Philly

I went to Philadelphia for my bday weekend, and had a great time. I planned my trip around a plan I found online called "Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Lunch." My friend Yoosh came with me, and went to eat and tour.




Friday we went to Morimoto for lunch. Morimoto is an Iron Chef, and is restaurant is really cool. The doors were bright green,
the ceiling was wavy, and the frosted glass partitions between tables changed colors.

I got the tasting menu, which was seven courses of awesomeness.

The first course was tuna tartare. They took meat from the belly of the tuna, mixed it with shallots and herbs, formed it into a
little tower, and served it in a bowl of some amazing soy sauce. The second course was really thin slices of Pacific Snapper,
served in hot oil with ginger and lemon. The oil was hot enough to cook the fish slighty and it was amazing. On top of the fish
was sea urchin roe, and it was sweet and soft. This was my favorite course. Third course was a micro-salad and striped tuna
sashimi. I'm not a fan of sashimi. No matter how pretty they make it, its still just a chunk of raw fish. Course 4 was tempura
rock shrimp with a spicy orange glaze. The rock shrimp meat was really rich, so they serve it with endive leaves to help cut the
richness. 5 was Chilean Sea Bass with a sweet black bean paste. By this time I was getting pretty full, so I only ate the bits
with bean paste. 6 was sushi, three California rolls and three spicy tuna rolls. Course 7 was desert, black forest cake. The cake
was rich chocolate square, with cherry whipped cream on the inside. There was a little sour cream and a sour cherry on top. It
was really good.

We saw Wolverine, and then spent the evening walking around center city exploring art galleries and even caught a string
quartet in Christ Church. Around 9 we were slightly less full so we went to Franklin Fountain, an old fashioned ice cream place
that offers historical blurbs on menu items.

I ordered a NY chocolate egg cream, which was the first slim fast. Billed as a cheap meal for the poor, and said to fill a man for
hours, it turned out to be a thick, carbonated, chocolate milk. It was strangely refreshing. Yoosh got a cherry bomb, which was scoops of chocolate ice cream in black cherry soda.

Saturday we went to Reading Terminal Market, where a nice Amish girl sold me the best cheese Danish I've ever eaten in my
life. We also hit a soft pretzel stand, where the Amish lady rolled out the dough, and then filled it with egg, cheese, and bacon.

Then we did the tourist thing. We saw Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, went on a ghost tour, and went to the Museum of
Art. The Philly Museum of Art is where Rocky makes his famous run, and when we came out the door, there was a group of
about 15 people making the run, and raising their arms in triumph. It was hilarious. Saturday was also our day of original
Philly cheesesteaks, which are made with cheez whiz and sweet peppers. It sounds gross, but its really good.

Sunday we walked around in the rain and explored, and then came home. It was a great weekend.

Independence Hall

Playing Chess in the Rain