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 is Dan,  local “yenta“, as we say,  for the Daily News.

Name: Dan Gross

Age: 32

Occupation: Philadelphia Daily News columnist

Where in Philly do you Work?: Broad & Callowhill

Favorite Kind of Food: Tough choice, maybe Chinese.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bleu cheese. It should be outlawed.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: For a late lunch, the Kobe sliders/hot dogs at Sampan’s Happy Hour (124 S. 13th) are excellent and as disgustingly, and shamefully decadent as it is, so is the Cheesesteak Pretzel Burger at PYT in the Piazza at Schmidts. I also like the vegetarian ham dish and corn and tofu soup at Charles Plaza (10th & Vine) None of these are particularly regular spots for me, but they’re all good.

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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 Thad, who runs Philly Phoodie and may be our first anti-Pho profiled luncher.

Name: Thadeus

Age: 28

Occupation: 3rd year Law Student / Law Clerk

Where in Philly do you Work?: Market East

Favorite Kind of Food: Sandwiches (of any kind).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Pho. That’s right, I said it. I have tried and tried again to like it, but I feel the hype is just that – hype! I am never craving a big bowl of broth.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: Where to start?

Han Dynasty (108 Chestnut St.) – The Dan Dan Noodles are absolutely
addictive. The Dry Fry Style pork belly is just ridiculous. Crispy, fatty, and
meltingly tender. Just be ready for the heat.

Jake’s Sandwich Board (122S. 12th St.) – Try everything. Seriously, I can’t even say what is the best. I have never had anything there I didn’t love. You can’t go wrong with the roast pork or the “Jake.”

Nan Zhou (927 Race St.) – The hand drawn noodles are on another level. I go for the noodles in pork soy sauce or noodles in peanut sauce. The noodles are certainly the star here, and those dishes are both under $4.

Falafel Nazi Food Cart (20th and Market) – Some days Christo’s there, some days he isn’t. You will most likely be lectured about how little you appreciate the effort he puts into his food. He only has chicken and falafel, sandwiches or platters. Just get one of the choices with both chicken and falafel and you will be on (a garlic-y) cloud nine. Seriously, it’s completely amazing, but you will smell like garlic for 2-3 days. Oh, and the prices change depending on his mood. $6- 10. Again, I am being serious.

I also have to give props to John’s Roast Pork for the cheesesteaks and roast pork (14 Snyder Ave), Shank’s Pier 40 for the chicken cutlets (try the marinara sauce) and cheesesteaks (Del Ave and Christian), Nick’s Roast Beef for the
roast beef sandwich and gravy fries (20th and Jackson) and Gooie Looie’s for an Italian hoagie that comes with three sandwiches’ worth of meat for $6 (Pennsport Mall). Also, P & S Ravioli for gourmet sandwiches like the spicy Italian and spicy Godfather (1722 Oregon), and D’ Alessandro’s for another high-end hoagie joint. These places keep the people of South Philly eating well.

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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 Meredith, aka The Blue Jean Chef.

Name: Meredith

Age: 41

Occupation: Self-employed television presenter on QVC – Blue Jean Chef

Where in Philly do you Work?: Queen Village

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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 Swabreen, a graphic designer working in Center City, just don’t serve her anything bland.

Name: Swabreen

Age: 26

Occupation: Graphic Designer

Where in Philly do you Work?: Center City

Favorite Kind of Food: Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Filipino, anything really flavorful and spicy.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Unseasoned food

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I really like getting lunch at Grocery (13th & Samson), the Little Lolita buffet (rice, beans, pork, chicken, tortillas, veggies) that they have is my go-to; you can get a good portion for about $8, which I think is a great deal. Grocery also has really tasty soups which are perfect for these chilly days. I also really like the burger and milkshake combo at 500 Degrees (15th & Samson) which is about $13. Sang Kee’s roast duck, veggies and rice from Reading Terminal Market is always an awesome deal ($7). Another affordable option is actually the Barnes & Noble Cafe over at Rittenhouse Sq. They have really great soups, pretzels and sandwiches there. The Atlantic salmon sandwich from Le Bus (18th & Walnut) is another fav, along with a delicious cookie. If I’m working from home I like to grab something quick from Whole Foods’ (9th & South) hot buffet bar or a slice of their pizza.

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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 Brendan, a multimedia lab manager who isn’t fooled by fancy packaging.

Name: Brendan

Age: 28

Occupation: Multimedia Lab Manager

Where in Philly do you Work?: University City

Favorite Kind of Food: Italian food, simple; homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Lately I’ve been appreciating Philadelphia cuisine, like the roast pork sandwich. Sometimes I’m in the mood for really bland things, like steamed broccoli, chicken and white rice. I love roasting a chicken and making chicken stock, making soup, simple comfort food I guess. Mexican food, pizza, Japanese, Ethiopian, I’m sorry if I’m leaving anyone out, I like lots of food. French! I also love sweets, chocolate cake is my favorite dessert.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Food that’s so spicy you can’t even taste it because your mouth is on fire. Expensive food that puts on fancy clothes and walks around like it owns the place, but tastes like something you could get out of a box at the supermarket.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: In University City my favorites are Pod, Distrito, and Tacos Don Memo. Pod and Distrito both have really good lunch specials. At Pod I like the macadamia chicken from the express menu and the maki combination. Distrito’s hamachi tacos and the tortilla soup are both winners. Don Memo’s carnitas tacos and tortas invade my dreams and sometimes wake me up in a cold sweat. They are that good. Occasionally I’ll venture down to Center City for lunch. The bibimbap at Tampopo is one of favorite dishes for lunch if I decide to take the trolley down.

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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 Rachel- this lucky lady gets to play with chocolate all day. And she knows all about the Bellevue Food Court.

Name: Rachel

Age: 27

Occupation: Owner of Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland (Philadelphia)

Where in Philly do you Work?: The Bellevue in Center City

Favorite Kind of Food: Chocolate. As far as cuisines go, it’s very hard to say, I can eat anything at any time. Sushi is up there because of how tasty, filling, and light it is. I love when sushi chefs come up with combinations that I’d never dream up and being able to make every bite as spicy as I want is awesome. I’m also a big fan of Indian food.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Again, hard to say. I guess the cuisine I suggest the least (but still eat semi frequently) would be Mexican. I can always go for guacamole or fish tacos, but that’s about it, I have to be in the mood for Mexican to really enjoy it. I stay far away from cilantro, anise, and foie gras.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I eat at Ellen’s in The Bellevue Food Court a lot and get the chicken ellen sandwich. Anastasia’s Seafood (new location in The Bellevue food court) has the best shrimp cocktail around. And I also like Maoz (1115 Walnut St) – their falafel and eggplant are good on the salads and the salad toppings are awesome! For a sitdown lunch, Caribou Cafe (1126 Walnut St) is my favorite spot, can’t go wrong with any dish.

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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 is time to introduce Nicholas from My Inner Fatty, who has recently been writing for us on ML Philly.

Name: Nicholas

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

Where in Philly do you Work?: Stuck at Penn for the next year or so, in the glorious area of University City, disjointed from all the fun that is Center City.

Favorite Kind of Food: My genes obligate me to say Chinese food. I love all of it, from the spicy Szechuan dishes to the temperate delicacies of Taiwan. If I could spend the entirety of my life trapped in a night market, continuously intoxicated by the smell of stinky tofu, I would do it in a heartbeat. That said, I have a soft spot for all American types of meals. Hotdogs, hoagies, cheesesteaks, pizza, and burgers… they’re all essential to my happiness and wellbeing. If you give me a cheeseburger cooked perfectly to medium rare, a handful of shoestring fries, and a cream soda… I’d be the happiest kid in the world for the 10 minutes it’d take me to eat it all.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Healthy ones? Honestly this isn’t too good a question for me, since I’ll eat pretty much anything that has a shred of hope with regards to tasting good. If I had to pick though, it’d be shellfish, but only because I’m mildly allergic, not because I don’t like the taste.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: I’m a cart kind of guy, partially because I’m cheap/broke, but partially because there’s something alluring about getting food from the back of a truck that intrigues me to no end. Amongst my favorites in University city would be Tacos Don Memo for their incredible burritos and tortas, KOJA, not only because they have an awesome Friday dinner deal, but because they make a phenomenal bulgogi cheesesteak, Yue Kee for noodles coated in oil of any sort, Hemo’s and Steak Queen for cheesesteaks, Bui’s for breakfast sandwiches, and Gigi and Big R’s Caribbean for when I need to hit that soul food craving. As far as actual establishments, I’m a big fan of Reading Market Terminal, it’s like a giant playground full of food and amazement.

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