Phily....What a Dump!

Seriously what a dirty, disgusting city. Even NYC has trees and grass for crying out loud!

Our trip up consisted of rain, rain, road spray, drivers without their headlights on, and more rain. Oh what fun and joy! We finally made it into town and after some GPS difficulties found our hotel.

My SIL puts on a very impressive show. Her conference had over 14,000 attendees and the exhibit hall was really something else. If I came away with no further knowledge of rheumatology, I at least was able to leave with a caffeine buzz as every major drug company exhibiting lured you in to their booths with espressos, cappuccinos, and even just regular coffee. I think I’m still shaking a little bit.

I do want to take a moment to point out that while the world sits and thinks that the Swiss are neutral...they invade territory like everybody else. Ok well their rheumatologist organizations take over space anyway....can you believe that they had a sign that came into their neighbors booth by six inches. Damn Swiss! I knew we couldn’t trust them when they started selling me cheese with holes in it.

We did manage to take in some of the culinary offerings downtown which made the trip worthwhile (I mean seeing SIL and DC made it worthwhile....geeze what was I thinking). We spent a fair amount of time in Reading Terminal Market perusing the isles of meat, fish, cheese, ethnic foods, and even more coffee. The first day for lunch we had mac and cheese from Delilah’s and a grilled falafel from Kamal’s. Plus we did a chocolate chip cookie off between Hope’s and 4th Street cookies. 4th street won due to a crisp outside and a chewy inside. Yesterday we breakfasted over at the Down Home Dinner where we learned what Pennsylvania Scrapple is really made from (no Pork!) See here for the recipe. Then it was off to find a gift for our faithful dog sitters and of course some treats for the Pup-a-lup. We finished our tour of Phily establishments off with a top at Pat’s King of Steak for a “Whiz Wit” (cheesesteak, with Cheese Whiz and onions).

Finally I want to let you all know that marathons have begun to get stale for me so I’m starting to dip my toe into training for a 2010 triathlon. In preparation for this wonderful occurrence, I thought it might be nice to get in the pool for a few laps and see exactly what a beached whale looks like when he’s in the water. 160 yards later (or .09 miles/ 146.3 meters) I was breathing heavy and had enough chlorine up my nose to do a nice dye job on Eminem. Well that was day one. Lets see what days 2-on yield.

Until next time...

Primanti Brothers vs. Pat’s King of Steaks

OMG...OMG...OMG!!! I need some serious paper towels (or a ShamWow) over here pronto to wipe up the drool dripping down my chin as we speak. I’m currently over-salivating over the possibility to make one of two Pennsylvania classic sandwiches for the upcoming “Big Game” (the one that rhymes with Super Bowl). Today the face off (and tough decision) is between the Primanti Brothers Capricola (ham) and Cheese and a Pat’s (king of steaks) cheesesteak wit (onions). Both are artery clogging behemoths and inspire their share of imitators, but if you’ve had one (or both) you know there is nothing like the real thing.

Unfortunately unless you happen to be passing through Pittsburg (Primanti Brothers) or Philadelphia (Pat’s) or you have it in you to drive 2-3 hours from home (or more) just to take in a meal) then you are SOL.

However if you have the culinary skills to try these concoctions at home you can give it a whirl. Recently I came across a recipe for each of these classics that I’m here to share with you:

Primanti Brothers Capricola and Cheese

Pat’s Cheesesteak Wit

But wait there’s more....for those of you who can remember back to the great Pop Tarts vs. Donuts debate of 2007, we did the nutritional comparison shopping for you and we’re back to take the great Pennsylvania Sandwich debate to our Nobody Likes a Jerk Lab. The results are quite astounding.

Primanti Bros
Pat's

As you can see, they both produce enough calories, cholesterol, sodium, and protein to hold an entire Ethiopian village over for 29 weeks, or roughly enough to send many of my readers to the hospital with chest pains but clearly the winner here is Pat’s Cheesesteak. I have to say that I am already biased towards Pats but this is my blog and I have the right to be biased to anybody I want to be. However if the Primanti Brothers want to send me a free sandwich to taste (I’ve never had one) I would be open to reconsidering my ruling.

Of course I don’t know if either of these gastro-pieces can match up to the Bacon Explosion (go ahead, follow that link...I promise you will not be disappointed!).