Two Eat Philly: Shake Shack

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Friday, 8 June 2012

The Ivy House

Posted on 08:34 by balbindra nath
Home for a long weekend means plenty of catching up with family and enjoying the sticky Florida sunshine.  We combined both with a promise to our mom for a belated Mother's Day gift- lunch at a restaurant of her choice.  She chose one of her favorites- The Ivy House, a down-home Southern restaurant situated in a classic two-story country home, complete with wrap-around porch.  


Invited in with a "How are ya'll doin' today?", we claimed a table in one of the front rooms downstairs.  A short list of specials accompanies a relatively simple lunch menu- this place knows what they're good at and they stick to it.


I couldn't turn down the opportunity for a glass of ice-cold "Good Ole Southern Ice Tea" ($1.79), served in a goblet with that perfect pelleted crushed ice and plenty of sugar.  A glass of this might kill a diabetic, but for me it hit the spot.


My mom didn't even need to look at the menu, ordering the "Baked Krispy Chicken" ($9.99) off the list of specials.    The thin chicken breast coated in Rice Krispies and baked to juicy perfection is a staple, but the sides it is served with change frequently.  The plate reminds me of my plate at Thanksgiving- a little scoop of just about everything.  A small green salad, the end of a baked sweet potato, a slice of cornbread casserole, a buttery roll, baked okra, southern style white beans, and a creamy penne mac n' cheese... a real Southern meal.  At first I was turned off by their seeming indecisiveness, but getting to try so many different things in one meal is pretty special.


Another dish on the specials menu caught my eye- the fried shrimp spinach wrap.  There was a real identity crisis here- the large green salad and spinach wrap (c'mon, it has spinach in it!) say "healthy!" but the huge chunks of battered and fried shrimp and thick smear of mayonnaise say quite the opposite.  The contradiction was quite delicious- a light and fresh batch of veggies alongside a good bit of decadence.


The fried shrimp were incredible- seriously enormous and perfectly fried- and the combination of the soft tortilla, crunchy lettuce ribs, and creamy mayo was a great mix of textures and flavors.


A's Gourmet Turkey Croissant ($9.59) also came with a generous garden salad- romaine lettuce, shredded purple cabbage, and tiny bits of tomato. The house dressing is a subtly sweet, thick raspberry vinaigrette.  The croissant sandwich was terrific- we traded each other half as per usual- the flaky croissant mushing down to meld thickly sliced turkey with cranberry sauce.  Sweet and salty and the perfect size for lunch- another light meal that still seems indulgent.


With the motto "Come on Home It's Supper Time," the ambiance, service, and most importantly, the food at the Ivy House really make you feel like you're eating at home- nothing too fancy, plenty of comfort food, and lots of Southern goodness.  The front porch is so inviting- a little less humidity and I'd be dining there in a heartbeat.  I'm sure we'll be back next time we make the trip home!


The Ivy House
Alachua, FL
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Route 6
    We've recently been on a roll with seafood spots around the city.  A little odd, since none of them are new, just new to us!  The same w...
  • Ulivo
    Last time we were down in Queen Village, chowing down on pork-every-way at Cochon , its newest neighbor, Ulivo, was about to open up shop.  ...
  • Little Nonna's
    One of the hardest-to-get reservations these days is at Little Nonna's, Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran's latest 13th Street food e...
  • Rosey's BBQ
    Perusing one of the local Philly "Things to Do" blogs ( Uwishunu ) recently, I came across a post about one of my favorite foods...
  • Mettbroechen, Croissants, and Pizza
    As A alluded to, I've been quite busy the last ten days traveling around Europe- primarily in Switzerland for a week-long conference, wi...
  • Varalli
    Sometimes we tend to focus a bit too much on the hot new restaurants- hard not to, when there seems to be a never ending supply.  This const...
  • Crepemaker: Eversave Giveaway
    Not too long after the arrival of our first few blogger perks comes our first giveaway!  We're big fans of Groupon and LivingSocial, but...
  • Curried Red Kuri Soup
    It's officially the  Season of Soup .  There's really nothing like a piping hot bowl of hearty soup on a cold, wet day.  Refreshing ...
  • Tria
    I love summer for many, many reasons (the heat is NOT one of them), including the calm and quiet of Penn's campus.  "University Cit...
  • Welcome to our new blog!
    Hello all, Just wanted to welcome you to our new blog. We're twin sisters living in Philadelphia, near Rittenhouse Square. We're b...

Categories

  • Recipe
  • Vegetarian

Blog Archive

  • ►  2014 (4)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (2)
  • ►  2013 (48)
    • ►  December (2)
    • ►  November (2)
    • ►  October (2)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  August (2)
    • ►  July (3)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  May (5)
    • ►  April (8)
    • ►  March (7)
    • ►  February (6)
    • ►  January (8)
  • ▼  2012 (101)
    • ►  December (8)
    • ►  November (8)
    • ►  October (10)
    • ►  September (7)
    • ►  August (9)
    • ►  July (8)
    • ▼  June (7)
      • Summer Salad with Calamari
      • Honeygrow
      • Shake Shack
      • HipCityVeg
      • The Ivy House
      • Burger Club: Frankford Hall
      • Citizens Bank Park
    • ►  May (8)
    • ►  April (8)
    • ►  March (10)
    • ►  February (9)
    • ►  January (9)
  • ►  2011 (113)
    • ►  December (9)
    • ►  November (9)
    • ►  October (10)
    • ►  September (9)
    • ►  August (10)
    • ►  July (9)
    • ►  June (9)
    • ►  May (10)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ►  March (10)
    • ►  February (9)
    • ►  January (9)
  • ►  2010 (103)
    • ►  December (9)
    • ►  November (9)
    • ►  October (7)
    • ►  September (8)
    • ►  August (8)
    • ►  July (8)
    • ►  June (8)
    • ►  May (9)
    • ►  April (7)
    • ►  March (9)
    • ►  February (7)
    • ►  January (14)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

balbindra nath
View my complete profile