Messy and Picky

We ended up at Ariana because we found ourselves quite hungry in Olde City on a Friday night, without reservations or boatloads of cash. After peeking into restaurant after restaurant, we glimsped some free tables at Ariana. Since neither Messy, Picky nor our dear friend LB, a restaurant aficionado, had ever had Afghani food, we […]

We have been hearing great things about Morning Glory ever since we moved to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, we are slow moving, late sleepers on weekends and everytime we got our act together enough to try to go to brunch at Morning Glory, there was always a significant wait time. Thankfully, a visit from KT promted us to arise early enough to get there at a decent brunch hour. Our wait on a Sunday at about 10.45 a.m. was, miraculously, not too bad — about 20 minutes. There were five parties ahead of our party of 5, but we must have gotten there just before the huge rush and after the early risers. We chatted for a bit under the canopy in the cement courtyard and the time went by quickly before our name was called. There were plenty of places for waiting people to sit, and there was even a basket of toys for fidgety young children…

We were so excited to learn that Tampopo opened up a second restaurant East of Broad Street, and even more excited to learn that this time it is more than just a take-out joint; it's a classy spot with table service and a menu that is somewhat more expansive than the original Tampopo's…

We've been to Jamaican Jerk Hut twice, both times for outside gatherings on beautiful days. Although the inside of the restaurant is somewhat cramped, the patio and garden are spacious and welcoming. On our first visit, we were served free chips and some kind of spicy mango salsa-esque dip…

After wandering around Olde City on Easter Sunday when most of the restaurants that were open had hefty price-tags, were were hesitant to try Kisso at first. But we were also really hungry, and Messy was craving Japanese, so we figured we'd give ourselves a treat…

We ended up at Alyan's due to lack of seating space at Maoz Vegetarian on South Street — and we're very glad we did! We dined with our two vegan friends and we're happy to report that all of our meals (three falafels and one shawarma, a lamb and turkey rotissere broil sandwich) were delicious. (Guess who had the shawarma?) The hummus and falafel sandwiches were hefty enough on their own, and they were served with mixed salads on the side. We can't imagine how big the 'platter' size, which costs $4 more, is in comparison. The schwarma was also a huge sandwich, overflowing out of the foil wrapper. It partially exploded over Picky's hand…

Messy has been to this delightful joint several times for their vegetarian burrito and Huevos a la Veracruzana (over-easy eggs with beans, sour cream, cheese, onions and poblano green peppers), and each time, she found herself full and satisfied, but not too full, the way some Mexican restuarants leave her. We've had dinner together here a few times now, and Picky has found himself similarly impressed…