This might blow your mind a little bit.

Listen, I'm a pretty devout carnivore. (Alright, omnivore if we're going to be pedantic about it.) I seriously do enjoy eating the flesh of dead animals--because if you're one of those eaters who hasn't taken a moment when eating a burger or a chicken breast or what have you to remember that the tasty morsel you were consuming was once upon a time a living, breathing creature, then you're kind of flying the flag of what Fergus Henderson refers to as "pink in plastic." And that's not altogether a good thing. I'm bubble-wrapping the soap a little bit here--it's a bad thing. This mentality of meat-as-commodity has infected an awful lot of American eaters, and it's having some pretty horrible consequences. You have read The Omnivore's Dilemma, right?

Ohjeez. Hey look, I was having that whole judge-y monologue there and climbed up on my soapbox without even looking. Sorry about that! The point I was trying to get to before my inner Charles Dickens got in the way (anyone wanna pay me by the word? I can get real long-winded!) is that there are still some really quite good things to eat that don't involve meat. I know! It's crazy! Just because you're not eating meat with every meal doesn't mean your dinner has to look like this:

Like, right now I've kind of got a food-crush on the cripsy tofu (dau hu chien if you're linguistically adventurous) at Vietnam Cafe on Baltimore Ave out here in West Philly. West Philly is the BEST Philly! Especially when it comes to international food that isn't pho or Mexican (special shout-out to Taqueria La Veracruzana). The tofu's really lightly fried and served with only a bit of soy-scallion sauce. It's simple and it's crispy and super-hot and really, really satisfying. And then they've got a catfish claypot entree...the restaurant's right around the corner from my house and I've found myself there a few times recently. What I'm saying is that you should hop a trolley and make your way out to West Philly to eat one of these days.

And y'know, we don't do too bad for vegetable-forward stuff ourselves 'round here at CapoPenn! We're all waiting for the hot weather to settle in, and that's the time I start really getting down on our Greek salad. Bed of fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, feta cheese and kalamata olives. Some red wine vinegar, a little extra virgin olive oil, and you've got yourself a hot-weather lunch that's not going to leave you feeling like you're going to nap involuntarily.

And oh hey we've got granita back for the summer, too! I just finished up a batch each of lemon and Earl Grey, which make a pretty good combination together, I think.

I can't believe I'm saying it out loud (as it were), but I AM kind of ready for the hot weather to get here. Puts me in a totally different mood for music. And it's the time of year when I can start getting some serious miles in on my bike. And of course, there's the gelato. Almost time for walking-around frappes. Oh and don't forget we'll be at Rittenhouse Row Fest, as ever! So one way or another, we'll see you soon.




(Yes, there's totally bacon on the grilled cheese sandwich I'm eating as I type this.)