Midtown Lunch

Thanks for answering the question in our ticket give away contest for the Taste of Philly event at the Crystal Tea Room this Wednesday evening.  I am impressed at how gross you can all be. A winner has been picked at random and has already been notified. So if you didn’t get an email from me, buy your ticket here. It is a seriously good time, and the ticket price is really reasonable (think of how much dinner and a 3 hours of drinking costs), you should not miss out! And if you see me, say hi and let me know if there is any food in my teeth.

Fuel is a restaurant with 2 locations in Philly and a  slogan that should have been my first warning sign; “everything under 500 calories.” The big glass doors show tables that are full, so I thought, maybe they are making the most out of those 500 calories. I tried to keep an open mind, but by the end of the meal, I was missing my extra calories.

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• Consider joining our lunch posse today for Midtown Lunch Philly’s 1st Official Lunch meet up
• New at work time waster alert, Have you checked out Mikey’s notacheesesteak tumblr yet??
• The burger 15 at Ladder, is almost too moist to be  a burger, but still good [Foodings]
• The Inquirer captures the fried chicken frenzy [Philly.com]

Next Wednesday, November 2nd from 6-9 in the Crystal Tea Room is the 5th Annual Taste of Philly event, sponsored by Philadelphia Weekly. I have attended the past 2 years and both times it was a great night. I guarantee that if you choose to, you will leave drunk and quite full. Check out the  recap of last year’s to find out what you can expect. Tickets are $35 (or $30 if you use the code “taste” at check out) but some hungry reader will win a pair! Yay!

All you have to do is post a comment about how much food you think you can put away at Taste of Philly (winner will still be chosen at random). If you also mention in your comment that you “like” Midtown Lunch Philly on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, your chances are doubled.

Winner will be notified by email by Monday at 5pm.

I hope to impress you with the fact that I ate practically half the menu of Uzbekistan, a restaurant located in the area I believe is considered the far northeast.  Yes, it is out of the way for Center City folk, but there is no CC equivalent and it’s a bit quicker than a flight to Eastern Europe. Check out where Uzbekistan is located on a map. Its geography is reflected in the cuisine, especially the influence of multiple ethnicities. The common theme on an Uzbek menu is hearty food.  Sometimes a girl has gotta feast, and this is the place to it.

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When Cake and the Beanstalk opened last March, replacing the 2nd location of cupcake shop Flying Monkey, I had a good feeling about it. The neighborhood needed a place to get it’s morning started, and cupcakes are usually not what you want for that. The owner, Dan, is the sweetest guy and a serious baker.

The small coffee shop was updated with local art and funky furniture. You can sit in the sunroom that looks over the community garden. And when it is nice out you can sit outside on the tiny patio. The shop is normally filled with people working on their laptops while enjoying a coffee, but there is almost always a seat available. It didn’t take long after they opened for me to find my favorite thing on the menu.

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