Shake Shack - Center City Pretzel Concrete

I visited some college friends in Philly a few weeks ago, and CONVENIENTLY one of my friends lived a few short blocks from the Center City Shake Shack, haha.  Of course being at a different location, I had to try out one of their location-specific concretes!

This Center City Pretzel concrete consists of vanilla custard, Philly-style soft pretzel, caramel sauce, marshmallow sauce, and banana.  As you can see, there were lots of big chunks of soft pretzel in the cups, which were definitely the best parts of the concrete! I actually didn't see the banana on the menu, but we definitely tasted the banana once we started eating this.  I'm not entirely sure what the banana has to do with the pretzel custard, but I can pretend like it's more healthy that way, haha.  I would definitely recommend trying out this custard if you like soft pretzels! 

Shake Shack - Stumptown Coffee Cardamom Custard

I love coffee ice cream, so I was very excited to try Shake Shack's Stumptown Coffee Cardamom custard which was the special custard flavor recently.  To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how the cardamom flavor should smell or taste, but either way this was a delicious cup of custard.  

There's definitely a strong but not bitter coffee flavor, but still tasted different from a regular coffee ice cream.  It tasted a little less sweet to me in a good way, like literally adding strong coffee to vanilla ice cream.  I really enjoyed this ice cream, and any fan of coffee would love this one! 

Shake Shack - Valley Forge Freeze

One nice thing about work travel is getting to meet up with friends in certain areas - and even better is traveling somewhere with a Shake Shack!  This was my second trip to the King of Prussia, PA Shake Shack, and I enjoyed a delicious dinner there with my friends I and B.  

I definitely wanted to try another concrete that I couldn't get in the DC area, and the Valley Forge Freeze looked like a great choice.  I've had concretes at Shake Shack before with blondie pieces, and this version with cheesecake blondie chunks sounded awesome!

This concrete definitely was all that I hoped it would be - lots of sprinkles, blondies, and caramel throughout.  Clearly chocolate is the dominant flavor, but I loved all of the other components that were liberally mixed in.  It was great seeing some friends out of town and enjoying something new at Shake Shack! 

Lunchtime Links for February 2nd, 2015

• My Baking Addiction: Chocolate chip pudding cookies. 
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Philly cheese steak nachos.
• The Kitchn: Enamel kitchen canisters.
• Simply Happenstance: Cheesy game day dip.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Bang Bang cauliflower.

Shake Shack - Liberty Shell

A few months ago, I was in PA for a business trip, and while I was there I realized that I wasn't too far from King of Prussia mall.  As fast as I could get my GPS up and running, I was off to go to Shake Shack for dinner, haha.  Be sure to drive around the perimeter of the mall, because Shake Shack is a standalone restaurant, and not actually inside the mall itself.  

Unfortunately I didn't have a ton of time to go to the actual mall, which is a fabulous mall to spend time in, and every Jersey-raised mall-loving girl's dream, but I am super happy that I got to go to a Shake Shack in a different area and try one of the PA-area concretes.  This one above is the Liberty Shell: Vanilla custard, Termini Bros. cannoli shell, strawberry puree and lemon ricotta.  The cannoli shell pieces added a fantastic crunchy component throughout the dish, and I loved the addition of the tangy and creamy lemon ricotta.  As someone that isn't really a fan of fruit-based desserts, I will say the strawberry puree was sort of a lot for me, but I definitely wanted to try it out as it was meant to be for the first time trying it.  What a fun little surprise for an otherwise standard business trip! 

Lunchtime Links for October 24th, 2014

• The Pioneer Woman: Chocolate pie. 
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Philly cheesesteak soup.
• The First Year Blog: Candy bar cake. 
• Picky Palate: Pumpkin snickerdoodle cake bars. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Salted caramel Mocha mug cake. 

Philly Trip

Hey everyone, I'm off to Philly for work for a good chunk of this week, I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Le Diplomate Brunch

Back in August, my best friend came to visit and we had a fun weekend that was mainly planned around food, naturally.  One of our meals was brunch at Le Diplomate.  We are both fans of the Stephen Starr restaurants in Philly, so we were looking forward to checking this place out.

The interior of Le Diplomate is very true to the bistro theme, and apparently looks similar to Parc Brasserie in Philly.  The restaurant was bustling and we kept checking out all of the delicious-looking dishes that passed by as they headed to other diners' tables.  

The bread basket (below) was delicious, and I could've polished off the whole thing myself if I really wanted to, haha. 

Apparently I REALLY couldn't get enough of the bread, because I wound up ordering the Baguette Provencale for my entree, hah. This sandwich consists of French salami (which I had no idea it existed), Idiazabal cheese, cornichon, and a mustard vinaigrette.  As you can see the baguette halves aren't even visible due to the generous amount of "stuff" inside. The side salad was a nice addition to the plate, though not exactly memorable.  The ambiance was great, the food was tasty (especially the bread), and I would love to come back for dinner sometime! 

Le Diplomate

1601 14th Street NW

Washington, DC 20009

Han Dynasty - Cherry Hill, NJ

I had heard of Han Dynasty restaurant here and there on food blogs, but had never tried it when I've been in Philly.  Luckily, a Cherry Hill, NJ outpost opened, which is right by where my best friend and her husband live, woo!

Here we have the Dry Fry style beef which consists of triple flash fried beef with dry peppers, celery, bamboo shoots, and Sichuan peppercorns.  This had a heat that grew with each bite, even avoiding the peppers in the dish didn't make it any less spicy, haha. It was definitely that specific type of addictive spicy though, and I loved it!

This isn't a very pretty-looking plate, but it sure was delicious.  We also got the pan fried dumplings and Dan Dan noodles. A lot of beige, but super tasty, haha.  I would love to go back again and try more dishes, especially the spicy ones! 

Han Dynasty - Cherry Hill
404 Route 70
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
856.428.0088

My Best Friend's Wedding

My best friend got married this past weekend in Philly - it was a beautiful wedding weekend, and I was so happy to be a part of the celebration!!!  Congratulations to I and B, love you both!!!

My Best Friend's Wedding!

My best friend is getting married this weekend, wooooooooooooooooo!!!!  I'm looking forward to a super fun weekend celebrating in Philly :o)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Taylor Gourmet - Kelly Drive Hoagie

 

Yummmmm, another Taylor Gourmet hoagie post!

This lovely hoagie is the Kelly Drive hoagie on wheat: prosciutto, sopressata, sharp provolone, lettuce, tomato, and onion.  This was super delicious, probably moreso because I looooooooooove me some prosciutto, haha.  It's simple and tasty, just the way a hoagie should be :o)

Lunchtime Links for February 24th, 2012

• Serious Eats: Homemade Philadelphia-style tomato pie.
• Gossip Girl: Recap from TVGasm.  
• Tasty Kitchen: Asparagus and brie pierogies. 
• The Kitchn: Pull-apart spicy cheese bread.
• Eat Yourself Skinny: Spicy lime salsa.

Lunchtime Links for December 1st, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Three ingredient chocolate pumpkin cookies.
• Serious Eats: 29 touristy spots in America that are actually good.
• In Good Taste: Shells and cheese with browned butter and Swiss chard.
• Real World: Recap from TVGasm.  
• Target: Bakerella's Bullseye cake pops.

Lunchtime Links for November 28th, 2011

• Chobani: Chobani pumpkin muffins. 
• Serious Eats: Federal donuts in Philadelphia. 
• A Passion For Food: Warm Sunrise tea.
• La Fuji Mama: Quick Mao Pao tofu.
• The Kitchn: 8 fudge recipes.

Lunchtime Links for October 28th, 2011

• Serious Eats: Sandwiches in Philly.
• Eat Drink Pretty: Pumpkin bars.
• Bakerella: Halloween sprinkles.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin rolls. 
• Jen's Kit Kat Blog: Tiramisu Kit Kat.

Lunchtime Links for March 3rd, 2011

• Top Chef All-Stars: Recap from Serious Eats.
• Serious Eats: Grilled cheese in Philly.
• Jersey Shore: Recap from NYMag.
• The Kitchn: Individual chicken pot pies.
• Cookie Madness: Peanut butter and Nutella brownies.

Taylor Gourmet - Schuylkill Expressway + Lombard Avenue Hoagies

In my quest to chomp through the entire Taylor Gourmet menu, here's two more hoagies that I've recently had.

Up top we've got the Schuykill Expressway, aka the one I can never pronounce, no matter how close I've lived to Philly my whole life, haha.  I think it's supposed to be "Skew-cal" but I'm not even really sure about that, so don't quote me on it.  Name confusion aside, this hoagie packs in prosciutto, roasted red peppers, sharp provolone, lettuce, and onion.  I'm not a huge fan of onions but it added a nice sharp tang to the red peppers and the thin slices of prosciutto.

Here we've got the Lombard Avenue, which is Soppresata, Genoa salami, roasted red peppers, pesto, fresh mozzarella, and lettuce.  I love Genoa salami so this was already going to be a winner for me, haha.   I probably could've done without the roasted red pepper because the texture was too similar to the thick slices of mozzarella, but it's still a v. tasty hoagie.  

I can't wait to keep going down the Taylor Gourmet menu, woo!

Lunchtime Links for December 6th, 2010

• Cute Overload: Yet another adorable photo of Boo.
• Serious Eats: Treats from Dessert Club ChikaLicious. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella chocolate chip cookies.
• The Kitchn: Di Bruno Brothers in Philly.
• Pioneer Woman: TOMS glitter shoes.

Taylor Gourmet Bethesda - 9th Street Italian Hoagie

You may or may not have noticed a fair sprinkling of Taylor Gourmet posts recently on my blog.  Well the reason for that, my friends, is my newfound "goal" (in quotes cus really, who thinks of goals like this...) is to try every item on their Bethesda menu, eventually, haha.  I specifically say the Bethesda menu because I'm assuming all three locations' menus are identical, but in case they decide to do specific specials at some point.  I'm also doing this because it's a good way to force myself to try new items from their extensive menu, plus I'm pretty much almost done with trying every Georgetown Cupcake flavor, haha!  

Here we have the 9th Street Italian Hoagie: Genoa salami, capicola, prosciutto, sharp provolone, lettuce, tomato, and onion.  Salami and prosciutto are two of my favorites, so this was a total WIN in my book.  I can see why it's one of the crowd favorites! 

So, that's two hoagies down... and how many more?!?!  Better step up my gym time if I actually want to complete this!