Fork

SINCE the guns are committing all the murders and robberies in Philadelphia, why don't we throw all the guns in prison - that'll eliminate the overcrowding, too. And why don't we take all the forks and spoons from people to take care of the obesity problem? It's the thug pulling the trigger that's the problem, and until that reality is realized, the death toll will continue to rise. John DiLorenzo, Philadelphia

Attempted murder charges were dropped Monday against James M. Vinson 2d after he pleaded guilty to stabbing at his King of Prussia home a Philadelphia man who had been dating Vinson's live-in girlfriend. Vinson, 27, who now lives on High Street in Norristown, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for the Sept. 10, 1989, incident in which he attacked Erek Cunningham with a two-pronged barbecue fork. As part of a plea agreement with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, Vinson was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in the county jail.

An attempted murder charge has been filed against a King of Prussia man in the stabbing of a man with a barbecue fork on Saturday. According to police, James M. Vinson, 25, of the 600 block of American Avenue in King of Prussia, insisted that his live-in girlfriend Patricia O'Conner invite the victim, Eric Cunningham, 24, of the 400 block of Mount Pleasant Street in Philadelphia, to their home for the barbecue. Police said that O'Conner had been dating Cunningham for three weeks and that between Thursday and Saturday, Vinson had beaten O'Conner for having a relationship with Cunningham.

Ellen Yin grew up in the comfortable New York bedroom community of Rumson, N.J. Except that while other kids were having meat loaf and pasta for dinner, her mother, Ching Yun Yin, a Shanghai native, was putting out spreads of traditional Chinese dishes - jellyfish, braised oxtails, chicken feet, and soy-roasted duck. Now 44, Yin writes about those early days as a not-quite-classic "Chinese Jersey girl" in Forklore , her memoir of the first decade of Fork, her decidedly New American bistro in Old City.

As the song goes, "In heaven there is no beer," but East Falls has plenty at Fork and Barrel, the 6-week-old European beer haven. Fork and Barrel is the latest creation of Matt Scheller and Matt and Colleen Swartz, the Lehigh Valley trio who own and operate the Tap and Table and the Bookstore Speakeasy. They've ventured into Philadelphia with the concept of pairing a wide array of lesser-known European beers with dishes that are classically inspired farmhouse fare. Scheller heads up the beverage program that is so beer-centric, there's no wine or spirits.

It's 5:10 p.m. whenFork restaurateur Ellen Yin learns the kitchen is low on zucchini blossoms and black rice. There's a long list of reservations for the main dining room of the Old City restaurant and private parties are scheduled in both back rooms; still, the menu can't be printed until Yin decides what to call the sauce that chef Thien Ngo created on a whim this afternoon. The sauce doesn't need a catchy name, just a straightforward description. Because, like Yin herself, Fork's lunch and dinner menus need no adulteration.

The name is Fork. That's right. As in knife and. . . . And though the name doesn't provide much of a clue, Fork's point is freshness. We're told that macrobiotic food was what the owners of Old City's newest bistro originally planned to offer, but when it dawned that austere food is rarely fun, the concept was modified, and Fork now offers good-for-you American fare that changes with the seasons. On the day of a review dinner, for example, Fork's appetizers included bruschetta with zesty, just-right-for-fall toppings of warm beets, leeks and Gorgonzola replacing traditional - and summery - tomato mixtures.

Where do food pros dine when they're not working in their own kitchens? In our new bi-weekly dining feature (running every other Friday), Big Fat Friday dines out with some of the area's finest restaurateurs, chefs, waiters and other food experts. Get to know them, and their favorite restaurants better. Anne-Marie Lasher doesn't eat out much. She's usually in the kitchen at Fork, the hip Old City American bistro she owns with partners Ellen Yin and Roberto Sella. But when she does go out, it tends to be in her Fairmount neighborhood.

THE CORPORATIONS that used to finance nonstop partying at the national political conventions face a new hurdle this time around. A new law prohibits lobbyists from buying meals for members of Congress - leading to some odd party-planning. One tactic - don't provide chairs. People don't eat "meals" standing up. Another tactic - no forks, just finger food. Gov. Rendell told reporters yesterday that he can live with the restrictions. "We never had forks at the convention," he said.

A two-pronged fork in the hands of an enraged ex-boyfriend ended with a woman crashing to the sidewalk and her death yesterday. Halecia Whittle, 24, of Lindley Avenue near 13th, jumped, fell or was pushed from the balcony of her fourth-floor apartment after being chased with a barbecue fork by her ex-boyfriend, police said. She was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m. at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Police said Mitchell Williams, 25, of 18th Street near Oxford, forced his way into Whittle's apartment.

Andy Reid and his players said the predictable things after Sunday's 38-20 loss to the New England Patriots. You've heard it all before. They have to do a better job. They will keep working. They fought until the end, but there were just too many mistakes to overcome. They did everything but add a "We'll get 'em next time," because even the Eagles - those masters of saying nothing believable - couldn't pull that one off with straight faces. If there were a next time, the Patriots would win that one, too. And a next time after that.

In a slower, simpler time, Thanksgiving football wasn't just the highlight of the fall season. It was the biggest day on the scholastic sports calendar. It was a cultural event. It was a community happening. Those days are long gone. And while Thanksgiving Day football has hung around through Title IX and the growth of other sports, through suburban sprawl and the expanding popularity of the football playoff system, it's looking more like a leftover from another time – a little like a picked-over turkey pulled out of the refrigerator three days after the big meal.

DEAR ABBY: My 13-year-old daughter, "Alisa," has earned a scholarship to participate in a monthlong summer language program in Turkey. As soon as my sister "June" found out I was allowing Alisa to attend, she called me a moron. She has been giving me the silent treatment for almost a month. June is terrified my daughter will be a victim of terrorists, a plane crash, kidnapping or worse. Alisa has consistently proven she is trustworthy and responsible. After some research I determined the country and the program are safe.

"SideShow" hereby wishes to say how grateful we are to Arnold Schwarzenegger for stepping into the shoes of Tiger Woods and providing celeb gossip fodder for the next few decades. As the gritty, grotty future unfolds, we see nothing but teeth-gnashing fun in the old crystal ball. Financial analysts are chirruping that if wife Maria Shriver seeks a divorce, Arnold, as miscreant mate, might have to fork over $100 million to $200 million, and that's a big fork . Reports say Shriver has retained mondo celeb-divorce lawyer Laura Wasser . Meantime, for reasons hazy to us, actress Jane Seymour has been piping up about Arnold.

The documentary "Forks Over Knives," which follows in the footsteps of "Food, Inc. " from 2008 in showing how the average American diet is killing us, is basically a straightforward 90-minute infomercial for veganism. Aanyone looking for a critique of the fast-food lifestyle and factory farming from any other perspective is bound to be disappointed or angry. Director Lee Fulkerson builds the film around two men: Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. and T. Colin Campbell, scientists who've long advocated a plant-based diet well before such ideas moved into the mainstream.

As the song goes, "In heaven there is no beer," but East Falls has plenty at Fork and Barrel, the 6-week-old European beer haven. Fork and Barrel is the latest creation of Matt Scheller and Matt and Colleen Swartz, the Lehigh Valley trio who own and operate the Tap and Table and the Bookstore Speakeasy. They've ventured into Philadelphia with the concept of pairing a wide array of lesser-known European beers with dishes that are classically inspired farmhouse fare. Scheller heads up the beverage program that is so beer-centric, there's no wine or spirits.

Guess who's coming to Thanksgiving dinner? Guests with diabetes, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, high blood pressure, acid reflux, and peanut allergies. Vegans will be at the table too, and so will vegetarians, so you'd better know the difference. Suddenly it seems, the people you've known for years, the very friends and family who eagerly devoured your sumptuous gravy-smothered, carb-laden menu in the past, say they cannot eat, digest, or even share a table with wheat, soy, or seafood.

Saturday, Sept. 25 Taste of Plymouth Meeting Mall , featuring interactive food demonstrations, a children's chef hat workshop, and tastings of a variety of dishes from the mall's restaurants. Free admission. 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Plymouth Meeting Mall, 500 W. Germantown Pk., Plymouth Meeting, 610-825-9351. More information and details on the mall's restaurant week (Sept. 26-Oct. 2) available at www.shopplymouthmeetingmall.com . Sunday, Sept. 26 Annual Vendemmia Homemade Wine Festival , a celebration of wine-making and Italian culture featuring a tasting of homemade wine, Italian delicacies, live music, and more.

Blues, beach and barbecue are part of the 12th Annual New Jersey State Barbecue Championship and Anglesea Blues Festival tomorrow through Sunday along Olde New Jersey Avenue in North Wildwood, N.J. There are barbecue contests and free blues music all weekend long. Information at 609-523-6565 or www.njbbq.com . Catch 'em and cook 'em with Chef Terence Feury of Fork (306 Market St., 215-625-9425) as he hosts his second annual Summer Fisherman's Trip and Dinner. Spend the morning on a charter fishing boat, then head back to Fork, where Feury will prepare a seafood feast of the day's catch.

The trickiest part of making stuffed cabbage is separating and preparing the leaves. Most home cooks use the parboil technique: Rinse the exterior of the cabbage and remove a few of the outer leaves. Then heat a large, sturdy pot of salted water over high heat. Insert a large two-pronged fork into the base of a head of cabbage. Once the water boils, submerge the cabbage beneath the water and rotate the fork. The leaves will begin to soften and separate. After this happens you can use a knife to cut the individual leaves off the base and push them away.