We took Friday off before Chris & Ali's wedding to do some sightseeing in Philadelphia. I'd seen the historic sites around Bicentennial time, and Kirsti'd never been. Unfortunately it was rainy and miserable all day.



The only thing we had scheduled was lunch at Morimoto, the restaurant owned by the once and future Iron Chef Japanese, so we may as well start there. Kirsti had a spicy chicken tempura. and a pot de creme for dessert. I opted for the lunch omakase (tasting menu), which was five courses consisting of:

1. raw yellowtail...um...paté?. the name escapes me. But it was chopped pretty fine and served with a light sauce, some scallions, and caviar.

2. sashimi salad; I forget what sort of fish, but not a sushi cut I was familiar with.

3. chilean sea bass steamed once in sake, then with a black bean-garlic sauce.

4. sushi sampler: tuna, sardine, yellowtail, shrimp, salmon.

5. chocolate soup, passionfruit sorbet.

Not a single bit of this was disapppointing, but the highlights were the bass and the sorbet. The restaurant itself was pretty nifty, though Morimoto himself was out of town.



Kirsti's goals were to eat lunch and see the Liberty Bell. The restaurant is right near Independence National Park, so we killed time before lunch by getting the bell out of the way. Can't touch it any more. We decided to pass on the Independence Hall tour. I recalled being impressed with the underground museum at Franklin Court, and tried to get over there later in the evening, but we didn't get to it in time...assuming going on 28-y.o. memories is a good idea.



Next up was one of Chris's recommendations that got nixed for the out-of-town guest guide: The Mütter Museum. I don't have much to add that the good folks at Roadside America haven't covered, except:



1. Eat your bran, kiddies!

2. After my dental tribulations this year, I was disturbed at the high number of flippers in the "objects swallowed & removed" collection.

3. Kirsti's most-amusing bit was the exhibit on Laura Bridgman, the first blind-deaf person to be systematically educated: "[she was] held up as a model of Victorian girlhood...young girls would poke their dolls' eyes out and name them 'Laura.'" th' hell?



We took the subway to the Mütter, and the nearby stop is a fascinating microcosm of America. On the corners of 22nd and Market, we have: a Salvation Army thrift store, an adult book & merchandise store; a porn theatre advertising new first-run films (leading me to wonder who's still making first-run smut projected via celluloid, but my "research request" on this matter was flatly denied). And topping it off, we have...Trader Joes, the upscale food emporium. I'm hoping the Forum cuts its raincoat-brigade patrons some slack on bringing in outside snacks. 'Cos hey, nothing beats Inka Chips, y'know?



Traveling seems to be the only time I read anymore. On this trip I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was expecting crashing waves of despair, but it ended up being sort of uplifting. I'd recommend it if there were more than five people left in this country that haven't read it.