There is a new gourmet hot dog in town and that's Destination Dog (1111-1113 Walnut Street). The establishment has a high class feel in comparison to places you expect to get hot dogs. There is a bar and an ample of table seating. They serve high quality and exotic meat and nation inspired topped hot dogs. You can customize your own hot dog or you can select from a menu.
I ordered the only vegetarian dog available on the set menu- The Veg-Dog Meal-Ionaire (Indian). For some reason, I thought the name came from the movie, Slumdog Millonaire. It was a vegetarian sausage topped with samosa filling, pickled radish, cilantro, and sriracha mayo. The sausage came on a housemade bun and housemade chips. The bun reminded me of Texan Toast. The bread was thick, fluffy, soft, and tasty. The sausage had a soft texture. I could not make out what the sausage was made of and the exact spices in it (maybe some curry spice) but it was absolutely delicious. It was so good that I had my friend try some. The topping was also exceptional. It was one of the best samosa filling I ever had. The pickled radish complemented the samosa filling greatly. Although the sausage was suppose to be topped with sriracha mayo, I thought it taste more like ketchup. The house chips were thin, fresh, and crispy. I didn't think they were too greasy. There were some burnt ones, but it was still addictive. Overall, I thought meal was filling. It was a good portion side. I really liked what I had and hope to return for more.
 |
| The Veg-Dog Meal-Ionaire |
Sky Cafe, (1122 Washington Ave, Ste B) an Indonesian restaurant located in South Philly, is one of tastiest and one of the most affordable places I ever been to. Most of their main dishes were either $7 or $8. The establishment was relatively small. I would estimate there were seating for about 20 people. My friend and I ventured to Sky Cafe for dinner. I was actually surprised that the cafe closes at 8PM. In my opinion, it was too early for a restaurant that I consider serving lunch and dinner types of food to close. Luckily, my friend and I made it before closing. The staff was very friendly and our food came out fast.
Being the greedy and fat selves we are, we ordered a rice dish to share as well as a separate rice dish for ourselves. We shared the Nasi Uduk (coconut rice with anchovy, spicy egg, shrimp cracker, and cucumber). I thought the coconut rice would be the coconut rice like the ones at Thai restaurants- rice that is fluffy and made with coconut milk. However, what I got was regular rice topped with fried shallot and surrounded by a medley of toasted coconut flakes, toasted anchovy, and toasted peanuts, shrimp cracker, cucumber, and hard boil egg halves topped with spicy hot paste sauce. The medley of coconut, anchovy, and peanuts was the star of the dish. It was delicious with it's sweetness and saltness. I would note that the medley was mostly coconut flakes and peanuts with a few anchovies. The rice is a little on the drier side. Not sure, if the rice was just a little off that day or the Indonesians prefer their rice on the drier side. The eggs were cold and topped with sauce that I considered hot, but the two cucumbers provide some cooling relief. The shrimp cracker was crispy and tasted fresh like it was homemade.
 |
| Nasi Uduk |
For my personal entree, I got Nasi Sayur (steamed rice with vegetable curry, egg, shrimp cracker, and cucumber). The rice was in the center and it was topped with a spicy sauce and diced potato and carrots. Similar to the dish above, surrounding the rice were hard boiled egg halves topped with spicy hot paste sauce, shrimp crackers, and cucumber and in addition, the vegetable curry. The curry was mostly potatoes, but I am not complaining because I love potatoes. There was a lot of flavor coming from the curry and sauce on top of the rice as well as spiciness. I thought it was a great combination and my taste palate was definitely happily aroused by the spices. Overall I enjoyed both dishes. I mostly ate the components of the dish separately, but I did eat the rice with the medley and the curry. I am not sure if that was the proper way to eat it. A part of me is telling me that I was suppose give the ingredients a good mix and eat it together and maybe topped the mixture on top of the crackers or cucumber to eat. I do plan to frequent the cafe again to try all the vegetarian and pescatarian options. Maybe next time, I will observe how others consume the rice dishes.
 |
| Nasi Sayur |
I heard about Snap Kitchen for awhile and have been seeing them pop up in different parts of the city. They advertise themselves as a to go convenient shop for healthy prepared food which I like. I am all for healthy eating. The shop I visited was on 19th and Chestnut. It had a simple and modern feel. Everything was neatly stacked in an open refrigerator and easy to locate. I decided to try the Veggie Lasagna. I loved the food label. It was clean and simple and had everything I wanted and needed to know on it. How to heat it up, what's in it, sell by date, and nutritional facts. A plus is that the container it says it is reusable and microwaveable. I am not going to lie---I definitely kept the container after devouring the food.
The Veggie Lasagna was made up canned tomato (tomato, tomato puree, basil leaf, citric acid, salt), eggplant, zucchini, reduce fat ricotta cheese (whole milk, skim milk, starter, salt), yellow squash, red bell pepper, egg, mushroom, oregano, parmesan cheese (cow's milk, rennet, salt, enzymes), tomato paste (tomato, citric acid), extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, red onion, basil, ground black pepper, garlic, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary. It feels good to be able to recognize and pronounce all the ingredients. I wonder with all the ingredients listed if the recipe can be replicated. I thought the portions of the lasagna's components were well balanced (eg. veggies, cheese, and sauce). The veggie were the right amount of tender. They were not too mushy and still had a subtle snap to them. The ricotta cheese was creamy and the melted cheese on top was chewy. The tomato sauce was flavorful and not too salty. I really enjoyed the meal. I would love to try their other vegetarian options. I am definitely going back. It's good, healthy, and convenient----can't think of anywhere else I can get that unless I prepare the foods myself. One down side is that it is a little pricey, considering that you have heat up the meal yourself.
 |
| Vegetable Lasagna |
I was craving banh mi and was excited to try Tu's Tea and Banh Mi (525 Washington Ave) especially because of the good reviews online and alluring pictures on yelp; however, I was highly disappointed. Tu cafe is located in Northeast but they recently open a location in South Philly. The establishment was very small with 3 small 2 seat tables and wall table in the back with 4 stool chairs. The menu had a long list of banh mi (including three vegetarian one) as well as an excessive offering of drinks (bubble tea and smoothies).
For my drink, I got a Mango smoothie. Prior to ordering my friend asked if they used fresh mango to which they responded yes; however, this prove to be false. I am use to fresh mango smoothies I get at the bakeries in Chinatown and the fruit cart near my work. Chinatown bakeries make their smoothies with real mango, some cream, sugar liquid, and ice while the fruit cart solely uses mango and ice. What I got at Tu was not what I was expecting. It tasted like the little asian yogurt drinks I use to drink as a kid (which is mostly made up of high fructose btw) mixed with regular yogurt, mango fruit cup (I tasted very soft bites of mango which reminded me the texture of peach fruit cups), and ice. To add to bad experience, the consistency was thick and there were chunks of ice, making it very hard to drink from the straw. My friends also experienced chunks of ice and was displeased with their drinks. One of friends commented she can barely taste the avocado in her smoothie.
 |
| Mango Smoothie |
The banh mi I got was the Lemongrass Tofu. The ingredients were fresh; however the sandwich was sub par. The bread was less tasty compared to other baguettes I had. The sweet and sour radish and carrots were more on the bland side. I would like the sweet and sour taste to be more polent. The sandwich was really dry. I know banh mi is dry in general but this is the driest I ever had. I would have like a like more mayo on it. The tofu was bland and even though it was fried it wasn't crispy. All I really tasted was the fried tofu and black pepper. The jalapeno did give a nice kick. Overall, I am not happy with the banh mi. Although there are two other veggie banh mi I could come back and try, I doubt it will be worth it going back when I don't even the cafe's main banh mi components- bread and pickled radish and carrots.
 |
| Lemongrass Banh Mi |
