When IT first launched, we took you along for some delicious meals enjoyed by both your bloggers in that notorious "eatin' town," Philadelphia. Having attended college in the suburbs of brotherly love, Jessie frequently tolerates the vagaries of New Century Travel to revisit her old haunts, and over Presidents' Weekend enjoyed some affordable Philly food she thought you'd want to know about:
The eating began in the Italian Market, with my now traditional (twice is tradition, right?) veggie hoagie at Chickie's followed by a visit to Termini Bros. In addition to the requisite cannoli filled with chocolate-chip-and-candied-fruit-laced ricotta, we had the aproned assistant place a fig bar (made with whole hazelnuts and marsala wine), a slice of tiramisu, and a concoction of meringue, buttercream, chocolate and almonds, onto our paper-lined tray. Our large hoagies (my friend Margaret had a prosciutto special) served as both lunch and dinner, and the string-tied box of goodies from Termini lasted the rest of the weekend.
Sunday morning we walked a few blocks through West Philly for brunch at shabby-chic Rx, a 'diner' in a former pharmacy with a focus on local and seasonal ingredients. The eggs sardou (with salmon, spinach, and tomato-infused hollandaise on English muffins) and huevos rancheros served on a quesadilla were delicious, and I was hard-pressed not to steal a bite of the brioche French toast ordered by the friend-of-a-friend who sat down at the next table while we ate. The only disappointment was 'Rx's own hot chocolate,' which in no way lived up to the promise of comfort made by the antique red Caloric-brand wood stove behind my chair.
South Philly's Taqueria La Veracruzana [908 Washington Ave.; +1 215 465 9512] was our dinner destination that night. We feasted on authentic Mexican tacos (with pork and pineapple for Margaret and cheese-stuffed jalapeños for me) made with fresh tortillas and plenty of cilantro, onion, and lime. We should have skipped the bottled horchata, and when we saw someone else's flan, we wished we'd skipped the guacamole (though it was delicious). It probably wouldn't have made much difference, though. The red and green salsas and chips you could tell had been made from actual tortillas would surely have done us in on their own.
Delicious though it was, La Veracruzana had actually been a stopgap measure adopted when we realized Vientiane Café [4728 Baltimore Ave; +1 215 726 1095] wouldn't be open for dinner on Sunday. Not to be deterred, we headed there for my final Philly feast. Our Monday lunch started with a bowl of tom yum soup for Margaret, and coconut soup for me, both perfect antidotes to the chilly weather (as was the delicious ginger tea). We followed up with a couple of tasty appetizers (grilled vegetables with peanut sauce, and an 'Asian crepe' with shrimp and sprouts). Our main course of tofu in tamarind sauce was disappointing, but the room we saved by not finishing it allowed us to splurge on the dish Margaret had used to lure me there in the first place: a beautiful plate of chocolate banana spring rolls. Needless to say, I'll be back.
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