Philly runs on Federal Donuts!

Federal Donuts

Need a quick, local spot when you're on the go in the morning? Federal Donuts, located in numerous spots of the city is where it's at! I went to the Center City location which is situated at 1632 Sansom Street.

Federal Donuts is known for their Korean-styled fried chicken and variety of delicious flavors of donuts. Everything is so fresh that the chicken is fried and the donuts are baked right before your eyes.

I wanted to try two donuts, but it was difficult to filter which two! I ended up going with the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Gingerbread flavored donuts with a small cup of Philly's own La Colombe coffee. What I loved about the Pumpkin Spice Latte one was it had cracked black pepper on which gave it a kick. And for the gingerbread, it simply melted in your mouth with the combination of the icing and spices!

Federal Donuts is great as well because their donuts only range from $1.25-$2 depending on which flavor. I think my total breakfast cost $6 today. Or you can get the special of fried chicken, pickles and a honey glazed donut only for $9! Since you would probably spend the same amount at Dunkin or Starbucks, why not try something different and better?

Other locations of Federal Donuts includes:

1219 S 2nd St

Opening in 2014 - University City

3428 Sansom St 

701 Fairmount Ave

The Italian Pork

Jake's Sandwich Board

If you want a real, authentic sandwich whether it's a Philly cheesesteak or pork sandwich, go to Jake's Sandwich Board on 122 S 12th St. There is no point of waiting in the long line at Dinics in the Reading Terminal with the crazy tourists.Go to Jake's to support a Philly local spot which offers great quality!

This has been my third time at Jake's now and I have gotten the same thing twice.The Italian Pork sandwich is probably the best pork sandwich I've ever tasted. The contents includes pork, broccoli rabe and shredded sharp provolone. The cheese was so fresh and melts in your mouth.

What I love the most about Jake's are the sides they have to offer. With my sandwich, I got fried pickles and they are so good! They come with this house sauce which is out of this world. I also tried the crispy onions, which are simply like onion rings. I liked the texture better of the crispy onions because it didn't fall apart like an onion ring would.

Jake's Sandwich Board offers not only pork sandwiches, but steak, chicken and brisket sandwiches as well. They have great specials during the week suck as $5 BYOP Mondays (build your own pork sandwich) or Free Fries Wednesday!

Jake's also has a 5 pound challenge! The challenge includes: 2ft cheesesteak, 4 soft pretzels, 1 box of TastyKakes, 24 mini Peanut Chews and 1 cherry soda all for $34.95! The perks include the challenge being free if consumed in less than 45 minutes and a photo is added to the wall of Fame/Shame.

So if you are looking for a fun, local spot recognized for their quality of food definitely come to Jake's to see what the fuss is all about!

Attention all Sweet Tooths

Green Eggs Cafe

Anyone and everyone who lives in Philly knows the famous, Green Eggs Café and their signature dishes such as their Red Velvet Pancakes, Crème Brule French Toast or the Kitchen Sink. This restaurant is known for their unique brunch items served all day long.

I’ve been numerous times and have never been disappointed! This time around I got the Tiramisu French Toast because I love tiramisu and French toast is a new favorite breakfast food of mine.

The Tiramisu French Toast consisted of brioche bread layered with espresso mascarpone and house made ladyfinger cookie topped with mocha maple syrup, chantilly cream, cocoa and chocolate covered espresso beans.  I didn’t even feel like I was eating brunch from how sweet and dessert like it was.

Now the portions are huge here. So if you do decide to go, make sure to bring an appetite! Also, if you have a sweet tooth, this is the place for you!

Step into Greece

Kanella

I recently found my new favorite restaurant of Philly! I’ve wanted to try this place ever since I moved into the city this past March. Located right in Washington Square, Kanella is a Greek Cypriot Kitchen that offers authentic, yet modern Greek cuisine.

When you first enter the restaurant, you almost feel as if you are stepping into the country of Greece. Between the brick walls with hanging copper pots and blue and white décor, you get the illusion that you’re in Greece looking at the beautiful ocean.

Kanella is a great place to eat and share great company with friends. It is BYOB and has unique offerings if you’re willing to try! My sister and our family friend went to catch up because we heard great reviews! For our appetizer, we split the “Dips of the Day” served with grilled pita. The “dips” were beets, eggplant, and garlic. They each had their own taste to it, but I think my favorite was the beet one because how often do you see that on the menu?

For my entrée, I got the Stuffed Pepper. This included rice, lentil, raisin, pine nut, dill and feta served with tomato coulis and Greek yogurt.  My dad always makes stuffed peppers with chopped meat, Spanish rice and tomatoes so I wanted to try something different. What made this dish was the melted feta cheese and Greek yogurt. I could really taste the Mediterranean traditions come out.

For dessert, I got a salted crème tart served with a scoop of pumpkin ice-cream and a cup of coffee which you use the French press right at your table! The crème tart melted in your mouth the coffee was definitely fresh and a great compliment to the dessert.

                

I can’t wait to go back to Kanella soon for brunch! They were voted one of Philly’s best brunches for their Cyprus Brunch!

500 Degrees

500 Degrees

I know it's been awhile, but I'm back! I've very been busy, but I'm still trying to explore this city with it's amazing great eats!

I recently discovered a great burger joint to go to. I was pretty upset that the Five Guys closed near me. I haven't been able to indulge in some comfort food for a while now.

My sister mentioned we try this place called 500 Degrees. It takes fast food on a whole other level. They offer gourmet burgers served on brioche buns. You can either get combo burgers which gets you a burger, fries and drink all for $10-12. Now that's a great deal, especially for the city. If you want to be more adventurous, you can try a "speciality burger".

I got the "Up Side" Burger which has to be the best burger I've ever had! The toppings include: arugula, sunny side up egg, potato crisp, braised bacon. It tasted like breakfast on a Sunday morning! As a side I got sweet potato fries to compliment it.

Next time you want a non-chain,fast food restaurant, go to 500 Degrees. They have unique choices and you won't be disappointed!

Farm to Table

The Farmer’s Cabinet

Yay, the best time of the year is here…Restaurant Week in Philadelphia! My first reservation was for lunch at The Farmer’s Cabinet on 11^th and Walnut Street. This restaurant has always been on my list to try and I thought it be great to go for Restaurant Week!

Restaurant Week includes participating restaurants with pre-fix, three-course meals. Dinner is $35 and lunch is $20. You get a great quantity and quality of food for what you are paying for. It’s a great deal! It goes from September 20^th-25^th and September 22^nd-27^th.

The Farmer’s Cabinet, has an old rustic, 1800s era feel to it. When you walk inside, you first notice the bar with many craft beers on tap and candles lit in Mason jars. Straight back, you see long wooden tables or barrels to sit at. It feels like you are stepping back into time!

For my first course, I got the Smoked Beet Salad which included watercress, almond vinaigrette and crumbled goat cheese. The goat cheese was so creamy, it truly made the salad. And what I loved was the beets were thinly sliced and it was a different texture than used too.

For my second course, I got the Butternut Squash Ravioli which was goat ragout, sage cream, shaved parmesan. The raviolis were on a bed of the goat ragout, which is shredded goat meat. It was a great compliment to the taste of the butternut squash. The dish was three fairly large raviolis and it was the right amount!

For dessert, I got the Goat’s Milk Ice-cream. Now the flavor changes daily. But today’s was vanilla with chopped chocolate covered pretzels! The ice-cream made with goats milk truly makes a difference. It was so smooth and creamy! Add with the crunch of the chocolate covered pretzels, this is probably the best ice-cream I’ve had in a while.

I highly recommend coming to The Farmer’s Cabinet or any of the other participating restaurants for Restaurant Week. Here is the link to the website to see a full list of the restaurants and their menus! Make your reservations fast!

http://www.centercityphila.org/life/RestaurantWeek.php

Burgers, Milkshakes and Mini-golf

Square Burger

You can never be too old for mini-golf, burgers and milkshakes! One day after work, my family came into Philly so we could take my 12 year old brother mini-golfing at Franklin Square. We had an absolute blast!

Franklin Square is one of Philly’s five original parks. It offers the Philadelphia Park Liberty Carousel, mini-golf and Philadelphia’s own, Stephen Starr’s Square Burger. First we enjoyed playing a game of mini-golf together. The course was full of Philly themed statues that were fun to step back into time!

After a fun game of mini-golf, we indulged in SquareBurger. SquareBurger is noted for best burgers and best milkshakes of the city! Their SquareBurger, which is a top choice, includes American cheese, onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup.

Their signature shake is titled the “Cake Shake” made with Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet, creamy vanilla ice cream, and a slight swirl of butterscotch. I’ve had the Cake Shake before and it is out of this world. The shake is served with a thick straw so you catch all the pieces of the krimpets. Every month, there is a Shake of the Month to bring in new flavors!

I never had food here before, so I had to try the Square Burger and it was so good! I got the Shake of the Month, which is Pumpkin Pie. It was a nice taste of fall from the nutmeg, cinnamon, caramel, vanilla custard, topped with whipped cream and graham. It was very nice to spend time with the family and enjoy the meal by the beautiful fountain of Franklin Square!

Franklin Square and SquareBurger are only open until the end of October so make sure you get there fast! Here is a list of events that are taking place:

Spooky Mini-Golf October 4- 27, 6-9 pm

Pumpkin Fest: October 5, 11am-2pm