Archive | April, 2011

Philly Noms- City Tavern

13 Apr

Mike’s second reservation was at City Tavern, a theme restaurant.  Typically, I would be skeptical about a restaurant themed around 18th Century America, but what is vacation if not a place to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do? 

The interior was more like a series of individual colonial rooms than what we think of as current restaurants.  I guess this was the style in the 1700s.  Quite cool.

DSCF4087

We decided to go with the beer tasting, which were all made from recipes from the Revolution. Cool!

DSCF4056

The Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce was my absolute fave.

DSCF4058

And it was served on a very nice paddle.  Good touch.

DSCF4060

The breads were all good, however, the biscuits were sweet potato and pecan (a supposedly favorite of Washington himself) and I had to ask for seconds.  They were so good.

DSCF4064

We started with the mallard duck sausages which combined pork and duck over sweet and sour cabbage.  These were some of the most flavorful sausages I have ever had.  Delish.

DSCF4068

Mike chose the colonial turkey pot pie for his entree.  The top was so perfectly fluffy and crispy.

DSCF4069

And the inside was creamy without being heavy and all the flavors were fantastic.  Impressive.

DSCF4076

I chose the Medallions of Venison with leeks, rosemary-bourbon mushroom sauce, herbed barley, and vegetable of the season (which wound up being various squashes). 

DSCF4073

The sauce on this was packed with flavor, the venison was perfectly gamey without being tough, and the barley and veggies were a great pair.  This was so hearty and homey.  I loved it.

DSCF4075

For dessert, they brought out a tray of goodies.  It was a tough choice…

DSCF4081

But we went with the raspberry linzer torte.  It was good… but not as buttery as it should have been and the raspberry was kind of bland.  Then the whipped cream on top was more like whipped butter… and it was AWFUL.  Shame to end such a good meal on such a dud note.

DSCF4083

But City Tavern had one last treat before we went.  Right outside the bathrooms and downstairs dining area was the harpist.  It was awesome.

DSCF4086

Overall, for a themed restaurant we were VERY impressed.  Even as compared to most restaurants, our meals were great.  Next time I might just skip the desserts.

Overall Nom Points: 7 out of 10

And the winner is…

11 Apr

Katy de Groot!

Congratulations Katy.  You have won $20 worth of food delivery on AllMenus.com courtesy of Signpost.com.

For more information on Signpost, see this blog post.  More deal links coming soon!

And stay tuned… another sweepstakes coming next week.

Happy Nomming!

Philly Noms- Reading Terminal Market

11 Apr

On our trolley tour of Philly, the guide mentioned that the Reading Terminal Market was a foodie paradise. So when Mike and I found ourselves close and with a few hours to spare, we ducked in and checked it out.  I took pictures of the things I liked, and while we ate nothing from the market, we sure enjoyed looking around.  I hope you enjoy this photo-only blog of the Market…

DSCF4046

DSCF4029

DSCF4030

DSCF4031

DSCF4032 - Copy (640x480)

DSCF4033

DSCF4035

DSCF4036

DSCF4037

DSCF4038

DSCF4039

DSCF4040

DSCF4042

DSCF4043

DSCF4044