A quick two-day jaunt to Philly for a change of scenery and some stellar food. Upon arrival mid-afternoon we decided to hit up one of our Philly standards - Kfar. We split the Jerusalem bagel egg sandwich (the textures of which I was dreaming of the whole way down in the car), and an Arabic salad. My husband got the smoked trout kubaneh toast - first time trying and he really enjoyed it - and I got the brown sugar ricotta toast for my next morning’s breakfast. They used to include a fruit topping instead of just a syrup and I wish they would bring that back. I solved this problem by adding my own blackberries when I ate it. Always a treat!
Dinner that night was Tabachoy - a recommendation that I picked up here! Thanks! My husband and I split the Adobong Sitaw, the South Philly Laing and some garlic rice. My husband also got the Filipino spaghetti, which he said was one of his favorite bites of the whole trip. We split the ube sundae, as well. The food was very good though I had slightly higher hopes for the sundae. The ice cream was a little more like an ice milk and the banana spring rolls were room temperature and definitely would have been better if heated. The staff was friendly and responsive and we’d go back in a heartbeat.
Both mornings we ate at Mighty Bread and enjoyed their excellent breakfast sandwich - once with turkey sausage for my husband. I did not love their coffee (super sweet unbalanced latte) and breakfast tea (the water was not hot enough), but their bread was delicious and we took home a loaf of the corn porridge, sesame ciabatta, miche and brioche.
We did a lot of walking around the city (used book shops, poking around stores, etc.) and stopped at Majdal Bakery where we shared a cheese/greens/olive borek and a cheesy labneh safeha. We enjoyed it but probably wouldn’t go out of our way to go again.
That night we had reservations at the bar at Laser Wolf and I am still thinking about this meal. I filled up on the salatim and struggled to tuck into my main course (shawarma cauliflower) so had to wrap that up. Especially since they also sent out a gift of the mushrooms over crispy lentils and bulgur and that was absolutely incredible - perfect textures and smoky flavors to go with the creamy hummus and baba ganoush. My husband’s second favorite bite from the trip was those mushrooms with the baba and a dab of the lutenitsa. High praise since he ordered the chicken for his main, and commented that it was pretty perfect. I had a hard time deciding my favorite bites but they were definitely from this meal. The meal concluded with the brown sugar soft serve with sesame caramel and cookie crunch. For the quality (and quantity) of food this was an absolute steal. Cocktails/wine were pricy - but I feel that they are everywhere. Our waiter Eddie was great, as well, and gave us some tips about hitting up Beddia for industry night and getting half off bottles of wine.
Speaking of Beddia - while gorging myself at Laser Wolf I felt it would be a shame to be so close and not grab a pie for the road. So…we ordered the greens with Calabrian cream and stashed it in the fridge when we got home. I knew the dough would be great because it’s one of my favorites to make at home (though it requires more planning than what I am typically able to execute). This pie made a sensational late lunch in the car the next day on the way home.
Our final day we did some provisioning for ourselves and family/friends for Easter at Termini, Isgros, and Sarcones.
Termini - 3 ham pies, 2 different type of Easter breads, 2 cookies, and a cheesecake
Isgro - a delicious ricotta zeppole we split while sitting in a park in the sun while drinking coffee from Function coffee lab - a delightful way to spend a morning. Also, 2 different Easter breads and a bunch of cookies I can’t wait to tuck into.
Sarcones - a few rolls, a couple slices of tomato pie and some breadsticks. Haven’t tried any yet.
I picked up some tostadas and salsas at Tortilleria San Roman and some cheese at Talluto’s, as well.
Finally, with full bellies and happy hearts my husband ordered his traditional “banh mi for the road” at Ba Le and we headed North.
Thanks to everyone on the Philly boards! We are already counting down to our return sometime over the summer.
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