Midtown Lunch

Yesterday was the 5th annual Taste of Philly event. While I felt the pour sizes were much less than previous years, it was still a good time. I liked that restaurants from all over the city were featured. I was reminded of some places that I really need to get over and try. Here is a run down of what I ate, including pictures from the restaurants that are due for a visit immediately.

The potato and paneer kofta lollipop and and the mango lassi from Tashan were probably my favorite items of the night. Their 3 course $15 lunch may be worth the extra dollars.

My beef empanda from Gavin’s was cold, but the flavor was good enough to warrant a journey to Fitler Square. As were the alfajores they brought.

Circles was brave enough to put out a super spicy papaya salad and a delicious pumpkin tofu curry. I really need to  dive into their $10 lunch menu.

Speaking of curry, I love the curry at Minar Palace, but the biryani that they had last night wasn’t their best. And there were some others I could have done without. I was embarrassed that I waited on one long line only to find Ted Montana Grill’s bland meat and questionable crab cake.  I was disappointed to find that that Victoria’s Kitchen had some boring vegetable rice.

And there were some dishes that showed promise but were not quite perfect; Ms. Tootsie’s super flavorful fried chicken outshined the fresh made, but bland waffle. World Cafe Live provided a ragu of short ribs over wide noodles, but the sauce wasn’t quite strong enough. Pasta and pancetta from LaScala’s, in contrast, had good flavor in the sauce, but could have benefited from some visable pancetta pieces. The rich, sweetness of Laxmi’s Indian Grille chicken tikka was great, but some spicy was badly missing.

On to the good: I am glad I snagged one of Mangiano’s chocolate truffle balls, they were amazing, and ran out quickly. JNA Culinary Institute had some super fresh beets on toasts. Another good snack on toast was the cranberry chutney and brie from Meal Makers.  La Viet had a steady line due its choice of grilled meat options.  West Tavern, which I had never heard of, surprised me with some decent burgers and mini bloody Mary’s. And it was the punch at Farmer’s Cabinet that was the best cocktail of the evening.

I walked out with a packet of spices from West Tavern, a toy from Dave and Busters, and several 5 hour energy shots to keep me up while I write this recap….

See you next year!