Finding your Happy Weight: Philly Fiesta...

Hey guys! Hope you're having a great weekend!! Scott & I took advantage of our first free Saturday in WEEKS and decided to take a little foodie trip to Philadelphia yesterdayJ And after bouncing around nearly 80 ideas of where to start our day, Scott finally put his foot down and picked a place we had been talking about trying for the last..ummm...2 yearsJ El Vez restaurant was mere blocks from our train station drop off and upon arrival we were met with an array of bright and vibrant colors....

...and cozy, lush corners to lounge. We couldn't stop looking around at all of the kitchy and colorful decor!

And after all this time waiting to try it, come yesterday I was sorta "leery" of El Vez, solely because I didn't think I was "in the mood for Mexican food." Foolish Me! One bite of our first appetizer of the Mexican pizza and that thought was a mere foolish memoryJ

Smoked chicken, chipotle BBQ sauce, BACON, red onions & blue cheese crema melted on a tortilla = Awesome! We both FLIPPED after the first bite...it was smokey, savory, gooey with a vibrancy from the fresh herbs. Totally stellar (and believe me, I'm not a "mexican pizza" kinda galJ)

And somehow our second appetizer even topped THAT. We, not shockingly enough, decided to try the roasted garlic, white onion & BASIL guacamole (the "De La Hoya" of their 6 varieties of guac)

Absolutely TO. DIE. FOR! You could actually TASTE the roasted garlic mixed into this completely over the top flavored 'mole. Scott & I deemed it the best one we've ever had!! It was just....there are no words. JUST. SOOOOO. GOOD! I'm still whimsically daydreaming about itJ

Made complete with fresh, puffy tortilla chips that shattered on first bite. I'm requesting this as part of my last mealJ It's decided. It was THAT good!

I could gladly have ordered another bowl of the 'De la hoya' and called it lunch, but I decided to try a few bites of these black bean, caramelized onion enchiladas in a smoked yellow tomato sauce...

Very, very delicious. The smokey sauce was mellowed by the black beans & onions with just a bit of gooey chihuahua cheese to pull it all together. So great.

But Scott definitely had the winner in the red chile and chicken enchiladas. I only had enough room to sample one bite, but it was quite a knock out....

The creamy chicken & chile center was sooo good, but the sauce was what put these over the top. You could taste that it was FILLED with fresh spices, but was not spice-y. Just perfect! Wow, El Vez, you really floored me with this meal! I doubt it will be 2 years before we visit there againJ

After we rolled out of El Vez, we strolled to one of our favorite Philly destinations:

...which was packed to the gills on this Saturday afternoon! I ADORE this place, it's just so alive & vibrant!

Although I'm glad we weren't planning on chowing down on a roasted pork sandwich from DiNic's. It was 1:30 and their line made multiple wraps around their stand!

Instead we stopped at yet ANOTHER place that had been on our radar for some time....Flying Monkey Bakery...

Their menu is jaw dropping & drool worthy and I was even more impressed that you could see 2 bakers HAND MAKING goodies right on the premises! Makes those treats look even BETTER, huh???

And yesterday we were MOST interested in their rotating menu of whoopie pie flavors....and what variety just happened to be awaiting us yesterday??

COCONUT!!!!!

Mmmmmmmmm....I have issues with things being called "coconut" when they're just vanilla cupcakes/cookies/etc. with nary a sprinkle of the good stuff on top. But this baby was coconut THROUGH AND THROUGH! Sweet coconut pies filled with coconut cream center. Best 3 bites everJ hahahhahaha....

And we couldn't visit Reading Terminal without making a quick stop at our favorite Amish bakery, Beiler's...

...to pick up a sweet treat for Sunday morning breakfast. (Gotta think ahead, folksJ)

After that, we decided to walk off our treats throughout the city. But our major walking plans took a little nose dive when the sky turned dark and the rain started to fall....so we took refuge by seeing...

...and if you were raised on a veritable buffet of Spielberg films and 80's flicks like me, you will find this movie both heart warming & nostalgic. My film student heart was fluttering rapidly with happinessJ

Thankfully, the rain had ceased by the time the movie was over and we were able to walk enough to not feel guilty about indulging in one more treat for the afternoon. Now it had been TOUGH to decide to go ANYWHERE else in the city for dessert after we tried the outstanding Franklin Fountain. Butttt...we thought we'd spread the love around a little and try out:

Scoop DeVille's whimsical fairytale decor is matched only by it's MASSIVE list of sundae options:

Which, after 10 minutes, Scott decided to indulge in their recommended "Crazy Carrot Cake" which was vanilla ice cream mixed with carrots, cream cheese & brown sugar....

It was sweet & very subtle. Definitely a treat to be savoured since the flavors took a little while to develop while you were chowing down. He was a fanJ

As for myself, I had FINALLY narrowed down my choices to THREE sundae options, but while waiting to place my order, I was completely overcome by their "make your own" menu with a crazy amount of blend in options...

Every kind of cookies, cookie dough, cereal (yes...as in breakfast cereal!), ice creams, toppings and sauces that you could think of!

So I decided to make my own creation by way of butterscotch vanilla ice cream, oatmeal cookies, sugar cookie dough and a topping of butterscotch sauce...

I only wish they blended this just a LITTLE less so you could really taste the add ins. I loved the chewy bites of the sugar cookie dough but only wished they (and the oatmeal cookies) were bigger chunks.

Overall, Scoop was an adorable place where you can let your dessert imagination run WILD! And who couldn't love a place whose motto is: