Philly Food Update #2

Tuesday dinner:

Tangerine, a fusion of modern mediterranean/moroccan.  This actually turned out to be my favorite dinner.  It started out with a grown-up creamsicle drink, appropriately named the Tangerine.  The decor of the restaurant provided a really good atmosphere and all the food was amazing:  crab & feta phyllo, crispy calamari, grilled octopus salad, shrimp & scallops with ravioli, pomegranate pork with chorizo-corn fritter, lamb (perfectly cooked according to Anastasia).  Dessert was baklava, with pistachios and a side of vanilla ice cream and balsamic strawberries.   Mmmmm.

Wednesday lunch:

El Vez – mexican, very cool decor with a big circular bar in the middle of the room, where I sat reading my entertainment weekly and enjoying the lunch special (where you chose two items plus a drink for $12.99).  I got tortilla soup which came in a nice earthen-ware clay bowl and chipotle chicken tacos:  three small tacos presented three in a row, flat & piled high on a rectangle plate.  Really nice.

Wednesday afternoon snack:

Something called a Nudo, from the Naked Chocolate cafe.  Chocolate chip flavor, a pyramid shaped cupcake I guess.  Weird, but really good.  I also bought a mini belgian waffle that I haven’t eaten yet – it is apparently filled with caramel and covered in chocolate and toffee chips. 

Wednesday dinner:

Buddakan – modern asian.  We had a 7:45 reservation but didn’t get seated until after 8:00pm, so they brought us a free plate of edemame ravioli which were surprisingly yummy.  Then we ordered a lot of food:  king crab tempura, lobster egg roll, shrimp & scallop spring rolls, chicken & ginger dumplings,  crispy jumbo shrimp, ponzu chicken, sesame tuna, lamb.  The lobster egg roll had surprisingly large chunks inside and a tasty mustard sauce on the side.  The crispy jump shrimp were a grown-up version of those honey-walnut prawns I love at all the Chinatown restaurants.  The ponzu sauce on the chicken was really good, and that dish came with asparagus and two stuffed buns as well.  Despite the gorging, we still had room for dessert:  Dip Sum doughnuts, like the ones Tom Douglas does, only with a tinge of five-spice powder and served with blackberry jam, a sweet cream cheese and a chocolate sauce.  And also a madagascar vanilla creme brulee with ginger infused fortune cookies.  Ohh my drink!  the Geisha:  smirnoff orange vodka, pomegranate juice, passion fruit juice.  I had two

 

I think lunch today will be at someplace appropriately named Jones.  Then I’m home tonight – see ya!