Pork

The column agenda (2010 edition) is taking crude shape, rumpled business card by penciled note by reader e-mail from, well, here's one now from Joel Gardner from Cherry Hill: "Don't know if you ever get over to the Jersey side of the Delaware, but on Route 38 in Pennsauken, what used to be Flower World is now a Vietnamese shopping center. . . . " I'd written about the pork banh mi sandwiches (also know as "Vietnamese hoagies") at Sampan, the new modern Asian spot at 13th and Sansom.

The ever-improving Sidecar Bar, a pioneering gastropub in Graduate Hospital, took another step forward this fall with the addition of chef Brian Lofink. Formerly co-chef at Matyson off Rittenhouse Square, Lofink hasn't upscaled Sidecar's inventive bar fare so much as tweaked it with better ingredients. His nachos - usually a dish I dread - were an irresistible example. The gooey jack cheese has been replaced with a genuine Mexican melter - asadero. The salsa, a green tomatillo zinger studded with pineapple, jalapeño, and cilantro, was inspired by Lofink's brief stint with Bobby Flay.

Uncooked sauces are easy to make. Use plump, ripe, fresh tomatoes for a fresh-picked taste. If you can't find good ones, then use a good-quality can of whole tomatoes. The sauce can also be used over any grilled meat.   Herbed Grilled Pork 1. Preheat grill. Remove visible fat from pork. Butterfly the pork: Cut almost in half lengthwise, not all the way through. Open it like a book. 2. Spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle oregano and rosemary on both sides.

The more federal court documents you read, the less optimistic you become about Rep. John Murtha's future in politics. Murtha (D., Pa.) is the powerful chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee. Over his 18 terms, he has been best known for his ability to bring federal pork projects to his home base in tiny Johnstown. But lately, defense contractors with ties to Murtha have been running afoul of federal prosecutors. The latest potential problem for Murtha arose Monday in federal court in Pittsburgh.

A spokesman for Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture called "completely unnecessary" yesterday's decision by Russia to ban the import of pork products from the state. Russia also is swearing off all pork from Connecticut in its ever-expanding ban - now up to 13 states - stemming from concerns over the spreading H1N1 virus. Though the virus was referred to as "swine flu," no links between it and pork products have been established, said Chris Ryder, spokesman for Pennsylvania's agriculture department.

A certain learning curve has been required in the case of Bebe, the latest of a small wave of barbecue joints - Oh, happy days! - to achieve toeholds in what might be described as underserved precincts of the city. In Old City's cocktail alley (as we've noted), Q Barbecue and Tequila has replaced a seafoodery, aiming to hook the late-night crowd. In West Philadelphia, Dante's, the take-out spot at 48th and Lancaster, is getting props for its Memphis ribs. But Bebe, its window neon promising "Hot Biscuits," has had some educating to do. It is in the very heart of the Italian Market, roughly across Ninth Street from Fante's, the kitchenwares store.

President Obama couldn't be more wrong when he refers to a pork-filled spending bill now lumbering through Congress as "last year's unfinished business. " The president would like people to believe that, so he can sidestep responsibility for dealing with more than 8,500 earmarks in the bill, costing taxpayers about $7.7 billion. Obama pledged during his presidential campaign that he would go "line by line" to cut out wasteful spending. The Senate is expected to complete the overall $410 billion legislation this week.

You know South Philly's growing Mexican scene is really rolling when one of its best taquerias is on wheels. But there's a good reason a steady line of customers can so often be found waiting for supper beside the fútbol field at 4th Street and Washington Avenue. When the Taco Loco taco trailer pulls up at noon and parks (until 8 p.m. every day but Monday), Juan Carlos Alvares delivers some of the meatiest, most inexpensive comidas around. His Oaxacan-style tamale, steamed with guajillo red-sauced pork inside a banana leaf, is distinctive.

Part of the list is runovers, unfinished business, cryptic notes to self: A fireside dinner at the Carversville Inn once again seems like the venue for good winter material; and has for about three years running. Its problem is that something always jumps the line in that neck of Bucks County (up toward New Hope) - a gorgeous lavender farm where they're making their own honey, or Solebury Orchard in cider season, or the homespun pork and oyster dinner they've been holding at the Carversville Christian Church since 1871.

When I said "I do," I did not know that he would bring to the marriage an uncontrollable urge to always leave a supermarket with one or two plastic-wrapped logs of lean pork tenderloin. Like so many consumers, my husband correctly perceives these packages - which contain 1 to 2 pounds of meat, often already marinated, usually in two long, thin pieces - as the culinary equivalent of a fashion-world "go-to. " This means they are weekday fallbacks that are versatile, convenient, comfy, reliable and neutral but presentable.