Midtown Lunch

I live closer to Washington Ave than to Chinatown, which is how I justified the fact that I had never been to Q.T. for banh mi; I can get great banh mi close to my house but not so much with the decent Chinese food, so when I am in Chinatown,  banh mi is not the priority. But with so many people swearing Q.T.’s banh mi reign supreme, it was getting to the point where I felt my Philly Vietnamese food street cred was in jeopardy, and I had to try for mi-self.

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I tend to frequent the Asian grocers in the Vietnamese shopping plazas located along Washington Ave. Today, I noticed a new addition to the plaza on 16th and Washington. Nam Son, an awesome Viet restaurant for noodles and soups, opened a separate bakery last week.

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I’ll admit, I am not extremely well versed in Philly’s authentic banh mi scene. Something about the trendiness of liking it a few years ago made me shy away. Philly has a plethora of Viet bakeries and restaurants serving banh mi for me to familiarize myself with. I started with Ba Le on 6th and Washington.  Read more »

Down on Washington Ave, Pho Ta replaced Pho Hoa. Similar name, similar menu. But would the pho be any better?

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Saigon Cuisine is the new Vietnamese spot in University City. Inside, though the decor is pretty sparse (let’s get some art up in there!), it is spacious and very clean.  Also worth noting, the service was friendly and the food was brought out fast. The menu has a whole range of meaty, veggy, and noodley options. I stuck with the basics to feel out the place since it was my first visit.

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Recently, Ratchada replaced Cafe de Laos on 11th and Washington. New owners,  but thankfully still serving Laotian food, which is scarce in this city. The already attractive interior has been spruced up a bit more. Ratchada offers a classier experience that might appeal to those seeking something other than the cafeteria like experience a la Pho Ha and others.

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A year ago, the ladies behind the Simply Yummy truck at Temple University stuck to the traditional campus staples- hamburgers, cheesesteaks, fries, etc. Then they started offering  occasional Asian inspired specials that quickly became popular. That menu expanded from an occasional wonton soup, to an official section of the menu including  grilled lemongrass chicken and pork either over rice or in banh mi.

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