Exploring Philly with Kevin & Gino! [Part Two]

It is Kevin's last day in Philly so I took the day off to do "touristy" things, although the most touristy thing we did was walk past the Liberty Bell. Met up with Gino later for a last hangout.

Breakfast:

Apple slices w/cinnamon, cayenne pepper & almond butter

Lunch at Sitar India, Philadelphia, PA:

Saag paneer, naan, veg samosa, paneer tikki masala, dal tarka, some kind of squash & potatoes thing, some kind of beans & potatoes thing, chai
(I was craving Indian food and roped Kevin into going to this buffet with me. Super cheap and tasted great for the price! I enjoyed everything on my plate except for the naan, chai and samosa. That needed more spices; it essentially tasted like mashed potato with cumin and curry. I liked mixing the samosa with the curries though. The chai tea was also disappointing; it tasted like it came from a mix or something. Too sweet and the aftertaste was rather gross but I drank several cups anyway. The naan was too flat and reminded me of pita bread.)

Baigan bharta, naan, paneer tikki masala, chana masala, salad, saag paneer, some kind of squash & potatoes thing, chai
(I was afraid the baigan bharta would be some mystery meat but it was actually eggplant and quite pleasant. My favourite dishes were the paneer tikka masala, squash and potato thing, chana masala and saag paneer.)

Chai, gulab jamun (shared w/Kevin)
(Not bad, reminded me of those Greek honey donuts.)

*Edit: after Kevin and I finished this meal, we were both wiped out. I haven't had such a strong reaction to food in awhile, but I actually could not walk, felt nauseous and had to lay down in a park - where I fell asleep. Perhaps it was a bad food coma, but I'm afraid to go back and eat some more even though it tasted delicious. Maybe I'll just order take-away and partition one order into five meals. No more Indian buffets for awhile.

Sample at Trader Joe's, Philadelphia, PA:

Coffee
(I was feeling really sluggish and nauseous. The coffee didn't really help and I somewhat passed out in a park shortly after this.)

Snack at Ryan Crown's Juice Club, Philadelphia, PA:

The Green Buddha: pineapple, basil, banana, bok choy, cayenne pepper, aloe vera, lime zest, almond milk, vanilla bean extract, chaga-reishi-shiitake-maitake powder (no coconut oil)
(Smoothies and green juice always helps! It was Kevin's last day and we had big plans to eat authentic water ice and the "best" cheesesteak, but I was dying and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. Luckily, I remembered that there was a juice bar nearby so Kevin and I decided to check it out. I chose this one because the powder just sounded way too intriguing for me not to get it, and I seriously needed some zen in my life at that moment. If you're contemplating this list of ingredients, don't give it a second thought and just go for it. Seriously. I felt so much better after this and the smoothie just had a tarty banana flavour with some spice kick. No weird fungus flavour.)

Sample of lemon grass, mint, yerba mate, etc. kombucha
(I don't know the entire list of flavourings, but the combination worked. Very refreshing and summery. This kombucha didn't have much carbonation though.)

Strawberries & cream kombucha
(Yum! I thought it tasted kind of like a strawberry soda/those Hello Kitty strawberry candies, but Kevin and Gino told me it tasted like sangria.)

Kevin and Gino's dinners:

Kevin's cheesesteak w/onions & mushrooms
(Kevin said it was alright. I've heard that Jim's Steaks is pretty good, but that Phillips is superior. We never made it that south.)

*Cheesesteak from Jim's Steaks, Philadelphia, PA

Gino's cheese pizza w/assorted toppings (had a bite)
(Not bad. The slice was massive so I suppose it was a bang for your buck kind-of thing. This place only serves cheese pizza, except on Tuesdays.)

 

*Pizza from Lorenzo and Sons, Philadelphia, PA

 Sample at Rita's - South St., Philadelphia, PA:

Watermelon water ice
(Sickly sweet.)

Spoonful of Kevin's Swedish fish water ice
(No idea how they made it taste just like Swedish fish, but I could never eat more than a spoonful.)

Sample at Whole Foods, Philadelphia, PA:

Quinoa & brown rice avocado cucumber sushi

Dinner from Lazaro's, Philadelphia, PA:

Cheese pizza w/chili flakes & oregano
(Super cheesy and hot. The tomato sauce tasted kind of fake; it was too sweet but I suppose they could have just added a lot of sugar to their batch.)

Late night chilling:

Some beers
(Not the best beers.)