incomplete trifecta or the eye of the tiger

we walked off the food coma and pretty soon, we could see downtown (not sure if that's what it really was). you see, we needed to burn off some calories for the grueling challenge ahead.

first stop was village whiskey, which specialized in...take a wild guess. i'm not a big whiskey drinker nor am I much of a drinker in general although I try to hold my own...which isn't much. we were here to check out some of their food though.

duck fat french fries with sly fox cheddar sauce. this is america baby...we don't hold back on nuthin! i have no doubt in my mind that this dish was specifically made to spite vegetarians and vegans. i didn't think too much of these though...they were good, but nowhere near the orgasmic taste i thought i would experience.

their beautiful village burger, weighing in at 8 0z and accompanied by boston bibb, tomato, and house made thousand island dressing on a sesame roll. a while ago, there's been a rise of places serving gourmet hamburgers...i guess it's not just california. it was a good, perfectly cooked burger ( i liked that it came out piping hot), but it was underseasoned (it could have used more salt imo). if we had added cheese, this would have been better. regardless, all this was just a warmup for the main event/the only reason why we had bothered to come all the way out to philly : the cheesesteaks (kidding cousin J haha =p )

when you see flashing lights and people shotgunning beers in their party buses, all of which are reminiscent of vegas, you know you have arrived at Geno's. The menu is pretty simple. I can remember several years back my cousin patiently coached me on the linguistics of ordering a cheesesteak as I nervously stood in line at Pat's, afraid I'd blow it and be booted to the back of the long line as the Philly locals would jeer and sneer at "this damn California kid tourist." But today was a different day. I had my lucky rocketpants underwear on and nothing was gonna get between me and my steak. I approached the window with swagger and confidently said "cheesesteak with wiz" (cheesesteak with onions and cheese whiz).

The thought of some canned cheese goop wasn't appetizing in the least, but I found that this was actually pretty tasty. Thinly sliced rib eye steak, grilled onions and cheese along with the chewiness of that bread...so good. Despite the long lines, I think we waited less than 20 minutes before ordering.

We decided to skip Pat's this time, the local contender down the street, and check out Jim's. This size and wait of the line rivaled that of Disneyland's Space Mountain but at least we got to stare at the food being prepared.

But patience is a virtue little child, and we were soon rewarded. I got the cheesesteak with sweet peppers, onions, and provolone. The biggest difference between the two places was that Jim's chops up their steak, so on your first bite, you initially get a burst of the steak's juices, then as you chew, it gets kinda dry.

Luckily, I had this to solve the drought. Drink local! lol...(damn someone please shoot me for using that word)

If we had gotten Pat's, we would have completed the holy trinity (although like any religion, this is highly debatable) and have been awarded three wishes by the gods themselves. Unfortunately, this did not happen. What did happen was that our bellies burst from the pure unadulterated gluttony that took place that evening as we arrived home moaning and feigning disgust when in actuality what we really felt was a deep rooted pride that we were mother******* champions!

Needless to say, after almost a week of eating heavy food to the point of wanting to vomit, I had my only healthy meal for the trip the next morning and probably the only time I had fresh fruit. Thanks J for making the salad and your hospitality and thanks J 2 for driving us around! OC taco crawl next time you two come to cali.

brunch in philly and a moral refutation on red velvet cupcakes

the next morning we woke up pretty late (although I suppose in cali time, it was same ol) and went to get some brunch at honey's, a place that seemed to emphasize using local produce. the place was packed, so we put our names down and walked around a bit.

Spring was a bloomin, and my allergies were a raygin

as the wild things (of all shapes, colors, and creeds for discrimination was unheard for these wildebeests), high off banana peels and cough syrup, danced without inhibition along the walls.

we ended up at a cupcake shop called brown betty, run by a woman who used to be a lawyer. This was my first time going to one of those fancy 3 bucks + for a cupcake joints. The "dessert boutique" was very small, and behind their display, you could see everyone hard at work in their small kitchen area. What was nice was that were were several free samples, and I really liked their strawberry. What we ended up getting though was the Red Velvet and Sweet Potato Pie.

*short rant here, feel free to skip* I hate the name "red velvet" and the way some people sigh and swoon when hearing the name as if they were recalling a summer in France. Actually, i didn't know what a rv cupcake was until relatively recently (hate on me hata) and was dismayed to learn that it was just a godd*** chocolate cupcake with red food coloring. Upon further research, I learned that the red color used to come from a chemical reaction that occurred when mixing buttermilk with unprocessed cocoa, but I'm not sure if that's a common practice now. Do I like red velvet cupcakes? Sure, but the illusions that I had of royalty and magic associated with the name were harshly stripped away to reveal the emaciated tweaker and liar it really is and always has been. don't mind me though. i'm just a bitter angry man. but it's just a bunch of baloney man! End rant*

An overview shot of the potato cupcake. I liked it although the tater taste wasn't that strong. I had my reservations about these joints as I find the price a little steep for just a cupcake (although I'm sure you could raise an eyebrow or four at what I've paid for other things to eat), but I suppose everyone has something they're willing to splurge on even if the price is a bit inflated. And in case you were wondering, the red velvet was unremarkable, and due to my strong objection to and religious conviction against the offensive cupcake (or more so its name), no photo was taken.

We arrived back at Honey's, and after about 20-30 more minutes cuz the place was crakalackin, we were seated outside. I don't really get the chance to eat out for breakfast often, so I was looking forward to the brunch (it was around 1 Pm at this point haha).

I got the enfrijoladas: 2 flour tortillas filled with scrambled eggs and beans, topped with salsa verde, black bean puree, sour cream, queso fresco, red onions, radishes and mixed microgreens with added chorizo. I didn't like the sausage too much, but otherwise, I loved this.

My sister got the epilepsy inducing buttermilk pancakes with seasonal berries.

Cousin Blueberry got an omelet with toast and a potato cheese and onion latke.

And we all shared a delicious bowl of brussels sprouts, cooked with white wine, cream, garlic, and slivered almonds. I forgot the name of the coffee they offer, but it was good. I knew it was good stuff when I started to feel the caffeine behind my eyes after a few sips...needless to say, we all drank too much and ended up being wired and having stomach aches for the next few hours.

Don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden, Peter Rabbit!

harry potter and the big ol chocolate cake

After a few days in dc, we took the bus for 9 bucks to philly to meet another cousin. while waiting at the local B&N book store for her to pick us up, i started reading several volumes of y: the last man , and i found it to be pretty damn good. while i could go on about being a comic book geek (and btw, isn't a graphic novel just a fancy way of saying a thick comic book?), i'm sure you rather see pictures of what i had for dinner.

we picked up some wine and walked over to Dmitri's, a Mediterranean joint. The place was quite small, and we sat at a table behind the grill. I can't see myself settling down in the city, but I really do like that you can just walk around everywhere.

Our wine was chilled (I think no corkage fee, but correct me if I'm wrong) and a basket of pita bread was brought out. We hadn't really eaten lunch, so my sister and I were starving, and we (or maybe big ol fat me) went to work on the place, ordering the hummus.

Beets, one of my favorite veggies.

A crappy picture of some delicious meatballs, cooked so that the shell was a little hard, but everything inside, still good.

Calamari. Chewy chuga choo choo.

We also had some blue fish, but I didn't bother taking a picture because at that point, I was more concerned about stuffing my face rather than thinking about the blog. Sorry yall, but a guy's gotta eat! The food here is prepared simply with no frills or tutus to be found. Perhaps I am biased because I was starving at the time, but I really enjoyed my meal here along with tossing back a few glasses of white wine.

We then stopped by for dessert, getting some water ice (think soft shaved ice) at a local joint (not ritas) and trudged back home. The night ended with Scrabble and The Blind Side while munching on some cheetos, Haribo gummy bears (the best), the fattiest slice of chocolate cake you ever did see from a Jewish deli in DC (the name was Fat Chocolate cake or something and which was SO damn good), and a bottle of red wine. Note: I thought the gummy bears would go well with the wine, but guess it just goes to show I have much to learn about pairings.

Stay classy my friends.