Midtown Lunch

Photo via Cuban Food USA 

Tierra Colombiana, the less frou-frou and more distant sister to the Gayhorhood’s Mixto, serves Colombian, Ecuatorian, and Cuban food in North Philly.  It also doubles at a night club. But there was no way I was dancing after all the food I put away.  There are a lot of big plates on the menu, but my group focused on the appetizers so we had more to sample.

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I remember watching the sign go up for Hippot this fall, not particularly excited for another Shabu Shabu place in Chinatown. But the sub $9 lunch special advertised outside the restaurant was too good to not at least try once.

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My Cambodian dining experiences around Philadelphia have been largely positive, save for some corn starchy frog legs. When I read about I Heart Cambodia’s opening and later, saw the menu on their Instagram account, I immediately yearned for another Khmer adventure. Luckily, a friend with a car and identical taste for Asian food was able to take me.

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Did you miss me? I just spend the past few days in San Antonio, visiting a friend and eating bbq and kolaches, but I am back to share this new place that is bringing us Dominican food without the visit North Philly.  Parada Maimon opened a few months ago in the Callowhill area (right above Chinatown)- serving Dominican food in a festive setting. All of the unexpected wood reminded me of Uncle’s Backyard last weekend. And according to my Dominican friend, the paintings on the wall are exactly what you would find at a home in the D.R (something about a child picking at her feet in a field).

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A pre New Year round up of my favorites bites is a fun excuse to look back on each year of dining. It is also incentive to get down and hold the plank position until the ball drops.  Here are my 2014 eating highlights:

During my first overseas trip of the  year, I ate my way through Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai!

Soon after, I started giving Chinatown Food Tours! (if you still owe someone a belated Holiday gift, its not a bad idea!)

I wrote a few fun articles for Zagat, including one on shopping at “ethnic” markets.

On an outing to Graffiti Pier in Port Richmond, I put together a Polish picnic that you can replicate.

For my birthday, we celebrated with beer and a Puerto Rican Pork feast.

I coordinated a food truck festival for 15,000 people in Mt. Airy.

On a solo vacation in Mexico City, I ate a ton of street meat.

I was really proud of my Federal Donuts costume this Halloween.

Way more, after the jump…

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At the end of November, a Latin American/Caribbean casual dining restaurant opened on South Street. Latin Flavor serves Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican food. This news peaked my taste bud’s interests because most Caribbean restaurants we have to work with in Philly are either fancy or super far from Center City.  I wondered if this spot could stand up to the amazing Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican food I have tried up in North Philly: Isla Nena, El Principe, El Lechonera Principe, Cibao, El Rey de Fritura, Shining Star, Porky’s Point, and Freddy and Tony’s. Looking back at those reviews, I can only grimace with pride about how much fatty pork I have already consumed in my lifetime. Time for more. Because we all know that the “Latin Flavor” is often fatty, delicious pork.

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Last week, I snuck away and took a solo expedition to Mexico City. Besides seeing the sites and drinking mezcal, my main goal was sampling the street food.

This first picture was taken before I bit in to my very first Mexican taco. It was made in Mercado de la Merced, a gigantic semi-covered market with everything from clothes, vegetables, and Halloween costumes, to live animals, and lots of food stalls. The taco man, probably seeing my excitement, asked to take a picture with me, so I too captured the happy, anticipatory pre taco moment on my camera.  Pictures of that taco, and much much more after the jump…

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