PhilaPhile

Limpopo Restaurant

Update 10.28.06 - Unfortunately Limpopo is now closed.

We went to Limpopo on Saturday night. A BYOB restaurant located in Mt. Airy at 6825 Germantown Avenue. Limpopo serves international African cuisine. It's a very friendly atmosphere with excellent service and food. I made reservations using email on their Web site and received an email and phone call confirmation.

You can order from the menu either a la carte or prix fixe. Prix Fixe, at $25.00, is the better deal if you're ordering all 4 dishes. You may choose any combination of 4 dishes with one entree. I started off with the Congo Salad. A fruit and vegetable salad with Congo dressing. It was excellent. For the Starter I chose the South African Malay Cornpuffs which are crispy cornpuffs with coriander and a sweet chili sauce. The chili sauce reminded me of a sauce that I've enjoyed in Thai restaurants. It was very good. For the Main course I had the Nigerain Jollof Rice with Chicken and Herbs. This was also quite good. It was served with a side dish of a vegetable that I liked but can't identify. For Dessert I ordered the South African Caramelized Pudding and Custard. I found that to be a bit dissapointing.

The owner/chef Zanele Karl was quite friendly. She came around and talked with everyone in the restaurant. Seeing my camera reminded her that she wanted to take pictures as well. Soon she came out with her camera and asked each of us if we would mind a photo. On their Web site they indicate that the menu changes every 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to returning and trying some new dishes.

Hamlet Bistro

We went to the Hamlet Bistro, located at 7105 Emlen Street, on Thursday night. We did not make reservations, showed up around 8:15, and were seated with no problem. There was one waitress for the entire restaurant. It didn't seem to be a problem. No liquor license, BYOB. For an appetizer I had the shrimp and scallop dumplings. As described in the menu, "Marninated scallops and shrimp, wrapped in a dumpling and pan seared, served with a soy and fig sauce. $8.00" It was delicious.

For the entree I had the Curried Chicken Costarring a Colossal Samosa, $16.00. It too was excellent. A slightly spicey curry with a large samosa and boneless, skinless, whole chicken breast over spinach. The meal was quite filling. I very much wanted to order dessert but I was stuffed. My only complaint is that I thought the chicken breast was a little dry. Which is almost expected when cooking whole chicken breast without skin. My wife tasted it and loved it. The spinach and curry sauce made for a nice balance. I'm looking forward to going again and saving room for the brownie sundae.

tags: Philadelphia Hamlet Bistro Mount Airy restaurant

Gamestop

My son was going to his best-friends birthday party friday night, December 2nd. He badly wanted to give him the Spider-Man Extreme for PS2 video game. It's more than we usually pay for a birthday gift but we are very close with the child's family. My wife called Gamestop to see if they had the game, how much it cost, and closing time. They had the game at a good price but they closed at 8:00 pm. We would have to hurry. We rushed out the door, drove quickly to the store at 3110 Cheltenham Avenue and arrived 5 minutes before closing time. Just made it. But wait the doors are locked. Three workers were inside but none of them would open the door. I shouted that my wife had called and was told that closing time was 8:00 pm and it's now five minutes before eight. One of them shouted back, "We're closed."

After I shouted a few choice words at the workers inside, my 9 year old son said, "Ohhhh daddy you said a curse word." I apologized for my language and went across the street to Toys R Us and bought the game for 5 dollars more than the price quoted at Gamestop. As you might expect I will NEVER shop at that store again. My son has been into video games for about a year now and, I'm sure, will be purchasing video games and platforms for many more years. But not at Gamestop.

tags: Philadelphia Gamestop Mount Airy tags: 19118

Forbidden Drive

It's amazing that I live so close to the Wissahickon Valley and I don't use it more often. Located in Fairmount Park it is one of the more beautiful and serene places to walk, jog, bike, ride horseback in the city. I entered Forbidden Drive from Northwestern Avenue at the city limit. Forbidden Drive follows the Wissahickon Creek to Lincoln Drive a total of about 5 miles. You can continue on the path along Lincoln Drive until it intersects Ridge Avenue. At that point you can either travel east, along a bike path, into Center City or west to Valley Forge.

On my walk yesterday I met Pat who is retired. He grew up in Chestnut Hill but lives in another part of the city now. He comes to Forbidden Drive 2 or 3 times a week to take pictures. Hopefully he'll join Flickr so I can see some of his photos. We talk about what a treasure it is to have such a sanctuary located within the city limits. We wonder if people really appreciate all that Fairmount Park has to offer.

Anyone who lives in this part of the city knows that there are problems with the number of deer that often roam the streets in Roxborough, Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy. I find a dead deer lying on the side of the path. Don't know how he met his end there were no visible marks. People do sometime hunt illegally in the park.

As I walk I pass a red, covered bridge. According to the information posted, the Thomas Mill Road Bridge, is the only covered bridge located within the limits of a major city. A little further down the road you'll see a plaque on the creek side with information about the statue of Tedyuscung. The statue is located on the east side of the creek. It's one of my favorite staues in the city, probably becasue of it's location hidden on a hillside in the park. I can remember seeing it for the first time as a teenager but never remembering exactly where it was located. Then finding it again when I moved up here.

I end my walk at the Valley Green Inn, turn around and head back. I think I'll do this again tomorrow.

Technorati Tags - Philadelphia fairmount park forbidden drive wissahickon valley tags: 19128

Breakfast Junction

After attending the opening ceremony for the Martin Luther King Day of Service at Martin Luther King High School I went to get something to eat. A friend of mine, Chris, recently opened a restaurant in East Mt. Airy called Breakfast Junction. It is open 7 days a week from 6:30 am to 2:00 pm and they serve only breakfast. It is located on Wadsworth Avenue about a half-block up from Cheltenham Avenue on the right-hand side.

Inside there is a long counter with plenty of seating as well as tables and chairs. They also do take-out. He's doing a fairly brisk business with his only marketing being word-of-mouth. I had a western omelette with cheese, home-fries, toast, and coffee and it came to $6.50. The omelette was large with a good portion of home-fries and, I must admit reluctantly, was very good and filling.

Chris told me he's been complemented on his grits despite the fact that he's never tasted grits. He said that he has a large grill area because in doing research before opening the restaurant he learned that it would be important to many of his customers that the pork products not be cooked in the same area as the non-pork products. His customers have asked him to serve fried fish. He said he'll try to offer it soon.