Neuronix

Which one is? I've been to all the dim sum joints in Philly I know of and I just keep coming back to Lakeside now. Sure, it's not the traditional carts experience, but that's the nice part. All the food comes very fresh right out to your table and is still just as cheap. Food quality is just as good if not better than the other places, and you get a bigger selection, as opposed to whatever has been on the cart for 3 hours. Service tends to be very friendly to boot. For Jewish Deli, is Koch's still in the running? I don't think it's the same place since Bob died, but it's still darn good.

I'd like to give my own nod to this place. Finally a Spanish place in Philly I can afford! BYO is great, though I wonder how they're going to pull off a Sangria night (you provide the wine) like they were advertising? In any case, I lived in Spain for a summer, and I definately miss the food. Here's my little review: Decor: Solid colored walls, kind of dark first floor rowhouse. Reminds me of New York. Candles on each solid dark wood table. Tasteful. First courses (~$6 each) 1) Croquetas -- 6 small round croquettes. Wish they were served warmer and the filling is somewhat bland. That being said, the outsides are nice and crispy. Overall not the best, but not bad. 2) Desgustacion de Pinxtos -- Each on their own piece of toast. All very good. Portobello mushrooms cooked with a little garlic, tasty! Marinated cooked shrimp in a roasted red pepper, also quite good. Mixed squash salad. Finally lomo and cheese. Kind of a strange combination for a tapa, but the meat was so tender and flavorful I didn't mind. Second courses (~$8 each) 1) Tuna Sandwich (forget the official name) -- Any way you name it, it was a fancy tunafish sandwhich on a baguette. Nevertheless, the salad was well flavored and the bread fresh. 2) Sandwich (again blanking on name) de carne -- Tender strips of beef on a baguette with lettuce with a spicy mayo based sauce. I got it with an extra side of sauce, which was great with the fries this sandwich came with. I wish the Tuna sandwich also came with something... Dessert (~$9) 1) Churros con chocolate -- The churros were tasty and authentic. It was the Spanish chocolate that left me wishing for Spain however. I thought the chocolate tasted powdery and a bit thin, not the rich chocolate I was used to in Granada. Still, I liked it enough that I ordered an extra half dozen churros to dip in the remaining chocolate to share with my partner. Service was a bit overbearing, but very friendly. It was obvious they were new, but at the same time it was charming and I'd much rather have it this way than the usual Philadelphia cold shoulder. The sandwiches probably took about a half hour to come out and the second round of churros took ten minutes. We didn't mind so much (we had a bottle of Kaiken Malbec after all!) but one of the owners threw in the dessert for free for the wait. We didn't think she had to at all, but we really appreciate the gesture. I hope this place stays open for some time. Total bill: $40 (then minus $6).

Sure, it counts, but RTM is kinda crazy most times when I can go. Sure, I could find seats, but it's too noisy, chaotic, and the seats too uncomfortable for me to do work there.

I'm a big fan of Hausbrandt coffee house over on 15th St. between Locust and Walnut. They have excellent coffee, a nice, friendly atmosphere, and free Internet. It's usually not too crowded. I always used to go over to The Last Drop at 13th and Pine but these days it's just always really crowded. The service is really hit or miss too, with either friendly and quirky or "I hate life" twentysomethings. Two recent favorites with free Internet closed up--Millenium on 12th street and The Mean Bean which is now the Village Coffee House and is not as good and doesn't have free Internet anymore. If anyone knows anything in Center City with free Internet that isn't always crowded please let me know!

$4.25 for a small? They can keep it. I'll keep heading to More Than Just Ice Cream down the street. Capogiro is tasty, but wayyyyyyyyy overpriced. For the price of a medium (3 small spoonfuls?) you can get a half gallon of ice cream. Sharon's Sorbet at Trader Joe's also. At $2 a pint the lemon sorbet is what water ice only dreams it could be.

Wow, thanks for the tip! I've been looking for new Chairman's Selections periodically over the past week and noticed the Kaiken Malbec was added back to the list tonight while it hadn't been there all week. I tried to buy 4 bottles for store delivery and the site would only let me order 3. The last bottle was listed as "unavailable" and had to be removed from my cart as it couldn't be backordered. Did I get the last 3 bottles? If so, I really lucked out as I didn't get a bottle when they were in stock. Anything under $10 that's a good value flies off the shelves at the 12th and Chestnut store...

In Center City my pick for best pizza for the money would be Lazaros at 18th and South. I've always felt like they beat the crap out of Lorenzo's, and they even deliver. The combo pie is 18" and loaded with toppings. Other selections from their menu have been good to excellent as well. Just a suggestion if anyone's looking for some place that seems to rarely get a mention. There's those gourmet pizza shops, but the pizzas tend to come out so small and sparsely decorated that I never feel like they're worth it. Heck, how hard is it to go to Trader Joe's and get some pizza dough, a can of artichokes, some goat cheese, and sun dried tomatoes?

wait what? ← Cafe a la Turca http://mobile.zabihah.com/details_sub.php?rest_id=5722 I live near there and walk by it all the time and never even noticed it because it's a little takeout joint. I first found about it through that site I linked, which is great for discovering new Middle Eastern joints. Then all of a sudden I noticed it sits right there on the corner I've been meaning to try it, but haven't yet done so. I really miss places like Mahmoun's up in New Haven and NYC, and while Rami's truck in University City helps fill the void, I'm hoping we can get a center city joint with $2 falafel sandwiches and $8 loaded with meat Shawerma plates like Mahmoun's. PS: Anyone have suggestions on Morrocan eggplant salad around here? I was very unimpressed with Marrakesh here. Back in Undergrad I used to always hit up Ali Baba for lunch for this (and still highly recommend it if you make it down to Newark, DE) and I really miss it!

I live right down the street from there.... It's sad. It started as a note on the door "Samosa is closed temporarily" to "Ravi had a heart attack" then "Thanks for all your well wishes! We hope to open again soon!" Several months later it was an eviction notice. I don't think it's coming back... Still, no offense to them, but Minar Palace is the best Indian in the city IMO. Skip nearby Passage to India. Anyone tried that new Turkish place over on Chestnut (11th?). The Thai place in the Terminal Market is decent. Nothing fantastic, but not bad. Of course lots of places in Chinatown will make you a nice, yummy lunch. For lunch around campus I'm always hitting up the West Philly food trucks. Don't know much about em in Center City, but some of the ones in W. Philly are restaurant (or better) quality.

If only Tierra Columbiana wasn't so far from Center City Part of being poor is that I don't have a car. Maybe someday I'll make the hour long trek up there...

Thanks guys I plan on posting plenty. My goal in life is to find cheap eats in or near Center City as I'm a poor grad student. Any suggestions on other latin food? I'd love good, cheap Cuban, Argentinian, Spanish (not latin, forgive me or others! I feel like Philly has some great places in some areas (Chinese for example), but really lacks in others (Cuban).

As a native Delawarian, I agree on Mexico Lindo. Though on a student budget in Center City without a car my favorite Mexican would be El Rey Del Sol for Tex Mex as good as Texas down on South Street.