Vegan Eats...

Blackbird Pizzeria

507 South 6th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.blackbirdpizzeria.com/ 

Living around the corner from Blackbird Pizzeria, it was very difficult to ignore the smells that emanated from their exhaust system.  I made funny faces when my fiancé asked me to get dinner from there, but that was before I tasted any of their food. I never in a million years thought I would enjoy a restaurant catering to vegans, but I really dig this place. The vibe, the food, the service, everything is great. I have been here many times for pizza, and it's always delicious. I have heard the vegan wings are a revelation. But this time around, I stopped in for the vegan cheesesteak made with seitan.

The seitan was grilled and chopped up just like a cheesesteak, and flavored with peppers and onions and a healthy amount of vegan cheese whiz. The roll it was served on held up nicely to the huge amount of filling that was put inside of it. Honestly the flavor was fantastic. While it did not exactly remind me of a real cheesesteak, it definitely did fit the mold of a chicken cheesesteak. The flavor was great and all in all it was a homerun of a sandwich. Their fries are awesome too. They smell amazing and stay ridiculously warm, even when you walk them home in a paper bag. They are very crispy and fluffy and everything you want good french fries to be.

Three and a half pints for Blackbird Pizzeria. It’s a little bit hipster, but its funky in a cool way. I really began to enjoy it the more I visited and every time I ate something new, it made me like it that much more. I haven’t had a bad bite there yet. The vegan pizza is dope. This place is fantastic, and I dare anyone who claims they don't like vegan food to tell me the food here isn't great. Cheers!

Sometimes You Just Need a Juice...

Sip and Glo

932 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.sipnglo.com/ 

My fiancé sometimes gets cravings for fresh juices. She grew up in a few different tropical countries that fresh juices were prevalent in. She really enjoys them and they make her nostalgic for home. We had a really good spot for them when we lived on South Street, a place called Sip and Glo Juicery. This place is stellar for juices. They keep it very simple. no added sugar and just pure ingredients. They always have good options to choose from in the juice realm, and awesome smoothies as well.

This time around I tried the Better Together smoothie while my fiance ordered the Heart Beet juice. Both the juice and the smoothie were really tasty. The smoothie was very simple, but it was a combination of flavors that are classic and popular. The smoothie contained strawberries, banana, greek yogurt and almond milk. The consistency was just right, and it wasnt too thick so you could actually drink it at a decent pace. The combination of strawberry and banana is always killer in my book.

The Heart Beet juice was the real standout. Beet, carrot, celery, lemon & ginger all combine to make a really flavorful and healthy concoction. It is really satisfying and refreshing. This is definitely a great spot to grab a juice.

Three solid pints for Sip & Glo Juicery. Everything is always fresh and they take great care creating their juices. There really is nothing as refreshing as having a fresh juice and having that cleansing feeling go through your entire body. Give it a try and tell me you don’t feel the same way. Cheers!

A Dud or a Star???

Ocean Prime

124 South 15th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.oceanprimephilly.com/ 

After reading the review Ocean Prime received from the food critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer, I went into our meal there with very low expectations. I usually take some of what he says with a grain of salt, but he had torn them apart so badly, it almost made me want to try it to see if it really was that bad. Luckily I got a gift card for dinner there for Christmas, so I took my fiance out there one night without having to actually shell out much money, so if it didnt go well, I wouldnt have been too upset with it.

Other than the service which I thought definitely needed some work, our meal was excellent. While we did not test the waters of dessert, we did have a delicious appetizer and entrees. The prices are steep dont get me wrong, but its a high end chain steak and fish house, so if you go in expecting not to drop some serious dough, you are expecting too much. Do I think the prices of the fish entrees are fair? Not really, but they werent so high that I would never come back.

We wound up starting with a beer and a lychee martini as well as the tuna tartar. It was not what I have come to know as a traditional tuna tartar, but it was delicious nonetheless. It was layered with avocado and drenched in a salty and tangy ginger, ponzu sauce. The tuna was incredibly tender and paired surprisingly well with the creamy avocado.

My entree, a filet of blackened snapper served over a bed of vegetables and a corn tartar, left my nostrils running quite a bit. But the sting of that spice enhanced the flavor of that delicately flaky white fish so well, I devoured each and every bite. I was less impressed with the corn tartar, the texture was very mushy and the sauce just made it more soggy. I could have done with just the fish and the veggies to be honest. 

My fiance ordered the teriyaki salmon with shittake sticky rice and soy butter sauce. The fish and the rice were outstanding. The glaze was sticky and sweet on the exterior of the charred fish and the rice had amazing texture. However again I thought the plate was oversauced and I really didnt think it needed the sauce at all. 

Ocean Prime is worthy of three pints. Overall it was a really nice meal and a fancy, schmancy place. You will definitely drop some coin, but although the service is a bit spotty and the fish entrees are oversauced, there is still some good food to be had. Check it out and see for yourself. Cheers!

Speakeasy Vibes...

Ranstead Room 

2013 Ranstead Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

www.yelp.com/biz/the-ranstead-room-philadelphia 

My fiancé and I love old time cocktails, so we had our eye on Ranstead Room for quite some time. We headed over there one night before we had a reservation at Ocean Prime to give their cocktails a shot. This place has the best ambiance in the city. It definitely feels like a step back in time to the speakeasy days and it could not be any cooler. The music is great, the service is too and the cocktails are top of the line. 

The place was empty when we walked in, which was great because I heard that it gets packed on a regular basis. It is dark inside, but not to the point that you cant see anything. It really plays into the whole vibe of the place. We sat at the counter and ordered two cocktails, one an apple based cocktail called the applejack with candied ginger and the other a bartenders choice with bourbon. Both were fantastically and expertly made. They were stiff, but not so as to not be enjoyed. The bartenders seem to really care about their craft here, and you can hear it as well as see it in what they do. Each cocktail is crafted with extreme care.

Four pints for Ranstead Room. This review is based solely on cocktails had and not at all about the food, but you get this jist. While a bit pricey, you pay for what you get here. Expert bartenders prepare fantastic drinks and share their knowledge with you. Its all about the quality of the drinks and the ambiance here. It is definitely one of if not the coolest bar in the city. It is definitely worth a return visit, and I will certainly be making one. Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

A Former Burger Powerhouse...

Copabanana

344 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.copabanana.com/ 

My fiance and I needed a quick bite before we hit the road to Boston for my brother's graduation weekend, and we had a dining out card to use for Copabanana, so we walked over on a Friday evening. They used to be the powerhouse of burgers back in the days before they were retired to the City Paper hall of fame and before Philly was a city swimming with gourmet burgers on every corner, so I was excited to see what they offered up. 

My fiance and I ordered some cocktails, a Hurricane for me and a pink lemonade cocktail for my lady. Both were very tasty, although mine was almost too sweet. It was happy hour when we arrived, so the drinks prices were cheap and really enticing. They had a ton of burgers to choose from, and I wound up going with the Wild West burger, while my fiance ordered the Gyro burger. We also ordered the Spanish fries to share. 

The fries were definitely a big disappointment. They sounded delicious, but the execution was not all there. I guess we should have added cheese to bring it all together, but I felt like the jalapenos and onions were just kind of tossed in and didnt really become cohesive with the fries. Again, maybe it would have been different with some cheese.

My burger was spot on. The bison meat was really lean and had a fantastic char on it. The chipotle ketchup had a bit of a kick, but I thought there was room for a bit more. I loved the onion ring on the burger. It had a great crunch factor to it and the batter stuck to the onion really well, allowing nice bites to be taken without ruining the integrity of the onion ring.

I wasnt as impressed with my fiance's gyro burger. While it was ok, it really didnt stand out to me as a Gyro in taste. The burger was definitely lamby, but the Gyro spices and flavoring seemed to be missing. The tzatziki definitely could have been improved as well. I wouldn’t order it again, but there were plenty more options to choose from.

Two pints for Copabanana. It is definitely a good spot for an affordable burger and some great prices drinks during happy hour. Its not going to blow your socks off by any means and its not the best burger around, but its good value for money and good quality for the price point. Give it a try if you are in the area. Cheers!