Midtown Lunch

I like to explore the Eastern European restaurants that lie north of the Center City, and the results have always been impressive. On my trip to Stolovaya,  a Russian restaurant in North Philly, my friends noticed that the menu and some of the decor had changed since their last time there. Having sung praises of the old Stolovaya, that should have been the first hint that things weren’t going to be as good as their memories.

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You are going to have to deal with the crappy pictures in exchange for this awesome story of adventure dining. While driving around in North Philly, we saw a sign letting us know that the tiny storefront held “El Rey de Fritura (king of fried things).” Having already had a great experience with another Rey, we poked our heads in. Inside we found out there were no menus and no people who spoke English. It was going to be an interesting meal.

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This Wednesday, we are checking out the options for Vietnamese soup far away from the usual Washington Ave spots.

My friend at Philadining had been dying to try Thang Long’s soups. I was hesitant just because of how hot it is outside and I was thinking, how really different could they be from any other Vietnamese soup spot. But I let him drag me along, and I am so very glad that I did.

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This Wednesday, we are exploring the streets, with a Dominican truck that knows how to handle its phallic shaped food.

Just like Moonshine Cuisine, finding The Fritura Dominicana Truck was another instance of passing by , getting a good feeling, and turning the car around to stop. The menu is not your typical food truck menu. A lot of meat is involved, including fried pig feet burgers. Just to warn you, that is not what I ordered.

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This Wednesday, I am wandering back up to the North-ish East-ish of Philly for  food I have NEVER tried before.  Haitian!

Today’s lunch comes from a truly serendipitous food wandering moment. While passing by, I saw Moonshine Cuisine’s sign for Haitian food and had to stop.  I have never even seen a Haitian restaurant before,  there was no way I could pass this opportunity for my mouth to learn something new.  While the decor suggested otherwise, this Haitian kitchen ended up making me very happy I stopped.

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It’s Wednesday, and I am checking out another spot a little more North and East than where I usually dine. Today, its soft tofu for lunch.

Jong Ka Jib is apparently THE place to get hot, bubbly, spicy Korean style soft tofu called soon du boo.  I will admit that generally, I prefer my tofu like I prefer my butts- firm. Could I be swayed otherwise?

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For the 3rd week in a row, I am interrupting our regularly scheduled/centrally located programing to explore Northeast Philly. This week, it’s Pio Pio, a Cuban “deli, grocery, restaurant”.

With a name like Pio Pio, I assumed Peruvian chicken, since there are a whole bunch of Pio Pio’s in NYC who do just that. Further confusing me were the cute little hatching chicks on the awning, how could I not think it was a chicken joint?

While they do actually serve chicken along with American food (sandwiches, pizza, cheesesteaks) from a counter in the front, I was more interested in the Cuban food from the counter in the back.

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