#53 La Fuorno - Sandy's synopsis

La Fuorno is that place on the eastern half of South Street that has the speakers on the outside that always seems to be playing Frank Sinatra. Sometimes they have music battles with the store next door, that is playing death metal on their speakers outside. Sometimes there are also carolers singing "I saw Mama kissing Santa Claus" to add to the cacophony that is this part of South Street. As the different noises fight to find a spot in your brain, it distills back down to Frank Sinatra as you enter La Fuorno to find a spot to sit.

Thankfully for us, this isn't the most popular lunch spot during the holiday season so we had the pick of the litter for tables... does that idiom make sense here? Our waiter was kind enough to suggest the warmest table in the restaurant that was furthest from the vents.

As we perused the menu this drink caught our collective eye: Whiskey Sour! In a mason jar.

It was as delicious as that mis-placed* exclamation point suggests. (I'm not being sarcastic, it actually was a really good drink)

* I would think the exclamation would be after the "mason jar" because, isn't that what the kids these days get excited about?

The menu was filled with all the Italian classics you'd expect and so for an appetizer we ordered a dish that I've never seen on a menu before, farinata bread. According to Wikipedia, farinata is a unleavened bread made from chickpea flour. According to my taste buds, it was delicious. It came with a small bean and pepper salad and what I think is Muenster and Provolone cheeses. The bread was a little dry by itself. However, the peppers, beans and cheese balanced out the moisture very well.

It was time to order our entrees and this is where I started to make mistakes. I started to let nostalgia guide my decisions. Let me explain - when I was a kid in Bangalore, India, we used to occasionally eat at this place called La Casa, the local Italian joint. My favorite dish to order from there was the spaghetti Bolognese. So when I saw a bolognese on the menu at La Fuorno, I wanted to re-live this memory.

To no fault of La Fuorno's, this was not successful. The inherent flaw in my plan is that when India gets it's hands on a cuisine, be it Chinese, Italian or McDonald's, we "indian-ify" it. This usually involves adding a lot more spices and flavour to it.

I'm sure what is pictured above is a perfectly satisfying plate of Bolognese but unfortunately for me, it seemed a little bland. I do know that everyone else absolutely loved their entree. I definitely should've based my order on what Italian food I'd like not what Indian memory I wanted to experience again.

After that disappointment, it was time for dessert, which quickly changed my disappointment to contentment. I ordered the self titled La Fuorno! (pictured below).

It was a puff pastry filled with fruits and hazelnut and chocolate cream.  In other words, yummy. I even had leftovers. 

I followed that up with a cappuccino.

Also great, with a nice strong coffee flavor.

So all in all, my exerperience here was good and could have been better if I came in with different expectations. The company was awesome so than you Sam, Erin and Sen for putting up with my grumpiness about the Christmas songs being played. So, I reached home to settle into a food coma feeling very satisfied, my contentment quickly changed back to disappointment when I realized I'd forgotten my delicious dessert leftovers back at the restaurant. Oh Sandy.

La Fuorno

636 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-627-9000

#53 La Fourno - Sam's synopsis

La Fourno was the perfect way to cap off the year before heading out for the holidays. Sandya and I were joined by Erin and Senthil, and it was a very relaxed setting with friendly staff, lots of laughs and tasty food.

We arrived and were initially the only table in the restaurant. We sat in the back, at the supposedly warmest spot in the restaurant. It was very cozy and the ambiance was very fitting for both the holidays and an Italian eatery, but it's possible other tables were equally warm. The other thing I noticed about our table was the large print of a photograph hanging above us entitled "American Woman in Italy" which apparently is pretty famous. I personally found it a little unnerving, because it's a young woman walking the streets with 10 men ogling her and her looking a little frightened, but apparently the subject of the photograph didn't feel that way. I'll save my social commentary for anyone who wants to have an offline discussion about it, but at least there were other decorations to distract me - like the fact that our table had a small name plaque stating it was Dennis & James' Table. Who are Dennis and James? I'm not sure, but it made me happy to know they have their own special table at what I can imagine is a favorite local haunt.

the farinatta bread

As it was only a few days before Christmas, we were treated to lots of old timey Christmas tunes. Maybe treated isn't the best choice of word, because holiday songs can get pretty grating after awhile - but we did learn that Sandya has some interesting ideas about how Santa can help you trim a Christmas tree. And while we only heard older holiday songs (or newer artists covering them, like Celine Dion), I think we all came to the agreement that the best "new" holiday song is, and always will be, "All I Want For Christmas is You" by everyone's favorite diva Mariah Carey. I don't care if that song is 20 years old now, it's still new and it's still the best goddamnit.

Okay, onto the food and drink. They had a nice selection of beverages, and I went for a whiskey sour in a mason jar. Sure it was lunch time, but I can't say no to things in mason jars (that's totally a lie. I don't really care about mason jars. Maybe if someone puts a bird on it I'll be more inclined to like it though). It was a nice whiskey sour, a nice balance of alcohol and sour mix. I hate it when there's an unbalance and your stomach basically turns at the flavor, but this was not the case. We were given bread (YES) and we ordered the farinatta bread, which is a thin bread made with garbanzo beans and olive oil. I liked the flavor a lot, but the bread itself was a bit too dry. It was served with roasted peppers and cheese, which helped with the dryness but not quite enough. 

All our meals came with antipasto salad, so we were given a big helping to share. Lettuce, carrots, beans and balsamic dressing. Simple yet the flavors melded together very nicely. Their menu is quite extensive - pasta, pizza, paninis, calzones (Ben Wyatt would be proud), basically anything you would expect to see at an Italian restaurant. It was hard to choose as there were lots of appetizing options (I almost went for the special ravioli of the day with spinach, kale and cheese), but I went for cappellini with olive oil, garlic and chicken. The portion was perfect, and the sauce was light and nicely balanced - not too garlicky or oily. The chicken was cooked to a nice tenderness, and tasted fresh. My only suggestion is that I think the dish would have been better if there were some chunks of roasted garlic mixed in with the pasta - I think that would have really elevated the flavor profile.

mmm... cake....

After finishing our meals, we couldn't resist dessert (and our waiter was pretty good at convincing us to order things) so I went with the dark side of the moon - basically all forms of chocolate in a small, rich cake. It was very good - not the best chocolate dessert I've ever had but certainly hit the spot - but as I mentioned, rather rich. I had about half before I called it quits, but it was a great way to end the afternoon. I also enjoyed a cup of tea, Earl Grey, hot with my dessert, as it is my favorite tea. 

whatcha gonna do when
they come for you?

I would be remiss if I did not mention that La Fourno has a private room for pretty much any kind of party you want, and advertises Bad Boys in Bow Ties. I would be curious to see what this experience is like, if anyone wants to throw a birthday party here in the future. For the time however, I think I can settle with enjoying good food and company during a quiet holiday afternoon. La Fourno was delicious and I would most certainly go back to try one of the myriad other options on the menu. 

La Fourno

636 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 627-9000

#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