Friday, January 17, 2014

Taco Tuesdays + Szechuan Takeout

The best part of Penn, in my humble opinion, has to be its close proximity to so many great food options. Since returning from home, I have reverted back to my college student budget, but did manage to get in a couple (somewhat) noteworthy meals.

Taco Tuesday is apparently a pretty big thing (who knew?) here in Philadelphia, and lucky for us, our neighborhood Distrito has joined in on the fun. I have always been a fan of Jose Garces' restaurants, and this place is no exception. Though pricier than some of his other establishments, the $15 pre-fixe lunch and happy hour deals on food are still worth a visit. Tuesdays seem like the best time to take advantage - they have $2 tacos (one of each of the three flavors offered) as well as a few other options on their happy hour menu for a discounted price (all around $5-7). Make sure to get there early though, these prices only last from 5-7! After four tacos and a small helping of chips and guac/salsa, I was pretty satisfied. My favorite by far was the mushroom tacos; I love the flavor of truffles so the truffle puree was perfect. That along with the rich and savory mushrooms topped with the crunchy texture from the fried potato almost made me forget that there wasn't any meat in this particular taco. For only two dollars, I would definitely go back for more.

Top left: Salsa-guacamole mix with chips offered as a special on Tuesdays. If I had known the ratio of salsa to guac was that uneven, I would have opted for the sole guac and chips option offered on the regular HH menu
Bottom left: Cordero tacos, Adobo-braised lamb, mint pipian, quesa panela
Right: Hongos taco, wild mushrooms, truffled potato puree, crispy yukon potato

Today, having finished my classes for the week, I spent a rather lazy Thursday running a few errands, one of which involved finally indulging my Szechuan craving. After passing by the University City Han Dynasty (fondly referred to by Penn kids as 'Handy Nasty') on my walk back home, I couldn't resist and had to step in to order a few dishes to take back with me. Though nothing compares to having the full meal at the original location in Old City with a large group and equally large order, my beef and tripe in chili oil and dry pepper fried chicken were more than enough to make my day. Best part? Enough leftovers for a good few days. Bring on the spice!

"Keep the original spiciness levels?" he asked. Yes, please. Don't mind the incredible amount of water I simultaneously drink and sweat out (Taiwanese food usually isn't spicy so I haven't had much training growing up).
A long weekend in New York City will hopefully yield more food-worthy photos to come!

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