A Foodie's Food Court

When I first visited the new Comcast Center, I stood in awe. Together with a friend, I had wandered in to see if the food court had opened. What a scene we discovered - four stories of sculpted people walking on beams above your head, with a two story television in front of you. Not to mention the playful fountain out front, adjacent to Table 31's outdoor seating. It is to an office lobby what Cirque du Soleil is to a street performer. And when a Godiva employee circulating amidst the crowd with free chocolate, I knew I had died and gone to corporate heaven.

I will, with no small measure of embarrassment, admit that I have been so smitten with the Center and its lobby that I dragged my mother, visiting from out-of-town, in to see the tv. Here's the interesting part -- at 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday when we visited, there were just as many people standing in the lobby watching the tv as at noon on a weekday. It's that good.

Because this does purport to be a food blog, I will move from the tv topic to the food court itself, which, to describe as impressive, would be an understatement. DiBruno's has opened an outpost here, in a creatively designed space that takes up the equivalent of three food court store fronts. It offers its best -- sandwiches, hot and other prepared foods, interesting beverages, and some of its gourmet pantry products, too. Like its 18th street store, though, ordering is a bit of a free-for-all, a process that I wonder will survive in the lunch rush. I still maintain that the DiBruno's "Napoleon" sandwich, featuring turkey, brie, caramelized onions and mango chutney, remains one of the best sandwich creations out there, even if they did switch the roll to something strange with caraway seeds.

The sushi stand isn't bad, although it suffers from many fast food sushi's problems of rice that tastes like it was molded long ago. The fish itself is tasty and the roll offerings are relatively varied and unique. The seafood place, Under the C, has a lot of promise. Eating shrimp cocktail in a food court for $5 was a fun novelty, as was being able to pick up fresh fish to prepare at home here. The produce stand looks good, too, as does the juice bar. Still to come (or perhaps already arrived): Mexican Post take-out and Susanna Foo's Dumpling stand. There's a bit of a basement feel to the area, compounded by oddly cacophonous metal chairs, but the food remains extraordinary for a food court.

LaScala's seems to attract the longest lines in the food court. Which may have a lot to do with their choppy service. Known for their brick-oven pizza, which they offer in at least eight varieties that I could immediately count, LaScala's also offers salads and pastas. Although all of the food is prominently displayed, a menu is missing. As is a system for handling customers. And recently, its registers were down, forcing cashiers that had not been forced to do math in a while do a lot of math, including calculate tax. I got the Mediterranean salad, with crabmeat, lobster, shrimp and grape tomatoes served with a citrus dressing. I liked it; the crabmeat was generously portioned and the lobster, while a little tough, was still tasty. I may not brave the chaos again, however, given the different options here.

Looking for dessert? Try Termini Brothers' ridiculously-expensive-but-well-worth-it cannoli offerings. At $4 each, it's worth savoring every bite. Don't forget Buck's County Coffee for the post-lunch coma you've induced.

The Comcast Center is located at 17th and Arch Streets, with its main entrance facing JFK Boulevard. The food court is open from 8 am to 7 pm, Monday through Friday and 10-5 on Saturday. The lobby is open 24 hours.

Misso (Updated: Now Closed)

At least someone's air conditioning was working. On some of the more sweltering summer days, it's hard to think about food, let alone trudge out into the heat to find it. Sushi always seems like a good compromise, however, and Misso was on my list of new restaurants to try. Housed in the first floor of a high rise on Spruce Street near Broad, Misso is tucked away under awning, with a neon "Open" sign. Once inside, however, the atmosphere is warm and crisp (but air-conditioned, of course). And as these pictures reveal, Misso is also more dimly lit, providing a calm, zen-like setting.

Beginning with the seaweed salad appetizer, Misso's offerings are presented well, managing to be both pretty and generous with the portions. Eager to try the tuna balls, I was impressed and easily found them to be Misso's best offering. Employing the ever-appealing "tempura flakes," succulent tuna, flakes and spice are mixed together to form these refreshing treats. They even appealed to my spice-sensitive palate (I don't normally eat even wasabe, I know, I know, what am I doing in a sushi restaurant). The tuna balls also far exceeded the tuna tartare offering, a strange dish of the same tuna in the balls, without the flakes or spicy bite. From there, we ordered two rolls and sushi for our meal. The Dragon Roll (avocado, cucumber layered with broiled eel, sliced avocado and sauce) and the Spruce Roll (yellow tail tempura roll) were a mixed bag. The Dragon Roll was delicious, but predictably so from broiled eel and avocado. The Spruce Roll was disappointing. Instead of yellowtail mixed with tempura flakes, or even lightly cooked, the yellowtail was well done and the crispy tempura texture was all but absent from the roll.

I have been branching out in my sushi lately, departing from what is normally included in your average sampler and more toward things like I tried that night, including striped bass (suzuki) and red snapper. The striped bass was my favorite, with an interesting and refreshing taste.

Because I have recently developed a taste for sake, my dining companion was kind enough to bring both filtered and unfiltered. Choosing the latter, I found it to be the perfect, cold, and crisp accompaniment to the fish. Ultimately, although Misso also had a number of intriguing other rolls that may merit a return visit, its inconsistency on the sushi makes me want to stick to my side of Broad Street for now.

Misso is located at 1326 Spruce Street in Philadelphia, 215-546-2355

In-N-Out Burger

Philadelphia is now home to several, supposedly very good, burger chains -- Five Guys and Goodburger. While I haven't been to Goodburger, I found Five Guys to offer an overdone, over-topped burger that left me needing a nap in about an hour. And while I always try to avoid gender stereotypes, especially when it comes to food, I don't find it surprising that Five Guys draws a big male crowd, a certain type of which seems uniquely capable of consuming that much food at lunch.

On a recent trip to L.A., however, I was told I should go to In-N-Out burger. My California-native friends confirmed the recommendation and mentioned the milkshake as being one of the best ever. And so, on my last day there, I set out in search of one. Together with my coffee-loving cohort (so named because when you're traveling, it's helpful to have someone who shares your need for coffee in the morning), we mapped out the closest en route to the airport.

My verdict? Excellent. It's not a burger that competes with pub burgers, or burgers filled with bleu cheese. It's a straightforward burger, with an excellent bun to meat to topping ratio. The fries are hand cut every morning (the meat is fresh as well, not frozen) and taste like a heartier version of McDonald's. They even have a "special sauce," which, like every other special sauce, tastes like (because it is) thousand island dressing. Applied on a freshly grilled bun, however, it's pretty tasty. As someone who enjoys her accessories, I also have to give props to the handy wrapping that allows for neater eating.

CLC ordered a veggie option, cluing me in on the fact that there are many off-menu items available. She got the grilled cheese, for which they grill two bun "bottoms," which makes a certain level of sense. She's a fan. They also offer a "veggie burger," which is essentially all of their toppings sans burger.

The milkshake was perhaps most amazing, given that it was dispensed out of a machine. The taste of chocolate was especially strong, but nicely balanced through the shake. It was thick in the way that milkshakes should be, not whipped with air, but thick with ice cream. It was ... $1.19. Seriously.

I'm not moving to the west coast anytime soon, but if you're going to fight L.A. traffic, In-N-Out is a great reprieve.

There are no In-N-Out Burger's east of Arizona.