Shoo Fry: Breakfast Menu Review

After traveling through Canada, Matt and Rachel Baida decided to share their passion for poutine with Philly. After a 6 month stint as King of Prussia pop-up, they decided to take over the previous Underdogs space with a permanent location in Rittenhouse. The craze for poutine has clearly taken off, so they've recently expanded with a second location in Fishtown.

Top Right: Shoo Fry Proprieters Rachel & Matt Baiada

But that's not all that's been going on. They've also expanded their menu to include breakfast offerings. Think breakfast sliders and diced hash browns covered with all of your typical poutine fixings!

Breakfast Sliders
Original [American Cheese, Pickles], The Blue [Blue Cheese, Bacon, Fried Onions, BBQ], Scrapple [Fried Egg, Cheddar, Ketchup], Pepper Goat [Goat Cheese, Bacon, Pepper Jelly], Poutine in a Cup [Fried Onions, Cheese Curds, Gravy]

With the exception of the Poutine in a Cup slider for $4, the rest are only $3! It doesn't get more Philly than with a scrapple slider. The thin patty was nicely crisp and redolent with porcine flavors. This melded well with the fried egg and cheddar. It's all housed in a soft, pillowy, potato roll. Just the right size and perfect for breakfast. Grab two or three of these to go!

Breakfast Hashbrowns

Looking for something more substantial? You know Shoo Fry's got great poutine. So expect the crisp texture of hash browns to soak up all of Shoo Fry's toppings. I tried a trio of the chipped beef, cheesesteak, and the Sugar Shack.

The latter's a clear ode to Canada. Maple sugar shacks offer up sweet treats by dripping maple syrup into cold shaved ice. Shoo Fry's maple bacon melded sweet and savory flavors nicely, emanating a nice balance for breakfast. And obviously, everything's better with an egg on it.

So stop by Shoo Fry and check out their new offerings. Satisfyingly satiating, Shoo Fry's breakfast menu will get you through the work week.

Shoo Fry 

132 S. 17th Street 

Philadelphia, PA 19103

(267) 639-2104

www.shoofry.com

Jim's Steaks Review

If you live in Philly, it's more than likely you've been asked that age-old question. "Where's the best Philly cheese steak?" Brushing aside any distaste one might have for immediately associating Philly with cheese steaks, if you don't answer Pat's or Geno's, you're off to a great start. And while there are plenty of mom and pop shops offering great cheese steaks, if you settle on either Jim's, John's Roast Pork, or Ishkabibble's, you're a winner in my book! 

Jim and Millie starting serving their sandwiches out of their West Philly row home in the 1930's. From there, the business was sold to Bill Proetto in the 70's and settled at the current South Street institution. The cheese steaks are so popular that business has now expanded to Northeast Philly and Springfield, PA as well. 

Lines regularly go out the door, but even so, the wait is usually less than 10 minutes. Efficiency they have down pat. 

Cheesesteak [$8.60], 'wit, whiz, and mushrooms [$0.75]

For a proper cheese steak, you start with great bread. Amoroso's is a standout - the bread is crusty, pliant, and a great vessel for the nicely seasoned and chopped steak. The GF got hers 'wit onions (you can get them grilled, raw, or both), creamy Whiz, and plenty of roasted mushrooms. Made for a juicy and messy bite. 

Cheesesteak [$8.60], 'wit, whiz, and American cheese [$1]

I love going cheesy so I had them make mine with both creamy American and a healthy dollop of Cheese Whiz. It may look messy, but the roll does a great job of containing this beast of a feast. 

You'll leave the shop smelling like grilled onions and steak for days, but you'll have a belly full of a cheese steak that does Philly proud. 

John's Roast Pork Review

Regular readers know of my quest to search for a proper Philly cheese steak that will top my unbridled love for the offerings from Philly's Best (ironically located in Chicago!). Admittedly, my love for a Philly's Best cheese steak may simply be my nostalgia for late-night college eat. Regardless, I can count on one hand the number of Philly-based cheese steak joints that have impressed me. In my mind though, the one place that is at the top of cheese steak glory and trumps Philly's Best is South Philly stalwart, John's Roast Pork.

Open for more than fifty years, John Bucci Jr. is proud of the fact that his sandwiches contain fewer, but higher quality ingredients. Should be no surprise that my recommendation for Philly's best cheese steak was awarded the James Beard Award for Culinary Excellence back in 2006!

It's a small location, with just enough space to place your order at the cheese steak or roast pork stations. Once you pick up your order, there are tables outside to enjoy your sandwiches.

On this particular visit, I ordered the foot long cheese steak (American cheese, 'wit) and had to try the large version of their eponymous sandwich, with sharp provolone and spinach. 

Large Roast Pork Sandwich [$8.75] with Sharp Provolone [+ $0.75]

My large roast pork was definitely gargantuan. It was even larger than the foot long cheese steak! I loved that they use a seeded Carangi's roll here, which offers great texture on the outside and plenty of yeasty bread within to sop up the juice. The pork was juicy and well-seasoned, with the funky hit of sharp provolone making each bite for me. The spinach helped to balance out the richness, but a light sandwich this is not. Admittedly, Dinic's is still my favorite roast pork sandwich, but more due to their garlicky broccoli rabe and the over-abundance of the sharp provolone featured on their roast pork sandwiches.

Cheese Steak [$9.25]

But really, I was here for the cheese steak. And I was not disappointed. I can see why whiz isn't ever allowed here. It's not needed! I often feel the need to double up on American cheese and whiz on my cheese steaks because most places offer a dry sandwich without enough creaminess. Here, the meat was high quality and well-seasoned, with a proper mix of fried onions. But better yet, the copious amount of American cheese helped to create a creamy, yet meaty bite. Hands down my favorite for best in Philly.

So if you're looking for a high-quality cheese steak, obviously stay away from Pat's and Geno's. Ishkabibble's and Jim's on South Street will set you right. But my recommendation. Take the extra trek down to South Philly by the Ikea on South Columbus and make sure to bring cash. You won't be disappointed! 

Ishkabibble's Review

As I continue my search for the best Philly cheesesteak, I can count John's Roast Pork, Jim's, Jake's Sandwich Board, and Gooey Looie's as some of the better destinations. Ishkabibble's is no slouch either.

With two locations located across the street from Jim's, Ishkabibble's a good bet for the late night crowd not looking to suffer through the line at Jim's. 

Large Gremlin [$2.50]

What's referred to as "The Gremlin" is oft-bandied about in reviews of Ishkabibble's. A mix of grape soda and lemonade, it's slightly tart with expected sweetness on the finish. Not the biggest fan of sweet on sweet, but I can see why it's popular, especially to wash down a cheesesteak.

Cheesesteak Whiz Wit' [$9.50] + Provolone [$1]
Fried onions, whiz, provolone
 

But truly, I was here for the cheesesteak. The fresh bread was lightly toasted and housed grilled-to-order steak that wasn't overly seasoned. I went with both whiz and provolone to make each bite sufficiently cheesy. The bits of fried onions helped to round things out. Fresh is the name of the game here. If you're looking for a grease-bomb in the best sense though, head over to Jim's.

Onion Rings [$4.50]
 

Another standout? The onion rings. Sure - they're from the freezer. But the malty batter and the crisp fry rendered that fairly moot and more importantly, delicious. 

So if you find yourself on South Street or are thinking about places to get a proper cheesesteak in Philly, you'd be well served by checking out Ishkabibble's.

Philly's Best Review

This is for a 2015 trip to Chicago, including the following posts:

Big & Little's, David Burke's Primehouse, Little Goat Diner, Philly's Best, and The Publican. 

Regular readers know that I've never really been a fan of the majority of Philly's cheese steak joints. There's either not enough cheese or the meat is really dry. That being said, my Center City / South Philly favorites are John's Roast Pork, Ishkabibble's, Mike's at the Comcast Center, Tony Luke's, and Jim's. Heck, I'll even throw in Gooey Looie's for the sheer heft! Hmm, maybe Philly has grown on me over the years (more on that later)? Admittedly, I may have had some bias because the first "Philly" cheese steak I had was at college - in Chicago. After a late night and even the next morning, there was nothing better than some cheese steaks from Philly's Best. They were always juicy, dripping, and satiating that inner craving for grease, meat, and cheese. Granted, I'll admit most of my faculties were probably not up to snuff when I ate them.

So when I came back to Chicago for a work conference, the first stop I made (even before the hotel!) was to the Greektown outpost of Philly's Best. It was late and midweek, but there were still plenty of folks from nurses to the gentlemen in blue - all stopping by for a cheese steak. You couldn't help but notice the Philadelphia Inquirer articles adorning the walls and the pride they had in using Amoroso rolls!

Cheese Fritters [$5.99]

 

I started off with the cheese fritters. I can see these being decent hangover snacks, but I couldn't help but compare them to fried cheese curds. While the fried cheese fritters were decently buttery and nicely crisped, there was no stretch from the cheese and frankly, you couldn't really discern what was within. It came with a pat of marinara. But no matter - the fritters were just an attempt to satisfy my inner fat boy. I obviously came here for the cheese steak.

Large Philly Cheese Steak [$13.24] 

Whiz & provolone, 'wit, garlic bread

These days, I have to order mine with both whiz and provolone - 'wit and on a garlic toasted roll no less. The melange of meat, cheese, and onions was just as I remembered - incredibly juicy, inundated with fried onion flavor, and well-seasoned. This isn't clean living - the taste will be on your hands 'till the next morning.

The only downfall? The whiz was put underneath the steak and thus, on top of the bread. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. In what world should the roll be breaking apart from the liquid gold? Good thing I didn't ask for delivery because that would have been a bigger mess. Dean, from Philly's Best, did let me know that usually the whiz goes on top, but the cook made the call with my request for two cheeses.

Either way, in retrospect, structural integrity is something that Philly definitely has in spades. But I still have to give it to Philly's Best (in Chicago!) - there's something about their combo of meat, cheese, and onions that makes for the perfect bite. Combine that with a fresh roll that holds up to the heft - it's definitely one of my top gustatory pleasures.

Manny's Steaks and Burgers Review

The GF was in the mood for chicken alfredo, but we weren't exactly in the mood to cook. So we decided to get some takeout, focused on the goal of getting some chicken alfredo. We settled on Manny's Steaks and Burgers.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo [$10]

Unfortunately, the chicken fettucine alfredo was bland. And this is coming from someone who does not usually cook with a lot of salt. Each bite tasted like butter and cream. In fact, we stopped eating the pasta after a few bites and the next day, I recooked it with some seasoning and freshly grated cheese. While the pasta was obviously overcooked at this point, the seasoning made each bite palatable.

The pasta came with some garlic bread, with was barely buttered on the inside and had dry seasoning within.

We decided to get a small side salad, which was pretty standard - lettuce, onions, and tomatoes.

Cheesesteak Special [$7.20]
Cheesesteak, Fries, Diet Pepsi 

I was in the mood for a cheesesteak, which was slightly dry but certainly a step or two above the pasta. The whiz helped to make each bite. The fries were a bit limp (likely due to issues with delivery), but had good seasoning.

Cheddar Jalapeno Poppers ]$4.25]
 

The jalapeno poppers weren't exactly homemade, but they definitely hit the spot and were properly fried. Nicely crispy with a hit of cheddar and spice within, I got what I was looking for.

20-Piece Boneless Buffalo Wings [$8.25]
 

The 20 piece boneless wings weren't especially crispy, but they were meaty and relatively cheap. They came with some split carrots and celery.

Overall, Manny's Steaks and Burgers was only average. There were also issues with delivery - in addition to taking a long time, the driver asked that I come downstairs at least 5 minutes before he arrived and then spent another 5-10 minutes trying to find me. Not sure if I'd order from them again when there are so many other options in the city.

2015 Philly Vendy Awards Review

This past weekend, I attended the 5th annual Philadelphia Vendy Awards. This city has been a good haven for food trucks, following in the footsteps of LA and NYC. And what better way to showcase this than with a battle of the trucks? For a tax-deductible $65 a person, the proceeds benefit the Food Trust - an organization entrenched in providing healthy and affordable food access. It's also the brains behind the city's Night Markets.

What does a ticket to the Vendy Awards get you? An all-access pass to some of the best food trucks in the area - food and drinks included. This year, the JFK Bridge leading to 30th Street Station was closed off, providing the perfect venue.

Sly Fox was on hand with several beers on hand. Santa Cristina wines and GUS (Grown Up Sodas) were also providing generous pours of their wines and adult sodas, respectively.

And the food trucks? While Mom-Mo's, Mixin Bowl, and Jerry's Kitchen appeared to be no shows, there was more than enough to fill your Philly foodie belly. In the running for the 2015 Vendy Cup were Foolish Waffles, Flying Deutschman, and the Butter Truck. Rookie of the Year candidates included Philly Fry, Seoulfull Philly, Rigatoni's Mobile Crabcakes, and Las Olas Food Trucks. And last but not least, the dessert finalists featured Sweet Lavender, Jimmies Cupcake Co, Luscious Bakery, Pound Cake Heaven, and Undrgrnd Donuts.

SeoulFullPhilly - Mini Cheesesteak Koreans
Korean BBQ marinated beef, whiz, sauteed kimchi, onions
  

Rookie of the Year winner Seoulfull Philly had one of the longest lines of the day. They were still masters of churning out their Korean-American fusion of cheesesteaks. While a bit high on the bread-to-meat ratio, the soft pillowy roll housed well-seasoned Korean BBQ marinated beef, whiz, onions, and sauteed kimchi to bring out funky depth.

Rigatoni's Mobile Crabcakes 
 

Rigatoni's crabcakes provided perfect bite-size morsels of sweet crab, accented by a lightly spicy aioli. 

Flying Deutschman - Knockwurst & Bratwurst Samplers
Spicy mustard, curry ketchup

The Flying Deutschman brought out a sampling of both their knockwurst and bratwurst, which were snappy, juicy, and nicely paired with a spicy mustard and a curry ketchup with some depth.

Las Olas - Vegetarian Bowl
 

Las Olas had the healthiest dish of the day with their healthy Mexican fare. And while I'm not generally one who tries to watch his waistline, this was a surprisingly flavorful blend of quinoa, black beans, sour cream, and chips. 

Philly Fry - Surf and Turf Waffle Fries
Steak, crab meat, American cheese, Old Bay, waffles fries
  

Philly Fry's long line was worth the wait. There were a myriad of options on offer, including a base of regular, waffle, or curly fries, topped with crab, steak, cheese, or buffalo sauce. I went with the surf and turf, which wasn't the prettiest dish, but certainly tasty. The beef was juicy and well-seasoned, with the sweet crab accented by the Old Bay. And the fries? As crisp as they could be! 

Butter Sandwich Truck - Japanese Curry Chips 
Handcut griddle chips, sour cream, cotija, sweet white onion, parsley, homemade curry roux  

The Butter Truck had Japanese curry fries, which featured thin potato medallions with a lightly spicy curry sauce balanced by the cool sour cream. 

Foolish Waffles - Pork Belly Bahn Mi Waffle
Coriander-black pepper glazed pork belly, pickled red cabbage, fresh cucumbers, jalapenos, cilantro, sriracha, Brussels waffle
  

My favorite dish of the day? Obviously the pork belly bahn mi. So much so that I went up again to get their sweet waffle (strawberry-rhubarb), but had to get another pork belly! The crisp Brussels waffle had a hearty sweetness that was the perfect counterpoint to the heft of the black-pepper glazed pork belly. The pickled red cabbage and the freshness of the cilantro and jalapeno helped to provide additional balance to the dish. No wonder Foolish Waffles won the Vendy Cup!

Pound Cake Heaven - Red Velvet Cake
 

Pound Cake Heaven had the most options of the day- seemingly with their entire bakery on display. I opted for the red velvet cake, which was moist, light, and redolent with the richness of cream cheese. 

Sweet Lavender - Peach Cobbler
 

Sweet Lavender had a few options, including the peach cobbler. The crust was buttery, sugary, and flaky, revealing lightly spiced peaches that still had some bite. 

Jimmies Cupcake Co - Ice Cream Sandiches
James Brown - Salted toffee brownie, caramel, vanilla ice cream
Jimmy Appleseed - Cinnamon dusted pie crust, sweet baked apple ice cream
  

Jimmies Cupcake Co had two ice cream sandwiches that were clearly popular. The James Brown was richly flavored with the toffee brownie and the caramel highly present. This was all tempered by the clean flavors of vanilla. The Jimmy Appleseed's pie crust was a bit doughy, but the star was the ice cream, which had the essence of baked apples. Yum!

Luscious Bakery - Spaceship Express Sundae 
Signature sea salt chocolate chip cookie, vanilla bean ice cream, Makers Mark caramel, Belgian salted chocolate sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles, spiced candied pecans  

Chef Jamie Landers of Luscious Bakery was previously a rocket scientist. And watching the appropriately named Spaceship Express Sundae being created was great fun. The soft sea salt chocolate chip cookie, the depth of the Makers Mark caramel, the Belgian salted chocolate sauce, the lightly spiced candied pecans, and the clean vanilla bean ice cream was the perfect melange of sweets. Likely a close contender for the Dessert Cup!

Undrgrnd Donuts - French Toast Donut
Maple swirl, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar 

In the end though, Undrgrnd Donuts won the Dessert Award and with good reason. They had a duo on offer, which started with their french toast donut. With a beautifully cakey base, the flavors of french toast were packed into each bite. 

Undrgrnd Donuts - The Homer Donut
Vanilla dunk, chocolate swirl, raw sugar, bacon
  

My favorite dessert of the day? The Homer. I mean c'mon. Everyone might be doing it, but when you've got perfectly crisp candied bacon on top of a flawless cake donut, you can't go wrong. Salty, sweet, savory, and succulent. 

I'm assuming that everyone who's reading this post has some sort of love for food. And if that's the case, there's no reason at all you should forgo your chance to taste food glory at the 2016 Vendy Awards. So be sure to look out for next year's event. And in the meantime, get out there! Support the mobile food trend and check out your favorite food trucks - both old and new. 

FTC Disclaimer: I received two complimentary tickets to the Vendy Awards. Regardless, all opinions are unbiased and mine alone.