Dining Days of Summer

Vietnam Café

Dining Days is a great week that occurs in University City in the month of July. It offers pre-fix menus for either $15, $25 or $35. I recently went to Vietnam Café with my good friend Sarah and her friends and housemates. I've never been, but they thought it'd be a great place to go eat, especially for Dining Days and at $15 for three courses!

Vietnam Cafe is a family run restaurant that offers traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The menu is full of great options to expand your horizon of Vietnamese fare and specialty cocktails.

To start, I had the crispy vegetable spring rolls which included: mixed veggies, lettuce, pickled daikon, mint leaves served with a chili vinegar dipping sauce. The mint leaves added a nice twist to your typical spring rolls.

For my second course, I got the Grilled Chicken Vermicelli. I never had vermicelli before so I was excited to try it. Vermicelli is a signature Vietnamese dish of thin noodles and vegetables with a protein. My entrée included: marinated sliced chicken breast, lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber, vermicelli noodles, pickled daikon and crushed peanuts in a chili vinegar sauce. It was a very comforting and filling meal!

For dessert, there was a choice of that vanilla, red bean or green tea ice cream. I had vanilla but now I wish I tried green tea!

Overall Vietnamese Café was a great experience! Between the company, food and atmosphere, I would definitely return!

Best Breakfast Sandwich in the City

Cake and the Beanstalk

Who doesn't love a good breakfast sandwich? My favorite in the city is from my favorite local cafe, Cake and the Beanstalk. 

My sister, Catherine and I went because she wanted to come here one last time since she moved out of Philly for a new job. She is truly going to miss everyone at Cake and the Beanstalk! 

The reason why we love this sandwich so much is because of the roasted red pepper. It really brings a nice flavor to the meal other than your typical bacon, egg and cheese.

You can get this breakfast on either a bagel, croissant or toast. I got the croissant this time and enjoyed it very much. It was the perfect fuel to start the day! 

Thank you as always, Cake and the Beanstalk! 

Garces Trading Company

Garces Trading Company is one of Philadelphia's staple restaurants of famous chef, Jose Garces. This particular restaurant focuses on his travels throughout Western Europe such as: Italy, France and Spain exploring numerous cafés.

I recently went here for dinner with my mom, sister and our good family friend, Claudia to catch up since its been a long time. What a great place to do so over great wine and food?

To start, we ordered our wine and to share, the wild mushrooms (roasted potato crema, rosemary, crispy farro) and marinated olives (thyme, olive oil and orange). Both were a great start to the meal.

Also, what Garces Trading Company is also known for is their display of unique olive oils that you get to choose from to accompany the delicious French bread. We each brought a few to try for the table.

My mom ordered the "Tarte Flambée" pizza because she loves the pizza there. However, they changed the style of the pizza and it is no longer a flatbread, it's more of a deep dish. She loved the flavors of the gruyere  cheese paired with the pancetta. Claudia had the "Saffron Trenette" which was a meal featuring fresh seafood that went well with a glass of Chardonnay!

My sister, Catherine had the "Pappardelle with Lamb Ragú". She loved the tenderness of the lamb meat and the sunchoke purée made the dish. For my entree, I had the "Tuscan Fusilli Carbonara" which included pancetta, eggs, black pepper and pecorino. My favorite part of the dish was the running egg melting within all the flavors. 

We were too full for dessert, but overall this was great dining experience and will always recommend Garces Trading Company!

Tasting Tuesday's @ Mercato

Mercato is definitely one of those restaurants where you gather with your loved ones to celebrate a special occasion. For the past few years, my sister, Catherine and I take each other here for our birthdays to enjoy delicious food over great company. This time, we were celebrating Catherine getting a new job! Unfortunately, she will be moving out of the city. I asked her if there was one place she wanted to go to before she leaves, and Mercato is where she selected.

The reason why we enjoy this restaurant so much is because of the wonderful staff and food. Over the years, we have gotten close with the staff that they are like our second family to us. They always make our dining experience great and as if it’s our first time there each time. Also, how could you not love fresh and seasonal Italian cuisine cooked right in front of your eyes by the wonderful Executive Chef, Ryan?!

Over the course of this summer, Mercato is offering Tasting Tuesdays, where they feature and incorporate a food item into three courses and all for $33! The key ingredient this week was balsamic with your choice of entrée and dessert.

The first course was a “Chilled Jersey Tomato Soup” which had crab fritters, basil, sparrow lakes and white balsamic as a garnish.  The tomatoes were very fresh and the crab fritters reminded me of being down the shore in the summer, a true summer dish.

In between the first and second course, Catherine and I got the “Trio of Bruschetta” complimentary of the chef! Our favorite was the pickled watermelon with whipped ricotta cheese. Not your average bruschetta!

For Catherine’s entrée, she ordered the “Balsamic Bucatini with Lamb Bolognese” which included pistachio, oregano, piave cheese and manicardi 25 year old balsamic. She loved how the balsamic really brought out the flavors in the sauce. For my entrée, I had the “Corn and Portobello Mushroom Pappardelle” ricotta, rosemary  and saba aged balsamic which was the perfect summer pasta dish, light and full of flavor.

Somehow we still had room for dessert! Catherine chose the Cherry Torta and I had the Balsamic Poached Pear. Catherine loved the basil and balsamic flavors that came out and I loved the goat cheese gelato that accompanied mine. I’d say that Tasting Tuesday was a success!

Thank you as always Mercato for making our family your own and always treating us so well!

I love you very much Catherine and I am sending you love and warm wishes on this next journey in your life!