Don't Chicken Out: Try Rooster Soup Company

The vegetarian cheese 'steak' at Rooster Soup Co.

If walking past homeless people when you go into a restaurant bothers you, you can feel good when you eat at Rooster Soup Company. All the profits go to the Broad Street Ministry, which provides meals to the homeless.

Not only that, the restaurant, owned by the same team behind Zahav and Federal Donuts, uses the chicken bones left over from Federal Donuts (donuts and chicken) to make the stock for the smoked  matzo ball soup.

There are also two vegetarian soups on the menu, but I was after a veggie version of a Philly cheesesteak. This meat and melted cheese sandwich is given a plant based make over at Rooster Soup Co. This version has grilled mushrooms, provolone and kale. It is utterly delicious.

Gooey vegetarian cheesesteak

Rooster has a beet salad, which sounded good. But I wanted the carbs in the farrow, quinoa and hazelnut salad. I was carbo loading for the Love Run, a half marathon the next day. Watermelon radishes gave the salad a pop of color and pleasing bitterness.

Farro and quinoa salad

For extra protein, I had coffee milk, a somewhat bitter  (in a good way) adult version of chocolate milk.

The high rear door handles of the Toyota C-HR

Thanks to Toyota, I drove a gorgeous red CH-R to Philly for the weekend. The crossover was comfortable to drive and had cool rear doors, with handles high on the side.

Fitness Challenge: Day 70

If you are a runner and traveling to Philadelphia, one of the things you will want to do is run up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. These steps, made famous by Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky," lead up to one of the great art museums in country, with paintings, sculpture, textiles and costumes.

And a statue of Rocky, where every visitor with a smartphone poses.

I ran here, sans iPhone, from my hotel all the way at the other end of the city. Philadelphia is a rather small city, and residents tout its walkability, but from the Sheraton Society Hill nearly at Penn's Landing to the museum is 2.7 miles each way.

But those grand stairs inspire you. I sang the theme from "Rocky" to myself as I sprinted up and down the steps, then slogged my way back to the hotel.

On the way, I sang "The Streets of Philadelphia" since I had just seen the Bruce Springsteen exhibit at the National Constitution Center.

If you are traveling with teens, plan another trip to the museum for Art After 5, on Friday evenings. The museum is open late, with cocktails and food, plus music and dance performances. There are also free guided tours of the museum, and select galleries are open.

Family Travel: Philadelphia Vegetarian

Mi Lah Vegetarian in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia is actually a vegan restaurant with some Chinese food but a mix of other cuisines.
A weekend brunch has breakfast quesadillas, an Indonesian dish with seitan and potatoes, and blueberry pancakes for kids.

And since you are in Philly, you can get a vegetarian version of the city’s classic cheese steak at lunch, with mushrooms, peppers and vegan cheese.

Lunch also offers a great way to sample a few things from the menu. The lunch special includes soup, an appetizer and a choice of some of the entrees.

I tried both the butternut squash/coconut soup and the cauliflower soup laced with truffle oil. The truffle gave the cauliflower richness without cream, and a haunting depth of flavor.

For appetizers, we tried the edamame dumplings, which were nothing special, but the Indonesian rolls, with seitan, were delicious. They came with an unusual basil avocado sauce, giving the dish a Mexican spin.

Our entrees were excellent. The ma-po tofu was spicy and savory and the See-U noodles had lots of vegetables.

Mi Lah is also Kosher and can make many dishes gluten free. Next time in Philly I have to try the smoked Portobello with beets and the curried cauliflower steak. Or the African nut stew…