December 9, 2007 - Philadelphia, PA

During the six years that we were living and working in Boston, our friend Matt came up to stay with us several times. We never managed to make time to get down to Philly to stay with him. Several years overdue, we arrived at Matt's house in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly in the midst of a snow squall on Wednesday afternoon. What better way is there to spend a snowy afternoon than catching up, watching movies and sampling the local lager and Indian takeaway? And what would be a more appropriate dessert than a Tastycake?

Two hearty (or is it hardy?) souls returning from the local beer distributor

That night, Matt introduced us to his girlfriend, Monica, and a Philly phenomenon, Quizzo - trivia played in bars for cash and prizes. On Thursday, we made a bit of time for some culture, and made our way over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art's new Pearlman building, where we got chased out of a fashion exhibit by a gaggle of Ladies Who Lunch, their ponchos flapping menacingly around their elbows. We hid in a fantastic exhibit of mid-century modern furniture until the coast was clear.
That night Sten, Matt and I played Quizzo again at the Abbaye, a bar in the artsy neighborhood of Northern Liberties. While we waited for Matt to arrive from teaching a class, Sten and I split the Abbaye's gourmet version of a Philly cheesesteak - filet marinated in Chimay, topped with caramelized onions and grueyer cheese. It wasn't traditional, but it was tasty. As for the Quizzo match, Sten and I didn't have nearly as much to contribute as Matt's usual teammates, and we slunk out of the bar in shame before the winners were announced.

On Friday afternoon we headed out to the suburbs to visit college friends, Chris and Jess. Over lunch we caught up and batted around an idea for a start-up. Friday night found us back in Northern Liberties for sushi and dancing. When we arrived at the 700 Club, nobody was dancing. Not recognizing any of the tunes that the DJ was spinning, but figuring that we were never going to see any of the haughty hipsters leaning against the bar ever again, we took over the dance floor. Poor Monica, who is likely to show her face around the place again, was a bit horrified by our flailing. By the time the floor was full, we had found some rhythm, but by then we were hidden among the crowd of skinny jean, striped shirt wearing twenty-somethings.

On Saturday, still recovering from our exertions the night before and way too much brunch in Old City, we went into Center City to do some Christmas shopping. We wrapped up our trip to Philly with Sunday brunch at home, complete with Sten's signature banana walnut pancakes.