Last Saturday I took a day trip to Philadephia, the City of Brotherly Love with some of fams. It takes, give or take which route you take 1.5 hours; we left at 10AM. Thanks to my iPhone who likes to have a mind of its own sometimes decided to recalculate the directions to Independence Mall in Philly to the one in Delaware. We ended up arriving there by 12ish PM. By the time we got out of the truck, we were all starving!! My sister had looked up the restaurant Jones in the Old City for their popular Boozy Brunch.
Definition: boozy brunch
Noun ( 'bōōzē bren(t)SH )
On the weekends, a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch accompanied with endless amounts of alcoholic drinks such as Mimosas, Bloody Mary's, and Bellini's.
On Saturdays and Sundays we like to go get boozy brunch.
Unfortunately as we arrived we weren't the only ones that had the same intent to get a bit tipsy before gallivanting. The wait was atleast 1 hour long and we were not going to sacrifice our time and grumbling stomached for 1 hour. As we walked around the Independence Mall, we approached the Red Owl Tavern, an adjoint restaurant at the Hotel Monaco. The hostess told us it was a 30 minute wait, which wasn't as bad as the other restaurant, but it ended up being a 5 minute wait. We were seated comfortably underneath the spectacular view of the ceiling that resembled a barn. The restaurant gave a comforting country vibe that I appreciate when I eat out; I like to be comfortable and not have to worry about having my conversation disturb the next table's silence.
The menu consisted of various beers (local, IPAs, drafts), cocktails and freshly made juices, but I didn't find anything to catch my tastebuds until the waitress that mentioned that they offered a Bellini Bar consisting of a bottle of champagne with an assortment of fresh fruit and juices. I preferred the strawberry purée with the black raspberries. YUMYUM they also offered peach purée, OJ, pieces of strawberries, oranges.
The poached eggs were cooked to perfection and the Hollandaise sauce wasn't overpowering like other that I've tried. The others had the French Toast (melt in your mouth sweetness), 3 Meat Hash (the chorizo was to die for), Huevos Rancheros (amazeballs) and the Bucatini with the homemade bolognese (extra noodles please)!! By the end of it, our stomached were pleased, but needed to walk out the ITIS.
Helpful hint for traveling around in Philly to see the major tourist spots is to purchase a Phlash all-day pass from the Visitor Center at Independence Mall. It is $5 all day and $2 per ride. The bus service isn't offered during the winter. The bus takes you from places between Penn's Landing to Fairmount Park. Below is the map of the Phlash bus route; depending which stop you are at, the last pick up is before 5:30PM. If you want to sightsee, earlier the better! 
My brother got donuts from Beiler's which are the perfect balance between filling, dough and Amish culture. My favorites were the lemon and strawberry filled. 
But you couldn't leave Philly without trying a Philly cheesesteak. My sister's boyfriend and Bubs have never tried an authentic Philly cheesesteak and we took them to the best place that we know: Pat's Steaks in South Philly. Right across the street is Geno's, the rival. The famousAfter Red Owl, we took the Phlash to JFK Plaza, also known as the Love Park. When I first came to Philly a couple of years ago, I had huge expectation that the Love sign was going to be HUGE, but it wasn't. WOMPWOMP. So when you visit don't be disappointed because Ms Gulaay already told you what to expect LOL. At the love park they are setting up holidays stands that you can also see in Franklin Square.
We took the brisk, cold walk towards the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul. Usually you're allowed to walk around inside, but there was a wedding going on. oops! On the side of the Basilica there was a hut. At first it looks like a little hut made from strips of ribbons, but when you look at the strips, they were prays.
Across the street was literally a vintage side walk sale. All things vintage. I found a bucket full of rolling pins, a few good looking cast iron pans and silver plates from Colombia.
Honestly for the rolling pins, $45 is not worth it.
We decided to take the Phlash bus to Eastern State Penitentiary, which is just on the outskirts of Fairmount area. If you are creeped out by prisons, maybe this isn't the place to go. The history of the penitentiary is very informative, but the building is eerie and exciting. With some of the cells, you can see art exhibitions done to reflect the emotions of the place. This is place is where the famous Mobster Al Capone resided for the maximum one year sentence for bootlegging. Cmon one year!! They gave him too much luxuries for that year too. For all the thrill seekers out there, come during Halloween. I heard the scare level is intense.
By the time we were out of the Penitentiary, it was 5:15ish PM. I was given the choice between the Rocky Steps or Reading Terminal Market. It was getting dark and wasn't even worth running up the steps during that time so I chose Reading Terminal. Mind you, I have been waiting all day to go here to just try the famous Snapping Turtle Soup and scrapple. The market place closes at 6PM. So by the time we made it there like 15 minutes before closing, shops were already packing up. WOMPWOMP. Although I didn't try the soup or the scrapple, I had a cup of the famous Basset's Ice cream!! Me and Bubs were the crazy ones to eat ice cream in the already 40°F weather. I tried the Guatamalan Ripple which consisted of Guatamalan coffee ice cream with mocha frudge ripples and mini coffee-filled chocolates and the Bubs had the regular Pistachio LOL.
Cheese steak was created when Pat didn't feel like eating a hotdog and wanted to try something new. So he went to the local meat shop and asked for thin slices of beef and BOOM here we are. Comparing Geno's and Pat's, the atmosphere is different. Geno's is fancy-mancy with its neon lights while Pat is plain a simple. I think you know which I prefer. Geno's steaks aren't cut while Pat's cut them up. The only similarity of these two places is how you have to order. You must know how to order a sandwich or you have to go to the back of the line until you know. You mention what kind of steak, what kind of cheese and WIT/ WITOUT onions.
So if I want a mushroom cheesesteak with cheese whiz and onions, I would say:
Mushroom cheese steak whiz wit
Simple and down to business. Be sure to have extra napkins while eating!!
Hope you enjoyed my trip to Philly; share with me your experience! And check out the Gallery for more pictures from my Philly trip.
BXO
Jackie
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