Stand up to sit down, or Arresting Developments

This is interesting.. The new marketing campaign for the new critically acclaimed show starring everyone's ex-Hogan's Family member is to sign a loyalty pledge. But you know what.. the show is worth it.. As a bonus, it comes on just before Desparate Housewives, making it probably the best 90 minutes on TV these days..

Estilo Filadelfia (Filadelfiense?)

So.. there is this new truck nearby school named "TacoMovil".. I've tried it before when it was closer to my old building, but now it's moved about two blocks down the street to a much more visible location.

In the past when I've tried their food there was a woman serving (sometimes with another woman).. Today, however, there were two dudes.. The menu lists Tripe as potential ingredient, but after asking for Carnitas and Carne Asada, waiting for someone else to order, then finally requesting "tripas", he told me in Spanish "we only have what's on the menu" (at least I think that's what he said.. even though tripas were on the menu) I didn't want to try his patience -- I ordered steak.. but I forgot to ask them to make them "regular", i.e. have them without lettuce and instead put onion and cilantro..

So.. these tacos were made with soft double-corn tortillas. The cheese was put under the steak, and on top lettuce (and tomato? I forget).. It came with guacamole and salsa (nice salsa - watery, not pico de gallo), which I put on top of all the rest..

The result: surprisingly good! I don't know how it would taste with another meat, but it seemed like something very new but also very appropriate for college food. The cheese melted between the tortilla and steak which gave it a cheese-steak-like effect, but the steak seemed good enough to sufficiently stand on its own in a cilantro & onion taco.. The lettuce and tomato (and lime) cut any greasy taste from the cheese or steak..

The melted cheese was a surprise, and it let you know that this is not Tijuana.. but seeing the melted cheese juxtaposed with the soft corn tortilla somehow seemed very new and comforting -- it was like Mexican comfort meets American.. I would like to think that this was something new - a new, emerging, Philadelphia food.. I think that is a naive thought, just because I'm sure someone in Mexico has tried this before.. No? Anyway, it seemed very appropriate to Philadelphia.. besides Cheesesteaks and soft pretzels, this taco, even if it's not a new contraption, seemed made for Philadelphia.. Not that it was that great, but it was very "Philly"..

Philadelphia Awakens

This is the first certifiably warm day of the year (yesterday was also warm, but only relatively -- it was still in the 60's most of the day -- today the high was 76). My wife doesn't read my blog (any blog, actually), so she won't know that I bought her some earings from matthew izzo for her birthday (both of us are April babies..). A gorgeous but expensive necklace I spotted there would be perfect for her -- I would love to get it, but will discuss it with her, since it's not cheap (like the earings)..

While looking online to see if I could see any more izzo collection jewelry online (I couldn't), I found a great site: a Philadelphia-based blog on beauty and accessories (great because these give me ideas for gifts, making me seem creative when in fact I know little about 'what girls like'). The site is called liquid treats. A few more clicks and I came upon Philadelphia Future which is a aglommerator (if that's a word) of Philadelphia blogs. It seems like a cool site -- I'll check it out more in weeks to come now that I'm starting to get sick of phillyblog.

In other news: I turned down two Ph.D. programs.. One more to go -- the pendulum swings between Penn and Rutgers.. as a hint to the final verdict: I suspect that practicality will rule the day..