Sometimes You Just

...need a burger.

(sometimes you also need to start remembering to bring your good camera when you go to dinner, but I digress.)

PhillyGuy and I had tentatively planned to go to dinner last night. He had suggested our go-to spot, Resurrection Ale House. We probably end up there once every couple of months, both because of the fantastic beer selection AND because it is conveniently located directly across the street from our house.

Usually I'm excited about at least three or four different dishes on Resurrection's menu, but after reviewing it from work, I was kind of "meh" about it. Not that it sounded bad, but I wasn't getting my usual "OMG I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THAT" feeling. So I started thinking of alternatives, and for a while, I was torn between Resurrection and Pub & Kitchen.

And then Pub & Kitchen started tweeting about their specials for the night, including a quail with oyster cornbread dressing...and I was done.

Naturally, that's what we started with. We split the quail, which came adorably presented, looking like a Lilliputian roasted chicken...

...and an English onion soup with apples and a rosemary crouton topped with melted cheddar.

(MAN, does that ever look appetizing. FML.)

The other factor that pushed Pub & Kitchen over the edge for me was the fact that I've been craving a juicy, fatty burger ever since we picked out Brickyard in NYC last weekend. Well, Brickyard didn't have a burger on the menu...but Pub & Kitchen has the Churchill burger.

Proprietary blend of meats, bone marrow butter and caramelized onions? Yes, please.

PhillyGuy was also feeling a burger. He stuck with the plain burger topped with cheddar, bacon and a fried egg.

Both were delicious. Usually, I'm all about a variety of toppings, so I was unsure about having just the onions on my burger...but it was just right. The burger itself was flavorful enough to carry itself alone. I tried a bite of PhillyGuy's burger as well, but I'm pretty sure I didn't get all of the toppings in my bite...sad face.

We also split an order of the mac & cheese, but the iPhone pictures were so awful I had to delete them both...which really says something considering the onion soup abomination I posted above. Let's try to describe: orzo wrapped in creamy sauce, studded with bits of short rib, covered in a blanket of...I don't even know what, frankly. For all I know it could have been artificial bacon bits. It was good, but a little underwhelming. The sauce was more creamy than cheesy, and I actually thought it needed salt. But then again, I tend to salt everything, so whatever.

So now I'm hanging in bed with my puppies, getting ready to wake PhillyGuy up so we can hit the gym. He spent all last week with a nasty cold, and I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't catch it. My quads are still a little sore from my 800 repeats the other day, which is always humbling (I used to be able to run a 5K in about 90 seconds to two minutes better than my time for 3 miles without killing myself!), but also makes me happy. I'm thinking it'll be a date with the elliptical and Tony Horton's chest and back this morning, and maybe a nice 5-mile run outside tomorrow...we'll see.

happy weekend!