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 Maria, a wine enthusiast whose schedule allows her to take advantage of lunches all around Philly.

Name: Maria

Age: Old enough to order a glass of wine! ;-)

Occupation: Freelance Writer, Wine Educator, World Traveler, and Blogger for Sips Bites and Sites

Where in Philly do you Work?: www.SipsBitesandSites.com
So really anywhere I want

Favorite Kind of Food: Latin/Spanish Food. I crave ceviche all of the time.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Button mushrooms, they are so boring. Why eat button mushrooms when you could eat an array of earthy wild mushrooms?

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I’m lucky because my job doesn’t tie me down to just one location which leaves the whole city as my option for lunching. I have favorite spots in sections all over town. Here are just a few:

Argan Moroccan Cuisine (132 South 17th Street) for Slow Cooked Lamb stuffed into fuffy pockets of cornbread-like pita with peppers and onions.

The Arista Sandwich at Paesano’s in the Italian Market; pork and broccoli rabe are just the perfect Italian combination (901 Christian St)

I love the spiciness of the Chicken Adana Wrap at S & H Kebab House – the wrap platter which comes with a house salad AND a red lentil soup is only $8.95! (611 E Passyunk Ave, right off of South St)

The Grilled Artichoke, Spicy Tuscan Pepper, White Bean and Bulgarian Feta Panino ($8.50) at Tria in Rittenhouse, cures my craving for a veggie fix. (18th & Sansom Streets)

When I’m in Chinatown I stop in Sakura Mandarin for steaming hot Shanghai Pork Soup Dumplings – they call them juicy buns here (6 for $4.95) and I always add a side of scallion pancake ($2.50) to my order.

I love Latin food; for a quick burrito I hit Pico De Gallo (534 S 15th St) and order the sweet & savory #15- Sweet Plaintains, Roasted Pork and Black Beans ($8.25). I can usually only eat half of this monster!

And finally, Zavino (112 South 13th St) for the Spinach Pizza ($14), but ONLY when I have someone to share it with! And quite frankly, lunch is always more fun when you have someone to share it with.
“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Mama’s Vegetarian (18 S. 20th St) for the Small Falafel Sandwich in wheat pita with extra hot sauce; it is completely addictive.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Paris, France because there they take extremely long, leisurely lunches and with its numerous cafes, bistros and restaurants I would never run out of new places to try.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Philly Lunch readers? Wine with lunch- is it a faux pas?

Maria, if anything, I usually go for a beer with lunch, but I see nothing wrong with a glass of  mid-day wine.

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