nyc: outside in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Brooklyn seems slow to get up on the weekend- Philly brunch at say Sabrina's Cafe is mobbed by 10:30 and has an hour long wait by 11. In contrast, the places in Brooklyn were barely opening by 11 and practically no one was out on the streets by then.

Brunch on the patio next to the garden at Lamb and Jaffy. The garden contains some waist high greenery and a bubbly brook type fountain in the corner and is about the same size as the outdoor dining area. We were seated next to a container pot of basil.

My omelette was good, but the baskets of shoestring fries on everyone else's table looked fantastic- the homefries were also deep fried.

Omelette w/ goat cheese, basil, kielbasa (I didn't ask for tomato but there it was)

nyc: Cheryl's in Brooklyn, near the library

Outdoors on the multi level back patio of Cheryl's Global Soul. Although the prix fixe menu isn't really a prix fixe, you can get bloody mary's and mimosas with your brunchy goodness. Food was satisfying and the shady quiet was really nice. Bloody mary was on the too peppery side for me.

More quiche

potatoes

pancakes with whipped cream and berries

Fish sandwich. Next time I will try not to just shoot a bun.

macarons

from the Sugar Philly dessert food truck, which feels like a total knockoff of NYC's Dessert Truck with dessert truck's prices. The guys who work the truck are very nice though.

Dessert Truck, btw, has both opened a brick&mortar http://www.dt-works.net/ on the Lower East Side and the truck itself is back in action. Hurrah!

Sugarphilly's macaroons: $1/macaron

brunch at Parc

from a giant group brunch at Stephen Starr's Parc Restaurant Bistro & Cafe on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. Feels spendy but generally worth it. A lot of people loved the bread basket (baguette, sourdough wheat, something with cranberries).

great Quiche Lorraine with some lightly drizzled greens

Scrambled eggs

lamb sandwich

Maru Global

I think I like the idea of takoyaki, or Japanese octopus dumplings, but I'm not totally on board with the bonito flakes which make it a little too fishy for me. The interior texture is almost custardy- I think I would want to try some different flavour combinations other than the octopus. If someone made a mashed potato and cheese version, sort of like a croquette, I think I would really like that.

Szechuan

at Han Dynasty in Old City. It turns out that I don't really like the jangling nerves spiciness of Szechuan peppercorns. I only really got this effect from either the wontons or the dan dan noodles that we ordered as appetizers before the latecomers got there. We went with not too spicy for everything else, which worked out well. The owner gave us a shot of pepper oil (that several of us took TEENY trial sips of), which goes down smooth and then has a delayed jangly nerve burning action.

Grilled Taiwanese sausage

Cumin lamb in the foreground and beef something that was not spicy

Three cup chicken (pleasant)

basil lemonade

at Misconduct Tavern, which is not a bar I would recommend to my friends. But I did enjoy the basil lemonade, which was on special during Philly games. Hurrah.

NJ diner

For some reason I ordered a corn muffin and french fries. I should have ordered dessert instead. Someone got creamed chipped beef, but it just isn't photogenic.

Corn muffin

MONSTER onion rings

Reuben

rectangular crepe from Drexel campus food truck

Most of the crepes I've encountered (Houston Hall's Pari Cafe Creperie, Reading Terminal Market's crepe place- Profi's creperie ) wind up as wedge shaped pockets. In contrast, the guy at the crepe truck at 33rd and Market St in front of the Drexel library makes almost burrito like crepes with as much filling as the Pari Cafe place. He takes his time and takes care to garnish each crepe with a drizzle and a sprig of something. This particular crepe contains coconut chicken, rice and veggies- carbs stuffed in carbs.

Snackbar

Late night at http://snackbarltd.com/ (their website doesn't work in Chrome). I mostly avoid this place bc it seems like a scene, but the food was actually quite good and I would go back at another off peak hour. Also the bartender/waiter was really lovely. Macaroni and cheese was ok but not compelling, same for a dish of pasta with spring vegetables.

highly recommended: Calamari (really really good deep frying)

Also very good: Scallops on a bed of corn and some kind of grain

tarte tatin

Trader Joe's tarte tatin. I like how the pastry crust turns out (a nice short pastry) although the apples were a little mushy.

dinner at a friend's

Pesto pasta salad with more goat cheese and some baby spinach

mmmmmmm cake