After arriving in Philadelphia, I walked to Rittenhouse Square in search of dinner. I quickly decided that Hip City Veg was worth a try. (I found out during my postprandial stroll that they have several locations across Center City.) I stood in line briefly with a very youthful crowd as I perused the menu.
The vegetarian Philly steak sounded like a challenge that I had to try. It turned out to be very umami-ish and satisfying. The body contains tempeh steaks along with an abundance of very nice mushrooms. The sauce was plentiful to provide smoothness but not overwhelming or goopy. My sweet potato fries were also excellent. I asked for the sriracha aioli was an outstanding blend of heat and creaminess. My meal met all my expectations and more---definitely worth a visit or three.
Luella's is a nouvelle BBQ outfit on the north side of Asheville. It is nestled among the trees in a lovely neighborhood. The restaurant has lots of windows for inside seating and plenty of outside seating. Service was courteous and amazingly fast. This is a combination plate with pork and brisket. Both were very moist and tender. For the pork, I tried both the mild and hot vinegar sauces. To my surprise, I preferred the milder one because it didn't assert itself too much. I enjoyed the spicy tomato sauce for my brisket. The hushpuppies were very good. The fried okra was fresh out of the fryer and excellent. The slaw was of the vinegary variety, which I usually enjoy, but this version is heavy on the white stuff and didn't have quite enough variety in tastes for me.


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