A Week in Philly

So on Sunday night I took Amtrak down to Philadelphia for work for the week. Clearly I had one thing and one thing only on my mind from the second I arrived - track down the best Philly Cheesesteak! (But more on that to come later.) Aside from that, J & I roamed the streets and wondered the city taking in all it has to offer. Lucky for us, J's main squeeze back home hails from Philly, so we knew all the good eats that we had to check out. By the time you get to the end of the post, you will all know why I am not a lifestyle blogger! But I just had to share some of the fun we had.

As a reminder, this was a work trip (read: boring!) so other than dinner, we only had a few hours during the day to really explore. Seeing as I checked out the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall back when I was 10, I was on the hunt for some of Philly's hidden gems. This is what I found...

Our first night here we headed over to Monk's Cafe, who claims to serve up the best mussels in all of Philly. Considering this is what they delivered to the table..

...and this is what was left after roughly 7.5 minutes, you could say that we agree. The mussels were amazing and the juices were perfect for soaking up with your big loaf of sourdough bread.

Following our mussels app, I ordered the Stout Braised Lamb Shank. It was cooked perfectly, and served over a large pile of mashed potatoes and root veggies. It was massive and I did all I could to finish every last bit.

J went with the Grilled Atlantic Salmon with with white beer beurre blanc. She claims it was delicious and I sure do believe her.

The next day, we stopped over at the famous Reading Terminal Market, which is conveniently right across the street from our hotel. So you can bet we stopped over quite often during the week. This market is the quintessential farmer's market. Artisans from every craft are gathered in this large building serving up the best they have. Offerings range from homemade chocolate towers from Mueller's to America's best sandwich at DiNic's (I'm looking at you roast pork). As I am sure it will come to no one's surprise, my first stop was L.D. Bassets, otherwise known as America's oldest ice cream parlor. The market is bustling with energy and people gather here for lunch from tourists to businessmen and everywhere in between.

Yes, those are all deliciously fresh and homemade donuts. Clearly the smell in this place isn't doing anyone any favors, your taste buds kick into overdrive at every turn and corner.

That nice we headed over to El Vez for some Mexican flair. Naturally we started out with a huge bowl of fresh guac with homemade chips.

I opted for the carnitas tacos, and since J had trouble deciding, she got the sampler platter. The carnitas were to die for. The meat was so tender and flavorful and there was the perfect addition of toppings to keep it light but delicious. My compliments to the chef on this one!

Unable to back down just yet, we opted to share the churros with chocolate dipping sauce for dessert. We got so excited when they came over we quickly ate up and I almost forgot to capture the picture.

So now keep in mind, it is only Wednesday and we have done a whole lot of eating on this trip! But today was the day I had been waiting for. We got out of work early and we headed straight over to Pat's King of Steaks, for Philly's original (and best) cheesesteak on offer. Keeping with the tradition of the week to try and eat on the light side, I ordered mine with a large side of cheese fries. I mean, is there any other way to do it? Check out that deliciousness.

We made it to Thursday, having suffered through hours of long, boring training modules, but it was our last night for dinner, so we headed over to Parc, a French restaurant in the Rittenhouse Square area of the city. On our walk over, the buildings became quainter, there were more trees, and the whole atmosphere sort of changed. J & I decided Rittenhouse Square is the equivalent of NYC's UES and it was lovely. We sat down in a huge dining room, packed with families celebrating birthday's and businessmen celebrating the end to another good week. We both started off with a whistling hot bowl of French onion soup and it had more cheese than I could ever have dreamed of.

For our main round, J went with the French classic, Beef Bourguignon. I decided to go for the Rabbit Pappardelle. The meat was really tender and the sauce was light and refreshing. It might have not taken home top prizes after the week I had, but it was definitely something I would go back for.

To top of the night, J & I split a creme brulee.

All in all, Philly surprised me every night. I did not put high regards on this city, but after spending a week here, it is definitely a place I would visit again. The city has many nooks and crannies that can still be explored. It's size, cleanliness and overall charm was a delight in comparison to the big, bad NYC. Until next time, thanks Philly!

Nutella & Salted Pretzel Brownie Bars

I've decided to call these guys brownie bars, you know, kind of like a cookie bar, because they are really so much more than just brownies. We start off with a sweet and salty pretzel crust, which lays the ground work for a Nutella infused brownie, frosted with even more Nutella and finally topped with chopped pretzels for a little something extra.

These brownie bars are sure to kick your next sweet & salty craving, in one fell swoop!

To make about 10 bars (or 20 small squares) (enough to feed roughly 4 people in my house - but 8-10 people in a normal house), you are going to need the following:

For the crust:

3/4 cup crushed pretzels

1/3 cup light brown sugar

3 tbsp salted butter

Brownies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup Nutella

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

Toppings:

1/2 cup Nutella, to frost the top

1/2 cup chopped pretzels, for decoration

Start off by pre-heating the oven to 350F degrees. Toss all your ingredients for the crust into a food processor and pulse until fully combined. You want the pretzels to be crushed.

In a glass or non-stick 8x8 baking dish, line the bottom with the crushed pretzel mixture. Bake for 15 minutes, just until golden brown and set.

While the crust is in the oven, start on the brownie batter. First, whip together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in your eggs (one at a time, of course) then the vanilla extract. Once that is all fully combined, drop in the Nutella. Make sure everything is incorporated and there are no brown or white streaks.

In a small, separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. In 3 batches, add to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. As always, be careful not to overmix as we want smooth, fudgy brownies.

Once the batter is good to go, pour it over the already baked crust and back in the oven it goes, for about 35-40 minutes. The top of the brownie should be set and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. 

Remove from the oven and let rest until completely cooled. Remove from the baking dish and set on a flat surface (I used a cutting board). Frost the top with Nutella and sprinkle with your chopped pretzels. Cut into small squares or rectangular bars and you are ready to enjoy! These are very rich, so all you need is a small taste to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes salty) tooth.