FON and Philadelphia Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan turned me on to Sakura Mandarin. Their diced chicken with chili pepper is a regular hit on the Nachojawn lunch circuit.
I originally found it when looking for a replacement for Szechuan Tasty House’s Three Pepper Chicken. They’ve got superior scallion pancakes on the menu too.
For $8 at lunch with soup, it’s tough to beat.
Sakura Mandarin – 1038 Race Street
Nachojawn is always on the lookout for lunch in the Market East neighborhood. I read about a new poke place only a couple blocks away and had to check it out.
You can get your customizable poké three ways. I went with the bowl, but you could ho with a salad or seaweed-wrapped sushi burritos.
The proteins, include ahi tuna, salmon, boiled shrimp, crabmeat, shrimp tempura, chicken, tofu, and grilled eel.
I got the Oishii Ahi, which had ahi tuna, romaine lettuce, red onion, cucumber, avocado, tobiko, honey wasabi & fresh ponzu sauce.
Good stuff, and there’s a lot of rice under that too. I’m about that poke life now.
At the end of a night that saw the consumption of excessive amounts of meats and cheeses, it was clearly necessary for one more stop for chorizo nachos.
They’re advertised as having tres queso sauce, black beans, jalapeño, pico de gallo, and lime crema.
Also, they’re obviously radishes on that.
How were they? I don’t remember. We ate them all.
But if they look good to you, they’re available. Sorry, I don’t get paid for this, so I don’t have to take notes and not drink all night before I eat the nachos.
By looks alone and hazy memories, I’m going with 3.77/5 pickled jalapenos – eat these following $149.99/lb jamon iberico
La Casa de Tu Madre
8th and Catherine
Nachojawn was a regular at Joe’s Pizza since I moved into Philadelphia shortly after Y2K.
The owners of Joe’s have taken a step up, opening Medusa PIzza, which serves up pizzas that are not quite in the Neopolitan style, having a bit more heft to them, and a thinner crust.
There’s a beautiful roof deck, and Mrs. Nachojawn and I took advantage of the BYO situation with a nice bottle of red.
We started with the arancini, and got three pies. A margherita for a baseline, another with sausage, scamorza, potatoes, carmelized onions, fennel seeds, and mozzarella, and Nachojawn Jr. ate an entire red pie with pepperoni and roasted peppers.
There’s enough roof on the deck for a big party – go check out Medusa while the weather is nice.
Michael Klein is on top of it again with information about Mission Taqueria, which opens this week in the old Nodding Head Brewery space on Sansom Street.
A quick peek at the menu confirms the presence of nachos (with goat chili!).
Tortilleria San Roman chips
Freshly shredded cheddar/jack cheese
Ground beef
Spicy pico de gallo
Trader Joe’s Cowboy Caviar salsa (black bean and corn)
El Loco Dentista Guacamole
Tortilleria San Roman salsa verde
Drink: Paloma (Blanco Tequila, Grapefruit soda, lime)
Here in the Nachojawn family we have a saying – “DTM”. It’s harsh, but it means Dead to Me. Once you’re DTM, you’re done.
Los Camaradas is DTM. Were the nachos horrible? No. Was anything so egregious that I stormed out? No. But DTM is DTM, and that’s that.
The chicken on top was subpar – not so much seasoned and shredded as bland poached chicken breast. I liked the pickled onions, and the chips are fresh and sturdy.
But it’s a pet peeve when a small place triples their seating by adding outdoor tables during nice weather, and then the kitchen can’t handle the food rush.
Nachojawn Jr. liked his carnitas tacos, but I don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon.
3.33/5 pickled jalapenos – Ear these in the winter or when you have a couple hours to kill.
Somehow, the fact that El Purepecha had reopened snuck by the Nachojawn newstrackers.
Luckily Michael Klein of philly.com was there with the scoop. El Purepecha is operated by Jose’s nephew. Look for a review in the near future.
One summer tradition is the Nachojawn family pilgramage to the rooftop taco truck in Plymouth Meeting.
Blue Route Taco Truck – Plymouth Meeting
Whole Foods Plymouth Meeting Revisited
We tried our luck a third time, and it wasn’t the charm.
The nachos were lacking in flavor, and they got rid of the queso.
Bland chips, no margaritas that day. Bad news.
Nachojawn, Jr. thought his burrito had gone downhill too.
Hopefully 2017 brings a resurgence.
These are down to 3.02/5 pickled jalapenos
nachojawn 