If emailed or commented in the past, you know that I'm usually pretty good at responding to them. This last month however has been CRAZY! So if you received an email from me for a comment or an email that you sent me last month, well, this explains why. ;-)

I'm in a rut.

I don't have anything to write about. I've pretty much exhausted the possibilities in my area and now I have to start venturing out to some new areas. Maybe Capital Hill, China Town -- who knows?!

On top of that, Amy's been feeling really crappy lately due to the morning sickness, so mostly we've just been ordering out. Although, we did go to Samantha's on Saturday for other day for lunch. I had an  appetizer with casava wedges and pork with roasted tomatoes. It was OK. I kinda wished I'd ordered a bunch of pupusas instead. The only reason I mention it, is because of this unbelievably sad story that Amy sent me today. It turns out that a by-product of digesting a raw casava is cyanide. Kind of scary isn't it...

Last Saturday, Amy and I took a trip to Philly to visit her friend Diana and see the Carbon Leaf show at the Electric Factory. We stayed at the Sofitel, which turned out to be a fantastic hotel. Our room was a corner room and had a great view of the street below from the fourth floor. The bathroom was HUGE with a shower AND a bathtub. That night we saw the show and it was great. Carbon Leaf  was in usual form. They sound even better in concert than they do on their albums. You should all go out and buy their albums because they ROCK! After the show we went back to the hotel and had a great nights sleep - probably the best sleep I've had in a while. The bed was perfect.

The next morning, we awoke to room service knocking on our door with our breakfast.  After eating some croissants and a couple cups of coffee, we got ready and packed everything up. We were off to our next stop - Jim's Steaks on South Street for a REAL Philly cheesesteak! Having spent 4 years in the Philly area before I went to college, I was itching to go back and have a really Philly Cheesesteak. I'm not sure what it is, but when you order one elsewhere (DC for example), they're horrible. I'll let the pictures describe the experience for you, but I was in heaven.

While we were in line, we realized that this was to be our baby's first cheesesteak. Lucky for him (or her), Amy got one without onions.

Jim's Steaks looked like a complete dive. It's your typical Philly cheesesteak eatery - just the way I like 'em.

As you can see from the simple menu, steaks are the standard order of business. One new thing I noticed - a cheesesteak with egg on it. Someone in front of us actually ordered one with ham and egg. It's the perfect brunch!

Here is a real appetizing picture of the grill. On the left is the meat. In the middle is the area where they chop at the meat with the spatula, and on the right is the pile of onions. If you look closely at the glass, you'll see the pieces of meat hanging on it. ;)

And of course, I can't leave out the all too important ingredient, cheese wiz. A cheesesteak isn't a cheesesteak if it's made with anything else...

Here's a closer look at the giant pile of onions. For a block in either direction on South Street, you could smell this place. A finely tuned nose can find a cheesesteak eatery with blindfolds on from up to 10 mile away...

The beef that they use on the cheesesteaks in it's raw form. Bascally, the griller grabs a 3 inch thick layer and slaps it on the grill. It will sit there and cook until it is all used up. Every once in a while, the griller would pour oil over the meat pile. My arteries yelled out in pain at the very sight of it.

The finished product complete with a Dr. Brown's Black Cherry Soda. Try to ignore the transparent look of the paper lining.

And finally, a couple pictures of me, gorging myself. I am quite the satisfied customer.