Mar
2015
I am such an avid lover of food, of cuisine. I just can’t seem to get enough of food. My mother used to complain that I will bankrupt her with my appetite, but then she rescinded her sometimes-ridiculous comments when she realized that I may turnout to be a professional caliber athlete. Since that was the case, she contended that I should definitely get that professional diet spot on! Not that it would have made much of a difference to me; I certainly would have continued to devour unholy quantities of the deliciousness I was able to amass in our fridge or on our stovetop. There are some splendid kitchens in the magnificent houses for sale in Cormallen Hill Estate, designed perfectly and specifically for you to feel comfortable and debonair as you cook and cater to your own bottomless pits of beloved, but voracious teenage eating machines.
For a time, I was also an avid and exploratory excursioner to exotic, new or interestingly advertised restaurants, café s and eateries all across my neighborhood, city and county. All of said travels, for the singular sake of satiating my god-forsaken appetite (as my mother hilariously coined it). In hopes that I might find a cuisine or a particular dish that could satisfy my whole hunger, on a regular basis, for an affordable monetary outlay, I really did scour all of Philadelphia to find the best or my most favorite food joint. That by the way is no meager feat, as Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in those massive and enormously diverse United States of America.
I found a few, as Im sure you will. It would be senseless to name all the incredibly delectable places I happened upon so I will instead give you a quick overview of some of my favorite. I may have forgotten most of their names, however, if we were to get on a plane right this very minute, head to the freezing snow and ten degrees below wind chill of Philadelphia (and in fact all of the northeastern United States), I cold rent a car at the airport and take you straight to each and every one of them without batting a single hungry eye.
Philadelphia is known the world over for its ‘cheese steak’, however like most infamous dishes or cuisines, only the popular places are considered of notable tourist quality. In high school however, my good friend Ben Shelkrot and I found a small bodega (that’s just a small grocery store, associated with Spanish speaking peoples) that made one of the best cheese steaks in the city! They served the freshest bread everyday, incredibly juicy and succulent beef, rich creamy American cheese, and all of this mouth-watering delight for only $2.50! That may not mean much to a South African, but imagine getting a 30cm sandwich, filled to overflowing with cheese and beef, and creamy ketchup for R25!
There was also a Chinese place around the corner from my house when lived in a neighborhood called West Oak Lane (unimpressively known in the area for its petty crime – I mean really petty, I mean police chases over traffic violators that refused to stop, petty). Little was known about ‘No. 1 China’, however, and they could have easily had the best General Tso’s chicken in all of the east coast (this is a very sweet and slightly spicy, deep fried chicken)! Besides the dubious glimpses of what could have easily been child labor in the kitchen, the view of which was highly obstructed, this is one of the best places I have ever eaten.
The last place I will tell a tale of is a Thai restaurant in University City, directly within the heart of the urban campus district of Drexel University, my former school. They had the most delicious coconut milk dishes; stir fry’s and even seafood ever! Ok, this place was, perhaps still is, slight pricier than the aforementioned two but the premium prices were well worth it. They also served sushi, mind you, and some other obviously cross-cultural pan-Asian dishes. Despite all of that, the best part of the place had nothing to do with food at all, but rather drink. This marvel of a restaurant was BYOB (for those who do not partake in the delight of alcohol, this means ‘bring your own booze). Can you believe it?
You too might find your culinary gems in the heart of the facilities nearby Cormallen Hill Estate. Whether it is Chef’s on Deck, Square Time Café or Koffietijd that capture your imagination, money and appetite, I am positive that you will happen upon stomach worshipping cuisine if that is in fact, like myself, something that is a driving force in your day to day decisions.
Bon Apetite!
