Before attempting to hike the pinnacle, we had a pit stop in Hamburg for brunch at Good Eatz. It was important to fuel up. It’s in an adorable little downtown part of Hamburg. I had no idea Hamburg was so cute! Even though I don’t have these kinds of dietary restrictions, they offer a diverse menu and can cater to those with gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian and other special dietary needs. They feature local, organic, and sustainable goods. It’s definitely got a hippie vibe.
Here’s the spinach and sun-dried tomato Omelette with feta cheese. It’s served with a healthy portion of potatoes and toast, in this case, sourdough. I had to taste these potatoes, and they were good! They were browned and crispy on the outside and actually cooked on the inside! Win!
Here are my potato pancakes with grilled apple, smoked chevre cheese, red onion, and a side of sour cream. There’s something about pancakes made of potatoes vs pancakes made of flour, substance. These weren’t even that big, but I could barely eat like one and a half of these. They were dense and full of potatoes. It was nice to have some apples for some sweet but also some onions for some savory. The cheese was a bit too goat-y for me, so I stuck with the fresh sour cream. The servers were super nice here!

When the weather gets nice for outdoor dining, I always like to take advantage. One of the nicest spots to dine al fresco has and always will be Beau Monde. They even have umbrellas so you can avoid the evil direct rays of the soleil. Yeah, I speak francais real good.
I got the savory crepe of the day which was some type of grilled chicken breast with chipotle and grilled corn and cheese and a side of apple pepper salsa. It was pretty good, but surprisingly not nearly as flavorful as one would have guessed. Despite all the color, ingredients, and hoopla, it was rather bland.
This is B’s savory crepe – scrambled eggs with roasted poblano peppers, tomatoes, swiss cheese, avocado corn salsa, and caramelized tomato sauce. It’s one of the recommended brunch crepes and this one definitely won out. It was so much better than mine and this one’s hoopla ended up with a wonderful combination of flavors! Maybe I’m better at picking sweet crepes.

The lovely ladies at Philly Food Lovers invited me to Down Home Diner at Reading Terminal Market to have lunch. I made it a point to not go during the peak lunch hours, but it was still really crazy busy in there! We got a seat in one of their booths, but everything else was full! Jack McDavid servers up home style cooking with a southern twist here. He famously wears denim overalls and a red and white “Save the Farm” trucker’s cap and is super nice. I got a chance to meet him and he certainly serves up some great food. K got the fried catfish with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and philadelphia style pepper hash. This hash is amazing! It’s a sweet and sour slaw of cabbage and bell peper with just enough spice. It would go well with anything!
Here’s C’s Poached On A Biscuit… homemade buttermilk biscuit topped with salt-cured virginia ham, sliced tomato, and two poached eggs. There’s some stewed apples to go with those too. And she also got an order of cheesy grits. After she let the grits sit for awhile, they were just the way she liked them, not too mushy.
And here’s my Cast Iron Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and collared greens. This is a whole lotta chicken that is super hot, super moist, and perfectly fried up. You know what goes really well with it? The philadelphia style pepper hash! And it was even better the next day as leftovers! The sweet potato fries were also amazing, and I think they are twice fried. But the real star of this plate was the collard greens. They are braised and are sweet and savory and not bitter at all. These are some of the best greens I’ve ever had! This was a fun and delicious lunch with some amazing women and tons of delicious food. I need to eat in the city more often!