Students eat their way through Philadelphia

Through the "Finding Philly" series, students sampled food from six Italian restaurants. There is an Italian saying: Appetite comes to those who eat. Eight residents of Harrison College House proved that to be true in a marathon tour of six Italian restaurants in a single evening. On Wednesday night, the sixth installment of the "Finding Philly" series kicked off when Art Casciato, dean of Harrison House, led a group of students to South Philadelphia's Italian neighborhood with the goal of eating six separate courses at six different restaurants, ranging from the "hole-in-the-wall" eatery to more high-profile establishments. Casciato said he had toyed with the idea of hitting six different restaurants in one night but had long feared that it would be a "logistical nightmare." At the first restaurant, the Desanka CafZ, the students whet their appetites on ravioli in brodo, or ravioli in broth. The group hurriedly swallowed up their soup, unaware that they would have to pace themselves as the evening progressed. After a quick walk, the second stop was made at Io e Tu, a more well-known restaurant in the area. Here three waiters, aware of the relay race the Harrison House members were running, brought antipasto to the still-hungry crowd. Roasted peppers, the famous Io e Tu marinated carrots, calamari and breaded portobello mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce were all offered to the hungry diners. On their way out of the restaurant, College sophomore Dyer Halpern asked Casciato, "Have we found Philly yet, Art?" The ready reply was, of course, "No." After all, four restaurants still remained. Next, Felicia's, in true Northern Italian fashion, served gnocchi in tomato sauce and thin spaghetti with pesto. The waiter offered wine to the group in a thick Italian accent. "I think it's barbaric not to have wine with dinner," Casciato joked with the students. He proceeded to order a bottle of Chianti. Casciato picked Ralph's for the meat course because it is the oldest family-owned Italian restaurant in the country. Its reputation did not disappoint. Veal parmesan, breaded flounder and grilled chicken in a lemon cream sauce satisfied those who were still hungry. By this point, it became obvious to Halpern and Engineering junior John Sinclair that what they had on their hands was a "battle of wills" -- a contest to see which one of them could actually eat all the food that would be served to them throughout the evening. Little Italy's Dante and Luigi's was the second-to-last stop, where the students had their salad course. It proved too much for Sinclair, however, who lost the eating contest when he could not finish his salad. Since Casciato found himself under budget, he opted to order another bottle of wine for the group. The waiter demonstrated his prowess by stretching the bottle's contents equally into each of the glasses, a feat met with great applause and shouting. The final stop was the renowned Victor CafZ at 13th and Dickinson streets, where the waiters are opera singers in training. After two arias -- one from I Pagliacci and the other from La Boheme -- and pistachio creme brulZe and canolis, the evening came to a close.

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