Cafe La Maude

816 North 4th Street
Philadelphia PA 19123
(267) 318-7869
Website

I have ridden past La Maude countless times, but if I am stopping for food on this block, it always ends up being Honey's. I figured it was high time that changed. This place is just a few doors north of the famous corner spot, and you can't miss it.

The façade is really nice, with a great awning and wood framing. According to their site, they "look like Paris, and taste like Beirut."

They had a wide selection of pastries and desserts. Although I was tempted, I was here for some brunch.

It's all about high quality presentation here.

Prices are a bit high, but there is a great ambiance. And the food has a lot of creativity.

Also, the coffee is fantastic.

The benedict was delicious. Their version was served over thin slices of Canadian bacon with a generous smear of Brie, fresh avocado and topped with a bright & citrusy hollandaise.

Not to mention the skewers of fresh fruit...

The eggs were poached to perfection, and served with a side of some nicely crisped potato wedges. Everything on this plate was prepared just right.

I also got the Halloumi press, which consisted of grilled halloumi cheese, roasted tomatoes, green olives, mesclun greens, and pesto served on a French baguette.

While it may not have been the largest sandwich I have eaten, it was among the tastiest. Simple, refreshing, and delicious. There was a level of acidity that made the ingredients come alive, and the crispy toasted bread held everything together nicely.

I have to say, the next time Honey's is too full, I wouldn't think twice about heading down to La Maude. Even if it means a few extra bucks. I actually may be craving that sandwich in the near future and head down that way for a coffee and a sandwich on the sidewalk. Weather pending.

Euphoria Cafe

1001 N.2nd Street #23
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 238-9209

You may remember the past post about café Euphoria, but I didn’t. So I decided to try it again, for the tenth time.

Yes, it's in the dreaded Piazza, yes it's kind of weird, but damn, they make a great cheap sandwich pocket to go.

At $3.50 to $4.50 a piece, you can afford to order a couple and see what you like best.

Look at the beautiful lattice-like markings. Like an Eggo pocket, made just for you.

Luckily it was between breakfast and lunch (though I believe they serve everything all day), so I was able to start with a sausage, egg, and cheese. This is what hot pockets are intended to replicate. So delicious. And convenient.

Not wanting the sausage to feel left out, I also went for a bacon, egg, and cheese. Again, everything you would expect, in a beautiful, crispy, golden puck sized vessel. I will admit, they were somewhat dry in there. But this is nothing that ordering a little smear of ketchup or (and) mayo won't fix next time.

The ham and cheese was something I had not tried, but it about fit the bill for a late breakfast as well. Ham, cheese, iceberg, mayo, mustard. Simplicity, and execution. I could have used the cheese on the outside perimeter of the fillings, as to facilitate more melting, but it was a minor complaint.

If you want to go for a cheap coffee-and-snack-type date in Northern Liberties, you could do worse than choose to come here. Also, try the bulgogi, if you're visiting later in the day.

The Blind Pig

702 N 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(267) 639-4565
Website

The Blind Pig is a relatively new(ish)-comer to the Northern Liberties area, tucked away on 2nd street right next to the infamous The 700. Although I had known about The Blind Pig since it's inception, I wanted to give them time to get things in order before stopping in. Last weekend a couple of happy hour beers and some food were in order, so in I went.

Forgive the grainyness of some of the photos, it is bad lighting for pictures, but good lighting for atmosphere.

The menu presents a mix of regional comfort foods, and although they don't have an overall "theme" (besides comfort), there is a strong mix of food you (I) would want to eat.

After talking to the co-owner/bartender/wife of the chef, and hearing that people "follow her husband for his lamb," I decided to try the lamb sliders. I also decided that the poutine needed to be had, as I have a soft spot in my heart for poutine. Luckily, the bar tender asked if I would like to sub out the fries that came with my sliders for a side salad. I was going to ask for that, but I didn't know the policy on substitutions. Believe me, an extra order of fries is not needed with the boatload of gravy cheese fries that their poutine entails.

The french fries are crispy, fresh and delicious. The curds are sourced from Wholesome Dairy Farms out in Douglassville, Pa. The curds had apparently been delivered fresh that afternoon, and were fantastic. The gravy, oh that gravy, came from a mother stock of veal parts that is developed over a week of braising. It's one part gravy, one part au jus, and one part magic.

Look at the beefy goodness below.

The lamb sliders were another big winner, even though I am opposed to sliders for the most part. These worked out well, because of consistency and share-ability. Well-seasoned lamb patties cooked to a perfect medium rare, topped with a pickle slice, diced onion and smoked paprika aioli. Usually served with a side of fries, as mentioned above, I got mine with a side salad, which is served with a chocolate stout vinaigrette.

The sliders were delicious, just the right mix and number of ingredients, and to repeat myself, they were very well cooked (to a nice medium). The stout vinaigrette was totally addicting. I believe it was the blend of salt, sugar, black pepper, shallot and choco-stout that had me shoveling this generous portion of mixed greens in as fast as I could.

 

Overall, The Blind Pig is a great addition to the No Libs corridor, and I will certainly return, if for nothing other than to order a pint glass of that gravy. That being said, I will also be back to try the fried oyster sandwich as well as the highly acclaimed "blue balls," a fried chicken and blue cheese concoction that sounds mighty delicious, physical discomfort aside.

Green Olives

992 N 2nd St
Philadelphia PA 19123
(215) 923-3979

Want to know how "Mom-and-Pop" Green Olives is? They don't have a website! They don't even have a menu online. It's actually quite interesting. How are they resisting the black hole of real-life social interaction that is the internet?

But I digress... I have been riding by the place frequently in the recent weeks and have been wanting to stop for lunch, but I have also been weary. Who opens a place across from the Piazza, and doesn't have a website? (digression?) Putting my questionable logic aside, I was lured in by the siren's call of grilled chicken wraps.

They also offer smoothies, platters, and a whole plethora of other things for which I didn't realize there was a market, especially in this neighborhood.

There is a bar full of various Mediterranean salads, pre-made falafels, roasted peppers, and spreads.

An olive bar.

A table full of pita bread.

A wall full of dried goods, and snacks, such as blueberry yogurt covered pretzels (among other yogurt flavors), various nuts and healthy items like wasabi (at least that's what I consider healthy).

One of the most interesting finds was the presence of three kinds of popcorn kernels. I don't make much popcorn, but these had me wanting to fire up the stove and celebrate America with a red, white and blue kettle corn blowout.

So anyway, you order from the overhead menu, and the nice older lady takes it down. I found a bit of a language barrier, but when she asked if I wanted hot peppers, I was reassured.

My wrap was done in (approximately) the quoted five minute time period, and came, surprisingly, with a cucumber, tomato and mint salad on the side. According to the menu, the sandwiches are served with a Mediterranean salad and tahini, which I figured went ON the sandwich. Also, the tahini was nowhere to be found.

The sandwich was a decent sized portion, and at $6 and change with a side salad, was a pretty good deal. The salad was decent, doused in red wine vinegar with the punch of fresh mint and dried oregano.

When I looked at the sandwich, however, there was something interesting going on. Instead of just the chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, tzatiki and hot peppers I had expected, there was something else going on. A purplish culprit that I usually find quite off putting. Beets. More specifically, I noticed the unmistakable juice on the front of the pita. I figured it must have been some cross contamination from another item they were preparing. So I dug in.

Lo and behold, it was no isolated incident. There were indeed beets throughout the sandwich. There were not, to my dismay, any hot peppers. The sandwich was tightly wrapped, which led to no spillage, and the ingredients were fresh, but what the hell were these beets doing in my Mediterranean grilled chicken wrap? Unfortunately, they were saving it. This cylinder was borderline dry, save for the moisturizing power of . . . beets. I usually don't like them, but I must admit, they actually added to this sandwich. Probably because the chicken was dry and had been cooked some time ago. That and the fact that there was nary a hot pepper to be found aside, it wasn't the worst attempt I have seen. Would I order it again? Probably not. But I will more than likely find myself rolling back to see what some of the other items are all about. Oh, and some Nationalistic popcorn.