Feeling the Sunshine

"Eat, Drink, and Be Monkey" is the motto of this Northeast Philly cafe!

My friend Deb grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and introduced me to a lovely little cafe called "Three Monkeys".  This restaurant is a contradiction in cuisine styles and tastes.  The cafe is set up in three sections.  You can enjoy fine dining in the elegant Ridson Ferry dining room, featuring candle-lit tables with a Victorian era setting.  The bar area features a turn of the century hand-carved bar.  You can order from their selection of microbrews or appropriately named drinks such as a "monkeytini" or "horny monkey ale".  But my favorite area of Three Monkeys is Monkey Court.  This outside patio area is just what you need to relax, unwind, and enjoy being outside of a cubicle, four walls, and air conditioning.  Monkey Court is like a taste of Key West, with twinkle lights in the trees and signs hanging on the fences.  Enjoy sitting under an umbrella at one of their tables or converse and watch the latest game around the Tree Bar. 

Monkey Court offers typical pub grub such as burgers, sandwiches, and salads but you can also get their regular lunch and dinner options like wasabi crabcakes or calamonkey.  I lunch their often with my friends Deb and Sharon.  We have tried different selections from their menu, but we seem to go back to our favorites;  Deb and I get the french dip and Sharon gets the salmon salad.  The french dip consists of thinly sliced roast beef with melted provolone cheese on a croissant.  The sandwich comes with a bowl of au jus for dipping and a side of either fries or side salad.  The sandwich is delicious and I'm always happy if au jus is dripping down my fingers (I enjoy being a sloppy eater)!  Serving the french dip on a croissant, rather than a roll, makes this classic lighter and less filling.  Sharon seems to enjoy the salmon salad and rarely leaves any to take home.  The salad is mixed greens with a house-made vinaigrette.  There is a nice big piece of grilled salmon on top.  Sharon breaks it up and mixes it in so she gets salmon in every bite.  The food is standard bar food, but it is always tasty, fresh, and served hot.

One of the things I love about having sandwiches and salads is that there is usually room for dessert.  Three Monkeys offers some wonderful goodies; we usually get three desserts and share.  They offer a variety of desserts of the day, but always have Monkey Bread.  This gooey cinnamon pull-apart cake is wonderful!  I'm always hoping that one of the desserts of the day is something chocolate.  Since both Deb and Sharon are chocolate-lovers (and I'm not), they will concentrate on that dessert and leave me more Monkey Bread!

Three Monkeys Cafe

Three Monkeys is also opened for Breakfast
and offers Weekend Brunch Specials

9645 James Street
Philadelphia, PA  19113
215-637-6665
www.3monkeyscafe.com

Gone to the Dogs

Did Guy Fieri get it right?  Yes, he did...

While I don't cook, I do love the Food Network channel.  On an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Guy visited the "Good Dog Bar" in the Rittenhouse Square section of the city.  The next morning I e-mailed Marlene and Deb and made plans to dine there for dinner.

Most of the bars in Philly have changed into trendy, yuppy meet-and-greet restaurants.  Not the Good Dog; this two-story brick establishment is an old-fashioned bar with a juke box, pool table, dart board, and television screens showing the local sports teams' games.  We sat upstairs in the dining room for dinner.  Because the bar is small, the tables are tight.  We had to turn sideways to get to our table and the back of our chairs butted up against the people behind us.  And it was LOUD in the bar.  The music was cranked up and because it was very crowded with people talking, you had to raise your voice to be heard by your dinner-mates.  I don't mind that atmosphere; being part of the masses out having dinner and cocktails - it's fun!  It's the type of place you would go after work to unwind or with a bunch of girlfriends for a girls night out.  It would be perfect for a Bachelor or Bachelorette party.  It would definitely not be the place for a first date or romantic night out with your significant other.

The Good Dog has a good-sized menu with lots of choices, but we picked items that Guy reviewed on Triple D.  This little bar spared no expense for a top-notch chef!  The food was scrumptious!!  I had the duck pot pie; and it was perfect.  The top layer was golden brown, flaky, and crispy.  There was a lot of duck meat inside, along with potatoes, celery, onions, carrots, and mushrooms.  The duck gravy was so good I kept breaking off the shell and dipping into it.  But, the star of the evening was the mac and cheese.  We ordered the mac and cheese as a side dish to share.  It is one of those dishes that when you try it you start laughing because it is absolutely ridiculous how tasty it is.  Elbow macaroni is surrounded by three types of cheese - gruyer, gouda, and cheddar.  There are crushed corn flakes on top that lent a crunchy texture to the mac and cheese.  We were like three swordsmen using our forks to poke the other guy out of the way while we dove into that dish of mac and cheese.  Along side of the dish was a big hunk of homemade blueberry cornbread.  Big fresh blueberries exploded in your mouth, while the cornbread was a great texture; moist and not too dry. 

                                             Good Dog Bar
                                          224 S. 15th Street
                                     Philadelphia, PA  19102
                                            215-985-9600
                                   http://www.gooddogbar.com/

The Good Dog's motto is "Come, Sit, Stay!"  If you're out for a good

       time and good food you will enjoy yourself at this little bar.