So many restarants, so little time, money, and room for expansion in my waistline. Since I’ve already covered the NECC happenings for the day, I’ll just hit the highlights – the food.
Lunch – the spicy aromas from Reading Terminal Market once again drew me in. Today I ate at Profi’s Creperie, which was right next door to Nanee’s from yesterday. I ordered a chicken tomato pesto crepe with mushrooms and mozzarella. I watched as the chef spread a thin layer of dough onto a circular heating surface, making it thinner and thinner with each pass. This was flipped, then filled with the savory fillings and folded roughly into a triangular shape. To say it was incredible hardly does it justice. This was possibly one of the most economical meals I’ve had here, and it certainly one of the best.
Dinner – several places on Walnut tempted me, such as a Belgian Bistro and an Afghani place, but I decided on La Vez, which I had seenearlier. When I had passed by earlier, I had seen some amazing dishes being served. El Vez seems to be very trendy for this area, and is THE place to be seen. The bar was crowded with the twenty-something scene, and I felt a bit out of place by myself at a table. Oh well, by this time I’ve relagated myself to the uncool.
The menu is Mexican Fusion, which basically means expensive. I ordered a margarita, then Divers Scallops with Crab Cake Crust. The drink was potent – consisting of tequila with a hint of sour stuff. The entre’ was architectural cuisine at its worst. Four large scallops were placed on some sort of pastry filled with black beans and something else. This was topped with shredded cabbage and onion. The flavors were wonderful, but the cost seemed to be inversely proportioned to the size of the serving. I left seeking quieter climes.
Dessert – After a brief recovery in the room from the tequila, i was still hungry, and wanted dessert. I made it back to Walnut, and wandered into a place called Cosi. This is a local chain, and I’ve seen other locations around town. unbeknownst to me, this location happened to be a big gay hangout. Willie and Herb, and older couple sitting just to my left, struck up a conversation, one, because they were fascinated with my typing on my Palm Pilot, and two, I guess because the peach-colored shirt looks pink in the dim light. They were nice enough, but leered at any attractive man that passed by. It was a bit weird. The waiter was clearly gay, and there were at least two other gay couples in the place.
There were enough heteros that I didn’t feel completely creeped out, so I went ahead and ordered dessert. A monstrous apple crisp with ice cream arrived, with a matching bathtub of coffee I typed, chatted, and watched the traffic on Walnut for at least an hour and a half.