Midtown Lunch

I recently snuck away from the sweaty Philly streets to the equally sweaty streets of Israel. In between taking in the amazing ancient sites, I did some eating. And there were more than a few lunches that Philly should take note of.

1. Street Food

First off, the street food scene is as real as it gets. At the base of the Druze town of Daliat Harmel is a market for locals with clothing, random household appliances, dvds, and lots of olives. Sharing the tarped outdoor space  is a group of friendly women making fresh laffa bread stuffed with different vegetables.

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Sansom Kebob House has been on my list of places to dine for a while now. The sun was unforgiving and I needed somewhere to sit down and escape. Too hot for outdoor seating, there was no reason not to head down to Sansom Street’s subterranean Afghani restaurant. Maybe Afghani food is not the first thing that comes to mind to refresh you on a hot day, but my yogurt topped appetizer was just the right start.

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This week Profiled Luncher Lauren is dining on Lebanese flatbreads called Manakeesh.

After hearing great things about Manakeesh, some friends and I used one of Philly’s few sunny days to walk to the Lebanese eatery. The space is located at 45th & Walnut and its beautiful interior, with exposed brick and artwork, really sets it apart from the rest of the neighborhood. It was my first time having Lebanese food and the staff was happy to help us make our selections. They explained that the restaurant’s namesake refers to folded Lebanese flatbreads with a crispy, doughy crust. Though there are often long lines on the weekends, we went on a Monday and were able to enjoy a leisurely lunch with great service.

For five people, our entire order was only $32 and we got to try a little of everything.

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Does the newish Mediterranean spot in the Liberty Place Food Court make anyone else immediately think of teen movie star Zac Efron? Unfortunately Zaffron offers less singing. Fortunately, it also offers less hair.

You can order from Zaffron’s signature menu of wraps, salads, or over rice “entrees” or you can choose your own and take advantage of the add ins bar. You can pick one of the main ingredients, including chicken, beef, falafel, and  shawarma, to be a part of your meal.  Mary had reported enjoying the falafel and the add ins bar. I came back since you all asked for pictures, and to try the shawarma

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Photo courtesy of Drawing for Food

• Thrillist spreads the word about this guy who does deliveries of home made soups [Thrillist]
• And more local homemade info: you can get fresh tofu at Viet Tofu [Mac&Cheese]
• Hummus alert: Falafel Bar has opened at 1513 Chestnut and Zaffron Hummus Bar is coming to Liberty Place at the end of the month [Foobooz]
• The New York Times admits that Philly has some great restaurants, including Supper and Barbuzzo [NY Times]
• The soondubu looks hot and spicy at Koreana [Drawing for Food]

A while back I visited Sahara Grill for a late night meal and I went back for lunch to see if my hazy memory of excellent shawarma was accurate or completely off. Sahara Grill serves your standard Middle Eastern food. I was tempted to get a side of baba gannouj, but I had just made an eggplant dip at home, and didn’t feel like adding another $4 to my  lunch. Luckily the shawarma sandwich was all I needed.

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I was in the mood for shwarma, so I stopped by Kamal’s in Reading Terminal. The menu is exactly what you would expect: falafel, shwarma, dips, etc. with options in platter or sandwich form. How could you mess up shwarma, right?

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