Chef / owner Brendan Smith opened Smiths Restaurant in 2007 after serving two years as Executive Chef at Rittenhouse Square’s Smith & Wollensky steakhouse.  His concept: a high-end sports bar with fresh, unique, legitimate food.  No gallon-jugs of mayo; his sauces and spreads are made fresh daily and the sandwiches have a kind of sophistication that is uncommon in a typical beer-and-a-ballgame environment.  Chef Smith likes the interplay of different textures on his sandwiches, like warm meat on crusty bread and melted cheese with crispy bacon.  A small business owner himself, Chef Smith proudly supports local farms in South Jersey and Pennsylvania, sourcing his meats and produce as locally as possible.

50% of customers order sandwiches at lunch at the 90+ seat Smiths.  During the day, white collar professionals from the local office towers fill the restaurant; at night, locals from the neighborhood come in to watch a Phillies game and hang out.  Each month there are specials (June offers a Salmon BLT; July will be BBQ) but the regulars keep coming back for their favorites, like the Kennett Square burger.  Named for the mushroom capital of the United States, the Kennett Square serves up 8 ounces of 80/20 chuck on grilled brioche with lots of wild mushrooms and creamy manchego cheese.

The Black Angus Roast Beef sandwich offers melt-in-your-mouth meat with a creamy horseradish zing.  The soft and crusty house baked roll is the perfect accompaniment to the house roasted and thinly sliced beef with aged Vermont cheddar that is sharp enough to stand up on its own, but does not overpower the sandwich.

The carved turkey sandwich embraces Philadelphia’s love of pretzels with a pretzel roll designed specifically for Smiths by the Philadelphia Pretzel Factory.  The bread is more roll than pretzel; soft and pillowy with just a hint of pretzel flavor – not the salty, crusty affair we typically find at carts and shops around the city.  The turkey is thin sliced, warm and moist, with melted provolone and smoky applewood bacon.  A spread of sweet and creamy red pepper aioli gives the sandwich a clean finish.

The Ahi Tuna BLT is messy, for sure, but the creamy avocado and medium-rare tuna are a delicious pair.  Avocado shows up twice on this sandwich: sliced on top of the fish and as a spread on the seeded brioche bun.  Crunchy bacon accents the tuna, offering a bite that is creamy, crisp, hearty and tender.

For Chef Smith, sandwiches are quick, easy, and everybody likes them.  And in today’s sandwich culture, he sees that sandwiches have to have spreads – “chipotle aioli is standard.”  Tomato-jalapeno relish and marmalades are condiments now, one the exclusive domain of fancy restaurants.  At home, Chef Smith makes Chicken Milanese sandwiches with his kids, lined up to pound and bread the chicken breasts like an assembly line in their own aprons.  And when he goes out for a sandwich, he looks to Jim’s for a finely chopped cheesesteak and Nick’s for a roast beef sandwich.

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Smiths Restaurant | Lounge
39-41 S. 19th St., Philadelphia PA 19103 (Google Map)

A great beer selection and imaginative menu make Local 44 a welcome addition to the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Spruce Hill. Opened this past January, the bar has been working on perfecting and improving on its existing menu of delicious sandwiches and pub grub.

During a recent visit we found a very intriguing addition to the menu – Reuben Fritters. Although by definition not a sandwich, these delicious bites pay homage to the classic – pastrami and swiss cheese are fried golden in a rye bread batter. The dish is fittingly garnished with sauerkraut and drizzled with Thousand Island dressing.

The ‘Breakfast BLT’ further improves on one of my all time favorite sandwiches: well cooked Lancaster County smoked bacon, lettuce tomato and pepper jack cheese are topped by a monstrous sunny-side up egg that was cooked to perfection. Cutting the sandwich in half sends yolk oozing throughout, gently softening the thick cut toasted sourdough and adding an incredibly delicious texture. The dish is served with housemade chips and horseradish sauce for dipping.

The ‘All-Day Veggie Burger’ consists of two large homemade patties, lettuce and tomato on a bakery fresh brioche bun served with a side of fresh cut fries. This monstrous sandwich is the closest a herbivore will get to a Big Mac and only gets more exciting when adding a combination of the slew of toppings offered including jicama slaw, vegan chili, bleu cheese and more.

Polish off these great eats with a Ayinger Celebrator or one of the 19 other brews on tap or cask and you’ll leave Local 44 with a giant grin and a full stomach.

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Get your sandwich on:

Local 44
4333 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 (Google Map)

Last night’s episode of Top Chef presented an Elimination Challenge in which contestants had to prepare the “last meal” chosen by several world famous chefs. Hosea Rosenberg chose Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation, whose last dying wish is a plate of Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes Provencale. While cooking the dish, Hosea makes it clear that he would most definitely not pick this as his last meal and would prefer a BLT, “a simple sandwich, made well.”

Although I’d most likely pick a sandwich with a little more meat and girth as my last dish, I still have to acknowledge Hosea for even mentioning a BLT. Well played.