The Continental

Our first restaurant on the list, a list that we hope will become a fairly credible list of restaurants according to the standards already set by all the diehard food critics out there, is in a city that should be recognized just as much for its “delectability love” [regarding food] as it is for its infamous brotherly love – We’re talking about none other than Philadelphia.

The Continental (and please see the website listed below for more information regarding the menu) is in two words – modern and cool. Typically I’m not the kind of person to pull the “kidinthecandystore” act during unexpected moments that occur during situations that contain moderately fixed points of expectance, but let me just say… I pulled one of those moments upon walking into this restaurant, as did Melinda.

But let us backtrack; prior to the entrance of our cuisine locale, we conquered several other areas of interest throughout Philadelphia that we highly recommend to you all, as they compliment the trip to The Continental very nicely.

Here was our itinerary for the day: Love Park, The Free Public Library, and The Continental. We began our adventure around 1:00PM and were finished around 8:15PM… and although that may seem like quite the duration of time for such few events (to all of you temporal experts) trust us, these three sites in Philadelphia do take a while to explore, especially when the trip is fueled by fun.

Now I probably should have pointed out earlier that there are two locations of The Continental, both of which are in Center City: One in the heart of it and the other on the outskirts. Personally, I am a firm believer of coincidences, and finding the former site of our destination was a coincidence at its finest.

Initially we had all intentions of eating at the location on the outskirts of Center City. We figured we would see Love Park (LP) and The Free Public Library (TFPL) as quickly as possible… because walking fifteen or so blocks in ninety-degree weather isn’t the easiest task to complete. Venturing off with our first destination in mind, LP, we decided to take a shortcut on Market Street (cutting the “whatwethought” to be twenty blocks of walking, into about ten). And while intersecting Chestnut Street, we discovered The Continental! Believe us, this discovery was unreal. We saved ourselves not only time, but we also saved a whole lot of distance that we thought we were going to have to cover.

LP and TFPL were amazing. You can see some of our pictures scattered below. And I highly recommend checking those two places out – they are truly Philadelphia’s sentiments. But let’s get to the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the food critique! I’ll break it down into categories for the readers: Taste, Environment, Service, Overall Quality, Expense, and Miscellaneous Problems.

Taste: We both shared the meal. And it wasn’t for money-saving purposes… It was simply because the portions were huge (it was also recommended by our waiter). Since we were new to the restaurant, we weren’t sure what they were known for. When in doubt, my rule of thumb is: Ask the waiter what he recommends. As he is talking about the dish itself, scan the prices of foods that are listed near or next to it… That way you’ll see if they are truly recommending a preference of theirs, or a preferred way to make money.

We chose to go with our recommended Chilean sea bass and side order of Lobster mac & cheese. The taste was impeccable!

Environment: We walked in, and immediately we looked at the second floor of the restaurant. There were swings! Check them out in our pictures. These one-of-a-kind seats really set the tone for our excitement. Everything was just so modern. And the restaurant really fit – it was in Center City, a fun-filled area.

Service: Our waiter, and although I can’t speak for all staff at the restaurant, was absolutely perfect! He would come by just at the right time, when our drinks were in need of refilling, or when we were ready to order… Bottom line, he was good. And good service makes the dining experience that much more of a joy.

Overall Quality: I’ll keep this nice and simple – excellent.

Expense: I won’t lie to you all, the restaurant was a bit on the pricy side. I wouldn’t recommend this as the restaurant to go out to every night, but rather the restaurant that you go out to once in a while. For the two of us, our meal came out to around forty-eight dollars… But that was only for the meals.

Miscellaneous Problems: There was a power outage. Luckily it occurred right after we had finished our meal, but unfortunately it ruined our chances of trying the dessert. From what we have heard the dessert is incredible, so all the more reason to go back!

We highly recommend The Continental and scenic, self-guided tour of Philadelphia.

Four and a half forks out of five. Enjoy!

http://www.continentalmartinibar.com/