The Great Downtown Philadelphia Chocolate Chip Cookie Project

(UPDATED, 4/11/12) I’m a big fan of lists, especially ones that have rankings or otherwise note the best of a particular category.  It’s not too difficult to find countless roundups and surveys that espouse Philadelphia’s best restaurants, hoagies, pizza, hot sandwiches and, of course, cheesesteaks.

But you know what category of food in Philadelphia has not had much in the way of rankings or listings?  One of my favorite snacks: the chocolate chip cookie.  Sure, chocolate chip cookies are not exactly the first thing people think of in terms of Philadelphia food, but the great thing about them is that they’re so widespread.  Bakeries, coffee shops and even fast food restaurants all make chocolate chip cookies, with some more notable than others.

To say which cookie is the best in the city isn’t an easy task.  Everyone has different qualities they enjoy in a cookie, and there’s not really one perfect cookie.  Similarly, a cookie may be absolutely phenomenal but may also be prohibitively expensive.

So, after some research, word of mouth, personal experience and some aimless wandering, I tried out cookies from sixteen seventeen spots (a Sweet Sixteen (with one play-in) , if you will) within the Philadelphia downtown area with the potential for being among the best chocolate chip cookies in the city.  Just like the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I’m not guaranteeing that these selections are the fifteen best cookies in the city, but I can tell you that some or many of the best, along with my personal favorites in the city, are among them.  I tried to stick to mostly local spots, but truthfully, some chain locations had some great cookies I couldn’t ignore.

The additional superlative rankings are relatively self-explanatory and very scientific.   Continue reading →

GPS Run Tracking: Some Applications Are Better Than Others

 

Recently, I joined the modern age and switched from a BlackBerry to an iPhone 4s.  It has taken some time to adjust to the new operating system, but you can definitely do a lot more with the iPhone.

In addition to its advanced features, the iPhone also provides access to a wealth of applications.  One of my interests was finding a good GPS run tracker.  The App Store happens to offer several free run tracking application options.  Given the choices, I decided to test four different free applications to evaluate which run tracker to use.

 

 

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BeerAdvocate Respects Beer in Philadelphia

In case you weren’t already convinced that the Philadelphia area is home to one of the best beer scenes in the country, no less an authority than BeerAdvocate agrees.  Today, BA founders Jason and Todd Alström flew their crew down from Boston to once again visit a good sampling of the city’s best beer bars.

The Alström brothers established BA as a way for beer enthusiasts to connect, support and promote good beer.  In addition to general beer discussions through its forum, the website provides a pretty comprehensive database of beer reviews and ratings.  If you’re visiting another city and looking for bars serving good beer, the BA website also features reports and reviews of bars and other places of interest.  Its motto is “Respect Beer,” which is simple and yet a great way to live life.

On occasion, BA goes on the road to check out the local flavor.  Previous trips have included the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado as well as two prior visits to Philadelphia.  This trip’s rather ambitious itinerary included drinking beers at Grey Lodge Pub in Northeast Philly, Jose Pistola’s and Monk’s in Center City, Earth Bread + Brewery in Mt. Airy, Farmers’ Cabinet in Midtown Village and Khyber Pass Pub in Old City – all from noon to about 10 p.m.  Fortunately, there was no need for a designated driver.  As soon as they landed and checked into their hotel, they put away the keys to their rental cars and are depending on cabs to get from place to place. Continue reading →