I have thoroughly enjoyed janellie's visit so far, especially since it has gotten me out of the house, and given me an excuse to hit some of my favorite restaurants.

She arrived on Thursday night, and we went to Bombay Peacock in Columbia for dinner. Turns out Thursday night is Kabob Night at Bombay Peacock, which is like a buffet brought to your table -- they bring you all kinds of foods, and if you want more of anything, they'll bring that, too. I had lamb for the first time in a long time, and it was surprisingly tasty. There were two appetizers, four kabobs, plus nan, biryani, and dessert. Aside from the screaming owner/manager who was chewing out one of the waterboys ("people don't like you - don't ever come back!" etc. -- apparently, according to another server, this happens often), it was a great dinner experience.

Headed out to Philly on Friday, where we found lots of Labor Day weekend traffic. I got a couple more stripes done on a scarf, and Nellie read a bunch. We stayed at the Sheraton Society Hill, which was pretty fancy and had great beds and blankets (gotta love Hotwire), and was a couple of blocks from the Historical District, home of the Liberty Bell and lots of trendy restaurants. We walked around a couple of blocks a couple of times (which was less fun than it could've been with the ridiculous humidity and heat), and ended up at the Continental -- a cocktail/"world tapas" place that resembles a sketchy diner from the outside, but is pretty cool from the inside (figuratively and literally - thank god for air conditioning). Fodors says "This retro former diner draws a hip, twentysomething crowd to its swank setting for cocktails and a tapas-style dinner menu. The design, including lots of stainless steel and lighting fixtures resembling olives stabbed with toothpicks, is worth checking out." I can't find any good links to put up for that one. The highlight, I think, was the plate with a foot-high heap of shoestring fries. All of the food was great, and the prices weren't too high for the world of trendiness in which we found ourselves. Other food choices: chicken and tofu satay, super-fresh steamed broccoli, vegetable dumplings, barbecue chicken quesadilla, bottle of Alsace Reisling/Gewurtztraminner. Topped off the evening at Cosi, where they actually have a host who seats you, where we had flammable chocolatey-coffee beverages and got some free postcards.

(to be continued...Janelle just got out of the shower and we're heading to Annapolis)