After we dropped Jack off with Nicole we were on the move. We grabbed a quick shower, packed a bag and were out the door within an hour. Where were we headed? To Philadelphia! We were finally taking advantage of my birthday presents from my dad. Yes, my birthday was 11 months ago...
The first part of my gift was one night at the Alexander Inn, a bed & breakfast in Philadelphia. I did some research on the Inn and the area so I'd be prepared and all of the reviews were outstanding. The only thing that gave me slight pause it that the Inn is in what was called the "gayborhood." Now, I'm very open minded, I have gay friends, gay relatives so no sweat and while Joe is also pretty open minded he's a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. Does anyone else notice that? It seems to me that our heterosexual guy friends tend to be a little more stand offish about homosexuality then the girls. Anyway, just something to keep in mind as our story progresses.
The room was small but nice with modern decor and everything was clean. Can't really ask for more then that.
Our dinner reservation was for 5:45 so we didn't have a lot of time to dilly dally in the room. We quickly changed for dinner and headed out for the 12 minute (per mapquest) walk through the city. There was a cool old telephone operator machine in the lobby by the elevator and Joe made sure to connect a few calls while we waited.
The second part of my gift was a gift card for dinner at Le Bec-Fin. It's a fancy shamancy restaurant in the heart of the city. I can't tell you how many people assumed we were getting engaged when they heard about our plans for dinner there. Of course, we did not, you all would definitely know by now, not to mention all this pomp and circumstance isn't really Joe's style. Anyway, we wandered up to the entrance just a few minutes before our reservation.
They offer two options for dinner on the weekends. One is "Seven Course $125, Les Entrées, Poissons, Intermezzo, Viandes, Chariot de Fromage, Sorbet, Dessert Car." The other is "Grande Dégustation $185. Wine Flight. $95. Of our multiple offerings, the “Grande Degustation” menu brings forth the true peak of our Chefs’ creativity. A spectacular selection of demi tasting courses created upon your order, and exclusively for your palate. This is undoubtedly the ultimate adventure at Le Bec-Fin." We obviously went with the cheaper seven course option.
Unfortunately I don't remember what this was...
Roasted Sweetbreads and Warm Shrimp, Sweet Potato, Burnt Orange Vinaigrette, Madeira Jus.
Arctic Char, Artichokes with White Miso, Pomelo, Curried Mustard Seed, Vermouth Cream.
Mushroom Cappuccino, wild mushroom velouté, steamed milk and white pepper.
Breast of Organic Chicken, Cardamom Scented Swiss Chard, Bluefoot Chanterelles Natural Ju.
And then came the dessert cart. Wow!
I chose the key lime pie, chocolate mousse cake and cheesecake.
Everything was really tasty and the smaller potions were so nice because I wasn't stuffed when we left. It was definitely an experience! I'm pretty sure we won't be back for a long time though, it's not every day you spend $380 on a meal!
We stopped at Starbucks on the walk back and grabbed a cup of coffee. We weren't sure what to do next, it's not often we have a seven course dinner and are finished before 9pm. We hung around the lobby of the Inn for a little while, drinking our coffee, listening to some of the other patrons talk about their plans for the next day, most of them were in town for the flower show.
After a little while we decided to head back out and get a drink at a bar nearby. We wandered into a place right across the street from the hotel but it was packed and there weren't any seats open so we continued on. I didn't want to get too far from the hotel because I had really beat up my feet tromping all over the city in heels so we were trying to stay close. Here's where that part about the "gayborhood" comes in. It was obvious that there were a lot of gay bars by the posters and things outside so we passed them by. Eventually we came to a little place off an alley that looked like the places we frequent at home so we went in and ordered a drink. After a few minutes in became obvious this was a gay bar as well, lol, when I check in Foursquare even congratulated me on my first gay bar! We hung out and talked to the bartender for a half hour or so while I drank the largest glass of wine I've ever gotten in a bar. By this point we were tired after our LONG day so we went back to the hotel and played Family Feud on the iPad. It was a really fun evening and now we've got plenty of stories to tell!
1. 10,000 steps for at least 20 days. All that walking and the home show and around the city paid off, 11986, 2 total.
2. Exercise at least 20 times. Nope, I didn't have time for a formal workout, 1 total.
3. Eat out less then 20 times. 2 meals out, 2 total.
4. Put laundry away as soon as I fold it. No time for laundry either.
5. Book at least 4 Thirty-One parties for April. Nothing booked yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment