#95 Paddy Whacks & #96 South Street Diner - Sam's synopsis

Well, this is it. We've come to the end. I'm going to try and save most of my feelings for a separate, reflection post (because god knows I love ruminating on my feelings) and try and stick to the standards here, but this was a momentous occasion. 4 years and 96 restaurants later, what started out as a somewhat silly idea turned into something that will define my years spent in Philadelphia. Anyways, before this devolves too far, let me get to the reviews...

photos within photos

Sandya and I chose Paddy Whacks as one of our final stops because it is a large bar with a lot of room for people to come and celebrate with us. This was immediately evident when I walked in, as the downstairs was spacious with many booths and tables. Sandya had grabbed a booth and adjoining table in the far left corner downstairs, so we were set for space. We settled in, and people slowly started trickling in. There was a solid beer selection - nothing too fancy, but lots of local brews to choose from, which I have noticed is a theme for this section of South Street. And to follow our rule of eating something at every stop, we ordered an appetizer platter with onion rings, chicken fingers, wings, mozzarella sticks, and potato skins. Overall I thought it was a solid selection of finger food. Nothing was overly greasy or fried to the point that it made your stomach churn. Definitely a good selection of appetizers if you're craving that kind of food. 

fried goodness

As more and more people stopped by, I felt like the service was still very good and the waitstaff were friendly. There was some kind of holiday party going on adjacent to us, but it didn't really interfere with the celebrations (re: very spacious). And the best part? I ordered a Troegs Mad Elf (a local legend that is 11%) served in a pint glass. This is not a normal occurrence, and we're still not really sure why they served it to us in a pint glass, but I'll chalk it up to the South Street gods. Needless to say, things were getting very silly. At some point I took a shot of tequila. We had wanted to head next door at 11 pm, but we were having such a great time that I don't think we left until around midnight. Which means the night was already a success, and I want to thank everyone that made it out to celebrate with us.

deep in conversation

my saving grace

And then, in a drunken haze, we made our way next door. A special thanks to Erin, Chris, Shaun, and Mike, who all made it to the bitter end with us. And an even bigger thanks to South Street Diner, whose greasy diner food saved me from a terrible hangover the next day. We (or at least I) stumbled into the diner, hungry (and under the influence, obviously). Luckily it wasn't too busy, and we were seated and taken care of in a very efficient manner. I ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream, and an omelette with home fries and toast. Everything hit the spot and tasted great. I can't say how much this would change if I were sober, but it's hard to fuck up diner food. Even terrible diner food is still good, because you're eating it at a diner. And this was an all-night diner to boot (the sign said triple X but they were talkin' 'bout root beer...). And what better way to end our adventure than a place with South Street in the name. So I can't think of a better way to end our blog, eating greasy diner food with friends after a night of celebrating with so many of the people I've come to know and love in Philadelphia.

Paddy Whacks

150 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 464-7544

South Street Diner

140 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 627-5258

#94 Tamarind - Sam's synopsis

love them titles

And so here we are, the last post before the end. Where has the time gone? It's been a wild ride, that's for sure. But I'll save my nostalgia and feelz for the final, final post. For now, here's my review of
Tamarind.

I have to say, of all the Thai restaurants we've eaten at, I think Tamarind is the best. Save the best for last, right? Sorry, I only have so many more opportunities to litter my writing with terrible clichés, so gotta take advantage of it. I arrived early (because it's me), and grabbed a table for 6. It's a smaller restaurant, but luckily the larger table was open table to accommodate us. I perused the menu (which had some pretty cute titles for food sections) while waiting for Sandya and co. to arrive from Science on Tap up the street. Luckily Matthew showed up a few minutes after me and we chatted for a bit until the whole gang arrived.

fish cakes

Tamarind is BYOB, so Sandya stopped by her place to bring us all back some beverages, which was much appreciated. For appetizers, we went with fish cakes, crispy angels (chicken and shredded cabbage in a fried wonton shell), and fried taro. The fishcakes were very flavorful but a little rubbery. I still really enjoyed them though. The crispy angels were also very nice, but a bit too much fried wonton and not much filling. I would have appreciated a little more substance, but I still liked them. The fried taro was good, but my least favorite of the appetizers. What is taro? It's a root vegetable, in case you didn't know. I vaguely knew that, but it isn't something I eat very often. I'm not a big fan of the flavor, which I can't accurately describe because I don't know how to pinpoint it. I've really learned a lot about writing about food these past 4 years, huh?

I went with chicken panang curry as my main course. It was sweet and savory and creamy all of those good things. There was a nice mix of vegetables and a proper amount of rice to get a good sauce-to-rice ratio. I had some leftovers that soaked up the flavor of the sauce very nicely, making for a good lunch the next day. Matthew got the highest level spice pad thai, which was a source of entertainment for everyone at the table. If you want real spicy, this is your place. I had to jet out a little early, so I don't know if dessert was acquired, but I would certainly have liked to try a Thai iced tea, assuming it was on the menu (I didn't see it but I also didn't see a drinks section). The food was great though, so all the more reason to go back and find out.

Tamarind
117 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 925-2764

#94 - Tamarind - Sandy's synopsis

I have history with Tamarind. Back in my young days, where pride ruled over common sense, I came here and ordered take out for lunch. I asked for it to be thai-hot and they warned me - they said it was going to be very, very hot and asked if I was sure. And I said to them, "Yes I'm sure" while thinking to myself, "I'm Indian. I know what hot means, psssshh". 

I was a stupid idiot. They were not kidding, it was very very hot, I did not know what hot meant and I was schooled that day. I was so stubborn and proud that I ate the entire dish and then kissed my partner and it burned her lips. She felt that burn. And then my butt felt that burn for the next two days. 

This is definitely not to discourage you from coming. Their food is very, very good. This is to warn you that they mean real business with their spice. 

Suffice to say I ordered everything at their normal spice level this time.

As per the norm, we ordered some appetizers for the table - fried taro, fish cakes and something called crispy angel.

Fried Taro

Fish cakes

Crispy angel

These appetizers were simply amazing. These were the highlight of my evening (besides the company ofcourse. And watching my friend eat Thai-spicy food. That was fun too). I will eventually tell you what I had for my main course, but really, relish these appetizers if you go here. The fish cakes were my favourite, but the fried taro was awesome and the crispy angel (fried wonton) coming a close third.

For my main course I got the noodles with tamarind sauce and shrimp.

It was okay - a little too sweet for me personally. Not terrible though and I would go back to eat more fish cakes and perhaps try one of the other noodles or curries.

In conclusion, please go to Tamarind and order some fish cakes and fried taro but do not order it thai-hot unless you are serious about spice. 

Tamarind

117 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-925-2764

#93 - Pietros - Sandy's synopsis

Pietro's has always been this trusty choice, the Italian you can fall back on. Its got a large space, very affordable for the amount of food you get and always a satisfying meal (with some very stereotypical Italian music in the background, for ambiance I suppose). 

I can safely say everything we ordered that night was awesome. We started with a bottle of wine for the three of us, which is a great, financially sensible option in Pietro's.  

It was a sangiovese and it was yummy

Having started dinner in the best way possible, we ordered a couple of appetizers to accompany our wine - fried risotto balls and roasted Brussels sprouts.

Risotto Balls

Brussels Sprouts

They were both so very good - crunchy balls and perfectly roasted sprouts. 

Knowing that would be hard to top, we forged onward to the main course. I ordered the Fettuccine Carbonara -  the best kind of comfort food.

The sauce was perfectly creamy with mushrooms, cheese, peas and crispy prosciutto. The portions are so generous, that even after I had eaten to my utmost fullest, I had leftovers. You would think that would signal the end of dinner, but we didn't stop there. We decided to get one dessert, that we shared. How else do you end an awesome Italian meal, but with some Tiramisu.

Tiramisu

It tasted as good as it looked and was a wonderful end to a wonderful night. I had a great time with friends and additionally, we all had leftovers for days. 

Pietro's

121 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-733-0675

#93 Pietro's - Sam's synopsis

Pietro's is a pretty solid establishment in Philly - there's more than one location and the few times I've been to one of their locales I've always been satisfied. So I went into this outing hoping for a good meal with good friends, and I wasn't disappointed.

Erin and I caught the bus and arrived around 7:30 pm... before Sandya, of course, even though she lives 2 blocks away. We had a slightly awkward interaction with the hostess and then we were seated in the bar area. It was pretty dead for a Thursday night, as I think there were maybe 2 other tables and a handful of people at the bar. 

As we waited for Sandya, Erin and I ordered drinks and then realized when Sandya arrived that maybe we should have waited so we could order a bottle of wine. But no matter, as we ordered a bottle of wine anyways (sadly, or maybe responsibly, there was no double-fisting for me as I decided to finish my sangria before moving onto the wine). We also decided on the risotto balls and brussell sprouts for appetizers, to accompany the free bread and olive oil we received. A minor side rant, that maybe I've expressed in a previous entry over these past 4 years, is I really hate it when sit down restaurants don't give you some kind of item to nibble on while you peruse the menu and order. Maybe my expectations are too high, or I'm asking too much, but can you at least give us something to eat while we wait? Even if it's oyster crackers or saltines? So needless to say, I was happy with our bread, which was warm and crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. The risotto balls there are delicious - deep fried on the outside and creamy and salty on the inside. The brussell sprouts were fine too, they had some prosciutto pieces which were nice, but I found the balsamic glaze/sauce a bit too astringent for my liking.

For the main dish, I went with gemelli arugula pollo, which is described as chicken breast, garlic, arugula, and grape tomatoes in a white wine sauce. It was a good dish, although I felt like I couldn't really taste any garlic, and the flavors could have been better defined. I will say that I had a lot of leftovers (I guess the downside of free bread is that you always fill up too early...), and the dish was actually better the next day, because everything had time to soak in the sauce, and THEN the flavors were better defined. I was still pleased with my choice, and it was a good meal.

By the time we had finished eating, we still had some wine left, so of course we ordered dessert. The three of us split the tiramisu, which was simply to die for - one of the better pieces of tiramisu I've had in a long time. All in all, Pietro's is a great Philly establishment where you can get reliable meals.

Pietro's

121 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 733-0675