Drinking Volcanoes at Rim Cafe

I’m not saying that we are the unofficial Philly hot chocolate judges, but…we’re kind of the unofficial Philly hot chocolate judges, so when I read that Philly Bite Magazine proclaimed that  Rim Café had the best hot chocolate in Philly, we had to judge for ourselves.

Rim Café is located down the street from the infamous Pat’s and Geno’s Cheesesteaks. It’s also an easy walk from the main shopping section of the Italian Market.

As soon as you walk through the door, you develop a case of the wandering eyeballs. There are clocks, sayings on posters, pictures, lights; it is a quirky visual delight.

There are magnificent sweet treats singing a siren song to you. 

There are cannoli, a variety of truffles, and hanging chocolate salami (named for their shape, not because they contain meat). 

It all looked delicious, but first, hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate at Rim Café is called a Volcano. It comes in a variety of flavors from espresso, to salty caramel, to my personal favorite, peanut butter.

Not only do you get a drink, you get a show as well. Renee called us forward to the chocolate lazy Susan and got to work. 

He made all four Volcanoes at the same time, spinning the lazy Susan as he went about adding the individual ingredients.  It was amazing food art. He is the Monet of chocolate I think. 

Renee talked us through the process, explaining things like how the peanut butter sauce, that is constantly churning, is made fresh in house starting with actual peanuts.

He topped the Volcanoes off with chocolate shavings, each drink getting its own custom flavor. 

We took our drinks and settled in the cozy corner by the fireplace. It reminded me of the type of cafe corner you would find Hemingway and Fitzgerald hanging out in, fighting over whether or not Zelda was crazy.  I imagine their drinks would be boozier. Maybe they should have switched to hot chocolate.

Seated upon leopard print, we took our first sips and declared that the drinks were heavenly.  The chocolate is so thick, that you really need to utilize a spoon to get through the initial layer. My peanut butter was perfect. Not too sweet, with a deep, rich, peanut flavor. The silky peanut butter sauce blended nicely into the chocolate. 

After savoring our final drops of chocolate deliciousness, we were tempted to go up and order another.

Instead of another Volcano, we got a peanut butter bar to go.  It too was exquisite. Not quite cake, not quite brownie, not exactly fudge, but it held aspects of all of these things.  It was substantial enough, and stayed fresh enough, to slice off little cubes and enjoy throughout the week.

Our verdict, the Volcano at Rim Café is indeed the best hot chocolate in Philadelphia, although we also agreed that the chocolate drinks at Sazon are also a best.  I don’t feel that there is anything wrong with having more than one favorite hot chocolate in the city. Indeed, I graciously welcome more establishments to apply.

A big part of the appeal of Rim is the entertainment that comes from watching your drinks being made.  Renee is a character.  While we were there he did a little singing, a little dancing, he is quite jovial and charismatic (of course there are times when other staff make the drinks and they are also cool folks).

I think that Rim Café is a must try whether you are a Philly local or a visiting tourist.  If you are a tourist and plan on visiting one of the dueling cheesesteak places, or you plan on walking around and grabbing a bite in the Italian Market (might I suggest Villa Di Roma), Rim is a great option to walk to for dessert. We will certainly be going back there again, and again, and again….

Our 2015 Gear in Review

  2015 has been an amazing, adventurous year.  We were able to go on more trips then we have during any other year.  We've packed and unpacked our bags. Lugged ourselves through multiple airport security lines. We saw Mayan ruins, gawked at seals, nerded out to architecture, and rope dropped at two Disney theme parks. It has been magnificent, and through it all we learned a few things about what is  helpful, and what would be helpful to have. 

Things we found Useful 

Bug X Towelettes
The towelettes are great for packing carry-on only as it eliminates the need to fit another liquid into your quart size bag. 

Another benefit, the wipes don’t choke you with noxious gas like the spray on bug spray (I know there are things like skin so soft, but I find that it really doesn’t work well against mosquitoes of the tropical sort).  One wipe is enough to cover your whole body and as Mexico proved, they work well.

Howard Leight Earplugs
For anyone else who has smaller ear canals, I recommend “the green” ear plugs.  I tried “the orange” ear plugs, but they kept popping out of my ears.  

The Howard Leight earplugs have become invaluable as I am an extremely light sleeper, and unfamiliar hotel noises, combined with a snoring husband, can make for some groggy days of adventure.  They don’t always block out everything, but they are a tremendous help.

REI MultiTowel-Large

We purchased our towels years ago before our trip to Panama.  They are one of my favorite things. Packing light, there is no space for fluffy beach towels. These towels are a great substitute. 

They dry quickly, and sand brushes off of them easily. They are also easy to carry around in a day pack for trips within a trip. They came in most handy when drying off after swimming in the Cenote in Mexico this year.

Foldable/Packable duffel bag 

I couldn't locate our actual bag, but the picture below is a close approximation. We bring our foldable duffel bag whether we think we need it or not. 

 It folds up into a little packet that can be easily stuffed into one of our bags. It’s small enough to use as a carry on.  It was the most useful in California. We did carry-on only on the way there, but wanted to bring wine back with us, so we wrapped the wine bottles in our remaining clean clothes, and checked that bag. Shannon used our foldable bag to carry the rest of his items on the plane.

Things we'd like to get for future travels

Bra Organizer
Bras have been the bane of my packing existence.  Their shape is not conducive to easy packing, and you have to be careful not to smoosh them too much or they will emerge a lumpy, disheveled mess. The bra organizer seems to be the way to go to make bra packing a breeze. 

Waterproof iphone case 

I usually keep a Ziploc bag in my day bag or purse just in case I need to keep something dry, but we are thinking about going cave tubing in Belize, and a waterproof phone bag would be essential so that I could take picture without getting my phone wet.

Clever Travel Companion T-shirt 

Okay, I don’t really need this, but it looks so cool.  The shirt has side pockets that zip.

It’s a good option for having a place to keep your money just in case you don't feel like carrying a purse or bag.

Evolution Travel Pillow
For our California trip, I got cheap, $5 travel pillows from Five Below.  They weren’t great, and they weren’t the type that fold up, so they were cumbersome.  

I covet the evolution pillows every time I see them.  They seem like they would be comfortable, and the best part is that they squish up into a compact size so we could throw them in our backpacks. 

Hopefully we will acquire some of the items this year so I can report back on their usefulness in 2016. 

We Visit Frank Loyd Wright's Falling Water

I am a lover of art of all kinds.  I'm even fascinated by fashion, though in everyday life I chose comfort over style.  One of my favorite art forms is architecture, so I am thankful that I married someone who is also a bit of an architecture nerd.  Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater has been on our list probably since the time we were dating. We tried planning trips many times, but they never seemed to work out, until now. 

We wanted to take the two hour in-depth tour. The two hour tour is the only tour that allows you to take pictures inside of the house. We learned however, that due to limited space, you have to book it way in advance. Since our trip to Pittsburgh was planned at the last minute, we ended up taking the regular one hour tour.

I think some people believe Fallingwater is right outside of Pittsburgh, but it's about an hour drive.  You can take the highway, but we opted to take the scenic back roads. I’m glad we did.  It was a lovely drive that meandered through farmland and quaint little towns.

We arrived to the gorgeously designed visitors’ center about an hour before our tour time.  

We decided to check in anyway and when we did the staff offered us the choice of joining an earlier tour.  We said yes. 

The day was gray and chilly, but thankfully it was dry. Frank Lloyd Wright did not believe in air conditioning.  He thought that air conditioners were unsightly and ruined his designs, so visiting Fallingwater on a cooler day might be preferable. 

A staff member gathered the group at the visitors’ center and gave a brief talk.  He then led us on about a five to ten minute walk through the grounds to the house before passing us off to our tour guide. 

The hour long tours are a well oiled machine. The tour group in front of you and the tour group behind you are in close proximity, though never a distraction.

The tour starts at the outside of the house, 

and then makes its way through the inside.  You get to see most of the rooms in the main house. Some rooms, like the kitchen, have been converted into staff areas. You get to walk out on a few of the terraces, and you get to tour the guest house/servants’ quarters. You stand almost the entire time, except at the very end where you are shown a brief video. You also walk up and down stairs, so keep that in mind if you have trouble doing so. 

The house is remarkable. 

It will certainly increase our visual I.Q.. It was designed to live in harmony with its surroundings. It was simple and greatly detailed at the same time. What I found the most fascinating, was the idea that at one time this was someone’s actual home or vacation home at least. 

People once read books out on the terrace.  There were dinner parties thrown in the living/dining room. Children splashed in the water below the house or in the natural swimming pool.  The house it so famous, it seems like it has been a museum/tour site forever.  My imagination ran wild imagining people actually living in the house. Imagining myself living in the house. It must have been heavenly, if you don’t mind not having A/C and can tolerate the leaks.

Frank Lloyd Wright regarded ascetics over practicality, so his buildings usually had problems. The flat roof design caused his houses to leak when it rained. He tutted when costumers complained and claimed that the flawed practicality of his buildings were not his problem. Also, his buildings ended up costing the customer significantly more than the original agreed upon price.  

We watched a documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright when we got home and learned that he was kind of a jerk.

We loved the tour, and although we still wished we could have taken the in-depth tour, the regular tour was interesting and inspiring.

After the tour of the house, guests are welcomed to wander the grounds for as long as they'd like. 

The grounds are peaceful and beautiful. 

It’s no wonder that the Kaufmann family, the owners of the home, chose the site for their summer house. There are trails that you can amble if you have plenty of time.

Staff encourage you to go to one particular spot on the grounds where you can get the iconic shot of Fallingwater. 

Before we left, we grabbed some food at the cafe.

The food was fantastic. They try to use as many locally sourced ingridents as they can, including herbs from the herb garden on grounds.

We both got the tomato soup. It had a touch of dill that gave it a yummy, interesting flavor.

I also got the grilled cheese. I have become a fan of grilled cheese with chutney.  My super cheesy grilled cheese came with a sweet apple chutney.  The kale-veggie salad that came with my sandwich was also scrumptious. I still regret not asking if I could have the recipe. 

Shannon got the roast beef and watercress sandwich with brown rice.  He liked his meal too. Everything was very fresh.

After our meal, we took a vanilla-cardamon cookie for the road and began the slog home.

I highly recommend a trip to Fallingwater, especially if you are a fan of architecture, nature, and/or history. You can look at the pictures, but like many things, pictures don't compare to seeing it in person. If you want to do the in-depth tour, make sure to book early, and if you are hungry, the cafe is worth a visit. 

Pirate Flags and Pierogies at PNC Park

The rain continued as we entered PNC Park.

The field remained covered right up to the time the game started. We wandered around, trying to stay dry, as we searched for some food.

Forget your hot dogs. Forget peanuts and Cracker Jack. PNC Park has pierogies.  

Now pierogies rank as one of my favorite foods, so I pretty much had to get them.

They weren’t mind blowing pierogies. They were the same Mrs. T’s pierogies that are currently sitting in my freezer. They were however better than your average undercooked, sorta mushy on the inside, dollar dog night hot dog.  If PNC Park was my local ball park, I’d get the pierogies again.

Usually we like to try the ice cream at every park, but the wet, chilly weather dampened our ice cream craving, so we skipped our dose of dairy.

PNC Park has an eye pleasing view.  The river, the city skyline, the bridges, the occasional boats chugging by, are all very cool.  

We made sure we got seats that made the most of the view. 

The city’s buildings are a lot closer than they are at many other parks and one or two would display special lighting effects for home runs and such.  Our favorite building was one that resembled the Eye of Sauron.

Now our view overall is most likely skewed. We still have fresh memories of our visit to Petco Park in San Diego. Though we didn’t like Petco’s obstructed views, the interior design of Petco was beautiful and impressive.  The interior of PNC Park by comparison seemed kind of bland. Maybe it does fit in more with Pittsburgh’s no frills vibe.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, I wouldn’t want it to cross over into cheesiness,  but I thought that the stadium would be more pirate-y. You would barely know that the team had anything to do with pirates, except for the flags. The flags were awesome.  

Whenever the team got a run, spectators would unfurl and wave their full size pirate flags.  As much I love rally towels, pirate flags are way cooler. For a brief glimmer of a moment, I considered trading my team allegiance for the flags. 

The game turned out to be exciting.  The Pirates stomped all over the Nationals, and since at the time the Pirates were in the running for the playoffs, the crowd’s energy was high. 

We were grateful that we had seats under cover as the rain too unfurled during the game. 

We stayed nice and dry.

The rain gratefully let up just in time for the fireworks display.  

We got to see the fireworks set up as we walked over the bridge on the way to the ball park.

It turned out to be an impressive display. Watching the the fireworks being set off on the bridge, with the city behind it, and the water below, was neat.

I especially liked that they departed from the usual cliché songs that most displays use, in favor of some cool tunes.  I thought that the Bohemian Rhapsody fireworks choreography was pretty sweet.

We were happy to cross another baseball stadium off of our list, and felt that PNC Park was worth the visit for the pierogies, pirate flags and the view.  

A Rainy Day in Pittsburgh

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that I was nervously sipping coffee in the student center at Rutgers University with my twenty- something- year- old, Intellectual Heritage classmate/friend/crush. Now that classmate is forty- years- old.

A birthday dinner didn’t seem enough to celebrate such a milestone, so after thinking a moment, Shannon decided that he wanted to celebrate 40 with a road-trip to Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh? You might be asking. Some people hunt deer, we hunt experiences/activities.  We have a list, an actual list. I recently posted the list on here so you can now view it and follow along. 

Pittsburgh offered a chance to cross two things off the list. 

1) PNC PARK (baseball stadium)

 2) Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

I’m not saying that we’re starting to get a complex…but we’re starting to get a complex.  Once again rain followed us on a trip. Once again we were grateful for our quality rain jackets.  

We started out walking around Pittsburgh's Strip District.  

We really liked the vibe in Pittsburgh, though we couldn’t quite put our finger on exactly what the vibe was.  It was lightly gritty, with a twist of hipster, and an uber amount of sports fandom. Every shop, and I mean every shop, was hawking some sort of team paraphernalia.

 If you’re an avid watcher of the Travel Channel or Food Network, you may have seen Primanti Bros.. It’s a food icon.

 There’s no frippery here, just sandwiches and fries, actually the fries go on the sandwiches.  

You know a place is fry-centric when you witness a line of men ascend the basement stairs, each with a sack of potatoes flung over his shoulder; it was a potato procession. 

We sat at the counter and watched as the ladies putting the sandwiches together hustled big time.There was constant movement. The regulars/locals and the staff engaged in some good natured ribbing.

I ordered the kielbasa and cheese sandwich, and Shannon got the pastrami. 

The sandwiches are  simple. Meat, a generous amount of fries, lettuce, tomato, on soft, freshly baked, white bread.

They were tasty, but a warning, due to the high level of grease consumed, it takes a pretty iron gut to digest one without regret.

While we were walking around, there was a delightful scent floating through the air.  We found that the sweet smell was wafting from Peace, Love, and Little Donuts.  

This was a great concept. Donuts in mini form. This way you don’t feel like a fat heifer eating a humongo dounut.  I got a Samoa and Shannon got the maple bacon dounut.  They were the perfect, cute, little bite of sweet.

Next, we had to figure out what we could do in the drizzling weather, with the limited time we had. We decided to go to the Duquesne Incline.

Yes, the incline is touristy, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not a good time.

There’s not much to it. You go up, 

and you go down, in an old time-y tram car. 

It’s a nice little piece of Pittsburgh history.

At the top, there is an observation deck, that has an eye pleasing view of the city.  

I bet it’s even better on a clear day.

After the incline, it was time to head to PNC Park to knock another baseball stadium off of the list (will report on the stadium in a separate post). 

When the game was over, we made our way to the Double Tree-Green Tree Hotel, booked using our trusty friend Priceline. 

Have you been to a Double Tree lately?  When you check in, they give you a warm, fresh baked, chocolate chip cookie. It is an absolutely heavenly, fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, where the chips are gooey-melty. 

It was incentive enough to look forward to my next Double Tree stay (take note other hotels, cookies).

It turned out to be a really nice hotel, what we saw of it anyway. 

We weren’t there very long, but the room was clean and spacious, and the bed was snugly. It was the perfect place to rest up after our exciting day.