Saturday, August 18, 2007

brunchgang viii: give us the cure, part ii - rx, 11 a.m., sun, aug. 19


Rx, 4443 Spruce St., 215-222-9590
Directions
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8 comments:

Jon Solomon said...

I'll have more thoughts later about Brunchgang proper, but I don't want to forget the following things from Sunday afternoon:

1) Brian, Beth, Nicole and I went to the Oregon Diner after Rx for some more drinks and sweets.

2) At the Oregon Diner two different servers called my piece of rugelach "arugula."

3) There was a guy wearing a tres classy "Romo is a homo" t-shirt with Eagles logo below the green/silver text.

More to come.

DJ Pancake said...

Having read some unflattering posts on the citysearch site, I was a bit nervous that our large party would overwhelm those at Rx, but I needn't have feared. Upon our arrival, our table was waiting for us. The host couldn't have been nicer, and then the waitress was.

As for the food, I got the majority choice of Huevos Rancheros and some Earl Grey tea served in a for-sale metal cup not unlike something that might contain an elixir or tonic. The meal was very good, though I'd stop short of attaching any superlatives.

Overall, the highlight was seeing everyone and standing by Upma's Fit in the light drizzle while we contemplated more food and future meetings.

I look forward to our next meal at CVS.

Until then, I remain yours in strawberry jam, not mixed berry, not grape,
DJP

Jon Solomon said...

The tofu with a miso/orange glaze was nice, but not much more. Crunchy on the outside, with well-cooked bits of squash and onion in the sauce. I should have asked for some hot sauce. I always should ask for some hot sauce. The salad that came with the tofu was drenched in a creamy white substance I didn't care for. A couple tastes of Brian's side of potatoes made me wish I had ordered a side of potatoes for myself.

After initially ordering an iced coffee, I switched to iced chai when I saw a waitress take one to another customer seated outside. This iced chai was VERY, VERY SWEET, from a mix and tasted like Christmas. It was called Black Jack Chai or Bear Train Chai or Jack Bear Chai. I can't recall. I believe it is locally made, but remembering the name would be a good start towards confirming this.

Number of people in bands I have recorded spotted eating at Rx: two.

Number of names of bands said people at Rx are in that I could remember on my own: zero.

Rx was a decent place to go, so I feel bad that the above doesn't read as a more positive experience. It was great to see everyone and I'm already excited about September's outing.

Julia, your tattoos were missed. I really liked our waitress' piece, but it wasn't the same.

DJ Pancake omitted the nervous woman with poor parallel parking skills who backed into Upma's Fit despite having five feet of open space on either side of her car. We all glared at her.

Jon

brian g howard said...

The mini hamburgers were just okay. When the menu described them as being served on english muffins, with cheddar cheese and bacon, well, i guess i was expecting something a little more breakfast sandwichy. instead, i got two not-terribly-mini hamburgers (which beth helped me with in exchange for some of her french toast).
I've never really seen hamburgers on a breakfast menu, and i guess i mostly found the selection uninspired and myself wishing i'd have ordered the huevos or french toast.
alas.
the french toast was tasty, if not as awesome as that at farmicia. the side of potatoes (which it was suggested i order by our waitress because the mini burgers don't come with anything) were tasty, though the burgers would have been plenty.
the coffee mugs, all chromey and shiny, were more striking than the coffee itself, which didn't leave much of an impression on me.
in retrospect, i wish i'd ordered the scrapple with apple butter, but i always feel just a little self-conscious ordering scrapple, especially around vegetarians.
i guess i, too, find myself wishing my review didn't sound so middling, but the company was better than the food, though i appeared to be sitting at something of the focal point of the restaurant's ambient noise, as i found it hard to hear what anyone was talking about.
Post-brunch sweets and tea at the Oregon diner was sort of just the thing, though our waitress seemed completely befuddled:
1) not understanding that Nicole didn't want a single, tiny chocolate chip cookie (nor a pound of them) but rather the large chocolate-dipped variety in the case behind the waitress.
2) informing me that there were no biscotti, even though there was a case of them behind her.
Once we got everything straightened out (including the substitution of beth's "butter tea" -- don't ask) it was quite tasty. The biscotti was excellent, like a denser version of the stella d'oro anisette toast my mom used to eat all the time. Dunked in tea, it was even tastier.

Ed said...

I don't know about this place. I think it's one of those things where West Philly was so excited to have a brunch option, they gave it a unanimous thumbs up.

The food was just ok. I got the huevos rancheros, which was decent, but it didn't really have any kick. It was drowning in mild salsa, a good portion of which dripped off Nicole's plate onto my lap as it was served to her. I think the guy said, "whoops," then disappeared.

Aside from that, the staff was great. My one other gripe was that I didn't get my coffee refill until after we got the check.

Oh, and I've decided that from now on, if a side of potatoes is an option at any future brunchgangs, I'm getting it.

HBets17 said...

The two letters I have for Rx are O and K.

Shiny coffee cups, shiny hipsters, and our waitress was still memorable for her kindness a week and a half later!

My complaint (which is my complaint with a lot of brunch joints): I ask for a black tea, they say, "we have Earl Grey" and then they don't say anything else. The list begins and ends with the Earl who usurped tea. Earl Gray (or however he spells his damn name) is not the only guy who made a tea and further, I don't think his tea should be counted as black. It's so flowery, who could tell what tea is underneath it? They didn't even serve an alternative Tetley or Red Rose. So, I got the coffee which makes for a moody Herbert.

Now onto the French Toast. I had no idea that it was going to be dipped in a kind of creme brulee and so tasting as if it had never really been completely cooked, or griddled as it were. You can't griddle creme brulee. The FT would have been better as a dessert item after say, an omelete or some mini burgers, and I should get something savory, not sweet in the future. BUT! next month I'll probably be back on the pancakes.

The place was cool and the bathroom sign said that they sold cures for indigestion and headaches for 25 cents. But how much for moodiness induced by coffee?

Beth Howard said...

Hello to you too, Beth Howard! How funny is it that one of my best friends wants to start a blog about our group of friends who meet for brunch every week?

Beth Noel said...

brunchgang RX was most excellent. The breaded French toast was very good and sweet, but I ended up needing some salty-ness at the end of my meal. I was happy to switch plates with Brother Brian and help him finish his mini-burgers and potatoes.

Oregon Diner was also super fun. We had choice seating (for people watching and pastry browsing) and i had an elephant ear the size of my head!

dopple brunch ganger!

woop!

(thanks for posting back, beth howard!)