Philly Neighborhoods: Where to Eat in South Street West

Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods that not only help define the people who live there, but also foster hyper-local passion for each area's contribution to our food culture. In a series of posts, we'll talk about what's new and where to eat/drink in different neighborhoods across the city.

Bar and a few tables inside Magpie

"South Street West," as you might expect, is the stretch of South Street that runs west from Broad, and it is really moving up in the ranks of local food communities.

Several spots opened there in the last few years, such as thai BYOB Sawatdee, The Quick Fixx for high quality takeout and Sweet Freedom gluten free desserts. They join the likes of Pumpkin, Bob and Barbara's and Jamaican Jerk Hut to make South Street West home to a variety of new drinking/dining experiences.

Jake’s Sandwich Board

One of the more creative sandwich shops in Philadelphia is Jake’s Sandwich Board. Jake’s is known for its pork sandwiches, considering its Twitter handle is @gotpig, but you can also find plenty of other options.

Overall, Jake’s serves up some darn good sammies, albeit with some minor slip-ups in each of my visits.

My first sandwich was the "50/50" specialty sandwich consisting of 1/2 pulled pig and 1/2 smoky grilled bacon topped with sriracha mayo and sharp provolone. How can you resist, right?

Recipes and Tips for CSA Beginners II: Easy Sausage & Kale

Here's the next post in our series on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. Bradd's sister Julie is writing about her experience as a member of the Greener Partners CSA at Hillside Farm in Media, Pa.

In my last post, I shared all the great produce I took home from the CSA at Hillside Farm, accompanied by what to make with squash, eggplant, corn and other ingredients. I also picked up kale, which I used to be afraid of buying because I didn't know how to cook it. Then I read some examples and came up with my own recipe for Sautéed Sausage & Kale. It was so good I make it weekly now.

I became a big fan of kale cooked like this after discovering the way it melts down in sauce and loses some of the bitterness typical to collard greens, spinach and cabbage. The rainbow stems also make the meal more appealing to the eye.

Recipe for Sautéed Sausage & Kale

Where to Get Dim Sum in Philadelphia

Update: Dim Sum Garden has moved to a new, more spacious and modern location at 10th and Race. 

Our recent post comparing top spots in Philadelphia to San Francisco did not mention our trip to SF’s Chinatown for some awesome dim sum and dumplings. We had never tried any dim sum places in Philly before then so we could not compare.

We highly recommend both Delicious Dim Sum and Good Mang Kok in SF if you’re looking for dim sum to go. Check out some pics on our Pinterest board. You should make Chinatown a stop on any SF trip.

The experience inspired us to go on a recent dim sum hunt in Philadelphia. We decided to check out Dim Sum Garden after several of our Twitter friends recommended it, as well as David’s Mai Lai Wah after Philadelphia Magazine’s glowing dumpling review in 2011.

We’re not dim sum aficionados, but Dim Sum Garden was more than satisfying. We've already been back there a second time, and plan to return regularly.

The grimy, unpretentious location underneath the Hilton Garden Inn's overpass on 11th Street gives the place a feeling of authenticity, though it's not a traditional dim sum restaurant where they come around with carts and you point to your picks. Here you just order from a waitress. Fine with us.

Recipes and Tips for CSA Beginners

Here's the latest guest post from Bradd's sister Julie on how to choose produce from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and cook throughout the week with it. This series on CSA memberships is being written in partnership with Greener Partners and Hillside Farm in Media.


My first few weeks as a member of the CSA at Hillside Farm have been very productive. I found that I used pretty much everything with the exception of one ear of corn that had a large worm in it. I hear this is a sign of a good piece of corn but unfortunately I dropped it in the trash can from fright… it was a big worm.

Last time I wrote about what to know before joining a CSA. This post will cover some of the items I picked out last week, what I made and some additional first-hand tips for using a CSA.

Gluten-Free Pure Tacos Hits Center City

Update: Pure Tacos closed in May 2013. Not shocking. 

Pure Tacos is a new, 100% gluten free, fast casual taco joint at 20th and Chestnut. Kristy visited with a gluten free co-worker several weeks ago and said it was worth checking out for myself.

The Philly location is an expansion of Pure Tacos' original namesake that debuted on the Ocean City boardwalk several years ago and received rave reviews.

Kudos to Pure Tacos for striving to serve high quality, gluten-free food. We have several friends with gluten allergies and their hunt for quality food can be burdensome. Hopefully, more places pop up with a focus on gluten-free. Another to check out is The Quick Fixx at 15th and South, which has gluten-free pasta.