Midtown Lunch

• Tofu salad and dumplings are “the best” at Sky Cafe [Foodzings]
• Crispy beef is dusted in cumin at Sakura Mandarin [Philly Phoodie]
• Nick does not love the Squareburger, but the shakes are a must [Serious Eats]
• Nice pictures of the decor and some healthy sandwiches at recently opened Pure Fare [Living on the Vedge]
• A rundown of Reading Terminal favorites [34th St]

Yue Kee is a popular Chinese food truck in University City. The menu is super long, and the line of people made me want to chose quickly. General Tso’s Chicken? No. How about Grandfather’s chicken.

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Last week, we profiled Anthony, a manager at Perch Pub. Perch Pub opened in January, taking over the Upstares at Varalli space on the 2nd floor over Broad and Locust, which I think was a brilliant call. I never would have thought to go in there before, it seemed stuffy, but now it’s a pub with an awesome beer list and some great snacks to go with it. And it’s in a great location, whether you are playing pool or darts in the back or sitting by the window secretly watching people on Broad St.  Finally, they just started lunch hour service.

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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 Lauren, who has great tastes in food except I can’t relate to her disdain for olives.

Name: Lauren

Age: 30

Occupation: Government Affairs

Where in Philly do you Work?: City Hall area

Favorite Kind of Food: Mexican food, Vietnamese, sushi, Thai food. Pretty much anything spicy or which can serve as a guacamole delivery vehicle. I thoroughly enjoy a great burger. I’ve also been known to put truffle oil on anything.
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Salmon. Or olives. Salmon with olives could possibly be my worst nightmare. I don’t know if that would taste good together even if you did like both those things. Which I don’t. I also don’t get capers, beets, those baby corn things or hominy.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I LOVE QT’s Bahn Mi sandwich (48 N. 10th) with extra jalapeno. Reading Terminal (12th and Filbert) has a lot of great dishes. I’m a huge fan of Salumeria’s chicken cutlet sandwich, the cheese steak stuffed pretzel from Miller’s Twist (think Auntie Anne’s not Philly style pretzel); the Chicken Caesar sandwich with roasted peppers or the goat cheese and carmelized onion pizza from By George. Now that the weather is nice, Honest Tom’s Tacos (truck) and Jose Garces Trading Company (1111 Locust Street) will both make it back into the rotation. If you are near Washington Ave. – big props to Nam Phoung (11th and Washington), which makes an awesome #170, as well as a surprisingly amazing spicy shrimp pad thai. Also, Taqueria Veracruzana (908 Washington) is still unparalleled for both its tastiness and budget friendliness. Their guac isn’t the greatest, but their tacos are awesome.

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This week Profiled Luncher Lauren is dining on Lebanese flatbreads called Manakeesh.

After hearing great things about Manakeesh, some friends and I used one of Philly’s few sunny days to walk to the Lebanese eatery. The space is located at 45th & Walnut and its beautiful interior, with exposed brick and artwork, really sets it apart from the rest of the neighborhood. It was my first time having Lebanese food and the staff was happy to help us make our selections. They explained that the restaurant’s namesake refers to folded Lebanese flatbreads with a crispy, doughy crust. Though there are often long lines on the weekends, we went on a Monday and were able to enjoy a leisurely lunch with great service.

For five people, our entire order was only $32 and we got to try a little of everything.

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• El Jarocho’s sausage taco is a favorite [22nd and Philly]
• And in the suburbs, the fish tacos from the Whole Foods Taco truck “rule” [Foodzings]
• Pure Foods is debuting with super healthy under $10 sandwiches and salads [Meal Ticket]
• Please encourage Meme’s Chef to offer Moroccan tacos for lunch [Grub Street]