Althouse: For the 4th of July — just across the street from Independence Hall...

July 4, 2017

For the 4th of July — just across the street from Independence Hall...

... go ahead and eat at a place called Mom's.

48 comments:

tcrosse said...: I wonder if there's a place voted The Worst Cheese Steak in Philadephia ? Should we be investigating voter fraud in Philly Cheese Steak elections ?; 7/4/17, 4:58 PM
Kate said...: The city endorses the place with a pointing arrow sign. Mom knows somebody.; 7/4/17, 5:05 PM
Michael K said...: Oh Oh.

Eat at Mom's; 7/4/17, 5:07 PM
Humperdink said...: I am sure this wasn't was the place where John Kerry ordered Swiss cheese with his Philly cheese steak sandwich during his campaign against Bush. Adding insult to injury was the unavailability of Grey Poupon.; 7/4/17, 5:22 PM
Jaq said...: A group of Georgia voters and a Colorado-based watchdog organization filed a lawsuit late Monday asking a judge to overturn the results of last month´s 6th Congressional District special election and scrap the state´s voting system, Colorado Politics has learned. The complaint, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, alleges that state and local election officials ignored warnings for months that Georgia´s centralized election system — already known for potential security flaws and lacking a paper trail to verify results — had been compromised and left unprotected from intruders since at least last summer, casting doubt on Republican Karen Handel´s 3.8-point...

WE WUZ ROBBED!!! Looks like Putin has "reared his head" again!

Line up little Democratics! Your new marching orders and talking points are in!; 7/4/17, 5:34 PM
Jaq said...: Same as the old ones, BTW.; 7/4/17, 5:36 PM
Big Mike said...: A genuine Philly cheesesteak is truly a delight, but I have a feeling that what they're cooking up in that little stand would give me serious heartburn.; 7/4/17, 5:51 PM
Be said...: I'm curious about the Philly Cheese Steak thing. What is the appeal?

So called Purists seem to think that it's all about the Steak, Cheese and Bread. Ground up lips and ends with a slight glance towards Beef, with Cheez Whiz on an untoasted hoagy roll?

Keep in mind that I am formerly from Buffalo, NY, where one took the bird wings, normally tossed, and turned them into another so-called "classic." And I currently live in Boston, MA, which touts former Prison Fish (lobster) on everything and Overly Sugared Cassoulet (Baked Beans) as its major culinary exports.; 7/4/17, 6:29 PM
Jaq said...: "Prison Fish" is a great name for lobster! I bet it would sell! Except googling it, it might run into some problems with prison slang.; 7/4/17, 6:35 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Be, an I going to have a problem with you? Ground up beef trimmings are the scourge of hot dogs and other sausages and charcuterie, NOT even burgers, let alone cheesesteaks. Cheesesteaks are made of thin sliced beef chuck or rib, whole muscle meats NOT ground beef-this is a NYC innovation aka the "chopped cheese."; 7/4/17, 6:56 PM
traditionalguy said...: I vote for a real Chicago Hotdogs as the best tasting street vendor food sold. I made some yesterday today at home. All the ingredients were available here except for top cut, sesame seed hot dog buns...but the regular buns were good.; 7/4/17, 6:59 PM
tcrosse said...: I'm curious about the Philly Cheese Steak thing. What is the appeal?

When it's good, it's very, very good, and when it's bad (more often the case IMHO) it's horrid.; 7/4/17, 7:08 PM
Ken B said...: And risk a nidrosity??; 7/4/17, 7:12 PM
cf said...: Haha, what better day than today to trust a place called Moms.

& What a terrific long weekend this has been: I sure appreciated you starting the festivities early with the musical revue yesterday, thanks, Althouse and Michael K.

I can't help but be brimming with excitement this independenceday. Who could have imagined the events since our last fourth of july2016? Makes me optimistic to beat the band that so much change is stirring up, "so much winning"

Godspeed america and dreamers of america; 7/4/17, 7:18 PM
etbass said...: Amen and amen.; 7/4/17, 7:38 PM
Bob R said...: The thing is, there are a lot of really good Italian bakeries in South Philly, so you start with a really good roll - fresh. The meat is whole cuts of chuck, partially frozen and sliced paper thin against the grain. Cooked on a hot griddle to give it some crusty brown bits. I like fired onions on mine. And then, yes, Cheez Whiz. Some go for provolone, but the Whiz gives it that guilty pleasure junk food pizzazz.; 7/4/17, 7:40 PM
gpm said...: >>I vote for a real Chicago Hotdogs as the best tasting street vendor food sold.

Not "street vendor food" in the same sense, but nothing says Chicago like a good Eye-talian beef, like the ones from Al's, on Taylor Street across the alley from my high school.

There was a place in Natick doing it the right way until last November. Supposedly looking for a place to reopen. I can only hope.

--gpm; 7/4/17, 7:51 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: traditionalguy said...
I vote for a real Chicago Hotdogs as the best tasting street vendor food sold."

I second that. Those crappy "Red Hots" they sell (or used to sell) in DC were the worst.; 7/4/17, 8:04 PM
David Baker said...: Time to pull your glutinous faces out of the Cheese Whiz and come to attention: It appears we've extended a first-strike courtesy to North Korea.

Happy 4th.; 7/4/17, 8:06 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "... the unavailability of Grey Poupon."

Only to those bereft of imagination. I, to take one example, can always, 24/7, summon GP as well as extra liquid smoke, with cases where the imaginary actually surpassed the real experiences I have had.; 7/4/17, 8:51 PM
Be said...: Bad Lieutenant: So, you are a Food Snob, then. No where have I ever been, Philadelphia included, where I ever had anything but a ground up sandwich steak on a bun.

Of course, I've only gotten said sandwiches on carts. Maybe it's something different in Sit Down Places along the Main Line. (shrug.); 7/4/17, 9:24 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: we've extended a first-strike courtesy to North Korea

This time in English, Baker? Yes they may have a rocket design that could verge of threatening AK and HI. I don't think that means we've missed the time to strike.

Strike at what precisely? KJU? 10,000 DMPIs? Every night, probably every hour, teams at USFK, USPACOM, Mattis' desk are rolling the bones to gauge what is possible, decapitation success probability, followup of a success, followup of a failure.

Nobody has been discussing PUBLICLY the Norks' fortification of their nuclear program, where located, how hardened, wind maps for fallout, collection of iodine pills against fallout.

But that does not mean it hasn't been folded, spindled and mutilated into the operational parameters, and brought to readiness awaiting a go order upon either presets or word from the national command authority.

We are assured a military option is being crafted. There are a number of people here with the background to discuss this informedly. Can there be a substantive treatment of the options available for suasion of the DPRK? Shall we do a pinprick as at the Syrian WMD attack origin site? More pins? More than pins?

Let's talk about it. No scaredy-cats.; 7/4/17, 9:31 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: No, Be, I don't think I'm a snob of any kind...not to excess...that statement may be false. Anyhow, I do like and to a degree know food. I don't go gaga over cheese as a rule, for instance, so the Philly C is not to me as good as the Baltimore pit beef, for example, or a French dip.

There are two main competitors' stands located within a block of each other. Names are...googling...Pat's and Geno's. Or read this: http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-10-spots-for-authentic-philly-cheesesteaks/

Actually the thing I'm on about now is soft-shell crabs, it is the season and last year we had these colossal soft crabs in Dundalk, I may have photos...ZOMG. need to get more such but hunt of lively MD whales here has been dicey. If I could get a dozen every week...ideally at twice or three times...so a midnight run to the New Fulton sometime soon...cant talk, drooling.

Oh you wanted to know about cheesesteaks? They're nice.; 7/4/17, 9:40 PM
Browndog said...: This is the closest thing to "The 4th of July" Althouse can muster?

Eat at Moms?; 7/4/17, 9:51 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: I should say these are not sit down places these are stand up counters, they are however places and not carts, so, there's that. Cheesesteaks are popular among New Yorkers, there are often one two or even three trucks within a block of my building in Midtown that will serve them, and probably at least one push cart as well, but never find myself very tempted.

There used to be a restaurant in our lobby with a bar menu that had a superlative Pub Burger and fries but they went out of business. Sad! 😔 a platonic "perfect burger" is not to be sneezed at. (The rest was good too, no idea why kaput. Tough town... maybe the rents, or it was old-fashioned plant and they wanted to tear it up? Fussy building.)

OK now I'm hungry. Thanks. Made tri-tip with a coffee rub that I'm wondering about (agita, from commercial drip grind coffee grounds? Shoulda pestled it or got fresh coffee maybe). Cooked very fast at the 425 I ran it to roast the potatoes properly. Thanks be I used new thermometer probe not a timer, at 40 min it would have rocked on the plate like a Trump dinner, God bless him. Done at 30 and it could have been 25 for me, though some hearts are faint...

Anyway it was good but now I'm hungry again. Doh! Thanks a lot!; 7/4/17, 9:54 PM
Etienne said...: I still have some contacts in the bomber command, and I've been trying to get support for a North Korea bombing mission.

This doesn't have to be an explosive. It should be very non-explosive, and the point is that it was dropped, and their military didn't even see the bomber fly through its Capital.

What I'm proposing is a giant blow-up naked sex doll, that the people of the Capital will see when the sun comes up. They will gather around, and this sex doll will be videoing them and sending the video via satellite. Everyone on youtube all over the world can watch the Koreans looking at it, but they can't see what "it" is.

They will wonder why everyone is shocked.

The expressions will be fantastic. Then I'm sure the soldiers will come and machine-gun all the helium out of it.; 7/4/17, 10:06 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/4/17, 10:09 PM
Crimso said...: You know Althouse, if you're going to vicariously travel with your grabs, Google makes an app to use VR to access street views (#2 son is working on improvements to it during his summer internship there). It's not quite Sensurround (or Smellavision), but it's got to be better than these 2D snapshots. Take the plunge.; 7/4/17, 11:27 PM
chickelit said...: Jr. wrote: Except googling it, it might run into some problems with prison slang.

That might Be where she learned it, secondhand.; 7/4/17, 11:45 PM
walter said...: "...but..Truuumppp!"; 7/5/17, 12:16 AM
walter said...: "(#2 son is working on improvements to it during his summer internship "
Intern output per DOL?; 7/5/17, 12:28 AM
walter said...: (you know "interns" aren't supposed to provide value, right?); 7/5/17, 12:46 AM
Jon Ericson said...: Going down?; 7/5/17, 1:18 AM
Ken B said...: #CNNBlackmail

The network that couldn't find out how Donna Brazile got the debate questions had the resources and the will to hunt down a guy who made a gif, and threatened and coerced him.

They bragged about it, made it a top story, and publicized their thuggish threat on Twitter. This seems a violation of Twitter's terms of service. Will Twitter revoke CNN's account? Of course not but they would cancel the account of anyone here who did that.

This seems like an illegal act to me. Assange thinks so, and posted a relevant section of the NY code. I will defer to the lawyers here.

CNN has no ethics. They are a for profit company willing to hound and threaten citizens whose mockery offends them or threatens to cost them money.; 7/5/17, 1:21 AM
Ken B said...: I eagerly await "The Russians hacked our Twitter."; 7/5/17, 1:37 AM
Fen said...: The civilized response is for the public to petition airports, bars, gyms, doctors offices etc to yank CNN.

AT&T is considering buying CNN. Not sure if we want to pressure them not to - scuttlebut is AT&T would decide which employees survive the merger, AND that AT&T's key players are Trump supporters. So maybe a letter writing campaign asking AT&T to buy them and fire everyone but the secretaries.

The uncivilized response is to throw sulfuric acid in Anderson Cooper's face. Amanpour days later, and on down the line. Followed by IED-laden trucks rammed into CNN headquarters. I am ashamed to admit that, were that to happen, it would take great effort to bite my tongue, and my expressed sympathy would be noticeably lagging behind the public. But then I'm not really human these days. I'm .... deplorable.

But what *I* hope happens is that 4chan and Wikileaks turn their full attention toward hacking and destroying CNN with their own internal emails and memos. I think it is critical that CNN's inner workings are exposed for the public to see. And study as a historical example of how corrupt the media got.; 7/5/17, 2:50 AM
Scott said...: Ahh yes. First Amendment for me, but not for thee.

CNN is not publishing "HanA**holeSolo's" name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.

CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.

I'd like to ask our hostess if this legally qualifies as a threat of extortion.; 7/5/17, 2:51 AM
Fen said...: Question for the Althouse Hive:

CNN has turned this kid into an object lesson. The message they are sending is "mock us and we will dox you and destroy your life"

Do you think CNN has jumped the shark?; 7/5/17, 2:53 AM
Scott said...: Fen said...

Question for the Althouse Hive:

CNN has turned this kid into an object lesson. The message they are sending is "mock us and we will dox you and destroy your life"

Do you think CNN has jumped the shark?

7/5/17, 2:53 AM

I think CNN screwed the pooch more than jumped the shark. If Trump ever wanted to hammer CNN into the ground, now would be a perfect excuse for it. RICO/blackmail legal investigation, pull their FCC license. If he really wanted to press the point, announce that he's pushing for a change to libel laws that printing/broadcasting false information is de facto proof of libel, and get rid of the public figure exception. That would be very hard for the Democrats to oppose, the attack ads as the party of liars write themselves.; 7/5/17, 3:27 AM
EsoxLucius said...: My favorite story of the day:
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/calling-for-a-revolution-trump-fans-triggered-after-npr-tweets-out-the-declaration-of-independence/; 7/5/17, 3:35 AM
grackle said...: I was saving this for Lincoln’s birthday. It seems appropriate for July 4 also.

Lincoln's lost poem (untitled)

Brother murdered brother to open fury's door
though Adam bore a rib charged with gentle marrow.
Yet this world, peopled with many who welcome war,
predates sweet Eden and will be here tomorrow.

Do doves jostling on the ledges peck at sorrow?
Their quavering calls rise and fall the long day through.
Gleaning in reaped fields, what bounty do they borrow?
I laud their endurance and wonder why they coo.

Anguish is not bound to a featherless logic
scribbled and parsed only by God's arrogant kind,
for the striving pigeon flocks are far more tragic,
sentenced to vie for meager grain on scoured ground.

Battlefields and halls of men await the sad word.
My grave fate: to free the nation's doves with a sword.; 7/5/17, 3:42 AM
grackle said...: I think CNN screwed the pooch more than jumped the shark. If Trump ever wanted to hammer CNN into the ground, now would be a perfect excuse for it. RICO/blackmail legal investigation, pull their FCC license.

Why bother? They are done. The only thing left to do is to watch them turn into even more of a niche market than they already are. Trump taking legal action would only create sympathy for the numbskulls. CNN has no idea what is happening. The whole doxing episode is still posted on their website, including the threat to reveal his name.

Trump must be a genius. How else to explain the destruction of a cable network with a .gif in a single tweet? CNN ran the .gif over and over on TV and it’s still prominent on their website. My theory: The bubble they live in makes it difficult for them to anticipate the reactions of the public.; 7/5/17, 4:11 AM
Jaq said...: The purpose of a lynching is to demonstrate who has the real power and to keep the lower orders in line.

As far as Trump goes, I held my nose when voting for him. Only did it because he was the only realistic vote against the alternative offered, it took me a good two or three minutes to check that box before leaving the booth and it was the last box I checked, but now, as far as I am concerned, he is "Orange Jesus." I am not just a reluctant supporter anymore, I am a "follower" now.; 7/5/17, 4:47 AM
David Baker said...: Bad Lieutenant said..."Strike at what precisely?"

Every military installation and missile launch site in North Korea.

But apparently our first strike will be issued at the UN Security Council, in the form of words - a clear sign of capitulation. Why not go to the Girl Scouts of America, for all the good that'll do.; 7/5/17, 4:55 AM
Clyde said...: Just saw an article about how Colin Kaepernick went "home" to Ghana to celebrate his independence. The article points out that Kaepernick plans to continue his political activism, even though he is an unsigned free agent and may have more talent than some other free agent quarterbacks who are likely to sign somewhere. Sometimes the talent on one side of the scales is not enough to balance with the sideshow on the other.

I'm sure there's a bang-up football team in Accra that would love to have him.; 7/5/17, 7:03 AM
Anonymous said...: RICO/blackmail legal investigation, pull their FCC license.

You know that the C in CNN stands for "cable", right?; 7/5/17, 7:17 AM
Scott said...: Paul Zrimsek said...

RICO/blackmail legal investigation, pull their FCC license.

You know that the C in CNN stands for "cable", right?

7/5/17, 7:17 AM

I know. If Uncle Sam wants to screw with them, that won't stop regulators from hammering them.; 7/5/17, 11:15 AM
Crimso said...: '(you know "interns" aren't supposed to provide value, right?)'

Not the case in engineering. I still laugh at the interns in other fields who are expected to work for free. From 1984-1986, I worked for GE full time for three semesters. They paid me about 75% of the starting salary for the engineers with degrees. And made it clear they'd offer me a job when I got the degree.; 7/5/17, 2:17 PM