Midtown Lunch

When I feast in Port Richmond, I tend to hit the same places; my beloved Syrenka and New Wave Cafe, with a stop at Krakus Market for groceries.  I forced myself to branch out and give some other, equally homey Polish stops a try. First, we checked out M & M Restaurant, a Polish diner. The older woman behind the long counter first told us they were only serving breakfast at the moment; I am pretty sure my face fell a little.  I didn’t come here for scrambled eggs. Then she quickly added, “Oh, I can make you some pierogies if you like?” The answer to that is always yes. And my smile came back.

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Though I love Wegman’s and the shore, I am not normally a Jersey advocate, especially not for a lunch excursion- no offense to anyone, I just always get lost and confused in the state of New Jersey. But, I am here to sing a different tune after my meal at Amy’s Omlette House, a sort of mega diner.  There are 3 locations, all in NJ, the one I visited is in Cherry Hill.

The fact that I was transported to Amy’s in a car with butt warming capabilities helped ease me in to the idea of Jersey dining.  And then I saw the menu; it’s many many pages long with over 200 types of omelettes plus a completely separate menu for ice cream. And our waiter was an adorable awkward college boy home for winter break. These factors helped me forget what state I was in.

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Cousin’s Grubhouse, a luncheonette in South Philly, was revamped under new ownership in March of this year, though I have no idea what the previous Cousin’s was like.   Few luncheonette style places like this are left  in the city; the kind Guy Fieri would visit on Triple D.  The menu includes all the breakfast staples you can think of, plus meat filled sandwiches, and things like hot dogs with peanut butter and bananas, chicken and waffles, and pancakes stuffed with bacon. Its a lot of comfort food to choose from.

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Bill’s is a laid back luncheonette sort of hidden on Sansom street.  They serve breakfast and lunch during the week. Expect a slew of inexpensive sandwiches and some salads. There are a few tables to sit at, but they fill up during lunch time, so take out may have to happen. Bill also makes a different soup fresh every morning. I started with that.

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Sometimes, when it is just one of those no good, very bad days, you want a lunch that fits the occasion. A.P.J. Texas Weiner Restaurant, around but not inside Reading Terminal, is a small diner serving the basics to all who enter. The fact that you don’t have to worry about anyone trying to talk to you combined with the greasy atmosphere makes it the right place to eat when you need to sit down and have a little grumpy alone time. And Hot Dog expert Hawk approves of their weiner, so I had faith it would hit the spot.

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I am not sure what possessed me to walk into the Midtown III Diner, but it may have been the hope that some older, gentle but sassy lady would call me ‘honey’. I knew that I wasn’t in for a fabulous meal and that didn’t stop me. I wanted to sit in a retro pleather booth and take a break for a while, forgetting that about the fact that I was in a busy part of a major city. Can you relate?

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