tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71816160279795820542024-03-12T21:43:02.660-07:0052 Restaurants in 52 Weeks: Eating My Way Through PhiladelphiaAfter winning 52 $50 gift certificates to restaurants throughout Philadelphia- I thought what better way to share my experience than through a blog. Hope you enjoy my adventures eating my way through Philadelphia, one restaurant at a time!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-34708310955751711402014-05-27T13:00:00.000-07:002014-05-27T13:00:06.787-07:00#32: MeritageAs the gift cards are starting to diminish, Brendan and I decided to finally use one that we had been saving for the right night. Meritage was perfect for a rainy Friday since it is located 3 blocks from our house, on the corner of 20th and Lombard. This was the only gift certificate that I had located in Graduate Hospital so it was one I was looking forward to. Meritage is wine bar with a contemporary menu. We arrived for our 8pm reservation and were the only ones in the dining room, but that quickly changed and before we knew it the place was packed.Meritage had very dark lighting and portraits of women on the walls, which gave it an interesting twist. I enjoyed the atmosphere, it was struck a nice balance between romantic and social. <br />
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For my entree I got the Salmon with snap peas, fennel salad, caramelized fennel puree, gin beurre blanc (whatever all of that means). It was good, could have been cooked a little bit more but not enough to send back. Brendan got the Grilled Petite Sirloin with roasted potatoes, grilled scallion, grilled ramps, ramp chimichurri. By his thumbs up in this picture, I assume he enjoyed his meal.<br />
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And we couldn't not get dessert, so we ordered the Warm Bread Pudding with brown sugar,vanilla, cinnamon, brandy maple cream, which we devoured. We decided that we didn't leave the restaurant completely full, so that shows that the portions were on the smaller side for us. That being said, we do eat a lot. <br />
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I enjoyed Meritage but felt that for the price, we should've gotten more. With the gift card we ended still paying close to $100 (tip included). We also didn't get a chance to really explore their wine menu or try any of their cheeses, which is something I would like to do in the future. Really convenient spot for us, but I don't see us making this our go-to Friday night restaurant. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-81811813339446335702014-04-25T12:28:00.004-07:002014-04-25T12:53:28.018-07:00#30: Zama<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdpJhyphenhyphenzLvKOZ5G1cGIEu6BMzhEf8MkCIkxOyBCYAzU2OOiGlP4etqw_4WPiV4_ECs5O3heUBAV238FX4Ar6YWCvx6GDVIZOcYvBbh4keWatEqCKr8KkAMZDz_7i0DkRp5VnucfI3ygEc/s1600/14+-+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Hello everyone who reads Ryan's blog, Regan aka Ryan's sister aka Maid of Honor here to guest blog our trip to Zama. The Tuesday night prior to Zama, I was sitting at home in my PJs waiting for my boyfriend to come over with leftovers for dinner. He called me to say he had arrived and to come let him in. When I got to the door, Ryan was there holding a Papa Johns pie with MOH spelled out in pepperoni on the pizza. To really understand the significance of this I should point out I have a pretty serious pizza addiction, particularly Papa. I was very excited to be officially asked to be Ry's Maid of Honor and devour some pizza and wine with her. I think my reaction was more confusion (..wait why are you here, Michael's not coming over?) than Ryan would have liked and in retrospect I wish I would cried or something, but I guess I am not good at surprises. Either way, it was pretty much the most amazing way I could have been asked to be her MOH. Ryan and I both had busy Wednesdays so we decided we would officially celebrate on Friday night using one of her gift cards.<br />
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Zama was walking distance from Ryan's which was great because it was a beautiful night, and who doesn't love walking through Rittenhouse Square on a beautiful night?! We found it without too much trouble (one day we'll get this city down) and had a reservation so sat right down. <br />
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The service really wasn't great. I feel like Ryan complains about this in a lot of her posts, and maybe we inherited the trait of being tough on restaurant staff from our Dad, but we had to wait for water and drinks and Jimmy has taught us this really just shouldn't happen. <br />
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Either way, we eventually did order our glasses of wine and edamame. I guess I learned to eat edamame while I was in college and when I moved back I remember teaching Ryan how to eat it- "No Ry, you pull the edamame of out the pod you don't eat the whole thing" and now it's pretty much our go to appetizer when we get sushi. Zama had an interesting twist, the "Edamame Sampler." You got to pick three different salts, we relied on the waitress for this one- I didn't even really know three types of salts existed and there were 5 to choose from. We went with sea salt, wasabi, and Yuzu. We were surprised by how spicy the Wasabi was but we probably shouldn't have been... Overall the sampler was enjoyable, which is good cause you really just shouldn't mess up edamame. We destroyed it, probably myself more than Ryan. <br />
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I am the most boring sushi eater ever. I didn't eat any sushi up until recently and just haven't moved out of the phase where I only ever get California rolls and Shrimp Tempura roles. To make it worse I generally do not eat the end pieces of the Shrimp Tempura with the shrimp ends sticking out. On that note, I am probably the worst person to be critiquing a sushi place but I would give these two roles pretty high ratings. <br />
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Ryan got a Dragon role and a Spicy Crunchy Tuna role. I generally just try not to look at them or think about eating them, but Ryan seemed to enjoy.<br />
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We chatted a lot about the upcoming wedding and I had a lot of questions around what the heck a maid of honor is supposed to do. Ryan reassured me not a whole lot at this point, but I have a feeling it will come sooner rather than later! <br />
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Occasionally Ryan will say something like, "I am stressed out because.." and I like to finish her sentence with "You realize Brendan's not the one and you're not sure what to do? Good I was hoping you would finally realize." (We can joke about this because Ryan and Brendan are literally the perfect couple). <br />
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I couldn't be more excited for my big sister to be getting married. Even though I am pretty much clueless when it comes to weddings, Pinterest is a great tool and I am already learning a lot. I am lucky that Ryan knows what she wants anyway, so I just get to encourage and reassure her. And tell her every couple of days how amazing her ring is (nice work Brendan). <br />
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Anyway, overall positive experience from Zama. Again, I can't really say too much on the sushi, but the restaurant itself was nice, food seemed good, location was great (lots of options for post dinner drinks) and it wasn't super expensive. I think Ryan goes through how much we spent when she does these, but I honestly don't remember the total- which means it wasn't very much because if it was I would remember for sure. <br />
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<i>Thanks Regan for giving me a break on my blogging- you're not too bad at this, either!!</i><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-51393210848825998982014-04-22T13:11:00.000-07:002014-04-22T13:11:23.551-07:00#31: Oyster HouseOne of my blog followers emailed me a few days ago and said "Still following your dining (drinking) experiences...". And I have to say, he was right on the mark when it comes to my experience at Oyster House. We had been hearing about Oyster House's happy hour special from 9-11PM on Saturdays and thought it would be a good way to 'blow through' my gift card, which is honestly how I have been thinking about these suckers lately. After owing money on my taxes this year because of receiving a 'gift' of $2600, I feel a bit cheated. Don't get me wrong, this has been an amazing experience but I think it's safe to say I have lost more money than I gained.<br />
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Oyster Bar was pretty packed when we arrived at 8:30- all seats at the very, very small bar were taken, so that put a damper on our plans. However we made the best of it and got the corner of a side table to hang. The happy hour specials weren't as great as I was expecting, but still pretty worthwhile for a Saturday night in Center City. Their 'Buck-a-Shuck' happy hour offered $1 oysters, one option of $3 draft beer, $3 signature shooter of the night, and a $5 signature cocktail.<br />
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At the beginning of the night I was perfectly content with just using my card for drinks, but then when I saw all of the oysters being passed around the restaurant, I quickly got FOMOOO (Fear of Missing Out On Oysters). So just had to order 4 of the $1 oysters on special. We also got an order of calamari for the guests who didn't like oysters- basically everyone else I was with.<br />
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So before we knew it, $50 was up and we moved on. Short and sweet trip to Oyster House- I would recommend if you are looking for good raw bar options in the city. If you want to take advantage of the happy hour- <b>get there early!</b><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-4237623681897999322014-03-27T11:03:00.000-07:002014-03-27T11:06:11.286-07:00#29: FarmiciaBreakfast or Lunch? The age old brunch dilemma. If you like to go to brunch, you know the indecisiveness we struggled with a few weekends ago at Farmicia. I brought my sister, Regan, and my cousin, Leah, who were apartment hunting in the area, as well as our friend Kenny. It's safe to say that we each changed our minds 3 separate times before we ordered.<br />
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If you're looking for the perfect brunch spot in Society Hill or Old City, Farmicia is the place to be. I came in to Farmicia having been here before, about 3 years ago. Didn't really remember too much so I was excited to refresh my memory. Well, I shouldn't say excited because I had been just coming off a stomach flu and I wasn't sure how I would react to eating my first full meal in 2 days. Imagine being starved, but also trying to be conscious of what to put in your body, while staring at a comprehensive and delicious brunch menu. Not fun.<br />
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I felt that the best option for me was to order the BLT. Not what I would ever order when there is any sort of eggs benedict or hacienda eggs on the menu, but thought it might be the best option for my body. It was still a great choice, two layers of B, L, & T with a delicious side of fries.<br />
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Regan went with the grilled goat cheese on sourdough bread. It was basically a gloried grilled cheese with pesto. It looks a bit sad, but I assure you, it tasted delicious.<br />
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Leah, never having tried Hollandaise (how do you avoid Hollandaise for 24 years?!) was adventurous and ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Omelette with fresh tomatoes, sauteed spinach, & mushrooms, topped with Hollandaise. Halfway through the meal she said "I don't think I like Hollandaise." At least she knows.<br />
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Finally, last but not least, Kenny ordered the basic two eggs, bread, and scrapple (boring). He had a major, major issue with his scrapple. We are still not sure if it was the shape that freaked him out or the slightly pink center, but either way he sent it back to be cooked longer.<br />
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I thoroughly enjoyed my second trip to Farmicia. My top 5 reasons to recommend Farmicia are:<br />
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<li>Reservations can be made for brunch via OpenTable</li>
<li>A long list of menu options</li>
<li>Happy Hour from 11AM-2PM</li>
<li>The rustic, comfortable atmosphere (see cute apples & silverware on the table below.)</li>
<li>Reasonably priced brunch- $89 for 4 people! And thanks to my handy gift card and nice friends, I didn't have to pay a cent and they only had to pay $13 each. </li>
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And I will leave you with this face to remember my visit to Farmicia...<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-9150763774239821892014-02-14T07:46:00.000-08:002014-02-14T07:48:29.577-08:00#28: TimeYesterday was my 6th snow day of the year, and Brendan's 1st. Selling Flyers tickets apparently qualifies him as essential personnel- but not yesterday! So we decided to brave the city streets in the 8 inches of snow.<br />
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We were planning on going to Oyster House for their happy hour special, but they were closed, so we ended up at McGillans. I feel like we always somehow find ourselves there. We stayed for a few drinks (pitchers, maybe) and then headed to Time for dinner.<br />
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For all of you who think Time is simply a late night spot to rage and dance in the sweaty upstairs bar room, you are wrong. This place is a hidden gem. The food was marvelous. And I can say with almost certainty that it was not just the PBR pitchers talking.<br />
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We just ordered off the bar menu, and started with the Mussels. Basic mussels sauce- white wine, tomatoes, garlic, but just simply amazing. I'm salivating right now as I type this and it is 10AM in the morning. This was Brendan's first time trying mussels, ever, and he said "why did you never make me eat mussels before?" Win!<br />
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Brendan got the Burger- bacon, jack cheese, onions fries. I got the Fried Chicken Sandwich with apple and cabbage slaw, chili mayo, fries. I can't say enough about this apple slaw. It made the sandwich. Ate the entire thing. I can say that that was probably a result of the PBR pitcher.<br />
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The best thing about Time last night had to be the atmosphere. It was slightly comical, actually. There was a drunk, drunk girl sitting on the other end of the bar with a guy who she made very clear was not her boyfriend. Something about something with her sister? Who knows, but she provided the entertainment for the night. In addition to that show, we also were serenaded by a one man band who turned Top 40 hits into a slow songs.. he reminded us of the wedding singer from The Hangover.<br />
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Great impression of Time last night, I enjoyed the bar scene as well as the food. Highly recommend if you are looking for a bar atmosphere type restaurant. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-56756505926833844002014-02-03T09:49:00.000-08:002014-02-03T09:49:26.090-08:00#27: Butcher & Singer<br />
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First of all, let me say that I apologize for my absence, it has been a busy couple of months, and frankly I am poor. I also would like to warn you that I took no pictures during my visit to Butcher and Singer so I hope that my beautiful, eloquent words can paint the picture for you. </div>
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As most of you know, last week was Restaurant Week in Center City, so Brendan and I decided to take advantage of this and make reservations for one of Philadelphia's most loved steak houses, Butcher & Singer . I was really looking forward to this night out and all of the delicious food that comes so highly recommended. I was ready to eat, that's for sure. </div>
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B&S has an old time steak house appeal to it. We walked into the front entrance through thick, velvet curtains. There was a small bar to the left when you first walked in, and then the rest of the floor was filled with tables. The high ceilings and the ornate fixtures really made this place come alive. The waiters were dressed very Gatsby-like and our waiter in particular was pretty amazing. He really took his time to explain the restaurant week menu and to orient us to B&S. Brendan and I hadn't been out in a while, so we decided to make the most of it. That being said, I decided to stray from my typical drink order of Merlot or Chardonnay and go with B&S's featured drink, the Brown Derby (honey infused bourbon, grapefruit juice, and agave- I mean how good does that sound?!) I've never been a big bourbon drinker, honestly that may have been the first bourbon I've ever ordered. After that drink, I know why. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I probably could've fallen asleep at the table and I lasted maybe 30 minutes when we got home before I headed to bed. Anyways less on my light-weightness and onto the food...We each ordered our 3 courses and we just had to add the Stuffed Hash Browns. We've heard from multiple people they were a definite must-have and the way our waiter explained them, it was a no brainer. The dish came out and it was as big as the plate. Picture a huge hash brown stuffed with cheese, sour cream, and more potatoes. Yup. </div>
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My Meal:</div>
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<li>Oysters Rockefeller : <i>Oysters topped with spinach, parmesan cheese, and other greatness. I ate these in 7 seconds. I think I got anxious or I was just that hungry. Sometimes I forget restaurant etiquette. </i></li>
<li>8 oz Filet: <i>Ugh. The center of my steak was cold. I <u style="font-weight: bold;">never </u>send my steak back, but this was cold and I was too excited for this meal not to have it be perfect. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>My thought was that since it was restaurant week they had all meals massed produced and sitting out under a light, which is why the center of my steak was cold.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> </span>When I told the waiter, he said okay let me throw that back on the grille for you. I think he mistook my cold steak as me not knowing how I wanted my steak done. The steak was done perfectly, it was just cold. So he brought it back 5 minutes later and it was charred on the outside and more of a medium than a medium rare that I ordered. And this is why I typically avoid ordering steak. </i></li>
<li>Creamed Spinach side:<i> Very tiny, thank god we got the hash browns or we might have left hungry. But the side was great. </i></li>
<li>Bread Pudding: <i>Another Ugh. They got my order wrong and brought me out the Blood Orange Sorbet. Another issue to be solved.</i></li>
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Brendan's Meal:</div>
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<li>Potato Leak Soup</li>
<li>8 oz Fliet: <i>His filet was cold too, but since the creamed spinach and the hash brown were so hot, he just topped this filet with those sides and called it a day.</i></li>
<li>Creamed Spinach side</li>
<li>Chocolate Caramel Tart</li>
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Overall, the meal left me wanting more. Again, I don't want to judge a restaurant too hard during restaurant week- but isn't that the point? To make patrons want to come back? </div>
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Even though it a less expensive meal as a result of restaurant week, we still paid a pretty penny. Total bill was $114. Minus $50 + tip = $85. We were a bit surprised that we didn't get at least a drink taken off our bill because of the few mishaps, and they even overcharged us $2 for Brendan's drink. I am trying not to let this night ruin my perception of Butcher and Singer- would love to go back but know that it probably won't happen for a while. Final thoughts: Great hash brown.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-24585619509127880562013-12-13T08:33:00.001-08:002013-12-13T12:14:03.104-08:00#26: Zahav<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Okay let’s get a few things out of the way first. This is Ryan’s cousin Kenny, guest blogging for our trip to Zahav. I was quite honored when two days before we went, Ryan asked me, or more so told me that I would be doing the write-up/review. Thanks for the heads up by the way, Ryan. To be honest, this should have been done over a week ago, but subconsciously I think I was procrastinating because of the following that 52 First Meals has developed, I did not want to disappoint. She was so annoyed at how long it took me to write this that she took to Facebook and publicly shamed me. </div>
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Ryan invited me to go to Zahav with her because I am the more…adventurous of eaters and the menu offers some not-so-normal eats. She of course arrived before me because it took just about two hours to go 20 miles (man I do not miss driving 76 one bit), almost costing us our reservation. But Ryan adapted well and had herself a glass of wine at the bar (shocker) while waiting. Once we were seated, we both felt a bit overwhelmed by the menu and the options.<br />
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Our waitress was fantastic. She offered us a complimentary bottle of sparkling water, which we graciously accepted. Then we were asked if we had dined at Zahav before, which we had not, so she made a recommendation to do the Taymin – Salatim & Hummus, Two Mezze (small plates), One Al Ha’esh (grilled over coals) and One Dessert. It was ample amount of food for the two of us.<br />
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The Salatim and Hummus was outstanding. I had never tried hummus before, but Ryan assured me that I would enjoy, which I did. This course was served with House-Baked Laffa (basically an oversized tortilla). Pickled Beets, Cucumber and Dill, Eggplant, Asparagus, and an Israeli salad. Cannot rave enough about what a great starter this was, a good way to dip your toes in the water. Truth be told, we needed a second Laffa to finish off the Salatim & Hummus.<br />
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We each chose two Mezze. This is where we decided to be audacious, but ordered one “safe” Mezze’s…just in case. The Fried Potatoes were what you expected, a solid choice - Kashkaval Cheese, Crispy Okra, Shifka Peppers.<br />
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Our other safe choice was the House Smoked Sable which was fish and a fried egg served over Challah with poppy seeds. Loved how the yolk broke open as we ate this dish. The sable looked like and also tasted suspiciously like crab...</div>
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Next, Crispy Lamb’s Tongue, served with – Snap Peas, Smoked Grapes, Pistachio Tehina, Peaches. For me, the best Mezze we had. To put it simply, it was comparable to a jerky. I did not try it with the sides it was served with, but the Tongue had great flavor.</div>
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<em>No picture, sorry kids! Use your imagination......</em></div>
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Finally, Grilled Duck Hearts, served with - Green Chickpeas, Falafel, Amba Tehina. Yes, duck hearts. This was brave and I give Ry all the credit for giving it a chance. The taste itself was great, with a nice smoke from the grill. Our only drawback was that you had to work through chewing it, because with each jaw movement you started to think about what exactly it was that you were chomping down on. </div>
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Onto our Al Ha’esh. Ryan went with the Veal-stuffed Grape Leaves - Pine Nuts, Tomato, Snap Peas. I think I startled Ry a bit when I said that I had eaten grape leaves before and was not a fan. I of course waited until after she put her order in, so there was turning back. But she quickly found out on her own that she enjoyed it. </div>
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I went with the Kofte - Ground Beef and Lamb, Cumin, Peppers, Carrots. Lamb again right? But this was tremendous. If you don’t like spicy, I would not recommend this dish. There were a lot of layers of heat to this plate, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chickpeas provided a nice balance from the heat.</div>
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Somehow we were able to muster up the energy to order dessert as well. I decided on the Carrot Basboosa - Cream Cheese Mousse, Candied Hazelnuts. Basically a fancy carrot cake. A perfect ending to the meal for me. </div>
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Ryan went with the White Chocolate Cake - Poached Pears, Vanilla, Cardamom. A little sweet tooth ending to an out-of-the-box meal.</div>
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Overall, I could not encourage you more to go and experience Zahav. The server was one of the best I’ve ever had. She knew she was dealing with a couple of rookies and she took her time when explaining everything and made sure we fully understood. There was perfect timing between each course, which I know Ry is a stickler for. We did not feel rushed one bit. We took our time and enjoyed the food to the full extent.<br />
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If you’re still reading, I give you credit. My apologies for being longwinded, it’s a nasty habit of mine. Finally, I know Ry gives a final price. All things included, the bill was $102. Thankfully she had that $50 gift card or I was leaving her there to wash dishes to pay off the rest of our bill.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-79758454829016068742013-12-12T07:17:00.003-08:002013-12-12T07:17:59.346-08:00#25 Smith & WollenskyAfter a semi nice dinner in Rittenhouse we decided to stop by Smith & Wollensky for a night cap. I know, all of you out there, scoffing at me for going to Smith & Wollensky to just sit at the bar for drinks and dessert and not a steak. But, I'm poor. And, if you take a look at all of the other steak houses on my list, you'll notice I will have just a few more chances to enjoy an expensive steak dinner in the city. <br />
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Smith & Wollensky was basically empty on a Friday night at 9:30pm. Immediately when I walked in I loved the atmosphere. They were decked out with Christmas lights and it had warm and intimate feel. Perfect for a rainy night. The bar was a decent size and there were a few other people sitting around it. The crowd at the bar that night was.... diverse, you could say. One couple eating dinner, one man sitting by himself, and then 3 drunk young attorneys attempting to drink martinis. Needless to say they provided our entertainment for the night. <br />
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We ordered 2 drinks and a dessert. The dessert menu was pretty extensive, but I decided to go with the New York Style Cheesecake since I am obsessed with cheesecake and it is pretty much my go to when I can't decide. However, the bartender quickly talked me out of that one. He said it was too small and that we would finish it in 2 minutes. He gave me a few other suggestions and we decided to go with the Apple Crisp. It was amazing. Not only did it taste amazing but the presentation was amazing as well. Am I saying amazing too much?<br />
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I have to say that I felt pretty classy sitting at the bar at Smith & Wollenksy for a drink. But then the bill came out to $42 and I realized why we don't do this often. We gave him our gift certificate, which was basically a letter written on Smith & Wollensky letter head. He wasn't able to give us change and made no indication if we could use the left over $8 for a tip or not. Probably because he doesn't typically come across people who are as cheap as we are. Since we were too embarrassed to ask if the left over money could be used for tip, we decided to just leave cash. Par for the course, I only had $4 in cash and Brendan had none. Not enough to leave a decent tip. Stressing about what to do (<em>order another drink, leave the $4 and run</em>?), Brendan went inside the Rittenhouse Hotel, which is connected to the restaurant, and tracked down at ATM. Problem solved! Lesson learned: take out cash before you use a GC at a bar. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-81363942729168618952013-12-12T06:25:00.002-08:002013-12-13T09:37:47.297-08:00#24 MelogranoWith the holidays right around the corner, Brendan and I were looking for an inexpensive date night (aka, gift card & byob). We decided to go to Melograno, an Italian BYOB on 20th and Sansom, fairly close to his apartment. We made these plans at about noon on the day of, pretty typical. Can't get Brendan to plan anything in advance. However it was pretty easy to make a reservation for 8:30 on the night of, which surprised me.<br />
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So, as the day goes on, it begins to pour. And then it doesn't stop. All. Night. The last thing that we wanted to do was trek out in the rain but, Friday night is date night and that is what you do. Luckily we got a cab immediately as we walked out of his house, which doesn't happen often. During this cab ride we discovered that I cannot for the life of me say 'Sansom' correctly. It usually comes out 'Samson', 'Sanson', 'Samsom' or some other variation. <br />
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We arrived at Melograno about 15 minutes early and they were able to seat us right away. Now, you all know how much of a stickler I am with wait staff, so when this waiter came to our table to open our wine without introducing himself or asking how we were and avoided any attempt to create small talk, I wasn't pleased. Crickets as he was opening our wine. Like, hello, anybody there? Then, he left us for about 20 minutes. I mean the place was full, but come on! This was how much I had left in my first glass before we ordered: <br />
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When he finally came to our table to order he just stood there looking at us, waiting for us to speak. After more awkward silence we ordered our meal. This guy. Anyways, I will cease my rant about the waiter and talk about our food. Before I begin, I would like to apologize for my picture quality. Melograno was dark and my boyfriend gets embarrassed when I use my flash. <br />
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To start, Brendan ordered calamari (which, by the way, has been a central theme of 52 First Meals- maybe I should write a sister blog called '30 First Calamari Dishes'). His calamari came with cannellini beans, diced tomato & lemon over baby spinach. The calamari was not fried, so I kept mistaking the beans for squid. It was good though. I ordered the <em>Prosciutto di Parma e Rucola</em> salad which was arugula, prosciutto & shaved parmigiano with lemon vinaigrette dressing. I enjoyed this dish, it was light enough to leave me hungry for dinner.<br />
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Now on to the main dishes. Brendan got the <em>Pappardelle Al Ragu di Cinghiale </em>(braised wild boar ragu) & I got the <em>Ravioli di Patate </em>(sweet potato & leek ravioli, brown butter sage sauce). I liked my raviolis but ordered the dish solely based on the sweet potato and brown butter sage and those flavors weren't really coming through for me. The entrees were fine. Just fine. Nothing really special about them, but coupled with the wait staff, we weren't overly thrilled with Melograno. No wonder it was so easy to get a Friday night reservation!<br />
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I am not going to say that I won't go back to Melograno because it is a super convenient BYOB, but there are way more quality BYOs in the city that excite me much more than Melograno did. Thankfully, the night was not over yet - on to gift card #25 ;-)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-18114681343646639042013-11-22T07:48:00.001-08:002013-11-22T07:48:06.005-08:00#23 Audrey ClaireI just.. don't know where to start. I could start with the location, the amazing wait staff, the bill, the food, the atmosphere, how Audrey Claire met all of my expectations and more. I guess I'll start with the beginning. <br />
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Coll and I were looking for a BYOB spot to go to on a Thursday night and we both simultaneously suggested Audrey Claire. I have heard nothing but good things about Audrey Claire, other than that it is hard as hell to get a table on the weekend since they don't take reservations. Luckily, they do take them Sunday- Thursday, and making one 24 hours in advance was sufficient to get a table for 2 at 7:30. We sat down right away. The place was packed for a Thursday night, so I was happy we decided to make that reservation. The seating area was very small, we were basically sitting at a table for 4 with 2 other girls. Honestly, didn't even care. The reason for that could've been our amazing waiter. It just makes such a difference when you have good wait staff. He really took care of us. We ordered 4 small dishes instead of getting entrees and he asked if we wanted them in any particular order or if we were in a rush. We said no to both- and he timed the dishes out perfectly. We never felt hurried, even when there were people waiting for a table. After going to 23 different restaurants in the past 6 months, I realized how important it is to not have a waiter on your back the whole time. Coll made a good point last night- sometimes you go into a restaurant and they push the food at you and you leave not even knowing what you ate or if you liked it. Audrey Claire- you've perfect the art of timing, and for that, I love you.<br />
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We started our meal with wine, obviously. They had the tiniest little wine glasses, but we decided it made us drink less, which is always a good thing for us. <br />
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Then we ordered the <em>bosc pear and gorgonzola w/ toasted sunflower seeds flatbread</em>. So that was amazing. I love the fruit & gorgonzola cheese combo and they nailed it. </div>
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Then came out our <em>baby arugula salad w/ candied figs, fresh berries, french lentils and warm goat cheese</em>. Another delicious dish, I don't think I've ever had candied figs, but I loved them. The warm goat cheese really made the dish. </div>
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Then, our most exciting order, <em>butternut squash risotto w/ sweet mascarpone</em>. Just, just, no words. Not too heavy or too sweet, just perfect.</div>
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Finally (by the way at this point I could barely breathe I was so full, but we marched on), the hummus platter. We originally had to choose 3 of the 5 types of hummus, but the waiter said we could choose 4 (adding to my love for him). We went with the <em>spicy hummus, tzatziki,. pumpkin hummus, & sun-dried tomato and basil hummus. </em>I felt a little bit more informed about these from my trip to Estia (see post #4). I wish we could've dug into this a bit more but we were pretty stuffed at this point. </div>
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Then the bill came, and it was $47. We only had to pay tip. Now <u>this</u> is the kind of place I am looking to spend my gift cards! No extra cost to me. People- go here and begin your love affair with Audrey Claire (wait does that rhyme?) <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-58320277259251783492013-11-06T06:52:00.001-08:002013-11-06T07:51:19.722-08:00#22 XochitlEveryone keeps asking me "Ryan, how many gift cards do you have left?!" After I sigh and complain about how much work they are I usually respond with "like 30-ish". So to clear that up, as of today, I officially have 30 gift cards left to use. Crap.<br />
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I love Mexican restaurants. I love gauc and margs and the atmosphere that comes with an authentic Mexican restaurant. I've actually eaten Mexican one night a week for the past 3 weeks (overkill?). Unfortunately, I only have 4 on my list, which is just not enough. So I have been strategically trying to space them out. Good thing Lolita is closed for renovation until January, so that buys me some time to use my last Mexican gift card. <br />
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Xochitl, pronounced " So-Cheet" (I was pronouncing it like Zoc-a-til- not even close) is a cozy bar/restaurant located at 2nd and Pine. Beautiful part of the city that I definitely want to venture back to. Every time one of these gift cards brings me to a new neighborhood of Philadelphia I immediately picture my life there and decide that I want to move. Not only have these gift cards expanded my palate, but they have also enhanced my love of the city. Okay- I'll stop! <br />
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The seating area in Xochitl was pretty small, but there was a large bar. There was a good amount of people sitting at the bar watching a game on TV. I could definitely see myself going back there to enjoy the bar room instead of the formal dining area. <br />
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The first great thing I noticed about Xochitl was their "Make your Own Guacamole" option. Like, yes. My dream. <br />
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The second thing I noticed was that their margs were strong. Holy cow. I think its funny how every Mexican restaurant "specializes in tequila". The waiters always go into so much detail about "their favorite margarita" and rave about the specialty tequila. I also know that the waiter's "favorite margarita" is going to be the most expensive drink on the menu. I've been around the block enough times to know their trick and I never buy in. After their long winded, detailed spiel about the $15 special margarita, I always go with the basic $9 margarita. Better luck next time, guys.<br />
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The third thing that I noticed about Xochitl was that the wait staff was on the pushy side. It was a Friday night at 8:30 and I was out with my roommates, Regan and Mal. I was in absolutely no rush to scarf my food down. We ordered the margaritas and guacamole and were enjoying the night. The waitress asked if we were ready to order and we told her we wanted a few more minutes. Then about 5 minutes later, the head chef comes to our table and asks us if had any questions about the menu and if we were ready to order. The waitress sent out the big guns. I felt slightly intimidated, so we started to order. We all got tacos, Regan got the chicken and Mal and I got the fish. The chef asked if wanted sides, well maybe I shouldn't say asked, he basically told us we needed sides. "The tacos don't come with side dishes and they aren't very big so we would definitely need something else." We weren't even that hungry, but he bullied us into ordering two sides for the table. The tacos came out and they were huge. We definitely did not need the sides. I'll say it again, we got bullied. <br />
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Lucky for us, the sides were hands down the best part of the meal. We got the Rice & Manchego (cheesy rice goodness) & the Esquites (Mexican street corn). If you ever go to Xochitl, please get these. Mal & I weren't fans of our tacos. The fish tacos were surprisingly spicy and had more slaw then fish. Mal said hers had an overly fishy taste. Regan said her tacos were "amaze". Guess I will go with the chicken tacos next time. <br />
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</span></span>I was pleasantly surprised that with tip and my $50 gift card we each only paid $34. For 2 margaritas each, guacamole, an entrée, and sides, this isn't too shabby. One of my very, very few posts that I don't complain about the check! <span style="color: #df1e31;"><span style="color: #df1e31;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
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I am excited to go back to Xochitl to sit at the bar and avoid any pushy wait staff. On Sundays- Thursdays they have a $28 Molajete Dinner for 2, which is right up my alley! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-54379489548497990602013-10-10T12:50:00.002-07:002013-10-10T12:50:34.371-07:00#21 Capital GrilleAnother race to the finish- using a gift card on the day before the expiration date. Capital Grille was not a place I had been super excited to try. I know the prices, I've been to Capital Grilles before, just unenthused. I was even more unenthused because on the night we went, we had plans to go to a bar in Northern Liberties later. 13th & Chestnut and Girard & Frankford aren't exactly neighbors. But, alas, we do what we have to for the fans. <br />
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We went into Capital Grille with the mindset of sitting at the bar- having a drink and ordering appetizers. So that is exactly what we did. Well, actually, we couldn't get a seat at the bar. It was filled with what seemed to be Friday night regulars. The bar crowd was what you would expect it to be, overdressed women, men in suits, etc. Luckily, we got a small high top in the bar area, right near the entrance (ideal spot for people watching). We had access to the full menu and to a waitress as well, which was exciting since we weren't actually sitting at a table. <br />
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We ordered the Calamari & the Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella with Vine Ripe Tomatoes. They were both what you would expect- amazing. The calamari had hot cherry peppers intermixed into the dish which really made the flavor pop. Plus they give you a huge portion. This was good since we were replacing appetizers for our dinner that night. <br />
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The prosciutto wrapped mozzarella doesn't look pretty in the picture below- but let me tell you- it tasted pretty. I go back and forth with my feelings on prosciutto, but this dish sold me. It was like bacon, but lighter and better. <br />
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And folks, that's all about what we could afford so we were outta there. 4 drinks, 2 apps, $70. Cannot avoid paying more than $50 anywhere I go! I will say that I really liked the atmosphere and that this gave us a chance to experience Capital Grille when we most likely never would have before. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-49513428726497276012013-10-04T09:22:00.000-07:002013-10-10T12:53:00.426-07:00#20 Amuse at the Le Meridien I have been scrounging around lately because a number of my gift cards decided to expire in the fall months of 2013. Even though I have heard from multiple sources that gift cards are not allowed to expire, I didn't want to take any chances and force my blog followers to miss out on any life shattering, world changing posts. So with 1 day left on my gift card to Amuse at the Le Meridien, my mom offered to come down and take us out to lunch. WHEW. <br />
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Amuse is such a hidden gem! The Le Meridien hotel is located in an amazing location, right near Love Park. It was a beautiful day and in that moment I was happy that this gift card with its pending expiration date dragged me out of bed on a Sunday afternoon to experience Center City. <br />
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We walked into the beautiful hotel and noticed that Amuse was basically the Le Meridien's dining area. It was a small cozy area with a fireplace and beautiful city views. I do have to mention that it was a bit of a struggle to get a table for 5 people. The host was being very indirect and said "I just don't know if we will be able to serve you". Not, "there is a 15 minute wait", not "let me find a table for you", it was more like, "please leave, we don't want you". So we hung around the bar area (closed bar, btw) until this man figured out how to serve us. We waited about 15 minutes and sat at a table right by the window. <br />
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There isn't much to say about the food, it was all very good. Pretty basic hotel food, but the service was on point. They even gave us a little free sample of a little tart filled with some goat cheese mixture. Collectively we got the Cesar salad, French onion soup, the spring quiche (I applaud Regan for this out of character order!), the chicken club, the French omelette, and the cheeseburger. <br />
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One of my shorter blogs, the most memorable thing was that my self proclaimed wine snob mother ordered a $7 glass of Oak Vineyards Chardonnay. She also guilted me into getting a glass which led me to pass out for an hour after I got home. <br />
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Oh and how could I forget our trip to Love Park. Such a wonderful spectacle on a warm Sunday. The smell of urine and homeless people just made my day! For some reason, in my head I had a prettier picture of the park. The woman voluntarily directing pictures in front of the Love sign while asking for tips really threw me off. Not enough to snatch one, though :) <br />
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</span> </span> </b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-73394002022253885642013-10-01T09:44:00.001-07:002013-10-01T09:48:45.445-07:00#19: Alma de Cuba<div style="text-align: center;">
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Alma De Cuba, post 2 of my restaurant week series. So pumped to write this. I've heard how great Alma De Cuba was, I've walked past the place many times, nestled on Walnut street among the shops, but I was still curious what it was all about. When I say that I've heard how great Alma De Cuba was, I mean mostly through my cousins, Melissa & Jeff's, raves. So I thought it would be a perfect idea to invite them down for restaurant week to join us at Alma De Cuba! I also prefer going to new places with people who have been there before. Sometimes these ethnic menus confuse me and its nice to have some back up.<br />
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Alma de Cuba was surprisingly big. It looks pretty small from the outside, but there were 3 floors with plenty of seating. The restaurant was dark, with candles and red lighting all around to make the place feel intimate and trendy. Their restaurant week menu was pretty limited, only about 3 or 4 choices per course. That being said, I would have liked to order every option.<br />
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Melissa and Jeff talked up Alma de Cuba's El Jefe Mojito all summer, so clearly had to get that. It was worth the hype. The only complaint I have is that the glass was pretty small for being $12. (Are you shocked that I am complaining about a drink being too much money and too small?) Just a side note, you are not supposed to eat the sugar cane stick in the drink. Chewing it and then having to spit it out on your bread plate is not a good look.<br />
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During restaurant week you typically have to order your 3 courses up front. This is a lot of pressure. I slightly panicked and ordered the black bean soup, the Panca Glazed Chicken with yucca fries and plantains and the Tembleque for dessert. After I avoided saying any word that I didn't know how to pronounce to the waiter, I thought, <i>do I even like black beans? What even is black bean soup ? I am going to get sick? </i>Fortunately, it was delicious. I don't want to go ahead and say that I would order black bean soup from anywhere else just yet, but baby steps.<br />
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Other starter items we got were the Smoked Albacore Tacos and the Plantains. I didn't get a chance to try the tacos, so I am going to go ahead and assume they were good since everyone ate them pretty quickly. The plantains tied the black bean soup for my favorite part of the meal. They were perfectly sweet with a buttermilk sauce. I basically ate most of my meal in plantains. Ugh, I miss them.<br />
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Melissa got the Cuban Shrimp and Grits for her meal and Brendan and Jeff got the Vaca Frita (skirt steak with rice and beans). I got to try both entrees and they were basically amazing<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px;">. </span></span><br />
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For dessert I was the only adventurous one and got the Tembleque when everyone else got the Alfajores (boring cookie sandwich). Tembleque is a Puerto Rican custard with a mango sorbet. I didn't love this. The custard tasted like flan to me, even though I've never had flan. It had a spong-ey texture and stood straight up on its own. <br />
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Overall, we had a great time at Alma de Cuba. Once Melissa & Jeff got over me taking pictures of their meals before they could have a bite with my obnoxious camera flash, we were good. We basically tried everything on the restaurant week menu, and if you know anything about my aversion to ordering the same thing as anyone else at the table, you know that this made me happy. <br />
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My advice for Alma de Cube: get the mojito, get the black bean soup, get the plantains, expect to pay a pretty penny!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-60513614248631523902013-09-25T14:10:00.000-07:002013-10-01T10:38:38.944-07:00#18 Ristorante Panorama<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Post 1 of 2 of my restaurant week series of 52 first meals. I figure this is where I can really make the most out of my gift cards. Contributing $50 towards a 3 course $35 meal gives me a little wiggle room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ristorante Panorama (already annoyed that I will have to continuously type that out during this post, by the way) was located in the Penns View Hotel on the corner of Front & Market streets. Sounds easy enough to find, right? Nope. I already add at least 10 more minutes to my drive when I am going anywhere in Old City because I never know where the hell I am. 10 minutes extra was just not enough for us. Next time remind me not to use Siri to direct me. Once we finally parked and made our way through the foreign land that is Old City, we arrived at the Penns View Hotel which houses Ristorante Panorama. It was beautiful. It overlooked the river and had an amazing view of the lights of the Ben Franklin Bridge. There was some seating outside and I thought it would be a great place to go in the summer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Regan & I met our friend Colleen at Panorama. We entered through the lobby of the hotel and then made our way back through a hallway to the restaurant. Of all the empty tables in the place, they sat us directly next to a couple. Why do they always do that, by the way? It has to be some restaurant formality that I am not aware of. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QBgLi4jE9EI/UkNOPon2oWI/AAAAAAAACl8/AXCvte3U20k/s1600/13+-+3" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QBgLi4jE9EI/UkNOPon2oWI/AAAAAAAACl8/AXCvte3U20k/s1600/13+-+3" height="320" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The cool thing about Panorama was that they included their entire menu in the restaurant week special. This was great because you knew you were going to get a good portion size </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and that the food was going to be well prepared because they weren't just cranking out orders after orders of the same few dishes all night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The waiter took our wine orders almost simultaneously as we sat down. Typically, I like to get my wine order in fast, but I didn't get a second to think about what I wanted. When we all ordered glasses of their house wines, we got a bit of a look. Clearly, people who eat here don't typically order the house merlot. I wanted to peruse the wine list to act like I knew what I was ordering, but frankly I would've ordered the cheapest glass anyways.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">They started off some crackers on our table. We were all starved and annoyed that the only thing they were giving us was these pellets of dog food. It wasn't 30 seconds after I said "I'm putting this in my blog" did they come out with warm bread rolls with a delicious pesto dipping sauce. Touché Ristorante Panorama, touché.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">We put in 3 apps that we could all share. We went with clams, calamari (duh) and the 'Mozzarella al Limone'. We were happily surprised that the mozzarella dish was basically fried cheese. All of the appetizers were great. Typical Italian restaurant apps, but I loved every second of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">After much, much deliberation we finally chose what we wanted to order for our entrées. Regan got the <em>Gnocchi con Provola Affumicata</em>, homemade potato and ricotta gnocchi with fresh basil and fresh & smoked mozzarella in a light San Marzano tomato sauce. Colleen ordered the <em>Pappardelle al Sugo d’Anatra</em>, which was slow cooked duck over noodles. Saving the best for last, obviously, I got the <em>Tagliatelle con Funghi e Granchio</em> homemade pasta tossed with mixed mushrooms in olive oil with chives topped with lump crabmeat. Regan's gnocchi was perfect. It was light and fluffy, not too thick. Colleen didn't love her duck (duck, though?), but she also didn't love most of her meal. Being from Scranton, PA and experiencing all of the fine dining establishments NEPA has to offer, I can understand her pickiness. I love love loved my meal! The fact that it was only tossed with olive oil and not a thick sauce made it easy to taste the flavors of the mushrooms and crab. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now on to the dessert. After having a lot of appetizers and a pretty big entrée, none of us really wanted dessert, but since it is restaurant week and it is included, you can't <em>not</em>. Regan and Colleen both got the <em>Profiteroli</em>, or in English, Italian creampuffs filled with vanilla pastry, served with dark chocolate sauce. The reason that my sister ordered this was because it was basically the only thing on the menu that didn't have fruit in it or on it. Yes, Regan refuses to eat fruit. And whenever telling someone that she doesn't like fruit, without fail, someone always asks, "But what about_________" or "Not even _______". I still do it. I once told Regan I would pay her $20 to eat one blueberry. She said no. My dad made her eat an orange once when we were younger, she gagged uncontrollably. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I ordered the cheesecake special. I thought it was great, but Colleen was like "that is great to you?!" So maybe it wasn't that good. I guess I was feeling weirdly optimistic that night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">So the bill comes. It's restaurant week, I am expecting this to be a breeze of a bill. Wrong, wrong, wrong. With tip, $180. Luckily, I only had to pay with my gift card and then add $10, but Regan and Colleen had to drop $60 on dinner on a Tuesday night which hurts my heart. But great time, great laughs, great friends, lots of food. Can't wait to venture back in the summer for happy hour! </span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></i><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-24825187555256603672013-09-04T06:23:00.002-07:002013-09-04T06:40:22.784-07:00#17 R2LR2L to follow dinner at Sampan. I've been wanting to experience R2L, mostly for it's infamous views. I figured going here for just dessert and drinks would be a good way to end the night and a great way to not spend more than $50. R2L is located on the 37th floor of 2 Liberty Place. As we were walking there, we looked up to the top of the building and said<i> "Is that where we're going?". </i>It just looked amazing to be able to be up that high. <br />
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After 2 wrong door entrances into Liberty Place (after a year of living
in the city I still feel like I never know where I am going), we finally
made it to the elevator that had only two stops- the lobby &
floor 37.<br />
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Once we entered the 37th floor we realized R2L was a pretty lavish place. The lighting was dimmed and everyone was dressed to the nines. We had made a reservation, but decided to sit in the lounge area to be able to get the best view of the city. The dining room was pretty empty (as to be expected at 9pm on a Tuesday), but the lounge was almost fully occupied. Consequently, we did not get a seat right by the window. We were facing a somewhat awkward group people who looked like they could have been on a blind group date. Not exactly what I wanted to look at or listen to, but we made the most of it.<br />
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Our waiter brought us two glasses of champagne to start, which was pretty amazing. With all of the free food we were getting at Sampan, plus this, we were starting to feel kind of important. R2L had an extensive wine list, so I just chose a random glass of Pinot Noir. Typically, I go with the cheapest glass, but since we had $50 so spend on 2 drinks and dessert I chose a mid-priced glass. After much debate about the dessert, we decided to go with the Toasted Cinnamon Crunch, which was donut ice cream with hazelnut and cinnamon crackers. It was one of the most beautiful desserts I had ever seen. I didn't know how to go about eating it a first, but we definitely figured it out. It wasn't a huge portion, but it was fine since we were pretty full from dinner. The dessert menu also suggests a drink to pair with the dessert. This is something that I wish we tried. If it wasn't a Tuesday quickly approaching my bed time, we probably would have.<br />
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Then the check came.. $36. In such a debacle. I texted all of my friends to see if it was appropriate to leave the tip on the gift card. Most of them said no. This annoyed me because $14.00 on a gift card at a place like R2L doesn't really entice me to come back. So the waiter processed our bill and came back and said "If you would like to leave the tip on the gift card, I will need the card back" I could've kissed him- problem solved. I didn't have to spend any extra money and the waiter got a pretty nice $14.00 tip.<br />
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R2L was the definition of a romantic and intimate restaurant with its ambiance, lighting, service, and spectacular views of the Philadelphia. We also enjoyed the chance to take selfies on the elevator ride...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-53458047531377658492013-08-28T10:40:00.002-07:002013-08-28T11:12:30.357-07:00#16 SampanSampan for Brendan's 26th birthday! First, old. Second, you could say I am not the best at making decisions. I basically deflect most questions that involve decision making that come my way. Brendan highly dislikes this quality, so for his birthday I decided to make all of the plans and not tell him anything. He highly disliked this as well, he may have asked me 12 times where we were going. It was pretty empowering I must say! So the plan was Sampan for dinner & then R2L for dessert and a drink (blog post to follow). Sampan is a contemporary Asian restaurant located at 13th and Walnut. I loved the decor inside. The bar was packed and there was a pretty large crowd sitting down for dinner as well. I always get weird about going out to eat on a Tuesday night. We passed way too many people walking to the gym on the way to the restaurant. But once we walked into Sampan that guilt was erased. There was a great vibe in there. Plus it is located right in Midtown Village amongst other great bars and restaurants like El Vez, Opa, McGillans, & Barbuzzo, so we were not alone in our Tuesday night outing.<br />
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I should also mention that Brendan works with someone who has an in at Sampan. If you're reading this Shannon, THANKS! We got completely treated the entire time. The waitress kept bringing us food we didn't order saying "Compliments". We were confused at first, wondering if everyone gets these complimentary dishes but hey, keep 'em coming. Typical that on Brendan's birthday, that <i>I</i> planned, he is the one getting us hooked up with free food. Among this free food was Edamame Dumplings and Tuna Rice Crackers. The edamame dumplings were amazing, definitely a great combo of two Asian dishes that I love. The tuna rice crackers were a little above our adventurousness. Especially for Brendan, he is not a seafood fan. It was a blob (for lack of a better word) of tuna over warm rice crackers. I guess his hunger got the best of him because he actually ate one! So proud!<br />
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Sampan is meant to be a small plates type restaurant. The waitress described the menu like <i>"On the left hand side you have our smaller dishes, and on the right hand side you have our dishes that are more entree sized, but the point is to order 4-6 dishes and share among each other". </i>For no reason at all, this stressed me. So do you want us to order one small dish and 2 entrees? or 4 small dishes? Someone tell me what to dooo! Emphasizing my fear of decision making even further.<br />
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We came to the conclusion to order 2 small dishes and 2 entrees. We
started with the Chicken Mustard Satay. So good, had a kick to it, too!
We also got the Seafood Lettuce Cups. They were basically lettuce wraps
with HUGE shrimp and noodles inside. Also really good. <br />
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For the entree portion of the meal, I got the Shrimp Pad Thai. The only other time I had Pad Thai was at a BYOB Thai restaurant in Scranton where my roommates and I brought jugs of wine and basically only went there because we could drink for cheap. (Surprisingly, Scranton was slightly lacking in their BYOB eating establishments.) Anyways, the pad Thai was truly great. The combo of the light noodles (Brendan asked if they were onions.....) and peanut flavor was spot on.<br />
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Brendan ordered the Crispy Szechuan Chicken. This dish basically reminded me of sesame chicken. Also delicious and went well with the pad Thai noodles.<br />
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The total bill was $79. For all of the food we got I am not complaining at all. We had such a great time here. The menu wasn't huge so I am not going to rush back here, we got to experience mostly everything we wanted to on the menu, but I would recommend to others! I also would like to apologize for my
lack of food descriptions. Great & good & delicious can get a bit dull, but all I know is that I liked everything.Thanks Sampan!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-78428692712439230542013-08-08T06:10:00.002-07:002013-08-08T06:10:16.959-07:00#15: Liberte Lounge at the Sofitel Hotel<div style="text-align: center;">
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If I was meeting a friend for dinner and drinks on a Tuesday night, I would most likely not choose to go to a hotel bar. There are enough great restaurants and bars in the city that I don't feel a need to sit in a hotel lounge. But, apparently the Center City District thought it would be a good idea to give me 7 hotel bar gift certificates. In an effort to start using some of these, I chose to go to the Sofitel Hotel bar last night with my friend Colleen. I had been to this lounge about 6 months prior when my parents stayed at the Sofitel after a night out in the city. I didn't really remember too much about the place, must have been the chardonnay haze that night. However, last night when we walked in I was pleasantly surprised. The lounge just gave off a very cozy and comfortable vibe. We chose to sit in the bar area, not the dining area. We sat in two big lounge chairs with a small table in between. It was exactly what we were looking for- a perfect environment to chat and catch up on life.<br />
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The waitress we had was the most proper woman I have ever met in my life. After we ordered our wine she said "Could you ladies please provide me with your identification cards when I return with your wine?" At first I was like, <i>what is she talking about</i>? She was dressed in a knee length black, long sleeved dressed and her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She also said <i>"bon appetit"</i> a lot. Really pushing the French impression here. <br />
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Instead of the typical bread before meal fashion, we were given salted almonds and wasabi beans. The almonds were just amazing. I knew from the first almond that I was going to love the food here (is that weird?) It was a nice variation pre-meal. <br />
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We were provided 2 menus, 1 bar menu and 1 dining menu. Luckily we were able to mix & match and order off both. We kind of went all out with appetizers. I figured that since we were ordering off the bar menu for our meals, that it would be a stretch to get to $50 so appetizers were acceptable (..boy was I wrong). I was very intrigued by the Kale Chips that were on the bar menu. They indicated on the menu that contained 0 calories. Everyone recently raves about kale, but I've never tried it. Mostly because it intimidates me. You look like lettuce, but you're not. So since kale is 'in' and I like chips, we ordered them. For some reason I expected them to look like potato chips, but no go. It looked like a spring mix salad but it was crunchy. We were a bit confused by the concept, but we ate them. They basically tasted like salt and olive oil. Fine by me. We also ordered 'Pan Steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels' to start. They were covered in lemon-saffron sauce with tomatoes and onions. Really, really good. I approved.<br />
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For our meals we both ordered sandwiches off the bar menu. I ordered the Salmon Sliders and Colleen got the Marinated Swordfish Wrap. The salmon sliders were delicious. Although there were only 2 sliders and a side salad, it was enough for me. Probably because of the appetizers. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a mayo fan and the green onion mayonnaise on the toasted brioche was great (how many 'ews' are sounding throughout my followers circle right now?). Colleen's swordfish wrap was good, nothing special. She said it would have used some more flavor, maybe just a little salt & pepper. The wrap was filled with avocado, tomatoes & baby arugula with citrus aioli.<br />
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Now on to the bill....For some reason I was in disbelief that the bill was $100. From now on I will never complain about an $85 check. When you break it down and realize that you each order 2 glasses of wine at $12 a pop, it makes sense. All in all, we each paid $35 with tip so it really wasn't thaaat bad. I was really pleased with everything that I ate at the Liberte Lounge. I would highly recommend this place- and it looks like they have good happy hour specials from 5-7pm. I can also attest that this place is pretty bumpin' on a Friday night.<br />
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37 more to hit! Bon Appetit! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-21817966753629369852013-07-30T11:21:00.000-07:002013-07-31T10:08:31.990-07:00#14: AKI Japanese Fusion Restaurant & Sake BarWelp, my baby sis is going to college in a few weeks. I was 6 when she was born, so I remember mostly everything about her childhood. I remember when my parents brought her home from the hospital, I remember her face scratching phase (my other sister has the scars to prove it), I remember her favorite bathing suit with a hippo named "Henry" on it, and I remember when she swallowed my hair clip and we had to take her to the hospital. If Shannon actually read my blog, she would hate me right now.<br />
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We all love to go out to sushi together, so Regan & I decided to take Shannon to AKI to celebrate her graduation and her new journey to college. It is right at 12th & Walnut, which is one of my favorite areas of the city. Since it is pretty far from Fairmount, we drove to AKI and paid $12 to park in a lot right across the street. In my book, this isn't bad at all. Definitely as much as a cab and/or public trans would cost for 3 people.<br />
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I tyipcally try to sugar coat places I don't like in the beginning of my blog. I talk about the decor and the atmosphere, blah blah blah. But its taken me 4 days to write about this place and I don't feel like going through all of that today.<br />
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We decided to go with the "All You Can Eat Sushi" special. $24.99 per person and we could order anything we wanted off of a special menu. I guess we thought we were really hungry and that we would be getting our moneys worth. We started with some appetizers. I got a side mixed greens salad w/ ginger dressing, Shannon got Miso Soup, and the Regan got Vegetable Spring Rolls & Edamame. The edamame, soup and salad were good, pretty basic and what you would expect. The Vegetable Spring Rolls were good, just tiny. I find this to be a trend in sushi restaurants: apps that are impossible to share. <br />
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We then put our first and only order of sushi in with the waitress. We ordered California, Shrimp Tempura, Spicy Tuna, and the Golden Dragon rolls. We intended to order more than this, but after you wait 1 hour to get 4 rolls, you are less than enthused to continue ordering. We even had trouble finishing those 4 rolls. I was feeling a bit sick (not going to go on the record and contribute that to the sushi but... ). And there was a a "Rules" section on AKI's All You Can Eat Sushi Menu that specified that you MUST finish all of you're sushi or you will get charged. Okay so there were no capital letters, I am paraphrasing a bit. Anyways, we were feeling really pressured to eat all of the sushi even though we were stuffed. And if you've eaten a lot of sushi before, you know that once your full from sushi, you can't even think about attempting to force another piece down your throat. So this was the state we were in. I felt like my 9 year old self having to finish all of my milk before I was allowed to leave the table. We tried hiding some sushi under other food and under our napkins- if I had to pay even MORE than I already did for this sushi, I was not going to be happy camper. I even had my speech ready if they were going to charge us.<br />
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Long story short- they didn't charge us extra, but we still didn't get our money's worth.We ended up paying $85 for the $45 worth of food we ate (I am cringing in this moment). Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and in the end we probably shouldn't have gone with the all you can eat special. Like I've said in past blogs, we're not huge sushi people. My sisters actually only like 3 types of rolls between the two of them. That being said, the sushi we did get was basic. In no way should it have taken 60 minutes to make 4 of the most common rolls. The sushi was fine but I've definitely had better, fresher sushi in the past.<br />
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My justistifications for AKI sucking so much:<br />
1. It was Wednesday, they are a participating SIPS restaurant, the sushi chefs could've been backed up. But we went at 8pm. And there were only 4 other tables filled in the place.<br />
2. There was a pretty large table there that arrived at about the same time as we did. But you're a restaurant in the city on a Wednesday night in the summer, have your crap figured out. <br />
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I personally would not choose go back to AKI. Maybe I would sit at the cute bar and have a few rolls, but there are much better sushi places in the city. 5 stars for convenience, 1 star for service, 2 stars for sushi. Luckily, we made the best of it and still were able to enjoy ourselves. I'm due for a positive experience at a restaurant on my list- cross your fingers for me people! <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-41102198605140239832013-07-18T08:38:00.001-07:002013-07-18T08:44:45.405-07:00#13: Tequilas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been looking forward to trying Tequilas ever since I got my huge packet of gift cards. I picked up the envelope at the Center City District building and couldn't even wait until I got home to start opening it up and looking at the restaurants while driving (I do not recommend doing this). Anyways, Brendan and I made a 6pm reservation at Tequilas on a Wednesday night. We were thinking we might get to use some Sips deals while dining, but no go. (<i>For all of my out of town blog readers, Sips is basically a happy hour special that a number of Philadelphia restaurants and bars participate in on Wednesdays from 5-7pm in the summer.</i>) The bar was in a completely different room than the dining area and it was PACKED for Sips. It looked fun at first, but then a line formed to just step into the bar room, and that did not look fun. So, we sat in the dining area and got no deals, which was pretty apparent by our bill at the end of the night.<br />
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Tequila's is an authentic yet modern Mexican restaurant located on the corner of 16th and Locust. The place is really cool inside, decorated with some impressive wall paintings. A lot of skeleton creatures...<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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I liked the feel of the place. The dark lighting, plants and wall decor really transports you to feel like you are in Mexico. That being said, I am going to have to attribute my awful pictures to the dark lighting. And to the fact that it was packed from wall to wall (even in the dining area) so using my flash was very obvious, and we tried to avoid it at all costs. Brendan tried holding the tiny candle on the table to the food while taking pictures, but it didn't exactly do the trick. <br />
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I am not sure if it was because it was Sips or what, but the place was very, very crowded. We felt a bit rushed by our waiter, which I don't really want deal with ever, especially at 6pm on a Wednesday. No, I do not want to order my meal at the same time that I order my drink. No thanks. I digress.<br />
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I ordered a basic margarita. $10- no big deal. I kind of expected a decent size, or the absolute best margarita I've ever had, if I'm paying $10 for it, but it wasn't. Brendan ordered a Mexican beer, which I actually really liked. It was comparable to a Corona I would say.<br />
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To start,we ordered Empanadas Del Dia. "<i>Handmade corn tortillas, filled with the freshest ingredients selected each day by our chef</i>." Well, the chef picked beef . I would've preferred something more exciting but they were still really tasty and a perfect appetizer. <br />
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Now on to the entree round. Brendan ordered the Molcajetes. It was beef tenderloin served in a lava rock bowl, covered with a spicy salsa made from tomato, garlic and chile de arbol and accompanied by corn tortillas to make your own tacos. It also came with a side of guacamole, beans and rice.Brendan is easy to please and loved it. I thought that the beef was a bit chewy and rubbery, but it was fine. The corn tortillas were light, fluffy, and tasty. The presentation was pretty amazing, too. I recently got my Dad a molcajete for Father's Day to make guacamole and basically I have been using it more than he is. So overall, I am a fan of the molcajete and I think it really makes the presentation. <br />
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I was deciding between two dishes, the Chiles Rellenos and the Enchiladas Playa. When this becomes an issue for me, I usually ask the waiter and see what he or she recommends. Our waiter, clearly did not have time for my questions and quickly said the Enchiladas. So that is what I got. They were stuffed with crabmeat and shrimp, served with creamy poblano and chipotle peppers sauces. This dish was a lot for me on a Wednesday night. I could only finish one enchilada. However, I was impressed with how fresh the seafood was. <br />
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Tequilas was an overall good spot. The portions weren't huge and the atmosphere was fun and exciting. The waiters carried the drinks around on the top of their heads and on their fingertips which was entertaining to see. I will say that it was pricey and I was expecting more. I've heard great things about Tequilas and have been really excited to try, but it didn't exactly meet my expectations. I think that the service and the food/drinks not being up to par probably had a lot to do with the amount of people in the bar taking advantage of the specials. Anyways glad to go and glad to start hitting the 30s to go in my gift cards! <span style="color: #330000; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: garamond;"><span style="color: #330000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #330000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: garamond;"><span style="color: #330000; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: #330000; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: garamond;"><b><span style="color: #330000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #330000; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: garamond;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #330000; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: garamond;"><b><span style="color: #330000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-70423414623278963822013-07-08T11:00:00.000-07:002013-07-08T11:02:55.306-07:00#12: Cooperage Wine and Whiskey Bar<div>
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Gift Card Number 12 was used to celebrate Brendan and I's five year anniversary. Not the most romantic spot you could say, but we're all about convenience. And the fact that Cooperage was 2 blocks from the train we needed to take to a concert in Camden is what sold us. When researching Cooperage I found two addresses, which stressed me. Not knowing Old City very well- OK not at all- I wanted to know exactly where to tell the cab to drop us off and to avoid having to turn around 5 times searching for the place. We figured out that it was inside the Curtis Center. This also threw me off. When restaurants are inside an office building I get slightly disinterested. It just doesn't feel authentic to me. It reminds me of TGI Fridays or Ruby Tuesdays. And honestly my gut was right. Cooperage felt like a chain restaurant to me. I had to double check if it was or not (it's not). From the location to the menu to the service- I didn't get an authentic Philly restaurant vibe from this place at all. Even the mason jar water glasses seemed like a reach to make this place feel like a convincing whiskey bar.<br />
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I hate to be overly negative so I will point out some positives. We ate around 630 on a Friday. It was pretty packed with happy hour goers and they had a lot of good drink and app specials from 5-7.We got to take advantage of this and ordered some beers and guacamole and chips. The guac was fabulous! It was full of avocado chunks and had a spicy kick to it. <br />
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However, the beer offerings were... Annoying. I like to go into a bar
and find a beer that I know and like and enjoy it. Not happening for me
here. I am in no way a beer aficionado, but I'm not a complete idiot
when it comes to beer. That being said, I literally knew 0 beers on the
draft list and 1 beer on the bottle list (Yuengling). I attempted to be
adventurous and order a random one and I hated it. Oh wait, I'm supposed
to be talking about the positives here. Whoops. The food was good.
Brendan got the French dip sandwich and said it was cooked perfectly. I
had the veggie burger which was just okay. Super messy and difficult to
eat.<br />
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We finished off our meal with two shots of Jameson- in the spirit of a whiskey bar and to possibly help me forget about my experience here. Cooperage seems like a fun after work happy hour spot or a good place to grab something quick. Only in those two cases will I venture back.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-22604374674388667432013-06-21T11:30:00.001-07:002013-06-21T12:06:50.624-07:00#11: Garces Trading CompanyAs I was going through my posts and doing some calculating, I realized that I have only gone to 10 restaurants in 14 weeks. This does not accurately portray my blog title: <i>52 Restaurants in 52 weeks. </i>I decided I had two options. Either I change my blog title, or I start going out to eat more. I chose the latter. <br />
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My gift card was eligible at any of Jose Garces restaurants, so I had a really hard time choosing between Amada, Village Whiskey, Distrito, and Graces Trading Co. But, Brendan and I were looking for a different BYOB spot to try & we've both heard amazing things about Garces Trading Company- so we went with that.<br />
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Garces Trading Company also has a market inside the restaurant. You could buy & take home a variety of different things from a counter such as pastries, olive oils, breads, coffee, etc. There was also a small wine store in the restaurant. Although we brought wine with us, we also bought a bottle there because we could and for some reason thought we might drink 2 bottles of red at dinner (we're ambitious). <br />
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We had an 8:15 reservation and sat down right away which was great. We knew prior to going that we wanted to get the deep dish pizza and that it took about an hour to cook, so we put that in right away with our waiter. Someone recommended it to Brendan and I was intrigued. I also wanted to compare it to the authentic deep dish pizzas that I've had while visiting my sister in Chicago during college. While we waited for the pizza we drank our wine and put in some appetizers. I wanted to try the baby artichokes. After I ordered, Brendan asked "What are artichokes?" This is what I have to work with. The artichokes were good- probably could have had more flavor but I really enjoyed them. They were served in a preserved lemon sauce with honey and roasted walnuts.It was the perfect light appetizer to preface our 4lb stuffed pizza. <br />
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Garces Trading Company had a pretty extensive cheese menu as well. Since we know absolutely nothing about cheese, we went with the Chef's Selection Cheeses paired with condiments. I couldn't tell you what type of cheese we ate but I liked it. Each cheese was paired with a sweet sauce. My favorite was the middle cheese in the picture (again, my lack of detail is embarrassing). It had the texture of a mozzarella but much more flavor. The grape jelly dipping sauce was a great addition, too. </div>
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Then, the pizza came. Although it took an hour, it really didn't feel like we were waiting too long. The flow was nice and they spaced out our apps pretty well. Welp, I can't eat cheese for a month. This 4lb deep dish pizza was amazing. Definitely comparable to Chicago's pizza. We ordered spinach in the pizza because I felt like having some sort of vegetable in it would somehow make me feel better about myself. The most obvious way this pizza differed from a traditional deep dish would definitely be the cheese. It was a mix between Gruyère and fresh mozzarella. It was heavy but it still didn't stop me from eating 2 slices. </div>
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I loved Garces Trading Company. Somehow they were able to transform a gourmet deli into a classy restaurant. Plus I got to hang out with this guy...</div>
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I think we will definitely be venturing back to try some of the other menu items (Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu, Scallop Risotto, Pistachio Pesto Pizza anyone?). And the prices didn't shock me. Brendan and I always play the "guess the bill game" and he guessed too high at least 3 times. $60 & no corkage fee! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-4100295669191050372013-06-18T08:36:00.000-07:002013-06-18T08:36:26.804-07:00#10 DiNardo's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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DiNardo's Famous Crabs. Summer time to me equals seafood so this was the perfect spot for last night! One of my oldest and best friends adores my blog (thanks Stephie) and while going through my list of restaurants she told me that she loves DiNardo's and that she used to go with her family for big occasions while growing up. So, I had to take her. Plus it was an excuse to get her out of Pottstown, PA and down to the city.<br />
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I was a bit wary of DiNardo's and their claim to having "famous crabs". I've spent my summers growing up down the shore in Sea Isle and I wasn't sure how DiNardo's would compare to Mike's or Busch's or Marie's. But- DiNardo's was an entirely different experience. We walked in and I immediately felt like I was transported back in time. I highly doubt that DiNardo's has changed their decor since it's grand opening. Red cushioned seats and wooden--well everything. Their main choice of decor were fishing lures.... I am going to go ahead and say that they spend most of their time focusing on their food, not their ambiance. We sat at the bar for a drink while waiting for a table. The bartender was, I hate to say it, awkward as hell. Avoided taking our order until I literally flagged him down, and then while answering Steph's question about their beers, looked at me the entire time. He was probably too entranced by my beauty, or too scared of Steph's, I couldn't tell.<br />
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We finally got to our table after a 10 minute wait (with a reservation). Monday night is all you can eat crab night, so that's what we attributed the crowdedness to. We sat in a tiny booth that reminded me of a diner. Actually a lot of DiNardo's reminded me of a diner- the booths, the menu, the house salad, the soup.<br />
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At first our waiter made me a little nervous. The beads of sweat on his forehead made me think "how is that not getting into my food?" I will have to refer to Steph's comment about him: <span dir="ltr" id=":to"><i>"Our waiter was of African American origin. His
skin the color of Columbia coffee and his demeanor as sweet as the
complimentary chocolate cake".</i> All I can add is- yes. Two free crabs, one piece of free cake, this guy was great. </span><br />
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<span dir="ltr" id=":to">Food time. We went big, because, why not. I mean it was, Monday. Steph started off with a house salad and steamed clams. The salad was pretty standard, the clams were pretty standard. I tried some and have had better. But, I guess that is why they are known for their crabs. </span><span dir="ltr" id=":to">I started with New England clam chowder, and again unimpressed. Now that I am on gift card #10 I am allowed to be snooty about my food- right?</span><br />
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<span dir="ltr" id=":to">God must have read my mind about the appetizers and blessed me with an amazing entree. Crabs. I got 3 Sauteed Garlic Crabs & Steph got 3 regular Steamed Crabs. Holy moly. My garlic crabs were a MESS. I am not sure if I am just not used to Maryland crabs or because of the amount of garlic and herbs on my crabs, but I was having major difficulty finding the meat at first. I was getting mouthfuls of more shell than meat and was super frustrated. My fingers and hands were disastrous and I was feeling defeated. I wanted my dad there to help me crack the shells and get this meat. But, eventually I got the hang of it and by my 3rd crab I was a pro.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BEFORE</td></tr>
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<br /><span dir="ltr" id=":to">Steph was already a pro. She knew all the tricks to breaking the shell and knew just where to find the meat. Since she was so thorough with her crabs, it took her a bit longer to finish them. I think I was done with my 3 crabs before she had even started her 2nd. Luckily our amazing waiter brought me over 2 more crabs so that I didn't have to sit and watch her eat. At that point I couldn't fit anymore crab meat in my system, but it was a nice gesture. </span><br />
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<span dir="ltr" id=":to">After we were finished, as if we weren't full enough, our waiter brought over a piece of chocolate cake. I hated him and loved him at the same time. There is always room for dessert, I guess. </span><br />
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<span dir="ltr" id=":to">I have to say that DiNardo's crabs were a lot of work, but the return was totally worth it. I definitely suggest the garlic crabs- wow. Out of this world. Really like nothing I have ever tasted before. I will probably stick to my shore restaurants when I want really good seafood, but this place was an adventure for sure. Overall, the crabs were great and the staff was amazing. When giving my gift card with the bill, the staff flocked over to our table to ask about my Restaurant Week prize and all of the details. </span><br />
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<span dir="ltr" id=":to">My hands still smell like crabs, so there's that. Thanks DiNardos for making #10 and my Monday so enjoyable! </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-44557142582085195282013-05-29T14:13:00.002-07:002013-05-29T14:13:44.824-07:00#9 Caribou CafeGift Card Number Nine was used with my friend from work, Kaitlin. I needed to take Kaitlin out for two reasons.<br />
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<li> She is definitely way more of a foodie than I am and probably appreciates my 50 gift cards more than I do. </li>
<li>When I told her about my winnings a few months ago, she goes "You should write a blog!" And so here I am, blogging away. </li>
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After much deliberation about which gift card to use, we randomly settled on Caribou Cafe. Caribou Cafe is a French bistro located at 11th and Walnut. The chef was on Chopped, so to me that is pretty impressive. Not only did he compete, but he was also the 'Chopped Champion'. Good for you, Chef Oliver.<br />
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We parked right across the street in a lot, and after a good two minutes of backing into a spot between an Acura & a BMW, we made our way into the restaurant. We did a slight early bird special and had 6pm reservations. Not that we needed them because the place was empty at that point. A lot of waiters were standing around. Two of them attempted to seat us at two different times. Even when we sat down I felt a bit smothered by the wait staff. Constant walk bys and one waiter standing within a few feet of our table at all times. I understand that it was pretty dead at that point, but come on, let me breathe. This could just be me because I typically prefer to have an inattentive waiter than one that is too intense. I also noticed this because they were really cramping my picture-taking. I like to nonchalantly get some pictures of the place to add to my blog without being noticed but that wasn't happening here. Oh well, I sacrificed looking like a tourist for one night.<br />
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Okay enough about the wait staff- the place was beautiful. I wish it was a nice night because there were the cutest French looking tables outside that would have really given off the "Par-ee" feel. The first thing I noticed was the bar, and not just because I like a drink here and there, but because of the design and all of the embellishments. It looks like a bar I would want to sit at and relax and drink an expensive glass of wine.<br />
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We both decided to go with the fixed price option for $28. Seemed like the best deal for an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Plus both of the entrees we wanted were included in that option. We both started with the French Onion Soup. I wish I had better language to describe how amazing this was. Tons of cheese- tons, just tons. The cheese alone made the soup amazing, but also the croissant and the onions were perfect too. After we finished the soup we could've stopped there. It was so filling, we were both stuffed! This soup is a must for anyone who goes here.<br />
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Even though we ordered all three of our courses at the same time, we weren't rushed. The food came out at a good pace, which I really appreciated. I had time to let my food digest before bringing on the next course. For dinner I ordered the Moules Frites. AKA, Steamed mussels in wine with curry and fries. The mussels were pretty light, and were perfect for after that soup! The mussels were laid on top of a wine and curry broth that were delicious together. And obviously the fries were good. I feel a little naive saying this but, I never actually thought that French onion soup and French fries were actually food that would be served in a French restaurant? Seems like a cop out to me but who am I to complain about cheese and fries, really?<br />
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Kaitlin ordered the Roasted Chicken with brie sandwich- marinated chicken, spinach and mushroom topped with warm brie cheese on country bread served with fries. Straight from the source, "If you're looking for the French version of a Philly cheesesteak, you can find it at Caribou! While the concept sounded delicious, roasted chicken, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, topped with melted brie, I'm not a big fan of dark meat. The French fries were incredible and the sandwich itself tasted delicious despite my love for the darker meat."<br />
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I didn't think I would survive the dessert round. We were so full. But I decided to push through and just eat the Espresso Crème Brulée. And thank God I did. So freaking good! The coffee flavored custard really made the dish.<br />
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Thumbs up to Caribou Cafe. I see myself returning to sit at the bar, drink a glass of wine, eat some French Onion Soup, get dessert, and pretend I'm in Paris. Oui Oui! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181616027979582054.post-1416428480095307252013-05-15T08:14:00.000-07:002013-05-15T08:18:52.054-07:00#8 La Viola OvestTuesday night out on the town! Although my sister and I live together sometimes it seems like barely ever see each other. We were literally planning this date for 3 weeks. Finally I got on her busy schedule and decided to go to La Viola. We haven't been out to Italian in a while, and La Viola is a BYOB. I tasked Regan with getting the wine. She came home with a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, our mother would be so proud.<br />
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There are two La Violas, Ovest & Bistro. They are right across the street from each other, 252 S. 16th Street & 253 S. 16th Street. If that isn't confusing, I don't know what is. Luckily there was an employee standing outside of Ovest to direct us in the right direction. I was bit concerned before we got there because I had been to a La Viola before (wasn't sure which one at the time..), so technically this wouldn't be a "first meal" for me. Luckily, we dodged that bullet and ended up at the other La Viola (whew!).<br />
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La Viola Ovest was super welcoming when we walked in. There were two rooms, one in the front and one in the back. The hostess immediately asked us if which room we preferred to sit in, and even asked us which table we wanted. I liked getting those choices because there is nothing worse than sitting in a bad seat. Unlike La Viola Bistro, La Viola Ovest had tons of seating and a lot of open space. When I went to La Viola Bistro, we actually shared a table with another couple. I appreciate the small Italian BYOB spots, but come on. I don't know these people, I don't really want to share my bread basket with them. La Viola Ovest had more space but still gave off that quaint Italian restaurant feel. When we walked in we noticed a smell of a fresh home? I know it sounds weird, but we didn't smell Italian food, we smelled someone's freshly cleaned house. Take that for what it's worth, but I liked it!<br />
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We noticed a kind of assembly line with the staff. One person sat us, one person open our wine, one person poured our waters, one person told us the specials, and one person took our orders. I'm exhausted just typing this. So,we didn't really get a personal touch with one waiter, but it worked for us.<br />
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On to the fun part, the food! Since La Viola is a BYOB, we were worried that we might not spend the $50. So more of an excuse to both get appetizers and dessert. To start, Regan got a Cesar salad. I told her that I would not make fun of her for getting that, again...........<br />
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I went with a salad special. For me, it is always a risk going with a special at an authentic Italian restaurant because I am never fully sure of what the waiter is actually saying when he tells us the specials. But I thought I would be adventurous! The salad was a spring mix topped with <span class="purpcontent">prosciutto, goat cheese, and avocado with a lemon vinaigrette dressing. If you know me you know that anything with avocado is a go for me. And this salad was actually perfect. Even Regan, one of the least food adventurous people I know, tried it and agreed, so that says a lot. The prosciutto melted in my mouth and the avocado was fresh and ripe to perfection. The dressing was infused in the whole salad so I could taste it in every bite. Great choice, if I do say so myself. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<span class="purpcontent">For dinner, Regan got the Lobster Raviolis, or <i><span class="purpcontent"><span class="goldhead">Ravioli Alla Viola.</span></span></i><span class="purpcontent"><span class="goldhead"> Homemade ravs stuffed with lobster in a pink vodka sauce. Delish. I have been using my blog as an excuse to try everyone's meal and it is really working out to my advantage. The raviolis were stuffed to the brim with lobster. I enjoyed, and clearly, she enjoyed.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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I went with the salmon. My friend told that I've been "getting a lot of red meat lately" in my blogs, so I went with seafood. Since this friend is the same friend who gave me the idea to blog about my outings, I will take the hint. The <i>Salmon Di Capperi </i>was <span class="purpcontent">oven roasted salmon with pearl onions and capers, with a light marinara sauce. Well, I decided that I love pearl onions. That's the most I can say about the salmon. Wasn't really impressed. Regan thinks I am officially a food snob, but I honestly have had better salmon! It was a huge dish so I was able to take leftovers. Let's just say, I am not looking forward to lunch as much as I probably could be. </span><br />
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<span class="purpcontent">In our attempt to go over $50, we just <i>had </i>to split dessert. Regan and I both love cannolis and take advantage of them more times than not when we are at an Italian restaurant. However, La Viola only had cannoli cake, not plain cannolis. But if you know us, you know that we aren't picky when it comes to dessert, so we went with it. Again, not an authentic cannoli, but still amazing. Pretty presentation as well. </span><br />
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<span class="purpcontent">Overall we had a great sisters night out. A lot of childhood reminiscing, like the time that I broke my wrist from tripping after locking Regan in the attic (karma is real). </span><br />
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<span class="purpcontent">We would have been okay without the dessert, the total came to $62. Two apps, two dinners, 1 dessert, NO alcohol (hey BYOs!). La Viola Ovest is a place I would love to try again. A lot of seating, so there is a possibility if I decide to go back on whim on a Friday night we would get in easily. </span><br />
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<span class="purpcontent"><i>8 down 44 to go!</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928827847930248842noreply@blogger.com0