“Opportunity is often missed because we are broadcasting when we should be tuning in” - Orison Swett Marden

As a litigation attorney, part of the job description is missing out on fun opportunities.  No matter how "on top of it" you try to be, there's simply always another fire drill on the horizon that takes precedence over "real life."  While I've mostly come to terms with this realization, the southern girl in me still felt a surge a disappointment when an emergency popped up this morning that prevented me from enjoying a lunch outing with my colleagues to Aunt Berta's Kitchen in Oaklyn, NJ.

While I can't say from first hand experience that Aunt Berta's simple homestyle cooking is worth the trip, a picture is worth a thousand words:

[thanks to RL, BDM, and LF for making sure I could still get a vicarious taste of Berta's deliciousness]

Sigh... another day.  See you soon Berta!

"Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name." - Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo

The proverbial "Cheers" of Old City, Race Street Cafe, just celebrated its 10th year in the neighborhood.  With its wood burning fire place, laid-back wait staff, and no-frills menu, Race Street is a comfortable place to grab a decent meal and a good beer.

After I slept through brunch with Nillian this morning, B and I headed to Race Street for a quick bite.  B chose the huevos rancheros:

Although huevos rancheros is typically made up of two fried eggs over refried or black beans atop a lightly fried corn tortilla and covered with ranchero sauce, Race Street serves its huevos rancheros as a breakfast burrito - enclosing the fried eggs and ranchero sauce inside a burrito with cheese (no beans). While the Race Street spin is alright, I have to say I favor the original.

I opted for the orange french toast (so named because the brioche is soaked in an egg and cointreau batter):

Although I couldn't taste any hint of orange, the french toast was light, airy, and paired perfectly with some sausage and maple syrup.

If you ever find yourself searching for a chill weekend brunch in Old City, stop by Race Street (but maybe pass up the huevos rancheros in favor of another egg dish... or the french toast).

"The feeling of friendship is like that of being comfortably filled with roast beef; love, like being enlivened with champagne." - Samuel Johnson

This weekend B and I organized a little get-together for one of our favorite couples, Nillian, who was visiting from Florida.

 
Before dinner we had everyone over to our place for some snacks and cocktails.

In preparation for our little shindig, B and I went to the Old City Cheese Shop and picked up a manchego cheese, a blue cheese, some hazelnut and fig spread, and some mild chorizo.  Coupled with grapes, crackers, and pretzels with spicy mustard dip we had the perfect pre-dinner nosh.

For dinner we headed to Koo Zee Doo in Northern Liberties - a 2010 James Beard award winner for Best New Restaurant featuring Portuguese cuisine served family style.  As an added bonus, Koo Zee Doo is byob.  Here's a shot of our friend KIR, getting ready to enjoy some vino:

While we perused the menu, the server brought over bread and a small dish of pickled lupini beans.

Described as the Portuguese equivalent of edamame, the lupini beans are eaten by piercing the tender outer shell to pop out the buttery bean inside.  They were... interesting, but a little too much work for the return.

For starters, the table selected two orders of Rissóis de Batata Doce, fried sweet potato turnovers, two orders of the Camarão com Piri Piri, shrimp with hot sauce, and an order of Moelas, braised chicken gizzards.

With their light and crunchy outer "shell" and creamy, yet spicy, vegetable filling, the turnovers reminded me of ramped-up individual-sized vegetable pot pies.

The shrimp were nicely cooked, not at all chewy, with a great kick.

The braised gizzards were the most talked-about starter of the evening.  They were tender, and incorporated just the right amount of seasoning and spice.  We loved them so much we ended up dipping our bread in the braising sauce once the gizzards were gone.

For entrees the table chose the Coelho à Caçador, rabbit stew, the Bife à Portuguesa, steak with ham and fried eggs, the Lulas Estufadas, braised squid and fried calamari, and the Carne de Porco à Alentenjano, pork and clams.

The stew, a weekly special featured only on Saturday nights, included braised pork belly with the rabbit meat.  I'm not sure I completely agree with the characterization of this dish a stew - the thinness made it more akin to tender meat served in its braising liquid - but no matter what you call it, the rabbit and the pork were both very tasty.

Obviously B loved the clam and pork dish, and he wasn't the only one.  The pork in this dish was probably the best thing we had all night - it was tender and worked wonderfully with the clams.  This dish also came with some crispy fried potato cubes that were perfect for soaking up the clam jus.

The steak, served medium and layered with ham, was accompanied by two nicely over-easy eggs and crispy fried potato rounds.  This dish was such a crowd pleaser that I was only able to snag two bites!

The braised squid and fried calamari was served in a cumin marinara sauce over mashed potatoes.  The marinara had a great taste (I love cumin) and the calamari provided a wonderfully crispy contrast to the mashed potatoes.  Despite those high points, this was probably my least favorite dish of the night because the squid was far too mushy.

For dessert we enjoyed some champagne, compliments of my friend MMA, and sampled the Pudim de Pão de Chocolate, chocolate hazelnut bread pudding, and the Tarte de Côco, the coconut tart.  I loved the coconut tart, which was very much akin to a sophisticated macaroon.  As for the bread pudding, I am a bread pudding fanatic so I was a little disappointed at first because Koo Zee Doo's version tastes more like a flourless cake.  That being said, I did enjoy the cumulative dish which incorporated figs cooked in port that provided a great accompaniment to the rustic flavor of the "pudding".  Here's a shot of MMA with her champagne:

At the end of the night we were satisfied and stuffed, having paid only $35 a person (which included tax and tip) for the entire meal.  I would highly recommend that anyone looking for an inexpensive and delicious alternative for group dining grab a bottle (or two) and head to Koo Zee Doo.

"I must have a drink of breakfast." - W.C. Fields

This morning B and I headed over to National Mechanics for a late brunch.  We were in need of a little hair of the dog, so I ordered a mimosa and B a bloody mary.  If you're a bloody mary fan, you should definitely check out National Mechanics.  Not only do they have flavored salt for your rim (B went with the vegan bacon salt - it added a nice smokey flavor to complement the bloody) but they have a self-serve bar so you can build your own bloody.

B admiring his finished product:

For the meal, B and I both went with the "National Skillet" - a skillet filled with a hash of fried potatoes, ham, tomatoes, and cheese that is covered by two fried eggs.

It was pretty good, but slightly on the dry side with too few few tomatoes in the hash.  If the eggs had been cooked over-easy, rather than over medium, the egg might have better balanced out the dryness of the hash.  B also ordered a side of scrapple.

For those of you unfamiliar with scrapple, it is a breakfast "meat" made from a what is essentially a mush of pork scraps and trimmings that are combined with cornmeal, flour, and spices, formed into a "loaf", sliced, and fried.  I'm not typically a fan, but I have to admit that the scrapple at National Mechanics wasn't half bad - I think it was the thin slicing.

What a way to start the day!

"Either dance well or quit the ballroom" - Greek Proverb

Last night B and I met his brother, AJB, and AJB's girlfriend, J5, for dinner and drinks.  We started out having some pre-dinner cocktails at Vintage, a wine bar located at 13th and Sansom.  The girls opted for the Rose Brut, while the guys selected Maker's Mark Manhattans, on the rocks.  Here's a shot of AJB and J5 enjoying their beverages.

For dinner we went across the street to  Opa.  Newly opened in February 2011, Opa encourages a family-style dining experience with a menu which lends itself to shared plates and features traditional Greek cuisine with a few updated classics.

We started with the zimi, baked pita bread stuffed with feta cheese.

The taste wasn't terrible, but without a sauce (a fig jam or honey would work nicely with the feta) to counter-act the dryness of the pita, the effect was to replicate a case of cotton mouth.  Next, we tried the gyro sliders.

These were the perfect anecdote to the zimi.  The lamb was nicely cooked and the tzatziki sauce had just the right hint of sweetness.  We split two orders between the four of us and my only complaint was that I was left wanting more.  Following the gyros, we had the pork and chicken souvlakia.

Unfortunately both tasted as bland as the plate looked.  The pork had a mealy, saw-dust type texture and, the chicken tasted like it had been hanging around under a heat lamp for quite some time.  For our final starter, we had the octopus.

I had read some rave reviews about the octopus at Opa, and I have to say I was not disappointed.  The octopus was not chewy at all, and the chickpeas were wonderfully spiced with just a tad of cumin.

After going 2-for-4 in the first round, we were pleasantly surprised with the entree.

The four of us split the braised lamb shank - a special addition to the menu.  The lamb was tender and juicy, and the spinach had just the right amount of garlic without being overpowering.  The rice tasted great, but, it could have been better prepared (I encountered a few clumped up bunches in my serving).

After dinner we enjoyed the Greek coffee and the loukoumades. 

Greek coffee, also called Turkish coffee, is prepared by boiling finely powdered roast coffee beans in a pot (called a cezve), possibly with sugar.  It had a nice rich consistency, and a jolt of caffeine akin to an espresso.

The loukoumades, essentially just fried bits of dough served with a honey cinnamon and walnut drizzle, and mashed banana and nutella for dipping, were fantastic (but really, how could you go wrong).  Here's a shot of B and I at the end of the meal:

Although there were some high points, I think we all agreed that with so many other fantastic places for Greek cuisine in Philadelphia we won't be going back to Opa anytime soon.  Sorry Tsiouris family!

“There is poetry in a pork chop to a hungry man.” Philip Gibbs

Last night B whipped up a delicious home cooked dinner of pork chops, brussels sprouts, and rice and beans.

For the chops, he combined salt, a BBQ dry rub from Wegman's (which is a little on the more tart side), and a BBQ dry rub that our friend RP concocted (which is a little more on the sweet side) - applying evenly to both sides before pan frying in a skillet for 3 minutes per side.

 

**As a side note, the BBQ dry rub from RP was actually given out as a favor at his wedding last summer (6/2010).  How creative!  Here's a photo of the happy couple during their first dance:

and another of B and I at the end of the reception:

But I digress.  After pan frying the chops, B popped them into an oven (preheated at 375 degrees) for about 10 minutes.

For the brussels sprouts, he started by boiling and draining the sprouts.  Next he sauteed some garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil before adding the sprouts, nutmeg, salt, and parmesan cheese to sautee for about a minute.  The rice and beans were instant.

Although I was working late last night, B was nice enough to save my half... which made for excellent leftovers tonight while B was in class.

Yum!

"We never repent of having eaten too little." - Thomas Jefferson

My weeks are typically bookended by gluttonous weekends.  That said, I am most easily able to get myself back on track during the week with a little help from livestrong.com.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, livestrong allows you to set up a profile with your height, weight, age, daily activity level, and weightloss goals.  With that information, livestrong recommends caloric, as well as protein, carb, sodium, sugar, and fat, intake.  Once set up, you simply log on each day and track your food and your fitness.  At the end of the day, livestrong will provide a breakdown of the areas of your diet that could use adjustment -- for example, after finding my sugar intake over budget every day I started cutting out my morning glass of orange juice and substituting my afternoon yogurt with a piece of fruit.

Beware: it is not full proof.  For example I sometimes find myself consuming empty calories in the evening because I ended up a few hundred calories under my daily "budget" after dinner.  That being said, livestrong has helped me gain a sense of the calories and nutritional info associated with my favorite foods, which has generally helped me tend toward smarter choices on a day-to-day basis.

"There aren't enough days in the weekend." - Rod Schmidt

Most Sundays around our house are spent recovering from Friday and Saturday nights, preparing for the week ahead, and generally mourning the end of yet another too-quick weekend.  In order to ease the transition from weekend to work week, we often treat ourselves to some variety of wonderfully unhealthy take-out in front of the tv.

This Sunday B got pizza fries and buffalo wings from Old City Pizza:

I didn't try the wings, but, I have to say that those pizza fries are great junk food. 

I opted for a Campo's cheesesteak (I take mine with mayo and provolone... don't knock it until you try it) and a Herr's blue bag:

It was greasy and delicious as always.

On the tube tonight was Top Chef All Stars.  Of the contestants left we're rooting for Mike Isabella (although I could have gone without seeing him shirtless tonight).

(B gave me attitude when I registered for those tv trays, calling them "redneck."  Needless to say, now he's a convert)

Now that we're sufficiently stuffed, and our arteries sufficiently clogged, we're ready to face another Monday.

“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink...” — Epicurus

With a day job that affords me far less free time than I would like, I look at eating on the weekends as a time to reconnect with my husband, friends, and family.  This past Saturday, my husband "B" and I stopped by Adsum - http://www.adsumrestaurant.com/ - to enjoy some of Philadelphia's most delicious and inventive comfort food.

While waiting for our table, B ordered an old fashioned.  B, typically an old fashioned purist, found his cocktail quite good despite Adsum's use of the more modern muddled fruit twist.   I stuck to my old faithful, a glass of Cava, which was delightfully served in a 1930's inspired champagne coupe:

For starters, we ordered oysters on the half shell.  The oysters appear to be accompanied by roe, but are actually garnished with "beads" of a mixture of tobasco, horseradish, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.  The beads provide the perfect pop to each fresh little bite (we dove right in and enjoyed a couple before remembering to snap a shot):

After the oysters we enjoyed an Adsum staple, the foie gras poutine.  Poutine, which originated in Quebec, is typically comprised of french fries covered in cheese crumbles and gravy.  Adsum takes this Canadian comfort food to the next level by using duck fat fries and topping the dish with a piece of perfectly seared foie gras.

My only complaint about this dish is the shallow "bowl" in which it is served.  More than once I almost knocked the entire thing into my lap when attempting to spear a fry off of the side rims.  Despite this minor hurdle, we had no trouble finishing every last bite:

While digesting our starters and waiting on the main course, B and I ordered off of Adsum's electic beer list (which includes Miller High Life Ponies!).  I tried the "Mamas Little Yella Pils" from Oskar Blues Brewery and B the "West Coast IPA" from Green Flash - neither were disappointed.

For our entrees, B chose the fried chicken while I opted for the pork belly tacos.  The tacos are technically listed on the starters menu, but I often tend toward a "tapas" mentality when dining out, ordering an appetizer or two to start and an appetizer as my entree.  The shredded pork belly in these bite-sized tacos is moist, with a nice hint of kick from the habanero garnish.

Despite the clever tactics which amp up many of Adsum's other dishes, the fried chicken is simple, to the point, and delicious. In addition to large cuts of breast and thigh meat, fried until golden crispy in what tastes like a buttermilk based batter, the dish is served with corn bread and collard greens.  Although B wasn't able to clean his plate at dinner, the chicken made excellent Sunday morning leftovers.

After enjoying a great meal at Adsum Saturday night, my friend JEG invited me to join her Sunday morning for a cooking class at La Cucina in Redding terminal.  I am embarrassed to say that this was my first time visting Redding terminal in the nearly three years I've lived in Philadelphia.  In addition to fresh produce and proteins, the market features made to order foods of various culinary persuasions.  If not for the shopping, I will definitely be back for the people watching:

Our class at La Cucina focused on brunch, featuring Eggs Neptune (Eggs Benedict with crab meat substituted for the traditional Canadian bacon) with aparagus, french toast stuffed with ricotta and mascarpone cheese, bananas, and chocolate chips, and an arugala and romaine salad with goat cheese and blackberries.  While other students whipped up the hollandaise, JEG mastered the french toast:

The end product was quite delicious, if I say so myself:

If you're looking to share a fun morning with friends, but you're sick of the typical brunch routine, I would highly recommend the classes at La Cucina: http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/news/article/46  Thanks JEG!