#52 No. 1 Chinese - Sandy's synopsis

Next stop on this block of many restaurants is No. 1 Chinese. As with most American Chinese places, I wasn't expecting anything too radical. I think the best verdict one can give to most american Chinese restaurants is a binary one - good or bad. So, lets see which way the thumb rises shall we?

The inside of No. 1 Chinese is similar to the other Chinese restaurants we've been too on South Street - clean with a few tables and the menu (with pictures) on the wall. In addition to that menu they also had this train station type menu which was easier to read and looked cooler. Yes, I am clearly easily pleased. 

NEXT ON PLATFORM A1, THE EXPRESS TO FRIED SCALLOPS!
ALL ABOARD!

I like ordering things that are not common menu items or things I've never seen before. I had apparently never heard of lemon chicken, so that is what I went for. So as we waited for our food, I tried to imagine what my dish would look like. This is what I was expecting...

Okay, so maybe my imagination or my paint skills need a little upgrading. Maybe both. The gist of it is that I was expecting some chicken in a sauce with lemon slices on it - something light and healthy looking. Well, this is what it really looked like. 

So, deep fried chicken was a little far from my expectations. To say I was disappointed....would be a stretch of the truth. Look at all that fried chicken...

I was a little wary of the yellow coloured syrup that comes with it but I'm an all or nothing kind of gal (am I?), so bottoms up it was.

The chicken still looked appetizing and it also tasted very good. The batter was fluffy yet crispy and the yellow syrup was a lightly flavoured lemony concoction to drown the chicken in. Surprisingly this also tasted good re-heated the next day - less crispy but still delicious.

Upon leaving No. 1 Chinese, I noticed that they had a photo of the lemon chicken up on their wall...

I'd argue that also doesn't look like the real thing and I'm very glad I didn't see it before ordering because I probably wouldn't have ordered it. 

So all in all, based on the one dish I had, this place was good - a definite thumbs up.

No. 1 Chinese

639 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-574-9639

#52 No. 1 Chinese - Sam's synopsis

I particularly like the number 52 because Meowth's Pokemon number is 52 (don't even try to argue with me about the new numbering system - why would you reorder Gen 1?!?) and if you know anything about me it's that I am pretty much obsessed with Meowth. Don't even get me started on that bitch Meowzie (MEOWTH YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER).

Gahh he's so fucking cute

Meowth is based on the maneki-neko, which are often found in Chinese restaurants despite their Japanese origins. So there is a link to this after all, and while I didn't see a lucky cat statue in No. 1, I think they must be channeling one because they had a lot of customers come in for take-out. While we were getting ready to leave, a woman came in who was clearly a regular and knew the wait staff and even said something along the lines of "I was having a bad day, but getting food here always cheers me up." It may not have been exactly that, but something along that sentiment - which I still haven't decided if that's a good thing or a sad thing. So, in spite of my initial hesitation of this being a really crappy Chinese restaurant, it was encouraging to see that a lot of people found the food tasty enough to come get take out or even be regulars. 

But is the food really worth being a regular? Well, I was definitely pleasantly surprised at the quality of it, let's say that. The first test is if I like their wonton soup, because wonton soup is one of my favorite comfort foods. Salty broth + thick noodle-like goodness = happiness. I enjoyed their wonton soup, the broth was definitely flavorful and salty, and the quality of wontons were pretty good for what I was expecting. The noodle part was a little bland, but I've certainly had worse. For dinner, I got cashew chicken, which was pretty flavorful and not overly salty or greasy. I always like the mix of vegetables and crunch from cashews/celery, and this had a nice mix of that. The rice was also very good - the right amount of fluffiness/moistness (I feel like a lot of times the rice gets really dry). It made for a nice lunch the next day too, so thumbs up for good leftovers.

The inside of the restaurant is a few tables and lots of empty boxes, but I have to add that while we were sitting there, we could hear the television in the background, and the cooks were watching something ridiculous. I think that one or all of the following happened: 1) aliens came and abducted people 2) a woman was kidnapped 3) children were merrily playing outside. It led to a lot of unnecessary giggles.

If I lived a bit closer or were in the area, I'd definitely order from here when I was craving Chinese, so I totally get all the people coming in for pick-up. But it's not enough to merit going out of my way to return again.

No.1 Chinese Restaurant

639 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 574-9639

#51 Dickey's BBQ - Sandy's synopsis

Dickey's BBQ is a chain restaurant offering reasonably priced southern barbecue fare. That is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when you add in the charming, friendly people behind the counter - this place was a genuinely pleasant dinner experience. 

Most people who came into dickey's, while we were there, got takeout. There are a few places to sit and enjoy your meal if you choose to, but you will probably be far more comfortable eating  in your own apartment as Dickey's isn't really built for a sit down dinner. 

As for food, they have daily specials, which are extremely good deals on their most popular items. The special when we went was their pulled pork with a choice of a sausage, 2 sides, a roll and a large soda for approximately $8. 

As you can see that is a decent amount of food. For my sides I got my standard mac and cheese for side#1 and fried okra for side#2. 

Everything on that plate was delicious and their sauces are also very good. I liked the mac and cheese even though is was a little on  the artificial side. The okra was really good - I really like okra and when you deep fry that stuff - definitely a win.

Don't expect the creativity of Percy street BBQ here. I don't think it is fair to compare the two. However, it is fair to compare this with Phoebe's BBQ the other budget barbecue place we have encountered on the saunter. Dickey's has more space and friendlier service and better deals for the budget conscious. I think Phoebe's has slightly better food, but if you tag on the fact that Dickey's is 5 minutes from my house, my pick is pretty clear. 

So head on down to Dickey's BBQ for a great meal and staff that will leave a smile on your face when you leave.

Dickey's BBQ

650 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

267-273-0364

A (not so) brief interlude on the story of 1,000 cranes

Well, this is what happens when Sandya is away in India for awhile and I have free reign - I've temporarily changed the subject matter of this blog for one entry, since so many people have asked me why I decided to fold 1,000 cranes and because many friends wanted to contribute their cranes to my cause but I wanted to do it on my own. So here's the story behind it, if you care to read it (I apologize, it's not very interesting and more a musing on feelings and relationships and life. I warned you). Also, some pretty pictures!

This time last year I was in a pretty shitty place emotionally. I had just gotten out of a 3-year relationship, and it did not end well. When you date someone for that long, you think that they will treat you as an equal and that they'll be sensitive to your biggest fears in a relationship. So when you are completely blind-sided and have no say in the future of your relationship, you don't feel very equal. You feel pretty shitty and worthless, kind of like you were a piece of trash thrown away. And then when you find out that your ex started dating someone less than a week after the end of your three year relationship, you feel even worse. You feel like you were replaced and you start to question your worth as a person. At least I did, since I always have a hard time being in a long-distance relationship and worrying about how the other person's feelings will change. I listened to this song a lot (it's a really fantastic break-up song, and kind of ironic that we saw this song live together in the midst of what seemed to be happier times). I cried a lot. I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks because I could barely eat. You know, typical break-up responses.

Lobby wanted to help

My aunt had sent me an origami kit in the mail after she found out my relationship had ended. It kind of sat in my room for a month until one night I decided to crack it open. I hadn't folded a paper crane in years, and I had to look up YouTube videos because I could barely follow the written instructions. I spent that first night making a lot of terrible cranes, but you know what? I spent so much time focusing on folding the paper properly and getting the perfect creases, that I didn't think about anything else. I wasn't sad or angry or upset in that hour or so I spent folding cranes because I couldn't think about anything else. So that's when I realized that, hey, this is keeping me distracted! And then I remembered the story about 1,000 paper cranes which of course led me to the actual Wikipedia article on 1,000 paper cranes. Which is where I got this crazy idea to fold 1,000 cranes in a year, because I wanted a challenge and I wanted to keep my mind clear. And I am still hoping that a giant crane will come meet me and grant me a wish, because, giant crane (and wish). And also, I thought about this song a lot (Laura Veirs is awesome, here is another great break-up-like song by her).

Of course, after awhile, I got pretty decent at folding cranes, so I didn't have to focus as much. But I was also able to use this time to process my feelings and work through a lot of anger and sadness - it was really helpful for me to have a creative outlet. There was a span of a few months where I didn't get any cranes folded because I was particularly busy with grad school BS, but I still had a good number of months and I didn't want to give up. And I'm glad I didn't, because I've learned a lot along the way (or finally admitted some truths to myself in some cases).

First and foremost, I was constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have such an amazing support group of friends and family. My aunt sent me this origami kit in the mail as a gesture of goodwill, which started it all. But I also had friends send me edible arrangements and care packages full of my favorite things, friends who bought me origami paper to keep the project going, and friends who would drop what they were doing to talk to me and listen to me mope and complain about my feelings. It's hard to talk about relationships ending without sounding overly dramatic, like the world is ending and you can't go on, even when terrible things are happening around you every day. There are people who experience far worse feelings on a daily basis, but one thing I think is important to remember is that it's okay for you to feel bad about something shitty that happens to you. It's okay to feel like the world is ending for you when you process your emotions. You can't let it absorb your life, and you can't let it make you lose sight of the rest of the world, but it's okay to grieve. So thank you to each and every person who took the time to keep me in good spirits, kept me motivated to get these cranes done, or for just being an awesome friend. You know who you are, and you guys are all amazing.

In a similar vein, I have to thank everyone who offered to contribute their cranes to the 1,000 tally but whom I had to politely decline. I hope you can understand why I wanted to make this a personal journey (also, the Wikipedia entry states that you have to make the cranes yourself or you don't get that wish - and we all know Wikipedia doesn't lie). 

Another important lesson I learned (or rather, finally admitted as a truth) is that no one will ever change for you. Sure, people are capable of change - but only if it's something they truly want. Only if they see virtue or something beneficial for them in changing. So don't wait around for someone to change for you, especially when it comes to major life goals. I truly value my family and my relationships, so I want to get married and have a family of my own. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I'm not doing it just because society is telling me to do this. So it was probably a bad idea to date an incredibly stubborn person who thinks marriage is a societal sham and who doesn't value family relationships as much as I do and who doesn't like children because you can't reason with them (... is all I have to comment on that one). It was definitely a bad idea to continue the relationship knowing this early on, but I thought that he would see my side of it. Or that he'd be willing to compromise because he loved me. DON'T THINK THAT AND DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. I think deep down I knew it wouldn't happen, but I was holding out for it. And it ended up really, really hurting me. So I'm glad I'll never make that mistake again, but it wasn't the best way to learn it. So please please please don't ever compromise for someone if it isn't something you truly want yourself. It's okay to not want to get married, or to hate kids and not ever want them - but make sure your partner feels that way too. It's gonna be ugly if you have differing viewpoints, and it's going to lead to a lot of upsetting arguments.

And finally, I learned a lot about myself and my strength as a person. It's really, really easy to feel utterly worthless when you're the one being broken up with, especially when your ex starts dating someone less than a week later, lies about it, and seems much happier without you. It's like they are sending you this big signal - "I don't care about you or your feelings, and you know what? I'm not even really sad this is over. So have fun with the rest of your life kthxbye." I am still processing my feelings, a year later. I'm certainly in a much better place emotionally, but it's a tough feeling to get over. But I think it reinforced the fact that I know who I am as a person. I am comfortable with the person I have become and I'm not afraid of how I define myself. And I won't compromise on the things that are most important to me, because I should be with someone who shares those same values. Sure, I still have plenty of internal struggles (mostly related to my worth and value as a graduate student, but I think most of my fellow graduate students can agree that's pretty common in our line of work) and I still have times when I get down on myself. But when it comes down to it, I know who I am and what I want out of life. And that is an incredibly empowering feeling.

So that's it, really. I started this project as a coping mechanism. And I think it's a really great outlet that allows you time to grieve and process your emotions. I hope this will at least inspire one person to go out there and take up some kind of hobby or project to help you get through a tough time, or just as a means of self-discovery - I promise you, you will learn some truly inspiring things about yourself and the people that care about you.

#51 Dickey's BBQ Pit - Sam's synopsis

Dickey's is the third BBQ place we've visited on South Street, and the second that was on the more affordable side. I would pick Dickey's meat over Phoebe's (that sounds pretty dirty), but overall I liked Phoebe's sides better (wow this is full of innuendo). 

Hi Mike!

Mike decided to join us for BBQ, and we arrived a bit before Sandya did so waited outside - we were treated to an old man dressed up like Santa Claus walking around. He briefly said hi to us and then disappeared inside a store. So that was a great start to the evening. Once Sandya arrived, we went inside - there's not much space for eating in, a few chairs at hightop counters, but it did have an inviting feel inside. The staff were very friendly and were clearly having a good time working together.

Every night there's a different special, and luckily for me the Thursday special was spicy cheddar sausage and pulled pork, with two sides, a roll, and a large soda - all for $8.99. It was a ton of food. The sausage was very flavorful, and not too spicy, which may be bad for some people but was perfect for me (again with the spicy thing). The pulled pork was a bit salty, but there were three sauces you could add to your meat. I went with the sweeter BBQ sauce and it added a nice balance to the saltiness.

not a bad deal for $8.99

For sides I went with green beans + bacon and mac 'n cheese. The green beans were really good - cooked to the perfect consistency and the bacon added a nice flavor. I wasn't a big fan of the mac 'n cheese because the cheese tasted too artificial. Kind of like the terrible orange cheese on the french fries we got at 3 am in Chicago that one time we went to visit Lee and Michelle. The roll was also a bit bland. I did try a taste of Mike's onion tanglers (basically onion straws) and they were delicious. They actually take raw onions and fry them on site, which I thought was pretty impressive for a chain restaurant. Also, you get to keep the giant yellow Dickey's cup, because who doesn't need more plastic cups in their lives? Answer: we don't. We don't need more plastic cups because our cupboard is overflowing. But I kept it anyways.

I was impressed with Dickey's - as a chain I was expecting it to be pretty crappy, but overall the food was pretty delicious.

Dickey's BBQ Pit
650 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(267) 273-0364

#50 Domino's Pizza - Sandy's synopsis

50 restaurants that started with Callahan's Grille, which has since shut down and ended on Domino's Pizza. Okay, that was not the most flattering synopsis on the big 50, but everything in between has been an awesomely fun journey. I know I sound like the blog is ending - it is not. It looks like there are at least 50 restaurants from 7th till front street on south. Not even kidding, things get dense from here on out people.

So, we used the 50th restaurant as a ploy to get some friends over to drink some beers, celebrate the blog getting old and eat some Domino's. We used Domino'ses (double possessive?) online ordering system, which turned out to be surprisingly fun because they have a ridiculously cheesy (haha, see what I did there) page where you can follow your pizza being made with different themes guiding you through the process. Themes ranging from talking parrots being harassed by flying beach balls, to a person out of a middle eastern esque rom com telling you he is making your pizza with the passion of his loins or something. It's ridiculous.

Sorry, back to the food - Domino's has a $5.99 each, for two or more medium 2 topping pizzas or cheesy bread - so we ordered 4 pizzas and two cheesy breads.

They were:

Pineapple and Bacon

Mushroom and Sausage

Spinach and Feta:

Bacon and Bacon

We also ordered the plain cheesy bread and the jalapeno cheesy bread

Clearly, it was awesome. I mean, it's bread and cheese and bacon with the occasional fruit and vegetable. On top of that we had some awesome company, a small portion of all the people who have come out and experienced this part of Philly with us. With the beer flowing and the cats snuggling, Sam and I really felt a sense of warmth and happiness from having such an awesome project to keep us sane through grad school. We felt particularly lucky to have such amazing people to share all this food with.

So thank you to everyone who saw us to 50 restaurants (aka you the readers). Thank you to good 'ol Sammy for being my partner in gluttony. And thank you to South street, for being a seemingly never-ending. source of food. Onward to the next 50! Excelsior! 

#50 Domino's Pizza and some reflections - Sam's synopsis

pizza + friends = yay

Isn't 50 supposed to feel differently? Am I supposed to be having some sort of crisis right now? How will I ever make it to the end, and how did I make it so far convincing everyone I know how to write effective commentary on food (okay, maybe I haven't convinced anyone of that yet)?

It's been an interesting journey so far. We can track our lives in so many different ways - since this blog started ~1.5 years ago, I've become a member of the Headless Camel Club by drinking 90 beers in under 90 days, I've gone through a terrible break-up that's resulted in me being close to completing my goal of folding 1000 paper cranes in one year (yes, I realize I have a lot of strange hobbies), I've submitted a paper for publication, I've gone to countless weddings and traveled to lots of different places both in and out of the country, and now I can add that I've eaten at 50 restaurants on South Street to that list. 50 restaurants on any street, in any city, is a lot. And it turns out there is a common theme among all of these life events, which is not surprisingly the sappy theme of friendship (I LIKE TO TALK ABOUT MY FEELINGS SOMETIMES, OKAY???). These things are only possible because I am surrounded by amazing people who somehow tune into a similar wavelength as me. If you've ever met me, you'd probably say I fall on the extrovert side of the scale, so I like to surround myself with people who make life worth living, even when I hit walls in other aspects of my life. So I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this journey so far, whether you've read a blog post, asked how the saunter was going, joined us for a meal (or three), provided a guest entry, or just let me know that you read our blog and enjoyed it. This has been such a fun experience, and I'm excited to find out what wonders await us at the end of South Street. 

toasting to 50 stops

I'd be remiss if I didn't single out Sandya in my personal musing above. We were just discussing this past weekend while participating in some hi-jinks in Chicago that it would be hard to do this blog with anyone else, because the two of us aren't crazy perfectionists that must have everything done a certain way by a certain time. And I'm glad that our initial idea of just wandering down South Street and picking a new restaurant every few blocks evolved into this blog - it's been a really great experience and a challenge in its own right, even if only a handful of people read this. Cause it's all about the experience, AMIRITE?

Well, this turned into another long-winded, slightly off-topic rant by yours truly. But I mean, what can I really say about Domino's Pizza? Here's a list:

the only thing I love more than you is
Domino's pizza, my darling

1) You should absolutely order your pizza online so you can track its progress - I promise you, hilarity will ensue with the different options of tracking you can use. My personal favorite is the soap opera love tracker, which had quotes like, "the embers of my heart are currently cooking your pizza," or something equally as entertaining. 

2) I used to go to Domino's all the time after high school got out with my friend Ashleigh, and we would go hang out in the woods and listen to the Doors. Surprisingly, no marijuana or alcohol was in attendance, it was just us being goofy. And the pizza and cheesy bread pretty much still taste the same as it did back then. Domino's is a decent chain pizza place, and I only /felt/ a little sick after consuming all that pizza and cheesy bread. I didn't actual get sick (bonus!) 

3) Pizza parties are best enjoyed with good company and delicious beer. 

4) Some people actually like pineapple and bacon pizza. I didn't try it, but I did enjoy the bacon + cheese pizza and the spinach + feta pizza.

Well, this was a divergence from my usual entry. Sometimes I just want to rant about life, and I figured this was my best excuse to do so in a blog post about food, because it's tied in with a milestone in our saunter. Thanks again to everyone who has been a part of this journey so far, and I look forward to what lies ahead. Actually, the next block has 10 restaurants, so maybe I don't actually look forward to it after all...

Domino's Pizza

716 South Street

(215) 592-8534 but you really should order online

Philadelphia, PA

#49 Brauhuas Schmitz - Charles's synopsis

Another week another review - this time we were at the german beer garden Brauhaus Schmitz. I changed the format a little bit for this one - our good friends Charles and Eileen joined us for this stop and I asked a Charles a few questions about his experience. Here is what he had to say:

What did you think of the ambiance?

Good, but a bit loud. I would have liked if they had offered us the rear tables where it was quieter, instead of keeping us out front.

What did you think of the beverage list? Did you enjoy the beer you had?

The list was good and pretty comprehensive. I especially liked that they had "Schwartzbier" (black beer).

Did they have enough  variety on their food menu?

The variety was decent. I think the menu could be better organized to lay out the options in a more logical manner. That is, they could explain all of the available sausages in one place.

Did you enjoy what you ordered? Which sausage rules them all?

Hard to say since I only had two of their sausages. They were good, but neither really floored me, either.

All the sausages

Pickled sausage

How does this compare to similar food you've had before?

Very similar to Frankford Hall, with similar food quality. The spaetzle, however, wasn't as good as at Frankford Hall (who pan-fries spaetzle?). 

Pan-fried spaetzle

Would you return?

Maybe. I liked it, but I didn't feel as impressed with it as I had hoped to be. 

Overall, did you enjoy your experience there? What did they get right and wrong?

The experience was good, but not exceptional. The noise problem didn't help. The thing I think they got most wrong was the charcuterie platter (schinken). It was a good selection of dried meats, but we weren't given a guide to identify the actual meats, which was surprising. I also think the platter's cost was too high given the amount of meat that came with it.

Schinken

Thank you Charles.

For my two cents, I agree with everything Charles said. Stephanie and I ordered the full sausage platter where you get one of each kind, and we really only enjoyed two of the 6 sausages. Needless to say we liked the one's with a little bit of kick to them, so the Ungarischewurst (smoked pork, spicy paprika, garlic, red wine) really sticks in my memory as the one I enjoyed. We also got the pickled sausage just to try it, it tasted like sausage in pickle juice - it was okay.  I have had their schnitzel before and I remember it being delicious. 

I have always loved german Dunkelweisses, so I am always happy with the beer selection when I go here. 

So all in all, I've had better experiences here - it was extremely loud and I didn't enjoy everything I ate. However, I definitely know what I do enjoy from here (beer and schnitzel) and if I stick to that, I am a very happy person. 

Brauhaus Schmitz

718 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

#49 Brauhaus Schmitz - Sam's synopsis

I had been to Brauhaus Schmitz once before - it was for German-themed quizzo and I went with a group of Germans, so obviously I contributed nothing but we still won by a landslide. I have also been to Germany, although only for ~48 hours and most of it was spent at a lovely wedding. I did get some currywurst and drank German beer though, so I suppose I have something to base my opinion on.

meow!

I hate that Philadelphia does not have great public transportation, so instead of waiting for a bus that was supposed to come 15 minutes earlier, we took the trolley to the Market-Frankford line and walked from Market to South. This did, however, lead to two cat spottings, so we'll consider it a win.

The layout of Brauhaus is very narrow and very long - I was surprised that there was an additional, large room in the back by the bathrooms. Despite that, we were sat near the front of the restaurant near a table of 20ish people who proceeded to get progressively more and more drunk as the night went on. Not that I disagree with those actions, but 20 drunk people can be pretty loud. This made it pretty hard to hear the waiter and each other, so there were a couple of misheard orders. But the waitstaff accommodated these pretty well, so no complaints there. The inside has a lot of neat old-fashioned posters, and other Germany-esque decorations. I imagine a lot of people go there to watch football. 

For a beer, I ordered the Trunator Vollmon-Bock from Hofbräuhaus Traunstein (THANK YOU UNTAPPD. Guys, if you like beer, seriously use this app [and friend me - lobsterthecat] because it's a great way to keep track of everything you've tried and what you like). I gave it 4 stars, so I definitely enjoyed it - nice doppelbock with lots of flavor. Very different from the beer I had in Germany, which was a hefeweizen, so can't compare too much there.

obatzda

We started with a few appetizers - a meat board, a cheese spread (obatzda) pickled sausages, and Erin ordered a delicious pretzel. The meat board consisted of very thinly cut slices of mostly ham, although there was one beef one. I have to say, I am not a big fan of beef (re: I never eat it), but I did inadvertently have a piece and thought it was good. My favorite was the slice of ham that had pistachios in it, although they were all pretty tasty. If you're a meat connoisseur (that sounds like a fancy name for something dirty... hehehe...), I'd recommend it, but I don't usually go for thinly sliced meat as an appetizer (AMIRITE?!) so I probably wouldn't order it again unless someone else wanted to sample it. The cheese spread had delicious brie and paprika in it, and I would definitely order it again. I did not try the pickled sausages but I think people had mixed feelings about them. The pretzel was of course delicious, and you kind of have to order one at a place called Brauhaus Schmitz. Also, the bread for the table was amazing. I love it when places give you bread for "free."

I believe everyone at the table ordered sausage, so it was a sausage party. Yeah, there are a lot of terrible jokes that can go with this one. You kind of have to roll with it at this point. I ordered the speckwurst (bacon and black pepper) and the nürnberger bratwurst (pork, marjoram, mace, caraway, ginger). I was disappointed to not see currywurst on the menu, but apparently it's on their bar menu and/or I missed it. So I will definitely have to go back and try it in the future. The two sausages I got were both delicious - speck was on the saltier side, and the nürnberger one you could really taste the different spices, leading to a nice subtle sweet flavor. As my sides I got spätzle (egg dumplings) and a potato pancake. The potato pancake was heavenly - crispy and flavor perfection. I am actually salivating a little bit right now just thinking about it. The spätzle was fine, I enjoyed the chive seasoning, but I'd get something different the next time to try out the other sides.

Finally, despite being totally full, we of course ordered dessert. I got black forest cake, and it was beautiful - I haven't seen a cake that perfectly layered in a long time. It was also very tasty, although I don't tend to like big chunks of fruit in desserts so I sort of picked around some of the cherries in there. But it wasn't overly sweet and the chocolate was definitely high quality. YUM.

All in all, it was a great evening spent with friends - we ended up staying for a solid 2.5-3 hours there chatting and enjoying ourselves. The food and drinks were great, and despite the loudness and too-high A.C., I definitely want to make a return trip to Brauhaus Schmitz.

Brauhaus Schmitz
718 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(267) 909-8814

#48 Vegan Tree - Sandy's synopsis

I had expected Vegan Tree to be a small place where you bought ready-made snacks, drinks and smoothies from behind the counter. I definitely did not expect an Asian fusion restaurant, with a kitchen, serving delicious and reasonably priced vegan fare. There is something about their decor that didn't allow me to think of it as a sit-down restaurant - it is very casual inside with a few tables surrounded by brightly coloured walls. 

They have a wide variety of food from smoothies to noodle soup, from bubble tea to pasta. As appetizers we got the golden cheesy bread, the summer rolls and the avocado sushi (there is obviously no actual fish in this). 

They were all very delicious! To be honest, I was a little wary about vegan cheese - but I had no reason to be. I don't remember the bread tasting like cheese, but I do remember it tasting very good.

We came to Vegan Tree with our friends Charles and Eileen and between the four of us we had a chance to try a lot of things on their menu. 

Charles ordered the healthy fried rice which had sweet and sour soy patties with steamed broccoli and tofu and a  red pepper and onion sauce on black rice. From what I could tell, Charles was very satisfied with his dish.

Eileen ordered a vegetable hot pot which she enjoyed but discovered that Vegan Tree is serious about their spice levels. She ordered the medium spicy which was still very spicy. So, to all those who don't like too much spice in their dish, be sure to pick low or no spice.

I ordered the vegan chow mein as I realized I  was craving spinach, cauliflower and broccoli. Convenient. The tofu was spiced with curry powder which went very well with the dish. I was very satisfied and it hit the spot. 

I will obviously let Samantha tell you about her dish by herself. And bees apparently. She will also tell you things about bees. 

In conclusion I will turn it over to Charles who sent in his summary of Vegan Tree: - 

"Vegan Tree is a great example of how diverse a vegan meal can be. Though they rely on on meat substitutes more than I would like, they offer a great selection and a great deal of food for the price. Well worth visiting"

Vegan Tree

742 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-454-2898

#48 Vegan Tree - Sam's synopsis

this was the view while
I waited outside. It was
too pretty not to post

I have to say right off the bat that I was pleasantly surprised by Vegan Tree in many ways. First off, I fully admit that I have some negative feelings towards the idea of veganism. Granted, the few people I know who are/were vegan are pretty relaxed in their stance on it - they never tried to shove it down anyone's throat. But too often I feel like I see veganism being touted as a health fad and not about a personal belief or way of life. Or people trying to tell me that they won't eat honey, which seems ludicrous (side note: I did just spend the last 5 minutes perusing the internet trying to educate myself on whether or not harvesting honey is really harmful to bees. It was hard to find an unbiased account so for the time being I will say my research is inconclusive. second side note: my family tried to raise two colonies of bees. one didn't last the winter, and the other one flew away and built a nest in the neighbor's yard, but we did get some honey beforehand. third side note: bees and other insects with caste systems are really, really interesting genetically. fourth side note: colony collapse disorder is a real thing that we should be concerned about. one of my college professors was a big proponent of spreading the word. Andrew Bird even has a song about it. fifth side note: they don't allow you to have bees in here).

mmm... cheesy?!

Okay, I really hope you guys learned a lot about bees in this blog entry. But I suppose I should actually review the restaurant, which as I mentioned turned out to be a pleasant surprise. From the outside, Vegan Tree is deceiving in that it doesn't look like it has much room to sit or a kitchen. But upon entering, you are greeted by simple wooden tables, delicious savory smells wafting in your direction, and post-it notes and animal-friendly posters all over the walls. I think we established that the post-it notes had messages about how much they enjoyed the restaurant and/or loved animals. I thought it was a nice touch. I got excited to see a PAWS bandana on the wall and then I realized I was eating in a vegan restaurant and had a total DUH moment. 

The staff was very friendly, making sure that we all enjoyed our meals. They asked our dining friend Eileen several times if her meal was okay (it was a bit too spicy), but it seemed very much like they were concerned that their food wasn't living up to some predetermined standard and wanted to make sure we weren't unhappy. That can be a bit overbearing at times, but it's nice to know that the staff truly cares about the quality of their food. Speaking of food quality, everything here was excellent, and the portion size to cost ratio is fantastic. We ordered three appetizers: summer rolls (tofu, rice, vegan ham, lettuce, noodles, carrots, cucumber, wrapped in rice paper) with peanut sauce, "cheesy" bread, and sushi with avocado, cucumbers, and carrots. I enjoyed all three and was especially impressed by the flavor profile of the cheesy bread - while it didn't quite pull off being a substitute for cheese, it was just the right amount of salty and umami and the bread was toasted to perfection.

sometimes all you need is a
clichéd saying

For my meal, I got the Joy Fried Rice, which consisted of black rice (I've never seen this grain before, so it was exciting), tofu and vegetables. It was only $6-7, which is quite the bargain for the amount of food you get. I was pretty hungry so I ate everything, but you could definitely get a sizable amount of leftovers from it. Again, the salty/umami flavors were spot on, and the veggies were the right consistency (not too firm, not too soft). I would have preferred the rice to have been made a little crispier, but that's a personal preference - it was still fantastic. I tried a bite of Sandya's dish, which had a great vegan BBQ sauce on it. I also ordered a cup of Jasmine tea, which was a nice complement to the food.

I would definitely recommend Vegan Tree to vegans and non-vegans alike - the food is great, the service is friendly, and the portion size/cost is beyond reasonable. I also didn't feel like veganism was being shoved down my throat, which is always a plus for any type of restaurant that is touting itself as something trendy and/or "counter-culture."

Vegan Tree

742 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 454-2898