Pink

I've been traveling a boat load this summer, so I haven't eaten at any new places in Philadelphia in weeks upon weeks. On the way down to Asheville Tim, Jonny and I stopped at the Pink Cadillac diner. This tiny, Elvis themed eatery is located right of the interstate, and seems to be a stop for locals and passerbys alike.

The decor here is crazy. As the name indicates, a Pink Cadillac is sitting in front of the

restaurant. Oddly, there is also a King Kong and Humpty Dumpty out front. Once inside, it seems like a 1950s diner, one that understandably pays homage to Elvis with nearly every inch of wall space.

The service here is fine. Our waitress was pleasent. I don't expect the same speed or quality that I'm used to in Philadelphia, which is good because the South operates at a slower speed.

We got to the restaurant shortly after 11am, which is when breakfast ends. I wasn't thrilled about this, but looked over the menu and ordered the Elvis burger. It's a basically a good version of the Big Mac, right down to the bread in the middle. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much from a roadside diner, or maybe it's because the food was great. Either way, the burger here was great. The patties were perfectly cooked and all of the ingredients were to perfect proportions. It was topped with a "special" sauce, and overall was a very enjoyable

burger.

The excellent fries I had as a side order were thick and crispy. Tim ordered onion rings as his side and they were some of the best I've had in a long time. Great meal overall, and a fun place to stop.

Bottom Line:

If you're driving through VA on I-81, Pink Cadillac is a great place to stop at and an even better place to eat a cheeseburger.

Essentials:

4337 S Lee Hwy

Natural Bridge, VA 24578

540-291-2378

Sazon

A faded blue sign hangs over an exterior that needs a lot of TLC. From the outside, Sazon does not look impressive. I didn't know what to expect as I walked into this Venezuelan BYOB. The inside looks much better than the outside, and as we were walking through the dining room to our table, I stole a couple of looks at other people's dishes. I was instantly hooked.

I was out with my fried Sean; we split a bottle of Pinot Noir from Chile. The wine was okay. Our server was nice and attentive. While we were eating, the jovial owner stepped out of the kitchen to check in the with tables. He's passionate about the food and this was a really nice touch. The menu here is pretty extensive. They offer a good mix of appetizers, sandwiches, and entrees, making this a great place for lunch or dinner. The prices are a little bit higher than I expected, but it's offset by the fact that you can bring your own alcohol.

Our appetizer dish came with an empanada stuffed with black beans and cheese. It was basic, but not bad. The corn pastry stuffed with shredded pork was a step up. The meat was well seasoned and cooked, making for a nice little treat. To finish this dish, there were three cheese sticks, but they had puff pastry dough instead of a deep fried shell. The result was the best mozzarella stick I've ever had.

For dinner, we split the huge surf and turf special. The shrimp was decent.The chorizo was excellent, it was well cooked and had a perfectly spicy flavor. The serlion tips were my favorite part of this dish. They were well cooked and incredibly tender. There was a huge flavor to them, but the texture was so good that I didn't care. The dish came with a side salad, avocado, and fried yucca, all which went fantastically with the meat and seafood. It was a great thing to share, because it was a lot of food.

At this point, I was happy with my dining experience at Sazon. But it wasn't quite over. We were staring at a menu with several different hot chocolates that were too enticing to pass up. I can't put into works how good this was. It was a perfect dessert, depite being the middle of summer. I can't imagine how much better it would be on a wintry night. The classic hot chocolate, which is a "must taste", is a thick blend from five different kinds of chocolate. It's reason enough on its own to visit Sazon. We also ordered the orgasmo, which was a blend of peanut butter and Kahlua. It was good, but nothing compared to the classic.
Bottom Line: Sazon is a unique spot that is definitely worth visiting. The food, service, and atmosphere are all good, but not amazing. The hot chocolate, however, is fantastic.

Essentials:

9th and Spring Garden

T&W 5:30-9, TH 5:30-10, F 5:30-11, S 11:30-10, S 11:30-9

Accepts Cards

BYOB

Pope: Pub on Passyunk East

I recently revisited this spot. Because it's so far from where I normally hang out, I rarely make it here. The Pope is an all around solid spot, and I'm sure I would visit a lot more if it was closer to me. Everything that they do is well done, but nothing stands out as excellent.

For atmosphere, this place is dark and cozy. If you're visiting during the day, expect to be blinded as soon as you walk out the door. The bartenders are friendly and attentive. The beer selection is very good, even by Philadelphia standards. They had a few beers that I hadn't seen on tap in the city or had not seen in a good while. It's nice to find a bar that can craft a good beer list in a city where standards are so high. They have one flat screen TV in the corner if you're trying to catch some sports.

For food, I had the Pope Burger. I'm drawing a blank on the toppings, I think I had a red onion, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese. I ordered medium rare and it came out cooked perfectly. While not the best burger in the city, it will certainly satisfy you. Dan ordered fish and chips, which he deemed best fish can chips value (at $8) that he has found in the city.

Bottom Line: Pope isn't doing anything amazing, but they're doing everything very well. You won't be disappointed when you visit.

Misconduct Tavern

While I was initially thrown off by the overly enthusiastic seafaring theme at Misconduct Tavern, I do aim to try out all different kinds of bars. Coupled with their 1/2 burger Monday, it seems like a good place to try out.

Dan and I visited for lunch. It wasn't busy, and the server was pleasant and attentive. The beer list here is good and has some nice variety and smaller breweries, but not outstanding. $5.50 for Bell's Quinnanin Falls Lager (12 oz), $6 Ommegang Witte oints are slightly overpriced. I dislike bars that don't clearly advertise their prices, and Misconduct provides a tap list without any indication of price.

We ordered wings and cheeseburgers. The wings served are whole wings, I believe an order or five was $9. At that price, I expected nothing short of condor size wings in the most delicious sauce available. In short, they're more expensive and less falvorful and enjoyable than the wings served up at Moriarty's.

We both ordered medium rare burgers. We both received well done burgers. I don't like sending food back to the kitchen, so I ate and enjoyed my burger, but it was an oversight that shouldn't have occurred. The fries served alongside are okay, nothing special.



Bottom Line:

I can get better food, drink, prices, service, and atmosphere within a two block radius. On the other hand, there are far worse places in the same vicinity. If you're going to visit, at least do so on a Monday, when you can get a handsome burger for $5.

Elevation Burger

A few weeks ago I grabbed a great deal on Groupon: A $20 Elevation burger coupon for $10. I've been meaning to make the trip out here for a while, and at 50% off it's even more worthwhile. Dan and I drove out last weekend. We both love a good cheeseburger, and expectations were high.

In appearance and atmosphere, the location is a pretty standard fast food joint You order at the counter, and take a seat while your food is made. For counter service, the girl taking our orders was pleasant and helpful.

Everything is made to order. The "Elevation Burger" comes with two patties and two slices of cheese on a small bun. I believe they only offer cheddar cheese. At any rate, we weren't offered any choices. Toppings are free, and I went with Elevation sauce (basically Thousand Island dressing), lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. The patties are small and thin, but to the perfect amount. The ratios of all of the ingredients are great. The burgers aren't cooked to order; everything here comes out close to well done. While it's not my preferred style, Elevation serves up a delicious cheeseburger. The meat tastes great, and the patties are still juicy despite being well cooked. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the burger, especially as it was a delicious, well crafted small patty burger. And all that is priced at a cool $6.

I ordered a vanilla shake and fries to round out the meal. The fries are thin cut. Essential, they're a forgettable filler when compared to the burger. You could skip them completely, or order one basket to share among several people. The shake was very thick, but lacked any real flavor and/or texture. I feel like I could make a better one in the comfort of my own home. Neither of these were worth ordering in comparison to the burger.

The Bottom Line: Elevation Burger is delicious. I like their sustainable approach, and it's the closest to In-N-Out we're going to get in PA. While the fries and shakes leave something to be desired, the burgers themselves are reason enough to visit this suburban location. I'll visit again.

City Tap House

Not wanting to squander a rare lunch break in West Philly, Dan and I ventured in search of the best bar in the area. We ended up at City Tap House. This huge new space is beautiful, if weird. Located in the heart of University City, it has the potential to attract an annoying crowd. But we didn’t deal with any of that on our visit. The staff here is great, and our bartender was knowledgeable about his beer. He was willing to pour samples and offered carefully thought suggestions.

The space is beautiful. The bar is probably the largest in the city, and City Tap house also boasts a sizable dining room with an open kitchen. To top it off, there’s an great outdoor area complete with faux fire pits. Overall, the space is impressive and well used. even the bathrooms leave a good impression.

Let’s move on to the important part: Beer. The first time I visited City Tap House I was part of a record setting night: Most taps by a brewery in a single place at once. Ever. The brewery was Bell’s and there were some great beers available. Still, on a normal day, the Tap House boast a quite respectable list. With the sixty taps available, they offer something for everyone and are simultaneously able to have more than a few rare and impressive drinks on tap. I had a black IPA, Hop in the Dark, from Deschutes Brewery, and, at the moment, City Tap House is the only place in the state that has beer from Deschutes. I cannot imagine the person (other than those who do not like beer at all) that is unable to find something enjoyable.

The menu here is impressive. While ordering, I was wrestling between several different choices, and there is a dinner menu available that I didn’t even see. Because I believe the cheeseburger is the standard to which all other food at an establishment can be benchmarked, I ordered one medium rare with mushrooms and bleu. It came out quickly and well cooked. It was a huge burger, and in reality, I should have only ate half of it. Everything on the burger was high quality, with the bleu cheese as an incredible standout. While not my favorite burger I’ve ever had, I have no hesitation putting this on the highest echelon of burgers in the city. The thin, crispy fries perfectly round out the dish.

Dan ordered a pizza, and it came out perfectly cooked. The pizza is cooked in a brick oven, and the result is a crispy, thin pizza that, like the burger, is excellently crafted. Also like the burger, one pizza is more than enough food for one person. City Tap House offers several mouth watering combinations of toppings for the pies.

Bottom Line: Prices are on par with everything else in this area. The space is beautiful and huge, just like the tap list. The food rounds out this contender for the best bar in West Philadelphia.

Charcoal Pit

I have a booked called Hamburger America in my bathroom. It's a nice read, and it was also my inspiration for a spontaneous trip down to Delaware this weekend.

The Charcoal Pit win for one of the most awkward dining experiences I've ever had. When we first walked in, there was a small area chained off that made us think we had walked in the wrong entrance. The hostess then yelled at us, only half jokingly. We seated ourselves, and our server came over quickly. Everything she said was a statement, like "You want more time" and "You want mayo" instead of asking.

The atmosphere here is pretty traditional 50s diner, and although we were eating a little early (around 5pm) it was oddly almost exclusively populated by senior citizens.

For food, this place is supposed to have excellent ice cream as well as burgers. We were all too full from dinner to try dessert. The prices here are great. We each had a 8 oz cheeseburger, fries, and a drink and it was under $10.

The french fries were pathetically soggy. Our orders were all mixed up. When finally sorted out, I had a medium rare burger topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. The fixings were good, but the bread was soggy and thin. My burger was cooked well, but I can't say the same for everyone at the table. Its great to bit into a burger and have to dripping juice, but overall meat wasn't anything special. Neither was the burger.

Bottom Line: George Mots, you mislead me on this one. The poor service coupled with an average burger produces less than desired results. I wouldn't go to this place if it was in Philadelphia, and I'm certainly not making a trip out of the state to go here again.