Finally, Two Restaurants To Brag About

Ahhh!  Having left the Land of Enchantment a little over two years ago,  my husband and I and litter of four were in search of the nearest and most authentic mexican restaurant that could match those we frequented in sunny Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe.  Alas, one after another, mediocrity led to major disappointments within a 15 mile radius.  In desperation, any restaurant with the word “el”, “tortilla”, “cantina”, “burrito”, “taqueria”  became our destination.  Finally, this weekend my husband and I en route to Starbucks caught site of a little restaurant called the Red Sombrero sandwiched between your typical strip mall storefronts.  Yes, the Red Sombrero.  We’ve seen it before but nodded it off as just one of those 5 pounder stuffed with rice in thai peanut sauce burrito joints.  But that it is not.  I went for the $2.29 taco with pork, onions and cilantro with lime nicely seasoned.  Perfect.  My husband’s chicken enchilada plate was superb.  Finally. Whew!

And while the kids were off to grandma’s, we took a drive into Philly and visited our old neighborhood at 10th and Locust.  Not much has changed other than a few restaurants down the block.  For lunch we stepped into Kanella, a Greek restaurant that served undeniably delicious, fresh and real food.  They had a great wait staff not shy to have interesting conversations with you and still stay on top of things.  We met the owner who told us about their evening fare. Very nice.  BYOB. Kanella’s is our new favorite Philly place to eat.

 

Music Blurb: Keane at Tower Theater, Philadelphia

Richard

Quick pictures from a splendid evening.  I’ll recap later cuz there’s so much to tell….especially after you meet the band!!

Keane, Tower Theater

Tim

Tom Chaplin

 

Obama Art in Barcelona

We  found this interesting pic art of Obama as we meandered down a narrow street near our hotel.  BTW, the graffiti art in Barcelona was amazing.

If you can interpret this, please do.

 

Catalunya! Catalunya!

Arc de Triomf

We are back from Barcelona and, well, I’ll let the pictures do the talking. These are just a few of hundreds I took on the trip.

streets of Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia

Montserrat

a tapas restaurant

the Barcelona Cathedral

a candid moment

sipping cappuccino

A Good Friday procession on La Rambla

another shot atop Montserrat

Parc de la Ciutadella

 

Ascending the Button and other Pastimes

Remember when? We had asked each other all day long. Last Sunday, we hung up our beach towels and bathing suits and headed to old stomping grounds in the city of Philadelphia. Merely twenty minutes away yet we never find the time to go. And when we do, we never want to leave. Why?

It’s where we lived as twenty-something parents and feared nothing; where my second and heaviest (9.6 lbs) child was born; where my husband completed his BA in Medieval History; where we lived in an apartment that housed the world’s largest cockroach; where we lived in an apartment that was once a brothel but wasn’t told of this fact until after we moved in; where we walked and walked and walked and never got tired; where we consumed modest amounts of beer at the corner Locust Bar; where we befriended the photographer for the old 100.3 FM radio station and got invited to see and meet Michael Hutchence of INXS in a cozy recording studio one month before he died; where we declined to see and meet Squirrel, Nuts, Zippers in a cozy recording studio and regretted it; where we played with our daughters X amount of times at the 10th and Lombard playground; where I made local news by intelligently answering the question, How do you feel about the safety of the city’s playground equipment?; where the best falafel sandwich can be found; where the best kugel can be found; where the best video store, TLA, can be found; and where we last talked, laughed and cried with my beloved brother, Jonathan Scott Mendoza (1977-1998), who will survive forever in our memories.

On this occasion we strolled through U of Penn’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology which my six year old son described as looking much like a haunted house; but plentiful with interesting artifacts and palatial Egyptian doorways, nonetheless. Then we headed towards the irresistible Button statue where kids go to be kids. We sat

and chatted with Ben and ended our day in Chinatown where we emptied our wallets to shrimp chips, Pocky treats and Hello Kitty paraphernalia. (see pics)

We love Philadelphia, but would we ever move back? Our thirty something (and forty something) urges aren’t quite so versatile, although we like to think so. With safety, schools and overall quality of life a constant concern, moving back to the city is but a notion we like to toy with. So we will take what she offers, eighteen miles away in the comfort of our home in the sweet valleys of Brandywine and visit her every so often to relive pastimes, create new ones and to be cultured, taught and experienced in ways we can’t find here in our pretty, little suburbia.

Chinatown goodies