Tag Archives: poached eggs

Philly Noms: Continental

8 Apr

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. 

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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.

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And the sculptural bubbles in the middle were awesome (Quick… Where’s Waldo on the below pic to find Mike).

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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.

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We were served a chef’s special watermelon sorbet to begin.  It was nearly flavorless, but a nice touch.

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We started with the french onion dumplings.  These were AWESOME.

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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.

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I chose the poached eggs with smoked salmon hash.  It came with crispy yukon potatoes, poached eggs, and dill hollandaise.

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Everything was perfectly cooked and a great combo.

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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.

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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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IHOP

18 Oct

A trip to visit my good friend Debbie in Jersey would be incomplete without a visit to some large chain restaurant for a meal.  This trip, it was IHOP.  

I haven’t been to an IHOP in years… and what I remember liking most was their flavored syrups.  Seeing as though I was about 14… I think my tastes have changed some.  But… I was up for trying it.  I also forgot that IHOP is now more than just pancakes…

Debbie ordered the chicken fingers and fries.  They were decent for fast food.

Mike went with an omelet.  I remember there were also pancakes on the table, but it’s foggy where they came in.

I chose the 2 poached eggs + hashbrowns + bacon.  I just had 1 request: “burn the bacon.”  I like my bacon super crispy.  There is nothing groser to me than whimpy bacon.  Blech!

Luckily, we had a great waitress who recognized immediately that my bacon wasn’t crispy and sent it right back.  Bravo waitress!

I was concerned about the eggs, however.  They were pretty much sitting in water.  Now I know it’s not easy to fish out a poached egg from the pot of boiling water, but at a restaurant, I’d expect them to do a little bit of draining.  

So I just fished them out myself and set my bowl of water to the side.  They weren’t bad.  I wish they were more runny, but since it was IHOP, I was happy that they were runny at all.

And then… my bacon reappeared.  And it was crispy.  And I was happy.

For a chain, IHOP isn’t terrible.  I’d much prefer a cosy diner, but this was just fine.

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Steak Frites

15 Jun

On various days, Mike and I will walk through the city in a single direction while looking at menus until something sparks our interest.  We’ve been pretty lucky in our “stumble upons” and Steak Frites on Varick at Clarkson (West Village) was no exception.

Since the inside was mostly red, I already liked it.

We were there right around late brunch time (it could have been linner by then) but we both still went for variations on egg dishes.  My dish was unbelievably good, with the exception of the egss being overpoached (why is this so common when mine turn out perfectly almost every time? Ok… I’m not a chef in a restaurant… maybe I shouldn’t say anything).  I think it was a special, since I can’t find it on their menu, but it was a parmesan (perfectly crispy) thick piece of toast with spinach, tomatos, poached eggs, bacon, hollandaise and shaved parmesan.  The blend of flavors was impressive.

Mike went with the steak and eggs, which seemed to be quite enjoyable (though also with overpoached eggs).

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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