after dinner sneeze

t says: We’ve been out a few times recently so I figured I’d take a lazy day to update the blog.  And so, with season 5 of The Wire in the background, I’m here on my phone, with my first ever phone-post!

My little sis got married with a reception at Zahav!  The whole event was wonderful!!  Congrats to her and her new hubby!  Also: congrats to Zahav for serving up some absolutely amazing lamb and salatim!  For any couples looking to close some knots, check out Zahav!

We started lining up a farewell tour of Philly (we won’t be back again until December) and it included a little bit of something old and something new.  Well, here is the new: brunch at The Dutch.  These are my new favorite pancakes. They are to. Die. For.  Second only to Cochon (R.I.P.).  Don’t let the silly blueberries or anemic banana distract you from the perfectly made pancake with a bit of crunch on the outside and a soft pillowy inside.  Yes, a did order a wonderful cream chipped beef, and g got a tasty omelette, but seriously, these pancakes were the star!!

For something old, we hit up Reading Terminal.  Ahhhhhh.  Home indeed.  DiNic’s roast pork with rabe and provolone.  Insert drooling face here.  Forget the cheesesteaks, Philly – stick with these!  As for dessert: you know I picked up several chocolate-dipped chocolate chip cookies.  Day-um these were just as good as I recall!

We continued the ramen search.  This time, we went to Oakland for some Itani ramen.  Going for a more contemporary mixture (I had corn in mine, g had tomatoes in hers), the end result was pretty good.  Nice form alkaline noodles, with savory broth.  It’s not worth the trip if you have some good ramen nearby, but if you’re local, it’s worth a visit.  Next time I’m going to try some of those dumplings.  BTW: corn = hard to pick up with chopsticks.

And for our most recent exploration, we hit up Napa [again].  We love this place.  After hiking through Oat Mine Hill Trail (after finding out that Bothe was closed for a half-marathon), we hit up Model Bakery in St. Helena.  Holy. Hell.  We knew Model was good (we’ve been to the one at Oxbow several times), but this one was WAY better.  Above was a bacon egg and pimento on a scallion biscuit that was better than any breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had … even a’s (I’m sorry a!!!!  It just happened!!!).  g got the “traditional” breakfast sandwich on their famous English muffins and she devoured it.  There’s something about this location’s sandwich construction that’s impeccable: not soggy, melted cheese, perfectly made meat, structurally sound.  Gonna have to make the special trip to St Helena for future visits, even if it is a half hour away from Oxbow!

Here’s a tip: Heitz has free wine tasting.  Now, there is a caveat: Heitz does not do flashy, fruit-bombs.  They do cabs like pinots: single vineyards with focus on just how important locations are for flavor.  One tasted like pure green bell pepper.  Another had a finish of super-spicy black pepper.  The final was mushroom-alicious (if you like that sort of thing).  But the real star: the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc.  It was in-your-face with tropical and grapefruit, followed by mouthwatering acidity and a petrol hint that was amazing (for those of you that like the way gas stations smell).  Amazing. $20 at local wine merchant – check it out.  Heitz is now on our short-list for anyone visiting Napa for the first time!  We finished off our day with a trip to Hog Island oyster company – the grilled oysters have changed g’s outlook on oysters forever!  She loves them!