We’ve just discovered why sous chef Ann Suk Miller’s Korean Short Rib Tacos are much talked-about. Under the guise of an unpretentious name, they’re now on special at Meritage in Philly’s Graduate Hospital area, having found their way from the now-closed Ansill in Queen Village. The practicality in the dish’s name is where the simplicity stops. The tacos are extraordinarily delicious.

Made from braised beef short ribs lathered in a spicy Korean chili sauce and topped with kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) and served on a crispy flour tortilla, these Korean tacos are nothing short of amazing. Pleasantly spiced, the tacos go well with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc for the ultimate experience. What’s also unbelievable is the fact that they’re at the absurdly affordable price of only three dollars a piece. Ordering two or three or even half a dozen is still an absolute steal. While only on special for two weeks, we can only hope they become recurring characters alongside Meritage’s already-impressive cast.

We doubled up on our order of pork bites and went with the BBQ Pork Sliders, the same juicy pulled pork but in a more neutral barbecue sauce. They’re served on toasted brioche buns and Asian coleslaw. Unfortunately absent from creating a triple-header of pork goodness during our visit were the also-new Steamed Pork Buns with pickled Napa cabbage, Hoisin sauce and scallion.

Located on the southwest corner of 20th & Lombard, Meritage is open for dinner Tuesday through Thursday 5-10pm, and Friday through Saturday 5-11pm. Aside from the delectable pork bites we feasted upon, they feature a full menu of Asian-fusion goodness with a wine selection to support it.

Gallery

Meritage Restaurant & Wine Bar
500 S. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 (Google Map)
(215) 985-1922
Twitter: @MeritagePHL

Kadima means “let’s move” or “keep going” in Hebrew, which Chef Michael Solomonov believes captures the essence of sandwiches: quick; in and out; continue on with your day.  Maybe that’s why 95% of lunch customers order a sandwich at Zahav.  Or perhaps it is the incomparable value of eating a James Beard acclaimed chef’s food for just $10.

Israeli cuisine is decidedly more robust than falafel and hummus.  In fact, Israeli food is a combination of dozens of world influences brought to the region by individuals and communities that have come to settle in the Holy Land.  Romanian and Balkan food coexists with Yemeni and Moroccan cuisine; as immigrants flood into Israel, they bring their native cultures and flavors with them and Israel has developed a diverse and multicultural national cuisine.

Laffa bread, which is similar to lavash or pita, is baked to order in a 700-degree wood burning oven that gives it a unique character and flavor: aerated, puffy, dense but not delicate.  The wood oven, which is seldom used anymore even in Israel, imparts a soft but crisp texture to the bread.  The dough is not totally uniform – thumbprints are a must in order to get that bubbled, crackled texture that is darkened in spots but still pliable, so that it bends and stretches as it rips apart.

The sandwich menu includes the Gibraltar (swordfish), the Turk (ground beef), the Galil (eggplant), the Sabra (chicken), and Monsieur Merguez (lamb).  Though the featured ingredients change, each sandwich is fired over screaming hot coals and served with Zahav’s speckled green tahina full of herbs (parsley, dill, chives, mint), sesame paste, garlic, cumin, lemon juice and salt.  The creamy spread has a deeply nutty and vibrantly herbaceous flavor, full of healthy natural oil.  Sandwiches are served with well-done Israeli pickles.

The Sabra consists of grilled chicken skewers, or shishlik, that are marinated in an onion marinade that tenderizes the meat and caramelizes over the hot coals.  The sliced onions are seasoned with sumac that gives a mildly sour flavor that plays off the sweetness and smokiness of the grilled chicken.

Zahav’s juicy North African Merguez lamb kebab is made with garlic and a spicy harissa, and is served with matbucha (a cooked pepper and tomato salsa) and the creamy herbed tahina.  The richness of the meat is balanced by the depth of the two sauces and the dense but light laffa that crackles with each bite.

Chef Solomonov revealed a few details about his next project, Percy Street Barbecue, scheduled to open this October.  The Texas BBQ restaurant will be very casual with a Southern bluesy feel.  Percy Street has two wood smokers being delivered from Texas so the meats will get that unmistakable smokiness that comes from slow cooking over oak and mesquite for 24 hours.  Percy Street will specialize in dry BBQ, notably brisket, and also pork shoulder and pork belly (which we hope turns into a sandwich.)  Homemade sausages, spare ribs, and chef Erin O’Shea’s corn bread got our mouths watering, and the promise of Yards Root Beer on draught nearly buckled our knees.

And when he’s not working on barbecue or eating a simple hummus and laffa sandwich at Zahav, Chef Solomonov enjoys the Vietnamese sandwiches from Viet Huong, particularly the char broiled pork banh mi.

Gallery

Zahav
237 St. James Place, Philadelphia PA 19106 (Google Map)

Phoebe’s Bar-B-Q is a hole-in-the-wall takeout joint on South Street in Fitler Square, full of big flavors and an unabashedly gruff staff befitting the tagline “Ribs With Attitude”.  Known primarily for their ribs and rotisserie chicken, they also offer most of the menu items in sandwich form.  The brisket sandwich is a definite winner, but the pulled pork disappoints and the rib “sandwiches” are total failures.  Not the ribs themselves are bad — in fact, they are quite delicious — but the audacity to call a platter of hulking bone-in ribs on sauce-soaked white bread “sandwiches” is misleading at best and deceitful at worst.

Nonetheless, the brisket is a real treat.  A smokey, saucy stack of tender, flavorful meat on a dense New York Bakery kaiser roll, the sandwich holds together in the hand, and flakes apart in the mouth.  The roll becomes increasingly more saturated with sauce with each bite but avoids becoming too soft or mushy, maintaining a moist and chewy consistency till the end.

The pulled pork sandwich misses on three levels: the meat is less-than-juicy (not quite dry, but not quite succulent); it is served in large pieces, not shreds; and it is surprisingly mild in flavor, falling well short of expectations.

Sandwiches are served with an adorable (but too small) side of crunchy cole slaw and your choice of Phoebe’s famous hot or mild sauce.  And though there is no rotisserie chicken sandwich on the menu, we frequently build our own chicken sandwich with the bits we pull from the platter.

Phoebe’s Bar-B-Q
2214 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146 (Google Map)

When we first heard about El Camino Real opening in the former location of Deuce in Northern Liberties, we were excited for the south of the border inspired Texas barbecue and Mexican menu. Philadelphia is severely lacking in the smoked meat department and here at the Unbreaded offices we sure love us some barbecue brisket. Owned and operated by Owen Kamihira of the wonderful Bar Ferdinand just across the way, El Camino Real is perfectly decorated and noisy just like a higher end watering hole. The menu is divided into two subheadings – Mexico and Texas with sandwiches only offered on the latter (although isn’t a burrito a sandwich?).

The Wagyu Brisket and Beef Short Rib sandwiches are both slow cooked in the smoker over applewood and served on large slabs of Texas toast with a choice of regular or spicy house barbecue sauce on the side. The brisket was thickly sliced and succulent, but lacked that smoky character and slow cooked flavor. The short rib came sliced slightly differently, in thicker yet small patches and seemed a bit more robust in flavor, but the meat was surprisingly overcooked and tough to the bite. Both sandwiches suffered from collapse due to the overly soft bread, which quickly turned into an even bigger disaster after soaking up the immense amounts of sauce we used to add flavor to the bland meat. The sandwiches did arrive literally minutes after our order was placed and it’s questionable whether or not the meat was sliced to order, or sitting in a warming tray. The fries were crispy and tasted fresh but were far too over seasoned for our taste.

It would be unfair to rate El Camino Real as a whole based on the sandwiches, simply because there are so many other offerings on the menu. Unfortunately for us, the sandwiches did not impress nor did they satisfy our hunger for Texas barbecue. Next time, we’d go for the burrito.

Get your sandwich on:

El Camino Real
1040 N. 2nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19123 (Google Map)