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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Philly Food and Fitness!

My dad and I recently signed up for the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run in Philly in May. Actually, the registration process more closely resembles an internet version of a Black Friday stampede, so we're pretty lucky that we were both able to get bib from day one.

The race is a ten mile run down one of the city's main streets. The two of us have done our share of long runs together, but we've been training for this race for about a month in the hopes that we could have a somewhat decent time for just being recreational runners (80 minutes, or maintaining an 8-minute mile for ten miles). Our training has no real structure, though we like pretending that it does. We just try to run 20-25 miles a week balanced with some strength training and lots of high-fives.

We opted for a seven mile run this weekend to gauge where we're at, and we have a little time to shave off, but not much. We spent our quality time together sharing motivational running stories, but only had enough to get us through mile five. The last two miles were spent running uphill in painful silence.

Keeping with our Philly theme, we ended up heading down that way afterwards and having lunch at Rembrant's, a pub near the art museum that seems to be known for its burgers. The restaurant was quaint and inviting, and definitely thriving.


Now, because we (or maybe just me) were famished from our morning run, I didn't quite remember to take pictures before eating the food. So I apologize in advance for the grotesque, mid-meal samples I'm sharing with you. It just proves we liked it, right?

Dad got the Pulpa Pizza which has "soprasetta, roasted peppers, capers, octopus, kalamata olives, tomato sauce, sharp provolone, and mozzarella," and it was amazing. It got a good hit of saltiness from a lot of the ingredients, but it wasn't ever overwhelming. The crust was thin, perfectly crisp, and not the least bit soggy. 


My brother got the Rogue burger: a beef burger topped with pork belly, bleu cheese, onions, greens and a fried egg. The waitress genuinely thanked him for ordering it. I only have a picture of the aftermath of this one. I'm actually impressed he was able to consume it so quickly. And a messy aftermath means it was delicious to begin with. 


Mom had their nod to a falafel sandwich, the Chickpea Hoagie. She really enjoyed it. There was a pleasant yet mysterious spice we couldn't quite figure out, but it kept things interesting.


And I had the turkey burger, which came with brie cheese, avocado and some sort of aioli. Not being a fan of avocado or mayonnaise-y products, I chose to promptly remove those items. The burger, however, was very good. Turkey burgers can easily be dry, but that wasn't the case here. They use brioche-type buns, too, and you know what they say...you can't go wrong with brioche! Fact. Ironically, my meal was the only one that I didn't get a picture of. 

I highly recommend checking out Rembrant's. The service was excellent--they make you feel like a regular from the minute you walk in. The food was the perfect balance of familiar and innovative, all executed really well. And if you're into beer, they have an excellent selection to choose from. My brother is moving to Philly soon, so there should be many Philadelphia restaurant reviews to come! Have a happy Tuesday, everyone!





2 comments:

  1. I would like to say that this blog really convinced me, you give me best information! Thanks, very good post.
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  2. Everything sounds great! I love turkey burgers, especially with avocado.

    ReplyDelete