Chestnut Hill Japanese

Stopped by Osaka in Chestnut Hill for a little lunch the other day. It's a cute little place on the main drag. There's the sushi bar in the front, and then multiple floors of dining. We sat at the bar as R had never sat at a sushi bar before. She got some salmon and king crab sashimi, along with some miso soup and some sprite in a fancy glass. She liked this just fine, but it sure wasn't cheap.

I went with the agedashi tofu bento box. It came with agedashi tofu (duh), some california roll, a couple of dumplings, salad, and rice. Everything was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. My bento box was pretty cheap though, but it also didn't have any fish in it, which is probably why it was so affordable. But all in all, quite the bargain for my lunch.
Service was fine. It wasn't busy at all (it was raining something fierce) so it better have been fine! The only thing annoying was that one of the waitresses was gabbing to one of the sushi chefs the whole time we were eating. It's fine if they want to talk (it's not like they had anyone to wait on), but I really didn't need to hear their intimate conversations. They even spoke in korean a bit, and I couldn't help understanding.

Birthday Escapade to McNally's

It was T's birthday on Thursday and we had to escape. We'd been thinking about going to Spring Mill, but fine provencal french cuisine didn't scream birthday shenanigans. So I dragged everyone to McNally's instead. Yes, I can admit it now. I'm addicted to McNally's and the Good Dog. I will use any excuse to go to either place. Appendicitis? Let's go get a burger! Goldfish die? Off to McNally's!

There were six of us and there was a big to-do about carding us. For whatever reason, they only carded four of us. I think both T and J were offended they didn't get carded. Oh, so you can't even eat there if you're not 21. Even if you're not drinking, you have to be of age. Apparently, they've been burned in the past. They even have one of those machines they swipe the ID through. They're serious.

J got the clam chowder, so did R, and she also got a grilled cheese. Who goes to McNally's and gets a grilled cheese? Too bad they didn't have lox and bagels, or she would have gotten that.

J got the George Bernard Shaw, or the GBS. Three different cheeses, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, with special sauce. No meat? J didn't get the full McNally's experience.

T and T had never been there before, so they both had to go with the Schmitter. Ahh... the Schmitter! I went with the Tobias again. Why? Because the Schmitter is even better with pepperoni. One thing to note, these sandwiches are extremely messy. With every bite, you need an entire napkin to sop up the juices. That's my kinda sandwich!

Service that day was very matter of fact. When I was here the other night, our waitress was sweet and nice. But during my lunch visits, we've had the same waitress, and she's just matter of fact. She does a fine job and kept us well fed.

After stuffing our faces, we had to walk off our Schmitters and took a stroll down Chestnut Hill's main strip. We were looking for an ice cream place, but didn't know if there was one. We ended up at the French Bakery, which is a hole-in-the wall little bakery. It was a little depressing, but the pastries did look good. R got a loaf of banana chocolate bread to go. We asked them if there was a place to get ice cream in Chestnut Hill, and they couldn't really help us. We kept walking and finally ended up at Roller's, which did have ice cream! I couldn't possibly eat anymore, but the birthday boy and R both got scoops of cookies n cream. Then we had to go back to work. :-(

I Want to Live at McNally's

You already know I love McNally's. I mean, I raved it about my last and first time there, and this time isn't gonna be any different. We got there pretty early, it was about half full, and got a table right near the door to the basement. That door leads to the bathroom. A little scary going down into the scary silence of the lambs basement to hit the can. But not a big deal. Our waitress was amazingly nice and about the sweetest thing ever. She quickly took our drink orders and brought us out a couple of nice, cold pints.


E got a cup of the soup of the day, chicken corn chowder. A pretty hefty looking cup of soup if you ask me.

I don't have time to mess around with soups at McNally's, it's all about the sandwiches and you know it. E got the Schmitter. This time, I got the Tobias. The Tobias is basically a Schmitter, only with added fried pepperoni slices. What's better than a Schmitter? Oh, you know, the Tobias. It was perfection really.

What was even more perfect was that we were just hanging out, eating slowly, drinking some beers, and talking, and people were coming in and out. All of a sudden, we're the last people there, but they didn't kick us out. They just let us hang out. I was wondering when they closed, but I didn't ask. I just figured they'd kick us out. But no. Eventually, we decided to bolt, and we asked them when they closed. They said on Sundays they close at 8. It was 9! Who could not be totally in love with a place that just lets you hang? Yet another reason my love for McNally's burns strong!

McNally's! The Schmitter!

So when I was in Chestnut Hill the other day, I didn't really want an overpriced sandwich from a cute cafe, I wanted a Schmitter from McNally's. But I'd never been, so I went down the street the wrong way and couldn't find it. And when we eventually stopped to eat, we stopped just short of it. It was just a tragic error. This time around, I knew my destination, and I knew exactly where it was. The place is totally easy to miss. It has no sign, except a tiny little nameplate on the door. Without seeing it, you would totally walk right by. Don't worry, I totally found it this time.

The place is totally anti-Chestnut Hill. It's a tiny little postage stamp of a place... dark, comfortable, absolutely non-swanky. Just my kind of place. They've got plenty of decent beers on tap as well as other alcoholic treats. But it's famous for the Schmitter. A sandwich that is trademark. In fact, this place has several trademarked sandwiches, including the Dickens, the Peter Rabbit, and the Tobias. I'd been hearing about the Schmitter for what seems like a year, and for whatever reason, the last time I was supposed to come here, I just didn't make it. Well, I had to correct that wrong.

K got a grilled chicken sandwich. See how huge this thing is? I was rather impressed. And it comes with a tub of homemade honey mustard. K made quite a dent in this thing. But he didn't completely finish it.

R got the turkey burger... also ginormous.

And you know damn well that I was getting me a damn Schmitter... sliced beef with salami, fried onions, cheese, tomato, and schmitter sauce, which came on a buttery toasted kaiser roll. Man, I'm in love with this. It's horrifically bad for you, and that just an additional reason why I love it so. It's hot and greasy and dripping with sauce and mess and every bite is like sunshine. I could have eaten another one of these, if my pesky stomach was a bit bitter.

And the service is great too. It's totally family run and you know the servers have been working here forever. And all the people seemed like regulars. The dude next to us told us to get a slice of the chocolate cake. Apparently, it's amazing. I couldn't partake, but I will remember this for next time. Yeah, I'll be back for more Schmitter. If I had my way, it'd be all Schmitter, all the time.

Chestnut Hill Sandwich Break

The other day we headed off to adorable Chestnut Hill for lunch. We did not have a destination. We just got there and roamed the streets for awhile. We didn't go into Cake because it was full. We passed numerous little catering/lunch spots. After roaming for what seemed forever, we ended up at the Top of the Hill, which is a farm market, fish market, cafe combo.



It's an adorable little space, and I totally loved the colors and the decor. Perhaps they hired an expensive interior decorator for this place, as they sell the most expensive sandwiches known to man. Ha!



R got an egg salad on a bagel. This bagel was positively overflowing with chunky egg salad. Looked good. She also got a little pasta salad that was pretty good. She got some pickles with her sandwich, I was jealous.

I got a special wrap of the day, which was thinly sliced honey baked ham with freshly sliced mango, honey mustard, and some greens. It was really quite good (I am totally going to make this combo at home some day) but so so so not enough sandwich for me. I could have used twice as much wrap, especially considering what they charged me. I should so not have been hungry and so was. I think that's just normal Chestnut Hill Fare. The place was totally cute though, I'll give you that. The whole town is damn cute.

Top Of the Hill

186 East Evergreen Ave

Chestnut Hill

215-248-6009