Midtown Lunch

When Little Spoon first opened at 15th and South, I was impressed by the brunch, especially the pork belly and biscuit. I almost made myself sick by devouring the plate like it was a competition.  I was also feeling the Zooey Deschanel level of adorability inside- patterned wallpaper, little plants everywhere,  and (obviously) mason jars for everyone.

Knowing that Little Spoon can cook up some killer pork belly, I returned for lunch, to get some on a sandwich.

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One of my favorite rules to break is sneaking food in to movies.  On my way to a movie down on Columbus Blvd, I had a sandwich craving. This led me to Fat Joe’s, a South Philly take out spot that has been around for only a few years. The menu is packed with sandwiches and awesome sounding, greasy appetizers (i.e.  battered eggplant fries topped with rabe, peppers, sharp and mild provolone)

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Luncher John is at the Bellevue Food Court this week for sandwiches

While not widely known even among Center City workers and residents, The Bellevue, located at Broad Street and Walnut Street, sports a quality food court known as the Eatery. With only three chains among its eleven establishments, the Bellevue Eatery features plenty of local flavors and eateries. One long-standing spot is Ellen’s Bagels, Hoagies & More, which has had a presence at the Bellevue for almost ten years. And just as the name implies, Ellen’s serves up breakfast, sandwiches, and a lot more.

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While QT has been around the longest and is the most loved in Chinatown for banh mi breaks, today I wanted to try the newer spot, Banh Mi Cali, on the corner of 9th and Arch. The only problem was that as soon as my food was put together and placed in a plastic to-go bag, I realized I had forgotten my wallet on my bed (last night I made a midnight Amazon purchase based on a stroke of genius Halloween costume idea). Since money in exchange for food is the norm, I was in trouble. But the very nice lady at Banh Mi Cali allowed me to take my food anyway! Thank you for feeding me, nice lady!

Here is what I guiltily consumed this afternoon:

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I was told I was too early  and the food wasn’t ready at  the new Vietnamese place in that weird food court that exists in the basement of the Bellevue.  In my sulk, I went in a completely different direction for my (early) lunch time hunger, Italian from Soprano’s. I hadn’t really noticed Soprano’s before, it very well could be newer to the basement space, who knows what goes on down there.

The sandwich list cheered me up a bit- an Italian hoagie, mozz and prosciutto, meatballs, roast pork, and all that comforting Italian jazz that works in between bread.

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Last week, I snuck away and took a solo expedition to Mexico City. Besides seeing the sites and drinking mezcal, my main goal was sampling the street food.

This first picture was taken before I bit in to my very first Mexican taco. It was made in Mercado de la Merced, a gigantic semi-covered market with everything from clothes, vegetables, and Halloween costumes, to live animals, and lots of food stalls. The taco man, probably seeing my excitement, asked to take a picture with me, so I too captured the happy, anticipatory pre taco moment on my camera.  Pictures of that taco, and much much more after the jump…

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A while back my friend Zoe from Row Home Eats shared with us  the serious roast beef situation down over at Nick’s Old Original. When I was looking to give an out of town friend a real South Philly experience, Nick’s popped in to my head and I was excited to have a reason to finally get over there. While Zoe got take out, I sat down in the room beyond the bar for the full experience, equipped with middle age waitresses with South Philly accents who were able to pay attention both to us and the game on tv.

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