Frankie's Cafe

25 South Eagle Road
Havertown, PA 19083
(610) 449-8771
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I was recently looking for somewhere to eat before a show at the Tower, but didn't feel like Pica's. I decided to try a little corner bar that offered some home-style South Philly Italian that was recommended to me.

Frankie's is a two floor space with a bar on the first and a restaurant on the second. I chose to sidle up to the bar and grab some sandwiches (and beers). Two of the menu items I have a hard time passing up just about anytime I see them. A meatball sandwich and a chicken cutlet. I also feel these are great barometers of a place's ability to do Italian comfort food. One thing you will note, the chips are fried fresh, which is a nice touch.

The chicken cutlet was nicely fried, with a crispy seasoning and nice thin slices of meat. The provolone was melted and in good proportion to the rest of the fillings. As usual, the garlicy broccoli rabe added some bitterness and zest to the heavy sandwich.

The side of "gravy" was fresh, acidic, and a welcome addition to the chicken cutlet sandwich. Dipped or ladled, marinara usually doesn't disappoint.

The meatball was similarly smothered in cheese, and again, melted to a delicious coverage.

The meatballs themselves were light, juicy, and had plenty of seasoning. The bread was toasted to help hold it together with the sloppy mess going on in the middle. It was perfect comfort food, and didn't break the bank at about $9 a sandwich.

Add great lighting/atmosphere (darkness) with some reasonably priced drafts and you've got one heck of a joint.

...On A Roll

11 S Orange St.
Media, PA 19063
(610) 892-7979
Website


I love a good family owned business, so I was pretty excited to try On ARoll. . .  located just off the "main strip" in Media. This place features a quaint little storefront, and from what I had heard, some delicious food to boot.

There are a couple of stools inside if you want to belly up, as well as some indoor and outdoor tables.

After seeing the Italian hoagie tray, I decided to stick to sandwiches on a roll.

As their featured product is "On A Roll", I decided to try two sandwiches featuring the rolls. A caprese, and a chicken cutlet.

The chicken cutlet featured provolone, peppers, mushrooms, and marinara.

Unfortunately, the roll was a bit overwhelming, and the marinara was bland. The cutlet itself was pretty decent, but overall, it was not something I would order again.

The caprese was like eating a hamburger bun with some lettuce, tomato, pesto, and some bland mozzarella.

Again, it wasn't BAD it just wasn't done that well. Too much bread made for a very substantial, but not very fulfilling sandwich.

It actually looks pretty good in these pictures, but it was not executed like it could have been. It lacked flavor, and the roll was too much. It tells you the state of sandwiches in our city where this gets a big "meh" while somewhere like Pittsburgh, it would probably have 530 Yelp! reviews and five stars.

Pagano's Market

2001 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 523-6200
Website

Pagano's is a DiBruno Brother's type place that caters to white collar workers in Center City. I wrote about the outpost of it here last year, but felt a trip was deserved to the main location.

They get awfully busy during lunch, and the office workers swarm the "gourmet" foods offered.

There is a large salad bar, one at which (unfortunately) I will never be able to eat. Every time I have ever tried to take the healthy route, my food eyes have ended up costing me AT LEAST $15. For a damn salad. I guess I like heavy vegetables.

They also have a pizza station, that includes stromboli's. It looked good, but I was here for sandwiches.

You get into the appropriate line, and try to decipher what you want on this particular occasion. It didn't take me too long. Although I changed my choices a couple of times on the way to the front.

Most of the sandwiches are pre-made, but they will dress them to order.

Always a sucker for chicken cutlets, I had to try the sharp prov and spinach with a side of sauce.

This one did, however, look like a salad even I could get behind.

They dress hot sandwiches according to your requests.

Also, don't forget to grab a side of pickles. They are delicious.

I started with the Italian classico. It had the traditional assortment of cured Italian meats on it, but they were definitely of higher quality than usual.

The crusty roll was really, well, crusty. It was good though. Different than I am used to. The proscuitto was also quite good. Deep crimson in color, it was tender and packed with rich pork flavor.

The other meats and sharp provolone were also quite tasty. I think the roll might have been a bit overkill, but luckily I had oil, vinegar, AND mayo to lube it up. A solid Italian, though it was a bit steep at $10.

The chicken cutlet/parm, didn't fare quite as hot. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't the best I have had. The sauce was incredibly bland, and nothing about this sandwich "popped". It was very one note.

The cutlet itself was pretty good, but again, without any spice or enough salt, no contrasting flavors, it just didn't "cut" it. It could have also taken a bit of a pounding - more surface area and less (dry) breast to cut through with every bite.

I would go back to Pagano's, but probably only if the Kennedy Food Garden was closed. I think the couple of dollars less per item make the difference, but that's just me. Pagano's is certainly good enough, and if I worked in one of these buildings I would probably be here quite often. Has anyone had the pizza?

Ro-Lynn Deli

3407 Edgmont Avenue
Brookhaven, PA 19015
(610) 872-9575
Website

The DelCo hoagie hunt will forever be ongoing, but today, Ro-Lynn had exactly what I was looking for. Truth be told, I was driving past, noticed the deli, almost kept driving, but I spotted my favorite Liscio's rolls out front and made a u-turn. I also don't know why every place has a "Godfather" hoagie, but I will be trying the one at Ro-Lynn soon.

They have about everything you could ever want in a deli at this spot.

The chicken cutlets had me intrigued.

I was also charmed by the "specialtie sandwichs" sign.

In the end, I went with a buffalo chicken cutlet hoagie.

The sandwich was lovingly constructed, with cutlet, lettuce, tomato, blue cheese, and wing sauce on a Liscio's roll. I swear these are about the best rolls ever.

The cutlets themselves were well seasoned, and perfectly cooked. The sandwich was certainly messy, which made it even better. Everything was in perfect order.

I really loved this spot. From the great service and ample selection, to the well-crafted hoagies. This is exactly what makes Philadelphia (and the burbs) the best place to eat in the world. You could be driving past a small deli that you didn't even know about, and it turns out to be a fantastic new (to you) secret spot.