Philadelphia Half Marathon: The Food

While it would seem from my previous post that all I ate while in Philly was Ramen -and I admit, sometimes I wished I did- I actually had a chance to eat at some cool places I would like to share with you guys. In the spirit of bringing something different, I avoided going for Cheesteaks completely and I hope you guys appreciate how hard that was because they are awesome. Though, if you want, we can talk about them. I sure have had my share of them.

Five Guys Burgers

What?! Fast food? Really? "What is going on here at The Fat Runner? Have you lowered your standards?" Well, I don't think they were that high to begin with but this is really  a case of "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

I had this meal in Atlanta International Airport, during the longest layover in the history of humanity on the way to Philadelphia. While many of you might be familiar with this chain, they have not expanded to Puerto Rico. Strange, as this is the land where McDonald's and Burger Kings, among others, seem to grow out of the ground. I decided to mention them here because, compared to other fast food burgers, this was truly, above par. I'm kind of thankful they have not reached my shores actually. I probably would have to change the name of the blog to The Fatter Runner.

Essentially, this is fast food done right. The ingredients were fresh, the bacon was very crispy and everything made to order. While not the healthiest option, cooking burgers on a flat top is the way Nature intended. I'm not saying to go have this every day folks, but if you are gonna do a "cheat day", I can't think of a more glorious option. It certainly beats most cardboard burgers out there.

Reading Terminal Market

Not really one restaurant but an entire experience. If you don't mind the hustle and bustle of crowded places, you should go try something from this amazing place. If you think Epcot over at Disney World Resort is the bee's knees for all the different food, you should come here. Epcot has got nothing on this place. While the place is huge, it feels tiny because it is always filled with people and with good reason. You can find anything you want from most parts of the World to eat under its roof. Middle Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean, Italian, American, Latin American, Southern... I could go on. And it's not only the variety, it's all good too. It's not every day you can eat BBQ Ribs while your friend has an authentic Greek Gyro right next to you. I had some Chicken Lo Mein at a Chinese joint. Very yummy.

Federal Donuts

My friend Al took me to this place right after the race. Federal Donuts is... unique. They really only sell three things. Coffee, Donuts and Fried Chicken.

And that's it. This can be a double-edged sword for a restaurant. The phrase "simple menu" is thrown around a lot  these days but if you are gonna do only one thing, you better deliver the goods. Federal Donuts delivers and then some. Yes, the combination of chicken and donuts sounds weird but it's really not too far off the chicken and waffles combo that is so popular. Plus, it really works. The coffee and donuts are of course, a proven entity but add in the fried chicken -which you can order in several incarnations from Asian inspired to dry seasoned- and you will end up with something special. The donuts in particular stand out. Served piping hot, they really are like nothing I have ever tried before. And when I say piping hot, I mean "I can't hold them long enough to take a bite" hot.

And that is it. Those are all the interesting places I managed to fit into a weekend. Although I did not do the Cheesteak "thing" on purpose, I can't talk about Philadelphia eats and not tell you about the classic steak joints like Pat's and Geno's or my "regular" spot when I lived there, Jim's Steaks. Don't let the local passion for these places deter you from trying them all out. They are all good. In fact, I'm gonna tell you a little secret regarding the famous Pat's/Geno's turf war (they are across the street from each other in case you did not know): Their sandwiches are pretty much the same.

Please allow a minute or five for the mob with pitch forks and Eagle's Jerseys to quiet down their chants of heresy. I'm not saying they taste exactly the same. The concept of the authentic Philly Cheesteak is one and the same: Bread, Rib Eye, Cheese Whiz(yes, the radioactive orange stuff) and the option of onions (wit' or wit' out). Anything beyond that is not a Philly Cheesteak. Peppers, mushrooms, Provolone... all great and tasty additions but not authentic. So if the concept is the same, what gives?

The difference between them is the bread they use and the fact that Pat's chops their rib eye and Geno's slices it. No more, no less. So do yourself a favor and go to both joints. Better yet, go with someone else, order a sandwich from each, then share half of each right in the middle of the intersection where these two legends face each other every day. That would be the right thing to do in the City of Brotherly Love.

Terakawa Ramen

Being in Philly, it would be very easy for me to simply go on a Cheesteak crawl, then go to a couple of Pretzel stands, report back to you and just call it day.  

But the truth is, even though I visited Philly this weekend for the race, I actually lived here many years ago. Well, I lived in Lancaster, but the office I worked at was in Norristown, very near the city so this is not new territory for me. Which means I already had my "cheesteak competition" phase were I defended my personal steak joint as the best ever.(It was Jim's Steaks in South Street) I already debated endlessly on the Pat's or Geno's endless controversy (They are both awesome by the way) and I sadly missed the advent of newcomer Tony Lukes. But when it comes to Philadelphia's iconic sandwich, I have truly been there, done that. No, my pursuit on this trip was more of a personal nature and oddly enough, has nothing to do with Philly. I was in a passionate search for Ramen. As in Ramen Noodles.

Wait, what?

Allow me to explain. Not too long ago, I saw a PBS show on Netflix called The Mind of a Chef. In it's first season, it explored the craft and mind of David Chang a chef who literally exploded in the New York City food scene with his restaurant Momofuku and then Ssam Bar, Milk Bar and Ko. It's not every day a chef changes the way a whole scene works but that's what Chang did. And it all started with his passion for Ramen Noodles.

In the show, Chang travels to Japan, where he visits several Ramen joints and many of the places that make the ingredients required for Ramen (like the aforementioned noodles). I have been mystified by Japan and it's culture for quite some time so seeing the method that goes behind making this seemingly simple dish totally caught my attention. I had to have some Ramen and I had to have it now. Not to mention try to make it but that's another issue altogether.

Thankfully, Philadelphia is close enough to New York to be in the path of the shock wave that Chang created and sure enough, this city went through it's own "Ramen Revolution" of sorts a couple of years back, with many places springing up and some of them surviving and thriving well after everything settled down. The main reason for that being that Philly has a pretty vibrant Chinatown so the market for Asian food is always there. Good news for me. So after much research, I settled on Terakawa Ramen as the place to go and I'll be forever grateful I did.

Right off the bat, I fell in love with the place. Small and cozy, with the simple, elegant lines that define Japanese decor. I just wanted to stay there forever, although it was not possible with the line of patrons waiting at the door that wanted to enjoy the same thing I did.

 I'll be forever sorry I had no time to explore more of the menu. I really wanted to try the Pork Buns (part of the Chang explosion I was talking about) among other things but I guess I'll just have to come back. While they have a signature Terakawa Ramen bowl, I decided to go for the traditional Shoyu (soy) Ramen that started it all.

I'm gonna try, very hard, to put into words what the above bowl of incredibly yummy goodness tastes like but I'm gonna fail. There are no words. There are moments where everything in the universe comes together for an experience that you will never forget. I was trying something new. I was carb loading. I was cold. Then, I had some Ramen and suddenly everything was fixed. The broth, to put it in a single word: perfection. Savory and not too salty as you would expect from something called Shoyu. It was divine. Then the noodles. Toothsome and exactly what I needed pre-race. Piping hot, this dish warmed me up and made me feel so good inside. And the toppings.. the bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and fish cake (the white slice with the pink swirl)... all good. But the pork. Oh my, the pork.

Those two slices of majestic awesomeness (you can order extra, which I should have) literally melt in you mouth the second you put them in there. I could have eaten about a truck-full of the stuff. And I forgot the egg. A Ramen staple. Soft-boiled and marinated in soy sauce. I can see some people having trouble with the texture of it but the creaminess explodes in your mouth.

Yes, I just wrote an entire post dedicated to a single bowl of Ramen but that's just how we roll here at The Fat Runner and the next time you are in Philly you should definitely check this place out. It's something totally different and worth your time. They even have vegeterian versions of both the Miso and Shoyu Ramen. Don't be surprised if I write about making this dish in the future. It's that good.