Midtown Lunch

Varga Bar has a great beer selection and is a good spot in the summer to sit outside and have brunch. They also serve lunch, including an “Express Menu” with a choice of soup and sandwich for $9. It comes with the claim that it is served within 30 minutes to get you back to work/class quickly while still allowing you the experience of a civilized mid-day meal. The ambiance it kitschy but enjoyable; they are all about the Varga pin-up girls over here, and I can’t complain about the sexy ladies painted on the ceilings or pictured on the walls.

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As is customary on 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 Ashley, a cheese loving sales assistant looking for any new lunch suggestions.

Name: Ashley

Age: 27

Occupation: Brokerage Sales Assistant

Where in Philly do you Work?: Center City East

Favorite Kind of Food: I love everything but am partial to food with tons of flavor, particularly Thai (just discovered Pho Xe Lua Viet Thai @ Race and Vine), Chinese (Terryin @ E Snyder and 4th St has amazing Orange Chicken), Vietnamese (Vietnam @ 11th and Vine), and Indian (Palace at the Ben @ Chestnut and 9th, Ekta). I love pasta, it’s a comfort food I make all the time, especially fettuccini carbonara (Pietro’s Pizzeria makes the best!). I’m also a huge cheese addict and find myself buying as much manchego cheese that I can afford at Downtown Cheese Shop in Reading Terminal. My boyfriend and I recently discovered Quince Fine Foods. They make a cured pork loin and manchego sandwich on fresh baguette with a fig jam to order! I wish I worked in the Northern Liberties/Fishtown area. Lots of wonderful places to eat around there. Oh, and raw avocados with a little salt and pepper. I just bought a handful from Iovine’s. They were on sale for $1!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: This would have been a much easier question to ask if I was younger, for I was such a picky eater growing up. Nowadays, I’ll try anything. I’ve become such a foodie. But if I had to name a least favorite, I guess I would say raw celery? Something about it still makes my stomach turn. Perhaps it’s the texture. I’m not sure.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: The burrito specials at Santa Fe Burrito are great. Freshly made and affordable ($5, including drink). Falafel and Feta wrap from Sahara Grill (on 13th and Walnut). Amazingly fresh and flavorful falafel with yummy hummus and feta. Homemade soup from Grocery. Chicken and Potato Curry from Pho Xe Lua Viet Thai. The lunch specials at McGillin’s (on Drury St, near 13th) are great. Last time I lunched there, I had a stuffed chicken breast with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was like eating something my mom would make. Inexpensive as well. And the Volcano roll at VIC (on 20th and Sanson). Simply amazing!

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This weekend,  the little Shanghai spot near the Chinatown bus stop updated their menu.  Dim Sum Garden is maybe most known for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings) but I have found them not soupy enough for me. Their handmade noodles, on the other hand,  are outstanding. You have a choice between noodles in soup or “dry”, and while I am a soup chick, the dry saucy noodles are where its at.

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• Bored at work?  Play the “feed the fatty” game! [New Food Games]
• Going to the Wingbowl this year?? Snookie from the Jersey Shore will be there. [The Insider]
• Morimoto has a new lunch menu out with price ranging starting at $12 for the salmon soba [Foobooz]
• Beck’s Cafe in Reading Terminal is having a Fat Tuesday celebration Feb 16th [Phoodie]

Ugh, Jose is soo hot right now! Aren’t we all buzzing about the opening of Jose Garces’ new spot at 1111 Locust St? I know I am.  I can’t help it, gotta support Philly’s Iron Chef.  The Garces Trading Company will sell things that are dangerously tempting, including wine, cheese, and baked goods and if thats not enough, there will also be a cafe.

What can us lunchers expect? During the week, it will be open from 7am to 10pm, with lunch served daily starting at 11. According to their management, the cafe will offer sandwiches, salads, pizza, pasta, cheese, charcuterie, pastries, bread and coffee. I am keeping my fingers crossed for some under $10 lunches for us!

In a Meal Ticket interview, Garces said he was expecting to open November 15th. Now they say they are opening February 8^th… what do you think from these photos? Will they be up and running by then?

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I went down another set of stairs this week for lunch, this time, for Moroccan sandwiches. Argan makes both vegetarian and meat sandwiches, as well as salads, and for some reason they also have a whole coffee menu.

Argan offers choices of meats, veggies, and spreads that can be combined in their lovely version of  pita bread. Picking from the meat choices is harder than picking your favorite Victoria Secret model, good thing there are only 7 options here.

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As is now 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 Matt, a consultant who knows his deli sandwiches and is taking me to this Savoy deli place sometime soon, though he doesn’t know that yet…

Name: Matt

Age: 27

Occupation: Management Consultant / Resident foodie

Where in Philly do you Work?: 18th and Market…and wherever else in the world they send me (right now exploring Midtown East in NY — which is MUCH better for lunch than White Marsh, MD)

Favorite Kind of Food: Tough question. Nothing beats old school Russian Jewish food to me (kishke, kreplach, chopped liver, etc.) but that’s because I grew up on it. I also will always go for Japanese and Korean food as it’s pretty healthy and clean without sacrificing on taste. I love me a good arepa, although I haven’t checked out Sazon yet.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Grapefruit. I don’t know what it is but I can’t do it.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly:In terms of generic sandwiches, the Reuben at Old Nelson Deli is surprisingly fantastic — they just get the balances down pat; the Brian at Coventry Deli (2000 Market St @ 20th)  is another favorite (garlicky greens, pears, turkey, muenster on sourdough), and if I’m up for a walk, the turkey schwartzie at Primo’s is also solid. Gia Pronto makes a mean Chicken Parm, and Marco is a great guy — I’ve known him since he first opened the store at Penn.

Outside of that, I’m a huge fan of the falafel at Mama’s Vegetarian, the beef chow fun at Yue Kee Mobile Kitchen (if you’re there, it’s a good excuse to get some Stumptown coffee from Hub Bub next “door”), Magic Meatballs (with cheese and hot sauce) from Magic Carpet (I swear, you’ll forget it’s tofu), and the chicken torta at Tacos Don Memo. (3800 Sansom St. @38th St.)  The Jerk Chicken at Gigi and BigR’s is pretty great too. If I’m really aggressive and can get to the terminal market, I’m getting me a plate of Sang Kee duck, rice, and greens and maybe having a peking duck roll on the side. Keeping under $10, I can live off two rolls and a miso soup from Vic Sushi (2035 Sansom St.  btw 20th and 21st) any day of the week. I live in Rittenhouse so on Saturdays sometimes I’ll grab tamales from Savoy Flowers, just don’t be put off by the randomness of the deli. (262 S 18th St. @ Manning St.)

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