Weekend Wrap Up

I spent the weekend in Philadelphia visiting a friend for his 24th birthday so I missed out on any eating/cooking that might have happened in New York. As I reflect on a weekend that by nature wasn’t very food-focused, I can’t help but think about how food is one of the few things in this world that affects absolutely everyone. Even though the sole purpose of the weekend was not to eat or scrutinize food, the majority of our social interactions occurred in restaurants, or in diners or even in psychedelic diners (more on this later). I went into the weekend thinking that I wasn’t really going to think about eating, but in the end, I couldn’t help but analyze the atmosphere and the food of every place that our group (always at least six) ate in. Because we have to eat every day in order to survive, I find myself always thinking about food. I am probably an extreme case, but, to a degree, everyone thinks about food at least several times over the course of a day. I believe food is important because it provides us not only with nourishment, but with tastes and smells that become engrained in our memory and remind us of time spent with friends, happy times, sad times, and times when we simply ate something that was very good.

Now for a couple of notes on food in Philly

We ate what most of our party would describe as a fairly poor tasting dinner at a place called Astral Plane on Saturday night. The menu was fairly random and had its food placed in categories labeled ‘earth,’ ‘fire,’ ‘water’ and ‘air’. Unfortunately the ‘heart’ section was left out. My friends pointed out that the furniture looked like it had been brought in off the street and one member of our party standing no taller than five feet five inches managed to bump her head on the low hanging chandelier next to our table. After we noticed a middle aged couple fondling each other in the corner, we decided that the restaurant could best be described as an over-the-hill-hippie make out spot. Not the type of restaurant I would ever be able to find in New York.


The other unique to Philly dining experience was Sunday brunch at Continental. The restaurant, which becomes a bar at night, had a Jetsons meets Pop Up Video meets Disneyland meets Swingers Club feel—if that type of place were run by hipsters. The upstairs area had sets of swinging basket seats and an area in which sets of psychedelic ponies (presumably for riding?) sat under a ceiling made of shag carpeting. However, the greatest/strangest design feature in this ‘diner’ was definitely the two way mirrors in the bathrooms. Patrons waiting to use the toilet are able to view the entire men’s room (god forbid someone should use the stall and not close the door) and the sinks in the women’s room. As we were lingering, waiting for my friend’s girlfriend, (and not glaring into the bathrooms through the mirror) a woman we didn’t know walked downstairs. We instantly had to leave so we didn’t have to explain that we were not trying to peek inside the ladies room. Despite the zany design, the brunch at Continental was actually really good. We were given a frozen pre-brunch aperitif and our waitress was even able to make an impromptu egg cream. They also had one of the best side dishes I have ever seen…Two slices of grilled bread slathered in Nutella.

An interview with Ilan from top chef. I keep on wanting him to have a personality, but I can never talk myself into finding him interesting.

A weekly column in New York Magazine about the steps leading to the opening of Sam Mason’s new restaurant, Tailor. To fully appreciate the article, you need to go to the archives and start from the beginning.

For those who love dessert…