Midtown Lunch

Luncher Aubre needed some soup, off to Sang Kee…

During this brutal winter of bitter cold and high winds, I became a lunchtime fiend for the big noodle soup bowls at Sang Kee. A bunch of the Profiled Lunchers on this site have mentioned Sang Kee’s lunch combo deal and Nick enjoyed the Shanghai Noodles—but no one has yet mentioned their big noodle soup bowls. No one has trekked across the icy tundra of Market street at least once a week to warm their soul with a ten gallon bowl of soup,  no one, except for me… and the hundred other people who are always eating there and making wait for a table.

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This week Profiled Luncher Lauren went to check out the empanadas at Cafe Clave in University City.

There’s almost nothing I love more than a good empanada. I’ve had Cafe Cláve on my to do list ever since its mention in Daily Candy over two years ago, but I’ve tried my best to avoid empanadas in an effort to protect my waistline. After reading that the cafe’s empanadas were actually baked and not fried, I decided to give them a try.

Cafe Cláve is a cuban coffee shop on Locust street between 43rd and 44th, a great block that also boasts Koch’s Deli, a favorite spot for some of the biggest and best sandwiches in Philly. Open in 2003/2004, the spot changed hands to the Green Line Cafe, but returned to its original concept in October of 2008. I stopped by this week for lunch and was really impressed with the decorated interior and community vibe. The friendly server was chatting with many of the patrons and I heard her ask a few times if they wanted “the usual.” The crowd was a good mix of people who were hanging out for lunch and students doing work. For those looking to work on their laptops, the cafe has an outlet at every table.

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Over the last few weeks, I’ve realized that the King Kabob truck has returned to 38th & Spruce.  The cart has apparently been open for a few years, but was on hiatus last semester because of a change in ownership.  Now that King Kabob is back, I decided to give it a try with a few friends.

This week I sent our bagel hungry Profiled Luncher Lauren to check out the veggie packed lunches at Picnic, mentioned briefly by Luncher Wayles

After almost four years at Penn, I had somehow managed to miss Picnic, a casual restaurant at the edge of University City.  Finally, two friends and I braved the cold and walked the daunting eight blocks (a serious endeavor for a weekday!) for a late lunch.  Picnic offers a selection of daily specials that include soups, sandwiches, salads, and dishes from their refrigerated case.  For those who don’t have time to sit, they also offer “ready-to-go” items that can be quickly wrapped.  We decided to order one soup, one sandwich, and one salad to best cover the menu.

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Today, Nick from My Inner Fatty is seeking pho in University City.

Now that we’re deeply entrenched in the Fall season, the weather’s getting less pleasant, and the temperatures are dipping. With the depressing nature of the upcoming months, sometimes it can feel like a chore to even bother trekking out to make that daily trip for lunch… unless waiting for you at the other end of that trip was something so deliciously heartwarming and uplifting. Pho does that. When it’s absolutely frigid outside, a hot bowl of sweet beef broth can solve even your greatest of problems. Now all I had to do was find it in University City…

I had heard about Pho Cafe Saigon when I asked a few friends about Vietnamese noodles a few weeks ago. Located on 43rd and Spruce, it’s a bit out of the way, requiring a dedicated trip, but having no other immediate options, I still wanted to try it out personally. The store itself is small and nondescript, with only a simple red awning reading ‘Vietnamese Restaurant,’ hinting at its potential for greatness. Their menu is long and diverse, but let’s be honest… you’d only go here for the main attraction. They list various types of Pho (differing in the cuts of meat used) all ranging in price from $7.25-8, from the relatively innocuous plain beef, to a tripe infested ‘deluxe’ incarnation for the more adventurous eaters in many of you. With virtually no wait time to speak of and excellent prices, this could truly be considered a hidden gem of noodling excellence.

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Today, Nick from My Inner Fatty is sharing secrets of campus dining for the general public.

Campus dining?  Yes… I know, repressed memories of vegan ‘ribs’ are all flooding back. Luckily, it’s not always as bad as it sounds. Case in point… the crepe place at Penn. Hidden inside Houston Hall, located on Walnut just West of 34th, there exists a small place called “Pari La Petite Creperie.” It’s a magical corner shop that serves up a dizzying variety of thin crepes, stuffed with your choice of savory or decadent,expected toppings like Nutella and chocolate. It’s a place that most students here know well and hold dear to their hearts. The guy at the counter is about as friendly as they come, the prices are reasonable ($5-7), and the crepes are made fresh and fast. Despite the fact that they’re awesome at what they do, most people don’t know about this place. It’s about time that someone corrected this grave injustice. Penn students should share their secret with the public. It is open to everyone after all.

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Today, Nick from My Inner Fatty is getting his hands on more Japanese food with the Bento Box Truck.

As good as the Chinese food trucks in University City are… the wait times are sometimes just plain absurd. When I saw a crowd of roughly 30 people waiting next to Kim’s Oriental, I weighed my options. I could stand outside, cold and hungry, or I could try give one of the lesser known options a try. Maybe, just maybe I’d come across a food truck jewel in an otherwise homogeneous sea of grandfather chicken and lo mein.

Finding good Japanese food is a tall task. There’s so much that can go wrong in Japanese cuisine that a thick coating of oil just can’t make up for. Thoughts of soggy katsu crust, teriyaki overpowered by soy sauce, and gummy feeling tempura are all things that plague my culinary nightmares. Sushi? Don’t even get me started on how bad sushi can be, if not done properly. Now, think about getting Japanese food from the back of a food truck. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen right? Wrong. Continuing on my tour de force of food trucks in University City, I present to you the Bento Box Japanese Food truck (located between 37th and 38th on Walnut), which is actually a pretty decent option if you do have a craving for cuisine from the land of the rising sun.

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