LOTD: HipsterGeekChic @ Back in TIME Sessions

Vest: Romeo & Juliet | Shirt: Sanctuary | Pants: Paige

Glasses: Amazon | Necklace: Cross - F21, Bambi - Vintage

So apparently, Philly's Monday night best kept secret is out. About a year ago, a friend of mine invited me to this whiskey bar over on 13th & Sansom that played live music. And then we became regulars. We'd arrive around 9:30, appropriate our high-top table in the back, have a few glasses of wine, nosh on the awesome fries, sometimes dipping them in the mac & cheese topped with BBQ brisket, until the music started around 10. Then room would fill with the soulful sounds of Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, you name it. Artists from all over the city would come to perform at this semi-open mic night/jam session for an awesome crowd of music lovers.

I mean you've got to love live music to drag yourself out on a Monday night, but it was always worth it. Sooner rather than later, the word got out, and last week when we went for my fellow regular's last night in Philly, it was literally standing room only. I'd never seen it so packed, but it per usual was an awesome show.

So I figured, since word's already out, I can divulge my Monday getaway.

Here's a clip of some of the musicians rocking out:

I think the bar itself might be more known for it's whiskey selection, as well as it's dance party scene on Saturday nights upstairs. It's definitely got to be one of my favorite places in Philly, and def worth checking out if you enjoy any of the above.

TIME, 1315 Sansom St., http://www.timerestaurant.net/ 

My Favorite BYOBs in Philadelphia

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At a JL meeting this week, I was jokingly told that I should quit my job and write about all the BYOBs and fun things to do in Philly, to which I said, funny that you should say that, I kind of have a blog to do that, haven't quit my day job though. But it did remind me that one of the things this blog was supposed to do was tell you about some of the awesome gems Philly has to offer.

And one of my favorite parts about living here is dining on delicious food without breaking the bank because there are just so many wonderful restaurants here, but equally importantly, enjoying a nice bottle of wine with dinner without paying $50-100 for them to pour it for me. So here are my top 10(ish) favorite BYOBs, broken into categories for a bit more guidance to your foodie adventures:

Fun, Loud, Celebratory:
1) La Viola (Ovest) (Italian)
252 S. 16th Street, Rittenhouse 
La Viola will always have a place in my heart, mostly because the fondest of memories have been created here. It is THE go-to dinner spot to fill up on yummy, but affordable home cooked tasting Italian food, while drinking wine and other libations (they do not judge what type of bottle you put on the table, as some other establishments have...) to your heart's content before hitting the town for a long night of dancing and other shenanigans, especially if you're a Penn student of any kind. It's the only place I know of in the city that will seat a party of 20 at 10pm and won't kick you out even when you're laughing hysterically with friends well after midnight. Nestled comfortably at 16th & Locust, it's just a hop skip and a jump from all the nightlife Rittenhouse Square has to offer. Oh and they have two locations across the street from one another, I prefer Ovest simply because it's the bigger of the two, which to me means higher chance of faster seating, especially on the weekends, beware...
Favorite menu items: Funghi Trentino, Penne All'Oriolo

2) La Locanda del Ghittone (Italian)
130 N. 3rd Street, Olde City
We actually stumbled upon this place when our other neighborhood gem, Il Cantuccio, was booked, and apparently there's a bit of a family rivalry. Nonetheless, Ghittone has become another go-to for a heart-warming, open kitchen serving up piping hot delicious Italian meals, always tempting you with some fabulous special of the evening. It's shaped in an L, and larger parties are normally seated along the longer side of the dining room, making the short side seem like a smaller more intimate restaurant, without the pressure of being quiet. Joe, the maitre'd/server/entertainment for the evening, is a fun-loving guy that does the best he can to seat you, even when it's packed to capacity or their shutting the burners down. Great place to kick off a night on the town in Olde City, and parking is almost always a cinch.
Favorite menu items: Crepine con Funghi, Gnocchi del Giorno

3) Lolita (Mexican)
106 S. 13th Street, Midtown Village
So I'm not sure you can ever go wrong when you're told to BYOT - T is for tequila! With the most delicious carafes of margarita mix flavors like blood orange and strawberry basil, I'm not even sure the food has to be that great. But it is. Pretty sure the short rib was the first thing I'd ever seen the beau eat and not even offer for me to try because it was too good to share. I personally am a big fan of the Carne Asada with plantain crema and fried yucca, delish! Conveniently located near lots of fun places on 13th, another great place to celebrate an event or kick off the festivities of the evening.
Favorite menu items: Guacamole, Carne Asada a La Lolita

Intimate & Romantic:

It's Halloween! Terror Behind the Walls...to go or no??

So in the wake of Super Storm/Hurricane/Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy, not too many people are thinking about celebrating Halloween. You're probably more likely to be wondering when your power is coming back on, or when you can possibly get to and from if your public transportation system is down. Luckily, we weren't hit too badly here in Philadelphia, and I had the bright idea of maybe, just maybe going to Eastern State Penitentiary for their annual Terror Behind the Walls haunted tour. Yep, the girl who doesn't even watch scary movies is thinking of spending Halloween night in a prison being scared by crazy actors in gory ghoulish makeup.

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The Yelp reviews are mixed. I'm nervous the line will be atrocious since it's actually Halloween and it's the best way to spend a Wednesday night of course. Any one ever been? Is it worth the $30 ticket?

Maybe I'll just do a daytime tour...for $12...lol

Happy Halloween!

xox

Fitness, Fun & Fall Festivals in the illadelph

Happppyyyy Frrriiiiddaaayyyy!!! Can you tell I'm excited for the weekend? In all seriousness, the week kind of flew by, but every Friday I'm ready to sing "Cheers to the freakin' weekend!" (Cue RihRih). I think the week flew by in part because I finally made my way over to The Sporting Club at the Bellevue, for which I purchased a LivingSocial deal for $30 for a month pass, which includes all access to the 93,000 sq ft facility as well as unlimited classes, and my gosh is the list extensive. Apparently, a monthly membership would normally cost ~$100/mo + a hefty initiation fee of $450. o_O...Insert happy dance here for getting quite the steal!

On Monday, I was hyped and posted this picture of my new running shoes and post-workout healthy meal.

After "The Boxer's Workout" with Clif, I was feeling good and wanted to keep it going with healthy eats, so I made a nice spinach salad with a corn/red pepper/tomato/red onion/goat cheese salad I'd made over the weekend. Because I was still hungry and kind of craving something sweet, I decided to have a brown rice cake with peanut butter for dessert. Go me!

I made it to the gym twice more this week for Vinyasa Yoga on Tuesday & Thursday. I'm excited to try all the new classes. It keeps my routine changing, so my muscles don't get used to anything, which is what I used to love about dance. There's a Zumba class tonight, but might not make it because my social life is just jumping these days. I kid I kid lol, but for real there's been a lot going on lately.

Week(end) Roundup: Red Lips, Boozy Brunches & MadeInAmerica

I think I'm just now at this very moment recovering from a whirlwind of the past week basically. Labor Day weekend truly took on a mind of it's own, prep starting Friday, festivities Sat - Mon, and back to work on Tuesday?? Asking way too much of me. Nonetheless, I'll share a few highlights...

On Friday, I was feeling a bit patriotic and having finally reached my six empty container quota for the M.A.C. recycling program, I was excited to pick out a new lip shade. To my surprise, my choice was not just between lipstick shades, but lip glosses and eyeshadow were part of the deal as well. And thank the Lord for that. After trying on many a shade of red lipstick that all looked like I'd been eating red chalk - no like seriously, matte lipstick on me drains the moisture from my nose to chin Tyrone Biggums style, so not cute...I switched gears and moved to glosses. First pick was "Ruby Red" and I was sold.

Much to my surprise, I loved it. She did warn me that it wouldn't last as long as lipstick, which I thought I was totally fine with, until I got some yogurt from Scoop Deville (aka sweets heaven on earth) and it was all over my spoon. Had a moment, but such is life. Loved my red lip so much went and got my nails painted in this orangey-red color by O.P.I. called "Ole' Caliente" 

Philly Phood Phun (REVIEW): Tommy DiNic's & Shake Shack

Last week, I was able to hit up two current hotspots on the Philly food scene right now: Tommy DiNic's & Shake Shack.

Tommy DiNic's, located in Reading Terminal, is catching all the press right now after it's famous Roast Pork sandwich being crowned America's Best Sandwich, beating out Katz's pastrami sandwich of New York City. Being a pastrami & cheese on rye kinda girl, this was reason enough to try out the newly crowned king. So we walked on over to Reading Terminal and found a line wrapped around the countertop, typical for almost any stand in RT. The beau was quick enough to notice that if you sat at the counter, you'd get table service and thus bypass the line. So my eagle eyes scouted and hopped on the first counter stool available and we ordered our sandwiches shortly after. I legitimately think everyone sitting around had ordered "the" sandwich, so I closely watched for reactions, additions (i.e. the banana peppers in jars on the counters), whether or not people were finishing these gigantic things, etc. From the looks of it, I almost considered ordering the beef brisket, that way we could swap halves of the huge sandwiches, but he wasn't too keen on the idea. So we both ordered our own Roast Pork sandwiches with provolone & broccoli rabe, for the sake of experience.

REVIEW: HoneyGrow

Now that I'm living in Center City, I'm absolutely ecstatic and scared at the same time. Ecstatic that I'm so close to everything, especially so many new and interesting hidden foodery gems. And I'm scared because I'm so close to so many foodery gems, including Insomnia Cookies being dangerously close to my door. Like seriously, I can smell the cookies in the lobby. Nonetheless, I've been walking past this place called HoneyGrow often, and just as often seeing the line out of the door. I'm starting to think some restaurants are strategically positioning the register right at the door to create the illusion of ridiculous demand (ahem Shake Shack ahem ahem). Excuse me :) Anyway, since it was rather late in the day, there was no line and I went straight to the kiosk to order. I went with the Spicy Garlic Stir Fry. And I am so glad that I did.