Yuppieing it up

[elSicomoro]

I admit it...I have aspirations of being a yuppie. I like hanging out at trendy coffee shops, going clubbing on occasion, and buying stuff from Pier 1 and Ikea...is that so wrong?

Friday, Rho informs me that her best friend from high school is coming up from Baltimore with her boyfriend on Saturday. They were up here a few months ago, and we had a pretty cool time. They also know that Rho and I are poor...and the bf is one of the head niggas in charge at some money-making firm. So, this means that the Sycamores enjoy good food and drink...free of charge.

They're staying at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel, which is a pretty nice joint nestled between Old City and Penn's Landing, on Dock Street. They had one of those hotel rooms that overlooks an indoor courtyard...the room itself was pretty damned nice too...phat all around.

Our visitors tell us that they want to go to the Philadelphia Fish and Company, which is a high-end seafood joint on Chestnut Street...fair enough...I'm not paying for it. For the appetizer, Rho and I had a Blue Crab Tostada, with fresh sour cream and a chili sauce. The main course was a delightful basil-crusted mahi mahi with mashed sweet potatoes and some butter creme sauce. For dessert, a macadamian nut cookie ice cream sandwich with chocolate sauce. Let me tell you folks, this is one of the finest meals I have ever eaten in my life. Nice place too...friendly staff, very nouveau. This is also the most expensive meal I have ever eaten in my 27 years: Not including drinks, and splitting the appetizer in half, my own meal was $33. And I would have paid that $33 gladly on my own, if I would have had to. It was so damned good, that I am going to make sure to write a good review for it on Digital City sometime this week.

There were a lot of people out on the streets of Old City. I don't think I've seen that many folks out there since before September 11th. That's good though...people are going out to have fun, and local businesses are making $$$.

Then, they wanted to go out for a few drinks afterwards. So, I picked Lucy's Hat Shop on Market St., which is a bar/pseudo-club. The place was literally packed...many many many people. I'm not good in situations like that...claustrophobia. Once we got towards the back, and I got close to an exit door, some of the anxiety was relieved. I don't like that packed-in feeling though. When you have to literally push people out of the way to move around, that's not good, IMO.

Now, had this been a true yuppie night out, the nightcap would have been going to some coffee joint or greasy spoon. Rho and I went to the grocery store.

All in all, a fun time was had by all. Although, I felt a bit awkward being in Old City. I work only a block away from where we were, so I'm down there 5 days a week as it is. But that's during the day though...the area takes on a completely different character after dark. I'm not sure if I could work, live, and hang out all in the same area though (a la Crystal City in suburban Washington). I wouldn't mind working closer to home, and I wouldn't mind living in a neighborhood like Society Hill, but I like the fact that I operate in different "zones." It gives me more variety I guess.