Midtown Lunch

Listen, if you work in Manayunk, live in Manayunk, or plan on passing through it- you MUST get a sandwich at Angelo and Josephine’s. I have done my fair share of eating in the Yunk, and I think I will go so far as saying their sandwiches are the best food in town.

The small gourmet Italian spot is so unassuming; I can understand why many locals don’t even know about it. Inside is a deli counter, racks of imported Italian food products, fridges with pasta and tomato sauce, various baked desserts (plus they fill cannolis to order!), and one little table to eat at. So have a seat, if one is available, and wait for your sandwich to be prepared, or call ahead if you are in a hurry- they like to take their time over here, to lovingly cut each slice of whatever goodness you order.

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Photo Courtesy of Uwishunu

• Uwishunu enjoys the new lunch menu at Rum Bar, the ropa vieja with yucca fries looks awesome [Uwishunu]
• Slice checks out the pies at Zavino [Slice]
• Meal Ticket posted Tweed’s recently launched lunch menu, a few of the half-portion pasta dishes fall under $10 [Meal Ticket]
• Adventure eater Andrew Zimmern stopped by Philly, I hope he was impressed with our bizarre foods [Grubstreet]
• A rundown of the Philly cupcake truck scene [Meal Ticket]

I remember visiting Philly several years ago and grabbing some pad thai from the appropriately named Pad Thai Shack while in a rush and being satisfied.  Pad Thai is such a safe choice, it is kind of hard to mess up, even if not authentic, it still probably tastes good as long as you like peanuts. Recently, I wanted to try something else from the Shack. Again, I found myself in a rush, actually even more of a rush, and I didn’t have time to wait for my noodles to be prepared so a grabbed something pre-prepared from the fridge.

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High above the other awnings, the Four Rivers sign proudly looks down upon Race St, signaling its greatness to all those who look up. Four Rivers is legitimate Szechuan food. For dinner, I have enjoyed their extensive menu of soups, various pork preparations (do yourself a favor and order the house sweet ham),  seafood (including the beautiful things they do with squid), and so much more, ranging from mild to fiery. But I hadn’t yet visited for lunch.  The menu is a lot smaller during lunch and a lot of the fun stuff isn’t on there, but there are enough to please most lunchers. The pork in black bean sauce and double sauteed pork sounded good to me, but I have been thinking about the lack of super spicy lunches, and decided to test the fires of the Four Rivers mapo tofu (called ma bao on their menu)- spicy Szechuan tofu.

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As is customary at Philly Lunch, every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Philadelphia. This week it’s Andy, a lawyer who loves the bbq but isn’t afraid to grub around in Chinatown.

Name: Andy

Age: 31

Occupation: Attorney

Where in Philly do you Work?: Washington Square West

Favorite Kind of Food:I’m loving the barbecue renaissance in Philadelphia. Sweet Lucy’s (7500 State Road), Bebe’s (1017 South 9th Street) & Percy St. (600 South 9th Street) all satisfy my BBQ jones.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I had a roommate who made kimchi in our apartment and the smell is still baked into my mind in a bad way.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Chili at the Coventry Deli (2000 Market Street), Platter from the truck at 22nd and Market, Falafel sandwich at Mama’s (18 South 20th Street), 500 Degrees bacon burger with spicy fries (124 S. 15th St.), Gustaio sandwich from Paesano’s (901 Christian Street), Bebe’s pulled pork sandwich, Breakfast Bomb from Honey’s(800 North 4th Street)…I’m a big proponent of breakfast for lunch

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I love that Philly has several excellent options for Turkish food (See S&H Kebab Houseand Hamifgash). I have another to add to my list now.  Cafe Fulya is small and very casual with groovy furniture, large open windows, and a few tables and a couch inside and a table out in front. Being a cafe, a lot of the menu items are baked goods and cold appetizers. They also serve breakfast all day, including a traditional Turkish breakfast with too many components to list. I am not really an eating breakfast for lunch kind of girl, so I filled up on the other stuff.

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Photo Courtesy of ABC News

• Is that crazy Frog Burger too much? [Philadining]
• Huitlacoche quesadillas and stacked enchiladas at Los Gallos [Philadelphia Weekly via Foobooz]
• Ah! I can’t even decide if this is brilliant or totally gross: a billboard that pumps out a grilled steak smell  [Slashfood]
• Albap from H-mart is a great summer lunch [Foodzings]