Scratch Biscuits is not the place you go to impress a date about the great brunch options in Philadelphia. I am not writing this to diminish the restaurant because the food is really good, I just want to inform you that the service and interior is basically like a Chipolte, so if you are looking for a quick bite to eat on a weekday or even a weekend looking to get over a hangover and complete the schedule you have planned for the rest of the day this is a good place to go. I ordered a large coffee, which they get from Rival Brothers and I got the build your own biscuit option which I built with eggs, homemade scrapple, garlicky kale and pimento cheese. I also wanted to get the decimated yam fries that are smothered in pimento cheese, crispy bacon and chow chow but unfortunately their fryer was down. The coffee was good but limited in choices and you have to serve it yourself.  The biscuit was delicious, flaky and buttery tasting, …

It was opening night for Whetstone and I had excited myself into a frenzy about going to try  the new spot opened by Jermy Nolen, the chef of Brauhaus Schmit. So  I justified to myself not cooking the chicken breast in my fridge and instead ventured down to 5th and Bainbridge. The interior design of the building is very classy, it reminded me of a Tavern where you would have seen Nucky Thompson indulging. I sat at the bar and ordered up a Radeberger Pilsner which is a refreshing beer for a hot summer day,  it has an ice cold water taste at first with a slight bitter aftertaste. These are the type of beers you can drink all day.    After a few Radebergers, I decided to ask the bartender for a half-dozen oysters, the  Cape May Salts were the Oyster for the night.  These plump salty oysters tasted so fresh that I might have well just been eating them out of the Delaware Bay. But then again I am a little biased because …

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I decided I had to get out of the house so I called up an uberx and ventured down into Fishtown. I decided to go to Kraftwork for brunch. I am a big fan of the inside layout at Kraftworks, brick walls, exposed metal work, it all brings me back to a better time, a less hectic era, one I wish the world would go back to sometimes. To start the day off I got a Vietnamese Iced coffee with Vodka and I tried out the local brew R5 Lager from Doylestown Brewing Company, both of these hit the spot. The R5 is an easy lager, even if you usually are not a lager fan you will most likely like this because it tastes a little lighter.       For brunch I ordered the breakfast cubano which consisted of ham, Gruyere, pork belly, pickles and spicy mustard topped with a sunny side up egg. The cubano was an open face sandwich on top of wheat toast. The salty …

It was Thursday and my friend and I were supposed to play racquetball and then head to our cigar bar, Cappelli Bros Cigar Company. Of course, plans are made to be broken though and since the gym was painting the racquetball courts we decided to head to dinner instead. We chose Jamonera, I love tapas and I love red wine so places like Jamonera are always held to a higher standard for me. As soon as we got there I ordered the Syrah-Garnatxa and stayed with that for the night, as I am a big fan of wine with spicy notes, especially for salty food.    To start we ordered a small plate and an option from the cured meats and cheeses. The  Fava Croquetas that were topped with lump crabmeat, whipped goat cheese and Meyer lemon was our small plates choice. The Fava Croquetas have a very similar taste to a falafel, while the addition of the other elements to the dish led to a creamy, lemony crab taste that made me think this …

Wow, that is the best description I can give about American Sardine Bar. My friends and I decided to go here on a Saturday night and it is a great place to go with a large group of friends. The draft list is top notch and the food is a fusion of all types of ingredients that would cause the biggest stoner you know to be amazed by the creativity that concots these decadent dishes, the menu changes constantly so you almost always have something new to try out if you are an adventurous eater. Hanging out at the Sardine bar, reminds me of hanging out at a small town corner bar, the laid back casual atmosphere encourages you to stay the entire night while drinking, eating and having a good time with friends.    I started with Kenzinger and ordered a bunch of food for everybody to try out (must admit I ended up eating a lot of it myself though.) First up was the beer mussels, these mussels were some of the largest …

5 o’clock came and work was finally over, it was a beautiful day out, 86 degrees, low humidity, hardly any clouds in the sky and I could not wait to get changed and go out on the town. If Philly had weather like this year round it would be San Diego, unfortunately we have about 3 days of that perfect weather called spring. I headed over to Time Restaurant, Whiskey Bar and Taproom and ordered the He said, She said, which is made of Gin, St. Germaine, thyme simple syrup and peychauds bitters, the thyme was a great touch and gave the drink an elegant flavor. Gin is always a favorite of mine to start the night out on a spring or summer evening, it’s so light and refreshing. After I finished my first drink my friend met me at the bar and we ordered up two vodka martini’s with olives. As we drank these martini’s at the bar, with windows open behind us we listened to the music from the band playing in the …

Waking up the morning after a wedding is always difficult, especially when you had a pants splitting, both literally and figuratively, good time the night before. The wedding was held at the Calamigos ranch, which was one of the most beautiful wedding venues I have ever seen. I had the fish for dinner which was a California Halibut and it was hands down the best wedding dinner I ever had, the texture and tempature were perfect. Congrats to my friends Erica and Tim and I wish you many happy years together. When I finally was able to shake the cobwebs from my head, I realized I still had two full days left in Los Angeles and all I had left in my tank were fumes. Luckily for me though, as my brother said, my fumes are like a full tank for some others. My brothers, friends and I headed over to the Farmshop in Santa Monica for brunch. The restaurant had a very rustic feel meets Rich Kids Of Beverly Hills style to it and …

I woke up from my nap in my new room at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a supposedly haunted hotel where the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable have lived right along the walk of fame and across the street from the Chinese Theater. I was rejuvenated and I wanted to see my buddy who was now living LA. I went out to JR’s place in Santa Monica planning on staying there for a little and then coming home and making it an early night. We hung out with his dogs ate some pizza, watched the Clippers blow a huge lead and listened to a torrential down pour, which was weird since they were in a monumental drought when I got there. It was great catching up and after the game it was time for me to head back to the hotel.    I returned back to The Hollywood Roosevelt and it was pretty dead, I figured I would sit down at the hotel bar, which was a dark lonely place and have a few …

LA, LA, LA what can I say, I came out to visit and fell for you like a one week crush. It was like I was the alcoholic and you were the fridge full of a variety of booze that I had to finish in six days, every morning I woke up, full, tired and hungover and decided the best idea was to follow the same pattern as the day before. Open the fridge grab the next bottle and continue on my journey down the yellow brick road.    1200 hours EST Wednesday May 13 This was my 33 rd birthday and I was supposed to be working, but due to some unfortunate circumstances I was unable to get to work so I got to the airport 8 hours early and hoped to get the 1:40 pm standby plane to LA. Luckily after some maneuvering and cutting of some red tape by myself I was able to change flights to the 1:40 pm flight. I was also able to drink for free at the Admirals …

Opa is a fantastic Mediterranean restaurant that allows you to experience some of the tastes of Greece from the heart of Center City Philadelphia. While Opa now hosts the Drury Beer Garden in their backyard, which is a fun time but always packed. I would rather have had Opa kept their outdoor dining seating instead of the beer garden because of the ambience you get from that area, but unfortunately they did not and the outdoor seating they have now is on a slant with a view of the parking garage, so if you decide to visit Opa I would suggest you sit inside for the best experience. Opa has just hired a new chef and he has introduced his own twists on their menu which overall I found to add to the excitement of eating at Opa.  I started off the night with a refreshing Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment. Even though I am not a huge wheat beer fan, on a warm night this beer is a great way to kick …