Midtown Lunch

As I mentioned yesterday, I am currently breadless for Passover, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. Before the holiday, I made a few trip to Philly’s most beloved breakfast and lunch shack- John’s Roast Pork. I mean, dang, the place has been around since 1930, has won a James Beard award, and has almost 400 mostly 5- star Yelp reviews. You probably know the drill: you need a car to get down there [Edit. Luncher Angela pointed out “#79 bus stops right out front, and the #7 and #25 both stop a block or two away”, still not an easy walk from Center City], it’s take out only with some outdoor seating that gets tented in the colder months, and they shut down at 3pm or whenever they run out.  The sandwiches are huge, so unfortunately, you need to pick one at a time. But which to pick?

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Ippolito’s is a casual seafood spot in South Philly. They will clean and cut freshies for you to take home and prepare, and they offer a menu of food, like fish sandwiches and sushi. Since the rain has finally stopped, take your lunch to Columbus Square park one block north and eat at one of the benches.

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I am a big pig and have eaten hundreds of exciting lunches this past year. I am both grossed out and proud of myself when looking back at all the damage. I wrangled up my favorites of 2013 to share.

January started the year off strong, with peirogi’s from Donna’s smokey bar, Caribbean platters from Little Delicious, tom yom beef jerky from Ratchada, and the gooey mac and cheese brisket sandwich from MeltKraft.

In February, the Uzbeki meal from Samarkand was pretty legendary.

Taco truck, Taco El Rodeo was a pleasant surprise in April.

Pennsylvania 6 did the fancy business lunch right for me in May. Less fancy, but still satisfying: Poi Dog cart’s fried chicken and Campo’s monster of a meat sandwich called “The Stockyard”. Plus, this month brought the opening of Sizzling Woks (called Xi’an Famous Foods then), which meant slippery, spicy liang pi noodles in my mouth.

In June, I was obsessing over the lamb tacos at Border Springs Farm.

The meatball sandwich at Corner Foodery and the beef sandwich at Pura Vida were stand outs. Slightly more upscale, I loved the grilled pastrami and mac and cheese at Twisted Tail.

The meaty torta from American Sardine Bar and meaty burrito bowl from Animo  provided tasty protein in August.

September is beautiful in Philly. Perfect for a picnic provided by Talula’s Daily. I was also overjoyed to find pupusas at Tamalex. I also ate a large amount of pork from Freddy and Tony’s.

The sandwiches at El Soto and cheesy tacos from Quetzally satiated Mexican cravings for October. I was also in love with the bread from High Street and much of the Cambodian snacks at Kavei Express.

Rounding out the year; in the past 2 months I was impressed by the dim sum at Wokano, the Godfather sandwich from Cosmis, and the soup dumplings from I-Green.

I think its time for a salad. Please keep your fingers crossed that I fit in to my New Year’s Eve dress tonight. So- What were your favorite lunches this year?

Sometimes I get major Italian hoagie cravings that take over my mind. This can happen at any time of day. The problem around Philly is that our hoagie shops are so amazing that they often run out of bread and close. And then I turn in to the Hulk. Nobody wants that. Such was the case, when a late lunch craving hit. I was out of luck at Ricci’s and Chickie’s. Luckily, for me and anyone in the path of my death stare, I discovered Cosmi’s was not far by and open until 9pm.

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El Gallo Pinto and its Nicaraguan delicacies had been on my mind. It was over 2 years ago that I visited the spot on 7th and Federal and learned the scoop, a Mexican grocery store with Mexican and Nicaraguan food served out the back. It seems that soon after my visit, ownership changed and instead of Nicaraguan and Mexican food, they now do Honduran and Mexican food and call themselves Tamalex. The signage outside still reflects the old name. As Honduras and Nicaragua are neighbors, and the layout looked unchanged, I was optimistic I would still enjoy the impending meal.

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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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I was in the mood for soup and the soups at New Phnom Penh were recommended by friends. I have had some great Cambodian meals in Philly so it seemed promising.

Inside, the small restaurant has a whole garden of plants lining the window and on our visit, There’s Something About Mary played on the television.

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