Audrey "Raison d'Etre" J.'s Profile

A "Culture + Cuisine" dinner from International House of Philadelphia took us down in South Philly (where I had no idea there was an Asian neighborhood) to the newly opened Kavei Express.

I never had Cambodian food before and I was very curious to discover its flavors. Not disappointed: the fried quail was delish as well as the beef salad. Thumbs up for the whole fish with a ginger crust and I'm still curious about what was in that soup that made it taste so strange but so good. On the less favorite list: the bitter seafood salad and the spread.

Of course, all those have names that I cannot remember but if you ask the very friendly staff, I'm sure they'll know what you're talking about.

I always loved that place. The hipster atmosphere, the decor, the food, the outdoor seating, the cheap margaritas... Great hangout for casual dining and drinks with friends.

As for last night's dinner: I ordered the mahi-mahi tacos that were good but a little on the dry side. They have my vote for not breading-frying the fish but a little something is lacking here as far as garnish.

I'm not the kind of person to give only one star easily. I'm usually forgiving and a pretty easy customer... But yesterday's experience at Manakeesh Cafe was totally surreal.
The star goes to the food, because it looked good, smells good and from the half baklava I stole from my friend, tastes good. The thing is, I could not try the food for myself...
My (male) friend was in line in front of me. He ordered, got his treats and paid. I was the last customer in the line and the man behind the counter disappeared in the kitchen. I waited. He came back out, made eye contact with me, and turned back to the kitchen. I waited again. "They must be busy" I thought, giving them the benefit of the doubt. He came back out again, talked to some people and walked back in the kitchen... At this point, it was kind of obvious he had no intention of serving me. I decided not to make a fuss and just leave.
I'm a pretty plain Jane, generally polite, and I was dressed more than appropriately... What was wrong with me that I couldn't get served in that bakery, I don't know.
Not a good first impression... Thankfully, I'm not one to stick to first impressions, especially when it's about service, so I might give them another shot someday.

The Philadelphia Magic Gardens have always been one of my favorite place to take out-of-town visitors and let them wander, in awe, in the labyrinth of mosaics, broken glass and other bicycle wheels. I always said I would like to have my wedding reception there, one day. It's such a whimsical place.

Yesterday, for the first time, I took the walking tour of the neighborhood and discovered even more of Izaiah Zagar's inspired work. Walking for one mosaic mural to another, the tour guide brushed a very endearing portrait of the artist, with his moments of genius and his moments of eccentricity. It was a very well put together trip into the artist's life and work, and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and discover some of the hidden wonders of my own backyard.

I had such a good memory of that place... and yes, I'm giving it 2-stars for the outdoor patio and the band (although they're charging $3.00/head for "entertainment") and the general fun atmosphere...

But the rest... Seriously? We had a reservation for 10 people and the place was decently busy, but not to a craze... I've never experienced anything like that... We ordered a bunch a of appetizers to share, some bread and entrees for each one of us.

Some appetizers came first (about an hour or so later) as well as 2 of the entrees, then (about another 1/2 hour later, when the first 2 people had finished their entrees) came a few more appetizers, and a few more entrees (but not all of them)... about over 2-hours into the meal, we decided to cancel the missing entrees... and that's when they brought the bread! Oh, and did I mention that we had to fight the check for items that were charged and never brought to the table...

The waitress was nice, but totally clueless and ended-up dropping some jerk sauce all over my friend, with barely an apology.
As for the food... It was merely ok. Nothing to rave about.

One of the worst restaurant experience ever... And it's such a shame, because with a little bit of common sense, and restaurant management skills, this place could be a jewel.

I hadn't been to Sabrina's in a couple years. I remembered it as this cute little cafe with lovely interior and delicious brunch food. Which it still has... However, is it worth an over an hour wait? Not sure.

When we put our names on the list, they said 20-40 minutes wait. Ok. Doable. Plus they have a nice waiting room with coffee (which, seriously, should be complimentary, but no). 40 minutes later, I ask how far we were down the list, and they answered another 10-15 minutes... 15-minutes later, I asked again and still there was another 10-15 minutes wait. In the end, we waited for a good hour and 10 minutes; which I wouldn't mind, had I known from the beginning.

The food was good. Not amazing. Not delicious. Just good. The pancakes were on the dry side and all three other dishes spicier than expected. Portions are huge, but really I'd rather have a smaller portion of really delicious food.

Not sure I'll go back anytime soon. There are other brunch places in this town that are higher on my list.

I think Bodhi Coffee is becoming my favorite office-out-of-the-office... The staff is extremely friendly, making it a perfect place to hang out with my laptop and still feel social.
The coffee, if slightly expensive, is high quality and will give you the kick you need to go on with your day. My personal favorite: Iced Mocha... not overly sweet like you would find in many places; perfect balance of coffee & cocoa. Not to mention the delicious treats on the counter that I'm, desperately and unsuccessfully, trying to stay away from...

I've never been a big fan of Indian food... but after a few visits to Cafe Spice, I'm starting to revise my judgement. Kudos to the Ragada Patties that make my mouth water just thinking of them, and the amazing Coconut Mojito (which I forgot the name of).

Overall, excellent service, flavorful food & drinks and affordable price. Yay! I'm a fan.

What a surprise to discover this movie theater, 5 years after moving in Philadelphia... Shame on me. To see Hollywood releases it's now my destination of choice. Sitting is awesome, screen and sound quality totally acceptable, and price is similar to what you'd pay on Delaware Avenue for the worst movie experience ever.
I'm digging the Bridge!

First time I went to Cactus was on their opening night. No remarkable memory of that evening but I'm all for not judging a restaurant on their opening night.
I was looking for a decent and inexpensive place to grab lunch with a friend, and Manayunk area is not easy: you either have sandwich shops or fine dining... Cactus turned out to be a good balance. The food was almost better than I expected and the service very nice... I ordered the Fajita salad (fresh and tasty) and my friend had the pulled pork which he was raving about. Don't expect anything but a decent casual Tex-Mex, and you won't be disappointed.