Category Archives: Eating

Top 20 Favorite Philadelphia Foods

Posted on December 26, 2011 by alonna| Comments Off

Happy Holidays!

I love reading food Q and A’s and thought it would be fun to list my top 20 Philadelphia favorite foods:

  1. If I had to pick one Philadelphia area restaurant dish, what would it be? Vietnam’s B.B.Q. platter
  2. Favorite pasta dish?  Fiorino’s tagliatelle bolognese
  3. Favorite pizza?  Osteria’s Lombarda
  4. Favorite burger?  The Dandelion
  5. Favorite French fries?  The Dandelion
  6. Favorite place for breakfast or brunch? Parc Bistro
  7. Favorite Italian BYO?  Modo Mio
  8. Favorite place to shop for food?  Weaver’s Way Co-op
  9. Favorite source for grass fed meats?  Breakaway Farms
  10. Favorite doughnut? Lydia Mae’s Bakery in the Lancaster County Farmer’s Market
  11. Favorite sandwich?  DiNic’s roast pork
  12. Favorite Chinese dish?  Han Dynasty’s Dan Dan noodles
  13. Favorite Burmese dish AND favorite salad?  Rangoon Burmese’s spring ginger salad
  14. Favorite cake?  Night Kitchen’s chocolate mocha cake
  15. Favorite shepherds pie?  The Whip Tavern
  16. Favorite vegetable dish?  The brussel sprouts at Johnny Brenda’s
  17. Favorite food destination to take out of town guests?  Reading Terminal Market
  18. Favorite place to buy locally made cheese?  Fair Food Farmstand in the Reading Terminal Market
  19. Favorite  locally made chocolates?   Eclat Chocolate
  20. Favorite place to celebrate?  Talula’s Table

Posted in Eating

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Johnny Brenda’s Brunch

Posted on December 12, 2011 by alonna| 1 Comment

Johnny Brenda’s is my first choice for a roll out of bed, and pull on the jeans, Sunday morning. You will be welcome even if you forgot the comb.

This is a major music venue for local bands and touring acts way too hip for me.

A Sunday morning serenade.

 I come for one of my favorite burgers with a side of brussel sprouts.

As a sister restaurant to Standard Tap, Johnny Brenda’s has very good seasonal food, using local sources as much as possible. The menu changes so frequently that it is written on a chalkboard as you can see.  Now if I could just branch out from their burger . . .

Local beer is big here with 10 taps and 2 handpumps. It takes a little time to pick just the right one.

Details:

The neighborhood is Fishtown, and parking is on the street.

1201 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA  19125
Hours:  Daily:  11:00 am to 2:00; Last orders for food must be taken by 12:55.  Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday.

Posted in Brunch, Eating, Restaurants

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My Top Ten Bites in November

Posted on December 2, 2011 by alonna| Comments Off

From an appetite point of view, it is a very primative time.  My body is wanting to store up food for the winter.  My clothes say otherwise.  I thought it would be fun to look back over the last month and tally my top ten most delicious bites.

  1. Nuestke bacon for breakfast at Parc Restaurant
  2. Croissant at the very same breakfast
  3. Soho Cafes soy sauce fried chicken
  4. The red velvet cupcakes at Night Kitchen (I can’t believe I went twice)
  5. Dinic’s pork sandwich with broccoli rabe at the Reading Terminal Market
  6. Cha Gio (crispy spring rolls) at Vietnam Cafe in West Philly
  7. My papperdelle with left over pot roast, mushrooms and cream
  8. Chicken tacos for lunch after arriving in Dallas at Meso Maya
  9. My sister-in-laws stuffing with dried cherries, Texas pecans and sausage
  10. And last but not least, the salted caramels from Market Day Canele

Here is to a delicious, happy December!

Posted in Top Ten Bites

Mica Restaurant

Posted on November 21, 2011 by alonna| 2 Comments

Going out for brunch on Sunday with my husband is one of my favorite things. Often we are up for nothing more than to pull on jeans and a shirt and drive to a local spot with satisfactory, if not spectacular food.  Yesterday we went to Mica, a new restaurant which as gotten lots of buzz for its dinners. Blackfish is my favorite suburban BYO and chef/owner Chip Roman, with help from chef Jason Cichonski launched Mica.  Cichonski is now focusing on Ela, a more casual restaurant that opened last week in Queen Village, also in collaboration with Roman. Unfortunately, we have not made it here for dinner yet, but had an almost perfect brunch here yesterday.  The dining room has Colonial era vibe with wide wooden floor boards and wainscoting.

The coffee served at brunch is American style from Chestnut Hill Coffee, almost directly across the street.  Their morning blend is quite nice; my husband made a point of mentioning how good it was.

We both got eggs.  I had the Eggs Benedict, which was perfect except that the whites were a little too runny for me. I also ordered a side of flavorful potato hash, though more crispness would have been welcome.

My husband ordered their eggs any way, with country sausage and potato hash, and was very happy.

The ham and sausages were especially good and I discovered they were sourced from S. Clyde Weaver Smoked Meats in Lancaster County. I forgot about this market, though I had included them in my guide to Lancaster County. Their closest retail outlet is in the Lancaster Farmers Market in Wayne.  I’ll have to make a visit there soon.

The prices were quite reasonable given the attentive service, carefully sourced ingredients, and competent cooking.

Details:

8609 Germantown Avenue                                                                                                 Philadelphia, PA  19118                                                                                                           267.335.3912                                                                                                                               http://www.micarestaurant.com

Monday: Closed                                                                                                                         Tuesday to Thursday:  5:30 to 10:00 pm                                                                       Friday:  5:30 to 11:00 pm                                                                                                       Saturday:  5:00 to 11:00 pm                                                                                                 Sunday Brunch:  10:30 to 2:00 pm and Dinner 5:00 to 9:00 pm

Posted in Brunch, Eating, Restaurants

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