Home Cooking

A blissful Christmas week at home filled with nonstop eating, tv-indulging, and sleeping in way too late. Thought I would have been more diligent about capturing all of our meals but half of the time I was to impatient to eat.  Fortunately I was able to get a few quick snaps in between all of the eating :)

A delightful discovery - Jack Rudy small batch tonic that has elevated my favorite drink to a whole new level. Thank you Bon Appetit for introducing me to this.

A classic breakfast we always eat at home. Ever since my parents had their first crepe in Montreal years and years ago, they were hooked. We've been following the same apple crepe recipe since I was probably 12.

After our apartment had dumpling night, I was craving some of my mom's home made dumplings. And the new favorite filling of the moment is lamb with celery. Nothing beats dumplings was dumpling skin made fresh.

This is not a new favorite. For as long as I can remember, we've been eating hot put at home and it beats all the hot pot I've had in Philadelphia and New York. Our favorite ingredients include thinly cut lamb, spinach, clear noodles and a spicy sesame based sauce loaded with hot peppers and cilantro.

Showing off dad's cooking skills. Roast beef smoked in his "Green Egg", home made pickles and bread made from scratch. Dad's gotten pretty good at cooking while I wasn't looking.

A simple dinner of nachos loaded with Italian sausage, home made salsa and LOTS of jalepenos, can you tell we like things spicy?

New York sure has some great food but sometimes, nothing beats mom and dad's home cooking.

New & Old Again

 More exploration into the cafes of West Philly and a return to an old favorite.

Dropped into Cafe Renata to do some mild studying with a friend, but we wound up spending 1/3 of the time eating. The homemade mozzarella cheese is outrageous, seriously the best I've ever had. The apple cream cheese cake came recommended from yelp and the owner which was also delicious, although a bit too sweet for me. They've just started serving brunch (free sparkling wine if you buy oj!!!) and Mediterranean inspired dinner. Go check this place out.

$15 prix fixe lunch at distritio? Sign me up! All of the favorites are on there including the guac and mushroom flatbread.

I walk past this place basically every other day so finally decided to drop in. My chai tea latte was quite generous in size and heavily caffeinated but service is veryy slow so only come if you have some time to kill and intend on mostly lounging/studying there. 

Some New & Old

Since I was in major food withdrawal all week, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to do some exploring and check off some restaurants on my extensive "must eats" list.

West Philadelphia Exploration

I admit I am quite a bit behind when it comes to exploring and eating at the plethora of cafes, ethnic eateries and new additions of West Philadelphia. Inspired by all of the recommendations I have been receiving, I spent most of the week taking walks west of 40th and Spruce to see what was out there.

Quickly becoming a Penn staple, this tiny taco shop offers perfectly made tacos: everything from sweet potato to shrimp and carnitas (pictured above). I'm am definitely returning this week to try out the burritos which are supposed to be even better than the tacos.

Stopped by this BYOB after seeing Marigold Cafe was closed for brunch. The menu is quite creative such as the smoked salmon crepe with carmelized apricots and candied walnuts (above), but the portions were quite small and I left feeling a tad still hungry. Good for a lunch but not what I was expecting for a Sunday brunch.

Adorable cafe with wide-range of breakfast and lunch offerings. Wasn't impressed by my particular turkey sandwich but a good place to spend a sunny afternoon away from the crowd.

An oldie (Yogorino), and one of my all time favorite dessert places in Philadelphia & a newbie (Lil Pop Shop). Thought the $3/ tiny popsicle price tag was a bit overpriced but that was before I bit into my chocolate with salted caramel brownie fudge bar which included bits of freshly baked brownie. Definitely going back to try some of the other flavors such as green tea with mochi and earl grey with vanilla bean and black pepper.

Brunch Addition

Been dying to try this pace after I heard people raving about the lemon ricotta pancakes. Will admit it was a bit difficult to find but so worth the trip! The unlimited filter coffee instantly made me a fan of the place.

Huevos Rancheros: toasted corn tortillas, topped with refried beans, roasted peppers, jack cheese, and two fried eggs, finished with grilled chorizo and pico de gallo. [AMAZING, never much a fan of spanish inspired brunch dishes but this one has converted me]
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes: Light and fluffy, was surprised it wasn't more "lemony" but I liked how the dish was really light

All Time Favorite
I lovee Jose Garces and I love love love JG Trading Company (restaurant week post here). Probably has something to do with the wine shop in the store that lets you BYO every meal...Plus, this is probably his only restaurant that regularly changes the menu which gives me reason to keep coming back.

Finally tried to duck fat fries which were fried to perfection. They do taste a bit heavier even though the fries were light and fluffy thanks to the duck fat. 

Serrano ham pizza: Brussels Sprouts, Whipped Ricotta, Pear Balsamic. This pizza is great, all of the flavors work together so perfectly and the duck fat on the dough makes it taste like a cross between a cracker and cheesy bread, I'm usually the one leaving uneaten crusts on my plate but not this time.
The Spaniard: This sandwich came at the recommendation of our waiter but it was basically an underwhelming chicken club sandwich with very dry chicken. Probably won't be ordering any sandwiches next time I come back.

Recharge and Reboot

Thanksgiving inspired brunch specials at TapHouse.
French toast with a smattering of seasonal fruits and some fort of sweet gooey butter
Eggs Benedict over scrumptous stuffing

Ok I confess. I have indeed been one epic SLACKER this entire semester about blogging my eating adventures. Not that I haven't been eating or cooking but I've literally just been SLACKING about taking pictures and posting, but NO MORE (all these caps are clearly indicating how serious I am). Even though this is probably the worst time for me to finally update my blog with the dreaded corp val final in just a week and recruiting smushed in between - this blog has been looking too sad to be ignored much longer. You also know that I've been out of it for way too long because I did not realize blogger updated its interface and it makes posting so much better now (wow, good work Google).

Stories from Manhantan (and Brooklyn)

OK so story #1: I was determined to visit the famed Brooklyn Flea Market after reading about it on NY Mag (which has just about replaced Yelp at this point for restaurant recommendations), and in particular - the foodie bonanza known as Smorgasburg.

Last weekend, we hopped on the ACE train and headed out to Brooklyn. First we got lost, then we walked 15 blocks only to find out we ended up at the wrong flea market and that the one were looking for was only open on Sundays. Sigh. Oh but of course it turned out to be an amazing (foodie) experience and I wound up staying for 5 hours. Today, I went to go see the "official" flea market in Williamsburg and who knew? It was basically the exact same thing. ha-ha.

HomeMade Fizzy Juice: Grapefruit & Jalapenos.  Sounds weird but you're talking to someone who eats jalapenos as a condiment. It was delicious :)

Other eats that I still need to try.

Pork Sandwiches on Ciabatta bread. and a piggie toy. adorbs. 

Corn Tortillas, Fresh Salsa and Spicy Toppings. All fresh and beautifully prepared. Sigh. 

[Pork Tacos]  Reminded me of the AMAZING tacos from Cancun. I've never been a fan of tortilla until I realized on day it was just flour tortilla. Corn tortilla gets a gold star from me. 

YUM YUM YUM!!! Can you tell I was excited?

Story #2: I was majorly craving fried chicken one night so I went over to Kyochon on 31st and 5th Ave.  I asked for the spicy wings and holy cow it was SPICY....like inedible spicy, I didn't even know such a thing existed. Kind of disappointing. Scratch that - really disappointing.  At least the pickled veggies were yummy except they were spicy too! Which would of course normally be ok but not when you've already lost feeling in your tongue. And the kicker of the story is that BonChon was only 1 block away and would probably have been infinitely better. Sigh.

That chicken even looks spicy in the picture.

Story #3: On a much happier note, I have had the most amazing, life-changing and memorable macarons of my life. WOW.  Bouchon Bakery has instantly become a new love. Located in the Time Warner's Building which is conveniently "only" 10 blocks from my apartment, we stopped by after a filling brunch at Silhouette.   Everything about the macarons was perfect. The texture was very cake-like and the fillings were creamy and not overwhelmingly sweet. I could easily eat a whole box of them. Fortunately or unfortunately, $4/macaron kept me from ordering a whole box.

Blueberry Cheesecake, Salted Caramel.

Story #4 Lunch at Ciano's on the hottest day of the year. Thank goodness for AC and prix fixe lunches :) We were literally drenched from the 1.5 blocks it took to walk to the restaurant.  For once, I was grateful for the freezing AC that's always being blasted at work.

I personally can never turn down eggplant when I see it on the menu. I don't know what it is for other people but its eggplant for me; plus Italian cuisine just happens to be one of the ones that consistently serves up delicious eggplant.

Crespelle; Savory Crepes filled with Ricotta Spinach, Zucchini and Swiss Chard
Tre Formaggi Raviolo; Stracchino, Burrata and Parmigiano with Rosemary-Brown Butter

Shaved Vegetable Salad with Mixed Greens, Carrot, Fennel, Peppers and Ricotta Salata
Roasted Eggplant “Amatriciania”; Tomato, Guanciale and Pepperoncini

Strawberry Sorbet & Biscotti. Of course, there is no other dessert choice but sorbet when the weather outside is spiking to 105 degrees.

Story #5: Brunch at Esperanto in the Village. With my weekends in NYC sadly winding down, it meant it was time to get adventurous. Instead of the usual brunch in Hells Kitchen - we ventured to the East side (so East that numbers turned into letters...which I of course didn't even realize existed) . And a prix fixe brunch that includes coffee and a cocktail for $10.95? Who can say no to that? 


Confession time: we were actually trying to get brunch at the Sunburnt Cow (unlimited mimosas for $20...) but the wait was over 2 hours and it was 2:00pm already. So we settled on Esperanto but I am very tempted to actually experience the experience  the midday version of an open bar. 

Huevos Rancheros. Esperanda with its colorful table designs and plastic decor reminds me of a fancier food shack off a beaten road somewhere in a tropical island. The side potatoes had flavorful kick to them - reminded me of paprika.

Tropical French Toast.  Nothing fancy, no brioche, no creme fraiche, no fruite compote. This french toast tasted like the french toast I had when my dad made it for me for the first time.

Huevos Languas: poached egg, greens and potato shrimp cake. The food here was also really similar to RX at Penn in the sense that the food is on the simpler side but well-prepared and in a light-hearted ambiance.

munchies from the beach

gotta love them dippin dot

finally  got my blueberry pancake fix

went to stewart's for their rootbeer floats. wound up staying for dinner :)

went to stewart's for their rootbeer floats. wound up staying for dinner :)

crab cake sandwich with an awkward piece of lettuce

ultimate grilled cheese sandwich = american, cheddar, bacon and tomatoes.

also went a little mexican

steak tacos!

Brunchies

After a failed attempt to check out the brunch at Tap House (apparently there's no brunch Saturdays??), our  very hungry stomaches settled for Distrito which was only 1 block away and much closer than the intended Cooperage (6th and walnut). The mash of hot pink and bright blue patterns inside this pseudo Mexican restaurant never fails to put me in a cheery mood. Wanting to gossip more than have a fancy meal, I settled on a somewhat plain but nevertheless, yummy option.

Torta de Huevos - "Over easy egg, Queso Oaxaca, Benton’s Bacon, Avocado, Tomato, Refried Beans, Crema"

This is what my friend ordered - definitely classier but unfortunately, not filling enough for a brunch.

Revueltos - "Shirred egg, goat cheese, chive, smoked salmon, dill cream, caviar toast"

Maybe its just because I'm a Food Network fanatic or maybe its becaues I really really don't like Pod and will forever be biased towards Mr. SS, but in my mind Jose Garces is still the better chef when it comes to the "sceney" restaurants of the city. Of course, my somewhat still hungry friend disagreed. Ok so maybe, our dinner at Continental was somewhat better but I don't think its fair to compare apples to oranges.

I'm thinking another showdown between these two food stars is needed to cast a better judgment. Suggestions for the next restaurant pairing?

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars