Cho Cho San

2018 Hamilton St,
Philadelphia, PA 19130
215) 557-1919
Website

In a moment of weakness, while I was hitting Rite Aid for some Claritin, I decided to get some Japanese food because I didn't feel like doing the Whole Foods thing and I had just had a Wawa the night before...

Enter Cho Cho San. I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, even though nothing about the experience was sweet, save for the salad. And that's saying A LOT.

The lunch specials are severely overpriced and I should have walked away when I noticed page after page of the menu changing cuisines. From American-Chinese, to sushi, to Korean, to Japanese and then some, this place just needs to pick an identity.

The salad was by far the highlight of this sad, depressing meal. Your standard ginger-sesame dressing on iceberg with shredded carrots is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. If anyone has a recipe for this stuff, please do share. I try to replicate it at home, but it's never as good as the real thing. I'm pretty sure it's miso paste that gives it the umami, but I've yet to try it - this stuff is like crack.

And then there was beef teriyaki. Listed at $9.95 with tax $10.75. I received 7 bite-sized pieces of mediocre beef, not even thinly sliced. 2 pieces were so chewy I had to spit them out. See those udon noodles under there? I thought it was a pleasant surprise too! Oh, I'm sorry, did I say noodles? I meant one-thousand raw onions.

No thank you. Terrible on so many levels. Forget I ever went here.

Quisqueya

345 N 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 366-1063

And so, after that disappointing not-lunch/one taco at aforementioned Union Taco up on Girard, my buddy and I still had a hunger for something, anything more, and because they wouldn't let us BUY anything until after their opening charade that ended after 2pm that afternoon, we didn't have a choice but to go elsewhere.

A quick drive down 7th, a right on Callowhill and 5 blocks west put us at Quisqueya.

It was one of those "what's that, let's try it," slam-on-the-breaks sort of deal, and there we were - inside this bizarre, empty diner that serves 'Spanish + American' food. Which apparently equals Latin American food.

The chafing trays at the buffet counter were pretty much empty. There was one dude at a booth not eating and another dude across the expansive dining room in mesh shorts and a hoodie looking pretty content with his rice, bean and meat platter.

The lunch special is whatever they have available in those trays for $8 from 11-3, M-F and so we heard what he had to offer. Today there was chicken, pork, beef and fish - which, I imagine is the every day selection, but there was no way to know because there is technically no lunch menu cooked to order, only dinner.

Anyway, it's a pretty good deal because you get a ton of rice, some beans, the protein, fried plantains and a side salad.

I went with the beef, my companion the fish - tilapia I think. The beef was ready to go in a scoop, but the fish took some extra prep time, fresh off the flat top I assume, and then we were on our way.

The proportions were a bit off, there was A LOT of rice and very little meat & beans to match the pile.

That said, the beef was meltingly tender, lean and delicious. It didn't look that appetizing, but it was full of flavor and tasted like some Peruvian spiced, slow-cooked short rib meat.

It fell apart with the slightest touch of my fork, with no strange bits or gristle to interfere with the meat itself. I imagine they cook it for hours to render any fat because this was spot on.

The plaintains were there too. Not much to be said of them other than they added another gritty texture, same as the beans. They had a little sweetness, but I'm not a huge fan, so they just sat on the side.

Just like the salad. If you can even call it that. I thought maybe there was a burger hidden somewhere and these were the toppings. But alas, they supplied a little container of creamy Italian dressing that also went untouched. A not unfortunate loss.

Here's the fish. I heard it was good, but he had the same complaints with regard to the ratio of rice to everything else.

All in all, if you're in a pinch, in the neighborhood and have a hankerin' for some Latin American comfort food at the right price, give it a try. You (probably) won't regret it?