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!

Home-Cooked Meal Out

Schlesinger’s Deli

This Center City deli is one of the best places to go for an authentic meal. This deli’s traditional dishes including home-cooked meals, cured meats and fresh pastries that will have you coming back for more. This staple to Philly is one of my sister, Catherine and mine’s favorite restaurants to go for a good, comfort meal.

I had the chocolate chip pancakes that were very filling and comforting.It came with three big pancakes. Catherine had the potato pancakes because she said she hasn’t had them in a while. She loved the consistency of flavor in them.

What’s great about Schlesinger’s is that they have work week breakfast specials on Monday-Friday, 7-10:30 AM. They include:

     The Harvey – 2 Eggs, Home Fries, Toast & Coffee 4.50

     The Smokey – 2 Eggs with Turkey Bacon or Turkey

     Sausage, Home Fries, Toast & Coffee 5.95

     Nova, Eggs & Onions – with Home Fries, Toast or Bagel &Coffee 8.95

     Peter’s Pancakes – with Coffee 5.95

I recommend coming here for a relaxing, home-cooked meal that you can sit back and indulge before starting a long day at work!

Fall is Officially Here

Little Nonna’s

My mom, sister and I recently went to one of our favorite places to dine, Little Nonna’s to celebrate my sister, Catherine’s opening night of the opera, The Barber of Seville at The Academy of Music!

This restaurant is owned by the famous Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran who also own the restaurants and shops on 13th street, such as: Barbuzzo, Lolita, Open House and many more!

Little Nonna’s offers traditional, Italian-American cuisine located in Midtown Village. This restaurant seats 40 inside the restaurant and 40 in the outdoor garden, so reservations are hard to come by! I love the atmosphere of Little Nonna’s because it has an old charm to it that reminds me of being in my Italian grandmother’s home having one of her well-known Italian meals.

To start, we all shared the Antipasta which included: seasonal vegetables, Italian meats, fennel and chickpea salad, Italian olives and grilled bread. There was so much offered and it was only $17! It was definitely worth it.

For my entrée, I ordered the Rigatoni con Zucca which had fennel sausage and roasted butternut squash in a pumpkin-puree sauce. It was the perfect fall dish due to its comfort and seasonal flavors!

My mom got the Pan Seared Potato Gnocchi which included: wild & cultivated mushrooms, English peas, tarragon, leeks and baby tomatoes. My mom especially loved how the gnocchi were cooked, nice and browned. Catherine got the Eggplant Parmesan which was served with Japanese eggplant, mixed basil pesto, marinara and burrata cheese. She loved the presentation of the meal and loved the pesto!

If you’re looking for authentic, comforting Italian food, Little Nonna’s is the place to be! My family will definitely be back : )

Indian Cuisine

Minar Palace

Every month I meet up with my friend, Ducky to catch up on each other’s lives. Whenever we meet up, we like to go out somewhere authentic to eat and a staple to a local, Philly restaurant. This time, she picked Minar Palace, which offers traditional, Indian cuisine. I’ve never had Indian food before, but I willing to try anything!

Minar Palace is at 13^th and Walnut, which is considered the Midtown Village of Philadelphia. This restaurant offers fresh ingredients with prompt service. Ducky and I agreed to both of these traits! We thought the food tasted great and thought the staff was very friendly and helpful.

A Minar, you can order anything off the buffet line for $12.99 or pick from the menu. We both picked from the menu because we both had our eyes set on something before we arrived.

To start, Ducky and I both had Naan which is a Tandoori Bread that is made of unleavened white flour which was served nice and warm. We didn’t want to eat too much though because we wanted to accompany them with our meal.

I got the Chicken Jalfrezi which included: boneless chicken cooked in a mild curry, garnished with fried onions, green peppers and tomatoes. I got this dish because I love chicken and because the sauce wouldn’t be too spicy! The sauce was just right! The dinner was served with basmati rice which was a great combo to soak up the sauce.

Ducky got the Lamb Vindaloo which included: lamb cubes cooked with chunks of potatoes in a highly spicy curry sauce. She got this because she loves lamb, as well as potatoes. She said the curry was very spicy, but she loved the taste of it all!

Now I don’t know much of the Indian restaurants here in Philadelphia, but I do recommend going to Minar Palace if you are in search of one! The food and service is worth it!