Well, what I’ve seen of Philly so far is pretty cool. Granted, I may just be in the fun part of town, but it definitely has a different vibe from DC. (Yes, I have the laptop. Given that I filled 2 of my 3 memory cards on my camera today, bringing it along seems to have been a good idea.)
Amtrak was a great way to get up here - nice to sit and just watch the world go by out the window on the way instead of madly searching for the right exit.
First stop off the train was a shoe shine. My timberlands were looking a little on the sad side. $7 very well spent for some seriously shiny boots.
Dropped off the bags at the hotel and headed out.
First stop - Reading Terminal Market for a quick snack, since it’s right in between the hotel and the convention center. Oh. My. God. I’d been told this was a place I could get food, but I was NOT prepared for this. The place is huge, has EVERYTHING you could possibly want to eat. And not just prepared stuff, fresh meats, seafood, produce. Seriously, whatever you’re in the mood for, they have it. To the point where it is actually somewhat overwhelming. Me? Being the exotic one, I ended up with coffee & a croissant. Hey, it was still early. It’s highly likely I’ll be back over there for breakfast or lunch or something before I leave. Also, seeing the occasional sign in German in the place just warmed my heart.
Then off to the flower show. Wow. I always knew I was a suck gardener, but this really cemented it. I’ll be getting up the rest of the pics later this week - I really think that is the best way to explain the whole thing. You really don’t have to be a garden freak for this - it’s just tons and tons of really pretty flowers and plants and just a plain nice place to wander around. It’s mainly a competition - take your 4H botany competition at the county fair, put it on enough steriods to make the Balco case look like they were dealing tic-tacs, and you have the Philly Flower Show. Over 100 classes of entries, from regular flowers and plants (ie, small irises, hanging plants, etc.) to artistic entries. The artistic entries included miniature arrangements, jewelry made from plants & flowers, landscaping designs for things such as arbors/entryways/whole yards. The artistic entries had to stay in the theme of “Legends of Ireland” and there was just some really lovely work done by these folks. The local nurseries/landscapers/floral designers had exhibits as well, also keeping in the theme, even if there were a couple that were slightly more reminiscent of a Lucky Charms advert. Like I said, I think the pictures can do it more justice than I can.
The flower show also had some culinary demos as well. Caught two of those, and they were pretty good. I expected they’d somehow tie it back into the flower show with something along the lines of cooking w/edible flowers or something like that, but it was just “normal” stuff, but still cool.
First one was a chef from Acme Markets, which I gather is the local version of Wegman’s from the way they talked about it. I felt a little bad for him. First, the “host chef” who is introducing all the chefs doing demos this week made a really big deal abut how Acme donated the cookware and it was SO great even their chef was using it. I could see him cringe a tiny bit over this. It’s non-stick stuff, and I know how I feel about non-stick, and how a certain other chef I know feels about it, and from the look on this guys face it appeared he was trying hard to remind himself “they pay me to do this.” He also had to talk up the store through it, and you could just tell he’d really rather just be talking about the food. He did a pan seared ribeye and mashed sweet potatoes with a blood orange compound butter. He had this kickass ricer/masher he said he’d just gotten from Poland. I tried to get a closer look right after the demo, but the kids from the local culinary school that were recruited for help and cleanup were overly efficient and it had already been dumped in a bucket of suds in the back. Bummer. At one point he also said the words, “I know Rachel Ray says [do it this way], but you don’t want to do it that way – trust me on this.” I’m not sure he made it out alive after that.
Second one was the chefs from LaCroix – apparently a rather high end place here in town. Couldn’t help but notice they were sticking with their stainless steel cookware. They did a sautéed fish with an egg sauce with a pineapple garnish. I’ll have to look it up – it really looked great. The lady next to me was just horrified at the fact that they charge $52 for Sunday brunch. Hey, someone must be paying and frankly, it may very well be worth it. One of the chefs said they had something along the lines of 200 items or some equally insane number.
After going through all the exhibits and demos, it was snack time again. I swear, when I am on vacation I eat constantly. Popped into the Independence Brew Pub, right next to the hotel. Went in based on some good sounding things on the appetizer menu, only to find out half of them aren’t on the “bar menu”. (WTF, it’s all in the same room.) So I ended up with a chicken quesadilla that while it was edible, was truly nothing I’d want coming out of my kitchen. However, the Oatmeal Stout (brewed there) kicks ass.
So, if you ‘re in Philly next to the Reading Terminal Market, hit Independence Brew Pub for the beer, NOT the food. Sure, you probably shouldn’t go to a brew pub for the food in the first place, but really, it’s pub fare, it really shouldn’t be something you can screw up.
The hotel is great - Marriott does a good job of keeping my business. Dinner at Cuba Libre was AWESOME, and will get it’s own write up at some point, most likely after I get some sleep.
