My Philadelphia Story….

is based on training (an activity that I heart) and eating (definitely another activity that I heart).  So it’s got nothing to do with the Academy award nominated “The Philadelphia Story” except for well, being in…Philadelphia 🙂

Departure time was 5:30am on a Saturday morning!!

We started our road trip with an impromptu playlist in the rental car and with the help of Yelp we were able to locate Bonte Wafflerie to eat breakfast once we got situated.  Hello, strawberry waffle 🙂

Philadelphia Breakfast – Strawberry Waffle – $2.25

This was certainly not the kind of waffle that I’m used to eating!  The strawberry was stuffed INSIDE and there was no syrup.  The exterior of the waffle had a little more sugar to it so when it cooked in the iron, the sugar crystallized and it took on a more caramelized flavor.  The batter was also a different consistency so it was more dense vs fluffy.  An interesting take on your traditional American styles.

Bonte Wafflerie & Cafe
130 S 17th St.
Philadelphia, PA

My traveling companions had recently watched the documentary, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”.  It’s the story of 85 year old Jiro Ono, considered to be the greatest sushi chef in the world.  Not just a city, a province/state, a country but the whole freaking WORLD.  That’s saying somethin’!

The visuals of all that sushi consumption makes you want to eat sushi IMMEDIATELY and if you can’t, you want to eat sushi as soon as you can.  That being said, we decided to succumb to sushi’s siren call and with the help of opentable and Yelp, secured a 1,000 point reservation at Zama.

The decor of the restaurant was minimal while setting a modern tone.  Light colored wood and an large illuminated fish were the key items that stood out.

We decided to get an array of dishes so that we could share.  I can’t say, “no” to short ribs so we chose the  Kirin Ichiban braised short ribs w crispy noodles as well as pan fried pork dumplings.

As for the sushi, we chose a crunchy yellowtail roll and Chef’s choice for the 16 piece sashimi.  Everything was delicious and satisfying.

Zama Restaurant
128 S 19th St.
Philadelphia, PA

One of my all time favorite sushi experiences was in South Beach Miami a million years ago before we had twitter, Facebook, barely email….so I can’t even remember the name of the restaurant!  It was in the Lincoln Road Mall area of shops and restaurants, near the Sony building.  It was a group of 4 and we were seated outside eating this MASSIVE sushi boat.  There was so much sushi and sashimi and we were so done but we couldn’t stop eating it because the fish was so fresh.  I remember tasting it and thinking that I was eating the ocean.  Every bite made me feel like I was sitting on the beach instead of a concrete jungle.  That’s how I envision eating sushi every time.  So fresh that you’re transported to the sea.

Next time I journey to Philadelphia, anyone have any recommendations?

Cheers!

MXM