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.

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?

Kennedy Food Garden

1901 John F Kennedy Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 977-9655

Kennedy Food Garden is a hidden gem in Center City west. It's the ground level of a large retirement/older person apartment building. They have EVERYTHING there, from groceries, to rotisserie chickens, to a pretty damn good deli.

Also, the chip and drink selection is second to none. It's like a high-end Wawa.

Although you can order your food at the counter and eat it there, I usually get mine to go. Whether I am going back to work or headed to a park, its a perfect grab-n-go lunch. Now this may be surprising, but one of my favorites there (you really can't go wrong as long as you get something on a French baguette) is the veggie sandwich. This allows me to feel as though I am eating healthy, but I still get the "ingredients on crusty roll" experience I crave. Plus they load this one up with ripe avocado (every time!) and feta.

This one has tomato, banana peppers, cucumbers, avocado, sun-dried tomato, romaine, feta, and mayo. Fantastic. $7. The sun-dried tomatoes give it a meaty chew, the avocado adds the fat, and the feta has the salty kick that would otherwise be missing. I am also a sucker for cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, and vinegary peppers. Did I mention that the rolls are fantastic? This sandwich is more than enough to fill you up until dinner. Or five o'clock, the snacking hour.

Another big winner is the chicken Parmesan. Although its more of a chicken pizza steak, with chunks of chicken rather than breaded cutlets, it's really tasty. Melted mozzarella, tangy marinara sauce, and tender chicken is all it takes to make this one a winner.

It is by no means a clean eat, but its not overly sloppy either. Well seasoned, and again, served on this great roll, its a filling sandwich for about $8.

If you are working in the area, I recommend stopping by the Food Garden to give it a try. It's not the most incredible thing ever, but it's consistent and has the reliable familiarity of an ex. But in this case, it's a good thing.

Big Dan's Deli

2700 S Darien St
Philadelphia, PA 19148
(215) 755-3354
Website

Ever since my old favorite hoagie place closed, I have been interested to see how the newly refurbished replacement would stack up.

The layout was similar, with a new coat of paint.

It also seems to operate as more of a deli than it used to. I see you peeking out at me.

Two of my previous favorites included the chicken cutlet and the chicken Parmesan. So I decided they would be the benchmark for determining whether Big Dan's could match its former proprietor's glory. I started with the chicken parm. It comes on a nice Sarcone's seeded roll, stuffed with (thick and juicy) breaded cutlets, marinara, and provolone.

They definitely included a healthy portion of chicken in this sandwich. It was quality, well cooked chicken breast, and made for a nice substantial filling. I only wish that there was more kick to the sauce. Some extra garlic would really make this sandwich great. It was still good, but lacking that extra oomph.

The real test, however, would come in the form of the signature, Eleventh Street Italian. It's labeled as an "old style" hoagie, and comes with Parma prosciutto, sopresseta, hot coppa (gabagol), hard salami, and sharp prov. I got mine with everything on it.

Now, you may notice that they roll with the 'top-meat-wrap,' but unlike the DelCo ham curtain, they tuck 90% of the meat around the interior vegetables, with a layer of proscuitto on the bottom. Now that is hoagie-curating I can get behind. The top wrap is INSIDE the bread so you don't get ham hands, and it perfectly holds in all of the things (veggies) that have a tendency to sneak out.

The bottom proscuitto layer assures that even your low bites get cured pig in them. This is a damn fine Italian hoagie. For the record, I roll with oil AND mayo on my Italian hoagies. Purists be damned, that combo is unbeatable. Creamy mayo with the salty, rich deli meat is one for the record books.

Oh, and as if I wasn't impressed before, they threw in a free sample of their delicious bacon potato salad. This stuff was addictive as all hell.