The first stop was in Philadelphia where I got to compare the cheesesteaks at Pat's and Geno's. I preferred the meat on Pat's and the bread at Geno's. The smell of Pat's reminded me a bit of White Castle. So if you're not a fan, then you'll hate it!
Obviously in Maine we ate tons of lobster rolls, fried clams, clam chowder, and such. I highly recommend The Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, ME. It was featured on Man vs. Food. It's right on the shore so the view is beautiful!! Doesn't get much better...We also visited Fisherman's Catch in Wells, ME. It was featured as having one of the best lobster rolls on Serious Eats. I preferred the food at The Lobster Shack.
When we were in Boston to see the Red Sox play and tour Fenway ($12 to go on top of the Green Monster?! So worth it!), I knew I wanted Italian. We walked around the North End and just picked a place that looked good and didn't have a long wait. I was not disappointed! The food at Il Villaggio ruined Italian food for me with their pasta made in house. Even though my dish was so basic (pasta, light tomato sauce, shrimp), everything was made so well it was amazing. Mike had a chicken dish with a side of potatoes that was also yum.
After the rain delay, lots of beer during the rain delay, and baseball, we caught a cab to the Dumpling Cafe in Chinatown to get some SOUP DUMPLINGS! They were no Joe's Shanghai soup dumplings, but they definitely hit the spot. Now I want more...
Before we left Boston, we went to Soulfire that was featured on Meat and Potatoes. Mike loved it. It was a casual barbeque place that played awesome music and serves really good barbeque. It wasn't as good at Pappy's, but you can't beat the atmosphere. Mike and I ate an atrocious amount of food. Their Soulfire Sweet Tea helped it all go down.
After Boston, we made our way down to Washington, D.C. to see the Nationals play. We had lunch with my friend Lena at Matchbox. I got the Shrimp & Grits. It wasn't very good. There was too much liquid. It was like shrimp and grits soup. Eh. Mike and I also shared two pizzas: Fire & Smoke and Sausage and Sundried Tomato. I thought both tasted good, but Mike hated the Fire & Smoke.
And not that you'd actually subject yourself to a Washington Nationals game just for the food, but these loaded hot dogs deserve a mention. We heard about these hot dogs on Serious Eats, so we stopped at Xtreme Loaded Dawgs and tried The Heater. It had buffalo sauce and was topped with bleu cheese cole slaw. I also tried the Half Smoke from Ben's Chili Bowl. I didn't like it. It gave me serious heartburn, but it probably wasn't just because of the Half Smoke...
The Rating
The Info
Pat's King of Steaks
Where 9th St. crosses Wharton & Passyunk Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 468-1546
www.patskingofsteaks.com
Geno's Steaks
1219 S. 9th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 389-0659
www.genosteaks.com
Fisherman's Catch
134 Harbor Rd.
Wells, ME 04090
(207) 646-8780
www.fishermanscatchwells.com
The Lobster Shack
225 Two Lights Road (at the end of the road)
Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
(207) 799-1677
www.lobstershacktwolights.com
Il Villaggio
230 Hanover St.
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 367-2824
www.villaggioboston.com
Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Ave.
Kenmore Square
Boston, MA
(617) 532-9100
www.easternstandardboston.com
Dumpling Cafe
695 Washington St.
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 338-8859
www.dumplingcafe.com
Soulfire
182 Harvard Ave.
Allston, MA 02136
(617) 787-3003
www.soulfirebbq.com
Matchbox
713 H St. NW
Washington D.C. 20001
(202) 289-4441
www.matchbox369.com
Xtreme Loaded Dawgs
Nationals Park
1500 South Capital St., SE
Washington D.C. 20003
washington.nationals.mlb.com
