We needed to kill some time while waiting for a table and decided to see what had replaced Separatist. We were pretty thrilled to find out it was Human Robot (which has our favorite logo!).

Though some of us have sampled and enjoyed Human Robot at other bars and restaurants around Philly, it was the first time any of us had visited one of their locations. The interior had basically no changes from when it was Separatist, but the bustling atmosphere felt completely different. This place is popular for good reason: the beers are just really well-executed. Someone in my group ordered the tmavy and the first thing he said was, "tastes like Prague". Others tried the IPA and one of the German-style pils, and they enjoyed them as well. I went for the low-ABV Radler, and even that was delightful - a tart, grapefruit-forward take on a drink that usually is treated as a second thought.

I also love all of Human Robot's glassware, and service was friendly and efficient. We were all perplexed and intrigued by the milktube and will definitely be trying it next time.

I have gotten Federal Donuts' doughnuts a bunch of times from various locations around the city, but this past Saturday was my first time trying the chicken. We brought some out-of-town visiting friends to Federal Donuts at the tail end of lunch time. There were other patrons, but it wasn't super busy and there was no line to order. We placed our orders pretty quickly and grabbed a table.

We immediately noticed that though one of our party members ordered a cereal milk doughnut, he instead received the carrot cake doughnut, which he did not enjoy. Since other people in our dining party did like it, we decided to move past the mistake. But then, when our sandwiches arrived, I realized when I got to the midway point that my sandwich was not cooked all the way through. It was pink and a little bloody. I showed it to the cashier, who told me she'd put in an order for a new one. She apparently didn't, because I waited for a while and finally made eye contact with the fry cook, who noticed I was waiting for an order even though he had no active orders on his screen. He came out and asked me what I was waiting for, and I let him know. He then made me another sandwich in a hurry, which unfortunately meant that the second sandwich was ALSO undercooked and everyone agreed it was noticeably pink in the center (though at least it was not bloody).

I got unlucky twice - everyone else also ordered various chicken items and their orders were fully cooked through.

At that point, everyone had been done with their meals for a while. The cashier was nowhere in sight, I frankly felt queasy from having bitten into two undercooked pieces of chicken, and I didn't want to wait around even longer to ask for a refund. From wrong orders to undercooked poultry to having to wait a long time just for more undercooked poultry, it was disappointing experience.

Mighty Bread is aptly named - tucked away on a tiny residential street, the bakery makes the most of its tight quarters, with shelves piled high with freshly baked loaves, tins of fish and jars of jam, bread proofing baskets, and little bakery-themed plushies. And all of the baked goods, from the loaves of bread, to the doughnuts, to the croissants, are mighty delicious!

Our favorite thing to order is the seasonal focaccia with stracciatella cheese (basically super soft burrata). In the summer, the focaccia is studded with sweet cherry tomatoes, and in the winter, it is topped with crisp-edged, thin slices of potato and sprigs of rosemary. (The first bite of the potato focaccia was literally one of the best things we ate this year.) We also like the scrambo platter, though I will say that at a bakery as good as Mighty Bread, I personally prefer to order things that feature more bread.

Service is always super friendly, and though the line is almost always out the door on the weekends, it moves fast. We always opt to dine in - and somehow we always find seating. Afterwards, to stretch the wonderful Mighty Bread weekend experience into the week, I love taking a loaf of the rosemary peppercorn or the sesame home.

Nan Xiang has quietly become a favorite of ours - I wasn't blown away when I first visited shortly after they opened, but since then, their consistency of execution and our discovery of items on the menu that we really love has made this one of our favorite spots to visit on the weekend.

Here are the items that won us over and that we order almost every single time we come:
A10. Scallion pancake with sliced beef - far and away our favorite item to order here. It's crispy, filled with tender slices of flavorful, sweet-savory beef, and it is so satisfying to bite through all the layers of rolled up pancake and meat.
D11. Braised beef noodle soup - the broth is so spiced and savory, this is a dish best shared (otherwise the sodium will put you in a food coma). But the flavor is incredible, the beef is so tender, and the portion is generous.
B1. Pan fried pork buns - not as crispy on the bottom as traditional sheng jian bao and sometimes the filling skews a touch sweet, but overall very consistently executed and one of the dishes we order every time.

The soup dumplings are very good - the consistency of execution is so impressive in that every time we order them, the thickness of the skin is the same and the timing of the steaming is correct. I'd personally like the skins to be a hair thinner, and again, the filling flavor can skew a touch sweet.

There are a few other more traditional Shanghainese dishes that we look forward to trying, if we can ever move away from our tried-and-true favorites!

Beyond the food, Nan Xiang is visually a beautiful restaurant, with high ceilings, wooden accents, and a dramatic, red, backlight display wall. The service is always super attentive and speedy, everything is very clean, and the serving ware is also nicer than the average Chinese restaurant. You can also watch the staff prep soup dumplings through huge picture windows at the back of the restaurant - which I've seen many families with children take advantage of. I have found that Chinese restaurants often have trouble with consistency, so it is very high praise to know that when we drive out to Jersey, we can always count on Nan Xiang for a very good meal and experience!