Midtown Lunch

I like to keep my finger on the pupusa  pulse of this town. Earlier this month, Philly Voice wrote a piece on the beauty that is the elusive (in Philly) pupusa, along with a round up of where to find them. The included 4 places on my list: Tamalex, Cafe Canela, Pura Vida,  El Cuscatleco, plus a Jersey spot, a North Philly food truck, and one newb that immediately caught my eye- Los Caballos Locos which opened in August. The small shop in south east Philly sells Ecuadorian and El Salvadorian food.  They also do delivery within a 10 mile radius!
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Photo via James Jennings for Passyunk Post

Over the winter, Cafe Canela opened in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood.  Appearing as another Mexican take out spot at first glance, a careful read of the menu suggested a Guatemalan chef in that kitchen.

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If you are a lucky duck (like me), then you have a friend with a place in Atlantic City. Free beach time is kind of the best. I recently spent some much needed post-Bar recovery time there. It is a little tricky to find really good and affordable eats in the area. I am not willing to drop my Benjamin’s at a P.F. Changs, not gonna happen. But tucked away in the corners, are some spots for a meal I can get behind- like the Caribbean/South American food from Mango Tropical.

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As I mentioned last week, I am in exploration mode, focusing on Northeast Philly with a different post ever Wednesday for the next few weeks. This week, it is a crazy little Latin American food shack where I may have had the best roast pork in Philly.

Finding “El Fogon, El Rey de los Pinchos” was a matter of driving around maybe not the nicest of neighborhoods (across the street was a functional elliptical machine facing the street next to a trailer home) and yelling “STOP! That place looks like it could be awesome.” I wanted those pinchos.

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When Drew Lazor reported that  a South Philly grocery store was serving Nicaraguan food I was immediately excited, having spent some time there 2 years ago. How I forgot that it existed for so many months is very upsetting, shame on me.  But somehow it popped in to my head and I found myself heading to the back of El Gallo Pinto to place my order.

After facing blank stares when trying to order vigaron, a typical Nicaraguan dish, I found out that the original Nicaraguan owner sold the business a few month ago to people who are from Mexico. So now the menu has been narrowed, with less popular Nicaraguan dishes being ousted and Mexican food added. This barely posed a problem and I was able to order a ridiculous amount of Mexican and Nicaraguan food.

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