Where to eat near Avenue of the Arts

[peanutgirl]

We have tickets to Cirque du Soleil this Sunday (Aug.13th). The show starts at 1pm and we should be out of there and hungry by 4:00pm.

Any suggestions would be appreciated as we're not familiar with the restaurant options in that area.

Nothing upscale (4 children in tow)... but nice enough to keep us adults satisfied.

Thanks in advance .

[HD73]

We have tickets to Cirque du Soleil this Sunday (Aug.13th). The show starts at 1pm and we should be out of there and hungry by 4:00pm.

Any suggestions would be appreciated as we're not familiar with the restaurant options in that area.

Nothing upscale (4 children in tow)... but nice enough to keep us adults satisfied.

Thanks in advance  .

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I would suggest a place called Sabrina's at 9th and Christian. It's a nice place, but they shouldn't have a problem with the kids. And the kids will probably find something on the menu to satisfy them. It's close to where the show is too.

Edited: Just remembered that Sabrina's is only open for brunch on Sundays. It looks like they're open until 4 PM. If you get out at 3:30, you could still make it. I'll try to brainstorm another local place if that doesn't work.

Edited August 9, 2006 by HD73 (log)

[mrbigjas]

that timing is a little funky--between lunch and dinner. so some of these places may not be open. ethnic is your best bet right around there.

if you walk down washington avenue, there's a good vietnamese place called nam phuong on 11th street, just south of washington. in that same building is viet huong, also good.

across 11th from that is cafe de laos (laotian-thai) and porky and porkie (AYCE korean bbq).

on washington just below 10th is a mexican place called plaza garibaldi. across from that is taqueria veracruzana. further down 9th are acapulco and la lupe, both good mexican.

next to la lupe is O sandwiches, which makes vietnamese hoagies and summer rolls.

on the 900 block of christian is sabrina's, known for its brunch but generally solid all around. on 9th street is villa di roma--check if they're open, and if they are it might be a good choice. old school south philly red gravy italian.

if you head up broad street, you could go to the jamaican jerk hut if they're open. weather's going to be perfect for sitting out back.

[HD73]

Jamaican Jerk Hut is a good call. Bring some bug spray though, as the last time I ate outside there I got eaten alive by some form of insect I'd never experienced before. I think they must have imported them from Jamaica. The staff has bug spray if you forget.

The only other problem might be if the kids are picky eaters. I've never looked at the menu with an eye towards that, but it might be tough to please a finicky kid.

[davidbdesilva]

I would suggest, if they are open on Sundays, L'Angolo on Porter St. just off of Broad St. (not far from Broad and Washington). The best Italian food in the city, IMHO, though not that expensive and OK for kids. It's also BYOB as well. Enjoy the show, we went and thought it was amazing (as usual).

[KatieLoeb]

Hey! I'm taking my nephew to that show as well!

We're heading to Amada afterward, but only because he always likes to see where Aunt Katie works. If we were sticking around that area I'd probably take him to Sabrina's, La Lupe or Plaza Garibaldi (9th & Federal and 9th & Washington, both Mexican), International Smokeless BBQ (6th & Washington, Korean BBQ and other Asian), or Marra's (Passyunk Avenue - really great Pizza).

[SaxChik]

Hey!  I'm taking my nephew to that show as well!

We're heading to Amada afterward, but only because he always likes to see where Aunt Katie works.  If we were sticking around that area I'd probably take him to Sabrina's, La Lupe or Plaza Garibaldi (9th & Federal and 9th & Washington, both Mexican), International Smokeless BBQ (6th & Washington, Korean BBQ and other Asian), or Marra's (Passyunk Avenue - really great Pizza).

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i'm going tomorrow night. any thoughts for dinner? it'll have to be within walking distance, since we're training and cabbing it into the city. we were thinking taqueria la veracruzana, but if you have better ideas, we're open.

thanks!

[philadining]

One time when I was on the stand-by list (and missed it by ONE person!!!) I ran out to what I think is the closest place: Pho75.

It was quick, cheap, and pretty darn good. It's right on Washington, just a block or so east, on the south side of the street. But Pho is pretty much all they have, so if it's a noodle soup kind of day, you're in luck!

Otherwise, the other recommendations all sound good to me.

[peanutgirl]

Wow! thanks for all the great recommendations .

Personally I'm leaning towards the Mexican or Vietnamese places. I just did a search for reviews on everything mentioned and they all sound like excellent choices.

Pho 75 is near or in an Asian shopping area? If so, that's a definite draw for me.

Decisions, decisions ... I'll let you all know where we ended up to eat on Monday.

Have a good time with your nephew Katie. Amada sounds wonderful, but I don't think we'll make it there this trip.

[mrbigjas]

Wow! thanks for all the great recommendations  .

Personally I'm leaning towards the Mexican or Vietnamese places. I just did a search for reviews on everything mentioned and they all sound like excellent choices.

Pho 75 is near or in an Asian shopping area? If so, that's a definite draw for me.

it's in a big ol' shopping center right at 11th & washington. pho 75 is there, and both nam phuong and huong viet are there as well. there's a big ol parking lot that is always an utter madhouse in the center. the strip (because let's be honest, it's a strip mall bent into a U shape) is anchored by a rockin vietnamese grocery store called hung vuong. quick rundown:

• pho 75 only sells pho, basically.
  
• huong viet has a slightly more extensive menu but still mainly focuses on soup, rolls, noodles, and broken rice platters (and great banh mi).
  
• nam phuong is a full-on, full-service vietnamese restaurant, with a liquor license and actual decor and stuff. it's very good.
  

there's also a newish chinese seafood place at the other corner of the center that i haven't been to.

[SaxChik]

i'm going tomorrow night.  any thoughts for dinner?  it'll have to be within walking distance, since we're training and cabbing it into the city.  we were thinking taqueria la veracruzana, but if you have better ideas, we're open.

thanks!

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you guys are going to love quidam! it was VERY cool! and ... taqueria la veracruzana was AMAZING! the guac, the horchata (sp?) ... we got beef burritos cause we were in a hurry and they were as big as my head. YUM! thanks holly's website and old eG posts!

[peanutgirl]

First of all...The show was f*ing amazing !!!

Very cool that the guy who came out in the audience patted my 6 year old son on the head and removed my husbands arm from my shoulder . At least he didn't take our popcorn.

We arrived way early, upgraded our tickets and then since we had time to spare the husband walked down to the strip mall to get some menus. During the intermission I had my older children peruse the options and we decided that Viet Huong was where we we going. Pho 75 seemed too limeted for one daughter who's a vegetarian that will eat fish and the Chinese place on the corner was too "seafoody" for the husband .

I knew I wanted Pho so that's what I ordered. #31 Pho Dac Biet. Humungous bowl of soup. 6 bucks and I was so stuffed I couldn't even eat all of it. Luckily 7 year old bottomless pit of a son shared with me and liked it .

Husband ordered an entree. #113 beef w/ mixed vegetables. Both sons ate some of that too.

Daughters shared the Bun Tom Nuong (shrimps w/bean sprouts, letuce, herbs,cucuber and crushed peanuts).

We also ordered 2 appetizers.... the Banh Cong (fried shrimp cakes) and the Cha Gio (crispy spring rolls w/ ground pork ect).

I wasn't too thrilled with the shrimp cakes, they were dense and greasy. The Spring rolls were tasty though.

The kids ordered strawberry smoothies with bubbles which they enjoyed. Husband tried the Vietnamese coffee w/ condensed milk. I stuck with plain old ice water.

So that was our trip to Cirque in Philly. Great show and fun exposing the kids to another cuisine.

Thanks everyone .

[KatieLoeb]

Peanutgirl:

Glad it all worked out for you. Nephew and I enjoyed the show too, although he thought that most of the music was "the wierdest thing he'd ever heard". Some of the Cirque music is like a cross between Enya and Klezmer music on acid, so I get what he meant. We were sitting over on the side by the orchestra so we got a good view of them playing and the singers too. Very cool show and I highly recommend it.

On your recommendation I'll have to try Viet Huong next time I'm jonesing for pho. Sounds like they do it right. Nice that you found somewhere that could feed the whole family something they'd eat!

[philadining]

Some of the Cirque music is like a cross between Enya and Klezmer music on acid...

Hey, careful, that's exactly what's on the car stereo if I give Mummer a ride home...

[brucedelta]

We are going to see the new Cirque show on Friday. ANything new to consider in the area beyond whats listed in this old thread?

[Yannii]

maybe check out Devil's Den, which recently opened at 11th and Ellsworth (near washington). they have an amazing beer list, big screen TVs and a lovely atmosphere (lots of wood), and a new chef with reportedly good casual food. Also near that corner is Cafe de Laos, which has delicious and inexpensive Laotian and Thai cuisine. Or, if you don't mind a bit of a walk, you could also head to the newly redeveloped east Passyunk area. I can definitely recommend Cantina de los Cabalitos for Mexican and Le Virtu for Italian, amongst the several other choices available on that three block span. good luck....

[peanutgirl]

How pleasantly coincidental to find my old thread near the top of the Philly page...Kooza for us today .

We're leaving in about an hour, still undecided on food but armed with the spirit of eGullet I know we'll find our way to something good.

We've done Vietnamese and everyone likes that. We've done Plaza Garibaldi and liked that as well. However, our 12 year old daughter doesn't tolerate Mexican food (not the spices, it must be something else in it. She gets sick everytime, everyplace).

Are there any good Indian places in that general area?

* How did you like Kooza BTW BruceDelta?

[Buckethead]

How pleasantly coincidental to find my old thread near the top of the Philly page...Kooza for us today .

Are there any good Indian places in that general area?

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It's too late, but the Palace at the Ben is good and not too far from there.