Singing (I mean... EATING) in Philly

I am such a lazy blogger! Oh well... it's been tricky getting used to having my hectic schedule again. Summer seems like it was yesterday, then that 20 days in Europe, then 3 weeks of hospitals and recovery, then the tour to Philadelphia, and boom! Halloween's over and I'm already preparing for holiday season concerts! Fastest autumn of my life!!

I had a BLAST singing in Philadelphia for a week recently with a bunch of Boston peeps. We were staying right near the famous Museum of Art (Rocky!!!) in the Fairmount neighborhood, and we spent 5 days eating our way through some of the best restaurants in the city! No, I did not have a Philly Cheesesteak. I had one years ago when I sang there, and it was super greasy and gave me a stomach ache. But, I did have great meals at the following spots:

La Colombe Cafe

We had delicious mochas and cappucinos at this cafe in Rittenhouse Square. The cups were adorable, the service was super friendly, and vibe was relaxed and fun for conversation, and the pastry was YUM!

King of Tandoor

This Indian restaurant was awesome! I had the Chicken Saag,

and my friend ordered what looked like an Indian version of Chicken Pot Pie (Chicken Dumpakht) , with a little heat.

I love the beautiful puffed pastry!

Later that night we met up with some old friends and had tea in their FABULOUS apartment. Disgusting- in Philadelphia you can get a 2 bedroom 2 story apartment with updated kitchen and porch for the same price as a studio in Boston! Maybe I should think about relocating? Seriously though, their place is adorable and so are their teacups!

I had some Gout Russe tea that was AMAZING. I have to buy some of this stuff!

Apollinare:

One of my singer friends knows the owner of Apollinare, a high-scale Italian restaurant so we all went as a huge group and had an incredibly decadent dinner... for $40 each. It was a total steal, and we were so grateful! As soon as we arrived they were passing around a bowl of black truffles to smell- gorgeous! And these lovely little appetizers... yum.

We tried basically every small plate offered on the menu, and for my entree I tried the classic lasagna, which did not disappoint.

Everything on the table looked amazing- Black Truffle Gnocchi,

Strongozzi alla Spoletina,

and lastly... an Umbrian chocolate cake came as a surprise!

Just when we thought the meal was over, we were surprised with Bananas Foster, prepared in front of us! :) What a memorable meal! Thank you, Shari! We really had a blast- we even sang for our supper!

Parc:

I tried to save money on this trip, but I HAD to try Parc. Some of my colleagues ate SEVEN meals there while we were in Philly! Can you imagine? :) I knew it had to be something special, and I was right. I ended up going TWICE on our last day. Sunday brunch, and for a late night meal after our final concert. For starters, the bread is fantastic.

For brunch I had the Eggs Norwegian- an eggs benedict with smoked salmon instead of ham. It was killer!!

Later that night, I had the French Onion Soup. I hate to say it... but it was just as good as the amazing final meal I had in Paris in September! And, it had double the cheese! :)

The next morning, we were all sleepy... but it being Philadelphia and all... SOMEONE made a point of having a Cheesesteak- a breakfast version with eggs!

Such a wonderful trip! I love you guys!