A few more restaurant reviews

'A bit overpriced' would be my description of Bocca Restaurant, where my girlfriend and I had dinner a weekend or two back. While the atmosphere was nice, the service left something to be desired - there was one waiter who took orders for the entire restaurant, making service rather impersonal. The food was good - the veal meatballs as an appetizer were delicious (too bad you only get 3, for $13), and the entrees were very delicious as well...I don't remember them (I had steak, my girlfriend had pasta with crab sauce), as Bocca has a rotating seasonal menu, and we caught the end of the summer menu. The glass of wine was an excellent choice. That being said, I felt like that for what we paid, it was a bit underwhelming. So far, fine dining in Philly would outpace my opinion of restaurants in New York.

We also had brunch at Penelope's, which I had heard from an acquaintance from the political blogosphere was the place to eat for weekend breakfasts. It was definitely worth it. For $14, you get a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice (or something equivalent) and one of their excellent choices. I had the farmer's omelette, while my girlfriend had pumpkin waffles with apple butter. Absolutely delectable, and a real treat despite waiting about 15-20 minutes to grab a seat. If it weren't so busy on the weekends, I'd probably end up being a regular visitor.

Lastly, my mother and I caught up over lunch at Chennai Garden, a vegetarian kosher Indian restaurant at the corner. The prices were extremely reasonable (lunch for both of us was less than $20 without tip), and while the service wasn't that great, the food - which was on par with Saravanaas Bhavan (which I reviewed a while back) - was less spicy and very easy on the taste buds. I'd never heard of kosher Indian before, but it was a good meal overall. At some point, I'd like to get a meat dish outside of chicken tikka masala, which is quite expensive around this area (around $13-14 for an average-sized amount, judging by the two other places I've eaten at around here).

Anyways, that's it for recent dining spots. When I have more time, I'll catch up with a few others I've neglected to mention.