Danger coming soon

Danger coming soon

See previous post (Danger defined) for more information.

Danger defined

This morning as I was walking to get my coffee, I noticed a "coming soon" sign in the storefront across from the back entrance to my library. There used to be a jewler there. It was a family run jewler, been there for years and years, and finally everyone decided to retire and close up shop. I had been wondering what was going to take over that space, since it's prime real estate being right across the street from the main part of campus. Well, now I know.

The Naked Chocolate Cafe.

This is not good. Not. Good. At. All.

And not because the Naked Chocolate Cafe isn't good. It's very very good. Too good. I've waxed poetic about just how good it is in previous posts, referring to trips there as heavenly chocolate orgasms. They make this incredible European style drinking chocolate: hot chocolate so thick that you have to keep stirring it with your spoon so it doesn't solidify. And it's actually easier to eat their hot chocolate than to drink it.

Having a place like that across the street is dangerous. Because nothing says stress release like chocolate. And it's going to be across the street from the back door to my library. It will be way way too easy to pop across the street during a 15 minute afternoon break for a bit of indulgence. I already know I do not possess the willpower to resist something like that. A place like that across the street from work is danger defined indeed. I'm going to have to start going on extra long bike rides on the weekends to work off all the chocolate I will be consuming once it opens.

Suicidal Cadbury creme eggs

These are so very wrong. Yet so very funny.



I think my favorite is the trash can lid. And the hair dryer one is disturbing (almost sexual...which is just beyond wrong).

I'm not so sure I want Cadbury creme eggs in my Easter basket anymore this year...

Via Serious Eats blog.

A Food Filled Weekend

As you all know, my friend CH visited me this weekend. His train arrived after the work happy hour on Friday, so we met up and headed out for food. CH was in the mood for a cheesesteak, and rather than venturing into Center City, we walked up to Abner's. I've been there several times, and know that they make good cheesesteaks, and CH agreed. Another Abner's fan. After food, we headed home to take care of the dog (CH and Aussie bonded, even getting in a bit of play and a good game of tug) and since we both had long days, we sat down and vegged out for a bit to the Food Network (always good TV for foodies).

On Saturday, after sleeping in a bit, we went to the farmers market down in Clark Park. I needed some veggies, and since CH is also a foodie, he loves just looking around as much as I do. We arrived at Clark Park only to discover there was also a flea market going on. I vaguely remember my colleague and friend KS that lives nearby telling me about the flea market insanity, but couldn't remember which days it happens. Well, Saturday was one of the days. It meant I ended up parking a bit farther away than normal, but the weather was glorious so the walk wasn't unwelcome. We brought the dog with us (which wore her out for the rest of the day) because she loves all the attention and extra loves she gets and she gets to meet lots of other dogs (two of her favorite things). On our walk through the flea market to the farmers market, a really nice lady that was running one of the food carts even gave my dog some water just because. She did drink some, but I think she was more interested in the sausage smell coming from the woman's cart.

At the farmers market, I had a few things I needed, like delicious bread, and KS had told me that the peaches were in. First stop (and always the first stop), whoopie pies from the stand on the end. Apparently CH has never even heard of them. He's now a convert. Yummy. In addition to picking up some of the really good bread, I picked up some tomatoes, some squash and some kale for lunches and dinners this week. I also got peaches (freshed picked that morning!) and they are delicious. A few were a bit more ripe than others, and got a bit smashed just banging into each other in the bag, so CH and I were forced to eat them. Poor us (NOT!). Sweet, juicy, perfectly ripe...I didn't even mind the peach skin (I usually have to peel the fuzzy skin off...it's a texture thing). Several places had blueberries as well, but I passed on those this week. Next week I'm going for blueberries and peaches, and I'm going to buy extra so I can freeze some. Nothing like blueberries in the middle of November (the freeze very very well) and frozen peach slices on hot summer nights (better than a popsicle, really! Try it!).

On our way back to the car, we stopped to get coffee. And then we smelled it. Basil. Very fragrant basil coming from a stand just past the coffee stand. The basil smelled just too good to resist. So I bought a huge bunch (all the bunches were huge) so I have enough for my favorite summer salad (tomato, olive oil, salt, pepper, mozzarella and basil...a classic) AND enough to make some pesto. So good. My fridge currently smells like basil and it's wonderful.

After stopping off at home to drop off the dog and eat some lunch, we headed for Center City. Specifically the area around Rittenhouse Square. We were meeting up with friends for dinner in the area, so we headed over early to walk around in the gorgeous weather for awhile. We didn't have anything specific we were looking for, but the neighborhood itself is historical, and it was nice to just walk and talk and look around. Many of the row homes are historic, and some even have names like Madison, or Lexington. I don't believe I've ever lived in a house that had it's own name. There are lots of random little boutiques and shops around, as well as lots of restaurants. Every block or so we had to stop and read a menu. I love it when restaurants post their menus in the window or on a stand out front. It's like window shopping for your stomach. There was one Spanish restaurant (lots of tapas) that looked intriguing that I'm going to have to find again. My friend AH even said that she heard they have good hot chocolate and churros. After hearing that I must find it again...if I can remember the name.

For dinner we met up with AH and her husband DS at Monk's Cafe. There was a 30 minute wait for a table for four, but man-oh-man was it worth it! I had heard that they have a large variety of beer available, and their focus is on Belgian beers. They have a list of them all that is referred to as the "Beer Bible" and is cross referenced by style and country. We all decided to get a beer that is currently on their seasonal on tap menu and it was very refreshing after walking around. CH got their namesake Flemish Sour (a sour ale), DS and I both got the Geants Goliath (a Triple with a hit of fruitiness...almost peachy), and AH went for the Chimay Triple. We were all very satisfied beer drinkers.

For dinner, DS felt like being different and got a sandwich, but AH, CH and I decided to each get a side salad and to split two small pots of their famous mussels, which are served with a side of their pommes frites and bourbon mayo. We settled on their namesake Monk's and the Brussels varieties. Delicious. And decadent. They also come with a piece of bread, that we all used to soak up the liquor in the pot. What a delicious rich flavor to that broth after steeping the mussels and herbs and garlic in it. CH contemplated just pouring it into an empty glass and drinking it...but he resisted. That's some serious willpower on his part.

We declined dessert there, as we had plans to walk over to the Naked Chocolate Cafe. The weather continued to be beautiful, and as we crossed Broad Street, I looked over to see City Hall lit up, and an incredible dusky, gray blue color to the sky behind. Stunning. A nearly perfect summer evening, not too hot, people out and about, beautiful weather, brilliant sky colors...a great night to walk.

At Naked Chocolate Cafe, we scored a table, and realized we were just too full for anything beyond drinks. But that's not a loss there. Their chocolate drinks are divine. AH and DS decided to split a Frozen Drinking Chocolate, and I decided to indulge myself and get my own. We all got the Aztec variety, rich chocolate with a hint of spices, slightly frozen, with whipped cream on top. CH went for a hot chocolate, the bittersweet variety. Mmmm...yum. It was definitely an evening of a decadent dinner followed by and an equally decadent dessert.

Sunday morning CH and I slept in again and vegged out for a bit with the dog before he had to leave. He has a soccer league game this evening, so he had to take a fairly early train, which really didn't give us any time to do anything in the city. But that's OK, we enjoyed our time hanging out and just having a relaxing weekend rather than rushing all over the city playing tourist. And he'll be back...if only for the mussels and chocolate.

Easter basket in a box

I arrived home today to a box on my porch. A distinctive box. One that indicated that it came from Australia. Woot! Goodies!

My mom sent me Easter candy. Essentially, it's an Easter basket in a box. I love you, Mom! You rock!

In addition to a rockin' t-shirt from the XXXX Brewery (Queensland beer!), the package was filled with lots and lots of chocolate. The food of the gods. Several varieties of Tim Tams (which are heavenly, and I require regular shipments to prevent Tim Tam withdrawal). Caramel filled chocolate eggs. Candy coated milk chocolate eggs. A dark chocolate egg with dark chocolate coated candied ginger in it, which is my current "I just can't get enough" variety of chocolate.

And the annual chocolate Easter Bilby. Yes, a bilby. NOT an Easter bunny. Because, in Australia, rabbits are a pest. They have no natural predators. Which means they flourish, and have become a serious pain in the rear for ranchers, devastating crops and grazing lands. So they don't have an Easter Bunny. They use Easter instead to draw attention to a native animal, the bilby. And the Darrell Lea company makes Easter Bilbies in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate.

Not one chocolate Easter bilby has arrived intact. Not one. My mom's been doing this for a good 10 years now, and every bilby arrives in pieces. Apparently the turbulence on the flight is just too much for their delicate sensibilities. Fortunately, the chocolate still tastes just as good.

Also included was the amazing Flat Pack Chocolate Easter Egg from Bloomsberry & Co. Some assembly required! And the package even provides instructions...but you have to provide your own egg-shaped mould. They also provide a disclaimer that reads:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The makers of the amazing Flat Pack Chocolate Easter Egg offer no warranty either explicitly or implied as to the success of your endeavors when attempting to assemble this process. As you can imagine, working with chocolate is not east and requires a high level of skill. Therefore your chances of completing the task to a satisfactory standard are, in a word, slim. We've never managed it.

But the chocolate it is made of all fair trade ingredients. Frankly, I'm not going to bother to take the time to try to make the egg. Too much work. I'm just gonna eat the chocolate.


Excuse me, I have to go stuff my face with Easter chocolate goodness now.

Monday...King Tut and food

L and I got up at a decent hour today, knowing that we actually had someplace to be. I had purchased tickets to the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute earlier this month. The tickets give you a half-hour window to enter the exhibit, and in order to get a decent time, I bought them 2 weeks ago.

We did some investigation, and discovered that one of the SEPTA buses actually took us directly to the Museum District. In the interest of not wanting to repeat our previous parking nightmares, and since it was Monday and we'd have to worry about feeding a meter or pay out the nose to park in a garage, we decided the bus was a good plan. Of course, we arrived at the bus stop only to learn that the bus we wanted had passed by about 5 minutes prior, which meant a 15 minute wait for the next one. Oh well. A fifteen minute wait is still infinitely better than an hour circling for parking while getting increasingly frustrated.

L and I arrived at the Franklin Institute a good hour before our King Tut exhibit entrance window, so we decided to explore the museum a bit. The Franklin Institute is a science museum, with various permanent exhibits like the Giant Heart and one all about Ben Franklin and his lesser known inventions. Much of it is hands on, and since it was a weekday, there were school groups everywhere. L and I explored and played with some of the hands-on exhibits, dodging small children. We eventually made our way close to the King Tut exhibit entrance and wandered through the gift shop until, finally, our entrance window time arrived.

L and I were both very excited to see the King Tut exhibit. The exhibit itself did not disappoint. The artifacts were incredible, and despite our dismay that the actual sarcophagus was no longer part of the traveling exhibit (damaged during the tour early on), we thoroughly enjoyed it. We did have a few complaints, however, including too many people. It was very crowded for a Monday afternoon and crowds can be very aggravating. I know the exhibit entrance windows had a goal to space the number of people in the exhibit out, but there were a lot of people allowed in during each window. I can't tell you how many times we were bumped by a stroller or a wheelchair or hit by a giant purse/bag. Or how many times people stepped in front of us to get a closer look at an artifact in one of the glass cases, effectively blocking everyone's view, because, apparently, they are more important than the other 6 people trying to see the artifact. It was crowded. The only other issue was the weird lighting. In an effort to spotlight the artifacts in the cases, often there was no other light in that specific gallery, making it very dark and causing people to bump into each other and into the walls. The spotlights also created weird glaring, often making it difficult to read the signs on the display cases.

But overall it was beautiful, and well worth the time and crowd aggravation. Our friend LP is very pissed at us, being the big Egypt fan she is, so we bought her a souvenir...a finger puppet.

After a brief trip home to walk and feed Aussie, we left again, this time by car, to find food. For dinner we decided to try a vegetarian Chinese place recommended by a co-worker: Su Xing House. It was incredible. Great atmosphere: calming, peaceful. Just the kind of environment needed after a typical Philly parking space quest. Excellent service. Amazing food. HUGE portions. HUGE. We only got one appetizer to share and one entree apiece. And I have leftovers that are going to feed me for the rest of the week. Pictures of the before (appetizer, entree, and entree) and the post-stuffing-our-faces-carnage are available for your viewing pleasure.

So after our delicious dinner, we decided we had enough space in our tummies and went in search of dessert. We had passed this place several times during our various quests for parking during the weekend, and the name spoke to us. The Naked Chocolate Cafe. We needed to investigate.

SweetJesusHolyMaryMotherOfGod.

Chocolate. Heavenly chocolate. Chocolate orgasms in our mouths. Serious chocolate. L had a Mocha Fudge Cake with a glass of milk to wash it down. I had a Spicy Hot Chocolate (size: indulgence) and a cupcake. They even provided real whipped cream on the Mocha Fudge Cake and hot chocolate. And they gave me a spoon to eat my hot chocolate with. Yes, I ATE my hot chocolate with a spoon. It's too thick to drink...hot chocolate European style, or, chocolate with a splash of milk to make it liquid. I needed the spoon. And it was good. It was very very good. L didn't finish her Mocha Fudge Cake, it was just too much for her. That's sayin' something.

We're now both in a chocolate coma and must go to bed to sleep it off.