Field Guide

All-you-can-eat.

by Tim McGinnis

Forget all those New Year’s resolutions to eat better, join a gym and cut back on the booze. Field Guide would like to offer an alternative: Buck tradition and simply continue to pack on the pounds, clog a few arteries, fatten up that liver and gain more cushion for that proverbial pushin’. Here are six all-you-can-eat places to gorge yourself silly all the way till 2010.

If You Like It Raw

Maki and nigiri sushi abound at University City’s Ajia (3131 Walnut St. 215.222.2542). Although service runs the gamut from slow to surly, $21.95 will literally get you boatloads of Japan’s greatest gift to the U.S., if you don’t count modestly priced, reliable automobiles and technology that would give Gene Roddenberry a boner. V B L S

If It’s Curry and a Lager That You Crave

Grow a Buddha-sized belly at New Delhi Indian Restaurant (4004 Chestnut St. 215.386.2125), where you’ll need the many arms of Shiva to help load the seemingly endless offerings of naan, chicken tikka masala, samosa and basmati rice on to your plate, for $8.95 and $11.95 during lunch and dinner, respectively. V L

If You Want to Get Crabs

On Mondays at DiNardo’s Famous Seafood (312 Race St. 215.925.5115) you can suck the flesh from the exoskeleton of as many steamed hard shell Chesapeake Bay blue claws as you can handle. For $32 you’ll get coleslaw and French fries on the side, but to get your money’s worth, focus more on that sweet crustacean meat. S

If You Have No Plans for Saturday Afternoon

We’re not saying you have to drink yourself silly during Saturday brunch at Jose Pistola’s (263 S. 15th St. 215.545.4101) but $25 will cover two food courses—like egg and chorizo tacos or huevos rancheros—and a bottomless glass of mimosas, Bloody Marys or margaritas. Only an alcohol I.V. could provide a better buzz. D V

If You’re Trying to Build Your Mussel Muscle

The craziest thing about Zot (122 Lombard St. 267.639.3260) isn’t the fact that its upstairs houses a bar modeled after a turn-of-the-century bathroom; it’s that they can imagine and execute 50 different styles of mussels. And on Monday it’s only $25 for all you care to suck and shuck and it comes with frites. There’s a fine line between genius and madness. D S

If You’re Still a Sixers Fan

Mo Cheeks has been sacked and the underachieving Sixers haven’t fulfilled our dreams of another city championship after the blockbuster Brand trade. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to cheer for at the Wachovia Center (3601 S. Broad St. 215.336.3600). Thirty-three dollars gets you a seat and unlimited hotdogs, soda, popcorn, nachos and ice cream. Angioplasty not included. D V J