Since the opening of The Wishing Well on 9^th and Catharine early this month, we have been receiving emails directing us to the burger that got kicked out of Atlanta for being too rib sticking.

The SHAME burger was invented by chef Carmen Cappello at his southern location, where he improvised on Pennsylvania tradition in creating this enigmatic creation.  A bit of background- the restaurant is part of the Slow Food Movement – meaning that they pledge to bring ingredients in that are grown within 100 miles of their location, contributing to the local economy and respecting the environment.  The Burger is made of local Lancaster sirloin, bought fresh right down the street in the Italian Market.  It is topped with house-made scrapple, American cheese and a runny fried farm fresh egg. Yep. It’s ridiculous.  Carmen calls it a “gluttonous treat that you can feel good about eating” and we definitely agree.

The burger is cooked well-done because the gooey cheese and fried egg provide all the juiciness you need. The fresh scrapple is well spiced with thyme and sage, and is both creamy and crispy – it’s fried, as it should be.  The multiple textures and contrasting breakfast and lunch flavors, shifting back and forth depending upon the ratio of what you get in each bite, together make this a fascinating sandwich.

We speculate that another reason that they belong to the Slow Food movement is because you ain’t moving so fast after you eat one of these.   Next time we head to Wishing Well, we’re going to get the appetizer version of this burger, which comes topped with a fried quail egg, so that we can save room for the fresh fish, inventive meat dishes and seasonal vegetables that they actually work directly with farmers to source.  Wishing Well is a welcome addition to the Italian market.  Co-owner and GM Chris Martino is already seeing repeat customers at the bar, which carries over 50 bottled beers.  Final verdict: do this burger at least once, it’s delicious, it supports the local economy and is definitely something to talk about.

The Wishing Well
767 S. 9th St. – Philadelphia, PA 19147 (Google Map)
(215) 238-6555

Nothing says baseball like a hot dog.  So to celebrate the Phillies competing in the World Series, Paesano’s chef/owner Peter McAndrews has created an original hot dog inspired by the traditional ballpark fare, but with a “Philly Style” upgrade.  Starting with a beef hot dog with kraut and brown mustard, the dog is paired with scrapple, sharp provolone, long hots, onions, tomatoes and a fried egg.  Chef McAndrews is still playing around with the recipe, trying out little improvements to get it just right.

Known for now as “The Phanatic”, Paesano’s is soliciting name ideas from all of their customers.  Just stop in, try one, and suggest a name for the permanent menu.  A name will be selected at the conclusion of the World Series and the winner will earn a free sandwich at Paesano’s once a week for a year. Once you’ve submitted your name, leave it for us in the comments!

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Paesano’s
152 W Girard Ave – Philadelphia, PA 19123 (Google Map)

Pennsylvania’s culinary claim to fame shame is scrapple, the repugnant meat-mush made from waste parts of a pig and cornmeal and/or flour. Typically served as a breakfast food (presumably to people you hate), scrapple was the star of the show at the 2009 ScrappleFest at Reading Terminal Market last weekend. Sandwiches held their own in the competition as Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies took home the bronze for their scrapple cheesesteak, though it appears scrapple was merely an addition to the traditional steak sandwich. Another was Dutch Eating Place’s traditional scrapple, egg and cheese sandwich. We just hope this doesn’t start some sort of fad where we see scrapple infused sandwiches popping up all over the city.

So, what do you think about scapple? Is it the perfect compliment to a sandwich, or just utterly disgusting?