A Weekend Getaway in Philly

This past weekend was exactly what we needed.  Two nights and two days of Matt and I doing only what the two of us wanted to do and of course that revolved around eating.

I had actually spend the first part of Friday visiting with my mom and getting in a pre-weekend TRX workout (sore much?) which was a nice treat.  For some reason, though, the traffic from my Parents’ house in the suburbs all the way to the city was horrendous.  That half hour drive took two hours so when I was greeted in my room with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries it was heaven.

We decided to stay nearby and went to the Oyster House for happy hour and dinner.  Matt said these were the best oysters EVER and I was pretty in love with my crab cake.  All crab, no filler, perfection!  Matt also said the lobster roll was delicious.

Saturday morning “brunch” (who am I kidding, it was 8am, let’s call it breakfast) was one of my favorite meals all weekend.  We went to Sabrina’s Café near the art museum and I’m now wishing we went back there on Sunday, too.  The restaurant menu was extensive and I probably could have ordered ten other things and been very happy. Plus, our waitress was awesome.  Anyone who is as passionate about food and dessert as I am (which she was), is an instant winner.  She even gave us a list of bakeries to try while we were in town.

I had an amazing egg white and cheddar scramble breakfast sandwich loaded with fresh veggies and stuck between two pieces of amazing Le Bus multigrain bread.  The bacon went to Matt and I devoured the rest of the sandwich.  The entire time I was eating I just kept saying, “I could eat this every day.”  For someone who eats oatmeal with peanut butter religiously, that is saying a lot!

Matt had the Barking Chihuahua which was basically a gigantic breakfast burrito.  He was also in breakfast heaven.

Saturday morning was beautiful so we spent the next few hours walking around and working up our appetites for the next meal.  We also got to visit the Cake and the Beanstalk, a bakery owned by an old friend of mine’s husband.  They just opened last spring so it was nice to get another person’s perspective on starting a business in the dessert world.

Lunch landed us at Reading Terminal Market, a foodie heaven.  The place was slightly nuts but that is what you would expect on a Saturday afternoon.  I kept lunch light with a build-your-own salad from the Mediterranean stand (sidenote: how did I get salmon on my salad for under $7?) to keep room for dessert.  We shared a cake ball from Flying Monkey and a chocolate chip cookie and black and white cookie from the Famous 4th Street Cookie.  The cake ball was good but different- it tasted like buttery cake dipped in chocolate.  The chocolate chip cookie was good but not great (I’m especially picky about cookies these days) but I loved the black and white cookie.  It wasn’t as light and cakey as the New York version but it wasn’t quite as dense as a sugar cookie.  There was just something about it that had me wishing we had gotten a few more.

Saturday night’s dinner was a bit of a ridiculous treat.  We were treated to a wonderful meal at 10 Arts.  Highlights of the meal included A LOT of wine, Ricotta Ravioli, Octopus with Grilled Romaine and incredible beignets.  The meal was supposed to come with panna cotta but I am SO glad I requested something different.  I sampled Matt’s and it was just eh, but the beignets…. oh they just melted in your mouth!  I may or may not have tried to eat the rest of the bourbon caramel with my fork when they were gone.

Oh and did I mention the fabulous gift we received?  The incredible woman who was waiting on us gave us a copy of Eric Ripert’s new book… which he had signed.  Love!  I need to meet that man one day.

Sunday’s eats weren’t quite as exciting.  We went back to Reading Terminal Market for a somewhat disappointing breakfast experience (I’ve never seen anyone so slow at making egg whites before).  The highlight was my latte from Old City Coffee.

That afternoon we stopped at the Franklin Fountain, more on that later…

And then we finished the weekend off with a Phillys/Mets game.  The weather was phenomenal but thanks to our last minute plan I didn’t have sunscreen and ended up with a sunburn.  Who would have thought in April?!

A hot dog for him, a veggie burger for me.

The game might have been followed by a 4-hour traffic-filled drive back home but it was worth it!

On a separate matter, please consider donating to Share Our Strength as a part of the Great American Bake Sale.  Jackie at La Casa de Sweets has organized a fundraiser to help end childhood hunger in America.  Every donation will count as an entrance to win a dozen of my Black and White Blondies.