Midtown Lunch

They Valley Shepherd Creamery, a Jersey based cheese farm, opened in the back of Reading Terminal last week. Besides offering their own cheeses, other people’s cheeses, and a sweet pickle bar, they make grilled cheese sandwiches. The good folks are happy to give you cheese samples to help you pick your poison. As the braided mozzarella is made fresh all day every day, I suggest at least trying a cube of that.

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Mexico on the Square opened 2 months ago from the same crew who ran the now closed Savoy flower shop/taqueria (which I first heard about from Luncher Matt). While they now serve sandwiches, cheesesteaks, burgers and the like- I somehow managed to look away and focus on the Mexican fare. I was psyched when I found out the sopes (thick Mexican tortillas piled with toppings) are made to order.

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I had to check out Slice in Rittenhouse next; comments from both Pizza Week 1 and Week 2 mentioned Slice as a top Philly pizza destination. The original location on 10th and Federal is a bit out of the way, but the newer spot is conveniently located at 17th and Sansom. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the smell- mmmm olive oil and garlic. Very promising.

Disclosure: For some reason, there is always free pizza in law school. Free food is so hard to say no to. Consequently, I am getting sick of pizza. And for that reason, I couldn’t bring myself to order another plain slice over at Slice in Rittenhouse. Not when there was a goat cheese, bacon, caramelized onion slice staring right at me.

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For a more traditional Passover lunch, it had to be Famous 4th Street Deli. Famous 4th’s is known for their Jewish specialties, including enormous sandwiches, smoked fish, and soup. The original location  on 4th and Bainbridge opened in the 1920′s, but a new location conveniently opened this year in Rittenhouse Square.

I walked away from here suspecting that back in the day, someone’s grandma helped out creating the solid recipes that they still use daily.

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Le Bus is a small take-out place right by Rittenhouse Square with high quality pre-made soup, salads, and sandwiches to quickly grab for a lovely picnic in the Square, if you are lucky, or to hurry back to the office/classroom, if you are not so lucky. Le Bus is known for their baked goods; they sell a variety of loaves, rolls, and desserts to take home. The rotating sandwich selections run about $6, while the soup of the day is $4.

Daily specials are announced on a board outside;  the combination of nicer weather and a promise of gazpacho lured me in.

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