Philly Food

Back in August, my husband and I visited Philly for the first time (well I'd had two very long layovers at the airport there going to and from Europe in high school, but I don't think that really counts). We were going to be working in the area for a couple of days so we went early to see the city. We checked out the historical spots like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, checked out the famous "Love" sculpture in Love Plaza, shopped at fun foodie spots Reading Terminal Market and DiBruno Brothers, and enjoyed checking out the waterfront at Penn's Landing. We also rode around the city some to see the famous "Rocky" steps at the Art Museum and just get a little tour of the town. We even watched a Bollywood movie tentatively titled "New York" be filmed, complete with fake NYPD cars. We did go have an authentic Philly cheesesteak at Jim's on South Street, but we both agreed that the cheesesteaks at our local cheesesteak restaurant, Fat Philly's, were much better (the folks that own it came from Philly and import their Amoroso's rolls). The cheesesteak was certainly not worth the 1.5 hour wait.

However, some of the other food we had in Philly was fabulous. I had heard that Philly was a restaurant town and I was given tons of suggestions on places to eat. My husband and I decided on El Vez for dinner on Saturday night and Jones for brunch on Sunday. Boy were those good choices! The food was absolutely delicious at both (and extremely plentiful at Jones...all we could manage to eat for the rest of the day was a single slice of pizza for dinner). At El Vez, I got black bean enchiladas with smoked tomato sauce and my husband got the carne asada. We both got sides of the creamy poblano corn rice, which was to die for. At Jones the next morning, we started off with their monkey bread (they do a small bowl) and then I had the BMW pancakes (huge pancakes with carmelized bananas, walnuts and maple syrup) and my husband got the cheesesteak omelet (really delicious and far better than the cheesesteak we'd had the day before). Our waiter said that he'd only seen someone finish off the pancakes 3 times. Even after both David and I ate off them, there was still half the plate left. We left completely stuffed.

So while I'm not sure we'd go back to Philly just to hang out (we weren't all that impressed with the city), we would go back to sleep in the comfy bed at the Westin and to eat. In fact, we loved the creamy poblano corn rice at El Vez so much, I set out to recreate it when I got home. It is wonderful and I've managed to duplicate it almost perfectly I think. Enjoy!

Creamy Poblano Corn Rice

1.5 cups Arborio Rice (this is important, it likely won't turn out with regular rice)

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

2-3 tablespoons finely minced onions

1 tablespoon butter

2 medium Poblano peppers roasted, peeled and diced

1/2-1 cup white corn kernals (however much you'd like--canned, fresh or defrosted frozen all work fine)

8 oz queso blanco cheese, shredded

1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sautee the onions in the butter until translucent. Put in the rice and sautee until kernals turn translucent and are coated with butter. Pour in 1 cup chicken broth and allow to simmer until most is absorbed. Then continue adding broth 1 cup at a time until it is mostly all absorbed. This will take 20-30 minutes. While you are waiting for the rice to absorb the broth, roast your peppers. I do mine under the broiler in the toaster oven but you can also do them in a regular oven, on the grill, or over an open flame. Roast until the skin is turning black and blistering on all sides. Then place peppers in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or a paper bag and allow them to sweat for about 15 minutes. Peel them, remove the seeds and stem, and then dice the meat of the peppers. Once your broth is mostly absorbed add your diced pepper, corn, cheese and cream. Stir until well combined. Serve immediately. This rewarms well too.

My homemade version of the creamy poblano corn rice

Enjoying my pomegranate margarita at El Vez

My black bean enchiladas and creamy poblano corn rice at El Vez

David's carne asada at El Vez

Yummy BMW pancakes at Jones

The ridiculous line we waited in for a Jim's cheesesteak

The Liberty Bell

Us at Love Plaza