I've never had Northern European-style food. Until now.

While we were in Philadelphia, we went to Noord for brunch. This restaurant features Dutch and Scandinavian cuisine in a cute little area with large, open windows that allowed the breeze to float in.

First off,  I knew BYOB was a big thing in Philadelphia restaurants, but I didn't realize how far they took it. Our waitress - I'm not sure how else to put this - was sloshed. She was stumbling around, dropping things, couldn't recite the specials because she forgot and we "didn't need to know them anyway." She slid her finger across my phone case and said she liked it and then giggled. Wut. I was trying to diagnose whether this behavior is acceptable or not, and as far as I could tell, this seemed to be the norm. Bizarre.

Fortunately, the food was incredible. We were first served a sliver of bread that was freshly baked, warm, moist and way flavorful. I was on board.

For my entree, I ordered the Smorrebrod (after not knowing the specials) because it featured house smoked fish and open-faced sandwiches. Sounds good, right? my GOD it was good.

Not only is this plate absolutely beautiful, it was entirely perfectly balanced. There are three separate pieces of toasted rye bread topped with a scallop and caviar, fish and prawns. And, all around are pickled red onions, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, greens and topped with a tartar/mustard cream sauce. I devoured this plate. Everything had a nice sour and sweet and crunchy and creamy flavor. Every bite was different and fun. It was delicious, and I might have to travel to Philadelphia again just for this dish.

Grade: A

So, is it really a good day if it doesn't include ice cream? I think not. To squelch any potential for a bad day, we went to Big Gay Ice Cream.

Big Gay Ice Cream has two locations in New York and one in Philadelphia:

Throughout their years living in New York City, Douglas Quint and Bryan Petroff had always focused on their respective careers — until they got themselves a Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. Their seasonal truck debuted in June 2009, and since then, the business has seen a whirlwind of publicity and has become a New York favorite. With a playful attitude, Big Gay Ice Cream spins a new take on old-school soft-serve by creating fun and unique ice creams, toppings, and frozen treats that appeal to a diverse mix of clientele. 

In June 2012, Dessert Professional featured Big Gay Ice Cream in their 10 best ice cream parlors in the U.S. issue. Then in May 2013, The Daily Beast and USA Today ranked Big Gay Ice Cream as the #5 best ice cream parlor in the world - the highest ranked U.S. ice cream parlor on the list. 

In May 2015, they opened a new store in Philadelphia, their first outside of NYC.

The shop has a colorful storefront, a very clean and slick interior and crazy ice cream names, like "The Salty Pimp." The Salty Pimp is their most popular cone, so I went with it. It was also on "Best Thing I Ever Ate."

Vanilla ice cream gets lined and injected with house made dulce-de-leche, sprinkled with a bit of sea salt then dipped in chocolate. It even comes with a little cone holder (much needed). I appreciate the vanilla and loved how the caramel was sprinkled through in spots throughout. The only downside for me was the chocolate coating. It really adds a whole different texture (and don't love it sticking to the roof of my mouth). Not my favorite ice cream addition, but I can see why the little bit of crunch is nice. The salt and caramel combination, though, yes. Yes, all day long.

Grade: B

"This snug, energetic corner spot in Passyunk Square serves Chinese dim sum with a fun American-Jewish twist."

The "sushi burrito" (or sushirito) craze has taken major metropolitan cities by storm. Think a sushi roll - but as big as a burrito. So, when I found out Philadelphia has Hai Street Kitchen & Co., I immediately put it on our agenda. Yassss.

Hai Street Kitchen & Co. is a counter concept where you watch your sushi roll or bowl or salad being created right in front of you. Choose your main protein - like chicken katsu, grilled chicken, shrimp tempura, spicy tuna tartare, tataki salmon, braised pork or soft-shell crab. Choose white or brown rice, choose veggies, sauces and toppings - and you're good to go!

They also have signature selections you can choose from that take the guess work out of the equation. Hai Street Chicken, Ho-Lee Shrimp, Vietnamese Pork, Slammin' Salmon, Flamin' Tuna and The SS Crab were all vetted tasty options. I went with the Ho-Lee Shrimp, which had shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, Asian slaw, shredded beets and avocado salsa - but they were out of avocado salsa so I subbed in green papaya salad for a little sweet.

There are a host of other veggies to choose from, and then there are the toppings: fried garlic, shallots and tempura crunch. I got all three. It comes wrapped in this cool carton, and I got a box of water, because why not?

OK OK so how is it? Pretty damn good. If you like sushi, you're going to like this. No, it's not traditional by any means, but it's delicious. I love the crunch of the fresh veggies, the slight sweet and the spicy. It has all the fresh, delicious flavors I love in a giant bite. It is a bit difficult to handle at times. It just kind of ends, which resulted in a mess for me. A delicious mess, at least.

So, if you get the opportunity, check it out. Try it. Thank me later.

Grade: A

Every time I visit a new city, I look up its city market. Boston, Milwaukee and Cleveland all have lovely ones. Add Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market to the list.

The Reading Terminal Market has tons and tons of shops. From fresh meats and cheeses to candies and pastries to hot food to order, they have a little bit of everything.






So, I tried some cheese samples that were AMAZING, and I also had a nibble of some beef jerky. Oh, and a birch beer!

After nibbling, we sat down at Tommy DiNic's Roast Pork and Beef to split a roast pork sandwich. We ordered it complete with cheese and sweet peppers. Thankfully we split one, because they're huge. We ordered in the to-go line (oops), but then we ate it there. I guess that's not what you're supposed to do.


So, this sandwich was fine. I'm not sure I am aboard the whole giant carnivorous sandwich (hello, give me some sauce or SOMETHING), but this is good for what it is. It's hearty, no frills, filling and full - FULL - of roast pork. I definitely think it needs the cheese and peppers just for some flavor and texture variation. But, solid, nonetheless.


Grade: B
 

What goes together better than fried chicken and donuts? Very few things, I tell you.

Philly's Federal Donuts knows this best. This donuts-by-morning, chicken-by-lunch shop blends both worlds beautifully. Kaitlynn and I rose early to get our mitts on some fresh donuts during our first morning in Philly.

Hot fresh donuts include ones like strawberry lavender (which I ordered one of), and there are the "fancy" donuts as well, like this delicious strawberry cheesecake one. The fried chicken - which comes with seasonings like za'atar, coconut curry and buttermilk ranch - wasn't available quite yet. Oh well.

After I selected a strawberry lavender and a strawberry cheesecake donut, we sat outside to enjoy the sun before it became too unbearably scorching. The strawberry lavender is a bit messy with the sugar tumbling off all sides as I took a bite. But the very sweet, almost-floral flavor was refreshing. The strawberry cheesecake, while I didn't get much of the cheesecake flavor, was also decent. Not mind-blowing, but good.

I think to get the true experience, I'll have to try some of the chicken. Will save that for next time.

Grade: B

Today's Italian ice, also known as water ice (particularly in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley), is a sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit (often from concentrates, juices or purées) or other natural or artificial food flavorings, similar to sorbet.[1][2] Italian ice is not shaved ice that is flavored; rather, it is made by the same process by which ice cream is made: freezing the ingredients while mixing them. Italian ice is similar to sorbet but differs from American-style sherbet in that it does not contain dairy or egg ingredients, though it may contain egg white.[1]Common flavors include blue raspberry, cherry, lemon, mango, orange, strawberry, and watermelon, with numerous other flavors available. It is believed to be derived from the Sicilian granita,[3] a related dessert which may have been brought by immigrants to the United States. Authentic Italian ice contains no pieces of fruit: smooth tiny grains of flavored ice, lemon being the quintessential flavor.

John's Water Ice is one of the iconic shops for it, so Kaitlynn and I took a stroll to get out hands on some. This cash-only shop is window service only, and on a hot summer day, it was certainly busy.f

At first, I thought this was going to be a snow cone, and while it's similar, the flavoring is actually within the ice and not added afterward. It's also much smoother. I went with a cherry flavor, which was pretty good. Because it was so hot, the thing just practically melted apart as I was holding it - red going all over my hands. BUT, the flavor? Way better than a snow cone. And a good way to cool off, too.

Grade: B

The man had two boxes of steaks, a few hot dogs, and $6 in his pocket when he turned on the grills at 9th and Passyunk. Neighboring joints predicted he’d last six months, tops. 

Joey didn’t listen. He stuck to what he knew and what he knew was steaks. Joey learned the ropes working in his old man’s steak shop in the 40’s. It was in that kitchen that Joey mastered cooking a steak to mouth-watering perfection and grilling an onion so it had just enough bite. 

Little by little the shop at 9th and Passyunk drew more attention. Before long, people were saying they were the best steaks they’ve ever had. Joey kept at it. 

Business was booming in 1971 when Joey and his wife Eileen had a baby boy. Always one to do things his own way, Joey decided to name his son (yep, you guessed it) Geno. 

As soon as he was old enough, Geno was right there beside his dad, learning about the family business. From 17 on, you could find him at the shop, making steaks, taking orders, and meeting with customers – learning every aspect of the business Joey built.
Joey Vento passed away in 2011. Geno has since taken over the shop and is carrying on Joey’s legacy by serving up Philly’s famous cheesesteaks.

There's a friendly competition between Geno's and Pat's, and it's common to see tourists walk from one shop to the other to compare. We did just that. I ordered the same cheeesesteak at Geno's as I did at Pat's: One Whiz wit -- aka, one cheesesteak with Cheez Wiz and onions.