EASTER, GREASTER, and a weekend recap

FRIDAY
the friday day of fat (i mean food fun) continued on with a brief stop at green eggs cafe. i was hanging with geo and we had an hour or so before we had to meet up with the rest of trifecta + 2 for bebe'a bbq dinner, so we discussed getting a coffee and perhaps a fried potato snack. thankfully, the kitchen had closed by the time geo and i arrived around 4pm, so we spared our bodies the starchy goodness for the moment. we did order a croissant to share with our drinks though. i really liked the decor here - lots of dark and black wood, with steel finishes, green walls and interesting art. the space felt very airy and open throughout the restaurant and the coffee lounge area. the barstool type seating along the dickinson side of the street is perfect for people watching while sipping on your coffee.


:: green eggs cafe ::
address: 1306 dickinson street, phila
what: croissant, coffee, tea

the menu looks awesome here, for brunch or lunch, so definitely want to head back to eat a full meal. the croissant, though, was a bit on the dry side. i hope that the reason was just because it was late in the day and it had been sitting out, with the light breeze coming through all day, but we'll see. coffee = heavenly.

:: bebe's bbq ::
address: 1017 south 9th street, phila
what: pulled pork, beef ribs, pork ribs, coleslaw, mac'n cheese, scalloped potatoes, collard greens oh myyyy.
for dinner we had bebe's bbq, but our group of fatties were so excited to dive into our food that we ravaged every container of food before we could even think about taking a picture. so, though there is no proof, we ate a feast of meats and sides. arguably the best pulled pork i have had, in philly or elsewhere. the coleslaw was a bit too finely chopped and maybe a touch too sweet, but i welcomed the cold crunchiness as a contrast to the sweet and smoky meats. the pork ribs were just meh and a little tough, but the beef ribs were divine. these were part of the daily special, so may not be available all the time. definitely definitely get the collard greens, but the scalloped potatoes and the mac and cheese tied for my favorite side. as a bonus, bebe's delivers to washington square, graduate hospital, bella visty, center city east areas. we did wait excessively long for the food to arrive, though. we were some grumpy people.

SATURDAY
:: maru global takoyaki ::
address: 255 south 10th street, phila
what: octopus takoyaki, crabcake ball with fries, beef curry burrito, almond and chocolate takoyaki  
i found the octopus takoyaki to be a bit too mushy and really found myself wishing that they had used larger pieces of octopus, but still - a pretty good option. the crabcake balls i could have done without. they weren't anything special at all, just standard crabcakes, but the fries that accompanied them were pretty stellar.

the beef curry burrito was definitely the best of the dinner items we had. the curry was smoky and beef was tender and it had just enough rice to be filling and balance out the saltiness of the meat/sauce. soopah claims he would get this at least once every three weeks if it were closer to him. i don't know about that frequency, but i'd definitely order this again.

 we knew the dessert takoyaki were supposed to be great, but i was surprised by how much i enjoyed these almond chocolate ones. they come with fresh whipped cream on the side, which i abstained from (bleh) but soopah spooned up enough to more than make up for it. we need to go back for the chocolate chip dessert takoyaki. honestly, i couldn't really taste the chocolate in them, but they were still pretty awesome.

SUNDAY

:: harris family greaster ::

location: invite only, so this is undisclosed

what: grilled lamb, lasagna, string beans, roasted potatoes, asparagus, baklava, cookies, brownies etc.    

i LOVE greaster. [edit: greaster is also known as GREEK EASTER, as in Easter of the greek orthodox church. it is their most holy of days and deserving of the most fanfare. for non-greeks, it is amazing because it, without a doubt, guarantees the availability of the most amazing foods all brought together under one roof and all-day feasting]. love love love it. in my memory, it has always been loud, fun, full of delicious smells, and exotic looking delicacies - like a LAMB or a PIG on a spit! apparently, though my memory is terrible because the last time there was actually meat on a spit, we were just children. sigh. also, this year because greaster was competing with regular easter, it was a low-key affair - which meant the harris' yard was not teeming with greeks of all ages and there was no meat on a spit. anyway, despite the lack of spinning meat, and even without the grilling of the lamb's head (they apparently gave it away for soup for the church's celebration WHY WHY WHY), greaster was still a wonderful time. plus i got to actually sit and chat with julie! 

i am always surprised by how juicy and non-game-y the lamb turns out. it's one of the few rare places where i can actually enjoy lamb and helped myself to several pieces. the lasagna was so tasty that i helped myself to a quarter of the pan. it was embarrassing, but not enough to put back some of the portion. i wish i had gotten a picture of j. giggles' plate because hers had quite a few more veggies as well. special shoutout for julie's baklava- i though it was very flavorful - with good crunch, good sweetness and plenty of DEPTH!

:: varga bar ::

location: 941 spruce st. phila

what: roasted brussel sprouts, pot 'o pickles, kobe beef sliders, drinks!

because we are fatties, newly self-identified foodies, and probably alcoholics, we decided to head over to varga bar after our day of greaster delights. soopah and i can proudly claim that varga bar is our new favorite. we will probably bicker over who claimed it first. of course, i will win. i always win.


anyway, the bar itself is so great. located on the corner of 10th and spruce, it has wide windows along both the street side walls, so the space feels very airy and spacious. when i first read about this place, i thought the "pinup girl" theme would be a bit kitschy, but actually it's quite well done. the only real place you see the pinup girl art is on the ceiling and occasionally on the menus.


the number and quality of beers they have on tap is outrageous. i was won over by the availability of 4 or 5 IPAs/pale ales on tap, then absolutely in love once i saw the "flying dog raging bitch belgian style pale ale."

though trifecta only tried a few menu items, it is very very very very clear we need to go back. the kobe beef sliders were one of the best burgers i have eaten. they were topped with applewood-smoked bacon, caramelized shallots, boursin cheese and accompanied by house-made onion rings with smoked paprika aioli. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-mazing.

we also tried the pickled vegetables (can you pick the pickled peppers out of the pot 'o pickled vegetables? yes, i said this out loud. hahahaah hate pickled peppers!) and the brussel sprouts with aged balsamic vinegar, lemon, parmesan, olive oil. the balsamic vinegar was a bit extreme on some of the sprouts, but overall still a really great dish.

NEW FAVORITE BAR. 
this was a fabulous (yes, i said fabulous) weekend. more fun to come this week.

ZAHAV on wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!