Midtown Lunch

As is customary at Philly Lunch, every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Philadelphia. This week it’s Kara, who loves her Philly cheesesteaks but has no problems chomping down on… what is that? Scorpion on a stick? Damn girl, I am impressed.

Name: Kara

Age: 25

Occupation: Grad Student

Where in Philly do you Work?: Drexel University

Favorite Kind of Food: Buffalo chicken cheesesteaks and sushi (not necessarily together, but in that case, anything unagi makes a good dessert).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: German/Eastern European food tastes like shnitz.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I get my cheesesteaks from Gusto (240 S. 22nd St.) and my sushi from Vic’s (2035 Sansom), although the tuna bruschetta at Umai Umai (533 N. 22nd St.) will make you say “Umai umai umai!”. My favorite place in Chinatown is Vietnam (221 N. 11th St.), and not just because of the flaming volcano lover’s drink for two. I also love Bridgid’s (726 N. 24th St.) for their filet roquefort, duck, and beer. The curry at Chew Man Chu (400 S. Broad St) is delicious (but beware of the overly enthusiastic wait staff). I am also in constant search of fried calamari that is better than that of Rx (4443 Spruce), but it remains the gold standard (and has held this title for over 7 years).

Drexel’s lunch carts have always been there for me when I just need a good-old fashioned turkey-egg-and-cheese (extra cheese). My favorite cart is Sue’s (Ludlow st.), but Mai’s has good Chinese food (grilled pork chop).

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? My co-workers constantly insist on going to Ajia (3131 Walnut St). It’s pretty lousy sushi, but the half-price deals attract a strong student following (but Nagoya in Cherry Hill is worth the drive for that).

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Japan, although I hear the Japanese don’t eat nearly as much sushi as I do.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Philly Lunch readers? Where’s a girl have to go to get a decent Shanghai-style dumpling?

Funny you should ask, I would recommend checking out yesterday’s post on Sakura. If you would like to be next week’s Profiled Philly Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email me at jamie@midtownlunch.com.