Alla Spina in Philadelphia

So it happened just the other day, Tom and I were talking about a picnic ham and a great way to make it. Then we were talking to our neighbors who are from Philly and asked for some restaurant suggestions. First thing they said was Alla Spina. Then same day we go out on the deck with all our weekly travel and food  magazines for the "read". The Bon Appetit magazine drops on the table opens to an article about Chef Marc Vetri at Alla Spina and his rustic family meal starring a jaw dropping pork shoulder or picnic! Talk about  meant to be.

So we went and have not posted the recipe on our other blog. Check it out www.itsallabouthedish.blogspot.com

Philly cheesesteak

So the rivalry between Pat and Gino about who invented the Philly cheesesteak still goes on today.

Pat Olivieri invented the steak sandwich in 1930 - its open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and is called "Pat's King of Steaks", Gino's Steaks is across the street. We're going to both to get 1 steak sandwich at each and make our own decision.


Some say that Gino, Pat's brother actually added the cheese to the steak sandwich in 1966. Then, the story goes Pat responded by adding cheese wiz which has become the preferred cheese of choice on South Philadelphia cheesesteaks. I think we would prefer the provolone. We'll see.

When ordering a cheesesteak, the idea is to let the cashier know
A: that you would like a cheesesteak
B: what type of cheese you want
C: if you want fried onions

You have to be concise as possible when ordering. Locals are so adept that they have it down to 3 words: saying - "One wiz with" meaning 1 cheesesteak with cheese wiz and onions.
Or "one provolone without" which would get you 1 cheesesteak with provolone and no onions.

Ok well we had one at Pats and one at Geno's. Pats was juicier and the bread was like French bread. Geno's bread was a little chewy and the onions a little big. We choose Pats.
It seems like everyone was doing the same thing. Back and forth

Carolina Barbecue

OK so I haven't Traveling Dished for a while! We are on our week long trip to "the Low Country" aka South Carolina with my family. We are on a drive vacation which to me is a great way to make memories. So the food junkies that we are took us right into Spartanburg where we went to this little place called Carolina Barbecue. The restaurant is nothing to speak of, but certainly something when it comes to traditional Carolina style BBQ. What you see here is the Coarse Pork Plate. It was full of flavor. They have an array of different smoked meats and sides. The hot sauce kicked butt so of course a few bottles are coming home with us!

McNally's in St Charles

Tom had the fish tacos (or course)
And said they were excellent
Try McNally's I bet everything is great

Mcnally's in St Charles

Reuben - very good I took one bite and took it home!

McNally' in St charles

We always have to try the nachos at a new restaurant. That can make or break it if we will try something else.
But these were excellent

Shake Shack

So I took my little Fashionista Kristina to New York for a little getaway on Spring Break. We share a limo ride from the airport with a bunch of girls from Brazil. Our limo driver suggested this place as a quick burger stop. He said they had good burgers and shakes-he wasn't kidding. We'd be in trouble if they were back home!

Tujagues

Tujague's has been around 150 years. It has one of the

oldest stand up bars left  in the country. We had the

 Reveillon Dinner which derived from the French word for 'awakening,' 

reveillon originally was a meal served after midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

 Early New Orleans was almost entirely Catholic, and virtually the

 entire community would participate in these ceremonies. Families

 would return from the late-night service famished and set upon a

 feast prepared in advance and laid out on the table or sideboard.  

Great meal

Beef Brisket with creole sauce- like butter! - their specialty.

Shrimp Remoulade 

Filet Mignon - very good

Shrimp Etouffee - excellent

Acme Oyster House

I'll venture to say the lines to get in here can be hours.

We witnessed people standing in line, knowing the wait time
was more than 2 hours. I can't do that. So  the secret to getting
in is to go on a weekday at about 2pm. There we 2 people in
line and we still waited 15 minutes...but boy that was worth the
wait. If you miss this restaurant - you've missed something amazing.

 

Oyster Rockefeller Soup - topped with grilled Oyster.

OK Yes Tom loved this!

 

 

 If you can eat 15 dozen oysters you are in the "club" and you get

your name on the wall. The leader of the house has eaten 43

dozen oysters. They guy before was at only 32 dozen. 

 

Grill Oysters - the best ever 

 Fried shrimp - by seafood stand-by..Fabulous!!

Antoines Restaurant

Antoine's restaurant is the oldest in New Orleans and also the largest. But we were not impressed. Nothing was overly good I guess I would say average at best. The service was pretty good but it was constantly a different waiter. It seems like thew waiters wait on different tables constantly. Sort of odd. Certainly the "greeter" who had been there for over 50 years was adorable. All dressed in his tux.. 

Poached Egg - overdone and who does that?

Poached Eggs over pork..not too good

Blue Crab - too much work

Dessert - this was good..

The Clover Grill

Clover Grill is an old style diner and had the best jalapeno
burgers - OK well 2am and they were the best. But every time
we looked in the windows, place was packed.

 

The Clover Grill

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Old but so good

 

Best little :) burger in town!

 

 

Fwd: 2 great iPhotos

Beignet's at Cafe Du Monde

 

Their coffee was excellent. I think its better with Beignets!

 

Heritage prairie Caribbean dinner

Take a look at this delicious meal I captured using Evernote Food.
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s144/sh/3bfccd36-c11a-4692-898f-2ba9ae8e1ef7/bab90612d43a2f9e58649eb1c41e1cf8
I made this using Evernote Food. Get the app here: http://s.evernote.com/food

Debbie Linder