Fried fish sandwich

Breaded and fried catfish topped with guacamole, a spicy harissa mayo, cilantro and pickled carrots on a sesame seed roll. Nice substantial sandwich that doesn’t feel heavy. Perfect for the summer. There is an enjoyable level of spiciness to the sandwich which is then cooled down with the pickled carrots and avocado. Also the bun might look familiar because it can be found on JB’s burger and it is one of my favorite sandwich buns.

Bologna sandwich

Bologna and Lebanon bologna are grilled and served with melted Swiss cheese, red onion, lettuce and tomato. This was actually ordered by a friend but I ended up eating a very significant portion of it. I really enjoyed this sandwich. I never had Lebanon bologna before but I am a fan now. It’s the bologna that looks a bit like salami. It’s a little heartier for a summer sandwich but won’t weight you down . I also enjoyed the bun on this sandwich, more substantial than the seeded bun and less squishy but didn’t overwhelm it.

Both sandwiches come served with JB’s fries, which are wonderful. Not go out there and eat a sandwich!

I will keep this first installation of “party and brunching” short and savory. You will find an ongoing theme when it comes to me and brunch, I like it savory. If I could get a side of a silver dollar pancake or something, I would but usually I have to choose between the sweet and the savory. Savory will always win. Have I used the word savory enough? Ok now I have.

This sandwich was perfect.  The bread was hearty and substantial enough to hold up against the yolk of the egg. Oh salty pork roll, how I love you. I’m so grateful to have come to Philly and gotten to know you so intimately. Serious high five for this sandwich. The potatoes were great as well. Not the roasted, crispy breakfast potatoes that are the norm. Instead they were soft and laced with sweet onions. I enjoyed them immensely.

Of course The Tap has a lot of other excellent brunch options. They’ve got your French toast, if you like it sweet, and usually a special omelet of the day. A friend of mine enjoyed bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel. Don’t forget their excellent selection of draft beers as well.

This week we are giving away a $25 gift certificate to Paesano’s! My love for Paesano’s is no secret. Open for just under a year, Paesano’s has gotten nothing but amazing press. Their Italian hoagie, the Daddy Wad,  has been recognized as Philly’s best Italian hoagie.

Paesano’s isn’t your basic Philly deli or hoagie shop. I like to call it a sandwich boutique. Their sandwiches are a work of art. Quality ingredients, creativity and love are put into their sandwiches. While the Daddy Wad has gotten a lot of attention I would like to remind everyone about their Arista sandwich. This is the sandwich that I was most excited about when Paesano’s first opened and it still continues to delight me.

Look at this beautiful sandwich. Take a minute to study the picture below. When I bite into this sandwich I am hit with  tender pork and the super flavorful jus.  The bread is seeded and hearty so it holds this juicy sandwich together wonderfully.

So now that your mouth is watering for an Arista sandwich, leave a comment describing your “namesake sandwich”, if one were to exist, and you will be entering in to win the $25 gift certificate. I loved the answers we got to last weeks giveaway for the “namesake burger” so I thought we should do it again. Make sure to leave a valid email address so we can get in touch with you.  Comments will remain open till 5pm Wednesday. I will announce the winner on Thursday morning. Good luck!

Here are more pics of the sandwich and menu so you can familiarize obsess over which sandwich you want more.

When I was offered a chance to see the Phillies for free I was so excited. Not because I am some big baseball fan, I’m not, but because of the F O O D! I think at some point in the game I asked if they had scored a goal. Yes I am sportsdumb. I blame my father. He only watched drag racing and boxing. Interesting combination. No? But in all seriousness I love Citizens Bank Park. It’s beeeautiful and has a lot of good eats.

Here is a little photo essay of the game.

What’s awesome is that we were totally greeted by the Schmitter! I had never had a Schmitter before so I knew I had to start with one of these. This is a fun diagram of the sandwich, which will explain what it is if you are not familiar with it.

I shared it with the dude but I could have definitely eaten one all on my own. I loved everything about this sandwich. I loved the sauce and melted cheese. The bun was perfect and held the messy sandwich together.

Oh here is our view. We had pretty good seats right? I think this is the closest I have ever sat at a baseball game. We spent a lot of time watching the outfielders. It was fun to study them. I guess you had to be there.

And then we got hungry again.

CRAB FRIES!!! With respect to Philly food things I wait in line for, this is one of them. I actually didn’t have to wait this time, the dude was kind enough to do the honors but I would have. He also picked up 3 cheeses because you never have enough cheese for these things. For those of you not in the know, they are crinkle cut fries generously doused with Old Bay seasoning and served with a white cheese sauce. I’m of the opinion that everything is better with a little cheese sauce. A good cheese sauce and this is one hell of a cheese sauce.  My love for them is never ending.

And we still might have been hungry…

His and her’s pork products in a bun. I don’t remember the name of the stand but it was by the crab fries and they only served hot dogs and Italian sausage. What I really liked about this place is that you could get onions and peppers and they served them on these awesome rolls. I got the sausage. It was pretty tasty. The hot dog look equally delicious. It was also for giants. Look how big that hot dog is. It’s about the same size as the sausage.

Oh look someone is digging into their dog. Big thanks to this lovely lady for sharing her tix with us. This really isn’t much of a thanks by posting this pic but she did let me take the picture. I’m sorry I have a thing for taking pictures of people eating. You have been warned.

And then we watched the game some more yada yada and the Phillies won….

FIREWORKS! Might have been the best fireworks show I have ever been to. Even though I’m not into sports I will always jump at the chance to visit Citizens Bank Park.  I didn’t even get to the different hoagie/cheesesteak/roast pork sandwich options. I’ll save that for next time.

Just so you know Arbol is pretty much serve yourself. You go in and you get your coffee and order you food and then you take a seat outside and they bring out your meal when  it’s ready. If you’re like me and need some time deciding on what to eat, I suggest you pick up your menu inside and a cup of coffee. Then enjoy your coffee and study the menu, there is a lot to think about. I ordered one of their “lomitos sandwiches”, which they claim are good for anytime of the day and they are right. This sandwich made for a hearty breakfast but it could also make a good lunchtime meal. The “cacique lambare” called to me and it might have had something to do with the description, as stated on the menu, “the warrior sandwich of thin steak, broken egg, mushroom, onion and port salut cheese.” Yes I picked a sandwich because it was called a warrior.

Now I titled this post “Arbol is for meat lovers” because you can get sandwiches with multiple kinds of meats and that always excites me. For instance E from Foodaphilia, who was my dining companion, ordered a sandwich with the thin steak and smoked turkeyham. Meat on meat, I love it! I was a little misled by the “broken egg”. I thought I would find a yolky egg that I would break and thus make my sandwich all yolky but instead found an egg that had been fried after the yolk was broken. It was still very good but I would have loved the yolk with my thinly sliced steak.  The meat was super juicy and still a little pink but it was just a little tougher than I would have liked but still very tasty.  The bread was perfection, I am pretty certain it is a brioche roll for LeBus. The cheese was nicely melted and I loved the onions and mushrooms.  Isn’t it a lovely sandwich. Don’t let me mislead you though, they have sandwiches for our veggie loving friends as well as chicken sandwiches for those of you who don’t eat red meat. Along with all of that they serve salads, empanadas and bagel and croissant sandwiches. The coffee is also very good.

Inside the warrior.

I shared an order of their “potatoes a la plancha” (this might be wrong because I can’t currently find the name of it on their website). Bad food blogger for not taking better notes. I wished that the potatoes had a bit more crunch but the spiced ketchup they offered more than made up for it.

Arbol is also reasonably priced. My sandwich was between 7 or 8 dollars and I think the side of potatoes were around $2.50. I was recently craving a hearty meat sandwich, that wasn’t a burger surprise, and my first thought was Arbol so it definitely made an impression on me. It is a nice change of pace from the other eateries in Northern Liberties. Their outdoor space is also a beautiful addition to the neighborhood.

It’s a very small place which offers all kinds of freshly made food. They have a few tables inside but they usually fill up very quickly. Be prepared to take your meal to go. Their lunches might be seen as a little spendy, for a take out place, but their ingredients are top notch and their portions are pretty generous.  I imagine if I lived closer that I would come for dinner a lot because they have a great amount of prepared foods.  You could totally take it home, reheat and claim to your guests that you made it yourself. Like in Mrs. Doubtfire.

Back to lunch. I ordered one of their specials of the day, the falafel on pita. They tend to have about 3-5 sandwich specials and a couple of salad specials each day.  For $7.00 I got their falafel special. It came on half a pita and topped with lettuce, tomatoe, red onion, and tzatziki sauce. I wished there had been a little bit more sauce because it was really good.  There were 4 or 5 small falafel balls in the pita. I don’t think they deep fried their falafel because it didn’t come out super greasy. Instead they were very light and seemed to be just slightly browned in a pan or flatop griddle. Even more possible, they could have been baked now that I think about it. So this wasn’t your traditional falafle but it sure hit the spot. Be prepared to wait a bit if you order a sandwich because they are all made on demand.

Not a great shot because I was using my iPhone.

I started out with the curry sweet potato soup. This was my attempt at eating healthier. I usually get an order of their fries, because they are amazing, but when I heard about the soup I had to try it. It was a really nice and light starter. The soup was creamy but not heavy. It also had a subtle heat to it that I really enjoyed.

On to the sandwich. I love their chicken salad. The combination of chicken, red grapes and creaminess is perfect. It’s not weighed down with a ton of dressing. The grapes add a little bit of sweetness. They serve it on a soft challah bun, topped with sesame seed. It’s huge and while I always want to save half and take it home with me, it’s so good that I can’t stop eating it. Whatta sammich!

This my friends is the goat cheese tart. It was sweet and a little savory, a combination that I am always a fan of.

Of course I was right across the street for Home Slice Pizza, also owned by the ladies of Full Plate, so I had to stop by and get one of these (to take home with me, for later of course):

OATMEAL CREAM COOKIES ZOMG! Sorry for the all caps but I am totally addicted to these things. There really isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t crave one of these. I love oatmeal cookies and cream filling so it’s a perfect marriage of the two. They are also a steal at $1 or $1.50 a piece. Again, I hope no one from Home Slice is reading this.

Look how happy they make me: