Author Archives: didjaeat
Happy 3rd Anniversary!
Three years ago today I registered with WordPress to start this blog! Three years ago I was visiting with my cousins down the Jersey Shore, and they were excited to find this ridiculous pizza they had heard about with cheese fries on them. I was intrigued and then Jeanie said she saw a deep fried PB&J and I was really into it! I mean, who wouldn’t be? We found it, we ate it and boy…it as pretty great! (As was the cheesefries pizza!)
As we were eating, someone said that I should write about it on the internet, like in a food blog. So when I came home, I did just that.
Three years later I still am! I’ve written about all sorts of stuff from coast to coast, visited festivals and taken friends on my crazy ride for food! Thanks to all the people who have put up with me sticking a camera in thier plate, accompanied me to something or other that was ridiculous, and for everyone who reads this silliness and comments or just tells a friend. This has been a lot of fun!
So what’s next? How far can one go with a food blog? Well, starting next month, keep an eye out for the DidjaEat? podcast. Each episode will be with someone I find interesting and we will talk about thier story and wrap food around it like a comfy blanket. I also have some fun guest eaters lined up, and we started an Instagram account too, check us out at @didja_eat. I am excited about all of it, and I hope you are too!
Thanks so much for reading, posting, sharing and enjoying this with me! I never thought anyone would care, and boy, was I wrong.
Stick around for the ride!,
Nicole
Scenes from the AC Food and Wine Fest 2013
Hey Everyone! Last weekend I was invited down to partake in the AC Food and Wine Fest! Here’s a great slideshow of the weekend, from the Blues, Brews and BBQ event and the Grand Market!
Clawtastic Luke’s Lobster
Living in a town like Philly, which is like an hour and a half from the Ocean, you’d think we would eat more lobster. I mean, we eat a lot of seafood in this town, but not really much lobster. Every person I know (sorry, not my kosher jews) has a favorite place for crabs but I never hear anyone say “that lobster place is my jawn”. I would think that it’s probably because of how expensive it is. I mean, in Maine they eat everything with a side of lobster claw (and knuckle) meat. I hear they have so much of it that they freeze it and use it as hockey pucks. This fever I have makes me think weird things, so I could be wrong…but I doubt it.
Anywho, next to the awesome Underdogs, is a brand new place. A new outpost of a small chain called Luke’s Lobster. What do they sell? Lobster rolls! The quick story is that Luke is from Maine and went to school in that other little town you may of heard of, New York City. He noticed he couldn’t get a decent lobster roll to save his life (kind of how I feel looking for a cheesesteak anywhere outside of Philly). On a side note, how hilarious is that, considering Manhattan, where he was, is an island. So he decided to ship lobster meat from Maine down to NYC and show those idiot city folk how it’s done. And you know what? HE DID.
Luke’s Menu
Let me just say first off that this place is not cheap. You aren’t bringing the kids here for lunch (unless you live in the rich people enclave of Rittenhouse Square, where this place is. Those people would consider it slumming to just pay 23 bucks for anything. They use $50 bills to clean thier cat’s litter boxes. If they weren’t already paying someone to do it for them, that is. You get my point.). But if you want to treat yourself, normal person, rock on!
As you can see, like I said, it’s not cheap. I got a lobster roll and a shrimp roll and it cost me $23. I am interested in the clam chowder and the crab roll, but hey, I had to make a car insurance payment that month. Lay off, moneybags.
The staff was super nice and while they did the usual spiel about trying upsell your meal, they weren’t dicks about it, so that was nice. And they have a little card that if you get it stamped around 8 times, you get a free lobster roll. So at least they are rewarding you for coming in. They also have a really cool collection of sodas form Maine to buy. I like supporting small businesses and I thought that was a nice touch.
The Lobster Roll
The first thing I ate was the lobster roll. They keep it simple. The lobster isn’t hiding in mayo (You know my feelings for mayo, but I didn’t miss it here. Don’t tell mayo, I don’t want him to get mad at me.). The roll is a classic lobster roll, which is a hot dog bun split on the side instead of the top and then lightly grilled in butter (yum!). They just put a dab of mayo on the roll, load up the chilled claw and knuckle meat and hit it with some doctored old bay and some kind of lemon. That’s it. And it was AWESOME.
Eating this thing made me start wondering if maybe we are on the wrong track with things. Maybe the simpler things are better. Maybe we have taken things too far, that we need to scale back. Maybe 900 feet of snow in the winter and deadly seasonal depression is ok because you get to eat lobster rolls like that. I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore! Rosebud! Rooosebuuud!
What I DO know is that a buttery bun with claw and knuckle meat that is as big as a golf ball will almost make you weep in your little cubicle that you are eating in as to avoid some jerkass coworkers who like to shit all over your dreams. And it’s salty tears of joy. The salt harkoning back to the sea, where the lobster comes from. It’s all circular, people! Circular! Or is that cyclical? Oh, I don’t know. What I’m saying is that, holy crap, that is worth every penny of the $15 bucks it cost.
More Shrimp Roll
Since I am a world class glutton (who needs to see 50, really?), I also jumped in and got myself a shrimp roll. No, not a $1 menu item from the corner chinese place. It’s the same roll, buttered and lightly fried and mayo’d, then jammed with chilled shrimp, that old bay secret seasoning mix and GO!
It was good, I’m not gonna lie. Was it as good as it’s big brother? No, sadly no. But this is like the Williams sisters. They are both good! Just one is more muscular, I mean, better, then the other.
So, summing it all up, YES! Go! Now! GO NOW! (check the hours first, duh) But go get the lobster roll. Or get the Taste of Maine, where you get a 1/2 of all three plus chips and a delightful soda for $20. It’s a pretty good deal. I will be back, Luke’s Lobster! Oh yes! I cannot wait, and I will be coming with small bills! *insert evil laugh here*
I wish Pinchy were here to see this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsTO57M3KgA
Wawa’s In The Club!
Wawa’s In The Club! The club sandwich that is. Or, at least, thier version of it. I love a good club sandwich, preferably with extra mayo. Don’t bother putting it on the sandwich, just roll out the 5 gallon jug of Admiration mayo and put it on the table. That oughtta do it. Club sandwiches are a pleasant memory for me as well. My Grandmom (the dead one) used to really like them. I remember the frilly toothpicks she would remove before destroying that thing in a cloud of fingers, crumbs and stray lettuce. She was a real inspiration.
I rolled into the Bridesburg Wawa after getting the rundown on cat sitting for my friend MellieFlo on a rainy friday night. I had to eat, so I strolled over to the computer screen to order a classic hoagie (It IS Hoagiefest ya know!) when I see this new thing pop up…club sandwiches! WTF Wawa? I thought we were tighter then that, you didn’t even mention it before!
They now offer Roast Beef, Ham, Ham and Turkey and Straight Up Turkey on wheat, rye or white bread. Bacon is included, as it should be. An odd thing tho, they don’t offer to let you have extra mayo, which made the mayo beast MIGHTY ANGRY at the time. I got over it tho, don’t worry. You can’t really customize it like you can a hoagie, except for creamy horseradish sauce and adding extra meat, cheese or both (I go both. I mean, why wouldn’t you?). I also got the club on rye. I had to have it toasted even tho I don’t get toast when I order it out and about. That turned into a nonissue, as you will soon see.
Wawa Ham and Turkey Club
So here it is, the Wawa Ham and Turkey with Pepper Jack Cheese Club. Cut in half and not quarters. I’m not gonna lie, it looked a little odd. It was a sloppy looking thing, but I was intrigued and gave it a go. I mean, why not?
And I have to say, it was pretty
Inside the club
good. Could it have used some pickles? Or extra mayo? Yes, indeed. But it had the right amount of meat and cheese on it, probably because I ordered the extra meat and cheese. When you are dealing with a sandwich that has a lot of bread, you kind of need to bulk it up a bit.
Wawa does use some thin bacon for it’s sandwiches. It reminds me of the Oscar Meyer precooked bacon: tastes good but a stiff breeze would crumble it to the ground. It gets a little lost in the sandwich, which was a little bit of a bummer.
Toasted Bread?
What was really bizarre was the toast. I normally do not order my club bread toasted. It rips up my mouth like Captain Crunch. It’s no good for me. But the Wawa computer gave no option for the bread not to be toasted, so I bit the bullet and rolled with the mouthroof punches. Except, when I got home, I opened it up and the bread must have just walked thru the toaster becasue it was barely toasted at all. Look at this picture! Does that look toasted to you? Very bizarre!
So, altho I did not like the lack of extra mayo and the lack of being able to customize my sandwich, did I like the club? You know what? I really did! It was just filling enough and left room for me to have a little dessert. Check it out, it wasn’t perfect but it was still pretty delicious!
Pizza Party
Ah, pizza. The one food I could eat everyday, for every meal. The one food my grandpop would not eat, even when his army buddies got him drunk. The one food people have very specific likes of: thin crust, thick crust, deep dish, pepperoni, white pies, cold pizza, hot pizza, frozen pizza from the toaster oven, steaming hot right out of the oven pizza. The list goes on and on.
Anyone with half a brain can make a pizza. But to make a great pizza requires skill and a really great oven. This brings us to Tacconelli’s. Tacconelli’s is a pizza place in my neighborhood, the Port Richmond section of Philly, on Somerset street. They have a very cool brick oven and they know how to use it.
You can’t just pop in there and order a pie. I mean, you can, but it is easier to call ahead and order your dough. You can tell them what to do with it when you get there but you better call ahead, because it’s a one man, one person oven and they only make so much dough every day. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Needless to say, this makes the pizza desirable, to say the least.
Joe Being Meta
My friend Joe Moore is from the Jerz, and had not had really any good pizza in the Philly area. Every time he would say that, it occurred to me to mention Tacconelli’s and then I would forget. We finally got it together and got on over there. Now, you have to understand, Joe is no ordinary pizza shmoe. He is what would call a connousseur of pizza, a lover of the pizza pie. He was also really excited about the outing, as was I!
We decided on getting the Regular pie (with a little cheese and sauce) and a Margherita pie (with fresh basil and fresh mozzerella) and a third pie with pepperoni.
See how thin?
All of the pies were great! The thin crunchy crust was perfect, and Joe was surprised by the sweetness of the sauce.
I liked that the pepperoni was sliced a little thicker. Some places slice it super thin (or, I should say, buy thin sliced pepperoni). It may have added grease, but pepperoni grease is delicious (you know it, I know it and everyone else knows it).
As you can see in the picture here, the crust is super thin, so you can really put away a lot of this pizza. In fact, we put away about 75% of it. I don’t know about Joe, but I had to actually stop myself from eating because I would have gone on and mowed through the rest of it (thank god we saved some for his wife Emily, or I would have really hurt myself).
Tacconelli’s Pepperoni Pizza
If I had to pick a favorite, I would have to say the pepperoni one was the best, but the Margherita wasn’t bad either. The pepperoni pieces were smaller then you would get at a regular pizza place, but they were a tad thicker and they are not stingy with it. If you are a regular reader at all of this blog, you know I hate stingyness!
The fresh basil on the Margherita really gave it some depth, even tho I could have done with more of it. The problem with basil is that too much and you end up with everything tasting like basil (and not this Basil). Overall it was delicious, thin, crispy and slightly sweet.
Joe, being the pizza guy he is, wrote up a little piece about what he thought of the pies as well:
Tacconelli’s Regular Pie
I had heard a lot about Tacconelli’s pizza and was pretty excited to finally try it.
Margerita Pie
Holy Burgers Batman!
Welcome to Sketch
For quite awhile people have been on my ass to get on over to Sketch, a burger joint on Girard Avenue here in Philly. I once even ventured out with my friend MellieFlo and we we were way off on location and drove by it like 9 times. I finally got on over there with my cousin Megan for a nice lunch!
Diagnosis?
Holy burger awesomeness, Batman!
Let’s rewind a minute. The place is decorated in bright happy colors, and is actually kind of small inside. Just a few old booths and some tables with lawnchairs. You walk in and walk to the back to order. Then, grab a drink and have a seat.
Welcome to Sketch
We split some fries. Let’s talk about the fries. Everyone seems to be into the Belgium/france way of serving fries: in a cone. Sketch is no different. They even have paper mimicing newspaper, which is cute, because in Europe, that’s what they wrap fries (and in the UK also fried fish) in.
These fries were tossed in a little old bay type seasoning, but just a little bit. Sometimes people get a little slap happy with the old bay and you can barely taste the potato and have to drink 9 gallons of water afterwards. These fries were perfect. Perfect diameter (thick but not treetrunks), perfectly cooked (fluffy and delicious on the inside, crispy on the outside but not oily or overcooked) perfectly seasoned and just right on perfectly delicious. If someone had told me that I couldn’t have my burger and I only had the fries, I would be almost ok with that. That’s how good they were. They came with a dipping sauce too (a smooth harissa aioli, which was equally as great, but frankly, I didn’t need it.). There was much stink eye being given between me and Megs as we got down to the bottom of the cone of fries. Oh yes.
Megan’s burger with cheese and bacon
So let’s get down to brass tacks. The burgers. I ordered the Kobe burger with avocado, bacon and a fried egg. Megan got a burger with cheese and bacon. Let’s talk about her’s first. Let me just first say that Megan normally doesn’t take food home. She either finishes it or doesn’t and that’s it. She ate half and took the other half home. There was little chatting whilst chewing.
Kobe Burger Untouched
My burger was a monstrosity. It was a burger that my cardiologist has on his wall with a big circle and linethrough it. But people, I implore you, if you have never had a burger with an egg on it, DO IT! RIGHT NOW! You are seriously cheating yourself. This is America! Make the choice for fried egg on a burger! What did I love? That when I ordered an egg, I was given 5 different ways in which that would cook my egg! These people ARE NOT MESSING AROUND!
Anyway, besides the egg, there was also avocado, and Sketch is not skimpy with it! Look at all the avocado-y goodness! The bacon was fantastic as well, thick cut, not that cheap ass thin stuff that disappears once you take a bite (*poof!*). This bacon is setting up camp in your living room and staying for awhile.
Since the burger was Kobe beef, I figured I would order it the same way I order everything: medium. In case you were wondering, medium is the way to go. Well done is dry and nasty. Rare is too chewy. Medium is juuust right. Unfortunately, the cook was a little zealous and my burger came out a little more done they I would have liked, but that was the worst thing that happened all day, so it was alright with me. No one’s perfect. The meat itself was slightly seasoned but they get it…let the meat speak for itself, don’t over season and cook it evenly.
Kobe Burger Bite
The burgers come out in a rectangular paper boat (as in the above picture), which normally would have pissed me off, I hate eating out of boats. But there was something so right about it. They serve it up McDLT style, half and half, so you can observe the deliciousness and then put it together yourself. As you can see, it was a messy burger but ooozing with burger-osity. Yes, that’s right.
Even the bun was perfect, from LeBus, and just right. There are few things that make me more mad then a bun that doesn’t work: a kaiser bun, or a giant bun where you have a mouthful of bread and no burger, or the worst….a stale bun. This was so perfect, it almost brought a tear to the eye.
I apologize to the fine folks at Sketch for not coming in before. I applaud thier eye for detail, and I can’t wait to go back and eat my way thru the menu.
Finally, The walls of Sketch are wallpapered with crayon drawings by little (and im sure big) kids. This one was right next to our table and I laughed pretty hard. Do yourself a favor, get to Sketch, eat an amazing burger and laugh. It’s worth your time, your money and your tastebuds!
Everyone’s a comedian
Jake’s Sandwich Board Midtown Chicken
A few weeks ago I was scheduled to do some standup at the F Harold Festival in downtown Philly. I was super early and parked a few blocks away so I could get some dinner at the famed Jake’s Sandwich Board.
Welcome to Jake’s!
I guess I’m on a sandwich roll lately (no pun intended). I’ve heard some crazy stuff about this place, and it is mostly known for it’s awesome pork and brisket as well as it’s Jake’s 5 pound Philly Challenge:
I would love to someday kill that challenge but frankly, I’m too much of a wuss to do it these days. NEVER SAY NEVER!!! *insert fist shake here*.
The Menu Board at Jake’s Sandwich Board
The menu at Jake’s is pretty awesome. They offer everything on either a seeded, unseeded or wheat roll from a bakery in South Philly. Got gluten issues or are on atkins? Have your sandwich in a bowl, or in a bowl on greens or in a bowl on fries (called a haystack!). Roll it or Bowl it! That’s thinkin’ when it comes to customers!
As you can see, they break it down to pork, brisket, steaks, and then other favorites. I stood staring at the board for quite awhile, catching flies with my jaw on the floor. The worst part of trying to order is when you are starving and one of everything sounds good. My problem was that I was going to be telling jokes to a (mostly disinterested) crowd of people and I didn’t need to be belching into the mic (altho, that might be an added jewel to my set…). I needed something filling and delicious but not super heavy. Decisions, decisions.
Midtown Chicken Sandwich
I went with, surprise, the Midtown Chicken. It has sliced chicken breast, roasted red pepper, avocado puree, red onion, cheddar and mozzarella. I got it on a seeded bun, for kicks. Yes, there is a kick ass sandwich under those onions.
The chicken is chopped more then sliced, but really that’s just nit picking. Sometimes when you get sandwiches like this, the chicken is dry from sitting around or overcooking on the flat top. Not this guy. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, and mixed well with all the other ingredients, it was like a festival of luscious delight in my mouth (take that, thesaurus.com).
Midtown Chicken!
I mean seriously, look at this picture and tell me it doesn’t immediately make you start drooling all over yourself. The roasted red pepper blended into the cheese which blended into the chicken and the avocado was a smooth transition into the roll. Unreal. So good.
And then I started thinking to myself, what could make this sandwich even better? Not the orange soda I ordered, that had brought it to the level I was currently at. I needed to jack it up another notch. Bring it way, way up. it needed some heat. Where could I get some heat? NEED HEAT!
And then this stuff shows up.
Dry Hot Powder!
It’s some kind of hot shaker habanero powdered hot craziness. I covered the top of my sandwich with it and my eyes bugged out like Tom on Tom and Jerry when Jerry would smash his foot with a bowling ball. Whoooooo! (yeah with the name of St. Lucifer, you’d think I would have been tipped off. I’m not that bright, ya know.)
I left Jake’s feeling good about my food choice. I didn’t feel like death while waiting to go onstage (I mean, not more so then usual) and I can’t wait to go back and check out the brisket & chocolate covered bacon! Oh yeah!
If you find yourself in the area of 12th and Sansom, swing on over and check it out.
I know I’ll be back!
Stick Em Up For Mugshots Diner
I grew up in the neighborhood next door to Fishtown, and frankly, it has come leaps and bounds from where it was when I was a kid. Let’s just say teeth were optional back then. Anywho, there are so many new places to eat, it’s hard to even keep track of what’s opening. So when I heard there was a new diner opening, I had to check it out, because, man, I love diner food.
I Assure You, We Are Open!
Mugshots opened, a bit behind schedule, in the 2424 building on York street. It’s actually not a free standing diner, it is on the first floor of the building, with office and artist spaces above it.
Hot Mess Hess went with me to get some dinner before we hit a local comedy show at Urban Saloon in Fairmount. And yes, we were HUNGRY.
Inside the Diner
Walking into the diner, I was struck by how clean, happy and bright the place was. Yes, they did just build it, but I am used to diners where the years of grime are part of the character. Plus, do you really hear the words “new diner” often? Nope. The motif of this place is, yes, mugshots. So the walls are littered with celebrity mugshots. I sat under Bill Gates. The booths are cool vinyl blue and yellow and really are reminiscient of 50’s diners without being too in your face Happy Days retro.
Pork Tostadas
The menu was large but not too big, with interesting appetizers, which is always a favorite thing of mine. We decided on Pork Tostadas ($9) to share for an appetizer. They stack 3 shells and fill them with chipotle cream, sour cream, diced tomato, red onion, sliced cabbage, cilantro and pork. They were pretty great. The pork was full of the bbq sauce and it was really messy to eat, not that that is a bad thing. The waitress didn’t give us plates for it tho, so we got it all over the place. Looking back, we should have asked
Side View of Pork Toastadas
for plates. All the ingredients were fresh, bright and delicious. There might have been some hand stabbing for the last few bites. It was nice to see a place understand that you can fry your own tortillas and not just grab them out of a bag.
I should mention here how nice the wait staff was. The plate thing aside, our waitress was really on the ball, and everyone who worked there was pleasant, but not in a stepford wives sort of way. Any questions I had about the menu were answered promptly, and when I asked about food she had not eaten, I was given a great answer of “I haven’t had it but *soandso* (pointing) did and they like it”, which I like better then I lie or a shrug with an “I don’t know”.
Reuben
For our dinners, I got the Reuben Sandwich. The rye bread was nice and warmed from the melted cheese and there was a nice amount of delicious, medium cut corned beef (too thin and it disappears and too thick and you are chewing for 3 days). The cheese was, as cheese always is, delicious (it knows it’s role) and plentiful (sometimes when you order a Reuben, they skimp on the cheese). The kraut was basically out of the bag, but it worked with the sandwich. What I found peculiar was that the russian dressing was on the side. Normally on a Reuben, it’s on the bread, under the kraut. I just used all that was there and covered the whole thing before I dug in. Yes, it looked odd to me, but was still great.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Hot Mess Jess got herself her standard grilled chicken sandwich with mayo. A grilled chicken sandwich is a grilled chicken sandwich, there’s not too much you can do to pretty it up.
It’s a (not so) secret in the food biz to buy meats with grill marks that are frozen and then just warm them up either in the microwave or quickly on the flat top. That chicken seemed to me to actually have been grilled. It was also (yeah I had a bite) juicy and a thick piece of chicken. Even the roll was a bit toasty. Finally, I go out to eat with Hot Mess quite a bit, and we always ask for extra mayo (we ordered fries too, which I didn’t take a picture of because, well, fries are fries. They were hot, they were cooked perfectly, they were delicious) for fries. Sometimes that means a small shotglass of mayo. Sometimes that means they wheel out the 5 gallon jug of Admiration mayo (my fave but still a bit much). Our waitress brought us out a big dish for each of us. Gold stars for her!!
Oreo Cheesecake
Finally, because we are gluttons, we had a piece of Oreo cheesecake. It was everything it says it is: cheesecake with Oreos in it. It was smooth, creamy and hit the spot.
Not to say it was easy to pick a dessert, apparently they make all thier desserts in house and they have a truckful! Pies, cakes, cookies, all sorts of stuff.
Desserts!
On our way out, we walked past, who I believe is the owner, who was visiting with all the tables asking if everything was alright, if they enjoyed thier food and stuff. When he asked us if things were ok, we told him yes, and then I asked him why the dressing for the reuben was on the side, that I found that odd even tho I still enjoyed it. He told me that they were finding that some people liked the dressing on there, and some people did not like the dressing at all, so they decided to just put it on the side. It was nice to see a place listen to thier customers, like the gang over at PYT.
Finally, our bill was about 35 bucks, which is acceptable for 2 people, in my opinion.
So, if you find yourself in Fishtown, check out Mugshots. The food is good, not too expensive, there is ok parking around the building and the owner is on top of stuff. Good stuff.
Here is thier new commercial, check it out!
Potbelly Positive
Ok, so if you read this food blog at all, you might have picked up that I enjoy a sandwich, but almost never, ever from a chain sandwich shop. Specifically, a nationwide sandwich shop. I try them, because I am not only a glutton, but a glutton for punishment, alas, it never goes well. The meat is gross or the bread tastes like recycled cardboard. Nasty. Granted, I live in the Capital of Sandwichland (aka Philly) and we do it right. But still, I keep looking. Hope, it spring eternal, or something.
That’s why I was knocked for a loop when I tried Potbelly Sandwiches. 
Potbelly is a company out of Chicago (a sister glutton city of Philly). They toast their bread before they make your sandwich. Actually, it isn’t so much toasted as it is thoroughly warmed through. This makes an unbelievable difference in the bread. Ever put your socks in the microwave? It’s like that. A warm hug. (Try it). It’s not toasted like a grinder, where you take a bite of literally toasted bread and it all falls apart and you scratch the roof of your mouth so bad that all you can eat is milkshakes for a few days and you get that one piece of roof skin that drives you nuts (I hate it when that happens. This is why I had to stop eating Captain Crunch.)
Potbelly Sandwich Board
Anywho, there is a Potbelly close to my work, and the other day I ventured in. The place is kind of neat, with mismatched table sizes and they had a sign saying they even have local musicians come and play. I thought that was supportive for a chain restaurant. They have a hanging menu for all to peruse. They have 3 sizes for the sandwiches: Original, Skinny (less meat and cheese on thin cut bread) and the Big (with 30% more meat and cheese). You can even get the sandwiches on “thin cut” bread, which is a nice wink to people watching thier carb intake. They will even make their sandwiches on a salad for you if you’d like. I didn’t try one but I saw a lady walk out with one and it was the size of a medium sized soccer ball.
Ordering is interesting. You walk up to the counter and tell them what sandwich you want, what size and what kind of roll (multigrain or regular). Then you scoot down, maybe pick up some chips and tell the next person how you’d like it: condiments, bacon, whatevs. Then they hand it to you and you get a fountain drink or just pay for what you have. They have plenty of snacky stuff too like brownies and cookies and whatnot.
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- Order up!
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- Extra Mayo!
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- Decent selection of chips
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- Let’s get to it.
Choices!!
A very cool thing this place has is in it’s fountain drink offerings. Usually, a chain will make a deal for either Coke products or Pepsi products. Very rarely will the two meet. I know people who will go to specific places and avoid others, just to be able to get the fountain drink of thier choice. I am happy to say that Potbelly gets you and your craving for fizzy beverages by offering BOTH. And also Dr. Pepper! And sugar free Minute Maid Lemonade! Two thumbs up for choices!
A Wreck
But seriously, let’s get down to business. We all know I got the biggest thing on the menu. In this case, it’s called A Wreck. It comes with: Salami, Roast Beef, Turkey, Ham & Swiss Cheese. I also got lettuce, tomato, onion (it’s almost a salad!) and sweet peppers along with extra mayo. And yes, in a Big size (please note the straw on the sandwich wrap for scale). This thing isn’t a monster but it’s warm and snuggly and delicious.
Inside the Wreck
Sometimes you order extra mayo and all you get is a head nod from whoever is making the thing. The girl who made mine knew what extra mayo is and gave it to me, like a Christmas present I hoped for all year (I can almost hear my cardiologist planning his next European getaway). As you can see here, even with the Big size, they aren’t crazy with the meat and cheese. In fact, the salami is kind of lost in there. They do give you the option of ordering extra meat and cheese, but the drink and the sandwich cost about 9 bucks total and that’s about as high as I’ll go for lunch. Ok, maybe 10 bucks. Still, this is it.
The Bread
The bread is the real star here. Like I had said earlier, it is very close to amazing. With a hoagie roll, you want a chewy inside with a slightly more done outside. It also has to have depth of flavor or you end up with crap (I’m looking at you, Jimmy Johns). This bread made me do a little dance in my chair. It soaked up some of that mayo and sweet pepper juice with ease. You know you have a winner when you get to that last bite and it has soaked up all those things and has just a little bit of meat and cheese left with like 2 pieces of lettuce hanging on…and it is the absolute best bite ever.
The funny part is that I do not want to know the details of this bread. They say it’s a secret and I am ok with that. It’s an amazingly, delicious secret and Potbelly has made me think that perhaps someone outside of Sandwichland might have a sandwich clue.
Keep it up Potbelly! I can’t wait to go back!
Ps,
I went back and had the exact same delicious Wreck a few days later. So good! And the staff at the Potbelly on 17th between Market and JFK are super nice.
Burgers and Hoagies and Scallops, Oh My!
Hey Everyone,
Many apologies for dropping off the grid for so long. I started a new day job and frankly, working in an office was kicking my ass way more then I ever thought it would!
Here is a little slideshow of some of the things I have been up to!
1. I visited the Gino’s Burger joint in Bensalem with very super nice & funny sketch comedians Brian Craig and Samantha Russell Craig from the hilariously smart and funny sketch group Secret Pants. We had gotten a Groupon and went to town. The burger wasn’t bad. The shake was ok, except that I had gotten a mint shake and when I took a sip (out of the rather wide diameter straw), I hit a pocket of flavoring and felt like I did a shot of Pepto Bismal. But after that, it was ok. I had gotten an order of chicken fingers to go and they were delicious. The type on the menu was teeny, no one could read it, which was odd. They did make sure you had tons of condiments tho. Any place with malt vinegar on the table is ok. Unfortunately, the location closed in February. While the food was ok, it felt like something was slightly off with that location and it turns out it was not corporate owned but franchised. Hopefully it’s just a bump in the road for Gino’s. The real question is why fast food places never seem to stay open on such a busy road such as Street Road in Bensalem. Weird.
2. I work across the street from Jimmy Johns, a national sandwich chain. While I detest national sandwich chains, I was intrigued and found myself in there one afternoon, super hungry and needing lunchmeat. The roll doesn’t really have much taste and the lunch meat is mushy. They have some kind of Jimmy John’s Special dressing, but I asked for extra mayo (the only way to fly) and they did not give me my extra mayo. Bastards. It was a decent sized sandwich for the money, they are super crazy fast in making your sandwich, and customer service was extremely efficient and friendly (even for me, a person who cannot order off a menu, ever) but it didn’t really do much for me. Wawa still kicks it’s butt. Note to the Wawa corp: Please put a Wawa around the area of 17th and Chestnut.
3. I attended the Philly Weekly’s big food event. The food from El Zarape blew my mind, but not as much as the White Bean Puree and Scallop from World Cafe. If they have that on thier regular menu, then get it. If not, then demand it. It blew my mind and then blew it again. Unreal.
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- Brian and Samantha from Secret Pants
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- The Geno Giant!
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- Chicken Fingers!
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- More Chicken Fingers!
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- Teeny Tiny Writing on the Menu
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- Condiments!
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- Even More Condiments
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- Shake
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- Cross View of the JJ Gargantuan
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- Side View of the JJ Gargantuan
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- The JJ Gargantuan Unwrapped
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- Chicken Empanada, Toastada and Pork Taco from El Zarape
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- The JJ Gargantuan
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- World Cafe’s White Beean Puree and Scallop
DidjaEat? 