Last Suppers

We've come down to our final week in Philadelphia. (Sigh.) Even though our last days will be filled with packing and making various arrangements, we're fitting in some last suppers. So far we're doing drinks at Southwark (a Sazerac and an Old-Fashioned, both for me, because they're my favorites and because the bartenders make them perfectly, though I don't really think I need reasons) and dinner at Coquette. Another night it's The Greeks, a small-town tavern with a place in our hearts (and solid comfort food with icy Sierra Nevada on draft to wash it all down). There'll also be yet another cafe afternoon for moi, spent job-searching on the old laptop while downing iced coffees. Chapterhouse is my cafe of choice (because they make funky iced tea/Italian soda combos), but I'm going to try out Red Hook before we leave.

And just to keep everybody up-to-date, over the past couple weeks we've hit Pumpkin and Chicks from the list below. We enjoyed Pumpkin's five-course Sunday-night tasting menu and highly recommend it. It doesn't include wine because it's a BYOB, but, at $35 for a lot of really well-executed and yummy food, it's a steal. Chicks wasn't out-of-the-park good, but it was tasty. And we liked the old-timey tavern feel. We'd go back for drinks and a couple apps.

"Welp, that about does her, wraps her all up" (for all those TBL fans out there). For now anyway. With the upcoming move, unpacking, setting up the new digs, and then--don't hate me--our long-awaited trip to Greece and Italy, KFW's on hiatus. But stay tuned for tales of our culinary adventures in our nation's capital and abroad. And more recipes, rants, raves, and ramblings.

And The Winner Is...

...Tony Luke's, with Dalessandro's coming in second and Jim's third. Next in line was Chubby's then Pat's. Geno's got no votes. And the seven of us are full, but still wondering how Mama's and Paesano's might have fared. Well, there's always next time.

(We decided not to do it blind. We tasted each cheesesteak in turn then voted for first, second, and third places. Because at least one of our group is adverse to onions, we ordered two provolone steaks from each place, one wit and one wit-out, as the Philly lingo goes.)

Sampling Pat's:



Only wrappers left:

What's Cookin' 2

This past weekend, in between turning the basement upside down then right side up, we ate at Tinto (with an aperitif at one of our fave's, Monk's). Surprisingly the service at Tinto was just so-so, but the food was outstanding, especially the creamy gazpacho and perfectly tender octopus. We'd definitely go back, even knowing that we could have a disinterested server.

This week it's Grace Tavern, which isn't on the narrowed-down list below, but it is on our larger list. I'm looking forward to the fungi-laden Kennett Square Burger.

And next week, oh next week! How I long for thee... It's the ultimate blind cheesesteak-tasting with sandwiches from Dalessandro's, Geno's, Jim's, Mama's, Paesano's, and Pat's. Oh yeah. I'll let you know how we fair - and how our pants fit afterwards.

All this talk's making me thirsty...



Above, the delightful brewski I enjoyed at Monk's. I could go for one of those right now. Yes, at 11:25.

What's Cookin'

Job-searching, house-packing, and various other events and projects have put me into slow-mo when it comes to blogging. I do have a few updates though.

First, in case you were wondering, I had a black thumb this year. Thus why there weren't ever any photos of luscious lettuce and perky peppers. Sadly everything pretty much stopped growing when it got a few inches high. To green thumbs next year!

Second, we've hit Cafe Estelle and Tiffin on the restaurant list below. This week we're doing Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich and Brauhaus Schmitz. Next week: ? Though I'm pulling for either Pumpkin or Tinto. Or both. Hmm, that would be a good-eating week.

Third, here are three photos from Headhouse Farmers' Market and one of the meal that resulted from the market's bounty: grilled halloumi, roasted corn off the cob, and radicchio salad with heirloom tomatoes and cucumber.

Fine Food and Free Rice

At the end of August we're leaving Philly for Washington, DC. Before that happens we plan to go to the following bars and restaurants (narrowed down from 120):

A La Maison
A.P.J. Texas Wieners
Brauhaus Schmitz
Cafe Estelle
Carman's Country Kitchen
Chicks
Chris Jazz Cafe
Coquette
Dock Street Brewery
Earth Bread and Brewery
Ekta
Famous Fourth Street Deli
Grey Lodge
Honey's Sit n Eat
Horizons
James
Joe's Peking Duck Original 1984
Lee How Fook
Marigold Kitchen
Pumpkin
Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich
Ron’s Ribs
South Philly Taproom
Tiffin
Tinto
Vic
Villa di Roma

If anybody has any further suggestions or thoughts, let me know. Philly's such an incredible food (and drink) town. Here's to hoping that DC can fit the bill.

And now for something completely different...I read about this in my hubby's Men's Health (don't ask, I was curious). In just a couple minutes' time, I donated over 200 grains of rice (and I plan on donating a lot more)! Everybody should know about this site. It's got to be the simplest way to make a bit of difference.