The Franklin Fountain 17.8.18

The Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St, Philadelphia PA

A charming, old-fashioned ice cream parlor serving things like egg creams, floats, and of course lots of ice cream flavours.

Ice cream cups are served in little chinese take out containers.

Shane confectionery is the candy maker next door, where the Franklin Fountain gets it's candy additions from.

Here's a cherry bomb float, made with cherry soda and chocolate ice cream.

The Waterfront in Philly 17.8.18

Here is a drink from Spruce Street Harbor Park in Philadelphia.  A Margarita with watermelon add in that can be enjoyed anywhere in the park.

The Friendly Toast 13.8.18

the Friendly Toast, 35 Stanhope Street, Back Bay MA

Sunday at 1pm I would expect a crowded restaurant and a long wait, but not at 11am on Monday.  But alas, there was a 30 minute table wait at 11am on a Monday.  Lucky for me I am not averse to eating at the bar, so I was seated immediately.

They have Gluten free pancakes.  I got the banana.  It was so amazing I forgot to take a picture until I was half way through.

Luke's Lobster 12.8.18

Luke's Lobster Back Bay, 75 Exeter St Boston MA, is charming and clean and will satisfy your lobster cravings! 

They describe the style of their lobster roll as "1/4 lb chilled, wild-caught lobster in a split top bun with melted lemon butter, mayo, and our secret seasoning." I'm a bit of a purist with my lobster rolls, so I found the seasoning a bit too distracting.  For me, it's worth it to get the Legal Sea Foods version (warm with butter), which is more expensive but worth it.

Fairmont Copley Plaza 11.8.18

The OAK Long Bar + Kitchen, 138 St. James Avenue Boston MA, has a beautiful coppertop bar lined with leather bar stools. 

this is the Hennessy Sidecar, which is poured as a 6 oz drink, so it's like getting 2 drinks in 1! And both of them were delicious! C'est délicieux !

Snoopy Around the World 9.8.18

From the book, Charles M. Schultz, 40 Years Life and Art, by G Trimboli.

Salmon Salad au français 5.8.18

Enlightened Ice Cream 27.7.18

I used to eat ice cream every day as a kid, so I can't break the habit of my ice cream cravings.  I constantly look for low sugar alternatives at the grocery store.  This one you can find at Whole Foods.  It was okay, it only slightly felt like it was irritating my throat.  (I noticed some of the artificial sweeteners do this to me.)  I don't think I'll get it again, unless it's an emergency....which might be tomorrow. 

The best thing was that there was someone stocking the freezer case while I was staring at all the ice cream pints, and I told him I was looking for low sugar one.  He pointed this out to me and gave it to me for free, as part of their "Try this, it's on us" program.

Thrive Cafe 25.7.18

Thrive Cafe, 169 Mass Ave, in East Arlington has terrific smoothies.  I drank the smoothie too fast to take a picture.  I got "The Patriot" (strawberry, blueberry, banana, and coconut milk), and it was delicious.  C'était délicieux !  but I also tried some of their snacks.  These are rolled balls: on the right is chocolate with coconut and on the left is oats and raisins.   (I think one is sweetened with prunes and the other is sweetened with dates, but I could be wrong.)  Cookie Time bakery had a similar product, but I wasn't wowed by either.

They were however super fresh, and of course the ingredient list shows they are incredibly healthy.  And I was greeted with excellent customer service, because the person offered to roll me a fresh oat ball.  The one in the back is the pre-rolled one.

Store bought 24.7.18

Sometimes what perks up a lazy diner night is making it look more fancy than it is.  Here's some potato leek soup I bought at Whole foods, put in my panda bowl with some torn parsley.  An accompanying salad with honey mustard dressing from Wilson Farms.

Wedding Cake 21.7.18

What's more fun than a cake covered in rainbow sprinkles!

Sushi Love Boats 20.7.18

When else would you ever have such a large group together for Sushi Love Boats then at a pre-wedding party!?  These are from Bamboo Fine Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar in Westford MA. (1 Lan Dr)

We ordered two!

Potato Cake 17.7.18

There are a lot of different techniques for potato cake, or potato galette.  This one cuts 1/4 inch slices (which is thicker than 1/8 in which I've seen in other recipes), and you saute the potatoes freely first.

Crispy Potato Cake with Garlic and Parsley, recipe from Bon Apetit, but the link doesn't work for me anymore.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for pan
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, sliced ¼” thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons duck fat or unsalted butter
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Generously butter cake pan; set aside.
Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until
golden brown, about 4 minutes; transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
Add remaining 2 Tbsp. butter to skillet. Once butter is melted, add potatoes; season with salt
and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until beginning to soften, 6–8 minutes. Add duck
fat and continue to cook potatoes, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown in
spots, 15–20 minutes longer.
Transfer potatoes to prepared cake pan, pressing down firmly and evenly (this will help
potatoes hold together when you turn the potato cake out). Bake potatoes until crisp on top,
12–15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then invert potato cake onto a plate, season with salt and
pepper, and top with parsley and reserved garlic.

I added in the garlic late, because I don't mind the raw garlic taste.  I used butter instead of duck fat.  I ended up pressing the potatoes into the skillet I cooked them in.  Turning them out wasn't too bad, but the cake was not firm.