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 Lauren, a student just dreaming about  good bagels.

Name: Lauren

Age: 21

Occupation: Student at Penn, soon to be marketer at Kraft Foods

Where in Philly do you Work?: University City

Favorite Kind of Food:I’m open to trying anything at least once. My favorite foods are probably Italian or Greek. Like Aubre, I also have a weakness for carbs.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I’m not very picky, but I don’t like scallops, coconut, or capers.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Sakura Mandarin: Their soup dumplings are great. Honest Tom’s: It’s a bit of a hike if I’m going between classes, but it’s well worth it for their sweet potato tacos. 500 Degrees and Square Burger: I love burgers and these are my favorite quick places for lunch. I used to intern across the street from Franklin Square so I found myself going there a lot. It’s also a great place to take visitors from out of town. Pod: A bit more pricey than most Midtown Lunch spots, but I find that the Kaiseki Express or a big bowl of soup is a pretty good value.
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As  I mentioned last week, I have been down South on vacation, and while we will return to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow, I thought I would share the amazing eating I have been doing in Austin, Texas and point out some lunches here that Philly is lacking.

I get so jealous when I hear about southern state fairs with fried butter and fried bacon. So the #1 spot goes to Awesome Things that are Fried…

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• Andrew Zimmern loves the sandwiches at John’s Roast Pork and Paesano’s. According to his twitter feed, “No question, Philly has some of America’s best streetside sandwiches!” [Appetite For Life]
• Slice tries the simple “Mama’s Homestyle” pizza at Francoluigi’s [Slice]
• Foodzings agrees with us, the food at Red Kings is a bit lacking [Foodzings]
• Chickie & Pete’s crab fries are majorly lacking in crab [Mac & Cheese]
• Foobooz crowns the classic meatball sandwich from Marabella as their sandwich of the month [Foobooz]

So I have snuck away to our slightly warmer, southern States and the eating here is not letting me down. I clearly love Philly lunching and am proud of the variety our city has to offer, but I can’t help being jealous of a few southern specialties. Here is a run down of what I have been drooling over in New Orleans .

The #1 wish list category  goes to the availability of awesome muffulettas and po boys.

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A while back I visited Sahara Grill for a late night meal and I went back for lunch to see if my hazy memory of excellent shawarma was accurate or completely off. Sahara Grill serves your standard Middle Eastern food. I was tempted to get a side of baba gannouj, but I had just made an eggplant dip at home, and didn’t feel like adding another $4 to my  lunch. Luckily the shawarma sandwich was all I needed.

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Garces’ newest venture, the upscale JG Domestic (2929 Arch St), has just a announced new affordable “Blue Plate” menu. From Monday to Friday a different seasonal lunch is now available from 11:30 -3pm.

Here are a list of the specials after the jump

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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 Julia, who loves seafood and Peeps.

Name: Julia

Age: 28

Occupation: Project Associate, The Food Trust

Where in Philly do you Work?: 16th & JFK

Favorite Kind of Food: I spent 3 years living in Asia, where I developed a penchant for the regional cuisines. I often crave a slurp-worthy bowl of noodle soup (namely ramen, pho, and Chinese la mian), juicy soup dumplings, or just a really good bowl of rice (I know, it sounds odd, but so true). There’s nothing quite comparable to the taste of perfectly sliced tuna belly or fresh-from-the-sea uni or oysters. I also studied abroad in France, so get quite excited about a fresh baguette and stinky cheese.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Even just slightly mushy fruit, e.g the mealiness around the seeds in an overripe watermelon. I also snobbishly detest most processed food, particularly American cheese and bologna. The only exception: Peeps, which are totally awesome.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Su Xing House (1508 Sansom): one of the best lunch deals around: you get a soup, entree, and side dish from $6-8. My favorites are the lotus root/peanut soup, Dried Bamboo Shoot with Chinese Celery, and “As-You-Wish”
Nam son (16th and Washington): I have been known to transport pho broth and all of the fixings on my bicycle to bring back to my office. They also have delicious pre-made bun, banh mi, and other rice lunch boxes which are faster and much more portable.
Cafe Lutecia (2301 Lombard): I almost always get the soup/quiche combination ($8.00). All homemade (people swear by their tomato bisque) and incredibly delicious. University City food trucks: Magic Carpet, Mexicali, wow I really miss these.

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