Paul's Tuesday Neighborhood Appreciation Menu, $20

Get on this Tuesday train! Paul is a tiny BYO that would certainly fall into the category of a "cute, neighborhood spot." It offers a menu of creative but not crazy American fare, including a $30, 3 course limited prix fix. But, the real night to go is Tuesday (neighborhood appreciation night) when 3 courses set you back only $20.

You get the choice of pretty much any appetizer (minus cheese plate) and entree on the menu and then a choice of creme brulee or choc pancakes for dessert. All the portions are smaller than are normally served, but were enough to be filling for me, could potentially be less filling for others.

I would recommend my appetizer- a duck prosciutto salad with pear spheres over a gorgonzola patty.





I was also pleased with my entree, short ribs with a polenta queso fresco tamale and braised radicchio. The tamale thing could have been served warmer but the radicchio was not at all bitter, it was extra vinegary (kudos to you if you get the south park reference) and sourkraut- like which I loved.




The skate was your typical lovely brown butter caper skate, can't go wrong there. It was served with a bacon hash that was less typical and just as appetizing.

Desserts are definitely an afterthought, but its still nice to end with something sweet. Again, this place is really really small, so you might want to make a reservation.


1120 Pine Street

Flying Monkey Cupcakes + O Sandwiches

While passing by the Flying Monkey's newest location, I noticed a new sign...
Today was the first day that they started carrying banh mi sandwiches ($5.50) and summer rolls ($6) from O Sandwiches. Though its a bit of mark-up, its pretty exciting news for the gayborhood. Now we can be that much trendier over here.

I wasn't in the sandwich mood so I just went with a champagne cupcake, but I will be back soon enough to try out these highly acclaimed sammiches.

Noodles from the Chinese Noodle Factory

On this little Chinatown street, the Noodle factory makes their own buns and rice noodles for you to bring home and gussy up. They also sell prepackaged noodles with a tangy sauce that makes for a convenient lunch. They give you a ton of noodles graciously topped with a fork. I went for the shrimp version which cost all of $1.60.

Lee How Fook: business in the front, party in the back

Lee How Fook has a reputation for serving legit Chinese food to the Philly community.

A recent bday partayyy allowed us to sample the goods, while taking advantage of their semi-private back room and byo policy. Spinning wine and beer around and around on a lazy susan is really fun.

I don't even know exactly what we eat, things just kept spinning at me. Each dish held its own, but nothing blew my mind
The duck meat with ginger and pineapple came close though.

They have a godzilla sized menu and are accommodating to the vegetarians (like a mapo tofu without any meat) and eaters of all adventurous levels (from general tso's chicken all the way to duck feet abalone hot pot) Our bill for our large party was ridiculously low. According to the website, Lee How Fook means "good food for the mouth" and they have been working at that for over 20 years.

219 North 11th Street