Midtown Lunch

Next Wednesday, November 2nd from 6-9 in the Crystal Tea Room is the 5th Annual Taste of Philly event, sponsored by Philadelphia Weekly. I have attended the past 2 years and both times it was a great night. I guarantee that if you choose to, you will leave drunk and quite full. Check out the  recap of last year’s to find out what you can expect. Tickets are $35 (or $30 if you use the code “taste” at check out) but some hungry reader will win a pair! Yay!

All you have to do is post a comment about how much food you think you can put away at Taste of Philly (winner will still be chosen at random). If you also mention in your comment that you “like” Midtown Lunch Philly on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, your chances are doubled.

Winner will be notified by email by Monday at 5pm.

I hope to impress you with the fact that I ate practically half the menu of Uzbekistan, a restaurant located in the area I believe is considered the far northeast.  Yes, it is out of the way for Center City folk, but there is no CC equivalent and it’s a bit quicker than a flight to Eastern Europe. Check out where Uzbekistan is located on a map. Its geography is reflected in the cuisine, especially the influence of multiple ethnicities. The common theme on an Uzbek menu is hearty food.  Sometimes a girl has gotta feast, and this is the place to it.

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When Cake and the Beanstalk opened last March, replacing the 2nd location of cupcake shop Flying Monkey, I had a good feeling about it. The neighborhood needed a place to get it’s morning started, and cupcakes are usually not what you want for that. The owner, Dan, is the sweetest guy and a serious baker.

The small coffee shop was updated with local art and funky furniture. You can sit in the sunroom that looks over the community garden. And when it is nice out you can sit outside on the tiny patio. The shop is normally filled with people working on their laptops while enjoying a coffee, but there is almost always a seat available. It didn’t take long after they opened for me to find my favorite thing on the menu.

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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 Sara, who isn’t afraid of carbs.

Name: Sara

Age: 30

Occupation: in the health care field

Where in Philly do you Work?: 16th and JFK

Favorite Kind of Food: mostly carb loaded food… pasta, tacos, sandwiches.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: not a big fan of foods on the sweet side

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: For a quick lunch in Philly, you can’t beat truck food like Angelo’s cheese steak on 16th and chestnut or the King of Falafel. It’s an economical and delicious option. Also, DiBruno Brothers in the Comcast building is a solid alternative to truck food
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On Sunday I got to judge the 8 amateur contestants who competed for the best meatball title at the American Swedish Historical Museum. We got to try so many fun variations of meatballs, but it was a unanimous decision that 83 year old Sicilian grandmother Jennifer had the perfect meatballs. Congrats Jennifer!

And the People’s choice winner, was Pasitificio, an Italian restaurant in South Philly. I didn’t get to try their meatballs, so I might have to trek down there to check them out.

Last week I wrote about one of my favorite Philly lunch experiences yet- the Greek platters at St George’s Greek Orthodox Church. As soon as I bit into my lamb shank I knew I would have to be back. And after getting a lot of feedback about it, I thought it would be fun to organize a lunch meet up at the church.  Remember, they only serve on Fridays, so our meet up will be this Friday at 12:30. There is enough space to accommodate a big group, so you can bring friends. Just please RSVP as soon as possible. The church would like a head court by Wednesday so that they can prepare for us.

Here is the full menu:

And here is a link to the facebook invite to RSVP. If you don’t have facebook, post in the comments.

Hope to see you there! If anyone finishes their whole lamb shank platter you will win my upmost respect and maybe a photo on Midtown Lunch.