kieran

we tried some sandwiches from beecher's last weekend and were very happy with them, and today beecher's cheeses and curds were very well received at our super bowl party. i'm so happy this place is there. can't wait to try more products as they get off the ground. so far i've especially enjoyed the jamaican jerk jack cheese and the herb oil curds.

thank you for posting this, chuck! i've been jonesing for great deli sandwiches since i moved here from the east coast. i can't wait to see what people suggest. i agree with placebo that the deluxe has good burgers (and some of their other sandwiches aren't bad either). it's definitely bar food and not the deli fix i've been craving, though. you probably know about it already but red mill also makes terrific burgers, and i think their onion rings are to die for. i'm a great fan of both the tuna melt and the club sandwich at o'shea's, the wallingford bar where i drink and play trivia on monday nights. perennial favorite salumi of course has phenomenal sandwiches, but again not of the jewish deli variety. i will follow any other suggestions avidly...

does bitar's still have an outpost in west philly? in my time at penn i was a great fan. thumbs up on white dog and magic carpet for lunch; thumbs way down on mad4mex. if you end up with an unseasonably warm day, you could get something at reading terminal -- easy if you do elect to stay at lowe's -- and bring it with you for lunch and eat outside. unlikely in february, though. does zocolo do lunch? if you have two and half hours that might be a possibility. have fun! philly's a great town to munch your way through.

i'm with holly. carman's all the way. i lived in philly for about ten years and now i live in seattle. i'm back in philly at least a couple of times a year and carman's is the one place i always make absolutely certain not to miss. love carman, love her food, love everything about the place. (if i didn't think it were cheating, i might choose reading terminal market. but that doesn't really honor the one place dictum in the original question.)

great review, tighe. i can't wait to check it out.

I'm a great fan of the brunch at Glo's just up the hill from downtown into Capitol Hill. Go early, go late, or call ahead, though, or you're going to be waiting an awfully long time. But they make a terrific breakfast. Short on ambience but long on great food. A bit further from downtown and it's not a traditional brunch but I also really like the Sunday brunch at Galeria's, on Broadway in Capitol Hill. It includes fruit and Mexican pastries and some very delicious Mexican entrees ranging from huevos rancheros to creative and interesting enchiladas. It's a great deal, too. Yes I do live in Capitol Hill, what's your point? :)

the barley green noodle chow mein at shanghai garden. followed closely by the crispy chicken with orange sauce and the crispy shrimp with sweet chili sauce on the same menu. man o man i have a soft spot for that stuff.

It's too bad you had such a negative experience. When I originally called to make the reservation for our party, the woman on the phone told me they only took reservations for parties of 6+, and only for two seatings an evening (6pm and 8:30pm). Since I was calling for a party of 4, she advised me to show up by 6:30 to minimize the chances of waiting for a table. I elected to make a reservation for 6 and find two friends to join us. Good thing, too, because people showing up at 6:30 were waiting longer than I would have anticipated (we had the 6pm reservation, since the 8:30 was already taken). Not that this helps you now. Kind of a downer.

I am the other person in Alex's party who wrote up the list of dishes we tried. I would add to Alex's post that I really appreciated the attention to detail in the dishes we tried. The accompaniments were well matched to the centerpieces of the plates (eel served with perfect new potato salad, rich stoneground grits with the halibut cheeks, etc). I'd definitely recommend.