Creamed Chipped Beef (Seriously.)

Though we were snowed in most of the weekend in Philadelphia (hellooo Rock Band and Sam's Winter Ale!), L and I did venture out into the snowpocolypse to brunch at 10 Arts at the Ritz-Carlton on Broad Street in downtown Philadelphia. And mannn am I glad we did.

This posh spot is home to Top Chef's Jennifer Carroll - you know the cute blonde girl from this past season?

Well, she was my fav (who unfortunately was booted off in one of the later rounds), and is the Chef de Cuisine at this spot in the swanky Ritz hotel lobby (a must-see even if you're not there to dine).

As I mentioned a few days ago, I absolutely love brunch. And this brunch was totally up to par - from the coffee to the clusters of country sausage cooked with sweet maple syrup (not kidding). All the breakfast items on the menu looked delicious, but my eyes were immediately drawn to the Creamed Chipped Beef. "Gross" might be a word that goes through your head when you hear this, but I think "delectable." Creamed Chipped Beef was a meal that I had often in my youth (much to my family's dismay). My mom would always have a great dinner prepared for us, but I would come home from hockey practice completely famished, head to the freezer and pull out my favorite dinner: Stouffer's Creamed Chipped Beef.


Now, I know what you're thinking when you see this image - "that's foul," might come to mind. But I swear - I lived for this stuff. Mmm - getting it out of the freezer, and boiling the package of I'm-not-sure-what and serving it over toast. . .I was in love. So, you would imagine my joy when I saw it on the menu on Sunday. Interestingly, Creamed Chipped Beef has been a topic of conversation in my life recently. I brought it up a few weeks ago to P who had (gasp!) never heard of it before; and just the other day P's roommates and I were talking about it. I seriously hadn't thought about my obsession with CCB in probably 8 years. . .and here it was butting it's creamy head (ew.) back into my life.

I guess yesterday morning I was a little hesitant to order Creamed Chipped Beef off the 10 Arts menu, for fear it wouldn't live up to my Stouffer's version (HA), so L and I ending up splitting the Three Egg Omelet with cheddar and chives and the Egg White Omelet with goat cheese and spinach. Both were served with 10 Art's take on home fries and an oven-roasted tomato. I got a side of the country sausage, she the Neuski’s bacon. Based on the portions, it seems that the sides are meant to be shared. In typical sisterly fashion, we totally devoured them all by ourselves, and let's just say I'm glad I was wearing leggings on Sunday morning.

I'm headed to the grocery store later, and I may or may not bring home a few boxes of CCB for old time's sake. . .oops.

peaceloveandgchat.

R