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13 August 2011

National Mechanics, Philadelphia, PA

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This is where we ate with Older Brother's Friend when we visited Philadelphia yesterday. National Mechanics is in a building that used to be a bank geared toward blue collar workers, the outside has the same classical architecture as the First and Second Banks of the United States, which are in the same area, and the inside has some interesting bizarre decorations, including carnivorous (and other) plants in terrariums in the windows, interesting lightbulbs, and a beetle collection display.

I was uncertain about eating here because from the outside it didn't look like it would have many good vegetarian options, but the menu and specials were very vegetarian friendly, and I was quite impressed with the variety of interesting options.

I had an eggplant sandwich with cilantro spread, wilted spinach, lots of tomatoes and cheese on a bun with tomato baked into it. Older Brother got the National Veggie Burger which looked amazing to me with all sorts of vegetables making up the patty. We couldn't figure out how it was holding together. Older Brother's Friend got vegetable empanadas with a snazzy looking dipping sauce. The empanadas were filled mostly with mushrooms, and you probably know by now what a sucker I am for mushrooms.

National Mechanics: Eggplant Sandwich
National Mechanics: National Veggie Burger
National Mechanics: Vegetable Empanadas
This was a pretty fabulous place with a lot of character and quirkiness. Look at the sink in the bathroom! Look at these awesome glasses with notable people from Philly (Ira EinhornEdgar Allen PoeFrank Rizzo)!

This was a really fun place if you happen to be in Philadephia with good food and an interesting atmosphere with plenty of conversation pieces to look at.

National Mechanics: Bathroom Sink 
National Mechanics: glasses with famous people

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