operations at Jessop's, who declined to give his name, said "we're exploring how to rearrange the business matters of the Arsenal." He added that "the state has been gracious." This is, apparently, going to be an ongoing process - and I'll be checking back with the Arsenal (and Jessop's) again soon. Keep reading Second Helpings!

WHERE TO FIND "AUTHENTIC" ITALIAN?

QUESTION: Good morning. I love your website!

I have been looking for an Italian restaurant in the area that is "authentic" Italian. I hate to say I have high standards, but my fiance is a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America and she can not stand "egg noodles with ketchup." Her idea of an Italian dinner is something like tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil with balsamic; homemade noodles and fresh, fresh, fresh ingredients preferable seafood. I'm making myself hungry. Ha ha. While she was in culinary school in Hyde Park, N.Y., we would go to several places where she could get cioppino and some lemoncello for dessert.

I really enjoy Italian food, but I want to take her to a place and after the meal just say.....'Wow, that was great.'"

Have any ideas??? Thanks. Keep up the good work.

I'm jealous of your job,

Jason Fox

ANSWER: Jason, one of the best "authentic" Italian restaurants that I've dined - outside of Italy - is Vetri in Philadelphia. It's pricey, but wonderful. (That's where Mario Batali goes to eat Italian - and he happens to be good friends with owner Marc Vetri.)

I also like Marc Vetri's other eatery, Osteria, and the Mezza Luna restaurant in Philadelphia.

You can't go wrong at Toscana Kitchen + Bar. And I had a very good dinner last summer at Lupo di Mare in Rehoboth Beach - and was pleased to see that served negronis!

There's a world of difference - and I know readers love to argue this point - between Italian-American restaurants - which tend to focus on Neapolitan cuisine - and "authentic" Italian dishes that what one would find in trattorias in Italy. (For instance, I've eaten pork and sauerkraut in Trieste and I'm sure most people in the U.S. would never associate that with an Italian meal!)

In the past - and it's been a while between visits - I've had good luck at Luigi Vitrone's Pastabilities. Readers have been touting Pomodoro on Union Street in Wilmington recently and Eric Ruth recently gave a "fork up" review to the new Capers & Lemons near Mill Creek.

Readers - bring it on: What "authentic" Italian restaurants do you love?

ANYWAY TO FILTER OUT THE HECKLERS?

QUESTION: Hi Patty,

I've been a regular reader of Second Helpings ever since it began. It helps me stay in tune with what's going on in my industry, often before it makes headlines. I appreciate the postings that connect our state with the rest of the dining industry around the country, and naturally all things culturally relevant.

Some other blogs I read and respect are Chowhound.com and the New York Times blog by Frank Bruni.

I appreciate your knowledge and reporting, your wit and candor, but also your tact in dealing with what seems to be an inevitable downside.

My comments today are on the absolute ignorance of some of the people who are able to post on Second Helpings. They range from the juvenile, to grossly misinformed to flat out rude and nasty. I've read other posts on delawareonline.com, and some are downright offensively racist.

My question is, can anything be done to filter these comments from ever making it on line. There's nothing more pathetic and cowardly than an anonymous on-line heckler. Or, is this, sadly, part of the reality of online information in the information age?

Best regards,

Chef Robert Lhulier

ANSWER: Welcome chef. We LOVE getting email from our toque-wearing friends.

So here's the deal: The News Journal strives to delete offensive comments. According to editors well above me, "the juvenile and grossly misinformed are entitled to their views, but the racist and personally nasty are not."

I've toyed with the idea of having our computer people - yes, I have "people!" (and that's a joke IT guys, whom I adore, please don't send me a computer virus) - set up a filter that allows me to approve of comments before they are posted. But I am a proponent of freedom of speech and I want to encourage people to be candid and keep the debate lively.

For the most part, I have found that folks who read, comment on and send emails to Second Helpings are honest, passionate food and beverage lovers (air kiss! air kiss!) who are eager to share their opinions.

All dining reviews in The News Journal have bylines. And kudos to those who use their real name in comments section.If you want to send an email that is critical of a restaurant, I must insist that you use your name before I will post on Second Helpings. I think that's fair.

The bottom line: I don't want to censor. But, please, all I ask, dear readers is that we be respectful and intelligent with our comments. Humor also goes a long way.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE "LAST STOP BEFORE HOME?"

QUESTION: Last summer, [Third Base Produce] stand was closing down at the end of the season due to more houses that were going to be built on the site. At the time, no one could say where they would be relocating. This was the stand on U.S. 13 not far from the Moose Club. Have you any idea where it is going to be? They had the best produce and their corn was always fresh. I went to no other place.

Cheryl Wilkinson

ANSWER: Cheryl, you've not alone in mourning Third Base. This question came up in January. I left a message with the state Department of Agriculture and will update with information as soon as I find out.