Some Fun Eats & the Broad Street Run Expo

Our weekend started off with a double date in West Chester at quite the hidden gem.

 

 

The High Street Caffe didn't look like much from the outside, but when we stepped in the door we were greeted fun decor and an overwhelming crowd.  The tables couldn't have been any closer together, but there wasn't an empty seat to be found.  We feasted on alligator sausage, scallops, ahi tuna, blackened catfish, and a crab cake and it was all extremely delicious.

After dinner we went to a bar in town and did some serious people watching.  Nothing like watching a bunch of 21 year olds get their drink on to make me feel old!  I drank a few Woodchuck ciders and we headed out a little after midnight.

Dave and I woke up nice and early this morning to head down to the Broad Street Run Expo.  Apparently 2 glasses of wine and 2 ciders are enough to make me feel less than stellar the next day.  I wasn't super hungover, but a few drinks combined with less than 6 hours of sleep gave me a feeling that I really haven't been missing.

We headed down to Philly nice and early not sure if there would be a long line like I waited in last year.  But the expo wasn't overcrowded and we zoomed through.

 

Despite my lack of running, I found plenty of stuff to purchase at the expo.  I picked up a nice New Balance sports bra, 6 pairs of socks, and a sparkly sweaty band.  Dave got an awesome pair of red compression socks and the proceeds from his purchase will go to The One Fund for Boston!

After the expo we headed to South Street to grab some brunch with a friend.  We ended up waiting 45 minutes for a table at Honey's, but big crowds don't lie because the menu was diverse and the food was tasty.  I feasted on a a 3 egg omelet with chorizo, salsa, cheddar cheese, onions, and peppers that came with a onion and cheese potato latke.  Dave ordered some biscuits and sausage with gravy and a side of home fries with onions and peppers.  We also split a side order of bacon (which was pretty disappointing since it was only 2 slices for $4).  The bill was pretty high so we probably won't be headed back any time soon, but it was a nice treat.

The rest of our Saturday involved hitting the grocery store, finally canceling our Y membership, and then grilling and chilling.

Dave just headed to bed.  I'm going to veg, prep some things for tomorrow, and then crash myself.  Tomorrow is a big day!  Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Do you like trying new restaurants or do you prefer to hit your old favorites?

ODDyssey Race Expo & City Eats

Let's start at the beginning...

After eating an entire box of mac & cheese out of the pot I made it in (hey, I was carb loading!), we headed down to Philly to our hotel.

Shortly after we checked in, we hopped a cab over to Boathouse Row to meet Shayna and Jenn at the race expo.

After Broad Street, this expo was a little bit on the sad side, well it was just tiny!  But we were super pumped to be there anyway.

The back of the shirt is really cool because you can fill in your finishing time using a sharpie to fill in the yellow to make the numbers!  We were mildly disappointed when we couldn't find any 13.1 car magnets, but Shayna actually found some at a running store after the race.

After parking Shayna's car and hanging in the room for a little while, we walked across the street to meet up with Michelle and Alex for some dinner at Pizza Rustica.

 

The menu was loaded with so many mouthwatering choices it was hard to pick just one, so Dave and I decided to split the pollo a la rustica pizza (roasted rosemary chicken, mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, tomato sauce and mozzarella) and a Philly style supreme pie both on a wheat crust.

The food was SO delicious.  Just in case we weren't full enough, we spotted a frozen yogurt place a few doors down.  I'd only been to a build your own froyo once before when I was California a few summers ago, but now I officially need to hunt one down closer to home.  I felt like a little kid building my own sundae with all the best goodies.

After we settled into our food comas, we headed straight to bed.  I was feeling a little anxious about the next day, but also excited that the big day was finally here.  I fell asleep pretty quickly, but woke up with my heart pounding when someone was knocking repeatedly at our door around 12:30.  When I finally got up and answered the door, some random kid was standing there looking really awkward when he realized he was at the wrong room.  I settled back into bed and tried to relax because I knew my 5 am alarm was looming!

To be continued...

Broad Street Run Expo & The Reading Terminal Market

Yes, I did it!  I ran Broad Street and I killed it... but we need to start at the beginning!

I was dreading the crowds and driving down into the city two days in a row, so I decided to go pick up my race packet and check out the expo on Friday afternoon.  My coworker Ricky, who was also running, was my partner in crime for the day.  We cut out of work at noon and our first stop was the Reading Terminal Market.

Omg, farmer's market on steroids!  It was my first time and I'd heard so many amazing things about this place and it did not disappoint.  We started our trip by taking a lap around trying to pick from the overwhelming amount of delicious choices and devouring some free cheese samples.  I settled on a place called Mezze Mediterranean Foods.  There were so many drool worthy sandwiches there it was so hard to decide, but a delicious italian hoagie caught my eye.

Next up was dessert, needed to load up on extra calories for the race after all ;)  After some more roaming around, we found an Amish bakery we were both excited about.

Strawberry rhubarb pie for him, pumpkin roll for her.

The market was great, I'll definitely be going back!  After we sufficiently stuffed ourselves, we headed down to the expo!

 

It was my first race expo and it was pretty crazy.

There was a ton of goodies for purchasing and this one caught my eye: a spibelt for carrying a few things while running.  It's waterproof... and purple!

(source)

I was also looking for a super supportive sports bra, but they didn't have any big enough for my girls (not kidding).

The expo definitely pumped me up and really made the race real for me!  I still can't believe it's over.  I should've done some blogging yesterday, but I was a waste of life and did nothing but nap and eat.  So I'll be writing my race recap later tonight!

What's your favorite market place?  Have you ever been to a race expo?