Midtown Lunch

Photo courtesy of Hawk Krall via Slice

For guest appreciation day, you can get 50% off any dessert this Sunday at the 15th and Spruce location.

There are so many restaurants on Washington Ave. I want to get to know them all. I want to know what each does best. Nam Phuong was on this list. The restaurant is large and busy. Its size and fun menu makes it accommodating for everyone- couples, friends, groups of drunks, groups of hangover cure seekers, coworkers… as long as you are a fan of soup and noodles.

Browsing the many pages of the menu, I was intrigued by the Vietnamese Crepe ($6.50) right on the first page under appetizers. I had never tried one before so I had to have it.

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Today, Nick from My Inner Fatty is satisfying his Chinese food craving by visiting the Sang Kee in the Sharaton Hotel. I know Lunchers Becca , Wayles, and Matt are fans too.

Chinese food is one of those things that I constantly crave. I know sometimes it’s not exactly the healthiest meal, and more often than not, I tend to regret my decision of overeating these grease laden meals, but there’s just something I can’t pinpoint that has me going back all the time. Probably the MSG, I swear it’s like nicotine to an Asian person. Anyway, last week, I found myself wandering University City with a group of 7, trying desperately to find a proper lunch location. Turns out, this is much more difficult than it seems. Most places that come to mind are either quick meal solutions (i.e. carts), which aren’t suitable for a large group to have a sit down meal. Luckily, a solution was remarkably close.

Maybe this is an unfair blanket generalization, but I don’t normally expect to find great food in the lobby of a hotel. This goes double for Chinese food. It’s just not the type of thing that feels at home in a relatively upscale location. In my mind, good Americanized Chinese food tends to be greasy, cheap, and found in storefronts more appropriate to that description. Sang Kee Noodle House effectively ruins that entire statement. The latest in the family of ‘Sang Kee’ restaurants, this one is nestled on the first floor of the Sheraton in University City. With virtually no wait time, a fantastically varied menu, and moderate pricing for a sit down joint, Sang Kee might legitimately be in a class of it’s own when it comes to ML Chinese fooding in the area.

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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 Tom who loves Italian food and has eaten sandwiches all over the city.

Name: Tom

Age: 26

Occupation: Grad Student and Law Clerk

Where in Philly do you Work?: School on North Broad, work in Center City

Favorite Kind of Food: Italian, all different kinds of sandwiches (Roast Pork, Roast Beef, Pulled Pork, Cheesesteak, Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak, Italian Hoagie, Sausage and Peppers, Meatball, Chicken Cutlet), Burgers, Pizza, BBQ, Mexican, Chinese, Greek

Least Favorite Kind of Food: carrots, celery, olives

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: (places and dishes): Everything at John’s Roast Pork (Weccacoe and Snyder) and Paesano’s (either location), DiNic’s (Reading Terminal) Tony Luke’s (Front and Oregon), and Jake’s Sandwich Board (12th and Sansom). Cheesesteaks at Chink’s and Steve’s in the Northeast and Geno’s.

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