New Wave Cafe

2620 E Allegheny Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19134
(215) 634-3224

There is an area of Port Richmond that is basically a little slice of Poland. In the center of this mini world, is a restaurant/bar called New Wave Cafe. Not to be mistaken with The New Wave, which is a bar in Queen Village. So although I have been to the New Wave Cafe a couple of times, I had never eaten a full meal there. I merely tasted other peoples food and vowed that I would make it up there at some point to try some of the Polish delights offered. Well I finally had the opportunity to head up and so I did.


The Cafe is a strange place. I have been there at night intending to eat, yet the kitchen was closed because it really is a disco as well. A full on laser light show and an Eastern European fashion show ensued. But I digress. The inside is about what you would expect. A bit drab, but it is endearing because half of the signage is in Polish, and they have a great selection of Polish beers (try the Zywiec).


The pickle soup (yes, pickle soup) was one of the items I had tried before, but I wanted to try a full bowl. They use a warm thin broth, I believe it is chicken based, with chopped pickles, potatoes, and shredded carrots. It is quite good.


The real star of the soups, however was the white borscht. I have never had the white version only the traditional beet based soup. I absolutely loved this soup. This soup had a base of sausage water which made the broth oily, comforting and delicious (I believe there was also sour cream in there). In the soup was thin sliced kielbasa (so good), sliced hard boiled eggs, and some onion, as well as a hint of vinegar. I could eat this soup all the time, and will be making my own version in the near future. This was the high point of the meal.


No Polish meal is complete without pierogies and kielbasa. I partook in both. The potato and cheese pierogies, unfortunately, were not great. They offered fried or steamed, so I obviously went with fried, but they were not the well done, crispy pouches I love so much. The outside was pretty oily and the stuffing really didn't have much flavor. They were edible, but forgettable.


The kielbasa, on the other hand, was really crispy. It WAS fried hard. It had a good smokey flavor, and the mustard on the side was a great accompaniment. I got a side of sauerkraut, which was cooked in apple cider vinegar, I believe. It was pretty tasty. Overall, I liked the food, and I will certainly be back. The white borscht, however, stole the show.

Pizza Winner!

After much deliberation, I have chosen a winner. Due to the fact that the person who told me about Joey's also mentioned that SliCE was another of his favorite pizza shops, I have to give Administrator the free pizzas. Thanks for your responses and look for more giveaways in the future!

Free Pizza Giveaway!

I had the pleasure of trying what I might consider to be my new favorite pizza in the city. Joey's Stone Fired Pizza on 5th and South. It is "Trenton style" super crispy thin crust pizza. I absolutley loved it. The ingredients were really fresh and simple and I was really impressed. There will be a new post coming soon. In the meantime, however, I have 2 free 12" cheese pizza gift certificates to give away. You can order extra toppings if you want (the pepperoni is thick sliced and delicious) for a nominal charge. I really, really liked the cheese pizza, however and so I recommend trying it. Anyway, in the comment section, just tell me what your favorite pizza in the city is, and the winner (the most interesting/compelling comment), subject to my sole discretion, will get 2 free pizza gift cards from Joey's that are good until the end of March. Contest ends at lunch on Saturday. Enjoy! (oh and by the way, they are BYOB, so bring some beers and eat some pizza!)

Smoked Pork Butt

So after eating at Paesano's, and with the smoker heating up back at home, I stopped at Cannuli Brothers to pick up some pig. It was shockingly empty, and so I was the belle of the ball. I didn't know what I wanted (I was leaning towards butt or ribs) and the guy who works there that looks like Steven Seagal (seriously it's crazy) recommended I try the boneless butt for once. I took his word and headed home on cloud nine, with a belly full of Paesano's and a bag full of pork. I threw some more wood (I found some dry wood buried in my stack) and got the smoker back up to temperature. I then rinsed the pork, dried it and gave it a healthy dry rub of brown sugar and various (secret) spices and put it on the smoker.

(Well, first I had to clear out a spot for the chimney starter.)

So after a 6 hour smoke, this boneless butt was ready to come off (because I was starving). The bark turned out amazing, sweet with a late spicy grab on your tastebuds. The boneless butt cooked faster, and had much less prep than my experience with the bone-ins. I was impressed.

(Hot off the grill)

(After a 3o minute rest)

(I gave it a rough chop for Texas style tacos.)

(Some pico, marinated onions, fresh guac, sprinkle of lime and some cilantro. Awesome.)

Paesano's Italian Market

9th and Christian

Well considering we have had the most snow on record this year, I felt it was the least Mother Nature could do to finally dump snow on a weekday and give us some time off. Well that wish came to fruition this week as we eclipsed the previous record, and there is (possibly) more on the way. So with a Thursday off, I decided to check out the new Paesano's in the Italian Market. I also was pleasantly surprised when my crazy neighbor shoveled my walk, the last 6 inches of snow or so, and with my energy reserves I decided to dig out my smoker. Two hours later, I had the back patio clear and was wrestling with the chimney to get that old thing lit for the first time since last fall. I finally got it lit and decided to walk to the Italian Market for some sort of pork. When I got there, I was hungry from all of the shoveling, and Paesano's was the first stop. I am happy to report, they kept the same menu, with a couple of new items, and it seems to be consistent with previous trips to the original location (amazing). I tried the Paesano and the Daddy Wad, two classics, and they were just as good as always. It helps that the same guy who has been recently running the kitchen at the original location was in the back. The inside of this place is large and nice, good atmosphere, and laid back service. I am in heaven.

(Grand opening, and about time!)

This is the Daddy Wad, a consistently delicious, and perfectly balanced classic Italian hoagie. As good as any you will get in the city. I guarantee it. It has Italian meats, sharp prov, sweet and hot peppers, arugula, tomato and onions, finished with oil and vinegar. Simple and perfect.

(Sandwich master)

Laid back interior (besides the women sitting next to me who were not thrilled with the guy taking pictures of everything)

And here it is. The granddaddy of all sandwiches. The best beef (non-cheesesteak) sandwich I have ever eaten. Quite possibly the best sandwich I have ever eaten. The egg yolk really coats all of the super tender and juicy brisket, while the horseradish mayo is to die for, and the creamy ricotta and roasted tomato just seal the deal. It is by no means a clean eating sandwich, but my word!, it packs an unparalleled flavor punch. Keep in mind that what you see is all egg yolk around the paper and roll. Rich, delicious, egg yolk. Paesano, you are my favorite sandwich in the city.

Wing Bowl/Shank's Pier 40

Ok so I am normally not one to say things like this, but this might have been the best cheesesteak of my life. No lie. So if my careful(ish) calculations are correct, which I believe they are, this might be the best cheesesteak in the world. It is hands down MY reigning champ.


I awoke after Wing Bowl, to find myself hungry and disoriented. I needed some food, and fast. I had a tough choice between leftover pasta or a cheesesteak. And by tough choice, I mean I was out the door without opening the fridge. Since it was my job as a food writer, I ended up attending Wing Bowl. It was everything about Philly that makes it, well, Philly. Loud, large, intoxicated people, all sorts of ladies of the night, and feats of gluttony that would make the average person lose their lunch. It was pretty awesome. That said, I will probably never go again, but it was worth it for the experience. Apparently someone won. Pictures below.





Anyway, after being up at 5 AM for that nightmare, needless to say, I slept when I got home. I actually slept a bit while I was there, but that is neither here nor there. I awoke with a hunger only a cheesesteak (or some other equally unhealthy, greasy, local specialty) could quell. I have been wanting to try the new location of Shank's on Pier 40 on Del Ave (basically where Christian hits Del Aave). So I went right before they closed at 4pm. Terrible, I know. I ordered the lunch special, which is a cheesesteak and a soda for $7.50. I got extra cheese on it, obviously, and there was no extra charge, which is a plus. So a cheesesteak, grilled onions and extra cheese later, I was on my way back home. One other thing I really like, is that the people are much more interesting there, than at the Center City location.



Simply put, this cheesesteak was perfect. The roll was chewy and crispy (a trait only Philadelphians get to enjoy), and the meat was chopped, but very tender and salty. The extra cheese really helped to meld everything together and made for a creamy, meaty, comfort that only the cheesesteak can provide. I am literally already planning my next trip, which will most likely be this week. I cannot wait.

Muffaletta (Super Bowl)

Well I am always a fan of huge sandwiches, whether making or eating them. So when the Saints were in the Super Bowl, and I was vetoed by the owners of the house whose party I was attending on my suggestion of deep frying anything, I decided to do the right thing, and make a muffaletta (or two). I have had a couple of different muffalettas in my day, but I had never actually made one. So first things first, you need the correct bread. Muffalettas are often pretty hard to eat, because they come on large frisbee sized Italian loaves. Cacia's in South Philly (where we got the 6 foot hoagie roll) was the go to choice. And they delivered (figuratively).


The first step, is to make the olive salad. This is the signature component of the muffaletta. I wanted to go authentic, and as muffalettas were an Italian influenced food that originated in New Orleans, I chose artichokes, roasted red peppers, banana peppers (for a little kick), kalamata olives, and green olives. I threw them all in the food processor, and pulsed a couple times, with fingers crossed. I couldn't have been happier with the results.

(Filled to the brim)

(Nice and chunky!)

(Note: I drained all of the liquid from the jars first, and after placing in a bowl, post chop, I added a healthy dose of olive oil. This gave the oil some great flavor and I rubbed the bottom of the roll with it later.)

After a couple (4) of hours of marinating, I was ready to assemble. I (carefully) sliced the roll and rubbed the bottom with olive oil and some of the marinated olive oil. This helped to soften the bottom of this crusty loaf.


Next I started stacking the meats and cheeses. Once again, in keeping with tradition, I decided to use genoa salami, ham, and mortadella for the meats, and mozzarella and provolone for the cheeses.

One of my favorite tricks that deli's do with crusty bread is to scoop out the inside of the bread in order to facilitate more ingredients, as well as creating a nice little pocket to hold everything together. I used this method and filled the hollowed out top half of the loaf with my olive salad.


Carefully place the bottom on the top and flip. I made this about 4 hours before it will be ready to serve in order to let the flavors really come together.


Wrap tightly with cling wrap and prepare to be the most popular person at the party. Go Saint's.

(Update with some more pics)