Cacia's Roast Pork Stromboli

1526 W. Ritner Street
Philadelphia, PA 19145
(215) 334-1340
Website

I have to first disclose that I love Cacia's, and they make one incredible party hoagie roll. Also love their pepperoni stromboli's and their square slice pie. Especially the Pizzaz slice. If you don't know, Pizzaz is one of those weird, quirky South Philly things that doesn't make sense, but they do taste great. They use no sauce, but they cover the pizza in Amercian cheese, slices of tomato and banana peppers. So weird, yet so delicious.

The Roast Pork Stromboli, which they claim to be a specialty of Cacia's, left something to be desired. I would have fared better with a $5 pork sandwich, served on Sundays. I was under the impression that it was packed with pork, sharp prov, and broccoli rabe. I found it to be packed with pork, and there was a bit of cheese in there somewhere, but nowhere near what I was hoping for.

Although the pork was tasty, this stromboli was (can you guess what?)...dry. Really dry. I would have dug some jus to dip these massive wedges of meat into, but instead I had to resort to marinara from the fridge at home. Which, as you probably can guess, is not great with roasted pork. I mean it was fine, but it completely masked all of the flavor. It was a catch 22, however, as without the sauce, the stromboli was nearly inedible. I was not about to resort to Kobayashi-like methods, like dunking the boli slices in water before cramming them down my throat, so I was stuck with marinara.

I will definitely be back to Cacia's for some of their other stromboli's as well as the bread and square pie slices, but I will certainly steer clear of the pork.

Coming Soon

There will be more updates coming soon. I am in the midst of finishing up finals week, and it's been a nightmare. I bet this guy is brushing up on honorary trusts.

El Jarocho

1138 South 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 463-2020

El Jarocho is one of the places in the city that you don't want people to know about. The dining room is VERY small, and it could quickly become a place at which you have to wait in line to get a table. While everyone else is raving about Veracruzana (which used to be much better than it is in its current form), you can just nod and head over to El Jarocho, taking pleasure in what is certainly among the ranks of Los Gallos and Los Jalapenos, members of the South Philly Mexican food elite, without waiting. You might have seen this place before, it's hard to miss with its various neon lights shining brightly on a nondescript corner just south of Washington.

The menu is similar to most authentic Mexican places around the city. Nothing too crazy, but what they do, they do well. One thing that I like, is that they offer Cemitas, as well as Tortas. Cemita is Torta's smaller, seeded cousin, hailing from the Puebla region of Mexico. Another thing I really, really like here, in fact one of the things that sets this place apart from the competition, is the crema dip they give you with chips while you are waiting. Slightly spicy while smooth and creamy, this stuff is scary good, and unlike what you will find most anywhere else. Homemade chips make for a perfect vessel with which to fill up before you even get to your food.

Although I still think Los Gallos reigns supreme on the sandwich (and Al Pastor) front, El Jarocho does a pretty good job as well.

The sandwich is packed with tender Al Pastor, queso, ham, avocado, lettuce, and chipotle sauce. Mine came with some sort of micro green, seen on the very bottom, which actually had an overpowering herbal flavor, but that was rectified by simply pulling it off. That aside, the Cemita is a pretty tasty rendition.

The enchiladas platter, however, was the real standout. Choice of protein (went with chicken) and a bed of rice between each of these tasty specialties. One rojo (red), one verde (green), and one mole (heaven) lined up in a row, this dish offers three very different comforting flavors. Mole is a good judge of the authenticity and execution of the kitchen, and this complex chili and chocolate based sauce was quite delicious. Not the best I have ever had, but a very solid flavor overall.

The enchiladas are one of my favorites on the menu, and coupled with the killer crema, it's not a place to miss in the hunt for the best south-of-the-border food in Philadelphia.

H Mart food court

7050 Terminal Square
Upper Darby, PA 19082
(610) 734-1001
Website

I love Asian-specific grocery stores. I am lucky enough to live near several, all of which vary wildly in selection, pricing and cleanliness. Save for a couple of shops due north of center city in Cheltenham, all of my local stores are severely lacking in one very important component - prepared sides. More specifically, Korean prepared sides. Enter H Mart.

Not only does H Mart have a vast variety of prepared sides, they have an Asian food court to boot. While the Chinese and Japanese stands looked okay, I had to go for the Korean. The food in this court is not cheap, it is about a dollar or two less per dish than you would normally pay at any free-standing restaurant. This seemed to be the case with each of the stands, but I am always willing to eat some Korean food (and at any price) - or any food, for that matter.

We went with the Ojingo Bokum, which consists of ample amounts of squid, stir fried in spicy sauce, onions, scallions, and hot pepper sauce. The squid was good, spicy, well-cooked and plentiful. Oddly enough it was served with plain white noodles and shredded lettuce, which we had never seen before. The sides were just okay. The miso was flavorless, but the kimchi was tasty. The others were utterly forgettable. All in all, a filling and savory seafood dish, and much better than one might expect from the upstairs food court in a supermarket.

We also picked the Daeji Bulgogi, which is a spicy BBQ pork dish, and came with the same sides. This dish was even better than the first, with tender spicy pork and stir-fried onions, it really hit the spot on a cold weeknight deep in West Philly.

On to the market, which was the whole point of this excursion in the first place. The produce selection was similar to each of the markets on 2nd & Spring Garden, 6th & Washington and 4th & Oregon. No big surprises. Everything was VERY clean though, and it seemed to have a much faster product turn-over than its more centrally located counterparts. It just seemed fresher.

Where the H Mart really shined, was the prepared foods section. They had a vast array of marinated meats, side dishes and about a dozen styles and flavors of pancakes, from red pepper to kimchi.

The hardest part was figuring out what NOT to buy. Although the side dishes are also kind of pricey here, they more than make up for it in flavor, ingredients and freshness. I had some of the best fermented black beans ever, as well as some incredible seasoned, spicy radish. This place is worth checking out for the prepared foods alone, and the food court is just another incentive.

Overall, I would not go back for the food court, but I will sure as heck be back for the prepared foods. I mean, they had about a dozen kinds of gochujang alone. What's not to love?

Old City Asian Bistro

206 Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 922-6222

I am always on the lookout for lunch deals in the center city area, and when this one popped onto my radar, I had to check it out. Bento boxes are always a good time, and this was no exception.

The first thing I thought was, there is no way they are offering all of this for nine bucks. You get a choice of soup, miso, sweet and sour, or wonton, brown rice or white and a choice of entree. But hold on, that's not all. They also throw you a six piece California roll, crab rangoons, and a salad. For nine dollars. I went with the hot and sour soup, Thai red curry with shrimp, and brown rice. The soup came first, chock full of mushrooms and green onions and was pretty good. I don't eat hot and sour that often, and I always forget that it sometimes has a thick consistency, almost gelatinous.

The box came next, and everything on it was pretty decent. Nothing mind blowing, but a really solid, healthy lunch. The salad came with the typical ginger sesame dressing that I LOVE, and the Cali roll was decent. The rangoons were light, sweet and rich, with a crispy shell.

They had a variety of other items, as well as a lunch special with two sushi rolls for eight bucks or three for eleven. Sounds good, but I think the only reason I would be back is to get in on the bento box again.

Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant

120 Market St

Philadelphia, PA  19106

(215) 925-7691

Website

On a Monday night, I went to check out the Blue Cross River Rink, rehash some of my old Ice Hockey skills, take a tremendous fall showing off, and head to Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant to nurse my wounds. All in good fun. First off, we were impressed by the size of this place. It's really quite large, and tastefully decorated. Secondly, it was a warm welcome reprieve from the cold air, and a Kenzinger special was just what the doctor ordered. That is, if doctors prescribed alcohol, which I am pretty sure, they do not. Ahem, if you find one that does, be sure to email me his info. Anyway, we were hungry, but in a sharing kind of mood, what with having just survived near death experiences on ice and all, so the $5 bar snack menu was calling out to us.

The fries were obviously going to get hit, hard. I have a mildly frightening love affair with smoked gouda, and these things were served with a smoked gouda fonduta. It was great, smokey, with a tinge of truffle, I believe, and highly additive. I mean I dipped a butter knife in it to scrape the rest out after the fries were (quickly) demolished. The fries, oh those fries. They were some of the most enjoyable french fries I have eaten in a while. Salty, crunchy and slightly sweet, I need some more of these, about now. Next up were the short rib puff pastries. They were pretty delicious, a definite cold weather treat, with rich smokey, short rib, accented by a sweet sauce and some micro greens. The pastry was a bit soft, but it was most likely a result of the sticky syrup it was smothered in. Overall, they were quite satisfying.

Next we moved to the deep fried mac and cheese. Usually, this is one of my favorite things to eat. However, this was the only real miss of all of our snacks. I hold this dish up to increased scrutiny, as one of my favorite places to eat fries it up to perfection every time. I also have made numerous variations of it myself, and if I do say so, I do a bang-up job. That's what made this offering thoroughly disappointing. Well, that and the fact that it was as though someone took al dente macaroni noodles and hollow mozzarella sticks and combined the two with no additional ingredients. I got the mac, but alas, where'd the cheese go? I don't know. Also the dipping sauce was basically some crushed tomatoes. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

On to one of the most exciting orders of the evening, the wings. I must disclose, there were actually 5 in the $5 order, but I was so excited I grabbed the only drummy right off the line and it was gone in approximately 6 seconds. These things were legit. Not traditional, by any means, but darn tasty and extremely crispy. I would say they were a slightly updated version of the original with a Stilton and hot sauce dressing. The sauce was sooo good. I immediately wanted to order more, but alas, in the interest of keeping it interesting, we chose some other items.

The pickled vegetables, which I traditionally do not like, as I feel most places use to much anise or clove (or whatever they decide will be the off-putting, overwhelming spice of the day) in their brines, but these were actually quite good. I really liked the flavor, and it was again, an updated take on a traditional recipe. The table was split on whether to love or hate the fact that there were eggplant sticks, which were still very crispy, and eggplant tops, resembling mushroom caps which were almost mushy. I just pretended they were mushrooms and enjoyed them all.

The spinach and parm dip was a nice change of pace from the traditional as well, with the addition of white beans to the mix which really helped lighten it up a bit. The spinach was plentiful, and the top - crusty and cheesy. A winner.

We strayed from the bar menu with the addition of the special pork tacos, which were, served with fries, and quite honestly, the only way to keep the table from getting another order of fries straight up, they were that good. They graciously accommodated our request for additional fonduta for the fries, and generously heaped these sticks of glory onto the plate. The pork was incredible. Smokey, spicy and sweet, with some help from the tomatillo sauce that the waitress politely explained was made from tom-a-till-lo's, which she explained are green and kind of like tomatoes. It was endearing to have someone not assume that you know what something so ordinary to my crew was. An A for effort. We loved the tacos and would definitely order them again and again. I have to say, Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant (or PBR), might not win the title for originality of naming your establishment, but they would certainly be in the running for the most affordable and incredible bar snacks.