Chiu on This

And now for something completely different

Lobster noodles from Happy Days in Kaimuki. My family likes to come here for group dinners; typical items we order include shrimp and walnuts, sizzling pork chops, and roast duck. It's not the most elegant place around, but the food's good.

This meal took place in December 2009. Pictured is my uncle Stefan, dad of my cousin Nick. My dad is serving up the noodles, and my mom can be heard asking, in Chinese, for a small portion. I was testing out the video on my [then] new iPhone.

Meat between bread: a Philly food tour

FOCOT Claire, whose loving boosterism of eateries in her home turf of New Haven has inspired me and many others to try out Pepe's and Louis' Lunch and who shared in one of my most memorable overeating episodes, offers this epic tour of Philadelphia. What I love about this write up are Claire's instructions for what to eat when, based on her knowledge of how full you're going to get. You'd best listen to her advice!

Tina -- am wasting time at the airport before flying out to Reno. Just read Mike's post on Pepe's (good thing he didn't go to Sally's) and am inspired to contribute a bit of food tourism we recently organized for a friend of Seth's: I was recently asked by a visiting friend where to eat when in Philadelphia and I realized that the perfect Philly food tour really only consists of meat between bread. And so, I have composed the Philadelphia, one-day, all-sandwich, extravaganza.

Late Breakfast/Lunch: the classic hoagie. Start at Sarcones near the Italian Market. Order any hoagie (avoid the cheesesteak or roast pork, you’ll have that for dinner). You could do just as well at Chickies on Federal Street or at any of the multiple locations of Primo Hoagies but the plus is that Sarcones is convenient to your second stop. (Note: Sarcones is only open for lunch.)

Lunch/Second Lunch: Paesano's Philly Style on Christian Street near 9th. While Sarcones’ was the classic, Paesanos is the innovative take. Order anything interesting/innovative. They also have a second location in Fishtown on Girard Ave where they have a cheap and excellent Italian BYO, Modo Mio. (Note: Paesano’s is only open for lunch.)

Dinner Part 1: Get in the car, cab, or take the Broad Street Subway down to Tony Luke’s on Oregon Ave near the stadiums. Go to the stand, not the sports bar. This is a good spot if you are going to a Phillies or Eagles game. Though Tony Luke’s has concessions in the stadium, the Oregon Ave stand is superior, making all the sandwiches fresh. Order a roast pork with provolone and either broccoli rabe or spinach. You are having a big day, hold off on the cheese fries. In yours truly's humble opinion, if you are going to have only one sandwich in Philly, it should be this one. It will make you cry.

Part 2: For many, the only Philly sandwich they will ever experience is a cheesesteak. You can now pity these people, for you have seen the cornucopia the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection has to offer. To close your sandwich tour, we end at the juncture of Pat’s and Geno’s. If you are a group and you are not all ready to have your stomachs pumped, you may want to do a taste test. The meat is arguably more tender at Geno’s and the cheese fries (yes, now it is time for cheese fries) more luscious at Pat’s. You make the call, you can’t go wrong. And yes, you want the cheese wiz on your steak. Peppers, onions, and mushrooms optional. (Note: open 24/7).

The report back

The following is brought to you by FOCOT Mike L, who has been present at many of the gatherings that produced posts related to beer and the Brown Liquor Club, and who contributed one of the few (only?) posts from Utah so far. Pepe's celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. While I've mentioned it a few times on COT and know it's a favorite of many readers and contributors, I've never written anything about it, although, looking at my drafts, I found that I attempted to write something about this way back in 2006. No need to now, as Mike sent in this excellent piece of reportage in May after a multiday trip to New Haven. He asked for recommendations, which I happily supplied, and I asked for a report back. This makes its way to the blog now as I recover from a week's worth of noshing with my relatives. Thanks, Mike!

So Louis' is closed on Sun/Mon, meaning I won't rock that joint if Carter and I leave tomorrow. But Frank's Pepe has been an integral part of my life here in New Haven. If I ended up on Bones or CSI or something after getting whacked by some stressed out Yalie (it is finals season), they'd note that I consist of about 99.3% coal oven pizza. Yesterday I was going to head there before dinner and get a pie for takeout to eat after Carter went to bed (dining is tough when you're a traveling nanny), but Molly's legal war room was teeming with Frank's (though she didn't know that's what it was), so she texts me: "you want some pizza?" My response: "I just ate a sandwich, but is it yummy?" She knocks on the door and drops off some congealed stuff that looked like it was super amazing at some point. I say what the hell and ignore my stomach's fullness. Well, mouth won in a landslide. That stuff was the bomb. She basically kept bringing it all evening, as it got more and more congealed. I of course kept eating it. I think I've had basically all the heralded NYC joints, many of which I love a lot, and Frank undoubtedly rocks it with the best of them. The pep and mush slices I ate I could easily argue for eating any one part and being happy about - if all you had was the crust, you'd be perfectly happy. A bowl of the sauce? Tasty. Chunks of cooked pepperoni? Hellz yes. The parmesan caked on top of the pepperoni was drool-worthy. 

Sooooooo, then today Carter and I had to make a field trip, because the lawyers apparently feared the clam pie. That's why they're lawyers, I guess. We went there in the off hours so we could get in and out quick - he needed to be bribed with pureed pears to not get all babyish in there. Actually, he was awesome as usual, but I'm extremely biased.* Got a salad, a $2.50 Sam Adams that was in a Carter-sized glass (so the price was right, just not the quantity), and a "small" clam pie. Asked the waitress whether mozz was a good idea, she said no. She was right. It was perfect as it was. And since the small is laughably huge, I ate the rest for dinner. I'm not a huge clam dude, and their red sauce is so astounding I'd go more traditional the next 40 times I'd order, but I can't imagine anyone in the world rocks a clam pie like that. Definitely bit on a couple shells, but that's kind of a good sign, right? 

All in all, 4 out of my last 4 lunches and dinners have been supplied by Frank's. And I would have no qualms about going back for either meal tomorrow. 

How's THAT for a report back?

Mike

*Note: my son is the most ridiculously amazing human ever. This is an indisputable, empirical fact.

Vegetarians, avert your eyes

Peter Luger, the classic New York steakhouse, requires little by way of introduction, so I will stick to some of my favorite moments in the 8+ times I've had the privilege to dine here over the last decade:

• After my first visit - a birthday dinner for my roommate James - staggering from the restaurant to our decrepit and ridiculously overpriced Williamsburg apartment about 5 blocks north, where I Iie prone in a food coma, a pattern that I will frequently fall into after a visit to Luger's.
• My friend Anthony picking up a still well-fleshed T-bone and gnawing on it, to the deep admiration of our dining party.
• Leaving work for a long lunch to try out their famed hamburger ("it's not chopped ham, it's chopped steak").
• Hearing that the T-bones that were taken home in a doggie bag were actually given to a dog, a giant German shepherd named, honestly, "Beef."
• Learning from the not-at-all-surly-and-actually-quite-lovely waiter on this visit that the most he's ever seen any party eat was when two skinny Swedish guys polished off a steak for 8 along with an order of tomatoes and onions, bacon, and shrimp cocktail.

Given that last item, our menu for 6 people (4 of us are of the Chiu / Chang clan, so multiply the eating capability of the group by 1.75) was not so embarrassing after all:

Appetizers

• Tomatoes and onions
• Bacon, cut extra thick

Entree and sides

• Steak for three, medium
• Steak for four, medium rare
• French fries
• German fried potatoes
• Creamed spinach

Before

 

During

After

Coffee, yes. Dessert, no. The apple strudel, cheesecake, hot fudge Sundays, and (in)famous Schlag are fine, but not compelling enough to save room for, and, personally, I would rather leave with the taste of steak on my palate than with a satisfied sweet tooth.

Bliss. Call me if you want to go.