Midtown Lunch

Saigon Cuisine is the new Vietnamese spot in University City. Inside, though the decor is pretty sparse (let’s get some art up in there!), it is spacious and very clean.  Also worth noting, the service was friendly and the food was brought out fast. The menu has a whole range of meaty, veggy, and noodley options. I stuck with the basics to feel out the place since it was my first visit.

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For a relatively quick, healthy, and cheap lunch in University City, Hummus is a decent option. You can choose from sandwiches, salads, and platters ranging from $6 to $13 dollars.

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Today, Luncher John checks out the street food from Street Food Philly’s truck. 

At first impression, Street Food Philly would appear to be a food truck that is plainly named after what it serves: Philadelphia street food. Upon a closer examination of its menu and taste of its food, you find out that the simple name belies the tasty and innovative offerings.

First hitting the streets in August 2012, Street Food Philly is the food truck concept of two experienced chefs, Michael Sultan and Carolyn Nguyen. Their aim is to take basic street food items and add their own unique touches. For instance, instead of a run-of-the-mill burger, Street Food may serve a dry aged burger that’s sourced locally and topped with Cooper American Cheese and aioli sauce. Sometimes, instead of a regular roll, the burger will be served on a pretzel burger roll. [Ed. Note: this burger is PERFECTION]

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Pitruco Pizza sells pizza pies from their shiny, mobile wood fired oven equipped truck. Pitruco offers 6 different pizzas ranging from $6.50 to $9. The pies are heated up and presented on a big round cardboard plate or in a box for you. A single pie is enough for a hearty lunch. It was so hard to choose from the tempting descriptions, I got two (there were leftovers, I swear).

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Andrew of Strada Pasta tipped me off that Chewy’s, a truck serving gussied up American food since this fall, had added chicken and waffles to the menu. I had assumed this truck just did burgers, but I realized my mistake when I saw the menu consisted of clever twists on classic food truck staples, like a kimchee egg sandwich, a BLT with granny smith apples and cider mayo, and a burger with feta and olive tapenade.  I was, however, on a chicken and waffles mission.

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While wondering around the food carts looking for something good to eat in University City, I saw a new truck that was so plainly decorated I almost passed it by. Thankfully the picture of the arepa drew me in. I found out that Delicias is now in its second week of operation (besides a test run for a few days in early December). The ladies behind Delicias are from Venezuela. The menu has 3 things: variations of arepas (sliced griddled corn patties with fillings inside) and fried empanadas (filled turnovers) as well as choripan (sausage in a sandwich). A picture of the national dish of Venezuela and the menu after the jump…

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Out in West Philly, next to an erotic dvd purveyor is Kilimandjaro, a restaurant specializing in Senegalese food. Africa is probably the continent whose food I am least familiar with, and despite my many attempts, Ethiopian food has never rubbed me the right way, but I was hopeful that the French influence found in Senegalese cooking  might appeal to me.

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