Midtown Lunch

I was truly giving up hope. Every time I had ramen in the city I was totally let down. When Nom Nom Ramen had its soft opening in March, I didn’t run over as soon as possible like I did with Ramen Boy. I was scared of being disappointed yet again. After getting sufficient reports from trusted friends that it was not crap ramen, I made my visit. I hoped to find love in a hopeless place.

The menu is all ramen, save for a single pork bun appetizer. Inside there are plenty of tables but no waiter service, which I have no problem with; order at the counter and wait for your name to be called.

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I wanted to do a little pork taste testing in the North of Kensington area, comparing El Principe, a Dominican restaurant I enjoyed a while back, to Isla Nena, a Puerto Rican spot the next block over. Isla Nena’s slogan “sabor Boricua pa’que tu lo sepas” let us know to expect authentic Puerto Rican food. Two steam tables are on your right when you enter, but there are tables in the back for waiter service. On the menu you will find fried side dishes and meat and seafood entrees.

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No profile volunteers for today (email me slackers! the people want to know what you eat. jamie@midtownlunch.com), so I will instead share my awesome pork experience from when I snuck away to Puerto Plata last week.

On my way from the airport I asked my taxi driver the most important question, “Donde podemos comer lechon asado? Where can we eat roast pork?” He responded, “En todos partes! Everywhere!” That is my kind of country.

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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’s Amy, who gets to plan chili competitions and is looking for the best pork in town.

Name: Amy – Amaryllis (people know me as both)

Age: 29

Occupation: Development and EventPlanner for BigBite’s Philly Chili Bowl

Where in Philly do you Work?: 36th and Market

Favorite Kind of Food: My preferences are pretty diverse, but to be specific…I am in love with pork. That’s the love of my life. However, I have a few side mistresses: cheese,charcuterie, raw fish (oysters, ceviche) and plantains…prepared in any way,shape or form.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Cucumbers. Ginger. Liver.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Sang Kee (several locations) shrimp steamed dumplings. I prefer to hop on the El and get my dumplings from the Reading Terminal Market location. They also have a great sesame chicken. New Delhi (40th and Chestnut). Thanks to my father, I can get down with buffets. They have a great $9 buffet with the Indian staples like tikka masala and mutter paneer. You also cannot go wrong with the mango ice cream. Outside of my work area, I enjoy Mixto (12th and Pine). Almost everything on the menu is very good, but the ropa vieja is great!! Pura Vida’s (6th and Fairmount) shredded beef tacos are awesome and so are the people. Morning Glory (8th and Fitzwater) does everyting well. Great cheddar chicken sandwich. For a weekend lunch, I recommend heading north and trying Tierra Colombiana (5th and Wyoming). They, in my opinion, have the best bistec encebollado (steak and onions) in the city.
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Yes, that is an empty bag you are looking at.  As the weather gets colder, we sometimes have to rely on the power of delivery and that can be a total crapshoot. I heard that Sushi Planet had ramen on the menu. I placed my order and waited. An hour later my delivery arrived, except the ramen was missing. I was pretty hungry at this point, luckily at least half my order was inside.

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Last week I posted my recommendations for the best value lunches during Restaurant Week. So when a group of my friends decided to go, I consulted the list. As I tweeted on Friday, we went with Barbuzzo, and it was so successful I had to give a full report. Now some people worry about the value of doing the RW menu as opposed to the regular menu, but I calculated it, and what I ordered for $20 would have set me back $27 normally, so its like getting the dessert for free. I think that makes it a good deal, no? Well that and the quality of each of the 3 courses.

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I never thought much of Georgio on Pine when I passed by, it just looked generic, but after reading a glowing review from South Philly Review, I looked at the menu. I noticed they did in fact offer  lunch as well as a gluten friendly menu. I knew I had to bring my recently diagnosed gluten intolerant friend. I liked that I could still get my gluten filled lunch, while she could finally get some decent pasta.

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