Well, today is the 199th birthday of Charles Dickens, and probably more relevant to my life, exactly one week since my 26th! It's been a fun week of celebrating, for both me and Charlie (Evan and I went to a dramatic reading of some of his works yesterday near
his statue at Clark Park, complete with a birthday cake and singing. It was quite the experience). My birthday festivities were aptly surrounded with food -my friends obviously know me well- and I thought I'd share some pictures! It started out with a trip to
Terrain and lunch at Styers! The food was
ah-may-zing and I could have easily spent my year's salary in the shop.
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| Short rib sandy with fingerlings |
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| Scallops with raisin sauce and bulger wheat |
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| lamb sliders |
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| blt |
The next night, my roommates made me dinner, and this decadent chocolate ganache layered cake. Which I then ate multiple times a day for the rest of the week.
And to top off the birthday celebrations, I got to cheer on the 76ers with my family. The computers shut down before the start of the game, and so they actually hand wrote our tickets. Stay classy, Philly.
So, let me set the scene. Marigold Kitchen is in an old Victorian here in West Philly, and I walk by it like, twice a week and always think "I love that door!" (it's copper) "What a classy looking place!" "I can't wait to go here!" and finally got a chance when Rx was closed for a private dinner party. We made our way over to Marigold hoping we could get in without a reservation. And lucky us! We were able to get a table. Inside is just as warm and attractive as the outside, with an old stove serving as the hostess table, dim lights, and simple table settings. We were led through the main dining room and upstairs to another room, which if you know these old Philadelphia houses, was a charming space with bay windows and old wood floors. Somehow, they are able to combine down to earth homey with upscale ritzy. I am an avid Top Chef watcher (yay Anthony Bourdain judging this season!) and have always wanted to try some of the things the chefs whip up on the show. Before our meals came, we were given at least 6 amuse-bouches (yup, learned that on T.C.), including parsnip frizzles, sweet corn chowder with thyme bubbles, cheese and cracker (a homemade cracker filled with warm gooey Gruyere), fizzy apple cider with cinnamon foam, plain yogurt with flash frozen carrots... We ordered "How 'bout them apples" for an appetizer (though after all the little bites leading up to it, we probably didn't need it) and it was my first real experience in molecular gastronomy. It is described as "local apples in various forms and textures" which is a nice way of saying "a plate full of really crazy things". There was apple mousse, dehydrated apples, rich blue cheese, puffed wild rice, apple gellée, black olive powder, and foam! 
