Philly Food

Well, we sampled the extremes of Philadelphia cuisine today.

We hit the ground running just after lunch hour, and the first thing we smelled was the aroma of hot beef and garlic, emanating from a curbside food cart. We watched the chef turn out a couple of sandwiches, and ordered one each. Made from scratch on the spot, they were delicious. A "foot long" is really a 12" sandwich, and I can't believe I ate the whole thing.

After an entire afternoon spent walking around the Art Museum, inside and out, that sandwich wore off, and we grabbed a cab and asked the driver to point us to a "casual dining" type of place, preferably seafood. the place he took us was not as casual as we would have liked, but at least the prices were listed on the menu!

It was very expensive, by my standards.

I'll tell you what, though...every once in a while, everyone should eat like this, just to remind ourselves how good a meal can be. The service was impeccable, the food, outstanding. I had crab cakes, and Brendan had blackened chicken in some sort of pasta dish. I even ate dessert. It isn't one of those places where they give you four bites of something on a huge plate, either. The portions are very generous.

The name of the place was McCormick & Schmick, and there are two of them in Austin.

I'm not kidding. Save up your dollars and go there. Even if you can only afford it once a year, it will do your soul good.