Talula's Garden
210 W. Washington Square
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Neighborhoods: Washington Square West, Market East

The temperature made for a perfect summer's day. The sun was out. The sky was cloudless and blue as the sea. It was a sharp contrast to the leaden clouds and rain that greeted me upon returning to the US the previous day. It was a lazy Sunday, and lazy Sundays call for lazy brunches. 

With Washington Square at its footsteps, Talula's Garden offers both outside and inside seating. We were unable to get a table outside, so in we went. Inside, the three interior sections have their own distinct decor - just take a look at the ceilings and seen for yourself.

Honey's Sit 'N Eat
2101 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Neighborhoods: Rittenhouse Sq, Fitler Sq

After having been out of the country for two months and with only three hours of sleep and a very empty stomach, I headed into Honey's Sit n' Eat on South Street for some good old fashion American brunch. Unlike the Honey's in Northern Liberties, this Honey's had no wait. It was 9AM on a Saturday and we got seated immediately. Also unlike its counterpart in Northern Liberties is the spacious feeling of the establishment. Sunlight permeated the dining area, morning chatter filled up the room, and the smell of coffee aroused my senses.

It was festival weekend in Philly - from Fairmount to Rittenhouse to the Italian Market, there were festivities going all around.  I was otherwise preoccupied with a bottle of permethrin (another post, another time), so I missed out on the Saturday festivals, but made it to the Italian festival last Sunday.

Not surprisingly, the weather was doom and gloom.  Nimbostratus clouds hovered over Philly with the threat of enough rain and humidity to ruin any outside festival.  Luckily for us, it drizzled a little bit here and there and then petered out.

Miles Table
1620 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square

It's that time of year again when thousands of family members fly into Philadelphia, throw hugs around their grown up children, and cry their eyes out over what marvelous people their little ones are now.  Unfortunately, all the Penn graduation ceremonies mean that the area around University City becomes crowded and walking along Locust Walk becomes traffic-jammed so people can take pictures of the Ben Franklin statue that is rumored to be urinated on every year.  Why oh why.

So, when it came to brunch on Saturday, there was no way I was going to suggest anywhere near the university.  So, we headed to South Street and stopped at Miles Table.

The set up is this - you walk through the door, hop to the counter in the back of the establishment, shout your order, take a number, and sit down.  It's like a fancier version of a fast food joint.  I admit, it was a little awkward for us to stand there waiting for someone to seat us until we realized - doh!

I had the eggs benedict, which was overall not bad.  Only complaint is that it was a bit too salty, but I assume that was the meat.  Nothing I would write home about...at least not yet.  The quiche I heard wasn't too bad either...However, with only a short amount of time left in the city of brotherly love, I don't think I'll be giving any more love to Miles Table.

Now, back to waiting for my ever so delayed plane...

Cafe Lift
428 N 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Neighborhoods: Spring Garden, Callowhill, Avenue of the Arts North

Cafe Lift is easily a five star establishment.  I've walked by this joint dozens of times on my way to tango, but have honestly never noticed it.  I thought it was a coffee shop more so than a restaurant.

The decor is almost industrial like, with cool paintings along the walls.  The restaurant is pretty large as well, which makes sense since rent is probably much cheaper here than in Center City proper.

Service at Cafe Lift was excellent - the waitresses were incredibly helpful, friendly, and happy in general.  Food at Cafe Lift was equally great - we had the eggs florentine (poached eggs with spinach, crab meat, potatoes, truffled hollandaise all served with two slices of Italian bread), sausage frittata (spicy Italian fennel sausage, spinach, and mozzarella cheese), and the cannoli french toast (challah bread, cinnamon vanilla custard, bananas, chocolate, pistachios, ricotta cannoli filling).

Each dish was seasoned perfectly, with little room for improvement.  The cannoli french toast is a must try. I'm hungry again just writing this review.

I normally would ding a restaurant one star for being cash only, but the food and service here was good enough that I won't this time!

If you haven't already, become a fan to get updates on my Yelp reviews!

Honey's Sit-N-Eat
800 N 4th St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Neighborhood: Northern Liberties

I know a lot of Yelpers rave about this place, but my experience was only so-so.  Because of its glowing reviews, we were fine with waiting half an hour.

I had the Breakfast Bomb - a huge dish with a giant buttermilk pancake folded in half, between which were eggs with homemade turkey sausage.  You get to choose your own breakfast meat, as well as a side.  I had the grits.  I thought both were good, but not a "wow, this is soooo goood" kinda good.

I also had some of the gravy and biscuit - on my first bite, I thought this was delicious.  There was a strong pepper flavor to it - and I am a big fan of pepper so this was great.  But then I ate an entire biscuit, and thought the gravy was too overpowering to eat as an entire dish.

Despite the so-so experience, I look forward to re-visiting, because I must be missing something if everyone is jumping and down for a seat at this joint.  I was also too full to try the deep fried banana split, so I'll have to check that off my list next time!

Rex 1516
1516 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square

Another great Philly find.  Rex 1516 is a gem amongst all the other establishments of South Street.  We dropped by here for brunch, and surprisingly, it wasn't packed (perhaps it was the weather driving everyone to stay indoors).

I started off with the Huevos Rancheros, which was brunch heaven in every bite and by far the best rendition of a Huevos Rancheros I've had anywhere in Philly.   On top of two corn tortilla were a fried egg, crawfish etouffee, avocado, and pico de gallo.  The crawfish etouffee added a bold cajun/creole flavor to the mix.

Huevos Rancheros

I also had a bite of the Monte Cristo - the equivalent of the French's Croque Monsieur with house baked ham, pepperjack, and fig-bourbon preserves layered in between two slices of brioche.  Unlike the Croque Monsieur we had at La Petite Dauphine, the Monte Cristo was worthy of its name.  The portions were large and it tasted much better than the Croque Monsieur.

Monte Cristo

To wrap things up, we split the fried carrot cake - yeah, this can't go wrong.   I enjoyed this, but I'd admit that it tasted very much like a doughnut, with a hint of carrot cake.

Fried Carrot Cake

Overall, great spot.  If food is consistently this good in future visits and the desserts get a little bit more refined, I'll bump it up to a full five stars on Yelp.  Speaking of which, if you haven't already, become a fan to get updates on my Yelp reviews!

Tinto
114 S 20th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Neighborhoods: Rittenhouse Square, Penn Center

The last time I was at Tinto the waiter coughed on my food.  I was less than pleased.  But, I had recently heard favorable things about Tinto's brunch from a friend, and thought it would be a great place to celebrate a great achievement - the second completion of the Philadelphia Half-Marathon by a close friend.

I started off with the Jamon Serrano (cured Spanish ham with egg salad and pickled guindilla).  This had a nice balance of flavors and was a good start to brunch.  Next came the Huevos Benedictos (poached egg, brioche toast, jamon serrano, truffle hollandaise).  The poached egg (on both of our plates) was a bit more cooked than either of us would have liked, but it didn't ruin the dish.  As soon as the plate was brought to the table, I could smell the truffle hollandaise so get your nose ready!

Our sides included the piperade (served with more jamon serrano) and maple grits.  The former was good, while the latter should have been on the dessert menu.  After 1-2 bites, the maple grits became too sweet to eat, especially when we were still eating our savory dishes.

For dessert, both the Torrijas (roasted brioche, caramel mousse, creme fraiche sherbert, orange) and Brulee of Grapefruit (with creme fraiche gelato) were good.  Unlike the desserts at most restaurants, these two had just the right amount of sweetness such that we didn't feel like we would fall into a sugar coma afterwards.  Will be back for seconds and thirds!