Midtown Lunch

• How do you feel about a hot dog bar? I feel great about it [The Insider]
• The folks behind Spice End are replacing Marabella Meatball Co (RIP) [Eater]
• Vietnamese lunch service will be part of Schulson’s Double Knot concept [The Insider]
• A list of 9 taco spots in South Philly. Which is your favorite? [Uwishunu]

As you probably know, Stargazy is the latest East Passyunk darling. Sort of like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill (not Hugh Grant in the prostitute scandal), people seem not to be able to help but love that Britishness wrapped in an adorable, unassuming package.  Read more »

Hi All! There’s going to be a slight change to the Midtown Lunch Philly format because I have less free time these days and I want to have fun with this site without it being a chore. I also want to focus more on hosting food tours. In fact, a friend created a short documentary about how and why I got in to food writing and food tours. Old Timer Midtown Lunch readers probably were already familiar with the story, but here it is, along with clips of me shoving food in my face:

Following Food Dreams

Back to the site updates: expect one regular lunch review a week, a round up of pictures and brief descriptions of the best things I ate during the rest of the week (not necessarily lunch), plus lunch related links on Fridays (as always). Cool?

This week I checked out A La Mousse, the new dessert spot by the Sakura Mandarin folks, next door to Sakura Mandarin. This place is adorable.  I loved the smore cup and the “Harvest” and I will defintely be back for the green tea-r-amisu and sizzling ice cream.

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• If its after 11am on a Monday, does it count as brunch or lunch? American Sardine Bar has started a  Monday brunch [Foobooz]
• South Philly is getting mission style burritos this weekend (this is the spot with the avocado fries) [The Insider]
• Lovely photos of the recently opened SpOt Burger facility [Ted Nghiem]
• I have always overlooked Ting Wong, but Sheehan’s review will change that [Foobooz]

I am always on the hunt for new Russian and Eastern European restaurants in Northeast Philly. Though you might not guess it from the name, Suzani Art Cafe serves Uzbeki food. Inside,  it is quite cozy with ample pillows provided in the booths. You can chew meat off the bone while snuggling and drinking whatever booze pairing you decided to bring. What is better than that?

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• SpOt Burgers has picked Brewerytown for its brick and mortar location [Eater]
• I got what I wished for, a poutinerie is coming to Phily [Foobooz]
• A former 4-seasons Chef is opening a new restaurant in Mt. Airy [The Insider]

Thanks for being patient with me in 2016. I plan to continue to tantalize you with suggestions on where to spend your hard earned dollars around the city!

I wanted to look back at 2015, to see which meals were the most tantalizing according to you (or the folks who follow me on instagram)! It’s always good to have a refresher.  As expected, my top 9 photos of 2015 were mostly food related:

Branzino at A. Bar

Beef Stew at Viet Huong

H Mart Jjigae

Khachapuri

Pork Belly Banh Mi

Duck Poutine

My favorite food memory out of this group may have been the khachapuri, just because I was so excited to try Georgian food. Which is your favorite?