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"Trying to make "fetch" happen!"
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Review votes:
127 Useful, 38 Funny, and 96 Cool
Philadelphia, PA
Yelping SinceMay 2008
Things I LovePoetry, and a nice glass of scotch, and of course my friend Baxter
Find Me Inthe kitchen or the yard... I'm quite domestic
My HometownWallingford, PA, USA
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm reading porn to the blind.
Why You Should Read My ReviewsI don't hand out 5 star reviews like Halloween candy.
My Second Favorite WebsiteFlickr
The Last Great Book I ReadMy Life In France by Julia Child
My First ConcertLoreena McKennitt
My Favorite MovieCachorro
My Last Meal On EarthBeef Stroganoff w/o mushrooms
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I think the whole [x]'s cheesesteaks are the best in the city thing is tired.
Most Recent DiscoveryThe highly discounted shelf of misfit produce at the grocery store.
Current CrushJerri Blank
DatePhiladelphia, PA 19118
(215) 248-2500
Baker Street Bread Co
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Chestnut Hill
My thing lately has been shallots. Some stores don't have them at all, the grocery store I usually goes to has them for the equivalent of $16/lb prepackaged in 3 oz packages. Granted, you can't choose your own stuff at produce junction but right now the going rate for shallots at PJ is $1.50 for a 1 lb bag. I'm sure there'll be a dud or three but I saved plenty of money and I can plant or compost the rest.
I do avoid the loose greens and the more perishable things. I usually go for lemons or potatoes and generally they've been fine. They've got good prices on seasonal things like $5 carving pumpkins (basketball-ish size) at Halloween, cheap mums.. that sort of thing. The flowers look ok to me and I like to think that my departed relatives don't find them offensive.
I'd say if you're fussy skip PJ but even at that if it's convenient for you and you're making something where the final product is going to be relatively indistinguishable like fruit salad, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, etc. you could save yourself some money.
Philadelphia, PA 19176
(215) 247-0770
Penzeys Spices
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Chestnut Hill
I'd gone to Penzey's yesterday to get a few things for a recipe I wanted to make only to get home and find out I'd forgotten cloves. It was a nice day outside so I figured I'd just walk to the Acme which is much closer. Wrong! For a .9 oz jar of cloves Acme wanted $9.39 (Pathmark wants $10 something for the same product). Drove back up to Penzey's where I got a 1.2 oz jar for $3.09.
What's more, at Penzey's the tiny jars of things are generally more expensive ounce for ounce than the plastic bagged spices they offer and it was still ~1/3 the price of Acme.
Same thing happened to me this summer when I tried to buy cream of tartar at the grocery store and it was twice as expensive as Penzey's.
I don't know if all this is just due to Penzey's buying power or something dark and sinister, and I don't want to. I've learned my lesson... Penzey's it is.
1 Previous Review: Hide »
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6/3/2008 First to Review
At Penzey's you can find regular everyday spices, hard to find or recently available spices, extracts, seasoning blends, spice jars, etc. Next to the packaged spices on the shelves are jars containing the spice in question to be smelled/tasted which is great especially because there are three of four kinds of cinnamon, all manner of salts, that kind of thing.
Everything is available in multiple sizes from very small jars to bulk bags.
If you want to give spices as a gift they have prepackaged selections but also empty boxes for you to choose your own that come with bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and whole nutmegs to cushion the jars.
My favorites are the bold taco seasoning, Vietnamese Cassia and the Rogan Josh.
There are parking lots available if there's no street parking to be found and if the booth is manned you can ask for a validation sticker when you go to the register.
Philadelphia, PA 19176
(215) 592-1275
Atlantic Books
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Washington Square West
I stopped in and was looking at a book when I asked an employee if it was missing the price tag and she responded that everything was 10% off list price. I'm supposed to get excited about 10% off list price? Even the big box places which tend to have crummy prices can usually match or outdo that to say nothing of used or even new books on Amazon. A disappointment, I'll pass.
Philadelphia, PA 19118
(215) 242-0665
Shundeez Persian Restuarant
Category: Middle Eastern
Neighborhood: Chestnut Hill
Truly great food and a friendly owner, but slow service ruins it for me. Would love to see them hold on to some more attentive and personable servers. A more visible location would probably do them a world of good, it's tucked back in a little strip mall sort of thing next to the Borders and off one of the shoppers lots.
In the market across from the restaurant you can find some things for making Persian food at home that can be difficult to find other places such as barberries.
Philadelphia, PA 19128
(215) 482-5407
Dalessandro's Steaks
Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Roxborough
The cheesesteak is fantastic and they've got a fairly extensive beer selection. What I really enjoy about Dalessandros is the service. It's been the same pair of women behind the register and counter every time I've gone and they've been pleasant. Took a friend for lunch one day when it was packed and they still asked at least two or three times if we needed anything.
I don't really dig the attitude/abuse sold to tourists at some other places and appreciate Dalessandros not playing that game.
Don't know how long its going on but as of my most recent visit yesterday they're running a $7.99 cheesesteak and Stella special Monday-Thurs. Try and beat that.
Philadelphia, PA 19119
(215) 248-4365
Cresheim Cottage Cafe - CLOSED
Categories: American (New), Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: Chestnut Hill
I really wish I didn't live so far away from Mrs. Robino's. I found out about it from my dad who used to take business contacts there for lunch in the days when Mrs. Robino was still with us. It's tasty, affordable, and something about the wood paneling and drop ceiling just says relax... let us feed you something.
Most recently had the cannelloni Florentine which were nice and firm on the outside and came with just enough sauce for there to be some to clean up with bread once the cannelloni were gone. They have a seemingly endless supply of Italian bread, I'm not sure how they find room for all of it.
Modest dinner for two came to about $20. They've got some great lunch specials too but sadly I'm rarely in the area around lunchtime.
I think they accept credit/debit but only begrudgingly. They ask on the check that you pay with cash if possible.
Spinnerstown, PA 18951
(215) 536-7242
Spinnerstown Hotel
Category: American (Traditional)
It's a pretty good place and now that there's no smoking the bar side is pretty enjoyable.
Still don't stray too far from the Vermont chicken melt. Sometimes we get the pizza fries and if you ask they'll fry them a little longer so the fries don't become soggy from the sauce.
Last time I went there they had Yuengling Bock on tap and since they sell growlers (big jugs of beer) it was kind of exciting. It's only available on tap or by the keg.
1 Previous Review: Hide »
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9/24/2008
It's not amazing but I feel like I need to spring to the Spinnerstown Hotel's defense just a little bit.
While the menu is by and large predictable they usually have specials that are less meat-and-potatoes (with mixed results). Curry chicken fingers disappointed but chipotle barbeque wings were good.
My favorite thing to get here is the Vermont chicken melt. Chicken breast, Granny Smith apple, cheddar and bacon on a croissant, this has never let me down.
No chances taken on the decor on the non-smoking side, very plain and dull. I've only passed through the bar side once but it looks much more like something I could get into. Since I dine here with militant anti-smokers I've never had the pleasure of eating in the bar side but since the smoking ban has passed that should change.
Where I run into problems with booze here is the beer menu. They've got a great and wide selection of beer but twice I've tried to order beers only to find they no longer had the beer in question and hadn't updated their menu. Really a great selection but kind of annoying that it seems frequently out of date.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 922-1011
Theater of the Living Arts
Categories: Performing Arts, Cinema, Music Venues
Neighborhood: Society Hill
Unless the woman who handed me the tickets got the extra $4 I forked over I'm not sure what service was provided. Call it the "we want more money fee" or the "bullshit fee" and I'll at least appreciate the honesty.
1 Previous Review: Hide »
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8/29/2008
After reading about the TLA on here I was girding myself a little for the experience. I haven't been to many concerts because I'm kind of lazy, cheap, and don't like standing for long periods of time. So going there was more a testament to my love for Liz Phair than anything else.
I'd gone there to buy tix in person because I refuse to shell out $14 in fees (including a $5 order processing charge... for a computer to process the order) to Ticketevilmaster on a $25 ticket. Bring cash, there's a $3.75 surcharge for using credit (and debit I imagine).
Having not been to too many concerts I won't comment on the quality of the sound other than to say it didn't seem bad. Maybe a little bass heavy especially given that it was Liz Phair but I guess that's just the way it is with live acts.
Friends pens and mace were confiscated, the mace I can understand, I guess they thought he could stab someone with the pens? It couldn't have been fear of writing down the setlist because she was playing the entirety of one album.
Also.. decent bathrooms at least for the men. Important because as we all know.. you don't buy beer, you rent it.
In the end... not as bad as I thought it would be.
However, I do have to agree that this place really stings the wallet. I understand the prices of basic things like flour have been on the rise but $4.25 for a baguette seems excessive even if it does have Parmesan cheese on it. What Would The French Do? Well, first they'd probably be disgusted at the thought of a cheese adulterated baguette... but past that.. what?
Good bread, just not suited to the thrifty twenty-something's wallet. Something to look forward to.
(And as always, remember, three stars isn't a bad review.. it's A-OK!)