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 is time to introduce Nicholas from My Inner Fatty, who has recently been writing for us on ML Philly.

Name: Nicholas

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

Where in Philly do you Work?: Stuck at Penn for the next year or so, in the glorious area of University City, disjointed from all the fun that is Center City.

Favorite Kind of Food: My genes obligate me to say Chinese food. I love all of it, from the spicy Szechuan dishes to the temperate delicacies of Taiwan. If I could spend the entirety of my life trapped in a night market, continuously intoxicated by the smell of stinky tofu, I would do it in a heartbeat. That said, I have a soft spot for all American types of meals. Hotdogs, hoagies, cheesesteaks, pizza, and burgers… they’re all essential to my happiness and wellbeing. If you give me a cheeseburger cooked perfectly to medium rare, a handful of shoestring fries, and a cream soda… I’d be the happiest kid in the world for the 10 minutes it’d take me to eat it all.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Healthy ones? Honestly this isn’t too good a question for me, since I’ll eat pretty much anything that has a shred of hope with regards to tasting good. If I had to pick though, it’d be shellfish, but only because I’m mildly allergic, not because I don’t like the taste.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I’m a cart kind of guy, partially because I’m cheap/broke, but partially because there’s something alluring about getting food from the back of a truck that intrigues me to no end. Amongst my favorites in University city would be Tacos Don Memo for their incredible burritos and tortas, KOJA, not only because they have an awesome Friday dinner deal, but because they make a phenomenal bulgogi cheesesteak, Yue Kee for noodles coated in oil of any sort, Hemo’s and Steak Queen for cheesesteaks, Bui’s for breakfast sandwiches, and Gigi and Big R’s Caribbean for when I need to hit that soul food craving. As far as actual establishments, I’m a big fan of Reading Market Terminal, it’s like a giant playground full of food and amazement.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? Kim’s Oriental for cheap Chinese. Yes it’s another food truck. Listen, when you’ve been doing problem sets for blocks of 10 hours at a time, sometimes you don’t really want to go that far to get food, and you just want something that’s so unhealthy and so guilt inducing that you stop feeling bad about school/work. Kim’s does that. Longer than the other trucks too, since they’re there till 9 pm.

Place you discovered thanks to Philly Lunch (if any) Coup de Taco. They make a mean coconut Thai chicken taco… and their Southern BBQ ain’t bad either…

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Obvious answer is obvious… Taipei, Taiwan. Let me hit you with this fact, they sell obanyaki (those little cream filled Japanese pancake buns) for 30 cents a piece… and beef noodle soup for $3 a bowl. Needless to say, it’s my dream food home. [Ed. note: Lucky guy has been to Taiwan many times and what he eats there looks amazing]

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Philly Lunch readers? Since I’m new to contributing to the site,  is there any place you’d like to steer me towards, either to review or just because it’s awesome?

Thanks Nick! Your pictures and insight are making a great contribution to the lunch team!

If you would like to be next week’s Profiled Philly Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d like to nominate), email me at jamie@midtownlunch.com