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 Melissa, who isn’t  afraid of ordering off the kids menu.

Name: Melissa

Age: 24

Occupation: Receptionist at a real estate company, and blogger at Yum Marks the Spot

Where in Philly do you Work?: Rittenhouse Square

Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi, pasta, oysters, cereal, Vietnamese, breakfast sandwiches, and all dairy products. (I’m looking at you, cheese and ice cream!)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Raw chickpeas, bleh. And Dr. Pepper.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I’m completely obsessed with the falafel at Mama’s Vegetarian (18 S 20th St). I’ll fight anyone that doesn’t think it’s the best falafel in the city. I also love Vic’s (2035 Sansom St). Their three roll special is unbeatable in taste and freshness for reasonably priced sushi. Thai Singha House to Go is also great (106 S 20th St). You can get two different dishes from their freshly-filled steam tables for $6. Can’t forget my old standby, LeBus (129 S 18th St). ALL of their sandwiches are awesome, as well as their vegetarian chili and cucumber dill soup. And if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll stop at Yogorino (233 S 20th St), and get a lil treat before I head back to work.
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Update 10/12/11: Ralph’s has just made some changes to the dinner and lunch menu so some of the things I ate are no longer “Midtown Lunch” budget friendly. They have, however, added sandwiches like chicken parm and homemade roast pork that are under $10.

With new food trucks and restaurants opening constantly, its easy to forget about the staples that have been around forever. At Ralph’s Italian Restaurant, started by Italian immigrants, keeping Philadelphia fed with good Italian cooking has been the goal for 100 years. Now, a long history alone is not going to win me over, i.e. Snocky’s. But the lunchtime crowd gave me a feeling there was more than just a beautiful story of the American Dream at play.

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• New Harmony is no longer the only joint with popping smoothies now that Tea Talk has come to town [Philly Foodie]
• 22nd and Philly did some impressive work eating at the Chinatown Night Market and live blogging their impressions [22nd and Philly]
• Brown Sugar Bakery serves smoothies to cure your every ailment, like Menopause or ADD [Foobooz]
• I NEED to go to a  Texas state fair at some point in my life [Serious Eats]

Are you going to the 4th Food Trust Night Market in Chinatown tonight?? From 7-11 in the heart of Chinatown you can buy snacks, drinks, or produce from the following local (or suburban) places:

Avenida, Cantina, Capogiro, Chewys (new truck alert), Chinatown Cafe, Cosmic Catering, Crepewalk, Cuba Libre, Dapper Dog, Foo Truck (new truck alert), Geechee Girl, Gigi and Big R, Guapos Tacos, Hardena, Hong Kong Bakery, Hubub Coffee, Jimmies Cupcake, Local 215/ Strada Pasta, Los Taquitos de Puebla, Made in the Shade, Mamma Maria, Maru, Nomad Pizza, Not by Bread Alone, Pitruco Pizza, Queens Farm, QT Vietnamese Sandwich, Renaissance Sausage, Royal Tavern, Salvatore’s Groceria, Say Cheese (new truck alert), Sweetbox, Mini Trini (new truck alert), Veggie Lovers, Vernalicious (new truck alert), Yards, Yummy Yummy, and Zsa’s ice cream.

Is Chinatown ready for all of this? Are you ready?

I will be there towards the end of it helping and cleaning up, so don’t make too much of a mess for me to clean and say hi if you see me!

Jose’s Mexican Food is a  Mexican taco joint that is a perfect example of “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” with its bleak, dirty brick facade and a sign on either side to indicate you are in the right place. As we crossed the street, I had to swear to my timid friend that she was going to love it. Inside the small restaurant are a few tables to sit at and a busy grill top area behind the counter where some of the magic goes on. Jose’s seems to be big on take out, but either way you are better off calling in your order ahead of time. And even if you don’t call, it is still worth the wait.

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Since I didn’t solve my seafood cravings at Snocky’s, I sought out some seafood over rice at Tampopo, a small Japanese restaurant on 21st Street. Bibimbap and donburi bowls take up most of the menu, which is great for gluten free  dining, or you can try a bento box or their udon and soba noodles.  There was one dish in particular that I knew I had to have.

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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 Alethia from Philly Homegrown, who likes to dine on local pork.

Name: Alethia

Age: 33

Occupation: Director of Philly Homegrown

Where in Philly do you Work?: Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation

Favorite Kind of Food: anything with pork – and preferably local, sustainably raised heritage breed pork (even more specific – from Wyebrook Farms near Downingtown, PA)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything with broccoli in it

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Pumpkin Market, Wedge and Fig and Fried Chicken Thursdays at Meme.
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