Midtown Lunch

• Eat a Pita opens this weekend, with a menu reminiscent of Argan (RIP), and 1/2 off prices [The Insider]
• Praise for the tacos al pastor at Las Bugambillas [Philly Food Lover]
• Foobooz has a fun list of Philly’s crepe like foods [Foobooz]
• The Field House is changing up the menu with food that might actually be worth ordering from the former Opa chef [Meal Ticket]
• A sweet and savory pie shop is opening on 16th and South [The Insider]

Green Eggs Cafe has 3 Philly locations. The menu has a zested up version of lunch and brunch with fun things like red velvet pancakes.  I tried 2 sandwiches from the savory menu and found some big pluses and big minuses. I also had to indulge in their crazy muffins…

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Today Luncher Alex is at a fusion food truck for lunch.

By now, any food-obsessed Philadelphian probably knows that the Drexel campus is a hotbed for top-notch truck food. There’s killer falafel, juicy steak sandwiches, thin-crust artisan pizza, and a whole lot more. One of the most exciting entries in the scene is Cucina Zapata, which offers a departure from the now common combination of Korean and Mexican (set off by Los Angeles’ trailblazing Kogi truck), with Thai-Mexican fusion. Happily, the results are delicious.

The truck itself, covered in colorful graffiti with Zapata’s name, might remind you of Tyson Bee’s, the similarly graffiti-ed outlet on the nearby Penn campus, whose menu has more of a pan-Asian bent. But your buck goes farther in quantity and quality at Zapata, where plates from a small menu of curries and tacos are filling and cost no more than $6. It parks on the food truck-filled alley that is Ludlow Street between 31st and 32nd. We entered through a pedestrian plaza on 32nd between Chestnut and Market – just look for the opening between the two academic buildings and walk all the way down – this guy is the easternmost truck.
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As we try to do 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 Emma, a chocolate pudding addict.

Name: Emma

Age: 30

Occupation: Neuroscientist

Where in Philly do you Work?: UPenn Medical School

Favorite Kind of Food: Pho (or any noodle soup)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Most Chinese food

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Combo Manakeesh from Manakeesh (4420 Walnut St) followed by a piece of baklavah or pastor tacos from Tacos Don Memo (38th and Chestnut)

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I had always noticed this sign for Indian food on the Dasani Mart corner store, but assumed it just meant frozen items and basically ignored it. When I saw Deb, who owns the store with her husband PJ, with a small table of fresh Indian food right outside the store I realized how wrong I had been.  Deb makes an array of fresh Indian food, from chicken tikka, to samosas, and even chaat. Previously, prepared food was available cold for customers to heat up at home. The hot food stand outside is a fabulous new addition.

I was gonna go with a samosa, but instead picked up a clever creation made by Deb, stuffed puri.

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• Bonte is giving away free waffles right NOW [Foobooz]
• Two Eat Philly has a really successful meal of pulled pork and rock shrimp sandwiches at The Cambridge [Two Eat Philly]
• Uwishunu has a run down of all the cool local pizza places [Uwishunu]
• Bliss,  a Middle Eastern ice cream shop is open [Meal Ticket]

The Wishing Well is a cute pub sitting on the corner of 9th and Catherine. The inviting outdoor seating reeled me in.  Its a good things the menu isn’t too long because there is also the whole draft list to choose from. Read more »