Weekend I’d Forget
This is what I have been doing with most of my days as I continue to fill my Good Things Jar with good things that have happened during my week. So far, my good things have included things like surviving my first root canal and going to see the final part of The Hobbit.
Thrilling, I know.
This weekend was perfectly boring. Even with an extra day off on Monday, most of my time was spent at home...doing not much of anything. The Type-A, overachiever side of me rolls her eyes at this, while the side that won, my secret sloth, grins giddily.
Here is how overly unproductive my weekend was: the most exciting outing Hubby and I took was a result of us laying around watching TV.
A few weeks ago, Hubby and I got cable. This is the first time in my life I have ever had cable. You would think I instantly became a cable junkie, sitting in front of the TV until the wee hours of the morning like Ralph Kramden did when he got his first TV in The Honeymooners*.
But instead the cable has hardly been used. This is, in all fairness, to the fact that we had major issues with connectivity at first. But even now that it is somewhat working correctly, it isn't something we rush to with each free moment of our time.
*You might think I'm showing my age by referring to a show like this, but I promise, I'm not.
That said, Hubby put The Food Network on as we ate lunch Saturday afternoon and there I sat from lunch until early evening*.
*Squeezing in a quick Starbucks run, of course.
On the show "Best. Ever" they covered Best.BBQ.Ever and one of the locations they highlighted was Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse in Philadelphia.
Coincidentally, only moments before Hubby and I had been discussing what to do for dinner.
Sweet Lucy's was the natural choice.
Before I tell you about our Sweet Lucy's experience, let me first forewarn you that I am not a fan of Philly.
There, I've said it.
And I'm sorry.
Well, not really.
If anything, I'm honest and prefer not keeping such key details away from you.
For some reason, most of my experiences with Philly have led me to have a deep dislike for the city. With each time I go, I discover more reasons to fall in love with NYC.
If you're a Philly lover, can we please still be friends?
Sweet Lucy's is located on State Road and it was a pleasant surprise to see that there was a decent sized parking lot. It was not a pleasant surprise, however, to discover that you place your order first and then are given a seat.
The waiting area was chaos with groups of people sporadically lumped all over. It reached such a point that I needed to put on my teacher hat and usher the people in front of us to the left so that the people behind us wouldn't eagerly cut in front.
Ah, Philly.
The Best.Ever episode focused on their BBQ pulled chicken, so I knew I would be ordering that. Then I realized that I could do a combo platter and the world was suddenly a beautiful wonderful place, even in Philly. I was going to be a polite little lady and order the "Double the Fun" which is a choice of two meats, but then I decided I needed to show this place my true colors and went with the "Triple the Pleasure". I ordered the BBQ pulled chicken, the chopped Texas brisket, and the Memphis baby back ribs. With each combo you get three sides (three!) and an Italian roll or cornbread. For my sides I ordered a side salad, garlic mashed potatoes, and a brownie (oh yes). All for the price of $16.99.
Not bad.
Hubby ordered the same thing, but for his sides he got the mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and chili. He also got an Italian roll and then ordered additional cornbread.
I really wish we had ordered a dozen cornbread for $9.50 to take home. It was that good. Perfectly sweet and moist throughout.
The mashed potatoes were just alright, a little too watery and garlicy for my taste. Hubby loved the macaroni and cheese and the chili, too.
The meats were outstanding, as I'm sure you've already figured out. Though Food Network raved about the chicken, Hubby and I both loved the brisket. Usually when I get a pulled pork sandwich, I end up eating the meat and tossing most of the roll. Hubby wisely used his Italian roll for the brisket and changed my world view on pulled meat sandwiches.
Though the building is certainly humble in outward appearance and its entry, it makes up for it in the eating area. The staff were attentive to our every need, even to the point of making sure we didn't miss our complimentary tootsie rolls before taking our trash and bagging our food. The cashier was also extremely pleasant, which, let's be honest, isn't always the case.
This delightful meal led to Hubby choosing to be a little adventurous. We headed into Center City to shop at Macy's. Only to discover, after parking and walking a few blocks, that Macy's closes at 8 pm on Saturdays.
This baffled my mind. A department store closing at 8 pm on a Saturday?!
This led to a bitter Philly taste in our mouth and we turned around and headed back to our car. The parking attendant first aggravated, then amused us. We stood on the second level of the garage waiting for our car which was in plain sight and more than likely still had the keys inside. We watched as he pulled another customer's car out, then attempted to back another car into the empty spot, while in the process swiping the car against another two times.
He only helped to add to my list of reasons not to go to Philly.
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