Finally, Philly! Finally we are catching on to the poke trend. Pokemon Go, sure- but more so, poke bowls, the Hawaiian rice bowls filled with raw fish and sunshine! I was jealous when I read about NY's different poke shops. Then, Nolibs got its Poke Bowl in May, and we have another coming to Chinatown Square. Plus,more restaurants are wising up adding poke bowls to their menus. I checked out the Chipotle style build a bowl at Poke Bowl and the summer poke bowl special at Chinatown's Bubblefish. Over at Poke Bowl, you have the choice of 6 different proteins and 4 different bases. I chose the tuna over white rice with mango, guac, and pickled ginger as toppings and the wasabi aoli as the sauc
When biking around Philly, I try to pay attention to cars, other cyclist, trolley tracks trying to ruin me, and other potential dangers. But I always keep my eyes and nose out for food adventures. Such was the case while biking down 15th Street in South Philly. The BBQ smell hit me first, and then I saw the smoke and outdoor grills. Sprewell's BBQ sets up shop outside Scotty's Bar on Mondays and Tuesdays until about 6pm. Michael does pork and beef ribs, sides, and other BBQ meats like cornish hens. I ordered the pork ribs (I think they were about $14) and side of basic mac and cheese ($2). When asked about what BBQ sauce style he uses, he told me it was his own special blend. Definitely vin
Usually I have to go all the way to Port Richmond for pierogies, which is why The Pierogie Kitchen in Roxborough had been on my list for a while as a closer alternative. Though I missed the Polish granny vibes you'd get in Port Richmond, it's a cute shop. It is really set up for take out purposes , which we didn't know going in. Far enough from home and too hungry to wait, we ate at the sole customer table anyway. The idea of a pierogie inside a sandwich was too decadent to pass up. Also, the Original Stacker sandwich comes with all the things you might want from a basic Polish meal, potato and cheddar pierogies, mustard, and sauerkraut. For $7.50 this is a really filling sandwich with a f
I have been working on building this website up a lot lately, including making a "Best Of" section to help navigate the thousands of archived posts. This led me back to my first interaction with Midtown Lunch- the time I was profiled as a 23 year old paralegal. Though that was many years ago, looking back on my favorite food items, not much has changed! Doing my best at not aging is an obsession of mine, I should probably worry less about that and sometimes its important to have a reminder of how far you come, what you have learned, and that there is always adventure to be had. It is a good feeling to know that I have since been able to eat some of my favorite dishes in their country of ori
I can admit it, I craved a real American cheeseburger when I got back from my SE Asia trip. We can chat at length about the nuances of Northern vs. Southern style Thai food, but at the end of the day, eating a similar style of any food for one month is a long time! Just in time, Shake Shack invited me to try their new Bacon CheddarShack and Blueberry Pie shake. And, I also FINALLY got to try their fried chicken sandwich that debuted earlier this year. It doesn't get more AmericaEffYa than that. Dessert first, why not if its going to melt? The new blueberry pie concrete OR shake flavor is made from super fancy blueberry pie made in Brooklyn. It tastes like the real deal with the extra hot wea
It's been a while, folks. But I am back and ready to share so much deliciousness to share to a) make you jealous but more so b) to be encourage you to travel to SE Asia to eat all the things! Here is a photo recap of my month in South East Asia- Starting the trip off in Penang, my first lesson was that roti is much more available at breakfast time. pre flight breakfast street roti a muddy colored bowl of fish laska at the bottom of Kek Lok Si (awesome Buddhist temple built in to a mountain) fried spinach and cheap seafood at the Red Garden Food Paradise- especially the grilled tiger prawns The ridiculousness that is the Food Museum- one big photo opp for people who love food. Non food highli
10 years ago the Midtown Lunch site was born in NYC, a vision of Zach Brooks to help Midtown workers spice up their lunch breaks with better meals. In 2010 I was asked to launch the Philly version of this site, which I have been doing so with love ever since, focusing on the exciting, the off the beaten path, and the under $10 lunch. Exploring and writing is largely responsible for my infatuation with Philly and all it has to offer. I receive an exorbitant amount of joy helping others appreciate this city through its food and culture. This feeling led me to start running Chinatown Food tours in 2014, another way of showcasing Philly's culinary resources. I recently went through some job chan
