MealPal: Philly Launch Party

Website/Join MealPal

I was invited to a launch party for a new lunch purchase program for folks working in Center City. MealPal lets you pay per month, and then choose from a multitude of vendors for a daily lunch option. Kind of like Netflix for food. You can choose what you want to eat from a mouthwatering display of Pinterest-style food photos, up until 9:30am that morning, and then pick up your meal around . . .  lunchtime. It ends up costing about $6 a day, and you basically just walk in and grab your food without having to pay or wait in line. Some of the vendors were offering samples, so I indulged. My favorite of the night ended up being these Kansas City Beef Dogs from Destination Dogs.

The casing had a great snap, and the short rib chili and house slaw on top added just the right amount of savory and sassy accessories. They also baked the top loader buns in house. I was a big fan.

You could also tell that the care that was put into the assembly process was a carry-over from the general thoughtfulness and "love" that these guys had for the product.

I spent a good bit of time eating these doggies talking to the chef/co-founder Jimmy, who clearly has a passion for what he does and as I mentioned before, it shows. The short rib chili is a task in itself and when you make your own sausages (and other cased meats) and breads in house too, the dudes at DD have their hands (deliciously) full.

I may or may not have eaten three (along with all of the other foods I sampled). I felt a bit like Frankie MacDonald by the time I was done.

Real Food Eatery is another newcomer on the Center City scene that I pleased to meet, literally. I spoke to John (co-founder) about his passion for nutrition and how it shouldn't be considered a bad thing. AKA bland. I was surprisingly pleased with his options. I tried some of the sweet potato hummus and the chicken dish, again both surprisingly good for how healthy they looked.

Plenty of herbs on the tender and flavorful chicken thighs.

And here I was trying yet ANOTHER new place with some Asian flair, Oishii Poke in Chinatown. The spicy salmon poke bowl was yet another favorite.

Look at the color on that salmon!

The shrimp "ebi crunch sushi burrito" rolls were also delicious. Reminded me of my original favorite sushi burrito, but with a little less pizzaz (AKA spicy sauces).

The Farmer's Keep brought some ranch flavored beef meatballs that were not made with your packet of dried ranch mix, but with actual fresh herbs. Surprisingly delicious.

I passed on this one, below, from a local fitness-oriented fast food joint (too healthy for my tastes at that moment) but just want to show you that there is definitely a good mix of options for those who might be watching their waste line.

Matt and Marie's brought some sandwich options including their famous Italian stallion. A decent choice for an Italian hoagie in Center City.

This is actually a great lunch option for people who work downtown and want a reason to get out of the office. You have the option to eat on premises or go back to your desk (like so many of us are guilty of doing). You also get a huge variety of options every day, and can get in and out of the restaurant in less than 5 minutes. Definitely worth a trial subscription, if you ask me.

Gleason's Place

1973 Clayton Williamstown Rd
Franklinville, NJ
(856) 629-7470
Facebook

Gleason's Place is one of those bars you might be planning to visit for the first time, but when you near your destination, you continue on out of fear. But in this case, I urge you to not judge the book by its cover. I hadn't been there in a year or so, but like to stop by on my way to the shore (backroads). They have great wings, and good drink specials. Don't let the exterior fool you, this place is staffed by great people, and the regulars are mostly friendly.

They actually have an expansive menu, and they offer little known favorites like hoagie dip, and stuffed long hots.

The wings are the main draw, and I settled into some "Gleason's Sauce" style pretty quickly. The sauce is a buffalo sauce that has oregano and some other spices in it, for a unique and delicious twist on the original.

They were well rendered, and plenty tender. I was licking the sauce off of the plate. It was like they took a dry rub mix and threw it right into the sauce, best of both worlds.

Crispy skin is what good wings are all about, and these did not disappoint.

Even though I was stopping for a light lunch, I also tried the loaded tots. This platter is ridiculous. It's tots for ten, or at least four. The tots were fried hard and smothered in cheese sauce, sour cream, nacho cheese, and bacon. Not for those on a diet.

I could not even get close to eating this whole platter. However, I did my damnedest.

It was dead while I was there, but it WAS a holiday weekend on an early Friday. Still – shuffleboard, pool, lots of tvs and large portions of great fried food. If you go, don't sleep on the cheesesteak. Also, they have some ridiculous lunch specials like $3 sandwiches, just depends what day you are there.

Pho Street

204 Baltimore Pike
Springfield, PA 19064
(610) 544-3934
Website

Delaware County is not synonymous with Vietnamese food, but Pho Street is the best argument I have tasted so far to try and change that. Located in (what could only be) a former diner-y looking building, this place has tons of booths in which to sit and wait for some damn good food.

They have the usual accompaniments. Which makes me very happy. Any condiment I can get my hands on...

I decided to start with a shrimp summer roll. I love the way this feels "healthy" even though I generally and thoroughly douse it with peanut sauce.

The shrimp were plump and fresh, the rolls were soft had not developed the "skin" that can occur when exposed to the elements. A nice blend of vermicelli, herbs, and lettuce added to the fresh factor. This was a great summer roll.

Because I detest pho, I did not order it. Instead I ordered Hu Tíeu Tom Thit (pork and shrimp noodle soup). Instead of a beef broth, this is a soup with a very flavorful pork/chicken/shrimp combo broth that is the very definition of soul soothing. As is usual for pho-like but non-pho soups, it was served up in a large bowl and included sprouts, jalapeno slices, cilantro and some lime garnishes.

Before I get too into the soup, I will say the pork banh mi was my favorite part of the meal. The BBQ pork was thinly sliced, tender, and the sandwich was obviously constructed with love.

The fresh jalapeño peppers bring the heat, but I didn't find it overwhelming. This was probably due to the cooling cilantro and pickled carrot mixed with the "house special zesty sauce" (spicy mayo) and buttered roll. I have eaten this one a number of times, and it always satisfies. It also doesn't hurt that it rings in at a whooping $5.49.

The soup had a broth that was better than many I have eaten, even those in the non-pho category. So much depth of flavor, like the bones had longer to roast and the maker truly cares about the product.

Once doctored up with some of the aforementioned condiments, it had the heat, the salt, and I crave out of a huge bowl of (chicken) soup for the soul. I basically transformed it into a sort of Tom Yum flavored soup with the fermented hot sauce and I would rinse and repeat as long as Pho Street is around.

If you aren't near Mac Daddy Boulevard, you can also get your fix in Bryn Mawr. Which helps ease the sting of my limited Asian-food options in the 'burbs.

Carribean Corner

4948 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630) 541-8641
Website

I was visiting family in the Chicago area and stumbled upon the Caribbean Corner. Touting the "best Cuban in town" (Downers Grove), I figured it was worth a try. Though I was somewhat concerned about the robustness of the Cuban scene in a town with a 5.2% Latino population.

I started with some chicken empanadas. These were well fried, and had quite a bit of shredded chicken inside. The carrots and corn inside looked like they came from a frozen bag, but overall they were quite serviceable.

The sandwiches, while lacking in visual appeal, all had hefty flavor profiles. Cuban pictured below.

The pork was tender, the bread well griddled, and the general consistency was where it should be.

The shredded beef sandwich was similar to a torta or a bocadilla. The beef was tender and had a nice smack of meat to it. Sloppy, but quite good.

I like my bread to hold up a bit better than what you see here, but overall the flavors were pretty fantastic.

The shredded chicken was just like the shredded beef. But with chicken. Again, pretty sloppy, but tasted just fine. A good offering for the Chicago burbs, but I would not be breaking out the linen suit and a bottle of rum while rushing to eat here.

Gusto

240 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 546-7200
Website

Gusto is tucked away on 22nd, and to be honest, I totally forgot about it. I ate there years ago (+/- 8) when I lived in Rittenhouse, and it was good, but not that memorable. It's still about the same. But for the prices and quality of ingredients, Gusto earns a hefty 4 cheesesteak rating. The pictures will show you why.

The buffalo chicken cheesesteak hoagie was pretty decent. It had freshly shredded romaine and sliced tomato over gooey chicken smothered in a tangy, spicy buffalo sauce served on a nice crusty roll.

The bread here would be better suited to hosting a po' boy, but even with that, it made for a good vessel.

They certainly didn't skimp on the blue cheese either. It was nothing life changing, but not bad in a pinch (that area is a tough spot for a decent lunch at times).

I have also recently had the Italian hoagie, and though it was a bit fancy for my liking, it was surprisingly delicious. I attribute this to the quality of ingredients they use in all of their food. Again, you could certainly do worse, given the neighborhood.

Did I mention the pricing??? The above mentioned chicken cheesesteak ran a whopping $8 and the Italian hoagie came in at under $7. I mean, DiBruno's would serve the same for about twice the price.

They use Carangi's rolls and this seeded version won my heart. The freshly sliced and generously applied Italian meats and thick chunks of sharp prov didn't hurt either. I mean, it is a fancier version of my favorite Italian and given the competitive pricing in a ritzy part of town, I think I'll be revisiting Gusto sooner than later.

Well played.