clam crab cockle cowrie

that trout with brown butter and capers is fantastically good. before i ate fish (yes, yes absolutely impossible to be vegetarian at a french restaurant) they made me a plate with most of the side dishes. so beautifully arranged: the smoothest potato puree, that whole head of garlic topped with some sort of stuffing i forget, a little bundle of cabbage hiding sauteed mushroom duxelles inside, all sorts of other treasures.

haha i just made this thread last week. i never would have expected, but what i've craved most are vietanamese hoagies from 8th and christian. it is totally my default breakfast/lunch so i guess it is comforting or something. but i just miss ninth street in general.

i have a dismal sense of direction, so this may not be close, but: simon pearce on the brandywine (outside of west chester, i think). i've not been, but my parents have and thought it lovely. i believe they have a website.

sorry for beating penang into the ground, but... i go just to get penang poh piah. it is maybe my favorite thing ever. thin spongy crepe-like sheets wrapped around shredded jicama, lettuce, fried tofu strips and fried egg, topped with chili sauce and crispy shallots. two rolls, cut into slices. so, so good.

yeah the vietnamese window by anderson/gladfelter is kind of suspect with some of the dishes, but i am partial to the rice vermicelli with lemongrass tofu. massive and full of fresh herbs and cucumbers and lettuce.

"I believe he's closer to 20th & Market than JFK (unless he's moved in the last six months, it is a cart)." yeah, thankfully i haven't been stuck working as an office temp for a couple years so now i avoid anything just north of rittenhouse like the plague. those sandwiches were bright spots in long days helping international petro-chemical companies avoid paying taxes. not naming names.

"grilled cheese with havarti and apples from more than just ice cream." i have never had this there. maybe when i get home. i never really make it past the apple pie. which is the size and shape of a roast turkey. 17. whatever the scrambled egg dish with tomatillo salsa, refried beans and corn tortillas at taqueria veracruzana is called.

when i was at temple, i imagined that penn was the promised land of food trucks, but now that i am at penn for law school i find them pretty dismal. 1. the korean/japanese truck outside the temple student center. honestly this is worth going up there for; i always try to coerce friends to bring me back my old favorite dishes. the bi bim bap is good; the soon doo boo is amazing - a pint of lethally red broth filled with soft tofu, a couple slices of zucchini, a couple tiny prawns and sesame seeds with a pint of white rice; they have perfect steamed vegetable dumplings, which you can also get in soup for only a dollar fifty. also this ginger tea that will set your mouth aflame. 2. the falafel place at 20th (?) and jfk. the one that takes forever but has incredible salads that are different every day and hanging pots of basil that they guy snips leaves off of to put in your sandwich.

16. any one of nez's fish specials at royal tavern. but especially the one halibut with almonds and spring vegetables. oh and obviously anyone and everyone is free to contribute if they'd like; the subject heading was not really meant to be exclusionary.

1. vietnamese hoagies (vegetarian) from eighth and christian. 2. oh lord capogiro gelato. 3. sarcones. 4. grilled corn on the cob at el vez. 5. marra's pizza. or making it with dough from lorenzo's at ninth and south. or drunken slices at lorenzo's on south. 6. dibruno's. the boys at dibruno's. 7. maoz. just eggplant on pita then obscenely stuffed with red cabbage carrots cucumbers tomatoes yoghurt hot pepper cauliflower. 8. vegetarian summer rolls at nam phuong. 9. penang poh piah at, um, penang. 10. midnight soft pretzels on washington. 11. miel croissants. 12. hot bagels' bagels. everything. plus an israeli newspaper. 13. red mussels at valanni. 14. getting really awful bagels made perfectly by the perfectly sweet boys at gleaner's. 15. god i even miss egg salad sandwiches and french fries from little pete's. and i've been through that kitchen to the bathroom. um, thanks. this thread will probably be endlessly added to before i make it back from texas.

i wish i was that cool. but i said that when i first saw carmen's business card as well. another option to circumvent the no-reservations issue: when i have gone to melograno, i have put in our name, given our cellphone number, and walked one block or so to doobies where everyone is very nice and drinks can be had while waiting for the call that a table is ready.