24 Hours in Philly

I got to visit a new city this week: Philadelphia!

Unfortunately, I didn't eat any cream cheese or cheesesteaks or pretzels. Nor did I visit Constitution Hall or the Liberty Bell. To be fair, I was only there for 24 hours and it was for work, so, you know, I was working most of the time.

However, I did get to visit two Food Network-approved locales:

First, I picked up a box of brownies for the boys at Flying Monkey in Reading Terminal Market. Ok, they weren't just for the boys - I did include a couple of the Boozer brownies that were recently featured "Kid in a Candy Store." (My kids love Adam Gertler.) They are just as good as the looked on TV, but I need to give a special shout out to the orange brownies because they are so strangely delicious.

And then for dinner, my gracious coworker/tour guide/Philly resident took me to Iron Chef Jose Garces' Distrito. It was love at first sight. Not only is the entire place pink, but we got to eat in a modified VW beetle parked in the front window...it was a little like being a a piece of performance art. Oh, and the food is good, too. Spicy. Honestly, I was content with the pineapple margarita and guacamole, but the Atun ceviche was also ridiculously good. Highly recommended if you're in the area.

The other thing I did on my trip was stay at the Aloft chain of hotels. Have you been? I can't quite figure it out. It's designed as if the reason you stay in hotel is to hang out in the lobby. The lobby is really welcoming, but like a cross between a hip bar and your friend's rec room, and the staff is very casual, like "Hey, what's up?" when you check in. The rooms are very modern and sparse...a little like sleeping in a pod or a nicely decorated dorm room. The dorm room vibe is especially apparent in the middle of the night when all the people who have been hanging out in the lobby come stumbling up to their rooms (it seems like they just didn't bother soundproofing the walls that face the hallway).

I feel conflicted about Aloft. I want to like it for its appearance, but I feel like it's not very nice on the inside. I guess that makes me shallow when it comes to hotels.

So anyway, while this trip to Philly was woefully short on time and historical appreciation, it looks like I'll be back a few times in the coming months, so I feel pretty certain I'll be able to tackle the touristy stuff bit by bit. And probably stay in a different hotel.