Blackbird Pizzeria- Seitan Chicken Wings

I love Blackbird Pizzeria (507 6th St) which is Philadelphia's first vegan pizzeria. According to their website, they have two of the top vegan pizzas in the country. I have tried their pizzas before and they were awesome. This time I ordered their Root Beer BBQ seitan chicken wings. It came with creamy cucumber sauce. And oh my, it was delicious. The wings looked like real meat. The texture of the wings were beautiful. It was firm enough and chewy enough to be considered real chicken. Also, I can tell the seitan have been fried because the outer part of the "chicken" was harder than the inside. The "chicken" was smothered in mouth watering gooey sauce. It tasted like bbq sauce but a little sweeter which made sense after all there was root beer in the mix. The cucumber sauce was light and complemented the finger food well. After trying Blackbird pizzas and wings, I am tempted to try everything on their menu. This is definitely a 5 stars for me.

Root Beer  Setian Wings

P S & Co (Pure Sweets)

As mentioned before, we occasionally have lunches from sales reps. On one lucky day, we got pasta salad and macaroons from P S & Co (Pure Sweets and Company) located on 1706 Locust Street. The restaurant is known for using fresh organic and local ingredients, clean eats, fresh smoothies, gluten free goods, and vegan options. I was excited to try the food. Not only did it look good, its display was pretty. I thought it was interesting that the foods were in metal containers (bowl and rack). Well, apparently, P S & Co uses metal bowls and picks them up later when it is presumed its clients are finished eating. I love this concept. It goes well with P S & Co mission of generating less waste. I wish more places would consider doing this. When I watched youtube videos about Korea, it appears that when you order take out, it comes in real bowls and after eating you leave the bowls outside of your door and the delivery guy eventually comes back to pick it (or knock on your door if it's not outside). I don't know how plausible it for American's restaurant to implement this idea. It would probably be too much of a hassle. Also, if cars were used for delivery, it is not really eco-friendly. Well, nonetheless I salute P S and Co for providing this catering. It appears the staff wheeled the lunch to our center on a cart. I wonder if P S and Co only uses real bowls when it caters places within a certain mile radius of their store or do this for all requested catering, no matter the location. I will have to ask their employee next time.

Cauliflower Bolognese Pasta Salad and Organic Rosewater Cardamom Macaroons

Ingredients list

The pasta was a Cauliflower Bolognese Pasta Salad that looked like spaghetti but wasn't. It was brown rice spaghetti with house-made arrabiatta sauce (see above for the ingredients). I didn't know what arraabiatta sauce was so I looked it up. It's supposedly a spicy Italian sauce consisting of tomatoes, garlic, red chili pepper, and olive oil. The sauce's taste was complex and tangy but it was not hot at all. The brown rice pasta had the right firmness. It wasn't too hard or too soft. Also, the grind up cauliflower added to the texture of the noodles. The pasta was quite enjoyable and light.

The macaroon were Organic Rosewater Cardamom Macaroons. They were somewhat crispy outside, chewy inside, and not too sweet. Although there are rosewater and cardamon in the macaroons, I didn't really taste them but then I again I don't really know what rosewater or cardamon taste like. Also, based on the ingredient list order there wasn't much rosewater and cardamon used. The macaroons, however, were rich in coconut taste. They were delicious.

I would recommend this place to my vegan friends, gluten friends, and anyone who wants to eat something light and healthy.

BubbleFish

There's a new sushi place in Chinatown called Bubblefish (909 Arch Street). Of course, I had to check it out. 

I like the ambience of the place. It could pass as a fancy cafe with its' cozy setting and numerous drink options. Yet, with the same decor, dim lighting, and decent food offerings, it can be suited for a nice lunch or a romantic dinner. Check out the picture of the restaurant below. What do you think?

Bubblefish

For a drink, I got one of the specials, Very Mango. It was basically a mango smoothie topped with chunks of mango. The name of the drink really described it. It was very rich in mango. I couldn't tell if this smooth was made from frozen mangos or fresh mangos but nonetheless it was very refreshing and delicious. 

Very Mango

For food, I got the eel over rice. So, apparently, there were two types of eel on the menu. From what the waitress explained. The difference was one was marinated and the other one was more grilled and had a salt water taste. I have had the marinated eel at other places before so to be safe I got the marinated eel. I was afraid the other eel would be too fishy for me.  The order had a great presentation. The dish came in a nice big bowl. The sushi rice was thinly packed on the bowl with a leaf underneath it and topped with the eel, sauce, sesame seeds, and some garnish (shredded imitation crabmeat, eggs, and shredded seaweed).  Although, it looked pretty I was not impressed with the taste. The eel and sauce actually tasted like the frozen marinated eel I have bought from the supermarket. In some Asian supermarkets, there are frozen marinated eels available and all you have to do is heat up the frozen food to eat it. The freshness of the eel to me was questionable. Also, I thought it needed more rice for the amount of eel and sauce they gave. However, I liked how the sesame seed complimented the rice and eel. Overall, I think I paid for the presentation more than the quality. 

Eel over Rice

Lastly, we ordered Green Tea Shaved Ice for dessert. The shaved iced come with tendered red beans and condensed milk. I like the texture. It was somewhat gooey yet you can still taste some of the thinly shaved ice. I wonder what they added to created that consistency...maybe they used cream. The red beans went well with the green tea flavor. I liked this more than the eel rice. 

Green Tea Shaved Ice with Red Beans

Overall, I like the drink the best. I am not sure if I would come back for the food, but I would definitely come back to try other drinks on the menu:)

The Quick Fixx- Gnocchi Lasagna

I went back to The Quick Fixx (1511 South Street) to try a pasta dish this time. I got the Gnocchi Lasagna veggie style. The entree came with a roll, onions, broccoli, tomato, and topped with chunks of fresh mozzarella. The gnocchi was delicious. I actually thought they were better than the gnocchi from Little Nonna's that I reviewed in an earlier post in this blog. The gnocchi were a nice bite side, chewy and crispy on one side. The sauce was flavorful, the vegetables were tendered, and the fresh mozzarella was bonus. I love fresh mozzarella. If the magical potion from the hunger game existed and I can keep eating, this would be one dish I would keep eating. I would totally recommend the Gnocchi dish. 

Veggie Gnocchi Lasagna

Home Fries with Onion, Spinach, Cheese, and Egg

Inspired by the Veggie skillet from National Mechanics. I made a veggie skillet for myself. Below is the recipe.

Home Fries with Onion, Spinach, Cheese, and Egg

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes, diced
a handful of spinach
1/4 onion, diced
1 egg
pepper to taste
salt to taste
cheddar and mozzarella cheese, optional

Instructions:
1) Heat pan over high heat for 5 minutes. Pat dry diced potatoes and add to the pan. Cook until golden brown. Occasionally, turn the potatoes. 
 2) When the potatoes are golden brown, added onions and spinach. Cook until onions and spinach are tender. Add pepper and and salt to taste.
3) Transfer potatoes, onions, and spinach to a plate.
4) Crack an egg on the pan. Without moving the egg, cook until egg whites are not translucent . There you go...You have a sunny side egg. 
5) Place the egg on top of the potatoes. Top potatoes with tiny diced cheddar and mozzarella. Serve with ketchup if desired.

Overall, I think I did a good job. The potatoes were well cooked and tendered. I really liked the spinach and onions. I also like how the egg yolk complement the potatoes. I thought the potato dish tasted better with the mozzarella cheese in it than the cheddar cheese. Also, I thought it would be better if I added sliced mushrooms.

So Crepe- Sweet Crepe

I went back to the So Crepe (1506 South Street) for a sweet crepe. I got the So Chocolate. I have to admit it was so good. The So Chocolate came with homemade dark chocolate sauce with my choice of fresh fruit and whipped cream. The fruits I chose was strawberry and banana. The ingredients seem so simple, but it was so delicious. The chocolate was sweet and rich in chocolate taste. The fruits were thinly sliced and fresh. Not to mention the display was pretty. I actually prefer this sweet crepe more than the savory crepe.

So Chocolate

Philadelphia Center City Cheesecake Factory- Eggplant Parmesan

Cheesecake Factory (1430 Walnut Street) take two. This time it was at the relatively new one in Center City Philadelphia. When you enter, the host greets you and you have to take the escalator to the second floor. The layout is similar to their other stores. 

I went with a party of nine so the wait was quite long- 45 minutes to be exact. By the time we got a table, we were starving. The food didn't take crazy long to come out, but since we were hungry, we filled ourselves with the complimentary bread and butter.

Eggplant Parmesan

I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan. The Eggplant Parmesan came with four eggplants coated with parmesan and breadcrumbs. They were topped with mozzarella cheese, fontina cheese, and marinara sauce and served with Pesto Pasta. The Eggplant Parmesan was cooked well. The eggplant was tender. It was well coated with the cheese and sauce. I enjoyed the texture and layers; however, the seasoning was a little too salty for me which actually ruin the experience for me. In regards to the pesto, the pasta was tender and pesto was good, but it was a little too greasy. Overall, I thought the dish was okay. It could have been better if some changes were made. I think chances of getting better pasta would be at a non chain restaurant.