I agree! If it tasted good, try adding a bit more flour or something next time. Or maybe just a little less peach. It could be your new favorite recipe! When I experiment I like to try to make things in halves so I don't waste so much if it doesn't work. Mini loaves or muffins are best for that.

I'm no expert, but it could maybe be the peaches? I made a banana bread from a tried and true recipe once and did something similar by adding some peaches and the same thing happened. I think my problem was that I added too much peach for the banana I shorted and just gave it too much moisture. That's my theory anyway!

O.M.G. I love this pie too! One of the first apple pies I ever made, and I remember being so happy with the result. I had kind of forgotten about it... Thanks for reminding me :) Definitely going to do that this year.

Also, as nerdy as it is, I do remember taking pictures of it because I was so excited. I'll have to find those now too haha!

I love your perspective! And I totally agree.

REALLY?? Interesting, tell me more!

I second Joy!! I love her!

Also, http://www.melissaclark.net/blog and smittenkitchen!

Abs-o-lutely not! And I love places like that! But I think those tend to be small and out of the way and not chains. The restaurant I worked at through high school was like that. Tiny Italian place, nothing more than $15. Amazing food. I miss it.

I also did mention that there was a point in my life, where I though that Olive Garden... like, totally ruled.

Actually what I meant by quality is fresh, real, not covered in sauce and salt.. etc.. I've in fact never eaten a meal that cost that much in my entire life and I probably never will. Has nothing to do with price. I could be talking about a plain old tomato (a fresh, quality tomato!) vs a piece of cheap chicken that has to be fried then covered in cheese and sauce to taste appealing.

I didn't mean to come off as pretentious, but I think we can all agree that some food is better than others and personally, I don't see a point in eating food that I know isn't good for me if it doesn't taste amazing.

Soup, Salad & Breadstick lunch is pretty good for the price!

Otherwise, I haven't eaten Olive Garden in years and probably wouldn't. But I would assume people like it because it's fairly cheap and the dishes seem to aim at "comfort food." Growing up, I think I went there a lot and probably thought it was pretty delicious. I guess it's just a slippery slope once you enter the realm of quality food. You just can't go back.

I generally like the Cheesecake Factory, but I actually hate cheesecake. I've been there a few times; went to college in Albany, NY and that was one of our best options near school.

And I tend to feel that the calorie counts on their dishes are inflated by the size of the dish. Just exercise a little portion control and it's all good (hard to do though lol). But it's generally a quick, tasty place if you hit it at a good time.

Ugh dishes. Totally the bane of my existence. I always try and use the whole "I cook you, you wash thing," but that only works for meals. I usually get outvoted on anything else I decided to make for fun with the argument that it was my idea to make it.
I just started maintaining a food blog and trying to come up with my own recipes, so it's really upped my dish washing ante. Price you pay for the hobby of it I guess. Maybe I should switch to stamp collecting?

Potatoes! Any way you cook them. Yum.

I'm really glad (but also sad) that I just read that. HA

For brunch, check out Cafe Lift too, http://www.cafelift.com/menu. I've been to all the above places, which are all good and great options, but this is my absolute fave. (I'm a huge fan of brunch.) Just above Chinatown, it's a little out of the way, but still walking distance and if you're in town just for the food, I'd imagine the trek isn't a deterrence! I've also never experienced a wait there (which I know is a huge problem at Sabrina's and Honey's). The breakfast burrito is to die for. The fried egg panino, Jen's crespelle, and the magherita pizza, all get a huge thumbs up as well.

Nice! Just looking at those makes me even more excited for fall!

Try it! If it works report back. Sounds interesting!

Yes! That is it! Sorry, should have included the address. Visit, enjoy.

Ouch. Yea, maybe I'll wait for some more rave reviews to balance that one out. Personally I've always thought the local, green, etc theme was overdone there as well, which is why I've stayed away.

In other news, I have to say though, that this might be my favorite line EVER: "but dish by dish, the restaurant revealed itself to be as sensible and ascetic as a JCPenney pantsuit."

How it is that I am just now finding this place, I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm not really a huge burger-person. Maybe it's because it's HIDDEN really far into Fishtown. Either way, I'm a woman obsessed.

The place is adorable! It's a tiny little hole-in-the-wall decorated with little halve-sheets of paper that have been colored by patrons (even the tables!), and let me tell you, they have some creative customers. They supply paper, crayons, markers, and whatever else you need to contribute to the decor.

Our server, whom I can only assume is also the owner or at least a partner or somehow related, was great. She kept us entertained, but let us do our thing. She was friendly and funny and really excited about our menu choices. Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only one in there and things were slow. That was the only drawback, so go when you have some time to kill!

I got a vegan burger (I'm not a vegan, but like I said, I'm not a huge burger-person) fries and a black and white. Seriously, you have to go there this hungry. Leave no stone unturned here, it was all fantastic! From my burger bun, to the dipping sauce for the fries, to the shake with the perfect consistency. I think they fry their veg burgs, which is different, but it was certainly tasty. A little spicy and just how I like them! I got the chipotle sauce and salsa verde, both very good. Fries are always my favorite part of burger-meals, and these fresh-cut, chipotle-seasoned fries did not disappoint. I was most impressed by the shake though, that's how good it was.

My boyfriend did get a burger, so I can comment on this as well. He said it was cooked perfectly. It was extremely messy though, so he recommends either not getting a sauce or be prepared for a slop fest. He's also a minimalist. The grilled onions were perfect.

Anyway, definitely check it out. I'm upset that I didn't sooner!

Interesting! I live in the area and walk by all the time, but I've never really been enticed to enter! I hadn't seen any reviews yet, either, so maybe I will consider it now. Thanks!

Just made a chipotle mango and zucchini bread and I'm really REALLY excited about it. Perfect balance/ amount of spice and sweet. Home run feeling lol Don't you love it?

Trying to think of something to bake to bring camping next weekend; any ideas for something special that will travel well?

Sounds interesting, I'd also love to hear some uses for this!

Good luck! I have a hard time with pizza in Philly..

I really love Luigi's Pizza Fresca (it's in Fairmount, not CC - but it's close/good/worth traveling. I would recommend a place in CC if I knew of ANY). I think they are a chain from Jersey. Fresh ingredients and great crust. Sweet sauce. Fold-able. The Margherita pizza is fab.

So, I have a considerable amount of roof deck space attached to my apartment, and I started a rooftop garden this year. Everything is growing in containers and I made sure they are all appropriately sized. Everything seems to be growing fine, but I am having a problem with my tomatoes. The plant is growing and there are buds and some small fruit, but the bottom seems shocked. The leaves yellowed and now it's spreading down the stems. I feel like I've been watering it an appropriate amount (once a day), but maybe not. The weird thing is that it's just the bottom and I feel like if it was a watering issue the top would be the first to go? It's in full sun.. Any other ideas of what might be going on? This is my first year gardening and I was really looking forward to fresh tomatoes!!

Thanks in advance!

If overhyped and overpriced is not your thing, I would recommend staying away from Stephen Starr. His themed restaurants all just seem cheesy and overdone, food portions are tiny and expensive, etc. Not to say the food doesn't taste good though.

Delicious "off the beaten path" Italian food: Try L'ongolo (1415 West Porter Street). Make a reservation because its a VERY tiny BYOB, but it's really something to write home about. Radicchio Cafe (402 Wood Street) is another great Italian BYOB, closer to where you will be.

For a good, quick lunch in the area where you will be: Try SOHO pizza (218 Market St); not sure where you are from, but pizza in Philly is lacking. This place is the answer. Khyber Pass Pub (56 South 2nd Street) is right in that area, I know you're not drinkers, but they have great bbq food anyway (their fried chicken is also amazing).

I will second 'Cafe Lift.' Very delicious, never crowded, great prices. Same girl is always there waitressing and she is super friendly. The breakfast burrito is my favorite, Eggs Florentine - also commendable, but doesn't come on english muffins (which was a disappointment to me!) , the marg. pizza and the blt are delicious lunch options (simple, but really good). There is another dish I tried last time I was there, I can't remember what they called it, but it was a crepe with eggs, t. bacon, syrup... SO good. Or should I not talk this place up so much, I hope it doesn't start to get too crowded - best kept secret in the Spring Garden area.

Estelle is also very good. I've only been there once as it was a little further. I got the shirred eggs with truffle oil and I would hands down recommend that.

Sabrina's is good, I find the food a little greasy and it get's VERY crowded though. Make sure to call ahead.

I like brunch... haha