Mission Taqueria

1516 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 383-1200
Website

I have been to Mission Taqueria a few times, specifically for Happy Hour, and I have yet to be disappointed. Located near my favorite Center City watering hole, Oscar's Tavern, and newcomer falafel/tahini shake spot Goldie, this upstairs eatery is easy to walk past if you are not paying attention. The discount offerings make this a fantastic place for after work boozing, and the snacks are all on point as well.

$2 tacos include carnitas and chicken, and they are each a steal.

The carnitas touts pulled pork, salsa verde, and pickled red onion on a small, well made corn tortilla. Simple taco heaven.

The chicken is garnished with guajillo-garlic glaze, salsa fresca, and cotija cheese. Tender, smoky chicken, and cool cotija mix well. Another $2 winner.

The wings have a pineapple habanero glaze, and are only $5 for the 5-7pm drinking slot. A very reasonable price for the complex and well rendered wings.

Likely my favorite of the lot was the fresh fried chicharron with spicy queso seasoning. Like eating the best cheeto you have ever tasted. Hot, light, extremely crispy. and salty, the ultimate drinking snack. $4 and worth every cent. Seriously addictive. However be careful, as it IS possible to have too many of these, but it will cost you about $12.

La Porta Via

1192 N Middletown Road
Media, PA 19063
(610) 358-8970
Website

If you like Paesano's, you will love La Porta Via. Located across from La Porta the mother restaurant, this sandwich shop has most of the favorites from the famous Philly stop.

The Italian fry bread makes for an incredible sauce sopping vessel. Covered in parm and herbs, one piece is a meal in and of itself.

Doughy, crispy, and comforting. This is a gluten free dieters nightmare. And while we are on the subject of fad diets, there is nothing vegan here either. Probably.

The daily meat slice of Sicilian style pizza is another quick belly buster. While I am partial to thin crust, this was a damn good hunk of goodness.

The always popular Torrezeaux is a spicy chicken cheesesteak, Italian style. With roasted chicken, mushrooms, sriracha cream, smoked mozzarella, spinach.

As you can see there is no lack of sauce to this sandwich. Creamy, salty, and umami rich, it is a chicken cheesesteak done right.

The Italian Rueben was another stunner. House brisket with sweet and sour kraut, caper mayo, and Swiss on rye. Not for the faint of heart.

Look at those lovely layers. This is sandwich poetry in motion. At this point I have eaten my way around the menu, and you will not go wrong.

Stockyard Sandwich Co.

1541 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 977-9273
Website

Stockyard has been on my list for a while, ever since my friend over at Better Home Chef told me about it. I finally got a chance to partake, and I was not disappointed. Don't mind the Long River photo bomb back there.

The first two sandwiches were the whole pig banh mi, and the white fish po' boy.

The po' boy had cornmeal crusted whitefish, cabbage, carrot, onion, and remoulade on a baguette. This was a delicious riff on the original NOLA po' boys with a nod to the venerable Philly fish cake.

The cornmeal crusted fish was fried perfectly, and the batter made for a nice textural contrast.

As much as I liked the po' boy, the suckling pig banh mi was even better. The pork was rich and sweet, with carrot, cabbage, cucumber, cilantro, onion, jalapeno and XO mayo served on another delicious baguette. 

Look at the juice, and the sprigs of cilantro to freshen it up. Cabbage brought the crunch.

At this point, I was feeling over stuffed, but I persevered. There was still a braised beef to try. A farm-to-table cheesesteak of sorts. Tender beef, house-made Whiz, onion, mushroom, and yet again, all packed nicely into the same crusty baguette. The beef was tender, flavor packed, and well rendered. 

The cheese made for a perfect suspension to keep all of the ingredients firmly in place.

This place reminded me of a farm style Paesano's. It is in an area that is underserved for a truly great sandwich, and I think it fits the bill quite nicely.

World of Beer

Main Street at Exton
102 Main St #100
Exton, PA 19341
(610) 991-2863
Website

World of Beer is a smallish chain that has been in Exton since 2016. They offer 50 beers on tap with all kinds of variety, including many limited releases. The venue itself is large with plenty of seating, and a large wrap around bar. The outdoor area has fires going with cornhole, jumbo Jenga and inviting couches for extended lounging.

Photo by Pete Bannan / DailyLocal.com

Most importantly, they have tater tots. Specifically, tater tots topped with homemade beer cheese, jalapeños, crispy bacon, scallions & sour cream. The tots were perfectly fried, and the beer cheese was incredibly addictive.

It was an unusually refreshing pile of fried potatoes.

The wings were next up. I got a mix of Garlic Parmesan and Korean Spicy, which is basically a thick and slightly sweet gochujang sauce. The garlic parm were rendered out and left a crispy skin. The sauce itself was nicely flavored without being a garlic bomb. My personal favorites (as usual) were the gochujang version. Sticky, sweet, and packing heat, the scallion greens were a nice contrast and added some cooling crunch.

Are those garlic or parm flecks? Who knows. Just eat them.

The Chimay burger ($5 on Monday nights) comes with a fresh Angus beef burger piled high with Chimay Classique cheese, sautéed mushrooms, & caramelized onions. Served on a brioche bun with house-made Chimay sauce.

Although my medium rare was over cooked, the flavor the was still there. The sauce was rich and the brioche held everything together.

The apple and kale coleslaw was a nice variation on the fries, tater tots, wings, and burger I had already consumed. Crunchy, fresh, and just enough dressing.

I was not finished yet, however. The crispy chicken sliders came with beer-brined chicken breast, fried crisp, southern style with dill pickles & local IPA sauce served on two toasted brioche buns. Yet another winner. These were perfect if you didn't want to overdo it on food (but still wanted to overdo the beer).

The IPA sauce helped keep this from being dry, and the pickle cut the fried breading and bread itself with some acidity.

The street tacos were also pretty good (there was definitely no beer-fueled favoritism going on at this point). Below is the beef barbacoa, beer battered shrimp, and beer brined fried chicken from the left. They are offered with either the house made ranch (fried chicken) or the Sriracha lime aioli (the rest). All did the trick, and it was a fair deal at $11. Plus they were not stingy with the queso fresco.

As if there were not enough food at this outing, the Guinness-infused Bratwurst with sauerkraut, sautéed onions & peppers and  house mustard in a toasted hoagie roll was the grand finale. This, like the burgers, is $5 on Monday nights. The sausage was hearty, juicy, and had a nice snap to the casing. Nothing to complain about.

Basically, this place is great if you are looking for an alternative to Victory in Downingtown, who has consistently fallen off with their food execution. Plus you can drink most of the special Victory brews here for cheaper. What's not to like?

La Cabra Brewing

642 Lancaster Ave.
Berwyn, PA 19312
(610) 240-7908
Website

La Cabra has gotten some recent publicity, so I figured it was about time that I gave it a write up myself. I love the Berwyn Tavern and this place is literally across the street. Damn Berwyn, who would have thought you would have two of the best bars in the burbs?

The bar itself has an old industrial vibe inside, with high ceilings, complemented with brick and wood accents. Also the upstairs has all kinds of games like darts, Bimini Ring Toss and the recent addition of fooseball (:-O). I loved it at first sight. The beers are delicious and they are constantly unveiling new releases. I went from hoppy to malty and back, and was pleased with every choice. Not to mention the bar food.

The garlic truffle Parmesan wings were fantastic. Sous vide cooked and then fried to a perfect crispiness, they were some of my favorites I have had in a while. Seven wings for $9 is a bit spendy, but given the size and prep that went into them, I had no complaints.

Look at that rendered out skin, fried to a crackling crisp.

The micro greens made it so I was basically eating a salad, which was nice for those counting calories.

Another guilt-free snack was the frisee salad served with crispy pork belly, chipotle honey, goat cheese, jalapeño bacon and a citrus aioli. Not a typo, the pork belly comes with bacon lardons. The belly was sous vide until tender as well, and then crisped up, notice a trend? This was sweet, salty, crispy, fatty and the frisee really did help cut the heaviness.

Basically the healthiest thing I have eaten in 2017.

Finally, the brisket tacos. These are accompanied by potato plantain hash, cilantro, and mole BBQ. Well at least I think they are. I didn't get any hash or cilantro. I DID get a hell of a lot of brisket though. So no complaints. The brisket was tender, and the mole sauce was sweet and smokey. The tortillas were quite good, with a nice toast to them. Thick salty chips with some salsas were the perfect accompaniment.

Perhaps the most amazing part is the crowler. I am easily amused, to be sure, but the ability to get a 32oz can of beer from the tap sealed on the spot to take home is a godsend. Who the hell ever remembers a growler. I have at least a half dozen at home I neglect to bring with me, despite the fact that I visit some type of brewery or place that fills them at least once a week.

You might drive past La Cabra (the goat) without knowing it. But you would be doing your palate a disservice.