Morimoto - Philadephia

Morimoto

7th and Chestnut St

I think I just died and went to sushi heaven. Was the thought that entered my head when I took my seat at the sushi bar at Morimoto last night. I had to wiki Morimoto to determine the establishment date for this restaurant - 2001. I can not believe it's been around for 10 years. It feels like just yesterday that I watched the Food Network special featuring the challanges Starr and Morimoto faced when designing and openning this sushi mecca in Philadelphia.

I've dined here maybe 4 times since 2001 and never once at the sushi bar. I've had the omakase, I've had dinner a la carte and I've even been here for Happy Hour in the tiny bar that floats above the dining room. But never once for just sushi.

Sitting at the bar facing the small sushi station made the restaurant feel intimate. Or maybe it was the company. My dining companion knew the staff well and that (maybe) made all the difference. We were treated not like regular dinner guests but like family. It was great to see Yoshi (our sushi chef for the night) in action carefully selecting the fish and prepping and cutting with precision. The selection of fish for our nigiri, maki and sashimi was varied and unique. It wasn't the usual trio of salmon, tuna and yellowtail that is usually served at ho hum sushi joints around this city. Instead we had abalone, rockfish, fluke, sockeye salmon and a number of other fishes that I cannot even recall. Every piece had it's own distinct flavor and was as fresh as possible.

We were also given an amuse bouche that I greedily gobbled up (it consisted of a slice of whitefish with micro greens and an orange based vinaigrette), there was an oyster course that included beautiful and sweet kumamoto oysters, a whitefish dish with hot oil and soy, a scallop dish with similar preparation and a dish from the hot kitchen of striped bass (i think) and tomatoes. Overall, it was one of the best sushi dinners that I've ever had. I would rank it above the omakase meal I've had at Morimotos a few years back and I'd say my omakase sushi dinner at Jewelbako in NYC would be the only other sushi meal that even comes close.

Since Morimoto opened in Philadelphia, it elevated the sushi offerings in Philadelphia tremendously. Over the last 10 years there has been a virtual explosion of sushi restaurants all over the city and surrounding suburbs..(often run by ex sushi chefs from Morimotos). Coming back here again, 10 years after my first exposure to the greatness that is Morimotos, I was afraid that the meal would not live up to expectations. But instead the meal far exceeded my expectations and I could truly see how this one little restaurant in Philadelphia helped inspire the entire genre of nouveau japanese cuisine and helped to solidify Morimotos reputation as an innovative and great chef.

La Veracruzana

La Veracruzana

Free Chips and Salsa - YUMS

I don't know about you but I love Mexican food. I think perhaps it started with my sister and her frequent trips to head house square's farmers market that started me down this path of salsa, and tacos. The taco stand there is awesome however since the market does not start again until May I have to get my Mexican fix at less transient locations.


Here are a few pics from my most recent meal at La Veracruzana on Washington Ave. This place is one of the first taquerias that I can remember in Philly. It's bright cheery and the servers are always friendly. The tacos are good and cheap. I think the platter is $6 for 3 tacos and you can mix it up. My sister ordered the enchiladas mole. Tasty and very very filling

Tacos platter - 2 al pastors and one chili rellenos

Enchiladas Mole

Le Viet

Le Viet


I am a big fan of Vietnamese food. Although I am ethnically Chinese, I grew up mainly on Vietnamese cuisine unbeknownst to me. It wasn't until I attended college and met my best friend (who is also Chinese but his parents are from Hong Kong) did I realize that a lot of my mother's dishes were in fact not Chinese as I had always assumed but instead Vietnamese in origin.

Bun Bo Hue

The food at Le Viet does not disappoint. Walking into the modern space I feared that the cool decor would somehow lessen the quality and the authenticity of the cuisine. However, this was not the case. The owners somehow managed to build a beautiful restaurant showcasing a large open kitchen that actually delivers good food at a great price point.




I had lunch with my family at Le Viet on a cold post snow storm Saturday afternoon after grocery shopping at 16th and Washington. My father who is ultra traditional when it comes to his food ordered the Bun Bo Hue noodle soup, I got the Banh Xeo, my mother ordered the house chicken and rice platter and my sister got the Bun Rieu.

Chicken Rice Platter

Overall every thing was tasty but the dish that stood out was the humble Chicken and Rice platter. The chicken was poached and served with the house special rice and a traditional fish sauce based chili vinaigrette.  The chicken had an excellent texture. It was moist and not too mushy as chicken sometimes gets when prepared in this manner. My mom (who is hyper critical of all viet cuisine) was very satisfied with her meal.

Banh Xeo

My Banh Xeo which is a viet version of a savory crepe was good but a little bit on the greasy side. And my sister said that her Bun Rieu was the best she's ever had outside of my mother's kitchen. Since we were dining during the lunch hour many of the traditional dishes were offered for a mere $5. I think I've paid more for a side dish in Center City. The regular price of most of the dishes hovered around $6-7. If you love ethnic food but sometimes skeeve the diveness factor of the decor then I think Le Viet is a great choice for you.

It's been a while

I have been busy with life folks. I don't know what happened exactly but I just needed a break from every thing...including blogging. I didn't stop eating out or thinking about eating out ...i just stopped writing about it here. Instead I wrote little reveiws on Yelp. But now I'm back. Look for more postings in the near future.

Plaza Di Garibaldi

I found myself getting that all too familiar craving for mexican food again this past Saturday afternoon. I was driving back from Temple University campus after having picked up my younger sister from her work study job at the library. It was 2PM and I found myself starving. I was up at 6:30AM that morning because my dog had an appointment at the vet at 7:15AM to get his teeth cleaned. Let me just say that I am not accustomed to such early hours and was not in the mood to eat much breakfast.

So at 2PM I had both my sisters in the car and we decided to get some Mexican food. Washington Ave was the logical location. We decided to go to Plaza Di Garibaldi to check out the offerings. I had heard from a co-worker who told me that one of our mexican sous chefs thought that Plaza made the best mexican food in the Philadelphia. I thought to myself that if a real mexican loved this place..... then I should give it a try. 

 

Tostadas

When we arrived there were patrons at 3 other tables and Latin MTV playing in the background. We sat down and a waitress quickly came by with additional silverware and the menus. Soon after we were given menus a young man walked in with a guitar and started singing to the room . He was fairly talented and sang a Spanish version of Last Kiss (It's the B side to Pearl Jam's Solder of Love single) along with other songs that I didn't recognize. Although I am a huge fan of live music, I'm never quite comfortable with people singing while I'm eating or in this case trying to read a menu. I had trouble hearing anything anyone said because the singer was so loud. After his set of about 4 songs, he came by each table to request tips and then was off on his merry way presumably to sing to other patrons at other joints. 

Fluantas

Following our afternoon serenade, we put our orders in and started eating the awesome chips and salsa. I don't think Plaza makes their own chips. These chips although fresh seemed too uniform and light to be homemade. (Not that they were bad) The salsas were heavenly though. We were given a bowl of red and green. Both tasted fresh and we couldn't stop eating the red one and even had to ask for more after we devoured the first offering.

 

SOPES Al Pastor

We ordered tostadas with the ground beef, the fluantas with chicken and the sopes with al pastor. It was way too much food for us 3. We ended up having to take half of it home. Each item came 3 to a plate garnished with lettuce crema and queso fresco. The tostadas were crispy and the beef well flavored generously topped. The sopas all overflowed with the al pastor (however I usually like a little more pineapple in my al pastor..this version was heavy on the pork and light on the fruit.) The fluantas turned out to be the big surprise. We thought that it would be taquitos ( little crispy tacos rolled up like a cigar) however these were JUMBO sized. One was more than enough to fill up my little sister. Her platter came out with 3 of these rolled up crispy chicken filled cigars surrounded by iceberg lettuce and pico de gallo. All in all the meal was great and very filling. it came out to about $33 total after tax and tip ( I almost always tip 20%) Recommended.

Happy New Year! 2010

With minimum shenanigans compared with the previous year, I celebrated the end of 2009 with some of my closest friends and family and kissed it a big fat goodbye. I was happy to see it go even though I had some great times. Visiting my family in Australia was no doubt a once in a lifetime experience but looking back at the year as a whole, I can definitively say it wasn't all fun and games.

I'm looking forward to seeing how 2010 turns out. It's almost like that new kid in class that you keep checking out from the corner of your eye. I'm finally beginning to feel comfortable in my own skin, doing my own thing and just being happy being me. I know it's cliche to say this but I somehow lost myself when I was eyeball deep in my last relationship. I became a person that couldn't recognize, didn't like and couldn't relate to. After the break up it was difficult to find my way back to the person that I knew I was but had somehow lost in the midst of being a "good" girlfriend. I tried so hard to be something that I wasn't in that relationship that it made me resentful of him, of us, of everything as much as I loved him and wanted it to work, I hated who I had become and just wanted out as much for me as for him. So no more looking back and no more thinking about the what ifs. I'm letting it all go and hoping that all the ups and downs of 2009 has made me a better person. With all that said in the words of Joey from FRIENDS, "Hello 2010. How r you doing?"

The French Culinary Institute of New York

**carafe of sparkling water** 

I've walked by the doors of the L'Ecole the restaurant run by the students of the  French Culinary Institute too many times to count. Every time I'm in NYC, I make a habit of going to SOHO and as a result I pass by this school usually on my way to chinatown to grab some much needed food to refuel for more shopping. This past Saturday the weather was cold, rainy, windy and all around terrible. I ended up outside the doors of L'Ecole in dire need of some warmth and food.


They offer prixe-fix meals throughout the day. Brunch and dinner on the weekends and lunch and dinner during the work week. For $19.50 we decided that it was an affordable escape from the wintry weather. The menu offered a little for everyone. Clearly French bistro inspired there were a few non traditional french items but we stuck with the classics. Here's a tip for people who like sparkling but hate to pay the premium. The school offers flat or sparkling filtered water as part of the prixe-fix price. So feel free to order the sparkling. (I ordered it without knowing it was complimentary and my brunch companion who is notorious for being extremely budget conscious almost vetoed my request for sparkling before our waitress informed us that it was complimentary)

 **my burger**

I ordered the seasonal salad hoping for heaps of cauliflower and butternut squash. Instead it was a bed of frisee with a bit of baby arugula some walnuts and a sprinkling of squash and two florets of cauliflower. I am not a big fan of frisee. I don't mind bitter greens but I find frisee to be a bit dry and hard to handle. The curly leaves spring out from my fork in all directions and I find it's always a struggle to get it into my mouth neatly. The salad was a bit disappointing however my brunch companions liked their choices. The terrine was yummny and the butternut squash soup was rich, creamy and comforting. 

**duck confit**

 

I was happy when we moved past the first course and were presented with our entrees. I ordered the burger medium well and it arrived on a brioche bun. Yay! i love brioche buns for burgers. I hate when the buns overpower the patty and with the delicate nature of brioche that's hard to do.  The fries were a bit over salted but well prepared. My other brunch companion got the duck confit and that looked well executed - crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Brunch at L'Ecole was definitely the right move and at $19.50 a very affordable option.

El Zarape Taqueria

I've recently been getting sudden cravings for  Mexican food. Not that Tex Mex stuff they serve at Taco Bell and Qdoba but the real authentic stuff that real authentic Mexicans eat. I don't really know when it started but I've been finding myself eating tacos at least twice a month. 

Most recently I stumbled across El Zarape located in the Passyunk Square area. This place is located directly across the street from that hipster haven Cantina Los Caballitos and is not as sleek or eye catching but I have to say that to food is good. They serve you fresh chips and salsa not unlike what you get from La Veracruz but in addition to the red and green salsa you get a side of refried black beans. The beans are GOOD.

 red & green salsa with chips and refried beans

I ordered the Taco's Al Pastor (my all time favorite) and my lunch companion went with the zucchini blossom quesadilla. My tacos were awesome. It had just the right amount of onion and pineapple mixed in with the juicy pieces of pork. The quesadilla was OK. It was made with flour tortillas which I'm not a huge fan. They weren't terrible...just nothing special. 

   

tacos al pastor

 

 zucchini blossom quesadilla

Dmitri's - Fitler Square

glass of the house white

When I think of BYOB's, Dmitri's is always on the top of that list. The location in Queen Village has been popular for years and has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I've eaten many meals at the bar, squeezed in shoulder to shoulder with my dinner companion and other patrons. This cramped, loud little restaurant makes no apologies for these inconveniences. You either love it or hate it and I happen to be someone who loves it. They serve seafood that is fresh and simply prepared. No foams, no gelee, no freeze dried anything is served here. Just honest to goodness fresh fish, shellfish and a few Greek inspired salads and dips. So given my partiality to this tiny little gem of a restaurant, is it any wonder that I never remember that there exist a sister restaurant in Filter Square?

appetizer sampler

 

sauteed mussels

I finally ate at Dmitris 2  one Friday night and boy was I surprised. This one is not a BYOB like the in Queen VIllage but the menu is more or less the same. They offer a few different items such as the appetizer sampler dish which included a cucumber salad, the beets, and variety of the dips and along with wedges of the grilled pita. I love eating the pita dipped in the olive oil with just a splash of the Tabasco. There's just something about that combination that just makes my tastebuds sing. It is a great starter and more than enough for 2 people. We ordered that along with the sauteed mussels (my favorite) and then one platter, which was the tilapia special (broiled tilapia filets in white wine) and since this was not a BYOB we each ordered a glass of the house white. It was the perfect dinner. The atmosphere was lively, but not as cramped as the Queen Village location and the food well executed. I was pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed myself. If you find yourself wandering about Filter Square/Rittenhouse Square looking for a non-pretentious and affordable dinner spot you should check out Dmitri's on the corner of 23rd and Pine.

Soho Cafe

There are two things that I love in life right now. Yakitori Boy and BonChon chicken. And these things came together unexpectedly last Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving - the biggest party night of the year!

A large order of wings

We started the night out at Bonchon for dinner and Cafe Soho did not disappoint. This little restaurant located near the corner of 5th and Cheltenham Ave started serving korean fried chicken a little over a year ago. If you've never had this type of fried chicken, I would highly recommend it. They're like buffalo wings but crispier and and flavor is more rounded. I like both the spicy version (the heat in these wings are masochistically hot) and I like the soy garlic. Eating this fried chicken goodness requires strategy that I'll share with you. In order to keep the heat from the spicy wings from getting to you, you have to alternate between the spicy and soy garlic and drink the beer. Also try to keep the contact with your lips at a minimum otherwise the heat from the spicy sauce will make your lips burn and go numb. I know it sounds terrible and quite torturous but believe me it's well worth it. These wings are addictively good.

Deep Fried Turkey Goodness

Like every other food obsessed American, I often prepare for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, by watching the Food Network and most importantly their Thanksgiving Specials. For the last few years I've been toying with the idea of a deep fried turkey. I mean who doesn't like fried food? In the past, turkey has always taken a backseat to the sides served at dinner. We made a turkey because it was expected not necessarily because of the way it taste. Over the years, my mother and I have tried every "trick" in the book to try to make this large heavy breasted bird succulent and juicy. We've brined, injected, massaged, basted, tented and in the end just prayed that the white meat would be juicy and the dark meat cooked. Eventually after years of tweaking our technique, we found that brining and rubbing butter on the bird was the best we could do to prevent it from going dry in the oven.

This year, out of the blue, two weeks before Thanksgiving, my mother informs me that she wants to deep fry the turkey. I was delighted and honestly a little scared. I saw the deep fried turkey special by Alton Brown and watched as they lit a fryer contraption on fire when they plunged the bird into the fat. As soon as the words, "Deep Fried Turkey" came out of my mother's mouth I kept seeing images from that turkey inferno in my head.

Despite my fear, we went ahead and purchased the fryer from Lowes Hardware and hoped for the best. As you can see from the picture it turned out well. We brined the turkey overnight as usual and instead of roasting it for hours it only took about 50 minutes in the fat and out came a golden crispy juicy bird. It was by far the tastiest and juiciest turkey we've ever made. Deep Fried Turkey is awesome! Happy Thanksgiving!

TRIO - boozy dinner

When my sister first asked me if I wanted to join the gang for dinner at TRIO I was very hesitant for the following three reasons. #1 I had just had Thai food earlier that week and didn't know if my tummy was going to be in the mood for more # 2 This place was located no where near my house or her house. It was all the way at 26th and Brown in the Art Museum Area. #3 The weather man predicted rain. A lot of it. That last reason alone is usually enough to keep me indoors huddled on my couch snuggling my dog. However against my better judgement I decided to join the gang for dinner.

Parking was quite difficult, as I had mentioned before, the weather man predicted rain and he was more than correct. The city was blanketed in clouds, fog and rain for 2 days that continued steadily that night. When I reached the Art Museum area, there was a lot of unexpected traffic due to the increased Halloween traffic going on at the Eastern State Penitentiary. I thought to myself "great, this night is turning out shitty already."  However after circling the restaurant a few times, I finally found parking right on 26th street off of Aspen. We trudged into the restaurant located right on the corner of the block with it's faeire lights twinkling in the rain. It actually looked quite warm and inviting and we were happy to make it inside. I had no idea that the place boasted 3 floors of dining rooms and an outdoor deck. The deck clearly was no use to us that night but I could see how inviting it could be on a nice summer night.

I was begginning to see why the gang suggested we have dinner at Trio. We were seated at a long table that comfortably accomodated our large group. We had a party of 9 and a stash of 8 bottles. I should have known that any dinner at a BYOB with this bunch would turn into a boozy dinner. Since it was raining and I was a DD I had only a few glasses of wine.

The menu was interesting. Clearly asian inspired but the entrees were all more fusion-y than authentic thai. I went with the crispy duck which the waitress higly recommended. I found it to be dry and the sauce a bit one dimensional. It wasn't bad in any way. But I like my duck cooked to medium and I knew I had made a mistake in my entree choice when the waitress didn't ask me for a temperature on my duck. However as a saving grace one person in our group suggested we order noodles for the table and we all quickly agreed that it sounded like an excellent notion.

The drunken noodles and the pad thai that we ordered to share was excellent. Full of flavor and not too greasy as stir fried noodles can sometimes be. Overall I can't remember what everyone ordered but I do remember the staff being very attentive but not overbearing. We all ate heartily and drank with gusto. I had a enjoyable experience that had as much to do with the company as it had to do with the food and the restaurant. I can see how this neighborhood joint managed to be full on a rainy cold Saturday night.

You need someone new.

I hear this line all the time from my best friend. Every time I call him or text him or email him a random thought or dream regarding my ex-boyfriend we end the conversation with him telling me that I need to move on and find someone new. That is easier said than done.  

It's not that I am dying to get back together with said ex. It's just that I still think about him endlessly. I don't think it's in an obsessive I'm going to kill your pet bunny type of way. But all sorts of little things in my everyday life triggers memories of our time together and it just leads me to think about him.

Every time I eat a fried egg over rice with soy sauce, it's so yummy that it makes me feel thankful for having met him. It’s the best breakfast when you’re slightly hung over. Every time I see a Lacoste polo shirt, or any mention of the NY Giants or NY Mets it immediately transports me back to hours on the couch with my ex watching sports that meant nothing to me but I watched it all because I loved him.

Mostly, I just wonder how he is and how he had been spending his time. Then I start to wonder if he is single or seeing someone. It all starts to get pretty pathetic, pretty fast. (I never said that I was proud of this behavior.) Typically after I've worked myself up into a frenzy of emotion, I'lI call my best friend hyperventilating. At which point he usually talks me off the ledge and tells me to move on and find someone new. It's a vicious cycle that starts off so innocently. It’s been almost a full year since I officially ended it with the ex. How long does it take to move on?

Stalking - modern like

 Photo of from here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaderli/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

With the advent of new social media networks like Facebook and MySpace cyber stalking is just oh-so-easy. I find myself killing (I can't even count how many) hours by repeatedly pressing the "check status" icon on my blackberry for Facebook and my heart skips a beat when there's a new update from people that I've been "keeping in touch with" ahem..."stalking" via Facebook.

It's just so easy to scroll down your "friends" list and just casually check on people that you know especially with exboyfriends.

I really want to see what my ex has been up to these days. We no longer speak or even really communicate. I think he doesn't want to be on "friendly" terms with me.  My definition of friendly means an occasional email with a short update on what's going on. Nothing serious...no drama. I don't need to know how many women he's talked to or hooked up with but a short cursory email with a little information on his life and family wouldn't hurt. I mean when you're with someone for a number of years and things don't workout is it really necessary to completely cut off all ties of communication?

I have friends that say that this is an absolute must and that you can't stay friends with your exes. I beg to differ. I do believe that distance is necessary in the beginning when the separation is fresh but after almost a year of no communication shouldn't a little email warrant a timely response? It wasn't like there was drama in the breakup....things just didnt work out there was no cheating or anything like that.

So given my obsession with Facebook status checking, I've been really good about not checking on my ex. However today I hit an information over load purely by accident. OK..not quite by accident...but I wasn't really cyber stalking. I was just going through blogger and found his blog. *gasp*

I know. I shouldn't have read it. But that's like putting candy in front of a baby and asking him/her not to try to eat it. I tried to resist but I knew it was a battle that I wasn't going to win. I read it. And it was hard. I think I might be an emotional cutter....i have problems. :(

Are we human or are we dancer?

What is your definition of a real human being? I've struggled with the answer to this question everyday since graduating from college. And it's sad to say that was a long long long time ago. (Thank goodness I'm petite and asian and can still pass for an undergrad)

I remember having a conversation about the choice to be inked or not to be inked with a 21 year old while vacationing in Australia. This boy err man or maybe man-boy was obsessed with his tattoos. Some were in easy to spot places like the inside of his right wrist and others were not like the ones on his upper arm, across one side of his chest and one on his lower abdomen. I mentioned that night after one too many beers that I had always wanted a tattoo but the sheer magnitude of the decision as to what to actually get and where to put it on my body (where it would stay FOREVER) has pretty much forced me into indecision on the whole matter. I told him that I wasn't entirely convinced that it was possible to be a "real human" being if you had visable and obvious tattoos. And I was pretty sure that I should strive to be an real human. It seemed like a logical conclusion to me however he was fairly adamant that my definition of a "real human being" differed greatly from his. 

I only meant that being a person with large visible tattoos seemed to be the antithesis of what an adult should be. And for me a "real human being" = adult.  When I was a kid I thought for sure by the time I hit 30 I would have things all figured out. I didn't necessarily want a house in the burbs with 2.5 children and a white picket fence but I just thought that I would be an adult or at least feel like and adult... doing adult things like my parents. I wasn't sure of all the details but I thought that I would have a plan and a goal and direction.

I am now 30 years old with absolutely no idea of where I'm going, what I want and how to get it. All I know is that I have no ink on me anywhere and I don't think I'm any closer to being a "real human being" then my 21 year old visibly inked friend. Harrump....perhaps it's time to rethink this inking thing after all.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

I've decided that it might be time to extend the scope of this blog to include food, love and life. I started this blog ages ago as a way to share my culinary adventures with my friends and family via the web and honestly I had hoped it would be something that my boyfriend (at the time) and I could do together because I thought we lacked "common interests." Fast forward 2 years and I am no longer with said boyfriend but still obsessed with food and still have tons of random thoughts and ruminations that I feel compelled to share with the world.

My posts have been sporadic at best and the layout atrocious. But it's not my fault :( I really hate using the html editor provided by blogger. Maybe I'm retarded or something...but i just can't seem to make this thing look the way I want it to. And it's really depressing when I see blogs by youngins that look super slick and polished. You'd think that with my background in programming that'd I'd be able to get this thing to look good. Oh wells.....I guess it's just not one of my strengths. I'm ok with that...we can't all be good at everything :)

Flat whites and Freedom

Who knew that our aussie aunts, uncles and grand pa and grandmother had a secret plan to lock us Americans away in their little home in North Melbourne. For days, we were forced fed “home cooked” dinners that tasted great but made us yearn all the more for the freedom to go out and buy some food … any food. Seriously. No vacation is complete without checking out the local dining scene … at least not for me.

For some reason, the family thought that we wouldn’t be able to navigate the city on our own and this just baffled me to no end. I mean I’m 30 years old…something that I’m not usually shouting out to the world but in this case I thought it would be enough proof of my competency in life. I really don’t know what kind of stories my father had been feeding these people for the past 20 some years...but it certainly seemed like he failed to inform them that Phuong and I were actually real adults capable of getting around a city without falling victim to kidnappers, gang bangers and other evils that they believed lurked around every corner in Melbourne.

After a few days of what felt like forced imprisonment, I was finally presented with a chance to break free from our confinement. I discovered from one of my aunties that she not only worked in the City but walked there from my grand aunt’s place (the location of our internment) and also there were trams that ran straight into the city and other destinations all around Melbourne. This aunt proved to be our saviour and key to freedom - thanks Vichi.

That very day Phuong, Judie, Michelle and I all left the house bright and early and trailed my auntie to work. We happily trudged past Royal Children’s Hospital, past University of Melbourne and straight by Queen Victoria Market …. right into the city. First stop…coffee shop. A flat white for me, hot chocolates for the girls and of course a meat pie for Phuong. A morning cup of coffee laced with freedom.

The Meat Pie

It’s like a poor man’s chicken pot pie except they’re mostly made without chicken or any real discernable meat. Just a kind of mushy meat-like substance that isn’t half bad smothered in tomato sauce (or as we call it in the states – ketchup) The aussie’s really seem to like their little meat pies because they were being sold at almost every fast food outlet through out Melbourne. Our aussie cousins informed us that the Four And Twenty (which were proudly sold at all 7 Elevens) was an all time favorite. With this kind of recommendation, Phuong couldn’t resist and on our first day exploring the city promptly bought and devoured her first meat pie. That was the beginning of the meat pie madness. For days she went on and on about getting more meat pies.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the weird consistency of the filing despite the fact that I typically like savory pies but somehow this just didn’t work for me. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

bar ferdinand - happy hour

RAIN?! Again? at what point did I go to bed and wake up in Seattle? Having been born and raised in Philadelphia, I am not a stranger to sub par weather but this past month has been pretty miserable in terms of sunshine. I think we got 2 weeks straight of rainy/t-stormy weather and by Friday I had had enough of it. The sun came out for a few hours and it was motivation for me to go to happhy hour. OK to be honest...it takes very little to get me to go to happy hour and on Fridays it's almost mandatory.

Miss HatT and I decided to head over to the Northern Liberties tapas place called Bar Ferdinand located on N 2nd street. This restaurant has been around for a few years and has had consistently favorable reviews from local critics and the general public but somehow I've never made my way over to it. And oh how I wanted to kick myself after happy hour on Friday.

From food

**white sangria**

Not being a huge fan of tapas even though I love the idea of little plates, sharing food and forced variety due to the small size of the portions....I just never got into the whole tapas trend. Number one, I found that the flavorings were just too similiar in each dish...olive oil, salt and fried. I mean I love fried things as much as the next person...but still I needed more. Number two, the price of the meal when all was said and done felt way too high to justify the portions. I guess it was probably more reason number two, for my unfavorable opinion of tapas eateries. And keep in mind, I have dined at two of the "best" tapas places - Casa Mona (NYC) and Amada (Philadelphia).

However after happy hour, all my previous notions were thrown out the window. Bar Ferdinand made me a beleiver. Miss HatT and I ordered a pitcher of the white sangria and it was OK. The wine they used was a bit dry for my taste...but at half off the regular price....I wasn't going to complain. We chose a potato dish with aioli, a grilled beef skewer with pistachio pesto and a stuffed squid with onion relish. Each dish was delicious. We finished every last bite. I can't wait to go back to try more dishes and the paella.

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**potatoes w/aioli**

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**Stuffed Squid**

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**Beef Skewer**

When we arrived shortly after 5PM the chefs were just starting up the outdoor paella station and on my way out one pan was just about finished. It looked magnificent with the yellow saffron infused rice, chicken, peas and the whole pan was studded with mussels still in their black jewel like shells. Most of the outdoor seats were filled with hipster who were "in-the-know". I left the restaurant shaking my head mentally kicking myself for not having tried this place sooner. Oh well. I have the rest of the summer to make up for my poor decisions.

hidden city soire 2009

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I almost never pass up a tasting event. Hidden City had an event at the Armory in Rittenhouse on Thursday June 28. Miss HatT, my trusty eating companion, joined me in ths cavernous location for a chance to sample dishes from a variety of restaurants in Philadelphia.

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The event featured foods from Cafe Spice (old city), Friday Saturday Sunday (rittenhouse), Trio (no libs), El Vez(wash sq west), Swanky bubles (old city) and National Mechanics (old city). They also had a signature cocktail made from a ginger liquor called Domaine De Canton (the distributor is based in Philadelphia) - some sort of lemonade concoction. It wasn't half bad but the sticy summmer weather had me thirsting for something a little less strong and a little less sweet. Honestly by the end of the event I really just wanted to get a glass of ice water.

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The place got packed quickly as Miss HatT and I arrived about 20 minutes before the official start time and within about 30 minutes it got packed and within 45 minutes food started to run out at certain stalls. The sushi at Swanky Bubbles was the first to go.

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The best thing I tasted was the tomato based chicken curry offered by Cafe Spice. The curry was flavorful and the sauce rich but not heavy or too creamy. The rice was also spiced and quite tasty. The rest of the food at the event was just OK. I mean El Vez only offered chips and guacamole (kinda dissapointing). I think attendees that came during the first hour got the cream of the crop while people who got there around 8PM were unfortunately faced with empty stalls and bar stations with 20 minute lines. I had fun and was glad that I bought the $10 ticket but I'm pretty sure the poor suckers who arrived at 8PM had a different opinion.

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