Before the earthquake so rudely interrupted us, I was busy recapping my Philly weekend at HLS.

So far we’ve eaten at Farmicia and the Pumpkin Market, and now it’s time for the actual conference day…

From early morning to afternoon we hopped from session to session about writing better {and legal!} recipes, dealing with negativity, monetization, and more. In between, of course, was lots of food.

{I miss you Jen!!}

Lunch was the highlight of the meals: greens, vegan sandwiches loaded on rich Great Harvest bread, and the most delicious quinoa chickpea salad.

The food tables were arranged with sandwiches on both ends and salad in the middle- I picked up my sandwiches and turned around and realized the salad line was only going one direction, and it was a loooong line.

I was starving so I took my plate to the table and mentioned I was too hungry to wait, I’d just get my salad later. Then I walked away to grab a drink. When I came back, salad had magically appeared on my plate. One of the servers overheard me and brought me salad- so sweet!

We had a late dinner reservation, so we took some time after the conference to do a little Philly exploring. I finally got to see the Reading Terminal Market in the day time. {It’s where the cocktail party was.}

It was full of every vendor you could imagine- ice cream, flowers, fish, bread, etc.

We played tourists for a little longer, then started off on our walk towards Kanella, a local Greek restaurant.

It was cute and cozy and we were seated immediately.

While the food was delicious, it was an interesting dining experience. See, with the exception of hummus and feta, I really don’t like Greek food. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives top my most-hated-foods list. But I wanted to branch out and try something new; plus I loved the company.

When it came time to order, I asked for a delicious veggie and apricot topped flatbread without the tapenade {read olives!}. Not an atypical request by most standards. The answer? No, I could not have the flatbread without the olives.

I forget what I asked for next, but it was a similar response. I was immediately flustered and overwhelmed and had no idea what to order. We finally found a solution- the lamb and arugula topped hummus without the lamb.

So I essentially had bread, hummus, and pita for dinner. But it was above average hummus- rich with lemon and tahini, and I loved arugula added to the mix. The dip for the bread was unique and satisfying as well- a thin tahini-type dip.

{Photo courtesy of Allie after some battery-camera-lens-swapping; her battery died and I didn’t have the right lens with me.}

Interestingly enough, we were told the chef doesn’t allow photographs of his food. Of course by then we’d already finished with the picture-taking.

Do you like Greek food? You can add grape leaves to the list of things I don’t like, although I don’t encounter those in my day to day life.

Find out how my first midwife appointment went on tiny sneakers. Hint: it’s not what you think.

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