Midtown Lunch

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 Peter, a Kabletown product manager who seems to love just about every food except cilantro.

Name: Peter

Age: 30

Occupation: Product Manger for Kabletown

Where in Philly do you Work?: 17th & JFK

Favorite Kind of Food: I pay homage to my Cantonese upbringing and adhere to the rule that “any animal whose back faces the sun can be eaten” but practically speaking I tend to find myself gravitating to the “tan” food group; mac & cheese, sausages, prime rib, pineapples, burritos, doughnuts, lamb on rice, fried chicken, curry, dumplings, hash-browns, cookies, ramen, bananas, waffles, tastykakes, beer, whiskey, etc. I also have an unholy love of cold beverages with thick/bizarre textures like slurpees, water ice, shakes (shamrock shakes rule!), bubble tea, smoothies… But my desert island foods would be Wawa green tea iced-tea and wonton noodles with roast duck from Ting Wong

Least Favorite Kind of Food: My arch nemesis is cilantro – but I love Pho… I live a conflicted life like that…

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I’m a big fan of lunch trucks (I’m a firm believer of building your immune system by subjecting it to as much abuse as possible and yes I acknowledge lunch trucks do not have running water to wash those hands.) The halal cart between JFK and Market on 16th fulfills my street-meat need. You can’t go wrong with falafel from Christo’s at 20th and Market or King of Falalfel at 16th and JFK. Gyros from the carts on 15th between Market and Chestnut will hit the spot in a pinch. Chinatown is a quick walk when its sunny and I can make a lunch out of some Chinese pastries from Bread Top House or KC Pastry’s. When I can take a long lunch I have been known to make the trek down to south street to indulge in a Philly Taco or on days when I have no shame hit up Philly Flavors for a water ice lunch. I’m known for being a late luncher at work so I will actually hit up happy hours for lunch and my favorite is going to Devon Seafood Grill for their 50 cent oysters. But as someone who just got married I have to admit the lunches my wife packs for me are now my favorite (Hi Hon!)

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Ron’s Ribs is a little smoke filled spot that also happens to be Al Roker’s favorite in Philly. It is a no-frills- small menu kind of place that knows how to barbecue.  A few small tables are inside, but if the weather permits, you and your lungs are much better off sitting at the outdoor table in the fresh air. I was a little sad when I found out he was all out of pulled pork for the day, but all was forgiven when I sampled the other barbecued specialties.

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Photo Courtesy of Drew Lazor at Meal Ticket

• Fries with that Shake gives Vendr TV her take on one day of eating around Philly for $10 [Vendr TV]
• Food nerds will giggle at Meal Ticket’s round up of Philly food news April Fool’s posts [Meal Ticket]
• The taco-flower shop Savoy that Luncher Matt mentioned has reopened nearby as Mexico off the Square [Meal Ticket]
• A How-to guide for making adorable sushi Peeps [Serious Eats]

For a more traditional Passover lunch, it had to be Famous 4th Street Deli. Famous 4th’s is known for their Jewish specialties, including enormous sandwiches, smoked fish, and soup. The original location  on 4th and Bainbridge opened in the 1920’s, but a new location conveniently opened this year in Rittenhouse Square.

I walked away from here suspecting that back in the day, someone’s grandma helped out creating the solid recipes that they still use daily.

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