After the debacle of cheesesteaks, Andy and I were hot and sweaty and it was about to pour gushing rain from the sky.  I needed a pick me up, and my feet hurt.  So we drove over to Center City, to 20th and Sansom, parked only a block from our destination and I hobbled along in my blistered, wedged feet, clutching Andy’s arm for dear life.

But everything got better when we stepped inside here.

I love Capogiro Gelateria.  It is my #1 Treat in Philadelphia.

Capogiro prides themselves on serving seasonal, fresh gelatos made with ingredients that they can get from the best sources possible – in the case of ingredients available year round, this means they are sourced from prime locations.  In terms of seasonal items like strawberry, it’s only available during the time it can be pulled straight from the ground locally.

The result is gelato that captures the essence of the flavor in an unbelievable way.  The almond gelato, for example, is so concentrated that it seems that you are getting the flavor of three almonds in each tiny bite.  And not almond-flavor, mind you.  The flavor of almonds – real almonds.

Check out the flavor list.  Every day the flavors change, as they make them fresh every morning.  And they don’t just have “cherry” – they have “bing cherry” and “queen anne cherry”.  They include unusual flavors like pine nut, lavender, and honeysuckle.  Sometimes they even have avocado, and goat cheese.

I personally am a sucker for the chocolate and other rich gelatos, that are so rich and thick and creamy that it looks like a tub of nutella lying in the display case.  Some of my favorites are dark chocolate (which gives new meaning to the term death by chocolate), Thai coconut milk, and hazelnut.

Andy always goes for the fruit gelatos, which are really a sorbet type of thing.  I’ve tasted his often enough to realize the virtue of these lighter versions and so for my last Capogiro gelato, I decided to spring for the kiwi and papaya.  Do you see the real kiwi seeds?  There are real minuscule papaya chunks in the papaya side too.

And can I just say?  Delicious.  And look how happy Andy is.

They come in these adorably cute little bowls that at first seem so tiny as to be ridiculous.  Not so.  By the time you’re done eating it with the eensy spoon, you’ll feel like you just ate a double-large bowl of ice cream.

This made my whole day better.

We had planned a chock-full day on Sunday of enjoying some of our absolute favorite Philly spots.  Unfortunately for us, it is June in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia is a dirty and humid city, and the day just did not quite go as planned.

Let me give you some information simply and quickly.  The best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia are at Campo’s, at 2nd and Market, right by Penn’s Landing.  The meat is high quality, fresh and decidedly NOT filled with fat chunks and excess oils, and the buns are the perfect consistency.  And I say this after years of trying to tell myself that high quality cheese is always better – get the cheese whiz.  It just isn’t the same without the cheese whiz.  “Wit’ whiz,” as they say here.

But three things got in the way of fully enjoying Campo’s in all its open-air, bustling and classic ambience. 

First, free parking.  It’s not worth it to snag free parking on a quiet street if it means trucking seven blocks in high heels in humidity so intense that your body is drenched the moment you stand up in it.  Arriving at your restaurant soaked, blistered, and tired just kills the mood.

Secondly, heat.  Our cheesesteaks were delicious, but had to be almost obscured by the ice cold sodas we were chugging to keep the hot meat from overloading our body temperatures.

Thirdly, PRIDE month.  I had no idea it was PRIDE month.  Or, I didn’t until the street suddenly shut down and the most fascinating characters I’ve ever seen in my life trapped us inside the restaurant as they flooded the street.  Yellow corsets and rainbow tutus, crystal rainbowed belts and clever tie-dyed outfits – no one can say that these folks don’t have flair.  And while if I hadn’t been drenched, hot, and barely able to walk I may have gotten some great, unusual photos, what I was really looking for was classic Philadelphia and Campo’s as I’ve known it throughout my time here, which did not involve pride parades… interesting as they may have been.

So in the end, my goodbye to Campo’s was not all I had dreamed.  But I will say that in a way, we were saying goodbye to Philadelphia through this crazy experience as well.  Hot, humid, grab-parking-wherever-you-can, cultured, ever-changing, colorful, and eventful Philadelphia.

Next up – what we did after cheesesteaks to try to cool down.

There is one diner, and one diner only that I love.

I’m just not much of a diner person.  I don’t like the meals that were bought at Restaurant Depot in the frozen section and then plopped onto a plate for your consumption after an hour in the oven defrosting.  Can I get an amen?

But there’s something about the atmosphere of a diner that’s so comforting.  The free laughter, the people running into their friends and hugging each other, the casual decor, the… comfort food.

The Trolley Car Diner is located in the incredibly cute Chestnut Hill district of Philadelphia, quite close to where I live.  And you simply can’t help but love it, since you can enjoy the 50′s vibe, the community, the warm and comforting food… but you can still have healthy, special, fresh, surprising food that was obviously prepared just for you, with real vegetables.

This is my favorite meal.  I get it every single time I’m here - I mean, when you really love something, why bother getting anything else?  This is the reason that I stop at this diner.  What other diner do you know of that even has zucchini on the menu, let alone a roasted summer vegetable quesadilla with zucchini, summer squash, red peppers, red and white onions that are roasted to the most amazing, firm yet warm and comforting consistency, sprinkled with a light layer of melted mozzarella and encased in a spread of spicy black bean paste… all toasted up in a beautiful, crispy corn tortilla and served with plenty of sour cream and salsa?

Did I make you hungry?  If you like more traditional diner food, they have that too… although with homemade kettle chips instead of crumbly stuff from a bag.

I’ve seen their club sandwiches, their eggs and omelets, their French toast… and I’ve seen their hummus salad too… just imagine beautiful dark greens topped with loads of vegetables wedged between large blobs of every type and color of hummus you can imagine?

And who could resist the milkshake menu, with its adorable 50′s character milkshakes?

We caved and got the malted chocolate milkshake.  If you ask to share, like we do, they’ll bring you each your own glass topped with whipped cream… because one milkshake actually makes enough for two.

I wasn’t going to finish it… but I just couldn’t help myself.

Goodbye, Trolley Car.  I love you.  I’ll be trying to recreate your roasted summer vegetable quesadilla for the rest of my life, but without your ambience, without your grubby ketchup bottles, without the large posters of Elvis staring friendly-like at me, and without the finishing touch of your malted milkshakes… I’m destined to fail.