Cut Above Deli

3523 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, Pa 19073
(610) 353-4543
Website

Newtown Square and the surrounding area have a lot of little unexplored territories that I will be trying to frequent in the future. Cut Above comes highly recommended, but since they don't have seating for lunch, I actually ate lunch at the bar next door. On my way back to the city, I casually grabbed a two foot hoagie to snack on.

They slice all of the meats and cheeses fresh and use Sarcone's rolls.

The prepared foods section was mighty tempting, maybe next trip.

There is a lot to be said for so much hoagie under $20.

The top was well seasoned, and the tomatoes were fresh and as ripe as can be expected in this region in January. I really love when deli meat is sliced paper thin, and they did not disappoint.

There was a solid amount of meat and cheese on this thing, which made it easy to eat, and quite delicious.

A good old Italian hoagie is one of the most complete food groups around. Meat, dairy, vegetables, grains, oil. This hoagie was no slouch. Will definitely be back for more...

Desert Rose

305 West State St.
Media, PA 19063
484-442-8012
Website

This was my first visit to Media, PA and I'd heard some really great things about a quaint little cafe right in the heart of town. Obviously a visit was in order.

Desert Rose is a "Mediterranean cafe and market," although it's (a lot) less of a market and more of a sit-down-and-enjoy-a-leisurely-meal sort of place.

Advertising their fresh baked pita and some other house-made offerings, they didn't offer any additional daily specials. I think they consider every menu item to be 'special' here, and with right.

The kitchen is quite small and it's the first thing you notice when you walk through the door. There are only 2 employees, chef and server (husband and wife), so they don't need too much room. The shawarma can be seen slowly rotating in all its clean and beautiful glory. Their methods are all very traditional, where only copper pots and one enameled cast-iron Dutch oven are seen in use on the stove-top. Not even a deep fryer for added convenience...

Here's where the magic happens. A little oven of pita delights.

Soup of the day was potato leek and it was fantastic. Sometimes the consistency of a potato puree soup can be too thick, like baby food, or otherwise too watery - this one hit the nail on the head with its perfect viscosity. The addition of fresh parsley and high-quality olive oil gave every few bites an added punch that was certainly appreciated.

After the starter of soup, the feasting began.

First up was the warm hummus, mushroom, onion and sumac platter. Served with choice of one side salad - they have a number of marinated veggie options, we went with traditional cucumber-tomato - and two freshly baked pita breads. Hot out of the tiny oven.

I don't know how they do it, but this pita was split to perfection right down the center. Perfect for the upcoming sandwich...

It was soft, pliable and cooked to perfection. Perhaps a bit thick for the hummus dipping application, but its freshness outdid its weight and made for a great scooping mechanism. Check out this hummus presentation:

Absolutely gorgeous. The mushrooms and onions were sauteed to a rich caramelization, they were smoky and charred in all the right places. Cut into fairly thick slices, there was a nice, meaty texture with each well-seasoned bite. The hummus left a little something to be desired, with the tahini being the most notable flavor - I like a deep garlic or spice undertone that just wasn't there. But, when it all mixed together, it won me over nonetheless.

Perhaps one of the more interesting (and more delicious) aspects of the meal were the falafel balls. you can add a side to any platter for only a few extra bucks.

Prepared in the traditional method, the chef uses a falafel scoop to shape these little muffin-topped gems. As I mentioned above, there's no automatic deep fryer to aid in the ease of production. Oil is kept at just the right temperature in a copper stock pot over a burner, no short cuts here!

And does it ever pay off. The care and authenticity that goes into the preparation is beyond compare. Bursting with parsley and chick pea flavor, cooked to the most perfect of golden browns, this falafel is crunchy outside, moist inside and is definitely some of the best around. As if that wasn't enough, I had to end with a shawarma sandwich.

Served with cucumbers, tomato, hummus, fresh herbs and topped with their cabbage and citrus salad, the pita was a sturdy vessel for the overflowing ingredients. Spicy and delicious. The meat was tender, bursting with flavor and was gilded with bits of rotisserie-fired crispness on every fine edge.

Chef Owner Jason McHugh and his wife, Natali Shiri, a native of Petach-Tikva Israeli, make Desert Rose a most enjoyable experience for certain. Their love and dedication to serving authentic cuisine in such a comfortable and laid-back manner (but also very well-informed) is a welcome change from the fast-paced hustle of the city. Take a trip to Media and see for yourself.

Ted's Place

103 Spring Mill Avenue
Conshohocken, PA 19428
(610) 828-3966

Right by one of the more popular night life areas in Conshohocken sits a nondescript little restaurant that had all of the promise of a solid Mom-and-Pop style pizza and steak shop. And that promise came to fruition with my first bite of grinder.

The interior harkens back to steak and pizza shops of decades past, and the food provides the type of timeless comfort that will have me coming back for more.

I couldn't shy away from the hot Italian grinder, as my last one ended somewhat disappointingly.

While this was no gourmet sandwich, it was nicely toasted, came with a very satisfactory amount of veggies, and had a salty kick to boot.

The meat was thinly stacked, but still plentiful enough to really bring home the saline taste in each bite. The veggies added a welcome bite of refreshment as opposed to the sodium infused meat and cheese they laid upon. This is a solid, cheap grinder, the kind that should be eaten on the way home from Little League games, and as a weeknight treat.

I also had to try the famous cheesesteak, which I ordered with extra American. Though I usually like my cheese interspersed with my meat, the sheer quantity allowed for tucking it down into the light and crunchy roll, providing for cheese in nearly every bite.

The meat was well seasoned and finely chopped, with sweet, tender onions plentifully interspersed throughout. Not to mention, there was no lack of steak on this sandwich.

At about $7 each, this is quite a bargain, and if you are looking for a good base to fill up on before hitting the many bars in the area, you can't go wrong here. I hear the pizza is also quite delicious, but that is for another trip.

Tasty Place

Asia Supermarket
143 North 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 592-8990

If you have never been inside of an Asian Supermarket, it is definitely an experience. This particular underground market is not to be trifled with during the summer, due to the insane smells that can emanate, but you are doing yourself a terrible disservice if you enjoy Chinatown eating, and you have never been to Tasty Place.

To be sure, you are not going here for atmosphere.

You will, however, be going here for Beef Ho Fun Sate, which comes out with tender, delicious pieces of beef, long, tender broad noodles, and an addictive sauce. Add some hot chili oil and a splash of vinegar for the ultimate in comfort noodles. Not to mention at about $6, you could split this dish and likely be quite satiated. Obviously, that did not apply in my case.

In addition to the Ho Fun, I got an order of the recommended ginger scallion noodles. These were just okay. They weren't bad, but they couldn't stand up to my go-to ginger scallion noodles. I would definitely skip these in the future.

There were ginger matchsticks, but they just lacked the pop I was looking for.

Perhaps my favorite part of the meal was the salt baked chicken wings.

These beauties are marinated in ginger, salt baked(?) then presumably coated in cornstarch and flash fried. The result is tender, savory meat, with a shatteringly crisp crust. Delicious.

They are also served with scallions and sliced long hot peppers. The care taken with the preparation in the food here is apparent.

I would have to say this is already one of my favorite places in Chinatown – it is surely the best Chinese food I have had in the area. Give it a try. It cost $18.50 for everything you see here, and it was definitely well worth it.

Mr. Gyros

10901 North Military Trail
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
(561) 627-3979
Website

In my travels, I am always looking for a good hole-in-the-wall that has interesting food and that doesn't break the bank. When in the West Palm beach area of Florida, this can be quite a task. Luckily I got lost and ended up at Mr. Gyros.

I don't think they get many people taking pictures.

I would usually go with a lamb gyro, but the chicken on the spit was so crispy and delicious looking, I passed over the recently shorn gray variety for the poultry version. This gyro comes LOADED, has feta on it as a standard (not noted on the menu), and has tzatziki on the side. Big fan of the manual application of yogurt sauce, as it allows for controlling the slop factor when you get down to the foil parts. The Greek side salad was pretty great as well. Especially with the house dressing.

Probably my favorite part of the meal was that they have and sell their own hot sauce, which is basically the Mediterranean version of the hot pepper hoagie spread I love so much around here. One gripe is that the peppers themselves are tough to get out of the squirt bottle. Other than that, it added a nice vinegary zip to the sandwich (and salad). For the ritzy food and lifestyle synonymous with this area, Mr. Gyros was a great find for some reasonably priced "ethnic" food .