Chow living in Philly

Hi LTHers, it's A Okrent here. I've been out of touch for a while here in Jersey, but I got some of the latest chow news from Amata recently, and that got me thinking that I could use some LTH-style help in my latest life plans.

Does anyone know about Philly? We've been living in New Brunswick, NJ. My husband works in Princeton and I've been teaching at Rutgers (but won't be anymore) so we are thinking about moving to Philadelphia. I remember someone asking on the Chow board a few years ago, "What's the best chow neighborhood to live in in Chicago?" Does anyone have some similar kind of advice concerning Philly?

Central NJ has been ok. No offense, Rich, if you're listening. There are certainly a lot of good food options here, and someday I will post my New Brunswick report. It's just all the damn driving. And the sudden mid-thirties desire to own some real estate we can afford (in a place where we don't have to do all that damn driving). We went to a Cubs game in Philly last summer and I got a great, neighborhoody, Chicago-style vibe from the people there. And the local food seems to have excellent options in both the highbrow and lowbrow categories. Just like (sniff) Chicago. I'd especially like to hear about food neighborhoods that have the reputation of being 'bad'. Everyone here seems to think Philly is a murderous gangland, but this has also been said about Uptown, the Maxwell Street market, and the whole delicious South Side. I need the real scoop, from the LTH perspective.

aok

AOK:

For shopping, check out the Italian Market on the south side, specifically just a couple of blocks south of South Street, on 9th Street and ranging from Carpenter down to Washington or so. One of my favourite salumerias is in the middle of this stretch on the west side of the street, Claudio's. There's another excellent salumeria a few doors further south on the same side of the street and the great kitchenware shop, Fante's, is just a little further south. On the east side of the street there are several excellent fish shops and produce shops, with many of the wares on display on the street. And there are several great butcher shops too, including one that is (or was) just a pork store; I can't remember the name but I think it's actually over on 8th and toward South Street (i.e., north of Claudio's).

The Reading Market is fun and definitely worth visiting; lot's of great stuff there (try Uncle Phil's pretzels, extra dark) but the Italian Market is fabulous.

Ironically, when I used to go there, the great bread at Claudio's, which sold out early every day, was all imported from Jersey and Brooklyn.

There's an excellent (and expensive) gourmet grocery on South Street, sort of east, near the square that runs north from South Street the name of which I can never remember. That square is where 2nd Street should be, I believe, and at the northwest corner of that square is one of my favourite pubs in Philly, the Artful Dodger. Great place to swill English beer and play darts. Here's a link:

Artful Dodger

I'll add more if the memory banks can be accessed.

Best,
Antonius

I was born in Philly and get back there fairly often. Here's what I wrote about my last trip a few months back. You might guess, I'm a fan of Tony Luke's and Oregon Ave. PS, I think that the Main Liner's fear of Philly is largely overblown. On the other hand, Philly is no Chicago or NY in terms of neighborhoods and neighborhood safety. Simply not possible because so much larger a percentage of residents/businesses scrammed in the decades after WWII. Very much like Detroit that way. Still, a great town with great food and taking a big turn for the better within the last few years.


Well, I'm ashamed to admit that, while I did go to Philly, and I did go to Tony Lukes, I was not able to bring my camera. There's always next time.

A few quick observations: Tony Lukes remains. Yet this spot still is not in the common vernacular of Philadelphians, even those who love cheesesteaks, roast pork, etc. This is because, best I can tell, Philly is even a more compartmentalized, segregated place than Chicago. Oregon Ave. in South Philly is right there, off the 95 (indeed, Tony Lukes' parking lot is under the interstate itself), halfway between Center City and the airport, and a very short drive from the various new stadia. So, in terms of convenience, at least, TL's is no Johnnie's. Yet, people don't go there. Sure, Oregon Ave. is something of a free-for-all, a little like the area around Maxwell St. 10 years ago, but with a mix of hard-core Italian American holdout grocers, candy stores, cookie shops and steak stands (in it's way, a little like Melrose Park/Bellwood), latino businesses (including a big Mexican wholesale grocer, NAFTA has arrived in Philly), and African American businesses. It's dirty and has its fair share of trash-filled vacant lots, but the area is incredibly vibrant.

Anyway, I got the usual on my way back to the airport yesterday -- roast pork on an Italian roll with rabe and sharp provolone. Fantastic as always, though fairly pricey at 7 bucks. I'm sure the guys at Hertz appreciated the aroma of what must have been the sharpest provolone ever served. The bread was especially good, D'Amato's good if not better. I do not think that it was the famous Amoroso's that one gets at the tourist steak stands, the Gonella (but much better) of Philly.

In the end, TL's is getting some much-deserved notariety. In Philly, as here, it's who you know. Tony knows someone, cause TL has concessions in Philly's impressive new stadiums. My old friends from Philly love the stuff, though they feel a little defensive about have been turned on to the place by a guy in Chicago. Based on the new source of cash, TL's is opening a new store, across from the ramshackle original, that looks eerily like a new Portillo's.

PS, the "famous" steak places are no big deal in my opinion. Indeed, I don't get the appeal of even relatively good steaks, when roast pork is nearby.

Moving on to pizza. With Antonius and Rich in the back of my head, I walked around after watching some baseball at a Society Hill pub (Chimay on tap, but a disappointment as it was syrupy and expensive) and had a late slice at Lorenzo & Son's on South St. This is a humble little shack looking much like Mario's lemonade stand here on Taylor (that's "water ice" in Philly, you know). There was just one conclusion, which I used to know but had to be reminded of: the same reason you can't get this kind of pie in Chicago is the reason you cant get etherial hand-patted tortillas in Philly -- technique. Lorenzo, like places around many of the "old neighborhoods" back East, has a heavy guy standing in front of a huge, hot oven, hand-tossing deceptively-simple dough, transforming a resilliant softball into a translucently-thin, umbrella-size circle that, when complete, nearly hangs to the floor when dangled from chest-high by the big guy. Onto the peel, a light topping of fresh sauce and a decent amount of good cheese and into the oven it goes. In no time, the monster pie is divided, a slice thrown on a cheap paper plate and handed over in exchange for two bucks. As for toppings, the usual are there for a whole pie. But this place focuses on the slice and the mega pies that yield it. No toppings, "don't even ask" says the sign.

The big guy is the last of a dying breed. He has a feel for the dough, has been through the apprenticeship, understands the oven. This isn't rocket science, but it is millwork, or plastering, or plumbing. The ladies at La Quebrada are journeymen, too. But Chicago doesn't have anyone who can do this, not right now in a restaurant, at least. I still like my Aurelio's, though. Different breeds within the same species. Or apples and oranges, ribs and whole hog.

For dinner, my pals wanted to go to Pasion or Alma de Cuba. But it was restaurant week (3 courses/$30) and a big convention week. Ended up at the new Continental, an expanded version of the Old City original that started life as a pretty edgy bar with food. The new spot is the opposite of edgy, more like campy. A poor man's SushiSamba Rio, I'd say. "Global tapas" is the theme. While the drinks and company were great, the food was forgettable.

Next up, LA. I promise to try harder in the photo-doc department.

PS, Looking at Dickson's report (hey, you took my place at Alma de Cuba), I'm envious of your $30 dinner. Sounds much better that what I had at a place where we could get in because it isn't part of Restaurant Week. One observation, Cuban home cooking is often very heavy on the vinegar. But, somewhat like spice in Thai cooking, in restaurants the vinegar is added at the table by the diner. Any Cuban cafeteria in Miami or Tampa should bring out a caddy with oil and vinegar to add liberally to black beans, pork, congri, etc.

My favorite deli in the world (this from a native New Yorker) is Koch's Deli on 43rd and Locust near the Penn campus. (It is only take-out). The Pastrami is "to die for" and the "chopped liver" even better. And on the same sandwich - heart-stopping. I was a student at Penn from '68-72 and used to go to Koch's at least once a week in part to chow down, but it part to be part of the Koch family community. Hollyeats.com has a picture of Bobby Koch still doing his thing, which keeps the lines long, but moving fast. To me Koch's is a chowist world historic site.

Thanks for the advice. Antonius, we haven't been to the Italian Market area yet, but we'll certainly go soon. You are my revered source for all things Italian. P.S. Lucantonius is eating carne asada tacos now? But he's just a baby! Impossible!

JeffB, that sammich sounds great. And it's a tip I probably couldn't get from anywhere else. The pizza I will have to get soon. I have always preferred the east coast thin crust style to Chicago-style and though I would be up to my ears in it NJ, but I haven't found one place in New Bruswick that does it right. I asked my students where to get the best pizza (who knows more about pizza than college students, right?) and they suggested ... Uno's. I'm looking for that hot oven crispy bottom that I've only ever discovered here at a place across from the boardwalk in Belmar.

GAF, I've heard about Koch's, because it seems to be used as a selling point for apartments in University City (near Koch's!). At the moment, I feel like we will end up in University City, even though we've never been there, because the housing stock looks so solid and full of original details, and the streets have trees and the neighbors seem fiercely proctective of their community. I've also heard about the scary side, but I'm imagining it kind of like Hyde Park. Of course, all the affordable stuff appears to be out of the 'zone of safety', but I guess we'll see when we check it out.

Thanks again,
aok

aok wrote: P.S. Lucantonius is eating carne asada tacos now? But he's just a baby! Impossible!

Hey A, time flies: seems like one day you're shoveling pureed whatever into a baby mouth and the next day you're hearing rankings of taquerias and requests for more potstickers out of that same mouth.

Regarding Philly, there's a good, old-time place for seafood a few blocks southwest of the main square. It's not Bookbinders. I will try to dredge up the name of it later on.

Edit: I'm pretty sure the place I went to was --

Sansom Street Oyster House
1516 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-567-7683

aok wrote:Central NJ has been ok. No offense, Rich, if you're listening. There are certainly a lot of good food options here, and someday I will post my New Brunswick report. It's just all the damn driving.

No offense taken. I was back consulting for my former employer in Somerset in mid-2004, and was disturbed to find my favorite pizza place under new ownership and not doing well. Guess you can never go home again.

Sorry I don't have much advice about Philly for you that hasn't already been mentioned. I'm with Antonius - go to South Philly near the Italian market. And don't listen to the scared mainliners who tell you otherwise; it's really not so bad, and center city is gentrifying.

If you're craving good Mexican that I know you're having a tough time finding, I have a Bucks County rec for you, it's just off Rt. 202 West of Doylestown.

Los Sarapes
17 Moyer Rd
Chalfont, PA 18914
(215) 822-8858