Dishes

Il Portico (1519 Walnut St., 215-587-7000, www.il-portico.com ) is launching Pasta Mista Fridays. "Pasta mista" means "mixed pasta," and Il Portico's version, available for lunch or dinner, includes gnocchi, parpadelle, fettuccine, tagliolini and eggless bigoli tossed with fresh seasonal ingredients. Tomorrow from 5 to 8:30 p.m., Granite Hill, the restaurant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 215-684-7990, www.granitehillrestaurant.com )

The floor plan is set. Brett Youmans is assigned to spot 99. His work space - outfitted with a brand new GE 30-inch black electric range, made just for the event - will be identical to those of his competition: the other 99 contestants who have made it to the final round of the 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off, set for this weekend in Orlando. This is Youmans' second time competing, and he's sworn to enjoy it more. "That was the very first cooking contest that I had been involved in," says the Reading resident and Philadelphia-based flight attendant of his first go-round two years ago. "I didn't get the full experience because I was so nervous.

I hate it when Mother Mary is right, which is always. We begin a zillion years ago, when I'm a little kid with a bad cold, and Mother Mary goes instantly for the Vicks VapoRub. As a child, I had more Vicks Vapo rubbed on me than most consumptives. My chest was as shiny as a stripper's and even more fragrant. Camphor is still my favorite perfume. Which could be why I'm single. Another favorite home remedy of hers was the do-it-yourself humidifier. By this I mean she placed a Pyrex baking dish full of water on every radiator in the house.

JEREMY LIN put aside his record-setting scoring to hand out a career-best 13 assists, and the New York Knicks got back to .500 with their seventh straight victory, 100-85 over the Sacramento Kings last night. Lin added 10 points, focusing more on his role as a distributor while others torched the Kings for 51 percent shooting. Landry Fields had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Bill Walker and Steve Novak each chipped in 14 points. "As a point guard, my field goal attempts have been really high, and I don't think that's necessarily good," Lin said.

Three dishes at each of three restaurants in three hours for $39? That's Dishcrawl. An import from the West Coast, Dishcrawl invites the hungry hip to come out as singles or in couples for an evening getting to know one another and one of their neighborhoods through that powerful communications tool we call food. Philadelphia's inaugural Dishcrawl, Jan. 24 in Northern Liberties, brought out 60 foodies who descended first on Cantina Dos Segundos, 931 N. Second St., for quesadillas (chicken or cheese)

ENFORCEMENT of a bill passed by City Council last fall to regulate placement of TV satellite dishes has been stalled due to a petition filed with the Federal Communications Commission by the satellite-dish industry. The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association is fighting the bill, approved in October and sponsored by current Council President Darrell Clarke, prohibiting satellite-dish companies and installers from placing dishes at the front of homes unless putting them elsewhere would cause signal reduction or a significant extra cost.

POCATELLO, Idaho - Don Aslett may be more than a half-century into his fight against dirt and clutter, but he still can't take a stroll without bending to pick up litter from the sidewalk. He can remember cringing as a child at the site of spilled coffee grounds and, in high school, finding it strange the other boys didn't like to clean their rooms. Even now - he's 76 - his battle against grit and grime has yet to relent. Those who might not understand his devotion, he reasons, have probably never felt the satisfaction of making a toilet bowl shine.

Doughnuts apparently are the way to steal Gov. Christie's heart. In a cable interview with Oprah Winfrey set to run this weekend, the GOP governor says he knew that he had found a partner for life in Mary Pat Foster when she suggested an illicit late-night doughnut raid. The governor and Winfrey also dish about presidential politics and their struggles with weight, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by the Associated Press. The hour-long chat, filmed at Christie's home in Mendham, will run at 9 p.m. Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Doughnuts apparently are the way to steal Gov. Christie's heart. In a cable interview with Oprah Winfrey set to run this weekend, the GOP governor says he knew that he had found a partner for life in Mary Pat Foster when she suggested an illicit late-night doughnut raid. The governor and Winfrey also dish about presidential politics and their struggles with weight, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by the Associated Press. The hour-long chat, filmed at Christie's home in Mendham, will run at 9 p.m. Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Tony Blanche washed dishes and shucked clams as a teen at the old Clam Tavern in Clifton Heights, and 30 years later, he returned to buy and renovate it. Now, seven years later, he has taken over the old Lumps Tavern across the street. It's now Broadway Bar & Grill (329 E. Broadway, Clifton Heights, 484-461-2802). It's an industrial-look interior with eight beers on tap. Signature dish is waffles (jalapeño cheddar or plain) topped with roast beef, pork, turkey, chicken cutlet, or meatballs.