Pub and Kitchen

Pub and Kitchen is a very interesting restaurant. I've walked by it a few times and you can tell it's a restaurant because there are tables outside and often the windows are wide open so you can see the bar inside, but there is no sign with a name or information about the restaurant.

J ran a 10 mile race that day and I had just returned from NYC and we were both very hungry. We both just wanted to sit outside and enjoy the weather and some comfort food. We decided to just walk around the city and stumpled upon Pub and Kitchen.

Their menu is simple, but includes items like potted duck mouse, welsh rarebit and mussels. They also pride themselves on having local and organic ingredients whenever possible, which I always like to see.

Pub and Kitchen is located at 20th and Lombard Street. It's in a somewhat residential area of the city, but only a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square and all the shopping action on Walnut and Chestnut Streets. It's definitely not off the beaten path and worth a visit. They seem to be pretty busy when I walk by and have an extensive bar.

So we just had a simple lunch while sitting outside.

 J ordered a simple hamburger with house cured bacon. The bun was nicely toasted and he said the meat was cooked to perfection. I did enjoy the french fries, which were nice, warm and crisp.

 I ordered the roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes,  sauteed broccolini and chicken jus. I'm not a huge fan of chicken or meat in general. I can go weeks without eating chicken. However, this was probably some of the best chicken I've ever had. The chicken was so moist and the jus was absolutely perfect. I've never wanted more chicken in my life. I was happy to actually have some to take home, but it didn't even last until the next day as I ate it a couple of hours later.

The only type of signage on the outside of the restaurant. I have yet to find the history of why there is no sign or where the name came from.

Tequilas

J had a very long day at work and I didn't feel like cooking, so we were spontaneous and decided to check out Tequilas Restaurant. A few months ago we were eating at Misconduct Tavern and looked over and saw a man serving flights of tequila on his head. We knew we had to check it out sometime. It is located right in Center City at 15th and Locust St., near the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood.

Although Tequilas has an extensive drink menu, we decided we both just wanted a classic, well made margarita.

We were contemplating ordering an appetizer, but house made tortilla chips with salsa verde, mild salsa and a variety of peppers arrived, so we quickly settled for those. The salsa was flavorful and fresh. The tortilla chips were a little thicker than I like them, but they were warm and crispy so that didn't stop me from piling the salsa on them.

As a seafood lover I couldn't pass up the Enchiladas Playa. They were freshly made flour tortillas filled with shrimp and crabmeat. It was served with a sauce made of creamy poblano and chiptole peppers. On the side was rice and strips of vegetables. I would definitely order this meal again as it was filling, but not too heavy and was plentiful with the shrimp and crabmeat.

J ordered the Molcajete de Pollo. The server suggested this meal when J mentioned that he was very hungry because he hadn't eaten lunch. The meal was chicken breast served in a lava rock bowl that is heated in the oven. The chicken is topped with a spicy salsa that has chile de arbol. It is served with warm flour tortillas so J was able to make tortillas. It also was accompanied by guacomole, beans and rice. I'm a wimp and not a fan or spicy food, so I didn't try the main dish, but J said it was very good and he ate the entire thing. I did eat most of his guacomole though and it very creamy and fresh. I wish I could've had more of that guacomole.

I wish I could've gotten more pictures of the decor, but it was dark and my camera was dying. It was a very interesting mix between rustic, quirky and festive. Not quite like any other Mexican restaurants I've visited.

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.

Twenty Manning

J and I are still eating our way through Philadelphia. We can't get enough of all the wonderful food options. From inexpensive to very pricey there are so many options. This sometimes poses a problem for us because the amount of choices is overwhelming. I can literally eat anything at any time, but J is a little more picky. He likes to figure out what he's in the mood for and then go from there. He always has to look up the restaurant's menu before we go so he doesn't take forever deciding what he wants to order once we get there. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Yelp is a great resource to search for restaurants in your city or on vacation.

So after about 30 minutes of searching on Yelp and looking up restaurant menus we decided to head to Twenty Manning. It's located on S. 20th street at the intersection of 20th and Manning street. All of the reviews were great and it has been described as a "lively neighborhood bistro that serves up New American food with Asian influences that appeals to all palates." Another plus is that their food is local and organic wherever possible.

The decor was simple, bright and fresh. It's a small restaurant and it was crowded on a Friday night, but we luckily didn't have to wait to be seated.

J and I really enjoyed the restaurant because it was very flavorful. Even from the 1st taste of bread and butter. The butter had a little darker tint to it and was spiced up with the flavors of jalapenos. Although I generally don't like food that's too hot, the flavor was just right and complimented the bread well.


I'm still trying decide if my favorite part of the meal were the cocktails or my entree. They were both so delicious and full of flavor. I ordered a mango margarita that included fresh mango puree. I probably could have ordered 3 more, but I wanted to leave room for the rest of the food. I definitely want to go back for their cocktails. J also enjoyed his flavorful cocktail.


I wanted to order the vegetable spring rolls, but we couldn't pass up the calamari. It's our favorite and we are still trying to find which place serves it the best. Just like the bread and butter, the calamari was kicked up a notch with jalapenos. It was very light, crisp, and flavorful. It's definitely in the running for one of my favorite calamari spots.

J ordered the Grilled Bison Burger, which came with gorgonzola cheese, grilled vegetables and french fries. He said it was very good and he would definitely come back for it.

I ordered the Green Curry Vegetable Stir Fry. This is probably one of my favorite entrees I've ordered since we've been living here. It was a flavorful medley of silken tofu, baby bok choy, snow peas, guy lan, baby carrots, Japanese eggplant with a side of white rice. I wanted to order another one to take home for lunch the next day. It was really filling, but not too heavy. I would definitely come back for this meal.

Since all the other food was so good we couldn't pass up dessert. We ordered the chocolate flourless mini cake with mocha ice cream and fresh strawberries. Like the rest of the food it was flavorful and light.

Since J and I are trying to visit new restaurants we probably won't be back to Twenty Manning for awhile, but I definitely want to return sometime in the future. I would definitely recommend checking it out, even only if just for the cocktails.

Buddakan

During January Philadelphia had Restaurant Week. During Restaurant Week participating restaurants offer a 3 course dinner for $35 per person. It's truly a great deal to try some pretty pricey restaurants for a good price. They usually have it 2 times per year, so I'm definitely looking to the next Restaurant Week in 2010. I have also seen variations of Restaurant Week in different cities around the country, so definitely check to see when restaurants might have the same sort of deal in your area.

I left J to all the planning since there are so many restaurants to choose from and he picked Buddakan. It's located in the city in an area called Old City at 3rd and Chestnut. It's a part of the Starr restaurant group, which is owned by Stephen Starr. He has some really good restaurants in Philly, NYC, Atlantic City and Ft. Lauderdale. The other Star restaurant we've been to is Continental and we hope to make it to some of the others.

I loved the decor throughout the entire restaurant. The colors were vibrant, yet it had a very romantic and chill vibe.




I started the night with a White Peach Zen Gria which had jummai sake, pinot grigio, white peach and ginger brandy. I would definitely order it again as it wasn't too strong or sweet.

After my drink our appetizers arrived at the table. They were delicious and gone quickly. We ordered grilled octopus with sweet and chiptole miso. Along with crispy shrimp and scallop spring rolls. The spring rolls were very light with large pieces of seafood.


For our entrees we stuck with our love for seafood. We ordered two separate dishes, but split them evenly so we could have a taste of both.

We ordered sweet and crispy shrimp with citrus radish salad and candied walnuts. After the first bite I was in love! Our other entree was pan seared scallops that were also really flavorful and went really well with the shrimp.




Just when I didn't think the meal couldn't get any better dessert came out! I admit I have a sweet tooth, but this dessert was probably my favorite part of the meal. J ordered the crying chocolate cake, which was a warm chocolate cake with a soft center and chocolate inside. It came with Vietanamese coffee ice cream. He did share a few bites with me and I probably could've eaten the whole thing.

However my favorite part was probably my dessert. I ordered the dip sum doughnuts. They were heaven in a dessert. They were five-spice mini doughnuts served nice and warm with blackberry jam, chocolate sauce and ginger cream cheese for dipping. I think I might go back just for dessert one of these days.



So if you're ever in Philly I highly recommend Buddakan in Old City, especially if you're in the mood for dessert.