Dish Around Town: Sampan Has New Seating, Opa Shrimp Pasta Dish & Sampan’s Smore’s

The girls wanted to take me out to dinner for my birthday last week. Sounded good to me. We picked my favorite restaurant of late and headed to Opa. Neither Erin Como or Lauren Richmond had tried the new modern Greek restaurant at 1311 Sansom St in Midtown Village.We ordered several different plates, but the entire tabled agreed that the shrimp/pasta dish was the best. Erin even went to say it was the best dish she ever had. Chef Andrew Brown told us that he makes the dish using Heirloom tomatoes from Lancaster, South Jersey Tomatoes, shrimp from Louisiana (he told me he wants to help the economy in that area since their disaster,) and home made pasta with squid ink. $16 and worth every bit of it.
Then we quick ran over to Sampan, as I wanted everyone to try the new Smore’s dessert I had at Izakaya on Saturday, but it was 11 and the kitchen had just closed (it’s open later Wed – Sat). Check out this new seating Sampan in the front. It compliments the wood facade. I love the durability, comfort and innovated idea.
Erin Como, (Been doing the traffic over there at NBC Philadelphia) Lauren Richmond (being bombarded after it’s come out she’s buds with James and Jennifer van der Beeks), and Maria Papadakis (as beautiful as ever) with Frank Bojanzi and the singer Taragirl. (Not pictured Lee from Hop Sing Laundromat who joined us [and informed me of the opening of his bar: shortly he says.) We then ran to Barbuzzo right after I took the photo below. Thankfully no one put a candle in the ice tea I was drinking.