Philly Food and Drink Aficionados
XIX
Fine dining without draining your bank account - that is the XIX experience.What was once Founders at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel - which was the place where red velvet curtains and stuffy chairs went to die - XIX has been transformed into a clean, soothing dining room overlooking the Avenue of the Arts from its 19th floor location within the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue.
Now, dining in the main room can still be quite expensive - but I've an offer that will make it well worth the trip to the 19th floor!
BTW - to get to XIX, enter the main lobby of the Bellevue and walk past the main bank of elevators - to the left of the security desk and you'll find two elevators to your left. These place you within XIX when they open onto the 19th floor. Once you get the lay of the land, then you can just take the main bank of elevators to the 19th floor and navigate yourself to XIX.
When you first enter XIX from the elevator, you are in a grand rotunda; complete with comfortable seating as well as a quaint outdoor balcony that offers a wonderful view of the city, south. This is the XIX Cafe. Then, to the right of this rotunda you'll find a hall that connects you to the OTHER rotunda, which is their main dining room. However, within the hallway is one of the best hideaway bars in the city; complete with leather chairs and a fireplace during the winter season! A great night-cap location after a night of theatre.
The XIX Cafe is where you can partake in the Cafe Dinner menu - for $30 per person you get access to what I think is the 2nd best salad bar in the city (the first being Fogo de Chao). The salad bar offers a mix of greens, vegetables and several pasta dishes - along with meats and cheeses and fresh breads. You also get to select one of five entrees from the menu; including a daily fish dish, a wonderful flatbread pizza and a mouthwatering steak entree.
Once you're finished your entree, you head to their dessert table - all that is needed is a chair so you never have to leave! From fresh-baked brownies, to parfaits to mini-cheesecakes - you will easily channel your favorite child character from Willie Wonka as you dive into the dessert displays. Just be grateful you don't have to walk down 19 flights of stairs afterwards!
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