Philly and food
 

I am going to Philly and would enjoy some really good crab cakes ^ , (I know Baltimore is known for crab cakes) any suggestions for sampling them. Don't want to have to dress up much, prefer casual. Also enjoy Bar B Q, German, and Thai, and perhaps Italian.

Thanks,
Phil

!"
 

There used to be 2 very good no-frills down-home, brown-paper-on-the-table crab houses

-- DiNardo's, on Race Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in the Old City section down in the historic district

-- Walt's King of Crabs on Third Street around Christian Sreet in Queen Village, just south of the historic district. But I think it may have closed.
very. The best was their slogan: "Walt's got crabs!"

The Crab Cakes are quite good at Devon Seafood Grill; nice ambience as well, but casual. It is right across Rittenhouse Square.

German: Ludwig's at 13th and Sansom is quite good with the requisite beers, wienrschnitzel, and spaetzel. The sausage platter is very good.

Thai: Very casual is My Thai, 23rd/South. A little more upscale and different is Nan, 40th & Chestnut. It is Thai/French Fusion. BYOB. One of my personal favorites.

Italian: There are two types in the city. Upscale and "South Philly" style. Vetri is one of the best restaurants I have been, but extremely pricey and upscale. For South Philly Italian, try Villa di Roma around 11th/Washington Sts.

Email if you need more details. I hope you enjoy.

Also try Ralphs in S.Phil just up the street from the Pats cheesesteak,the veal is outasite

My food question re: Philly
 

Thanks so much to the two posters that have given their suggestions
for dinning in Philly. It is greatly appreciated.

Phil

When you think of Philly, you've got to think of Cheesesteaks! Especially South Philly. I recommend Pat's. Very casual. :)

http://www.patskingofsteaks.com

If you are going to Philly, you will eat WELL!! :)

Especially the seafood. I can't recommend any place in particular - well, you could try the big food market on Market and 10th - but I would find it hard to believe that it's possible to get a bad meal there.

No kidding! ^

Ugly city (IMHO) but outstanding eats.

There are a number of good restaurants around Rittenhouse Square: Rouge, Bleu, and Salt come to mind immediately. There's also a good Cuban restaurant in the area, Alma De Cuba, as well. So many others I've eaten at whose names don't come immediately to mind. Personally, I blame Philly for falling off my diet.

ps. Forget the cheesesteak thing unless it's around 2am and you need something to absorb the alcohol. :D

Well that too has certainly worked in the past! ;) But forget the cheesesteak when in Philly? No way. Unless you are a vegetarian, you have to experience it in all its casualness and yumminess.

I have yet to experience the Philly Cheesesteak, I have attempted a few times to try one but something has always gotten in the way.

I have discovered that in DE there is a place that serves Philly Cheesesteaks, I am told by a co-worker that they are as close to the real thing served outside of Philly.

Next time I am in the DE/PA area Pats or Ginos are going to be the first place that I hit up.

Dan

Cheez Whiz® at PAT'S?
 

I have never been to Pat's but I have heard how great their cheesesteaks are. I went to the website and the recipe shows they use Cheez Whiz®. Is that true? GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Original

Pat's King of Steaks® Philadelphia Cheese Steak recipe

For all the people who can not get to South Philadelphia to get the Original. here is the recipe for you home chefs.

Serves 4

24oz thin sliced rib eye or eye roll steak

6 table spoons of Soya bean oil

Cheese {we recommend Cheez Whiz®} American or Provolone works fine

4 crusty Italian Rolls

1 large Spanish onion

Chee Wit (that's how they pronounce it) works. You can't go into eating a Philly cheesesteak at Pat's with a hoity-toity, uppity frame of mind. A Philly cheesesteak isn't a health food; you shouldn't have one everyday (probably someone here is asking 'why not'). It's sinfully delicious. It's messy. And you need to bite into one to have the true experience.

No Pats, Nor Geno's
 

Dear Colleagues,

If you must have a cheesesteak, I strongly urge you to hop in your rental car or take pricier cab to Tony Luke's at Front/Oregon Sts. Pat's and Geno's are in my mind, full of style but lack in substance. At Tony Luke's you get both; provolone is shaved into your bread, etc.

If you are in South Philly and need a deli sandwich, let me strongly suggest Sarcone's to you, at 10th/Fitzwater Sts. Their rolls are hands-down the best. They only bake a set amount of rolls per day, and once they are sold, they close the door!

I just have stomach problems with oils and Cheez Whiz is mostly oil. I don't want to sound like a snob but even the thought that liquid cheese sauce places use on nachos makes me want to gag.

I don't eat fried foods for the same reason.

Do they give you a choice of cheese or just their original?

Hey, my end advice on this is, go have a Cheesesteak. And the next day go enjoy one of the outstanding restaurants Philly has to offer.

This Weekend Baby!!!!!
 

I'm doing Pat's and Geno's just because they have the namesake, the thought of cheez whiz does gross me out bigtime.

THANK YOU! for the alternate suggestion.

Well, if you just ask for a "cheesesteak" (i.e. don't specify), then they'll serve you Cheez Whiz. Alternately, you can get a American Wit or Provolone Wit. No Swiss, however, as John Kerry discovered to his embarrassment (and the local press' delight) a few months back.

Or you can get any of the three Wit'Out, as in "hold the fried onions."

I echo the sentiment of the other Philly resident earlier in the thread; Tony Luke's makes a far better cheesesteak than either Pat's or Geno's. However, it's worth going down to 9th and Passayunk if you've never been; what you miss in overall quality you make up by soaking in the overall atmosphere - especially on a summer evening.

I'm partial to DiNardo's for crabs, but their prices have gone way up in the last couple of years - it's no longer the "really good cheap" alternative to Bookbinder's. Avoid the latter, by the way; one of their two locations has closed down, and the other has never been any good and really only caters to tourists these days.

Also, I don't believe anyone's answered the OP's BBQ query. For my money, the Jamaican Jerk Hut (on South St. just west of Broad) serves the best BBQ food in the city. If you want a more refined atmosphere, you could try Warmdaddy's on Front St. in Old City, but they offer more of a general "Southern" menu than true BBQ. Great live blues, though.

Mook

Jim's 400 South St.
 

Being a displaced Philly native, I must suggest Jim's on South St. You can have CheeseWiz or real cheese. I like the American which melts through the meat and roll. I will be in Philly this weekend for a Jim's on Saturday. PM if anyone else will be there. BTW, the wife who is from Kentucky, will experience her first authentic Cheese steak. The food I was weaned on.

As someone who greatly missed cheesesteaks while living away from Philly (which, IMHO, is far from ugly!!) I take no shame in avoiding the Whiz and going with American Cheese instead.

My order at Pat's (a great stop on the way from the airport into town...) is:

"American pizza without." which translates to "American cheese, pizza sauce, no onions"

Thanks PHLbuddy for the quick reply to my PM. Made the run from Wilmington DE to Villa di Roma tonight. It's on 9th St right in what looks like would be a bustling Italian Market in the daytime. Chicken Parm wasn't the best I've ever had, but was good and fairly priced. Service was friendly & quick. The south Philly feel was fun for this suthurn-er.

Well....this thread did it for me. My fiance and I did a roadtrip this past Saturday just to go to Pat's and get a chee wit. It was delicious!!! Then we drove back to Manhattan.

God and cheesesteaks
 

But that is why God made cheesesteaks in the first place :D

Tangential, but off thread, I was driving up to PHL from DC to visit family, and my colleagues had heard me talk so fondly of cheesesteaks. One person asked if I would bring her one when I came back. -- Ugh, Cheesesteaks are NOT a food that ages well.

Last time I was in PHL. I had a cheesesteak craving but not enough time to get down to South Philly. The aforementioned Tony Luke's also has a branch in Center City called Tony Luke Jr's. It's on S. 18th St between, I believe, Chestnut and Walnut. Excellent cheesesteak there and also sampled a roast pork italian sandwich which was very, very good. Recommended. Can't wait to check out the original at Front/Oregon next time I'm in town.

Now, if only I could get a good cheeseteak in Dallas. The standard-bearer of Texas cheesesteaks here is an AUS based chain called Texadelphia that insisits on mircowaving the rolls. Sad. Truly sad.

Scandal in Texas!!
 

[QUOTE=Herb687 Now, if only I could get a good cheeseteak in Dallas. The standard-bearer of Texas cheesesteaks here is an AUS based chain called Texadelphia that insisits on mircowaving the rolls. Sad. Truly sad.(edited by DaDOK) [/QUOTE]


[SIZE=2]Microwave the bread!??! :eek:
[/SIZE]Scandalosa!!!!

It's all about the bread.
My father always said that when I was little, and I did not know what he meant, but now I do -- it's gotta be the right bread (preferably Amoroso rolls): soft and gooey on the inside to soak up the grease, but hard and crunchy on the outside to prevent it from soaking through. This isn't food, it's art, golldarnit!

Blasphemy!
 

DaDOK!
Have you forgotten your roots? Amoroso is a commercial sell out.

The best rolls in Philadelphia are at Sarcone's. Nothing less will do! ;)

1. It is impossible to get a good Philly cheesesteak sandwich in any restaurant in the entire world, including Philadelphia. The only way to get the top quality in cheesesteaks is to find a good street vendor working from a truck. There used to be a great one outside of the Bulletin offices, but seeing as they are no longer publishing I don't know what happened to the cheesesteak guy.

2. No Philly cheesesteak is complete unless topped off by a hot pretzel smothered in mustard.

3. If you are going to insist on being classy in Philly forget the cheesesteaks and go for the snapper soup!

The Bulletin has been closed for many years but there are plenty of truck vendors just across the street at Drexel University. The truck vendors helped me gain twenty pounds while I attended Drexel.


Jay, aka 1095

Philadelphia's gift to the eating world
 

Same here for me while I was at Penn (that's Univ of Pennsylvania, NOT Penn State, to you non-locals). Perhaps it's the right mixture of bread, cheese and auto exhaust that brings out the best in a Philly cheesesteak. Come to think of it, most of the best cheesesteaks I have eaten were from outside food stands. ummm, I see a research paper on this . . . or maybe a documentary "Steak Wit' " :D

And to Dovster:
There are still many places in Philly and the environs that make a good cheesesteak. Gotta know where to go!

But, snapper soup! I guess if you had to grade any of the indigenous Philly cuisine as classy, it would be snapper soup. Now awfully hard to find anyway.

And no one has mentioned that other of Philly's gift to the culinary world (he says with tongue firmly planted in cheek) -- scrapple. Scrapple and eggs for breakfast is a real treat.

Sadly, that is typical of the lack of education available to those who attend second-rate institutions. (To wit, any university not located in Mercer County, N.J.)

Scrapple is not native Philadelphian. It was invented in Lancaster County by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

I believe they foisted it on the rest of the world out of revenge for:

a. Being called "Dutch" when they are really German.

b. Facing the loss of their farms by constantly betting that this year the Eagles will finally make it to the Superbowl.

I am glad you cleared up the U of P thingee. Now how about clearing up the ex-teachers colleges using the ABC University of Pennsylvania name scam (where ABC stands for the Penna small towns with the ex-teachers colleges). Totally disgusting!

The better Philly cheese steak places are always outside. It is well known it is impossible to properly remove cheesesteak residue from indoor flooring.

I refuse to elaborate (or eat) scrapple. Dont do chittlings or rinds either. Dont do the once yearly boney shad or shad roe thing either. Local two largest shad rivers are disgustingly filthy.

MisterNice

LOL - I have to say the same thing. When were you there? I'm Undergrad 1985.

Too late. :) Well, not techically a research paper I suppose.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/ent...3831957.htm?1c

I have never tried Johns becasue I have no reason or opportunity to be in Philly during the day during the week. One of the more interesting ones in there, imo, is Donkey's Steaks. They are right that the chicken steaks are excellent but the beef steaks are not very good. But Fairview, Camden, is not for the uninitiated so I don't reccommend going as a tourist.

I have not yet had a bad cheesesteak in Philadelphia and good ones are to be found nearly everywhere.

Not all of us are as fortunate as you to attend Mercer County Community College.... :cool:

And to think -- I had officially named Analise on the Dl Forum as my CAR -- Cute Alluring Republican. :(

Oh well, it could have been worse. She could have said I spent my time in Trenton State Prison.

"Hurrah, Hurrah, Pennsylvan-I-a..."
 

Not directed at me but I'll answer anyway. W'99 here! Go Quakers!

And just to keep this slightly on-topic. When I was there, Sophie's food truck around 34th/Walnut was about the best mobile cheesesteak option near campus. Sadly, I don't think Sophie is in business anymore.

There is life beyond Nassau Street, my dearest. :) And I'll always try to be your cute alluring republican.

Not to overly pedantic . . .
 

My undergraduate was at St Joseph's Univ '81.
I did a post-doc at HUP in 1991-92.

So, Grasshopper, you attempt to enter the mysterious discipline of history?

Scrapple, in fact, was invented in the Lower Rhine village of Schweinkuss in 1653 by Franz Doppelganger, the local idiot, who had nothing better to do.

A few years later, having been shunned by his neighbors for a rather scandalous incident involving his minister's yak and an elder's berry bush, Doppelganger emigrated to Pennsylvania. Then he immigrated to Pennsylvania -- just to prove he could do it both ways.

He first attempted to peddle scrapple to tourists in New Hope (Bucks County) but was thwarted by the fact that the town had not yet been founded.

Never one to give up, Doppelganger put his scrapple leftovers (of which there were always a great amount as nobody wanted to eat it) into tubes, declared them to be "hot dogs", and tried to make his fortune by selling them to people waiting for the Phillies to start playing major league ball.

(Indeed, to this very day there are people waiting for the Phillies to start playing major league ball.)

Needless to say, hot dogs were an immediate failure, which made them the ideal official food of the Phillies. However, Doppelganger was able to scrape out a living by selling hot pretzels covered with mustard and later became rich by replacing that condiment with Cholula Hot Sauce
as shown in this thread.

I have always loved their aspirin.