Bobby's Burger Palace

J and I headed to an area of the city called University City. It's west of center city and is home to Drexel University and University of Penn. J was craving a good burger and we remembered that Bobby Flay recently opened up a new burger joint called Bobby's Burger Palace in University City so we decided to head there.

Once we got there we saw the loooong line. But we were actually going to see a movie and had time to kill, so we jumped in line. The line wasn't too bad and we made it to the front in about 35 minutes. I don't think I've ever waited in line that long for a burger.

I don't eat red meat or pork and I was a vegetarian for about 8 years, so I was happy to see that they had the option of a turkey burger or grilled chicken instead of traditional ground beef. They also had salads, but I thought it would be a sin to order a salad at a burger place.

I was quite impressed with the menu. Not only do they have a wide selection of burgers, they have onion rings, sweet potato fries, milkshakes and inexpensive drinks. $4.50 for a frozen pear margarita! I resisted temptation though and just stuck with food.

I had a hard time deciding between the LA Burger and Napa Valley Burger. The LA burger had avocado and the Napa Valley Burger had fresh goat cheese, so it was a hard decision. I love cheese so the Napa Valley Burger won me over. J was excited to see that they have a crunch burger which is a traditional burger, with potato chips on it. He ordered that right away.

You place your order at the cash register, then you get a number and pick a table. The prices were reasonable and the service was great. The decor was funky and bright, which made me happy.

 

After we placed our order we only had to wait about 10 minutes for our food to arrive. I was very happy with my Napa Valley burger, which I ordered with chicken instead of a turkey burger.  I think it had a little too much goat cheese, but I just wiped some off and proceeded to eat the whole thing. The onion rings were huge and delicious. I would definitely get them again. J liked his burger a lot. I don't think it was the best burger he's ever had, but he said he would definitely come back.

I would definitely return to try a different "burger." I'm not sure if I'd wait over 30 minutes for it again, but the food was good and the prices were right. I definitely want to try one of their milk shakes and the sweet potatoe fries if we go back in the future.

Update on Us - Summer plans!

I've once again let too many weeks go by without blogging! However, I think I have a good excuse. Like always, we've been busy, but we've also cut back on our eating out around Philly. The reason: J and I both will be traveling internationally this summer! J will be teaching in South Africa and I will be providing medical care in Haiti. We are very excited and thankful for these opportunities. So we now have our summer plans finalized, which means we have been trying to save our pennies until then; hence not much eating out. However, we've found some inexpensive things to do around the city, so I'll blog about them in the near future.

Until then,  since J has been much better about blogging and has created his own blog to document his journey to South Africa, you can check his out :) 

So I've almost completed my 1st year of medical school...time really flies. We have just started our renal/pulmonary block and after 3 more tests, I will be done for the entire summer! It has been a difficult year, but I have truly been happy and am loving Philly more than ever. Some days I still don't think it's hit me that in a little over 3 years I will be a doctor. Until then I'm just taking it day by day and taking in as much knowledge as I can. 

Misconduct Tavern

Spring is here! Although I've loved Philly since we've moved here, the warm weather makes me love the city even more. J and I decided to throw on some warm weather clothes (shorts and a skirt) and just walk around to enjoy the weather.

We eventually ventured down 15th Street and spotted a restaurant called Misconduct Tavern. It's located at 1511 Locust Street in the Center City area. Since it was so nice outside we waited about 10 minutes to have a table outside. The tavern isn't anything fancy, but a great place to grab a drink and some delicious bar food.

March madness is in full effect and they have plenty of specials during any of the games. They also had a nice tv set up outside that J made sure he was in full view of while we ate. Luckily he wasn't too engrossed in the game and we enjoyed good conversation in the wonderful weather.

I'm typically not a beer drinker and prefer liquor, but I thought I'd try something different. We were eating at a tavern, so why not? I guess I kind of cheated though because I ordered a cider beer. However, it was 22 ounces and it wasn't too sweet. It had a distinct beer flavor. J didn't think I would be able to drink it all, but I proved him wrong and finished the entire thing alone. I would definitely order Doc's Draft again.

J and I had a late lunch so we decided to order 2 items off of the small bites portion of the menu instead of 2 entrees. The menu had a lot of choices and J and I sometimes have a hard time finding 2 items we both agree on. We ended up deciding on chicken tenders (how can you go wrong with chicken?) and macaroni and cheese. The macaroni and cheese had 2 types of cheese and we added lump crab meat. Once again how can you go wrong with crab meat and mac and cheese?

We were very happy with all of the food. The chicken was crunchy and juicy. Yeah it was just chicken strips, but they really were superb and I would go back for them. The mac and cheese was also a pleasant surprise, although J said it wasn't as good as my homemade baked mac and cheese. We decided that next time I make my mac and cheese I'm going to add crab meat, which was inspired by this meal.

So if you want a good selection of beer, delicious bar food and a place to enjoy the weather, Misconduct Tavern is definitely high on the list.

Flying Trapeze Lessons

Yes, you read that right - I took flying trapeze lessons this week. I think I might quit med school and join the circus because I had so much fun! My friend from Baltimore invited me join her as she took a class before and had fun. I took her up on the opportunity and drove down to Baltimore and then she drove us to DC to the Trapeze School.

As a side note, this is another thing I love about Philly...its location! It's so close to so many other great East Coast cities. I am frequently able to take day and weekend trips to NYC, Baltimore, and DC. It's also close to the beach (Jersey) and mountains (Poconos) although I haven't traveled there yet. I couldn't ask for a better city in such a central location.

Ok back to the trapeze lessons. The lesson was 2 hours long and there were 3 other people in our class. The 3 other people were basically regulars and have been taking lessons for a few months. Everything is personalized and they give you safety tips and then basically send you to fly. Since we were in a small class my friend and I got to fly over and over and over and over again. It was so exhilarating! It was definitely a workout as my body was pretty tired at the end of 2 hours and I woke up this morning sore all over, but it was definitely worth it.

The 1st trick they help you learn is the knee hang. My 1st time I couldn't quite get it, but that's because I have short arms. They showed me an alternate way to hang and after that I got the hang of it. I was flying through the air, hanging from my knees and then dismounting by doing a back flip. Did I mention I had so much fun!

So if you're advanced enough, at the end they give you a chance to be caught by one of the staff members. There is a lot to think about and you have to have perfect timing but I went for it. Unfortunately, due to my height she was unable to catch me. We were literally about 2 inches from making the catch, but oh well maybe next time. They have a school in New York that I want to also visit.

Thank you to my friend for taking so many great pictures of me flying through the air!