Midtown Lunch

At the end of February, Philly’s South Street saw the arrival of Texas BBQ chain Dicky’s.  When I walked in the staff was really friendly and attentive to all customers, some real southern hospitality to set the mood. The small space clearly has a fast food vibe to it,  so it was hard to be super optimistic about what sort of bbq they were packaging up for our to-go order. On the other hand, Dickey’s has its Texas roots and some smokers in the back.  There are 9 types of meat on Dicky’s menu. We sampled 4 and found a clear winner.

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• Cheesesteak pizza? Yes, cheesesteak pizza [Foobooz]
• Penn Appetit try all the tacos at El Rey. Verdict is they are all awesome [Penn Appetit]
• Zagat asks around to get the most authentic Korean dishes in the city [Zagat]
• and next week, a Korean inspired menu will be offered at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to go along with  Korean art exhibit. Menu items include pulled pork kimchi jjiage [Philly.com]
• Sweetgreen Center City opened this week at 9th and Walnut [Eater]

Kids have it so good these days. Back in my day, we had 2 dining options as college freshmen, the dining hall and a pretty lame cafe. But as of last month, Penn students can dine at a fast food concept by James Beard Award winner Rick Bayless. Tortas Fronteras is a Mexican fast food chain that tries to keep things as fresh as possible given the chainyness. Once you find the place on campus (its the Arch building, make a left once inside), all you have to do is switch out your suit for some skinny jeans and a brightly colored top so you too can dine like a college student. Just kidding, its open to the public, but going undercover is fun anyway.  While waiting for your food try to hit on the students and see if you “still got it”

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Last week, Szechuan Dim Sum Restaurant opened at 9th and Arch,  taking over the Happy Restaurant space. Another newcomer attempts to make it in Chinatown. So new, that take out menus aren’t available yet. Don’t expect an Americanized menu over here, this crew is not afraid to dump a pile of peppers on you.

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• Blackbird Pizzeria and Cantina Dos Segundos are the places to be for vegan cheesesteaks [Philly.com]
• For something meatier, a Zagat slideshow of sausage sandwiches around town [Zagat]
• For something cheesier, Eater suggests 5 calzones worth the calories [Eater]
• Save this Zagat post with links to the Spring food truck schedules at LOVE Park, The Porch, and the Navy Yard [Zagat]
• Tickets are on sale for Flavor of the Avenue with a long list of participating E. Passyunk restaurants [Aversa PR]

Now that the horrible weather is finally breaking, snacking at a stand is sounding like a better idea. Porky’s Point in North Philly is a Puerto Rican take out restaurant with a lot of pork and cheap, fried snacks.

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Bored of food from the European and American continents? Travel west on Woodland Ave, really really west. It doesn’t take as long as you think. When you get to the 60s you will start to see a few African restaurants. You can do as we did, picking African Small Pot, a small restaurant specializing in West African food.

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