On our first morning in Philly, we decided to try a restaurant that a coworker recommended, Continental. There are two locations in Philly, and we took a trolley tour (to get a lay of the land in the city and hear some good history) and we took most of the loop before going to the midtown location on Chestnut.
I was instantly enamoured with the decor. It was so modern yet such a throwback to the 50s era diner. We sat at the window facing the bar.
And the sculptural bubbles in the middle were awesome (Quick… Where’s Waldo on the below pic to find Mike).
We were on vacation, so we had to get some brunchy drinks. I went with the Aviation, which had Bluecoat Gin, Luxardo Maraschino Liquor, Creme de Violette, and Fresh Lemon. It was good but a little sour for my taste. Mike got the Shanghai, which came with Bacardi O, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur (our fave), Green Tea, and a Honey Sugar Rim. I LOVED this. Licked the rim clean. Mike wasn’t too much of a fan. We should have traded.
We were served a chef’s special watermelon sorbet to begin. It was nearly flavorless, but a nice touch.
We started with the french onion dumplings. These were AWESOME.
They came in a dish I usually see escargot served in. They filled dumpling wrappers with a thicker version of french onion soup and topped it with cheese. Besides being scalding hot for a LONG time, this was a creative and delicious dish. Highly recommended.
I chose the poached eggs with smoked salmon hash. It came with crispy yukon potatoes, poached eggs, and dill hollandaise.
Everything was perfectly cooked and a great combo.
Mike went with the crispy calamari salad which came with a ginger soy vinaigrette. I would have never ordered this, but it was really great. Perfectly cooked calamari and excellent dressing.
We were very pleasantly surprised by this place. It wasn’t at all what we expected, but it wound up being some of the best bumped up diner food. I wish we could have tried the philly cheesesteak eggrolls that they are famous for, however, they are not on the brunch menu. Bummer. Just means we’ll have to go back!
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
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