The Convo: Spring Break in Philadelphia

Susan and Whittney discuss Whittney's spring break visit to see Susan in Philadelphia.

Mentioned in this episode:
Fabrika
Eastern State Penitentiary
Bar Hygge
Longwood Gardens
La Colombe
Parc
Harp & Crown
The Happy Rooster
Pat's King of Steaks
Geno's Steaks
Bing Bing Dim Sum
John's Water Ice
Rita's Italian Ice

Website: susanandwhittney.buzzsprout.com
Instagram: @susanandwhittney
Facebook: The Conversation with Susan and Whittney

Transcript

The Convo: Spring Break in Philadelphia
===

Whittney: [00:00:00] 

Susan: Hello, and welcome to our first mini episode that is not about books. This is called The Convo Instead of the Conversation. Whitney, what do you think of that? 

Whittney: We're so cute, cas and clever is what I think. 

Susan: Absolutely. Well, I'm so excited to be talking about, our recent reunion of you and I. We haven't been together in a long time. I did see you last year when I had a quick visit to see you in Princeton when you were there for [00:01:00] work. That was June, but we haven't had a solid, overnight visit together since before Covid.

So you recently came to spend a few days with me in Philadelphia and we had a blast together. 

Whittney: Yes, we did so many things and it was your spring break, so you know you had some time.

Susan: Yes. It was nice to, be a tourist in my own city. 

Whittney: I love that and it was cool for me to come back to my home state and do touristy things too, because, you know, I live in New England, but Pennsylvania is always in my heart as I remind everyone in New Hampshire on a regular basis. 

Susan: Yes. And Whitney, when you came when was it? Oh, it was March 31st. I picked you up at the airport, March 31st. 

But anyway, when you came, the weather was balmy and I had the windows down and the car to pick you up, and you had just come from a snowstorm and then you land in Philadelphia and it was sunny. I was wearing short sleeves. It was like a totally different climate.

Whittney: Yeah, it was definitely like a [00:02:00] shock for my system. Like it was snowing in New Hampshire that morning, and then I came to Philly and it was like warm spring weather. Everything was blooming. My allergies were going haywire. Who needs Mexico? Just if you live in New England, just go like a few states South is basically what I learned. 

Susan: Right. That's what I was laughing about. I was thinking you are having a southern vacation right now just coming down to Pennsylvania. It might as well have been South Carolina cuz it was super warm and everything was in bloom. I feel like you finally got to wear some of your spring clothes. We could open the windows.


Whittney: It was great to see blooming trees earlier than I expected them. 

Susan: So Whitney, I was thinking that we could run through all the fun things that we did in Philly, and first off, as soon as I picked you up on the 31st, we quickly ate dinner and then got into a wonderful Tesla, Uber to take us to this awesome bar/restaurant and cabaret Club in Fishtown, which I [00:03:00] call it, uh, Philadelphia's, Moulin Rouge sort of the unofficial name, because it's the most unique, variety show of drag and acrobatics and fire and God knows what every time. It's a surprise. So what did you think?

Whittney: I thought it was awesome. First off. It was kind of like a weird variety show, like Moulin Rouge and I don't know. And there were knives and fire with their routine too. It was such an interesting, but like really cool experience. So I'm so glad that that was on the itinerary for us to do together because I never have even considered looking for something like that. And I was telling Nate about the experience actually, and he was trying to find something similar to see if there's anything similar in Boston that we can all go to.

Susan: Otherwise you can fly into Philly. 

Whittney: Shout out to Fabrika. We love them. 

Susan: I know. So one of the things you and I were talking about that we enjoyed the most was the [00:04:00] burlesque portion of it, which is not usually what I would say, but the burlesque dancer or performer there that night was so talented. It was something Lulu D'Ville.

Yes. Oh, she was so good. I mean, she just had it down to an art. It is an art, really. She was just so skilled and so suave. 

Whittney: So I think it's very similar to when you talk about skating, right? And you talk about how certain skaters just have the artistic element down pat and they're graceful and their motions are very fluid and they have the flare for the dramatic. Right. And they're like also very good at the act of jumping on skates and things like that.

Susan: Right.

Whittney: think that that's kind of how Lulu Deville was, right? She had all of the elements. She was, she is an artist, right?

Susan: Mm-hmm. And performer. Yeah, she was great. She was just so much fun to watch and I think you and I appreciated 

all her costuming but really all the costuming, but [00:05:00] hers, in particular, was very ornate and beautiful and detailed. and of course, then, the costuming came off as the show went on, which. Again, this is not usually the part that I enjoy, but I was just so fascinated by her finesse and her skill, it was really interesting and fun to watch. And you and I also enjoyed the, I call them the lampshade ladies. I don't really know what their name is. They're these dancers that just pose at the beginning of the show.

They will pose and sit on the stage and they don't speak. They're like miming almost. 

Whittney: Yes, kind of like artistic miming, I think is kind of a good descriptor for it. And they have very avant-garde headwear that goes with their outfits. And the waitress told us that one of the two, they are sisters, and one of the two actually designs and makes the headwear and the outfits, which I thought was really cool.


Susan: Yeah.

Whittney: Artistic expression.

Susan: I really just appreciate the dancer's movement, the dancer's choreography, the strength and the beauty [00:06:00] that goes into that. It made me just want to, uh, work on some choreography.

I don't move that smoothly. I just wanted to walk more gracefully after watching them, you know, just the gesture of a hand was so like, smooth and finesse. 

Whittney: With, you know, high heels on and elaborate headwear.

Susan: Exactly. 

Whittney: There was so much talent on display. I mean, the aerialists, there were several aerialists and they were incredible. Including, there was even a male aerialist. And then, 

Susan: He did that Black Swan number, I believe. First, he did one by himself and then he collaborated with the other performer. That was phenomenal. I can't say enough about the aerial work that they do at these shows. Uh, it's just, it's really just unbelievable. 

Whittney: And one of your other favorite parts of the night were the dance break dance troupe. Um, and they were so fun.

Susan: Oh, right. The Gloria Estefan, "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You" number. And then at the end they did this, Latin [00:07:00] number called Hip, Hip, Chin, Chin. It's just like a fun Latin number. Um, I loved them. Their headdresses, the feathers, the costumes, just the whole Latin flavor was.

Just awesome.

Whittney: Yeah. And again, such great dancers and you know, the choreography for that was fantastic and it like kind of got you excited and, you know, like raised the energy, in between, the first act and the second act. 

And then at the end,

Susan: Yeah. I love it so much. It's such a fun place. And Whitney, you and I will have to share on our social media some of the fun pictures that we took. there's this room, I don't know, I maybe like, sort of the photo room, on the way to the bathroom. , and there's like a grand piano and a big chaise lounge, and oversized furniture, and uh, a clawfoot bath with rose petals. and you know, anybody can take as many pictures as they want and it's just, So much fun to pose and kind of just be dramatic. 

Whittney: Yeah, it was, it was super fun. I always love a good like social media photo op spot, [00:08:00] and Fabrika had so many great ones. 

Susan: was one of my favorite parts. Every time I go, just taking pictures because you get to dress up, I, mean, obviously at a place like that, you're not gonna wear jeans and a t-shirt, you can dress to the nines. You can wear anything dramatic or fun, or you were wearing a cocktail dress and I was wearing a hot pink pantsuit.

Whittney: Mm-hmm. 

Susan: Also this necklace that my grandmother had given me that I didn't know when I would wear it, and this was the perfect opportunity. So I got to wear the really fun diamond necklace with my pantsuit it was really fun to dress up and have a great time. 

Whittney: I know, I forget that there aren't as many opportunities as we get older, especially just to have a fun like dress up night like that, going out and doing stuff. So I did really like that portion of it too. Um, you know, wearing sequins and, you know.

Susan: Oh yes. 

Whittney: A necklace from your Nana. 

Susan: Absolutely. So, and then the next day I took you to a really interesting landmark historic site, the Eastern State Penitentiary, which is [00:09:00] America's most historic prison. And it's located in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, which I know you commented that it was a really, cute neighborhood. 

Whittney: Yes, I did love the neighborhood and I've heard of Eastern State Penitentiary for years, even when I lived in Pennsylvania because um, it was kind of coming out of its abandoned stage then. It was kind of an abandoned property for a long time, and as we saw when we were there, you know, like trees growing up through the walls and things like that.

I remember it was a big Halloween destination,  like a lot of people were driving, even from when I lived in State College, they were driving to Philly to go there for Halloween, and to visit then. So that was really cool that, now it's like an official kind of historic landmark and that it's like an educational, almost like a museum. I can't remember the exact term they used, at the location. It was like a living ruin or something to the effect. They're [00:10:00] keeping, they're only restoring pieces of it, right? they're allowing the rest of it to kind of decay as it would because there's something cool and beautiful and being kind of a living ruin that way. 

Susan: Yeah, no, and I had only been to Eastern State Penitentiary one other time actually when other friends were visiting me years ago, and so I just remembered it being very eerie and spooky, but also just so fascinating. So, rich with history, I. And so I was just thinking of something a little bit outside the box that you might enjoy. And plus I wanted to go to Fairmount cuz I really do like to go to that neighborhood. But I'm glad we did it. I feel like I learned a lot because we did the walking tour, but also after that you could branch out and read other things and go to other spots, but, and there was also that exhibit about modern-day prisons that we spent a lot of time looking at. 

Whittney: So I didn't realize that. I'm pretty sure in the exhibit when we went in there, they said that Benjamin Franklin was one of the biggest supporters of Eastern State [00:11:00] Penitentiary, around the time that it was first created because it was supposed to create a more humane prison, because it was separating, each of the prisoners into their own spaces instead of just throwing them all kind of in a big room or whatever. And you were talking when we were there, the spoke and hub design of each of the corridors or I can't remember what they were called when we were there.

Susan: Yeah, I can't remember either, but I think corridor is a good name for it. And Whitney, just going back quickly to what you were saying about, the prison system in the past used to be like, you just throw everybody like into a dungeon or something, and then they decided to make this revolutionary approach to the Eastern State Penitentiary by having the separate rooms, like you said.

And I, I remember reading that, you know, the word penitentiary at its root is like, You know, pen, like, in penance, you're supposed to have this time to reflect and have penance and solitary time to think about what you did. 

Whittney: Mm-hmm. 

Susan: and it was supposed to be restorative because you do [00:12:00] have this time to reflect and it's not just like an open brawl?

So I thought that was really fascinating cuz I never really thought about what the word penitentiary really meant and what the purpose behind that was. So I found that I walked away with a lot more information on the prison system in general. 

Whittney: Yes, absolutely.

And obviously, the exhibit that you referenced that was on modern-day prisons, I thought was. Fascinating. So well done. If you're anywhere near Philly or planning a trip to Philly, we, I think we both highly recommend everyone visiting and, and going through that because they're the information that is shared about what modern-day prison system and modern-day prisoners face and you know, how their life is different than it would've been.

During the heyday of Eastern State Penitentiary, I think is so important and the way they've relayed the information is so interactive. 

Susan: Right. They did do a fantastic job with that interactive, exhibit, and yeah, the whole thing, it's, it's an [00:13:00] amazing living ruin as you said to go visit. So I really enjoyed that. and then afterwards, we followed it up with a little stop at Bar Hygge, which is a really cool restaurant on Fairmont Avenue. And you get to try some different beers.

Whittney: Yes, I got to, be the craft beer nerd that I am and try some fun new beers. So I was trying to remember, I tried a beer that had basil in it, but then I also tried their lemon IPA that I remember was the Was was highly recommended by our waiter and they were both, fantastic. So only good things to say. 

Susan: Yeah, and then I had an espresso martini, which was absolutely delicious, but it ended up plaguing me because that night I couldn't sleep hardly at all. so a delicious drink. But just in my experience, I can't have it 

Whittney: espresso. 

Susan: well, I can't have it after 4:00 PM I think that would be great for brunch, but, The next day, the reason I wanted to have a lot of sleep on Saturday [00:14:00] night.

I mean, I always want to sleep well, but the next day I knew that I was taking you to the incredible botanical garden in Kennet Square called Longwood Gardens. And I, I knew we were gonna be walking all day. It's, it's so sprawling and we, you know, you're on your feet the whole day.

So I wanted to make sure I had enough energy, but turns out I, I still felt okay. Uh, I think I rallied because I was so excited to show you Longwood, and we met up with my sister Devin and her family.

Whittney: Yes.

And it was so cool to see Devon and her family and I, told Devon's husband, I, hadn't seen him in real life at all since before their children were born.

Susan: We had so much fun. Whitney, what are your thoughts about Longwood Gardens?

Whittney: so like Eastern State Penitentiary, when I remember, when I lived in Pennsylvania, I, it was always kind of one of those things that I was. Thinking, oh, I should go there. it was kind of always on the list of things I knew I had to see in Pennsylvania, but just like never planned a trip or anything. And [00:15:00] when I worked, when I used to work in, Penn State's College of Ag Sciences, the horticulture, department, a lot of times our students would get internships there or, they would get full-time jobs there. So it was like a big. Employer of a lot of the students there. So I've, I've been very familiar for years, but was so excited to finally see it in real life and it was amazing. and it looks like they're expanding even more. So I can't wait to come back again and come back during the times when they have like water shows. it just was incredible.

Susan: Yeah, it's a really majestic, magical place. I feel like every time I go I just, it's, you can't help but get 

caught up in the beauty and the amazingness that, that is long wood. , I love going in the summer for, as you just referenced, the water shows. They have a show. every hour.

I think it's every hour on the hour. Um, in which there's this like enormous Italian water fountain 

show. It's like the size of a football field and it's set to music and it's just really amazing. 

And at wintertime, [00:16:00] um, they have beautiful Christmas lights. And this past year I went with my family and it was just so, so magical, so enchanting.

We loved it. 

So I think it would be awesome if you could come back at another point, because when we went, it was a good time because things were in bloom. But there was still a lot of things that weren't out yet or open, like the fountains weren't running yet.

So if you're ever back in, the area, definitely have to, to see what it's like during that season at Longwood.

Whittney: Yes, I, was excited to see, especially the tree houses, which some of those weren't completely open, right. Your favorite tree house and Cooper's and Ruby's favorite tree house was not open. So 

Susan: I know. 

Whittney: go back and see it, and it's all of its glory. 

Susan: The tree houses are really cool. 

I mean, it's like Swiss family Robinson come to life, you know?

Um, the kids love 

the tree houses and I feel like we go to Longwood maybe every few months, but it's still so much fun and brand new every time we go. You can never get sick of a 

treehouse, right? 

Whittney: Right. [00:17:00] Well, and I think it was really cool to go with, your sister and Blake and, your niece and nephew because the kids were so excited and they were like, they couldn't wait to like, show all off all of their favorite parts of it. So I think it just adds to the experience when there's like that childlike excitement in the mix, right? 

Susan: Oh yeah, they were, they're 

always excited to meet a new person. They enjoyed having you there to tell us funny stories too. Someone new who hasn't heard, you know. what did Ruby tell you? The time Cooper got stung by a bee or something? I don't know. I never even heard that 

actually,

Whittney: which Cooper, I think had long forgotten.

Susan: Yeah, I was gonna say, it's funny what kids decide to tell to someone new but , in any case, we had a great day at Longwood.

The next day we ventured into the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. I actually had a dermatology appointment and drop something in the mail like a couple tasks for my life. And so you came with me and we remember we were talking in episode one of this season about you [00:18:00] think it's a great idea to, make running errands with friends a thing. So Whitney, you did that with me. We had to go to the subway together. We found a mailbox to drop my letter. I went to my appointment, 

and you waited for me. 

Whittney: yes. Normalize running errands with 

your friends. It can be a hangout activity. 

Susan: Normalize and glamorize because you know, while I was at the der Yeah. Normalize and glamorize while I was at the dermatologist, you were sipping really fancy specialty coffee at lock colom and I met up with you there, which is this really wonderful, , coffee. 

Shop, and I had forgotten how delicious it was until I, grabbed a, what did I get? Like a macchiato or something? Whatever I got You taught me about what was in it, because turns out I know 

nothing about what's in coffee drinks.

You were Like you know, there's 

espresso in that. 

Whittney: oh yes. You got, you got a latte, 

Susan: Oh, okay. A latte. Right. And the reason that, , You brought that up is because the night before, or two days before, I hadn't slept because of espresso. And I was like, I'm [00:19:00] never drinking that again. Next thing you know, I'm drinking espresso. Uh, but I didn't know that I was. So thank you for sharing

Whittney: Yes.

Apparently, I know a lot of things about your caffeinated beverages, so here we go. 

Susan: Yeah. And apparently it doesn't affect you as it does me, which is weird. You'd think that I would know more about it since I am sensitive. Like I would be like aware of what I'm putting in my body cuz it doesn't agree with me. But, uh, thank you for educating me Whitney. You are the kind of friend who tells me what's in my coffee drinks. 

Whittney: Who tells you when you're drinking espresso without realizing it? 

Susan: Right. Um, so we did that and then we, we were trying to find a place to get our nails done, and then, nothing much to say about it, I guess, except that you got turquoise nails. And I was surprised at how good they looked.

Whittney: Yes. Uh, again, I, I'm very adventurous when it comes to nail colors and, uh, you stick to your color palette 

Susan: Yeah, I like to experiment more on my toes, but usually I stick to like the [00:20:00] traditional for my nails. 

Well anyway, so we got our manicures and then we went over to my favorite restaurant in the city. It's called Park. It's this amazing, or I should say Magnae, Trey Magnae, uh, French Bistro, right on Rittenhouse Square. And I really wanted you to experience it cuz it's always just so delicious, so delightful.

And uh, you got a really good 

drink 

there.

Whittney: So I love all cucumber cocktails and the cucumber cocktail I had at Park, your favorite restaurant was they referred to it as a French mojito, and it was, amazing. So it was like cucumber, basil instead of mint and simple syrup. It was, it was so good. I still think about it. Um, I had several cucumber drinks since then, and that's still the best one I've had potentially in my life.

So it was, it was great. 

Susan: I'm 

glad.

you introduced me to [00:21:00] it because usually when I go to park I get wine and I had never even 

looked at the cocktail list, to be honest with you Cause I always just automatically get white wine. So now that you've put that on the map for me, I really wanna go back and try it because I also love 

cucumber drinks. 

Whittney: Yes. I mean, who in their right mind doesn't love a cucumber drink? But that was maybe the best cucumber cocktail I've ever had in my life. And I, I still think about it. So that's fantastic. 

Susan: Well, next time I go back there, I'll definitely get that drink and I'll, send you a picture to, make you remember the best cocktail of your life. 

Whittney: Love it, love it. I mean, the food there was great too, which 

Susan: Oh, it

was, yeah.

Whittney: you did tell me to expect great food and you know, we had great food. Although we had some, oysters that were from New England, 

Susan: Oh yeah. Isn't that funny? 

Whittney: we found that funny. 

Susan: Kind of ironic. Yeah, no, we, The food there 

is fantastic. Um, it's a Stephen Star restaurant, which people from Philly will recognize that he's one of the main, I, guess, restaurateurs or most famous restaurateurs in Philadelphia. And, uh, he has other. [00:22:00] Amazing restaurants as well, but I, I always just find that park is consistently excellent.

And, um, we had warm shrimp salad, which seems like a very simple meal, but it was still, it was simple, but it was absolutely delicious. Um, and then our oysters were excellent. And as you pointed out, you had to come to Philadelphia to get oysters from your home area or where you live now, your home area.

Um, and that was just kind of funny. And, uh, Yeah, we had a, a really nice 

time there. 

Whittney: Yes, we did. And we also had some great desserts there. And even the bread was good. I mean, and then didn't you say the president was 

there right before we came?

Susan: Yeah, apparently. So we were there on Monday I think the president was on Saturday. They said something about he came into town to see his granddaughter do something, so I guess she must be possibly going to 

school in 

Philly, or at least she was there for some kind of event that he went to see her in But yes, he was at Park just days 

before we were. 

Whittney: I mean, if it's good enough [00:23:00] for, you know, the executive our country, then obviously it's great for us. Right?

Susan: Yeah, it's, it's great. And then afterwards we met up with my old roommate, Alex, uh, cuz I wanted you to meet some people who are a part of my life here in Philly. And she jumped on board with getting together for some drinks. we went to this fun place called Harp and Crown, which is kind of, uh, it's like a little bit like a dark, like eclectic bar.

There's old pictures and knickknacks and relics on the wall there. And their bar is really huge and. Great happy hour. So we had a couple drinks there. I don't think as good of a cucumber drink unfortunately, but.

Whittney: No, and No, offense to Harp and Crown, it's just I'd already been ruined for 

Susan: Right. You had already had the best drink of your life, so nothing was going to match to that. But yeah, we had a nice time at Harp and Crown, and then we had to take you to one of our favorite spots, the Happy Rooster, which I always call kind of like our Cheers bar. Uh, it's just like kind of a fun bar to go to at the end of every evening. And often you'll see people that you recognize there. So we [00:24:00] definitely met some, uh, colorful characters while we were there.

Whittney: Yes, we did. It was, it was great. We had a great time. The whole, I mean, the whole day in Rittenhouse was, was super fun. So great neighborhood.

Susan: It was, and I realized, Whitney, though, that you can drink me under the table. I mean, which is not hard to do because by the time we get to Harp and Crown, I was kind of like, I'm done. Uh, and you and Alex were rallying. And I just realized like, man, you can just, you can just go and you still are fresh.

Like bravo to you

Whittney: Yes. A skill that I have is being able to drink large quantities of alcohol and not be affected by it. which, thank you to New England. I mean, again, Pennsylvania, the drinking culture in Pennsylvania. Is not as, intense as the drinking culture in New England. You know, like everyone here is drinking high alcohol content, craft beer.

we live in a really, good area for craft beer. Maine is, you know, I [00:25:00] basically can see Maine from my house here, and they have some, some of the best beer in the country. So, , I thank my drinking tolerance. I, I credit it entirely to New England.

Susan: Right. And also, you know, me being a teacher, like I don't drink or anything during the week. Um, so I feel like Whitney, I've just gotten out of the game, but my point to this was the next day Alex texted me and she's like, oh, how are you feeling?

Like, she's like, I'm not feeling?

so hot. And you're just Like, oh, I feel fine. I feel great. Like, what? 

Why do people not feel well? 

Whittney: Yeah. I was like, wait, am I supposed to not feel well?

Susan: I know I was a little bit tired that day, but, uh, not too bad. 

But, um, you know, we did 

Whittney: Yeah, this was actually, I think one of my favorite days because we got to explore your neighborhood.

Susan: I know. Kind of funny, I saved my neighborhood. for last. I took you like all around before we actually explored where I live, which is in South Philly. Um, so I wanted you to experience the , cheesecake cheesecakes. Oh my goodness, Whitney, I did not give you a cheesecake, [00:26:00] that sound good? I, I wanted to show you the cheese steaks. you know, uh, I'm not really sure if Philadelphia is known for its cheesecake, but cheesecakes, yes.

So, you know, a lot of people will argue this point about what 

is the 

best cheesesteak in Philly. I've asked so many people, everyone has a 

different opinion. Um, but I, decided 

to take 

you to Pats and Gino's, which is kind of, you know, more of the touristy 

cheese. Places cheese 

steak places. Now I'm afraid I'm gonna say cake again, these 

cheese steak

places are across the street from each other. At nighttime, they're lit up in fluorescent lights. That's kind of fun to see. Um, and I wanted to see. you know, which one had the 

best cheese steak. So 

you and I, you 

ordered from Pat's and I went over to Gino's, and then when we got 

back to my place, we cut

them in half and sampled both so we could have a true taste test.

And what did you discover, Whitney? 

Whittney: So this was one of, I think, the most exciting things that we did the whole time, because again, my entire time living in Pennsylvania, I've heard [00:27:00] about the dueling cheese steak, you know, wars between Pats and Geno's and who, some people like Pat's and some people like Gino's and so excited for us to just figure out for ourselves, right?

So, I think they each have their own merits, right? I Ginos, they cut their meat a little bit thicker, right? So it's the flavor of the cheesesteak meat in the Ginos cheeses steak, I think was just really good. But again, their, their meat is, it's more of a chewing experience than, you know, like you have to kind of, because it's thicker and.

There's, there's more of it, there's more meat as like a, a substance in there. But overall, I think Pat's wins because their bread, their bread is the champion, I think because their bread can, it can withstand the cheese steak. Whereas Ginos, I think because, um, of the, maybe the meat being cut a little bit thicker, their bun gets a bit soggy, you know?[00:28:00] 

Susan: That's good feedback. Yeah, I didn't, I actually wasn't paying super close attention to the bread. That's interesting that you pointed that out. But I was gonna say that , Pat's has a lot more, at least from what my sandwich had, a lot more whizz. You know, you order it whit whizz with onions and peppers and I felt like it had like a nice spread. A lot of cheese with the onions, but I feel like Pat's. It wasn't as like gooey or like, it just wasn't as. much cheese. It was a little bit different, like it was a little bit of a DR approach as opposed to a more of a wet approach

as. This is, I really gotta work on 

my 

cheesesteak describing adjectives here.

But, , I usually do choose to go to Pats. I think it just tastes So 

delicious with like this, you know, there's like a river of whizz, , But it's so flavorful and 

, I had mentioned to you, 

I had

mentioned to you that my friend Katrina, who's from Philly, she always recommends to order a Cherry Coke with it because she thinks the cherry and the Coke really brings out the meat flavor. Um, and also to get the curly 

fries. Or you know, whatever 

fries they have [00:29:00] available. I do like the curly though, but It's nice having the curly fries with the cherry coke and the delicious cheesecake swimming and whizz and peppers and onions. It's so good. It's so good. So even if one might slightly outweigh the other, I still feel like 

they're both delicious. 

Whittney: Yeah, no, I would, I. would eat either cheese steak again, again, because they're across the street from each other and we like kind of did a taste test. You know, it was, it was hard to choose, but I think in the end, pat's for me won out. But again, Gino's, taste wise, the taste profile is there, you know, the flavors are 

all there too.

So

you. 

Susan: I, I actually really liked putting 

ketchup on my genos, I think because the steak, like you said, was a little bit thicker and it didn't have as much whizz, and I really feel like putting some ketchup on it sort of brought out the flavor. um, so I really, I enjoyed both a lot for different

reasons.

I would definitely, um, order from either one 

of them again, 

so I'm so glad I could take you to experience that. Um, and [00:30:00] then in that afternoon after we had cheese steaks, I took like a, I was in a cheese steak coma. I think I took a little nap. And then we got ourselves together and met my friend Sarah at this really great, , Asian fusion restaurant called 

Bing, Bing Dim Sum, right down in Pa, young Square.

And I love that place so much. Especially their happy hour, though they have fantastic cocktails and also just like the most unique dishes, I'm so glad we were able to 

order , a smorgasboard of what was on their menu cuz it was just so good. 

Um, what did you 

think of Bing 

Whittney: I I really did like it. I mean, they had some really interesting and fun cocktails too. That pair, I felt paired really well with that. And like you said, they had, , some great happy hour, like food specials, so you could kind of just order a couple, dishes to try for the table.

And then of course we ordered some of the. Um, other items that you knew you'd like, like was it the Caterpillar bread?

Susan: Yes, caterpillar bread, it's the best way I can describe it is just a bread with sort of a honey, like [00:31:00] crystallized glaze on top. It's a little bit like a sticky bread. 

Oh my gosh. It's so good. And Whitney, speaking of cheese. Steak. We got the cheese steak. bow buns, so more cheese steak I was telling Alex about this and I told her, I was like, oh, we had cheese steaks in the afternoon And then we had the cheesecake bow buns and she was like, oh my God. She's like, were you having meats? Sweats that night. 

I was like, you know what? No, actually I wasn't. I actually wasn't having meat sweats cuz I was so darn tired from everything that we had done throughout our trip.

I think I slept like super hard that 

night, 

but who knows? Maybe the uh, cheesesteak had something to do with it, but, uh, we had a, lot of 

cheesesteak that day. 

Whittney: It was a, it was a great cheesesteak day. though. I mean, if you're gonna have a cheesesteak day do different kinds of cheescheesesteakne day.

Susan: Yeah. And which is 

So funny because I a, I really don't eat cheesesteak that often. Like the last time I got one might have been in October when my parents visited. So I'm fine that I'm usually getting it when someone's visiting. So it's not like on the regular, I'm not eating cheesesteak, but you [00:32:00] know, I wait months and then the one day I decide to eat cheesesteak, I have 

Three. 

Whittney: Yes, you have three.

different kinds of cheese taken one 

Susan: Yeah, it was a lot. And the next day I was like, um, I need to go to the gym. So I felt like I really needed to get back on my, fitness routine after all the eating that we did. But, 

Whittney: and the drinking, you know, 

Susan: yes, yes. So 

I. I usually don't even drink that much, but you're right. The cocktails at Bing B were so good. We had, I think it was Mandarin sunrise, I wanna say it was, I don't even know it was in it, but it was very refreshing

and crisp.

And, uh, that was, that was a really enjoyable, happy hour. And then we rounded out the night with taking a little more of a walk around South Philly. , we stopped at one of the book drops, and then I took you to John's, , water, 

ice, if I'm

saying it with the correct Philly pronunciation. Uh,

John's water, ice, which is kind of like the local version of Rita's.

So a, homemade water, ice. It was, uh, very refreshing and uh, I hope that you liked your John's experience. 

Whittney: Yes, [00:33:00] I, it was really cool to go to a, a more local version cuz we've all done Rita's 

so I'm not sure, you know, to our listeners, if you don't know what Ritas is, it is just, it's like an Italian ice chain. 

Susan: Italian ice Geil. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, John's is the local answer 

to Rita's, basically the Italian water, ice. Um, but I, I do really love to support the local business, and I feel like it does taste a little, fresher and less sugary in my opinion.

Whittney: Yes. It, you could actually tell that it was made with real fruit. Not that, you know, Ritas wouldn't be made with real

Susan: Right. It's just like more processed and sugary.

Whittney: Yeah, yeah. There were actual like chunks of strawberry and my strawberry water ice.

Susan: Yeah, it was really good. So yeah, that about rounds up our Philly visit. You had a super early flight the next morning and, , I definitely had so much fun having you visit it was, really nice having a friend and yeah, I hope that you can come back to Philly another time. It would be really fun to try a whole new set of, 

, activities and [00:34:00] places 

Whittney: Yes. Especially now that I have like a frame of reference for some of the neighborhoods and some of the, the places, like maybe we can try like a, a cheesesteak place that's not like a, famous one, you know. 

Susan: Right. Yeah, no, definitely. There's 

so many different places. I didn't even take you to South Street or, I kept talking about going to City Hall or the River Trail. We didn't really do any of those things. I kind of ran out of steam. 

Whittney: We did a lot. I mean, we packed a lot. 

into, I think I was technically there five, well, not five full days, but I was, I was there for some piece of five days and I mean, we did a lot of, we covered a lot of ground. Literally,

Susan: did. And it was so much fun. It was so much fun to be reunited and , I hope that if anyone visits Philly, they might take us up on some of these, , recommendations that we just talked about in 

our episode. 

Join us next time when we pick up where we left off and continue the conversation. Check us out on Instagram at Susan and Whitney on Facebook at the conversation with Susan and Whitney, [00:35:00] or send us an email at Susan and whitney gmail.com. That's S U S A N, the word, and W H I T T N E Y. Our music is by off Shane, and our editing is supported by Upwork.

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