An Old Friend and Dinner c/o Khyber Pass

Some time ago L. contacted me and said that she and her bf were going to be on the east coast, and specifically in Philadelphia, for a hot minute. We soon created a plan for catching up. The last time I saw L. had been at T. and C.'s wedding, before which L. and I took quite an adventurous and epic walk. Since then we've both had some rather major life events and lost touch through no matter of conflict or argument as much as simply life, distance and time. We first had drinks, just the two of us, at Sassafrass. This one on one time allowed us to catch up without having to explain many of our conversations with her bf and his Philly-based friend. After a bit, however, we did meet up with those two folks and enjoyed a meal at Khyber Pass Pub. It was early on in what has become quite a hot streak in Philly, and I had been eyeing the menu trying to figure out what I wanted for at least a day or two. I even tweeted about it and was given the suggestion that with the heat as stifling as it was, a frozen mint julep might catch my fancy. This was true, but by the time I got to dinner all thoughts of juleps had flitted away and instead I had an oatmeal stout. Not the lightest of beers on a hot day, but I very much enjoyed it nonetheless.

L.'s bf wanted to try the hush puppies. I'm not a huge fan of the dish in general - though as a kid I think I really loved their name - but they came out nice and hot and the little dipping sauces were interesting.

For my main meal I went big and tried the meat sampler option, choosing barbequed brisket and pork ribs as the meat and fried okra and mac n' cheese for the sides. All of this was very, very much to my liking. The brisket, tender and smoky. The pork, also rather tender and strangely addictive. The okra were crisp and hot and the mac n' cheese above average and creamy.

It was wonderful to see L. after a nearly four year gap and to meet her bf and his friend as well. Khyber Pass's menu has so many other things I'd like to try that I'll just have to make a little effort to do so.

Dinner c/o Johnny Brenda's

After we consumed just a little more beer at Frankford Hall (half liters compared to my earlier liter), we departed with the goal of eating dinner at Johnny Brenda's, conveniently located just around the corner. It was still early, so the place wasn't crowded and we got to sit at a big booth by the window. C. ordered the gazpacho while I ordered the halloumi. The presentation for the gazpacho was quite nice, but C. wasn't overwhelmed with its greatness. I also took a try of the gazpacho and would agree that it was pretty lacking. It didn't have that really fresh tomato taste that makes gazpacho so lovely, and its consistency was watery - not creamy or textured with bits of actual tomato.
The halloumi fared better, as far as my opinion of it. Though I need to just accept that I don't really care for figs.
I went with a cheeseburger for the main event of my meal. It was just that kind of day. And it was satisfying. Wouldn't really hold a candle to Village Whiskey, but not shabby either.
We were also very attracted to the fried okra option, so we ordered a side of fried okra. Perhaps in the end this was more food than we could rightfully consume, but still good.
C. ordered shrimp and grits? Or was it polenta? It looked pretty though I can't remember what C. ended up thinking about it.
Burger innards.