lunchtime musings

I am disappointed to report that all of the fast food drive-thrus on Broad St. going North from Girard to Olney are McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts. OK, and one Checkers. What's a girl to do when she wants something from Wendy's but doesn't want to leave her vehicle? So now I'm sitting in the office, it's 1:17PM and there is no Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger in sight.

The whole having two jobs thing is wearing me down a bit, but it also presents new opportunities for eating and drinking in Manayunk. I will have probably been to every bar and restaurant on Main St. by the spring, which is nothing to sneeze at. And now that I have cash on hand, I can aim for my other culinary goals, such as eating every kind of cheese at DiBruno Brothers, or visiting Capogiro Gelato weekly.

an obvious immigrant

As I hurriedly approached my snow-covered car this morning, hot cup of Wawa coffee in hand, I noticed a message written in the snow on my passenger side rear window. "Go home." Then I turned my attention to the conspicuous absence of my Phillies National League Championship Series bumper sticker. Nice. This comes two weeks after discovering that my back bumper was puked on while parked on the next street over.

I get it. My Virginia license plates stick out like a sore thumb in this all-Philly neighborhood I live in. But really, shouldn't you save the aggression for an Arizona Cardinals fan, or someone with a Mets/Giants/etc. bumper sticker? I was watching the Eagles game last night, rooting for them just like the rest of you. Don't let my lack of a Pennsylvania license plate distract you from that fact.

Philly checklist

very Philadelphia-specific things I have done in my 4 months here:
- eaten multiple cheesesteaks
- gone to a Phillies game, and tailgated in the parking lot between Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field ("The Linc"
- taken a trolley in West Philly without knowing how to exit
- eaten at a restaurant by one of Philly's celebrity chefs (Morimoto, Vetri, Garces, Perrier, etc.)
- thrown a penny on Ben Franklin's grave (if it lands heads up, you'll have a good marriage/life/what have you)
- correlated my beers to the amount of Eagles plays in a game
- gotten a parking ticket (ok, 2); the TV show Parking Wars is based in Philadelphia
- become a more aggressive but quicker-with-reactions driver (ride with me and you'll understand)
- run up the "Rocky" steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I've also walked up them slowly with my parents.
- heard the phrase "youse guys" used in all seriousness
- eaten water ice, used Cheez Whiz as a condiment, started putting Old Bay on my french fries, soft pretzels with mustard, my weight in Tastykakes and more
- battled rush hour traffic (both ways) on I-76 aka the Schuylkill
- been in City Hall (the world's largest municipal building); Mayor Nutter said hi to me
-shown people how disappointingly small the LOVE statue is

things on my Philadelphia list I still need to accomplish:
- more time in Fairmount park
- Mutter Museum (I need to devote an entire day here)
- weekend trip to the shore (the Jersey Shore and its beaches)
- eating at a Stephen Starr restaurant (they're everywhere in Center City, how have I avoided these?)
- Italian market on a Saturday
- attend a Flyers game
- try beers from all of the surrounding breweries
- take a road trip to Amish country (though they do staff my local farmer's market)
- spend enough time in Chinatown, buying interesting stuff
- watch the bike race in Manayunk or crew showdowns on the Schuylkill River
- go to the City Hall observation deck, or any of the other skyline buildings for that matter

It's a work in progress to say the least. Please add to the list or come visit and I'll make an effort to explain and show everything.