Did you know there was a riverboat that cruises the Delaware and you can eat and drink on it? Yeah, me either! I got invited to take a ride on the Philadelphia Belle and sample its cuisine! Who’s going to refuse a ride on a boat, with food? There’s multiple floors, and each has tables and a dance floor. It’s a big boat, and a smooth ride, so don’t worry about getting seasick. I felt great!
It was a beautiful and romantic table setting. Much less romantic is the live band. Ok, basically, it’s a party boat. But not a booze cruise or anything. It’s more like a wedding reception on the water.
And there’s tons to drink! And folks, these drinks are no joke. Despite being on water, nothing is watered down at all. In fact, their drinks are extra strong! Knock back a few of these and you might think there’s waves undulating in that river.
The starter plate was a sampler of sorts. The italian market sampler was a little skewer of roasted tomatoes, mozzarella with basil, olives, and dry sausage. The best part was definitely the mozzarella. The red pepper hummus was good, but the pita it came with was hard and crunchy, and not in a good way. The cute and adorable philly cheesesteak spring roll was good! It was served with a spicy ketchup.Here is the crisp oysters rockefeller with a touch of cream spinach and topped with chipotle cream. These were big and tasty.
The lobster bisque! It was served with a light swirl of tarragon creme fraiche. This was a very respectable bisque.
Let’s move on to the entrees! Here’s the atlantic salmon with roasted vegetable orzo and a tomato-coriander vinaigrette. The salmon was cooked nicely and was a nice and fresh piece of fish, but the sauce was a bit too sweet. And I’m someone that loves sweet!
This is the center-cut filet of beef with asparagus, potato gratin, and a red wine demi-glace. Ooh y’all, this was really good. I mean, I rarely ever just eat a big hunt of steak, but this was so good! The meat was super tender and the sauce went with it perfectly. I could have eaten another one!
Dessert was a little piece of cheesecake and a brownie. So the cheesecake was pretty soft and so-so, but the brownie was great! And you know, I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate or brownies. There’s a live band that plays throughout the evening and you are free to go out and take a look at the view from the boat. On a clear night, the views are quite tremendous. And you’re on a boat! The night I was there, there were a couple of sweet sixteen birthday parties as well as an older birthday. Towards the end, people started dancing, and that’s when it got a little surreal for me. I felt like I was crashing some sweet sixteen parties! But it was a great time and I feel very lucky to have been invited for the ride. Special thanks to H/A for being my event photographer.

Due to my giant flight delay, I only had one chance to actually eat in Albany. So on my second night there, I headed downtown to DP. This is actually in the Hampton Inn. That might make you think twice about eating here, but please, do not let that stop you. This place is good in my book. I dined at the bar and it happened to be happy hour. This is an impressive bar. The bartenders here definitely know their stuff. And it looks like they’ve won a bunch of local awards, which is quite deserved.
I had this cucumber martini which totally kicked my lame ass. It was super duper strong and whew, did this thing pack a punch. But it seemed healthy to me because I could taste cucumbers. That’s healthy, right?
Instead of bread and butter, DP does it right. They serve sourdough pretzel ball rolls with homemade whole grain mustard. First off, how cute are these things? And second off, they’re freakin delicious and warm! Please, someone tell me how to make these!
I got the soup of the day which was a potato and leek soup. This is one of my favorite flavors of soup, ever, and they definitely do it right here. It also had bacon in it. How can you go wrong with that?
The lobster ravioli. These kind of look a mess, but they tasted just fine. I actually found it cool that it was black pasta.
These were the pork dumplings, served in a chinese to-go box. Meh, on that presentation choice. There were two dipping sauces, the first brown one was just kind of gross, and the second one was a sweet chili sauce type which I greatly preferred. The dumplings themselves were just meh too.
The banana bread bread pudding! Yes folks, bread pudding made from banana bread. It was super good. If you like banana, I highly recommend it! The two bartenders that waited on me were awesome. They were friendly and helpful and gave me recommendations and were quite attentive. They also kept calling me young lady, which was hilarious. If I’m ever back, I’m going to jump in and try some entrees!

Potlucks do not have to be about beanie weanies and salsa dip. They can be gourmet as well! M and E hosted a high class gourmet pot luck, and somehow, I was invited. Some lovely champange cocktails. Way to start this thing off!
This beet dip is just about the most beautiful color in the world. And it tasted just as beautiful. Who said dip couldn’t be healthy? Especially when it’s served with cucumbers.
M’s mom and P made these ganderi kebabs made with ground chicken, herbs and spices. It was served with a mango chutney and these chicken balls were a hit!
We talked about how beautiful the beet dip was but look how beautiful this cold squash soup is! It looked great and tasted just as great. It wasn’t just the food that looked attractive. M outdid herself with the tableware and decorations.
Onto the real gourmet stuff! Coq au vin! Made with a pressure cooker and all! It was super moist and tender.
Rabbits are adorable but they’re also incredibly tasty. This was a rabbit stew with prunes. This was definitely my favorite meat dish of the night.
Some gorgeously stuffed chicken.
Don’t worry, it wasn’t all just meat. There was also this pesto pasta that D brought. She made the pasta by hand!
There was even this brussel sprout salad. And it was amazing. It was vegetarian for the most part, except for the large hunks of ham.
To keep it gourmet as well as local, M made some eggless eggnog using Snap liquor. Dangerously delicious snapnog!
Tiramisu from wegmans!
Me and gourmet cooking don’t go well together, so I took the easy way out and brought a mocha cake from the korean bakery. Everybody loved this because well, it’s freakin delicious. Thanks to M and E for hosting another fantastic dinner!