#39 Ms. Tootsie's - Sam's synopsis

I had heard a lot of positive things about Ms. Tootsie's before arriving. Mostly that it was very delicious southern food. I was not disappointed - taste or portion-wise.

There were 4 of us attending and we all arrived at different times, but the wait for a Friday evening didn't end up being too terrible - about 45 minutes and we were seated around 8ish. The first, most obvious aspect of the restaurant was the DJ, whom we happened to be seated closest too. While I enjoyed the blast from the past (music played at 8th grade dances), it was a bit too loud to hold a decent conversation so that was one aspect I did not particularly enjoy. The inside was very nicely decorated - swanky yet refined (except for the blaring music). All the waitstaff were dressed in crisp white clothes, which added to the upscale feel of the restaurant. It's been awhile since I've been to a restaurant where they give you bread, so I was pleasantly surprised when a basket full of cornbread arrived. The cornbread was delicious - not overly dry and served with strawberry butter, which I'm pretty sure I consumed a good portion of compared to everyone else.

I ordered a red sangria as my beverage for the evening - a good choice. It was not overly sweet and there was a good amount of fresh fruit included. Since there were a good number of us and we were out on the town on a Friday night, we went for two appetizers - catfish fingers with fries and the mac 'n cheese crab balls. The catfish was tasty, but mostly like any fried fish I would expect. The fries, however, were absolutely fried to perfection with the perfect amount of seasoning. Highly addictive. The mac 'n cheese crab balls were too heavy on the crab side and too light on the mac 'n cheese side, so not my favorite. A bit too overwhelming.

For dinner I went with the smothered turkey chops - again, smothered implies gravy to me, which was totally the case. Because all four of us got entrees, we ended up ordering just about every side on the menu. Instead of reviewing them all, I will say that the collard greens were the best, and the candied yams were too saccharine for my liking. The portions were huge - I got two giant cuts of turkey and after appetizers and all that cornbread/strawberry butter I could barely eat my meal. I had a heaping take home container, which I reheated a few days later for leftovers. The gravy held up surprisingly well - it didn't congeal into a muck of fat and flour but stayed rather uniform. And in its prime (i.e. when it was served to me), the gravy was top notch. 

Ms. Tootsie's is a staple of Philadelphia, as it is well known for being one of the best spots for soul food in the city. I can't comment on the authenticity (you'll have to ask our guest Mike about that), but the swanky vibe and quality/amount of food was worth it for the slightly elevated prices. 

Ms. Tootsie's

1312 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 731-9045

#39 Ms. Tootsies - Sandy's synopsis

I was excited for Ms. Tootsies because soul food isn't something I eat too often. I had also heard very good things about this place and was excited to see if it lived up to the buzz. Ms. Tootsies seems rather small with about 4-5 tables, so expect to wait a little bit if you are putting your name down for the table. They do have an upstairs, but I couldn't tell if that was seating for dinner, or just the lounge area. I will say -  the wait will be worth it. 

Our wait was about 30 minutes, which wasn't too bad especially because it was a nice day outside. We got seated at the table nearest the door. Now, it wasn't too much off an issue, but this table was also closest to the DJ. He played some nice tracks, dont get me wrong, but it was a little too loud and thus a little too hard to hear people talk. 

The flipside argument to that is - we aren't here to talk we are here to eat! 

However, before I move onto the food section I wanted to bring attention to the fact that the bar seating was 90% working women. It was nice to see women in their professional gear taking up almost all of the bar space - speaking to the increase in women in the workplace and them finding a nice spot to have a drink after a long workday.

Okay, now onto the food. You get complimentary corn bread with strawberry butter to start with. Yes, strawberry butter. It was delicious.

We aso decided to get a couple of appetizers so we can try as many things as we could. We got the catfish fingers and crab mac 'n cheese. I unfortunately do not have photos for these and we should assume that is because I was too busy stuffing my face. Now the fish fingers we really really good. The mac and cheese was a little too crab tasting for me. I couldnt really get a sense for the mac and cheese which is personally what I was looking for. If you like alot of crab flavour however, this is your dish.

For the main course I ordered the fried chicken with the okra with corn and the rice with gravy for my two sides. 

This dish was fantastic. The fried chicken was tender and just the right amount of salt. The corn was sweet and delicious with the okra balancing things out. The rice was buttery and smothered in gravy. Simply delicious and comforting. The portion was large too and I had leftovers for two more sittings. The chicken re-heated very well. 

You end the night with a choice of Tootsie Pops to suck on while paying the bill. Sam gets credit for being the only who got the "Tootsie Pop because the place is called Ms. Tootsies" link. This was also my first experience having a tootsie pop - it was underwhelming. I wasn't as excited as I thought I would be when I reached the center. 

From what I could tell from around the table, I believe everyone enjoyed their meals very much. Thanks to Mike and Christian for joining us. I enjoyed my night at Ms. Tootsies very much and would recommend it to other people.

Ms. Tootsies

1312 South Stret

Philadephia PA 19147

215-731-9045

#38 Cafe V - Sam's synopsis

So begins our 7 days, 7 posts spree. The first one goes to Cafe Veg, a cute space in a seemingly out-of-place spot on South Street. Inside, the restaurant is very spacious and bright, with lots of windows and a cozy feel. We went for breakfast on a weekday, so there were maybe 2 other customers eating while we were there. One was a middle-aged businessman reading the newspaper, and the other was an older man from a nearby elderly home, telling us that running/biking was a good hobby and that we should drink a lot of water. Sometimes, it is nice to be reminded that total strangers are sometimes invested in small parts of your lives. The whole world is connected even if you don't realize it sometimes.

Since it was a week day, as I mentioned, it was not crowded at all. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive to our needs, but I will say, for there only being a few other people in the restaurant, it took far too long for our food to arrive. My food was on the lukewarm side when it arrived - I ordered two eggs (scrambled), toast (wheat) and homefries as it was a cheap option. To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. This place definitely has the vibe of being a great, local undiscovered brunch champion, but it fell a little short in my eyes. The homefries were dry and the eggs were not that flavorful. I did try Sandya's peanut butter/bacon/banana sandwich made with french toast, and that was pretty amazing. I guess based on that this place is more hit-or-miss depending on what you want.

I would be willing to give Cafe V another shot, and maybe try a more adventurous dish - they did have a nice selection of both breakfast and lunch options. It's a cute, bright spot in an otherwise bleak part of the street.

Cafe V
1318 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 772-1318

#38 - Cafe V - Sandy's synopsis

FRENCH TOAST PEANUT BUTTER BACON BANANA SANDWICH!!

*deep breath*

I have been waiting a long time to yell that out into the interwebs. This is one of the things that Cafe V has to offer and even if it was the only thing, which it isn't, I'd be in heaven.

Firstly - I for the longest time thought Cafe V stood for Cafe Veg. I had no real reason for thinking this except my lack of creativity when it comes to food and the letter V. So, for the longest time, I had always disregarded it as a place I would not go out of my way to try. Not that I hate vegetables, but I rarely go to purely vegetarian places. 

So imagine my confusion when we went to Cafe V and I see bacon, amongst other meats, on the menu. I then shrugged and assumed that the Veg wasn't a strict thing. It wasn't until a week AFTER, I was walking by there, and I noticed on their chalkboard sign that the V stood for Victoria which makes a lot more sense. However, I cannot find evidence that the V stands for Victoria anywhere on the internet. I think we can be certain however that it does not stand for veg.

Now that my riveting story of confusion is over - lets get down to business. Cafe V is clean and white on the inside. It has a good number of tables to sit at and for the people-watchers amongst us, a lot of tables right next to large windows to stare outside off. 

Their breakfast menu has your standard offering of eggs, pancakes and french toast as well as the more creative offerings like the Benedicts and the aforementioned holy grail of breakfast sandwiches. Being a cafe, they also sell coffee and I enjoyed the roaster they were using (sorry, I forgot to look that up). They also have a lunch menu and all day menu with pizzas and sandwiches and the like. 

I don;t anyone will blame me for going straight for the french toast peanut butter bacon banana sandwich. It has so many of my favourite things all in one thing.

The saltyness of the bacon with the sweet of the banana and the sweet-saltyness of the peanut butter is a perfection of taste that is rarely achieved. 

You know I'm going to tell you to go here to get this sandwich. So, please go here and get this sandwich. Just writing this review about it is putting me in a good mood and making me want to go there and get this sandwich again.

Cafe V

1318 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-772-1318

Best of the West - Sam's picks

Sandya and I are no longer West End Girls (does that make us East End Boys?), so it's time for our thoughts on where we've been so far. All you naysayers said we wouldn't finish, and while we're not done yet, we have crossed the magical line that is Broad Street, which signifies a landmark in our epic quest to sample all the food-serving establishments on South Street. We're leaving Westeros and entering... Easteros? Maybe the whole thing is more like Hobbiton, since they enjoy second breakfast and we're indulging in the sin that is gluttony. South Street is our precious after all.

So, without further ado, here are my picks for some arbitrary categories that a grand total of two of you lovely readers suggested for us, plus a few we decided to include.

Winner - Best Chinese AND Friendliest Service: Fortune
Well, in terms of best chinese, all of the places we visited (Fuzhou House, Fortune and New South China) are all your standard "I need hangover food" spots. But Fortune had the most amount of flavor with the least amount of greasiness and saltiness you get with chinese take-out places.

Fortune also wins for friendliest service, because it's the one place that I truly remember what the service was like. Generally, that means the service was either really terrible or really great. In this case, it was the latter, merely because the woman ringing up our food was incredibly friendly and apologized a hundred times when she had to come over and ask us for $3 because she forgot to charge us for our beverages.

In fact, here is a quote taken directly from my Fortune review: "I would recommend ordering take-out from Fortune if you live in the area, as it is so far the best chinese take-out restaurant I've encountered with friendly service (n=2)."

It's almost as if I anticipated this.

Winner - Best Fine Dining: Pumpkin
This one was tough for me - it was a close call between Entrée and Pumpkin. They were both some of the best meals I've had so far on our journey, but in the end, Pumpkin had the best overall fine dining experience - ambiance, food, service and all.

DAT POPCORN

Winner - Best Bar: Ten Stone
Best bar is kind of a tough category for me - do I only consider bars in the traditional sense? What about the fancy restaurants that have a bar but where you probably wouldn't go for just one drink? In the end, I feel like Ten Stone is the best choice. It's hard not to be biased - I had a fantastic birthday here last year and it's one of the closest bars to my house. However, I do feel like their bar food is pretty fantastic and cheaper than other places - especially dat truffle popcorn with parmesan cheese. I think they have figured out a beer list that works well for being a neighborhood bar too - nothing too rare, but always something new to try and always a solid standard beer on tap. While places like the Cambridge may have a more eclectic beer list and some truly mouth-watering appetizers (see: pork belly crostini), their cost/enjoyment ratio is not as high as Ten Stone.

Honorable mention goes to Jet Wine Bar here, because of its great happy hour wine flight deal and the tasty food. However, it is on the smaller side space-wise and I am more of a beer drinker than a wine drinker - which is why it's not at the top of my list.

Winner - Best Dessert: Rex 1516

mmm... fried deliciousness

Any place that gets you to order dessert after a belly-filling brunch must be doing something right. And providing fried pieces of chocolate pecan cookie dough to dunk into a rum-spiked milkshake is one way to accomplish that feat.

Loser - Worst Overall: DELIcious Bites
Do I really need to say anything else that I didn't say in my review? Spoiler alert: This might also be the funniest thing I've ever written.

Winner - Best Overall: Miles Table
This was a pretty easy choice for me - when people ask what the best place I've been to far on this adventure, my answer is always immediately Miles Table. I think it's the best so far for several reasons: The quality-to-cost ratio is fantastic. The staff is very friendly (they gave us free empanadas!). The food is amazing. There are several different types of delicious dishes to choose from. You order at a counter and they deliver your food, cutting down on wait time. The location is great (South between Broad and 23rd is a hot area of town). The inside decor is welcoming and bright. The music selection is great. Breakfast is served all day. Seriously, do I need to keep going here? This place is fantastic.

So there you have it, a summary of some of the best (and worst) places we've been to so far on our journey. Sorry, I'm still not going to use a star based system, because that's even more arbitrary than my random musings. Although someone suggested I use cats as a rating system instead, which in theory could work, but I would probably give every place a 5 cat rating so I could always post 5 pictures of cute cats.

This post gets a rating of: 

Best of the West - Sandy's picks

Having arrived at Broad street, we figured we would help distill down the west half of this journey into one post - guided by suggestions from our readers.

Friendliest service
Nominations: Roberto's Cafe, Philly Cupcake, New Tower Pizza, Fortune

The lady at Fortune was very, very sweet. The staff at Roberto's were were just an instant pick me up. 

The ladies at Philly cupcake helped me out when my ovarian cyst decided to become the size of an orange. 

(However, considering Philly Cupcake doesn't exist anymore, so I think it would be unfair to give this to them).

The friendliest of them all however are the guys at New Tower Pizza. They're always happy and chatty and even when I know they are lying to my face about that milkshake machine they claim to be getting - I can't be mad at them.

Winner: New Tower Pizza

Best Chinese
Nominations: Fuzhou House, Fortune, New South China

Hands down Fortune. They are one of few places in center city that have a vegetarian version of General Tso's. I did taste Sam's Moo Goo Gai Pan and was a fan. I by far do not think this is the best Chinese food in Philadelphia or anything. However, I remember them pleasantly and ergo they are better than the other two options west of Broad on South.

Winner: Fortune

Best Fine Dining
Nominations: Ants Pants Cafe,  So Crepe, Rex 1516, Pumpkin, Entree

This was a tough category. The food at all the nominated places was phenomenal. However, I think the best "fine dining" experience I had (considering ambiance and food) was at Pumpkin. Their ever changing menu guarantees a unique, creative experience. The ambiance is familial and cozy yet sophisticated. 

Expensive enough to make the imaginary fine-dining cut-off and worth every penny, Pumpkin is my winner for this category.

Winner: Pumpkin

Best Bar
Nominations: Jet Wine Bar, The Cambridge

The Cambridge has good cocktails and is another notch in Philly's, already saturated, English Gastro-pub hat.

However, Jet Wine Bar has wine flights - which are rare. I really liked the post-work day crowd and they have a bunch of creative happy hours during the week. I think you can get the experience that The Cambridge would give you and many pubs in the city - but not the one you would get at Jet Wine Bar.

Special Mention: Bob and Barbera's - Pickle-backs are a thing of heaven.

Winner: Jet Wine Bar

Best Dessert 
Nominations: Rex 1516, Magpie Pies, Miles Table, So Crepe

Another tough category for me - again, all of these places have phenomenal dessert and should be given a try if you can. 

However, the one I still remember my face melting in happiness from was the  dessert we had after brunch at Rex 1516. We had their Milk and Cookies which was fried chocolate and pecan cookie dough truffles with a rum-chata spiked milkshake. It was a creative spin on a simple concept and it blew my mind.

Winner: Rex 1516

Worst Overall 
Nominations: DELIcious bites, Indian restaurant, L2, My Thai

It would be unfair of me to give this to Indian Restaurant because, being Indian, I'm biased and more critical. L2 and My Thai were okay but neither did illicit the level of disappointment that DELIcious Bites did. Over-priced boring food. A complete waste of my time and money.

Winner (er... Loser?): DELIcious Bites

Best overall
Nominations: Miles Table, Rex 1516, Pumpkin, So Crepe

Everything we had at Miles table was amazing. Great food, great dessert, great atmosphere and on top of  it very affordable. A very pleasant surprise and great South Street addition - Miles Table, you are doing everything right.

Winner: Miles Table

#37 Saqqara Cafe - Sandy's synopsis

So resumes our journey on South Street east of Broad. Here is unchartered territory - an area I have ventured into very little and therefore do not know what to expect. Yes, yes, I suppose I could expect the unexpected, but that is very stupid advice. 

Our first stop is Saqqara cafe which I will admit I have never had a desire to go into. I don't do hookah and frankly, their menu didn't look the most appealing. However, this is why I love doing this blog because it makes me go and try places I wouldn't have otherwise. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised.

Saqqara cafe is a pretty small establishment with about 6-7 tables. 

A very kindly man greeted us when we entered and showed us to our table. Their menu is a mix of middle-eastern cuisine and american junk food, which was a little strange. I decided to stick with the middle eastern fare and ordered a turkish coffee to start and their chicken kebab platter as my entree.

First for the turkish coffee - it was quite the experience. When I ordered it, I was asked how sweet I wanted it. I like my coffee pretty damn sweet. When it arrived, it was poured into a cup and saucer from a steel  container with a spout, which I imagine was the container it was just brewed in. 

This coffee was amazing. Its flavour was unexpected. Yes, yes, I know what I said before. It was black coffee brewed with cardamom and it was delicious. That coffee already made my trip there worth it. 

As for the chicken kebabs, they came with rice, some vegetables.and a yoghurt based dipping sauce.

The kebabs were lightly spiced, but that doesn't mean it lacked flavour. It was good. What stole the show , however, was the rice. Buttery and salty perfection - if I could just order that rice I would. The kebabs didn't re-heat very well in my opinion and I do like my kebabs with more spices. I wouldn't go here for kebabs, for that I'd go to Kabobeesh. Sam's falafels looked very good however and that coffee really was delicious.

I have one more thing to mention. When we were eating a couple of patrons come in. The person who greeted us when we came in greeted them as well, but with hugs like they were friends. He then grabbed a chair and sat  and chatted with them while they smoked hookah. It was honestly pretty heart warming and spoke to how nice I thought he was at the beginning.

On that note, don't let outward appearances deter you from Saqqara cafe. If for nothing else, go there for the turkish coffee.

Saqqara Cafe

1356 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-735-0565