Snow Day on a Warm Day

Like most of the United States, Philadelphia saw some snow in February. Unless this was January. It's actually probably January. Except it might not be. I simply cannot tell you. Actually, it's January. I got up early enough to take a quick walkabout after one of the largest snowfalls. The sun was just coming out as men and women with shovels got out to start moving the snow off of their sidewalks and cars.



I mean, it's nice to look at, but I could easily do without snow. It's warmth I'm after. And green. Today, at least, the high is going to be 65. This pleases me greatly and to almost no end.

Burger c/o McCrossen's

Another night I met up with L. at McCrossen's and ordered their burger for the first time since I moved to Philadelphia. The place has changed ownership and menus since then, and the burger was good. It was cooked as I ordered it (medium rare) and the cheese and mushrooms that I asked for as toppings were satisfactory as well. The fries were delicious. Like, really. I don't care if they slice them on-site or if they just pour frozen potatoes into a vat of oil, they are stupendously tasty.
I only ate half at the time, but brought it home with me. Usually burgers, like most fried things, aren't very good later on, but this actually held up well on my second visit to its meaty, bready regions. Wow. That didn't sound weird or dirty at all.

Breakfast in Bucks

While J. and K. returned to Philly after our round of dinner and drinks, I returned to Mr. Ass' homestead. The next morning a team effort bore a breakfast of eggs and hash browns. I didn't really do very much in this team, past peeling some potatoes; Mr. Ass and his mother did more of the work.
The dogs have it rough.
I liked all the bird prints on the snow. I began to think of them as bird hieroglyphics.

Film, Drinks and Food c/o New Jersey

So, Mr. Ass and his friend M. made a film together based on one of Mr. Ass' paintings. This short film, along with a few more of M.'s and the work of another guy too (who may be slightly more known but whom I found a little, erm, nevermind if you don't have anything nice to say then only hint at it but don't say it outright), was shown at this place on that night. It is one part former grocery store, one part town council/courtroom and one part screening/arty space. Way to be diverse. I believe this is all in Lambertville, NJ.
After the screenings and talks there was a little reception at a nearby gallery. It was tiny and crowded and only had two bottles of wine.
Once Mr. Ass had made the rounds of hellos and how do you dos, we went to another place (the name of which I forget) and had a little dinner and drinks. I had the Caesar salad, which was fine. I also had a gin gimlet, which has now become my go-to drink. Well, my 'I don't feel like beer so I'm going to order one cocktail' drink, at the very least.
Then I asked a drunk rich woman (but a nice one) to take our photograph, but the settings were weird, so we all look slightly dim and blue.
This was the 'let's all make funny faces' shot, except I don't think J. (bottom right) is making a funny face, at least not in comparison to Mr. Ass and K. seeming very excited about something that clearly is making me miserable.

Pizza and Scrabble in Bucks

After brunch I went home and regrouped before heading up to Bucks County to hang with Mr. Ass. When I arrived the sun was doing quite nice things with the snow and ground, so I took a few pictures.
We then sat down to a few games of Scrabble. I think he may have won. Or I may have. Mr. Ass wants to implement a secondary scoring system that involves scoring on the principles of interesting or unusual words. I like the idea of this but find it awfully subjective. Mr. Ass would say that the additional points should be added into the final score tabulation. This is blasphemy to me, I tell you, blasphemy.
We were going to head out to this film thing that Mr. Ass was a part of but before we left we quickly enjoyed pizza with his parents. I believe I may have even taken a piece to eat in the car. Or maybe I didn't do that. Time is getting away from me. It was good pizza.

Brunch c/o Adsum

After having breakfast for dinner the night before, I met up with L. for brunch, which in my case was more like lunch. We were the first to arrive, and it was a little funny to be the sole customers, especially since Adsum had a good brunch rep. Any worry about the empty space was quickly put aside, as it began to fill up soon after our arrival. I went for the Bloody Mary and enjoyed it heartily.
L. and I split the apple fritters. I'm into sweets but not as much as some, and I was far more focused on my main course than I was with these little pillows of sugar.
L. went with the two eggs with biscuits and sausage gravy.
I have long been jonesing for fried chicken and long before I even got to the restaurant I was 80% sure that I was going to finally get this craving under control ... though the burger with foie gras was tempting after my Pub and Kitchen disappointment.
The chicken was great. Moist, crispy, generous portion. I was happy. L. was happy. We were all happy. I had a second Bloody Mary.

Breakfast for Dinner

On a Saturday night at some point in January, I was hungry, so I decided to repurpose the potatoes I had made in tandem with a roasted chicken (of which, strangely, there is no evidence) into home fries. Then I plopped a couple of eggs and sausage links on into the pan in order to have breakfast for dinner. It was seriously too much food, but seemed like a good idea at the time.

Soup and Burger c/o Pub and Kitchen

At some point, rather long ago, I commented on a friend's Facebook status. She was talking about making Sriracha ribs and I was interested in learning more. It turns out that this friend, with whom I went to grad school in Chicago, actually lived in the Philly 'burbs. So we decided to meet up. I sent T. the list of restaurants I've been itching to try but haven't been able to get to/find anyone to go with me. She narrowed it down to two, and I decided that Pub and Kitchen would be a great new place to try. I had looked at the menu many a time, and I wanted to compare the LaFrieda-meat Churchill Burger to the dream that has been the Village Whiskey burger. So one night, T. was kind enough to pick me up and we drove on down to try the place out. I went with their special tomato soup to start. T. went with the other soup, a beer cheddar kind of soup, I think?
It was incredibly dark in the restaurant, and all my flash photographs have my own shadow in them. I'm sorry. Photo fail. Anyways. I ordered the Churchill burger and I wasn't all that impressed. I know I'm not the epitome of taste or have the most astounding palate, but for all the talk of the special quality of the meat, I just didn't feel or taste it. I don't know. I was a little disappointed. T. ordered the fish and chips and was similarly let down. It was nice to catch up with T. nearly four years after the program. Next time I hope we find our new spot slightly more rave-worthy.
Their bartenders were cute though, and the staff was all very nice.

I've Got a Brand New Pair of Sunglasses and You've Got Nothing

Just got home after an epic day of pho and shopping with L. Here I am modeling my new sunglasses, which I plan on wearing constantly on my upcoming trip to JAMAICA. The red lipstick too, probably.

A Different Pasta Salad

After all the takeout food during the busy season, C. and I were a little over eating pizza during my laundry visits. Instead I brought over the ingredients for a sort of Asian themed noodle dish. Basically Asian noodles, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, chopped green apple, lime juice, pepper and hot sesame oil. I ended up making it too spicy for my own tastebuds, but C. and R. seemed to like it. After saying goodnight to C. and R. I met up with L. We threw some darts. I actually managed to hit an out shot to win the game. Very unusual.

Dinner c/o Modo Mio

At some point in January C., R., M. and I went to Modo Mio for dinner. It was so long ago that I have no idea what this is a picture of, or who ate it.
These were tallegio stuffed pasta 'candies.'
This was lasagna with an egg on top.
This was the duck special with cherries and other things that I forget.
It was remarkably tender.
For dessert I went with the limoncello cheesecake and a cappucino. While I can't share any true details of the meal, it was a great one. Lively conversation, great service and wonderful food as always.

What Thoughts I Have

So I was looking at a restaurant's website and found its executive chef quite interesting/attractive. And this is the conversation that C. and I then had (certain things being redacted or omitted):

cc says:
i want to date this chef
C. says:
oh he's so cute
and he's a chef
cc says:
yep
he likes spearfishing
C. says:
let's go there
and ask to meet the chef
then he'll come out
and we'll say, let's go spear fishing
cc says:
and we'll be friends
did you see his dog
C. says:
not yet!
cc says:
that's a good looking dog
C. says:
ohh it's a big dog
cc says:
i want to be his friend on facebook
it's totally normal
C. says:
absolutely, you can pretend to be interested in the food at first
he's 29
this is perfect
cc says:
i know. totally meant to be.
he's single!
C. says:
the menu isn't ridiculously expensive
ohhh i hope it works out
cc says:
and i have actually asked him to be my friend on facebook
b/c i am not creepy at all
C. says:
yay!
haha not creepy at all, actually
cc says:
why am i so crazy? i found a bigger picture of the dog
C. says:
haha
he's really cute
the guy
and the dog
cc says:
all i've been doing lately is finding attractive men to crush on
but i really think that i should be focusing all my single minded boy hunting on the realm of chefs
it makes sense
we have things in common
C. says:
i mean...let's be real. that would be perfect.
cc says:
except our schedules would be opposite
they'd be like 'let's have lunch on a wednesday'
and i'd be like 'how about dinner on a saturday'
C. says:
thats true...chefs do have weird schedules...
but thats okay
can chefs bring home leftovers
cc says:
yes
and i would just go and sit at the bar and hang out
i could become the friendly hostess
the friendly drunk asking her chef boyfriend to make her something not on the menu hostess
C. says:
haha
i want that life
cc says:
me too
with an Italian speaking fish spearer with a big dog
C. says:
i want you to meet him
ask your server
to let you thank the chef
cc says:
is [chef] around?
C. says:
it's totally normal and fine
cc says:
and then he'll come out
and be like 'you are the stranger who asked to be my friend on facebook...i said no'
C. says:
no. this is a great plan.
cc says:
i could get into better shape by walking there every day
almost 3 miles one way
C. says:
oh man
6 miles round trip
cc says:
and i could become a super regular there
C. says:
haha
thats pretty classy
cc says:
creeeeeeeeeeepy
(and then I drew this picture to demonstrate what I'd be like)


C. says:
haha. if you were that scary id have trouble hanging out with you
cc says:
can you just imagine though
me sitting at the bar
night after night
waiting for him
slowly becoming gollum
making statements like
i love how you pound ... that veal
or we should totally be friends ... on facebook
i want to spend the rest of my life with you ... in this restaurant
C. says:
haha...you'd wear him down eventually
cc says:
so creepy
and hilarious
i could give him a copy of my British prime minister's calendar (editor's note: i have recently become obsessed with the idea of making a calendar in which each month is me dressed up as a different British Prime Minister).
only make it special just for him
and have me eating his dishes in each month
winston churchill eating his squid pasta with sea urchin
margaret thatcher eating scallop crudo

And that's it. Super creepy. Super funny. I'm sure I'll never meet the guy, so I don't really have any shame about sharing this conversation or this photograph of him. It's like he's a celebrity. Only not really.
And if this chef ever stumbles upon this blog post, I say to him: I won't actually stalk you, don't worry, I don't have the patience for that kind of crazy.

Sandwich and Snow

Another day, another lunch. This one was from Mugshots and was bacon and cheese and tomato. Or wait, it may have been from Rybread. I can't rightly tell you. That night it snowed.

Food c/o King of Tandoor

Honestly I have no idea what this was. Lamb of some sort. It was good. It was from King of Tandoor. I am a solid month behind my life experiences. I'm sure it'll work out.

Village Whiskey Burger and Tomatoes

At some point in early January, ish, L. texted me and asked if I wanted to head into Center City and get a burger from Village Whiskey. I had only a bit more work to do, and found this the perfect incentive to get it done efficiently. We sat along the back wall area, which isn't quite as nice as a table by the window, but could be worse. I thought about branching out and trying a different pickled offering, but decided I liked the tomatoes too much to deviate. I did, however, try a new drink. It was a cold day, so I ordered a hot toddy. A much simpler version than the fun house style toddies I've turned to in recent years, but warming.
This time I went with the mushrooms and goat's cheese. Pleasurable. That's what this burger was.

Chicken Cutlet Sandwich c/o Primo Hoagies

I decided to give Primo's chicken sandwiches another go round for another lunch. Pesto and bruchetta and a cutlet, maybe with long hots, I forget. The dragon came across a foe, but its strength and possessiveness of all food that passes my lips in the office rendered its combatant ineffective.

Ziti Black hole

Another day, some ziti. This dish had a black hole quality to it. I ate one of the noodles and got sucked into a cheese vortex. It was tough, but I powered through.

Sushi Snacks c/o Umai Umai

On the same day as the Korean lunch, Mr. Ass contacted me and asked if I wanted to have dinner and see a movie with him and one of his friends. I said yes. We ended up eating at Umai Umai. This was my third or fourth time at the establishment, and this visit didn't really change my basic sense about the place: it's good, but maybe not as good as everyone seems to think? I went with the Kaki Oyster appetizer (Crispy panko crusted kumamoto oysters, blueberry balsamic reduction, cherry wasabi tartare, arugula), which had a lot of nice flavors and was satisfying though at $12 for three fried oysters, I don't know, I thought an extra oyster would have been a nice touch.
I also tried their tuna bruchetta (Sashimi tuna, piquillo salsa, dill aioli). My relationship with dill ebbs and flows and in this instance I liked the overall flavor profiles working their way to my tastebuds, but might have been happier with just a little less dill and just a little more bruchetta. So, perhaps it's fair to say that my issue with the place is portions and pricing, as well as simply not experiencing the same 'wow factor' effect that others seem to strongly feel at Umai Umai. Mr Ass had a soup and one roll and wasn't terribly impressed either, if I recall correctly.
After dinner we played some Scrabble before meeting up with Mr. Ass' friend S. and going to see Rare Exports. I hadn't read a thing about this movie, and Mr. Ass' description of it didn't really prepare me for what the movie was, but in a good way. It was like one part 'indie' foreign film, one part American action movie and one part heartwarming Disney film, but with blood and naked zombie santa type men running around. Mr. Ass and S. seemed to have more issues with holes in the plot, but when the premise is that Santa Claus is buried inside a mountain because he's not up to any good, I figure plot holes are bound to spring up.
I should also mention that in one game of Scrabble Mr. Ass had two bingos in a row; elixirs and feathers respectively. I was remiss in not photographing the board.

Korean c/o Koja Grille

Another day the office branched out and tried a completely new place for our lunch: Koja Grille. I ordered the Kimchi Chigae. I liked it, but it wasn't as spicy as I had expected, nor did it have quite as much beef as I might have preferred. Because our order came in over $100, we also received complimentary fried shrimp and dumplings, which managed to stay crispy even with the time between being fried and being delivered.

Breakfast Sandwich for Lunch c/o Rybread

Lunch on another day was Rybread. I went with sausage, egg and cheese on an everything bagel.
They really make a mean sandwich. Really. A few weeks after this I was in dire need of such a sandwich and went to their storefront to do so, but sadly learned that they stop serving egg sandwiches after one. So be warned.