Midtown Lunch

I recently had the privilege of attending a preview of the Flavors of the Avenue event, an East Passyunk Day of eating that is going down on April 30th.  The event features local restaurants offering samples of their food under a big tent with live music. General Admission Tickets are $30, but if you purchase before the 25th, they will take off $5. So for $25 you can eat from local restaurants and drink wine and beer from 1 to 5pm, can you think of a better way to spend your Saturday? (VIP tickets are $50 or $45 if purchased before the 25th and include a VIP happy hour from 12-1 and specialty cocktails and first tastes)

I tried so much delicious food, I can honestly say this is an event worth going to. You will not need dinner that night.

Look ahead for some pictures of what you can expect and a chance to win a free ticket!

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Today, we are getting a report on Malaysian lunching from profiled luncher Stephanie.

Penang was the first restaurant I dined at when I moved to in Philadelphia back in 2006. My mom and I somehow found ourselves at Market East Station on a bad recommendation. It was raining, we were hungry, and Penang boasted the most attractive facade in Chinatown. Over the years, Penang has become my default place for hearty Malaysian soup noodles and flavor-inspired meals when I’m in the mood for non-Chinese food in Chinatown. And conveniently enough for me, Penang also offers one of my favorite lunches in town for under $10.

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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 Anthony, a manager at Perch Pub in Center City.

Name: Anthony

Age: 25

Occupation: Pub Manager of Perch Pub

Where in Philly do you Work?: Broad and Locust (1345 Locust St)

Favorite Kind of Food: Homemade gnocchi. Hands down. Growing up in an Italian family this was like a delicacy. My grandmom has been making them for years and I have still not found anyone who can do it better. Call it a bias opinion but no one else comes close. Maybe it’s all the love she puts into each fluffy pillow or it could be the gravy…not sauce, GRAVY, that she spends all day making.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Beets and cranberry sauce. Not only the taste but the texture as well. They just don’t do anything for me I guess. I also never understand why they call it cranberry sauce?? Doesn’t seem like much of a sauce to me and why would you want to ruin a perfectly cooked turkey with that stuff? Seems like it should be illegal to mistreat a delicious bird like that!

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Geno’s steaks (1219 south 9th street) for a wiz wit, cheese fries and a cherry pepsi. Giorgio on Pine (1328 pine street) for a grilled chicken pannini with mozzarella and pesto. Zama (128 south 19th street) for a steak bento box and a shrimp tempura roll. Cantina Los Caballitos (1651 east passyunk avenue) for a chorizo burrito and a patron margarita on the rocks with salt.

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Tonight is the first night of Passover, so a sandwich on hearty bread was in order before sundown. I recalled Hawk’s report about this awesome sounding cranberry chicken salad sandwich as Jay’s Deli. Jay’s looks like any other deli, but the sandwich counter has some great things going on. I figured this would be the perfect, simple, last bready meal of the week.

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• Perch Pub on Broad and Locust is now serving lunch, I advise checking out their melts [Meal Ticket]
• Delilah’s wins best mac and cheese of Reading Terminal Market [34th St]
• I might have to all the way to 45th St to try this Pakistani fried chicken [Inquirer via Foobooz]
• A Sandwich a Day tries the fried chicken po boy from Khyber Pass Pub [Serious Eats]

Does the newish Mediterranean spot in the Liberty Place Food Court make anyone else immediately think of teen movie star Zac Efron? Unfortunately Zaffron offers less singing. Fortunately, it also offers less hair.

You can order from Zaffron’s signature menu of wraps, salads, or over rice “entrees” or you can choose your own and take advantage of the add ins bar. You can pick one of the main ingredients, including chicken, beef, falafel, and  shawarma, to be a part of your meal.  Mary had reported enjoying the falafel and the add ins bar. I came back since you all asked for pictures, and to try the shawarma

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Speaking of French things, with all this on and off rain, I was in the mood for a comforting crock of French onion soup. Caribou Cafe looked pretty cute, and onion soup is the very first menu item. While I wouldn’t be able to avail myself of the outdoor seating in this rain, the interior works for a serene escape with music and typical French alcohol posters.  We took a window seat and were served bread and butter immediately.

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