Anchovies

U.S. Customs officials announced yesterday that they had confiscated 2,475 pounds of cocaine hidden in cases of canned anchovies on a ship in Philadelphia. Drug Enforcement Administration authorities called it the largest seizure of cocaine ever made in the Philadelphia region. The cocaine, with a wholesale value of $28.2 million, arrived in the port of Philadelphia on Aug. 30 from Argentina as part of the cargo of a ship, Columbus Olivos, said Samuel Billbrough, special agent in charge of the DEA in Philadelphia.

Something smelled a little fishy. U.S. Customs agents had never seen a 20-foot container of canned anchovies come into the Port of Philadelphia. And the Andes Trading Co., an import busines with offices that actually were only a mail drop in New York, N.Y., had never shipped anchovies before to Philadelphia en route to New York. "We're talking a lot of anchovies. Anchovy pizzas from here to eternity," a federal official said. They were the first two warnings that signaled federal agents to scrutinize more closely the 25-ton shipment of anchovies packed in salt water which arrived on the German flag vessel, Columbia Olivos, at the Holt Marine Terminal in Camden on Aug. 30 from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Sardines, anchovies, smelts. To know them is to love them. Getting to know them properly is the issue, but all that's needed is a "fresh" look. Most of us remember canned sardines or anchovies as something our parents or our parents' parents would eat at home while we turned our noses up. And perhaps that memory kept us from discovering the fresh varieties. "It's a generational thing," says Sam Mink, of the Oyster House, known by locals of another generation as the Sansom Street Oyster House.

Sometimes a dish has a combination of ingredients that come together in a taste sensation that is so marvelous and universal that there's no reason to limit the basic formula to that one dish. For example, mushrooms sauteed with a little butter, cream and brandy is a delicious side dish, but you could serve it in a risotto, over spaghetti, or as a soup if it is thinned with chicken stock. Or, think of how creative cooks have transformed the classic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich into salad, using the bread as croutons.

NEW YORK CABBIE FINDS POETRY IN STREETS New York cabbie T. Burton Gelber turns his daily indignities - traffic jams, fender benders, honking and irritable passengers - into poetry. Uptown rich dude, hates to talk I'd personally prefer it if you'd learn to walk . . . Fat man, skinny man, on your way to work Ninety hours on the seat drives a man berserk. Gelber, 37, founded the Hack Poets Society and has attracted a handful of other literate drivers. Now, he's taking his wordsmithing further, with classes for cabbies-to-be that include lessons in language.

You don't have to be a marketing expert to know that Caesar salad is the hottest thing between tongs. It has two essential qualities going for it: ease of preparation and flavor. Even the most basic Caesar salad of romaine lettuce, croutons and bottled dressing tastes good. Do it from scratch with good-quality Parmesan cheese, anchovies and extra-virgin olive oil and it's a feast. One of the things you'll note about Caesar salad is how versatile it is. You can make it more substantial by adding strips of grilled chicken or salmon or cooked shrimp; or make it lighter by skipping the traditional coddled egg. You can even take the essential ingredients and replay them in a new form, as Caesar Sandwich.

Along the French Riviera, no trip to the beach would be complete without a pan bagnat sandwich. Its many ingredients include tuna, hard-boiled egg, olives, anchovies and green bell peppers stuffed into a crusty round roll. "It's a salade nicoise in a sandwich," says Catherine Carmichael, a Parisian who spent many summers on the Cote d'Azur before moving to Philadelphia, where she eventually opened the two La Cigale cafes at 725 Walnut St. (215-625-3666), and 113 S. 18th St. (215-569-1970)

My friend Val Nehez is so cool. When she was 20, she dropped out of college and opened her own restaurant. Then she opened a second one. Then she wrote a cookbook, traveled the country and learned to teach yoga. These days, she's restoring a house in East Falls and demonstrating kitchen tools on QVC. Did I mention that she's cute and single? When I asked Val for the perfect recipe for a singleton, she immediately said, "Personal day pasta. " So, for those rainy April days when you just can't bother getting to work - let alone getting out of your pajamas - here's an easy (but grown-up)

After the waiter described the veal-chop special, I asked if garlic could be added. He said it could and then offered another way to prepare it. I countered with yet another. The waiter paused, perhaps sizing up the limits of my adventuresome nature. "The chef also makes the veal chop with anchovies," he said, showing confidence in his kitchen. "You'd be surprised - it's really very, very good. It's a recipe of Marcella Hazan's. " Aside from having a fondness for anchovies and garlic, I'm particularly enamored with what popular cook-teacher-author Hazan does with and for Italian cooking.

A federal grand jury contended yesterday that a California man and three Argentines took part in a conspiracy to import about 3,000 pounds of cocaine into the United States in cartons of anchovies aboard ships from Argentina. Roberto Alcaino, 52, a reputed major cocaine trafficker from Pasadena, Calif., had been named in an earlier indictment in connection with the discovery of 2,475 pounds of cocaine hidden in cases of canned anchovies on a ship that docked in Philadelphia last year.

A fear of falling knows no age or season, but this past winter and a recent physical exam reminded me that time and gravity conspire to make arms, legs, and hips snap like dry twigs. Advice about fighting back has been around for many years and ranges from performing balancing exercises and weight-bearing activities to popping pills that boost calcium, a necessary ingredient in maintaining overall skeletal health. Even so, the most recent science-based Dietary Guidelines for Americans notes that "a significant number of Americans have low bone mass, a risk factor for osteoporosis, which places them at risk of bone fractures.

Sardines, anchovies, smelts. To know them is to love them. Getting to know them properly is the issue, but all that's needed is a "fresh" look. Most of us remember canned sardines or anchovies as something our parents or our parents' parents would eat at home while we turned our noses up. And perhaps that memory kept us from discovering the fresh varieties. "It's a generational thing," says Sam Mink, of the Oyster House, known by locals of another generation as the Sansom Street Oyster House.

My friend Val Nehez is so cool. When she was 20, she dropped out of college and opened her own restaurant. Then she opened a second one. Then she wrote a cookbook, traveled the country and learned to teach yoga. These days, she's restoring a house in East Falls and demonstrating kitchen tools on QVC. Did I mention that she's cute and single? When I asked Val for the perfect recipe for a singleton, she immediately said, "Personal day pasta. " So, for those rainy April days when you just can't bother getting to work - let alone getting out of your pajamas - here's an easy (but grown-up)

Along the French Riviera, no trip to the beach would be complete without a pan bagnat sandwich. Its many ingredients include tuna, hard-boiled egg, olives, anchovies and green bell peppers stuffed into a crusty round roll. "It's a salade nicoise in a sandwich," says Catherine Carmichael, a Parisian who spent many summers on the Cote d'Azur before moving to Philadelphia, where she eventually opened the two La Cigale cafes at 725 Walnut St. (215-625-3666), and 113 S. 18th St. (215-569-1970)

Walt Ziejewski likes happy people. When people are happy, he says, then he is happy. Managing the service area of a major car dealership didn't bring him into close contact with many smiles. "Most of the people coming to me were having car problems. When I saw them, something was wrong. They weren't very happy. " Wrong kind of business for a social guy who became completely stressed by seeing people in bad moods. So Ziejewski, 30, thought he'd give another type of stress a try - the restaurant business.

The fishermen of Peru and Ecuador already are fretting about dead anchovies. In parts of India, Brazil, Australia and the Philippines, farmers face the prospect of drought. Along the Gulf Coast, it wouldn't hurt if homeowners checked up on their flood insurance. But at the Jersey Shore and elsewhere on the Eastern Seaboard, the hurricane season could be, blessedly, a bore. All this informed speculation comes from climate researchers, who say the world appears to be in for a spell of weird weather.

One of my favorite dips is a warm mixture of olive oil, butter, anchovy and garlic. Called bagna cauda, or "warm bath" in Italian, it is a classic from the northern Italian region of Piedmont. For many years I made this wonderful dip and brought it along to family parties as an appetizer along with an enormous basket of red and green bell peppers, fennel and celery sticks, carrots, endive and radicchio leaves, green onions and tiny radishes for dipping. In recent years, a good friend from the city of Turin in the Piedmont region taught me to serve this lovely rich sauce over vegetables as a main course.

You don't have to be a marketing expert to know that Caesar salad is the hottest thing between tongs. It has two essential qualities going for it: ease of preparation and flavor. Even the most basic Caesar salad of romaine lettuce, croutons and bottled dressing tastes good. Do it from scratch with good-quality Parmesan cheese, anchovies and extra-virgin olive oil and it's a feast. One of the things you'll note about Caesar salad is how versatile it is. You can make it more substantial by adding strips of grilled chicken or salmon or cooked shrimp; or make it lighter by skipping the traditional coddled egg. You can even take the essential ingredients and replay them in a new form, as Caesar Sandwich.

After 12 years, the decor of Frank and Irene Audino's La Vigna was probably overdue for a face lift. Not that customers complained. It's the kind of restaurant where almost everyone has a favorite waiter and a favorite table and where you take your spouse on your anniversary, your mother on her birthday. So when the Audinos decided it was time to spruce up the place, it made sense to offer the job to one of the regulars, Queen Village neighbor Leslie John Koeser, a designer who specializes in restaurant decor.

When you leave Sam's Cobblestone Restaurant with your leftovers wrapped in foil and tucked inside a brown bag, it's not unusual for you to get instructions on how best to reheat them at home. Sam's also is the kind of place where the servers cater to your whims as if you were a long-lost relative. All of which helps to make this South Philadelphia restaurant a good bet, especially at those times when you feel like giving up the likes of sun-dried tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, and risotto for things such as scungilli salad and tripe.