Comments on: Lunch at Bar Boulud & I Need Your Recommendations (for Philly)!

By: Jfurnem

Jfurnem — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:02:32 +0000

these are really amazing photos of the food (and the place doesnt look bad at all…) sorry i cant be of any help for the Philadelphia day trip (in any case its long past so even if i had an idea it wouldnt help…)
:)

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:48:11 +0000

By now you may have already gone to Philly, but anyway…

I concur that Amada is excellent tapas and blows Alma de Cuba (or any of the other Starr restaurants) out of the water.

Another bargain option is Ron’s Ribs for truly excellent barbecue…

and, although you are chinese, perhaps for the benefit of others as well, there is a truly wonderful Szechuan restaurant on Race street called Four Rivers. You just can’t go wrong with anything on the menu and it is consistently great. I’ve traveled all over Asia and have tried virtually every chinese restaurant across all the boroughs of NY and this is the only one that is comparable to authentic Szechuan cuisine.

Capogiro for gelato is amazing, better than all of the NY gelato places – and better than much of the gelato that I’ve had in Italy.

Lastly, for fantastic coffee, try La Colombe. They supply coffee to a lot of the french restaurants in NY; their capucinos are really memorable…

Enjoy your trip!

By: Courtney

Courtney — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:18:54 +0000

I live and work in Philly now. If you are going to be site-seeing in Philadelphia, you’ll most likely be in Old City. I’d try Farmacia on 3rd Street between Market and Chestnut, Cuba Libre on 2nd Street between Market and Chestnut or Jones on the corner of 7th and Chestnut for lunch or dinner. If you’re having dinner, go for Fork, on Market street between 3rd and 4th streets. All have websites and are reasonably priced and within walking distance of most historical attractions.
Reading Terminal is an awesome experience, too.

Enjoy your visit!

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:27:24 +0000

Lived in Philly for 5 years. Would definitely go to amada. for brunch the next morning go to Carman’s Country Kitchen.

By: HarryK

HarryK — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:34:57 +0000

Since you said it’s … for a family outing, not as expensive as you would normally do and something casual, I hate to say it but many of the suggestions you’ve heard so far have been the expensive ones — aside from the Reading Terminal Market.

I’d say, you need to go the Second and Chestnut Street area in Olde City. Why? Your near Betsy Ross House and the Liberty Bell and other historical Olde City attractions. And that intersection has maybe 30-40 casual dining spots, from Cuba Libre to Stars and Ploug Irish Pub to two Afgan Restaurants to the Philly Fish Factory and more.

So, historical things to see there, Penns Landing area two blocks away, Tons of eatery vareity choices at decent prices.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 02:23:58 +0000

If you're hungry early on you should definitely try the Morning Glory Diner. Great breakfast/brunch place with awesome biscuits :)

By: thewanderingeater

thewanderingeater — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:14:48 +0000

Ulterior Epicure: Thanks for the recommendation! Criminal not to try Capogiro? I hope I could fit them in my schedule…

Ida: Damn, I wish I could stay for more than a day! Too many places to eat, so little time… Eh, well at least I know I’ll stick around Reading Terminal since it seems like a popular destination from most of you readers.

Julie: Hmmm…brunch. Probably I might do it? I have to get the consensus of what my aunt really wants to eat, despite the fact she’ll most likely ask for my opinion.

Jennifer: Hi! Ah, you know Jess. Weee…! :D I need to thank her. Thanks for loving my blog!

As per your Philly suggestions, I don’t really need a BYOB restaurant since my family doesn’t really drink. BUT…I do like to get my grubby hands on some foie gras. Hahaha…

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:23:10 +0000

Hi! I visisted your blog per recommendation from Jess Lin, my roommate and good friend at Cornell. I love your pictures and your writing :) IThe decor of Bar Boulud looks fantastic and the tarte mocha looks amazing. So rich!

You’re going to Philly? I was there last semester visiting a friend. We went to this amazing BYOB restaurant (lots of places in Philly are BYOB due to stringent liquor license regulations) and I had the most amazing rabbit and foie gras. I’ll try to find the name so I can let you know :)

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:13:18 +0000

Sabrina’s Cafe is definitely worth a try. It’s well-known for stuffed french toast and many other brunch items. And I think brunch is served all day.

By: Ida

Ida — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:32:55 +0000

Fancy: I recommend going for the lunch at Le Bec Fin and either getting the tasting menu ($54), which includes the ridiculously extravagant dessert chariot, or ordering a la cart and starting with the cassolet de escargots (trust me on this, it comes in the cutest little silver pot with an AMAZING hazelnut butter sauce), getting whatever entree appeals to you, and ending with the dessert chariot. There is a huge variety of desserts on the chariot. Last time I went, I am not ashamed to say I had 8 desserts.

Casual: I third the recommendation for Reading Terminal. Definitely try the macaroni and cheese at Delilah’s (Oprah’s #1 pick for best mac and cheese in the US) and Amish chicken wings (they sell them by the pound) and apple dumplings (cored apple sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, baked in a pastry shell, and drizzled with a caramel sauce)

You should definitely have a cheese steak! I wish you had more time! I like Jim’s on South Street, but Pat’s and Geno’s are Philly Institutions. I don’t remember the days, but the Ritz used to have a reasonably priced chocolate buffet. You may want to call them and see if they still have it.

Happy eating!