I was long overdue for a trip to The City of Brotherly Love to see Mama Vamp. So, with only 12 hours to spare, I grabbed a train to Philly, grabbed Mama Vamp at her front door and tried my best to take full advantage of the sixth borough's gourmet delights.
First stop was an old standby: Vietnam in the heart of Philly's Chinatown. There, Mama Vamp and I slurped up glasses of strong Vietnamese Iced Coffee laced with sugary sweet evaporated milk, as we waited for our standby order: two bowls of Bun Dac Biet (pictured above).
A house specialty, this Bun variation not only contains the requisite chilled rice vermicelli noodles, shredded lettuce, cooling cucumber, slivers of fresh mint, chopped green scallion, crunchy bean sprouts, vinegary marinated carrots and daikon, a hit of searing chili sauce and sprinkling of chopped peanuts, but is also graced by an unbeatable foursome of toothsome toppings. Grilled chunks of pork and chicken are tender and charred to perfection. Pork meatballs are delicately seasoned, warm and juicy. And the spring roll is nothing less than a deep-fried bit of Nirvana. A drizzle of mouthpuckering Nuoc Mam sauce ties all the flavors and textures together, creating a distinctively swoon-worthy dish.
Needless to say, we made "all gone."
Sated by our lunch repast, Mama Vamp and I headed downtown to Olde City to browse - and perhaps even buy, if the mood hit us and our wallet could afford. A few boutiques into our expedition, and we realized that buying was out of the question. Ever so slightly despondent, we decided to take solace in an historic ice cream parlor extraordinaire, The Franklin Fountain (drinks menu pictured below).
The whole concept of a phosphate intrigued us both. We placed an order for a Parisian Flip (pictured below), described as a refreshing glass of orange, pineapple, Angostura bitters and egg - with a heady fizz, compliments of the addition of electric soda and a dash of citric acid.
Pretty, the drink just didn't live up to expectations. For all that fizz, the flavor just fell flat.
Mama Vamp and I decided to give up on Olde City and wandered home for a bit of rest and relaxation before our dinner reservations.
The reservations were a real get.
I snagged us a table for two at Vetri's newest sibling, Osteria. Clearly a labor of love, the restaurant's wide open spaces contrasted sharply with the small, jewel box-like, intimate dining space of Chef Marc Vetri's original, upscale Italian trattoria. Still, Osteria's airy, loft-like layout combined with its rustic decor presented a compelling environment.
Then again, environment-schmenvironment. In the end, it's all about the food.
Oh, and what food it was.
A plate of Carmelle (pictured above), candy-shaped ravioli stuffed with rich, braised lamb, sauced with nutty brown butter and topped with crisp, fried slices of artichokes, was a moan-illiciting first course. Succulent Roast Pork, just plucked from the restaurant's wood-burning oven, was accented with hints of fennel and garlic and capped with a decadent, teeth-shattering piece of crackling (pictured below).
I was full. Very full. So was Mama Vamp. Dessert was out of the question. The only way to finish off the meal was a quick Espresso followed by a taxi cab to 30th Street Station to catch the 9:10pm back to New York.
And all the way home I couldn't help but wonder if the other five boroughs could hold a culinary candle to the sixth.
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