FRIENDS WITH BENEDICTS

 

So... when I discover a place I enjoy, I love sharing about it! On main street in Mechanicsburg a new breakfast joint has opened named Poached, and is about 8 months old now. They are getting quite the following. Being a lover of anything locally owned or breakfast, my favorite meal of the day...I love the place. Especially their eggs benedicts menu. Some of the best in the area I've had. I have gone almost every weekend when I'm home with the Mother or friends.

The one week, I had a very sexy waiter. I asked if he wanted to be friends with benedicts and come back to my place to see my benedict. Well, he must have been straight, because I was given my check right quick. Could I have misread his signs??? I thought for sure he would be a sunny side up. Or at the least, over easy. Anyhow I highly recommend the place. And an excellent coffee bar too. The whole menu is fabulous, and the staff wear tee shirts with Friend with Benedicts on them. Love it!!!

THE DUCHESS

Whilst in Baltimore this weekend we made a quick pitstop on the way back home to say hi to some boys I know who own a delicious home accents shop, which hit the wallet hard I might add, and we dined at a stop I enjoy, The Duchess. You may be thinking it's Duchess Deedles's house. I wish! But she is on the other coastline! But every time I see this place I think of our Duchess Deedles and think the place is named in her honor. The Duchess is a corner pub, but don't expect shepherd's pie or Yorkshire pudding here. Rather than serve traditional pub grub, the Duchesss  is the ultimate hangout in Hampden brought to life by owner Tony Foreman and Chef KiKo Fejarang, with a sometime weekly rotating menu I hear. With a vibe inspired by the friendly spirit of a English pub, it's a place where great food and good time come together for sure. The food and even drinks infuse the Chef's vibrant Chamorro heritage and rich with culinary roots from Western Pacific, Guam. She has a melting pot of taste on the menu from Filipino, Japanese, Korean and even some Spanish cuisine. It's definitely a friendly place, with welcoming staff and attentiveness...the place is a true original fitting right into this quirky town of Hampden. I have always loved the vibe of the place. By time we left from an early dinner, the place was packed and we caught just enough of a live performance from a singer on stage, which I hear is a new weekly addition. And we made pigs of ourselves!

I already can't wait to go back!

I came across this video from a year ago of the place for more info. I just adore Chef. And yes, she does a lot with Spam! And it was delish!

HIGH DIVE

 

If there is one thing I still enjoy it's going to a club and dancing...but if one would have told me that I'd ever enjoy just bars or lounges, I'd thought you were nuts. But over the last 10 years I've enjoyed a good drinking bar, to hang and have a laid-back night with friends. The last three weeks found me with the Clan and other friends at what just might be a new haunt, the High Drive. It is kind of like a dive bar, but goes high on style and great libations. The place is the baby of the owners of another favorite place, The Millworks and Tom McGrath, who is a mixologist extraordinaire bartender. The place is housed in what was the Third Street Cafe, which had a bad reputation, shootings, and a seedy atmosphere and then remained vacant since 2021. The property goes back as early as the early 1900's which started out as a bar, then housed the Keystone Trust Company Bank, which later moved across the street. Later it housed a pharmacy and two other bars. The place has a rustic, chic, yet sexy vibe. The owners and contractor kept many of its original historic charms, yet brought back inspiration for the two-story bar, from a trip they took to Havana.

I loved that they keep many parts of the integrity of the historic vibe, as one can see layers of the years. Loved this wall of old match books for the previous places and others in the area.

 DON'T get me started on the drinks and food enjoyed there already. Quite a creative sharable menu. Why do you think I keep going back! MM#1 Fan on his visit had a drink where there was a flaming cinnamon stick in it!!! And it tasted incredible! Some of our delish, mind-altering drinks and dishes.

On our first visit I went to order the Scorpion Bowl. The waiter told me that it serves 3-4 people. To which the Capital Street Duo relied; "Have you seen this bitch drink?"

Hmmmm. I don't know...but this place feels comfortable enough for a neighborhood, daily pop-in. Next thing you know, I'll be like Norm and have my own barstool like I have in Ptown. I may or may not be already smitten with one of the bartenders, so there's that.

FOOD PORN

 The dinner was a complete success and if I may toot my own horn, almost everything tasted just like many of the family recipes. The house smelled wonderful, and it was a three-hour affair. Everyone was stuffed. How full? When the visiting Lad and I turned in, we bypassed sex!!! But the bird!!!

Before

After

It also came up about a funny story about our late dog Lilith who was a Rhodesian Ridgeback. She was a great lover of turkey, so I do reckon Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday, and turkey being her favorite treat. But overall, she was what I called a kitchen dog. ALWAYS in the kitchen when cooking was being done.  We recalled one year, years back, where her patience and persistence were on display for almost the full four hours the turkey roasted...and would not let the oven out of her sight, till the bird emerged at long last.

What a riot she was, and she always got some. Good times!

 In other news, my cousin Frankie proposed to his girlfriend over the pumpkin pie last night during dessert. So there was that excitement!

PEARL AND MARY

 
The last time this summer I found myself in Philly with friends I couldn't resist trying Pearl and Mary's. 1, it used to be my favorite Italian place to eat, 13, and 2- we have a friend named Mary Pearl, and she is practically on par with a drag queen especially with her sets of eyelashes. The place adds to the list of excellent dinning places offered by Michael Schulson, who opened Pearl and Mary, a casual seafood and oyster house. The name pays tribute to his mother and grandmother I was told. While I'm not a huge fan as in NOT a oyster eater, please, my libido is already through the roof, I do enjoy seafood to a point, mostly shellfish and a few fishes. One can expect the freshest catches, small and large plates where seafood is the star, tasty and well-made cock-a-tails at a very fun bar and a polished and cheerful staff who really do seem genuine. I think it's going to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. I have yet to not see a nice crowd there. Loved the vibes of the place, a very neighborhood feel to the crowd, and the color palette of fresh whites, dimensional greens and deep browns make for a great and classic coastal vibe, all while being in the city. I couldn't complain over my dinner or my cocktails. While the boys were shucking and slurping their oysters, I was thinking about shucking our waiter!

My DELISH deviled eggs, since I don't do oysters.

Nice touch I think.

Pearl and Mary.

MORNING RITURAL

Yes, morning! This shot was taken before sunrise before the thermal baths one morning. The above shot is the Gerbeaud Cafe. Warbucks is a early riser. Come to think of it, he's also a night owl. I bet he get four hours a sleep at night. So come morning he loves his coffee among other things!!! Most days he had already two coffees before I even cracked my eyelids. I had no idea that Budapest has quickly become the global burgeoning hot spot for great coffee and coffee shops. When Warbucks moved there, specialty and third wave coffee shops exploded he said in popularity but didn't displace the Hungarian capitals historic old coffee houses and grand cafes and dessert houses. Some of these places...I'd never seen anything like them...gold accented mirrors, crystal chandeliers, marble topped tables and curved wooden chairs...all offered a flavor of the old-world charm. Once a hub for Hungarian writers, artist and revolutionaries, these cafes have an impressive history to themselves. And I'll be honest, cards on the table....I had some of the best tasting coffee I've ever had outside of Costa Rica, who still has the best coffee.

Gerbeaud Cafe, by far had the most decadent desserts!!! This place got its start in 1858.

My cherry Bon-Bon infused with cognac. To . Die. For

Meanwhile at the New York Cafe...a Renaissance style coffee house is located in the New York Palace Hotel, built in 1894.The place eventually closed in the 1940's but was acquired by an Italian company, renovated the place and returned it to its former glory.

On this day it was afternoon tea followed by desserts. Warbucks thought he would be funny and have Happy Birthday written on my plate. But this plate got brought to our table by accident. It actually says Happy Anniversary. But then the joke ended up on us both as it occurred to us that we met at the Raven Resort, almost 8 years to the date that morning. How weird is that?

The Parisi Passage Cafe was established in the early 1900's of the Parisi Udvar Hotel. Durning the day it has the feeling of a teeming cafe and excellent breakfast place and come evening it offers a special but laid-back vibe with excellent dining, all characterized with soaring domed ceilings and luxurious design.

Isn't this a lovely breakfast? We stopped in for coffee in the afternoon but ended up ordering several desserts. Who the hell needs to fit in square cuts this summer? You'll notice I also have two waters. Sweets make me more thirsty.

Truth be told, some days we didn't go out in the morning. Several days we had no plans at all. I fell in love with Warbuck's flat. He is very much a minimalist...but his style against the aged building...I loved the contrast. And his rent made me sick. It would go for well over $2,000 a month here! He even had pockets doors to the bedroom.

See...he does have a coffee maker! Even though he had coffee brough in.

And yes...I think my ass is even bigger. I am also sure the airplane flew considerably lower the flight back. Though the guy at the security checkpoint seemed to be a bit fascinated with my cakes.