Midtown Lunch

In May I noticed that a new restaurant opened in Chinatown serving a very unique style of Chinese cuisine from the Xi’an. I noted that the name of the restaurant “Xi’an Famous Food” made me think they were related to the popular Xi’an Famous Food locations in New York City, however on my visit I was told there was no relation. Soon after, the original Famous Food contacted the Philly restaurant and asked them to change their name to avoid an infringement suit. The change has happened and the new name is Xi’an Sizzling Woks. Since that first visit, the 10 item hand printed menu has expanded to a vast noodley menu that I had to explore.

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• 22 and Philly loves cheesesteak stuffed pretzels at Reading Terminal [22 and Philly]
• How cute and twisted are these chorizo stuffed pig shaped buns! [Bon Appetit]
• Brian enjoyed the Ceder Point burger [Bridges,Burgers,Beer]
• 2 local Chefs will be on the next Top Chef airing in October [The Insider]
• There is another Absolut lunch time dance party today in Center City with lunch and a free drink in exchange for a donation, RSVP here. Absolut is really showing Philly some love, last night’s party was quite the good time

I think I mentioned once or twice over here, sometimes I want a sandwich (or other handheld food) that borderline grosses me out.

See, The Stockyard, this mozzerella stick topped burger, or this hotdog stuffed, pastrami topped knish.

So while looking at menus of diners in the area, I saw that Tony’s on 21st by Ranstead has a doozy. The “King Vasilios Triple Decker Club” is a cheesesteak along with all the ingredients for a BLT. The name makes no sense to me; there is nothing Greek about a cheesesteak or a BLT. Perhaps some sort of Tony’s inside joke.

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 Luncher John keeps on trucking, this time at Mucho Bueno.

One of the new trucks making the rounds at LOVE Park and City Hall Courtyard this summer is Mucho Bueno. Ever since Honest Tom’s set up a permanent brick and mortar shop, Center City has been devoid of mobile taco trucks. Mucho Bueno helps fill that niche quite nice with its creative Mexican fare.

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Last fall I judged the 3rd Swedish Historical Museum  Meatball Contest. There was a tie for the amateur 1st place  winner between a 77 year old man and Michael Antinore, who confessed to me that day that he was interested in opening a food truck and the win had given him more confidence in that dream. Fast forward to July and Mama’s Balls is a regular at City Hall and LOVE Park. If Michael wants to compete in the competition again, he will have to enter in the professional category.

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Photo Courtesy of Eat, Drink & Run Philly

• Check out the results of this 20 person taco crawl [Eat, Drink & Run Philly]
• But they missed the jerk chicken tacos from Calle del Sabor truck, which sound awesome [Zagat]
• Artisan Boulanger has reopened and now has sandwiches and sushi! [Passyunk Post]
• Cherry Bomb food truck has a salami topped cheesesteak [Thrillist]
• A list of cold shakes, alcoholic and virgin [Philly.com]
• Wing King, a chicken wing cook off event, is going down August 30th and tickets are only $10
• Foobooz reports that Luke’s Lobster and Paesano’s now deliver [Foobooz]
• South St is getting a branch of NYC’s Calexico. Menu looks acceptable. [Eater via Philly Real Estate]

The folks from Pure Fare brought another concept to Center City last May. Like Pure Fare, the food is fast and healthy. At Agno, the set up is creating your own bowl up at the counter and wait just a few minutes while its all put together. Choose from a base of spinach, black rice, or a wrap. Bowls come with a protein, 3 toppings, and a sauce. The price will be based on your protein, plus any extra topping or sauces.

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