Philly!

Or A Kate and Alex Magical Mystery Tour

So this past weekend I went on an Epic adventure to Philadelphia to visit my dear friend Kate. And I would be remiss to exclude from this blag all of the exciting food adventures we went on in the process.

So first some food:
Reading Terminal Market:


after taking a brief trip on a tour bus (you know...scope the place out) we stopped at Reading Terminal Market for some grub:
the delicious pic you see here was our final choices which could be summed up as a pregnant women special: Philly cheese with hot pepper (never had it that way...really good), Veggie Crepe, Pickles, and for dessert I had a cupcake from the Flying Monkey (you'll be proud of me not walking up to the bake case and pointing to my cupcake and say "I'll get you my pretty"...it was hard because this is my favorite movie people) and Ms. Kate had a mint Brownie (that was soooo pretty)


Max Brenner:

So this place is a virtual heaven for menstruating Ladies and their man-child Other Half's (or menstruating other half's)
Virtually every other thing on the menu has chocolate on it. It is used as liberally as EVOO in an Olive Garden. (Note: all mention of EVOO herein and forthwith shall not be considered a Rachael Ray reference but merely a manifestation of one Blog writers Carpel Tunnel and corresponding desire to not have to type out Extra-virgin Olive Oil every time she wants to mention it) This place is beyond belief. In fact, we decided that if the restaurant was staffed by the cast of 300 in costume, then we were not actually in a restaurant but rather floating around in one of Kate's Dreams.


For actual meal portion of this trip, I had a Turkey Burger, and Kate had a Panini. Both were fabulous. Though for me the best part of this meal (yes better then dessert even) was the fries. They were waffle fries, dusted with chili and cocoa powder and served with a spicy aioli. I was in fry heaven.

Dessert was also a thing to behold. Kate got a Sunday that was bigger then her head. I got a salted caramel "concoction" that came in a jar, on a note book paper plate, and with a beaker of white chocolate. And it was really good, though 5 stars for presentation.

Another note about Max Brenner is that they have the cutest mugs. I got the Mexican Hot chocolate after learning they could make it with soy (hurray) and got it in a "Hug Mug". It was cute and inspired you to "hug" your drink...HOWEVER....I, as a devote to the culinary arts have developed near asbestos hands as a result of constant heat exposure, but Ms. Kate said it was a little hard to pick up. Also, while the design is cute and new and adorable and the concept is brilliant, at some point mid beverage I realized that what I was drinking out of also looked a bit like a urinal. This was an issue for me. I did however end up investing in an "Alice Mug" ...soooo cute

Capogiro Gelato Artisans:

We also made a quick pit-stop at Capogiro's and enjoyed a delicious cup of gelato. I got the Chocolate Hazelnut and the dolche de Lece...both were fabulous!!


Tria


So Kate took me to Tria on my last day and I'm glad she did because I would have gone there for every meal otherwise. It was AMAZING!!! I totally had multiple-foodgasms; it changed my life...soooo good. We had a slew of goodies including the goat cheese with truffle and honey, Olive Oil and Rosemerry Potato chips, and Artichoke sandwich to name a few....I am in love!




Another Important aspect of this trip:

Drinking

We did a lot of it.
Among our libation pit-stops was Swanky Bubbles, where Kate and I enjoyed champagne, and champagne cocktails until we were sloshed at 8pm and wandered home in our inebriated state to watch "Twilight" (I know). PS. trying to adjust the white-balance on a VCR while drunk is an interesting challenge

Also, the next day we watched the sequel "New Moon", enjoyed some AK47s and invented an interesting drinking game to go with it:
Take a drink when:
Jacob looks like he is going to cry
Edward says something that is supposed to be sweet but is actually really creepy (ie. I like sneaking in your room at night to watch you sleep)
When ever the characters say something that is clearly about sex and abstinence (ie: yes Bella I will make you into a Vampire but I want to get married first)

AK47:
Take a shot (I leave this actual quantity to your specifications) and add to glass of iced peach tea and ice. drink. goes well with teeny-bopper movies with pasty stars

Then we ventured out to Rum Bar, then a Speak easy, then finally ending up back at swankys

ouch

All in all, the trip was a lot of fun, and catching up with Kate of course was the most important thing. I can't wait to go back!