Marathon and Southwark

(Thursday, August 25, 2005)

Aunt Carol and Uncle Chris came to visit on Thursday. They got here in time for lunch, so Anna and C&C and I went to this yummy grill-type place called Marathon. It was delicious. Anna got a smoothie that looked awesome, plus soup and salad and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich (the combo plate was huge). Aunt Carol and Uncle Chris both had steaks. I had a grilled salmon salad that was wonderful. For Florida people, Marathon is like a fresher, bigger, more diverse, more upscale, prettier Panera/Hops combo with outdoor seating and a full bar. That's probably not very helpful, but if anyone comes to visit me I will take you there because I think it's great. It was beautiful weather again, too, so we sat outside and enjoyed the breeze. Anna commented (it wasn't quite complaining) that Penn students were getting back to the area and that soon the restaurants and places would be overrun with them. I couldn't tell a difference (obviously) because I don't know what it's usually like here. So far I haven't had any negative experiences with Penn kids.

[In fact, I had a pleasant run in with one on Wednesday. There was a significant wait between the subway and the trolley to get home after my Americorps interview, and there was a guy waiting near me wearing a Temple Law shirt. I wandered over and asked him if he went to Temple Law, because I was thinking of applying there. He explained that he didn't, but that he had had friends who did and he had spent some time with professors there. He commented that they have a great law school and a good reputation. He paused, like he didn't want to seem arrogant, and commented that he graduated from Penn Law. I wasn't sure how to respond, so I said "well...they have a much better reputation." Witty comments often elude me, so he had to put up with the inane. He was gracious about it, though, and said that he was glad I was going into law and that I should think about Penn. His bus came then, so he had to leave. But he's the only person I've met from Penn and he seemed nice, so thus far I am not worried about having lots of Penn students in the nearby area.]

After lunch I had my Victoria's Secret interview. It was a huge waste of time. I was there for a group interview for a part time sales position. I don't know if they'd already filled the management position or what. But I was frustrated by the whole thing. On the way home, I got a call from Target, who wants me to interview for a management position. I did their requisite online assessment test (which had a LOT of math, and we weren't allowed to use calculators), hopefully they'll call Monday morning to set up a time. I would really like to be employed.

And then Thursday night we had dinner out, too. We had reservations at a Thai place (after calling and changing and thinking and rethinking for days). When we drove down to park, though, we passed a restaurant that Carol and I both thought was really cute. Anna commented that she had called monday to try to get a reservation there, but they had been closed. We parked (Anna parked, I'm still not doing so well with the parallel parking thing) and started walking toward the Thai place.


Didn't Anna do a lovely job parking?

As we were walking toward the Thai place, Anna asked if we would really rather do the other restaurant, and I (and maybe Carol, I'm not certain) answered rather quickly "yes!" So Anna told us to go see if they had room, while Anna and Sara (who also came with us) went to the Thai place. Carol and I went into Southwark and loved it, they had beautiful orchids in the windows and a lovely mahogany bar, and they had room! So we called Anna, who called Dan (who was riding with Chris so they could stop and buy wine, because the Thai place was bring your own bottle), and everyone ended up at Southwark.

The food was awesome. I had monkfish with corn risotto. I had never tasted monkfish before, but I loved it. It was amazing! Carol and Sara ordered tilefish, Dan had beet soup and potatos, Anna had tuna and warm peach salad, and I can't for the life of me remember what Chris had, but I'm sure it was tasty. We had dessert, too. I had fruit parfait, and we also had dreamsicle ice cream (anna), fresh fruit (carol), pot of chocolate (called something more French on the menu, Chris), and Sara had something also. Uncle Chris also ordered a bottle of Riesling for dessert wine, and it was delightful. Here are some pictures from dinner:


Me and Anna!


Dan and his beet soup, which wasn't very tasty


Aunt Carol and Uncle Chris

Don't you wish you had been there? :)