Sunday was the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival, held on Germantown Avenue. Have you been to Chestnut Hill? It’s friggin cute. I’ve only been there once before, and that was for a work dinner at the Melting Pot, so I never even got to see the adorable little town and the main drag. Trust me, seriously, it’s cute.

It was a beautiful day out, and people came out in droves. It was much more of a neighborhoody gathering than, let’s say, the Manayunk Arts Festival, which seems much more fancy. As far as food, there was actually quite a lot to choose from. There was chinese, barbeque, indian, burgers, fondue, all kinds of stuff. But don’t think they only had fancy stuff, as they also had funnel cake. At this particular stand, they also had deep fried oreos. Eek. E wanted some funnel cake. There were actual flavor choices, but she wanted it plain.

On Saturday, I had been craving cotton candy. Why? I have no idea, but I had. Lo and behold, they had cotton candy!!! They were switching back and forth between blue and pink flavors, and I ended up with blue. It was delicious. It was probably the last warm and sunny weekend we’ll be having for awhile, so it was nice to enjoy it outdoors with all the peeps.

Last Saturday was Oktoberfest down in front of Ludwig’s. They shut the few blocks down, set up some tents, and brought out plenty of beer. It was all part of the Midtown Village Fall Festival. They even had a little piggy on a spit. Poor little guy, being stuck straight through its little pig bum.

So I have a thing for hole in the wall places. This is not to say I don’t enjoy a night at mahogany laden Vietnam Restaurant, but I like my casual joints too. I went to Pho Xe Lua Viet Thai on Friday night. You know it, it’s got that big neon choo choo train in its window. You could totally miss it though if you don’t know that you’re looking for it.

I’ve only had pho or the rice flake here. Usually, it’s cold enough so I go with the pho. It wasn’t quite cold enough yet, so I went with the grilled pork and spring roll bun. Honestly, I’ve had better. The spring roll was fine, but the pork was rather odd. It seemed like big and thin pieces of pork that they grilled and then it got all folded up. It was just different than other buns I’ve had. And I prefer the other kinds. Now I know for next time, stick with the pho.

I’m not sure what C got. I think it was one of the banh hoi dishes, the combo vermicelli, the ones that come with the rice wrappers you can use to make your own little rolls. He got pork and shrimp. This place is small, crowded, extremely brightly lit, and the service is acceptable. Most of the time it is ok, but on this particular visit, our waiter didn’t understand what I asked him (and I think that I speak English nearly perfectly) and so he said to me, in a very slow and very loud way “ARE…YOU…READY…TO…ORDER”. Like I didn’t speak english. Gah, it was slightly humiliating. But hey, it certainly makes it memorable.