Dream Car

We went to a great restaurant in West Philly called Local 44. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures to offer of the restaurant. But, on the way back to the car after eating, we walked by this (I'm almost speechless here) display of awesomeness. We feel compelled to show you the envy of car seats everywhere. We've already put in our order for the Subaru.

Dos Segundos

We were a bit indecisive on determining where we wanted to eat for Sunday brunch. While driving around Northern Liberties we saw a sign that said "Brunch Everyday." We parked and took our chances. We are glad we did. We've seen this place many times but have never eaten here. It's located in a nice spot close to Rustica Pizza, North Bowl, The Standard Tap, and The Foodery. The place has a nice, airy feel to it. The food is amazing. Alana had a well-portioned  steak salad that included avocado, almonds, oranges, radishes, and carne asada, among other delicious ingredients. I had the huevos rancheros El Segundo-style. Instead of English muffins, the eggs were on a cornbread base. Alana had a mojito which she said was iced down, but good. Sticking to my ritual, I had a bloody mary. It was one of the better ones I've had so far in the city. A nice touch was the Old Bay seasoning on the rim. 

A trip into Center City with Teddy Thompson and Lou Reed

Alana was doing a little uncover recording of us driving around yesterday with Teddy Thompson and Lou Reed songs accompanying us.

Whitetail buck deer munching on clover

This is a little cherry on top of the previous post on music. Maybe the greatest song from the greatest band from my hometown. Revel in the beauty. Dixieland Delight

Music

Music is the greatest gift humankind has come up with. Period. Music is constantly on rotation here at the compound. Some things we've been enjoying lately. 

• Bon Iver- pretty much everything, but especially the songs Flume, Creature Love, Re: Stacks, Blood Bank, and Skinny Love.
• Teddy Thompson--The son of Richard and Linda Thompson. It's in the genes. Only heard one song, In My Arms, it's a great summery sing-a-long. If you don't like it, cheer up. Turn it up and dance, Crowded House style.
• Tom Waits, oh Tom Waits---Listening to his Orphans album we stumbled across this gem. This is another song that'll make you get up and dance. Again, this is best listened to with the dial turned up. 2:19.
• This is Springsteen country and this is a nice version of Josh Ritter doing "The River". And another.
• We just saw M. Ward at the Trocadero here in Philly. The guy has some talent. Such a unique voice.  Here's a nice ditty that gets played now and again in the house.
• In honor of an upcoming show we are going to see in April, we present you the one and only Bonnie Prince Billy doing a sincere, proud version of R. Kelly's "The World's Greatest".
• This is a sweet cover of John Doe's The Golden State by Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney. "You are the dream in my nightmare"
• We just went to see the movie "I Love You, Man". Funny movie. I often think of this song when I think of movies.
• For some reason when I have a little much to drink on Saturday night I always seem to play this song. I guess it has a nice combination of Irish ballad, mandolin, and "oh's". By the way, Earle has a tribute album to Townes Van Zandt simply entitled, Townes, that you'd be a fool to miss.

More Foodery

The Foodery carries a nice beer selection, but it also carries "Muscle Milk" as Alana can attest to. Here are some more pics.

The Foodery

Philadelphia has some zany regulations when it comes to alcoholic consumption. One can not buy beer in supermarkets, service stations, etc. If you want beer you have to go to a wholesale store and buy a case. (Stone's is a great place for that option, they deliver!) No six packs, no half-case. A case or larger. But wait, through some weird loophole certain stores and delis are allowed to sell individual bottles and six packs at a significant price increase. I don't understand the arcane laws, but hey, what can you do? One place that sells individual bottles is the wonderful, Foodery. They have two locations, Center City and Northern Liberties. The pictures taken are at the NoLibs location. They have an amazing selection of craft beer both local and elsewhere. The place should satisfy any beer connoisseur's palate. The only downside is that it's expensive as hell.  

Our house

This is a view of our house from the outside. We read about Sting living in a castle and, so, we tried to duplicate his extravagance. No, this is Eastern State Penitentiary, a historical prison that, thankfully,  is no longer in use. It is a short walk from our apartment. The grandness of the place can only truly be appreciated up close, in person. Perhaps, the pictures can give you an idea of the vastness. 

The ol' standby, The Belgian Cafe

The Belgian Cafe is the first restaurant we went to when we moved to Philadelphia. Since it is very close to our house we go there quite a bit. The place has a nice, cozy neighborhood vibe to it. They have an amazing selection of beer and have nice selection of food, particularly mussels. In our latest trip there we didn't have mussels but did have a few delicious beers and excellent sandwiches. Alana went for the Rueben sandwich, and I went for a tasty burger. Both sandwiches came with frites, some of the best in the city. This is great place to eat especially in the summer when sidewalk dining is available.

Introducing Rosco

We, regretfully, haven't introduced the one and only Rosco. We could devote a blog dedicated just to him and his shenanigans. Here are some pics taken not too long ago.

Springtime

With the cold, nasty weather finally making way for some sun and relative warmth here in Philly our spirits are lifting. In honor of springtime approaching we were reminded of this opening scene in 'Tiger in the Snow'. Not the best of movies, but a beautiful opening scene with Mr. Tom Waits playing "You Can Never Hold Back Spring".

New York Part III

We felt some of this pics shouldn't be left behind. Here are some more from the NYC rendezvous. This is the song that was the impetus for staying at the Chelsea.

Even more New York...

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More NYC

After a long night of exuberance, we went back to our hotel, the bohemian icon Hotel Chelsea. Dylan wrote "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" here! Mark Twain, O.Henry, Sid Vicious, William S. Burroughs, and Leonard Cohen all stayed or livd here. I wouldn't stay there again. Some places are better left as nostalgia. After a good night's rest we went to The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. If you remember nothing else, remember this: TRY THE CHICAGO DOG!!! It's the best hot dog on the planet. After the hot dog, we went to the best book store in the world, Strand's. They have every book imaginable from a table devoted to Murakami to a whole section of over-sized coffee table books. Truly a mecca for book lovers. Afterwards, we went to Max Brenner's chocolate shop to have a hot cocoa and other indulgences. Here are some pics.

New York City

After Zenkichi we went to a costume party ( sadly, we didn't have costumes) at Alana's brother's house in Brooklyn. A good time is guaranteed when Brent is around. Here are some pics of the evening.