Midtown Lunch

Triumph Brewing Company wooed me at a tasting event with there “Something Else” beer, a beer with so many ingredients you would think they were making soup: pickled and grilled lemons, cardamon, sea salt, thyme, black pepper, mustard seed, bay leaf, brown sugar. An amazing beer that I needed to have again, so I headed to Old City for another pint along with some lunch to go with it.

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Today, Luncher Molly is going veg at Philly’s newest hot spot for meatless meals.

I’d been hearing about the new HipCityVeg for quite some time; owner Nicole Marquis was the manager at the former Horizons, which I loved, and her new fast-casual restaurant at 18th and Sansom is just a few blocks from my studio. I spent quite a few years on the vegan train, and although I’ve been back in ovo-lacto-pesce land since 2006, I appreciate a healthy, plant-based option.

I had an afternoon meeting in Center City and needed a small meal to fuel my creativity, so I headed to HipCity. I found the interior to be light and the décor spare, which I dig – it’s all part of their sustainability mission, which includes salvaged building materials, compostable packaging, local sourcing, and bike delivery. The menu is equally simple, consisting of eight sandwiches, five salads and a few sides. I’ve been mourning for years the demise of North Carolina’s Crazie Mae’s, which had the best vegan fried chicken sandwich ever, so I went for the Crispy HipCity Ranch.

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Tomorrow (Wed, June 20th), Jake’s Sandwich Board is teaming with LevelUp to launch their new tech based loyalty program. If you use the LevelUp app to pay (I love this app) you can get your lunch for free! (Up to $10, which means you can get any one of their sandwiches).

For further reading, LevelUp wrote an article to celebrate the launch of 500th business partnership in Philly.

And- if you don’t have LeveUp yet, why not use my promo code and give me your referral cashmonies! Its 45712.

(UPDATE: The LevelUp partnership worked out so well that this deal is being extended today and Friday, enjoy!)

This week,  Luncher John tries 3 sandwiches from Lil Dan’s truck. Lil Dan is one of the competitors in tonight’s food truck cheesesteak battle at Yards Brewery in conjunction with the John T Edge cookbook event!

Compared to other food trucks, Lil Dan’s Gourmet Truck looks rather plain and nondescript. It’s simply a white trailer with two boards listing its menus. Even the truck’s name is only noted on the top of the menu boards in relatively small print. Then again, it would be a mistake to judge it by its appearance. (Ed. Note- Dan is in the process of getting a fancy wrap to up the pizzaz)

Lil Dan’s, which parks at LOVE Park two to three times a week, serves up some complex and tasty sandwiches to sizable lunchtime crowds. In addition to standard grill fare of breakfast sandwiches, burgers, steak sandwiches and fries, Lil Dan’s also offers ten different gourmet sandwiches and rotating daily specials. The sandwiches are also very reasonably priced at between $5.50-7.50, and the staff is extremely considerate.

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This week,  Luncher John is trying Capriccio’s sandwiches.

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway runs about a mile long and was designed to be Philadelphia’s own version of the Champs-Élysées. Anyone who has ever been to Paris can confirm the Parkway is not quite like the original. For one, the Champs-Élysées is lined with cafés, restaurants, and shops. Meanwhile, our Parkway features a stretch of museums and apartment buildings but is largely bereft of restaurants and food establishments.

One notable exception is the Capriccio at Café Cret, which opened up on the island plot bordered by 16th Street, Cherry Street, and the Parkway. Since 2008, Capriccio has infused a much needed lunch alternative on the Parkway to the Subway and T.G.I. Fridays, which were among the few other options, a couple of blocks away. It turns out that Capriccio offers some pretty sensible breakfast and lunch offerings.

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When I heard about Brodo’s opening earlier this month I liked the idea of a soup-centered place, but thought choosing to open in a warmer month was silly timing. But when Memorial Day festivities left me with a bit of a cold, I figured I should see if Brodo could cure me.

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