A Pinch of a Few Steps for Great Bites

We had quite a stretch this past week: discovering a new favorite within a hop, skip and a jump from my apartment, talking about the shared experience of eating at a diner while eating at one of the city’s best, and celebrating an old friend at one of our favorite places in the city. No shortage of wholesome moments, more than a pinch you could say.

I am once again here to say that the Philly food scene is full of hidden gems. So much so that I thought about gatekeeping this treasure, but I have a lotta folks that I know would enjoy this one. Nearly every morning, Lucy and I walk by this small, unassuming spot. And now that I’ve had the full experience, I fear how much I may pop my head for a bite here and there. I imagine you just want me to get to the point by now.

The new favorite: Illata.

Going with four people was the perfect experience to let the menu prove itself – one of everything (with potentially two orders of each of the desserts… 🤫).

The menu and whole experience (pictures after of course):

• Tuna – perfect slices with fennel and pink peppercorn

• Sourdough Bread and Butter – a requirement for sauce scoop-age and broth dunk-age

• Chicory Salad – I’d stop in every week just for this salad. The high pile of perfectly dressed greens with bread crumbs and cheese

• Marinated Mussels – some chili oil for spice with some turnips too, sure

• Carrots – shaved carrots over a pile of crab and brown butter. Yes, please

• Lobster – lobster done perfectly, and some magical potatoes

• Norwegian Mackerel – this fish was special, and the broth… mmm

• Fried Squid – a secret ingredient not listed on the menu made this green yogurt sauce insane: pastrami seasoning

• NY Strip – this was the best bite (as if that wasn’t said for everything above), and with the funky sardine and cheese… mmmmmm

• Cavatelli – every good meal needs to finish with some pasta, so jot that down

• Brown Butter Tart – concord grape tart and some crème fraîche… give me 14 of them right now

• Chocolate Cake – genuinely don’t know where to start. the swirl is mesmerizing after the first bite. It’s perfect. I’ll think about this cake forever. Some mix of chocolate, caramel and black sesame. Mouth is watering.

This meal was hyped up, and every single bite lived up to it. Now I just need to figure out how to hold myself back from finding new reasons to pop over when they’re just one (1) minute away. This place rocks.

This week was a lot of leftovers from meal prep, some Trader Joe’s meals and a quick trip back to West Chester for a night. Before a few suburbs runs, I headed up to North East Philly for a quick neighborhood tour for work. Mayfair’s neighborhood tells a bit of the history of the North East, and one of its great landmarks is the Mayfair Diner.

Eating here with my coworkers opened up many conversations about just how great diners are. It is a shame seeing the true diners around the city, and even out in the suburbs, that are closing down for various reasons. We certainly had the true experience as the table ordered all the classics: french toast plates, omelettes with home fries, shrimp and grits, sandwiches, baskets of fries and, of course, some milkshakes.

The big weekend highlight goes to a surprise birthday party. I’m always amazed when surprise parties work out, and this was awesome to see. Happy birthday, Mike! The first of the group to hit the new decade. What a time. (Great job planning this, Alice!)

The bonus celebration: THAT Eagles win. How bout the big man Jordan Davis?? What a totally calm, fun-the-whole-time win. Winners find ways to win (G’Orange as well). Now that’s the energy that all our teams need to bring into this massive sports weekend: Ryder Cup for the golf heads, some great college football matchups, the hunt for Red October and another tough Birds matchup. What a great time to be a fan. Birds and Phillies bandanas in the mail for Lucy.

Welcome officially to fall 🤘