philly

was just in philly for a conference, had half of an afternoon to walk around the city. It was hot and humid, but I enjoyed my time there. The rittenhouse square neighborhood was charming, if a bit yappy and completely white. I was impressed with the variety of tap and bottle beers available even in a dive bar or college kids' hangout, lots of local brews as well as good imports. but my perception is possibly a bit skewed since I have been living in the land of alcohol monopoly for over a year now.

Shared a solid meal at the place called White Dog near campus (where I endured three days of brutal but educational meetings) with chuck and some dudes from california also in town for the meeting. What disappointed me was that the wine list was made up entirely with california wine. Not that there is anything wrong with california wine, but how does an all california wine list make sense in philly? How about some NY wines? where are the french wines? It is probably not that much farther away compare to napa.

in any case, philly is not a place I would plan a trip to return soon without any good reason, but I certainly liked what I saw.