After a short train ride from New York to Philadelphia, I went out to another Italian restaurant on Main Street in Manayunk- Bella Trattoria. We got a bottle of white wine, and both had linguini in a blush sauce. It was fairly similar to the dinner in New York. The sauce was excellent, but the pasta was a tad overcooked. Again, the star of the dinner was dessert. We shared a pineapple cake with coconut icing. The cake was perfectly moist and the icing had a layer of vanilla custard under it which made it extra rich. We inhaled it.
Since my boyfriend is in Philadelphia and I am still at school near Harrisburg, we celebrated Valentine's Day over this past weekend. We spent the day all over Philadelphia, from Reading Terminal Market to Rittenhouse Square. There are so many small shops that I plan on visiting again that were adorable. After a chilly day around town, Grant took me to Bistro St. Tropez, right next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Located in the Marketplace Design Center, the fourth floor looked over a gorgeous view of the museum at night.
The food was everything I expected and more. We got salmon tartar as an appetizer. The salmon was sliced larger than other tartars that I've had, which I liked, because it held its own among the capers, mango, and ginger that was mixed with it. We got the hanger steak special with green beans and sauteed mushrooms and scalloped potatoes. The steak was perfectly cooked (I ordered mine medium rare), the green beans and mushrooms were phenomenal. The mushrooms had a delicious smoky flavor that paired perfectly with the sweet balsamic drizzle over them. I was impressed by the scalloped potatoes, since they were perfectly stacked and maintained their shape (mine always fall apart after they're served from the baking dish).
I would go back to Bistro St. Tropez in a heartbeat. The food, view, service was all perfect, and the setting was very romantic for any celebration, especially when you are surprised with flowers at the restaurant by your Valentine.
