Philadelphia is a sports town. There are legions of truly passionate fans that take every loss as a personal one. This was the climate on Saturday night as the city bit their nails watching a dramatic finish to game 6 of the NLCS. After the end of the game the people of the city seemed more zombie like than I can recall. I walked by many of these deflated fans as I made my way to do the one thing I enjoy most; eating.
My "opponent" this evening was Ms. Tootsie's and my previous attempts at going one on one with the fried chicken were not successful. My first strikeout was several weeks ago in September during the first Sunday of NFL games. I was visiting a cousin in New Jersey and had make plans to visit Ms. Tootsie's when I got back to the city. I found myself much too tired when returning home. This was most likely due to the 2 game stretch of fried chicken away games in New Orleans. On my second swing I called to order some to go after a night at work. I had hope of victory because a flyer in Ms. Toostsie's door promised to-go orders until midnight Sun-Thurs and til 3.a.m. Fri and Sat. My call at 10:40 however was met by the news that they were closed (the dreaded change-up.)
My final at bat had me nervous. I really was beginning to believe that maybe it was not meant to be. Instead of giving up I decided to take a long hike to South Street and hope by chance on this Saturday that I could find joy in a heartbroken city. Joy was found and a little bit of memories too. While waiting at the bar for my to go order I was taken back in time by the imagery on the flat screens above the bar. VH1 Soul was on every screen and although the music in the restaurant was a classic song later sampled by BDK, the "vixen" was Patra. For the youngsters reading; quite simply Patra was skanking it up before Trina, Lil Kim, and Ms. Minaj realized boys were not made of snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails.
My order was completed in a timely manner and I made the taxi ride home to indulge. Really good fried chicken. Crisp as a Halladay shutout, juicy as the possible World Series vs. Cliff Lee. Yet the true stars of this series were the yams and the heavenly cornbread. There was a victory in Philly this Saturday night, a skinny fat one. I wonder if they make good fried chicken in Clearwater.
The Skinny Fat Kid
Ms. Tootsie's Soul Food Cafe
1314 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19147-1823
(215) 731-9045
http://www.kevenparker.net/
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