Midtown Lunch

Ippolito’s is a casual seafood spot in South Philly. They will clean and cut freshies for you to take home and prepare, and they offer a menu of food, like fish sandwiches and sushi. Since the rain has finally stopped, take your lunch to Columbus Square park one block north and eat at one of the benches.

The “Overboard” sandwich ($9) comes with a nice, oversized piece of flakey fried flounder, cole slaw, and fries. This sandwich gets extremely messy but its worth it, just grab extra napkins.  The fries got a little soggy but the fried fish held up.

Ippolito’s has a list of fun homemade sauces, don’t forget to ask for some.

I also tried “Aunt Connie’s Famous Jumbo Lump Crab Cake.” Like the sandwich, it fell apart easily, but that barely detracted from my enjoyment of the the generous chunks of real crab.

A side of vinegar based apple and pear slaw was a nice touch of acid to pair up with all the fried seafood.

I like Ippolito’s menu of both classic and more fun seafood dishes. They even do a lobster topped cheesesteak; I don’t know how to feel about that. But there is a lot on the menu that I do want to come back for: crab and avocado salad, tuna sashimi taco, lobster mac and cheese, shrimp po boy… It might take a few trips.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Fresh seafood
• They fry fish nicely

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• All the stuff you want the most is over $10
• Not many seats

Ippolito’s Seafood, 1300 Dickinson St, 215 389 8906