Our DOF

My friend Schue and I have a tradition where we designate a day as a DOF. What, you ask, is a DOF? It's a Day of Fun!! It isn't just normal hang-out time, as we usually try to do something special that we've been wanting to do for a while, or go to an event. In this case, we planned to take some of our Fantasy Football winnings and treat ourselves to a very fancy lunch at Nineteen. Nineteen is a restaurant in Philly that is on the top floor of the old Bellevue hotel, now owned by Park Hyatt. I had been there for a business dinner, and knew right away that I wanted to come back -- it would be the perfect spot for a DOF event someday.

So this past Saturday, Schue and I got dressed up and went to Nineteen for our fancy 2nd place victory lunch. The sites were great, both inside and out. From our great view of the city, the incredible architecture, fancy decor, and our handsome young waiter -- everything was absolutely perfect. So was the food, and we ordered a lot of it:

• "Taste of Three" -- a selection of 3 different sashimis. Each selection was perfectly dressed and plated.
• Beef Carpaccio topped with Truffles -- looked a little scary, as raw beef usually does, but melted in the mouth and the truffles were nothing less than divine.
• Grilled Spanish Octopus -- it was served on top of thinly sliced potatoes and leeks. They were so small they looked like tiddlywinks.
• Crab Cake slider -- Being from Maryland, I almost never order a crabcake anywhere. None of them ever taste as good as one made "the right way." This was no Maryland crab cake, but it was delicious nonetheless.
• Oyster Po Boy slider -- It's hard for me to ever turn down an oyster, no matter how it's cooked. This one did not diappoint!
• Cheeseburger slider -- A mini-sandwich with bleu cheese, sauteed mushrooms and carmelized onions.
• I forgot to mention our champagne cocktails.
• And the grande finale ..... creme brulee topped with fresh berries. I'm not much of a dessert eater, but the occasion called for it ... and besides, who can say no to a few bites of a delicious creme brulee!!??!

After lunch, we window shopped on Walnut street, then found our way to Sephora -- the mecca of make-up. Two hours later, we emerged with eyeliners, lip plumpers, eye shadows, blush, and some kind of skin restoration kit. We even spent extra time refreshing our eye make-up at the Urban Decay counter in preparation for the next leg of our DOF. We truly are a couple of glamour-loving, make-up buying fools!!!

In desparate need of a bathroom, we stopped at Alma de Cuba, a very funky restaurant in the city. We took care of businees, purchased an obligatory drink, and were then on our way. We hopped into a cab and went to a new restaurant that opened up in my neighborhood. Still full from lunch, we opted to sit at the bar and have a glass (or two) of wine. Then we went back to my house, put on our comfy clothes and took a stroll around the neighborhood to a few corner establishments.

We packed alot into our DOF! It was a great day, and I can't wait til the next one. In fact, I think there's one coming up for the Philadelphia Flower show which will be in town next week. Usually we don't have them too close together, but in the case the flower show is not to be missed.

Schue, thanks for being a great friend and a perfect date for a DOF!!! I had a great time!