Philadelphia: Tommy DiNic's & Cuba Libre

Recently got back from Philly and Boston, so will be updating with pics from the two trips!  And yes, I actually flew to Philly, then flew back to LA, and then the next day out to Boston.  Philly was for work and when I was planning the Boston trip, I found out that it just wasn't worth it to pay to change my flight and book a train ticket, as well as paying for an extra night for hotel out of the own pocket.  Two red eye flights in one week, definitely tough.

To be honest, Philly is not really my destination of choice for exhibiting for a tradeshow, especially the largest in our industry, but Philly does offer some delicious grub (and not cheesesteaks).  The best part about the Philadelphia Convention Center is that the Reading Terminal Market is right across the street and Chinatown is about 3 small blocks away so there's plenty of option for dining.

Tommy DiNic's

Reading Terminal Market 

136 Arch St 

Market East

Philadelphia, PA 19147

tommydinics.com

For lunch that first day, I knew what I wanted to eat so as soon lunch break arrived, I headed towards Reading Terminal Market for Tommy DiNic's!

Why... would you wait for this average cheesesteak when you can get a much better hoagie/sandwich??

Tommy DiNic's!  

The line.  It was still shorter than the line for some cheesesteak vendor.  I made it a priority to go there because I knew that once the show started, the line would be twice as long.

Hmmmm.... a little pile of delicious roasted pork sitting right there.

The Italian Style Pulled Pork with sharp Provolone and broccoli rabe!  I did a pretty horrible job ripping the sandwich apart :P

Look at how the bread just soak up all the juices!  They put the sharp Provolone on the bottom so after you chew through the bread, the cheese is the next thing you taste.  Love the mildy bitter flavor of the rabe.  Still one of my favorite sandwich anywhere.

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After doing manual labor in setting up the booth, we were rewarded with a dinner and bossman wanted to try something new, so on the way back to the hotel, we saw a Cuban restaurant and decided to dine there.

Apparently Cuba Libre is a popular high end Cuban restaurant, with several locations mostly on the Eastern part of US.  The only Cuban food I've had is Versailles in LA so definitely excited to check it out.

Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar

10 S 2nd St 

Old City

Philadelphia, PA 19106

cubalibrerestaurant.com

Cuba Libre.

Bar area.  

Cool decor to make you feel like you are in Cuba!

Buttered toasts with mango butter!

I decided to go with a classic and ordered the Lechón Asado.  Definitely a lot more fancy than Versaille's.  Slow roasted marinated pulled pork, classic sour orange mojo with vigorón slaw, amarillo chile smashed yuca and black bean broth.

Mojo is the garlic sauce and a must for this dish.  The vigorón slaw is a cabbage salad with pork rinds.  Very nice and refreshing and since it is a bit acidic, helped with the heaviness of the pork!  At first I thought the mashed yuca was sweet potato because it was very similar.

Also got to try a bit of the Seafood Paella.  Comes with shrimp, clams, mussels, Mahi fillet, squid and baby octopus, and completed with saffron “Bomba” short grain rice and the roasted piquillo pepper salad.

I love the flavor of saffron so this dish was a win for me.  A little more wet than your Spanish paella, but never anything wrong with fresh seafood!

I gotta say, not bad for first day!  Even better that it is all paid for :] 

Saint Louis: Pappy's Smokehouse for the Best Ribs I've Had

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

This Christmas, I really just want another bite of Pappy's awesome ribs, cause it is legitimately the best ribs I've had anywhere.  So good that I am still dreaming about it today!  When I first got to Saint Louis, I knew the barbecue was gonna be good but never imagined mind-blown status.  

The funny thing is, Pappy's style of barbecue is not even Saint Louis.  The barbecue is actually Memphis-style, and for the ribs, it's not the Saint Louis ribs cut, which Saint Louis made famous, but the baby back loin ribs cut.  Even though it's not "true" Saint Louis barbecue, the city has definitely embraced Pappy's as its own, evident by the line that forms daily.

Story: we were actually in line, and I was deciding between the full slab or half.  While pondering, the guy in front of us helped open the door when the staff was bringing in newly smoked ribs.  One of the staff was so grateful that she cut off two pieces of the rib for the guy to try, and the guy was nice enough to share one with Diana and me!  First bite of the rib, I just stood there in amazement, mouth in a flavor heaven, and I make sounds that I did not think was possible.  Just that one bite was enough to convince me to get the full slab :P

Pappy's Smokehouse

3106 Olive St 

Midtown 

St Louis, MO 63103

pappyssmokehouse.com

Pappy's!

One of the smokers that they have.

Wood for smoking!

 

Waiting in line outside and the line inside.

Some shots of Pappy's.  Very highly rated by Zagat.

Menu.

Hi piggie.

Diana looking at the soda fridge.

Had to try a Fitz's Root Beer.

The three sauces: Sweet Baby Jane, Holly's Hot Sauce, and Pappy's.  I liked the Sweet Baby Jane the most since I like sweeter BBQ sauces.  Holly's got a good bit of kick and Pappy's is more of a vinegar-based sauce.

The ribs, a full slab of the house specialty, dry-rubbed and slow smoked over apple & cherry wood.

Since it is the baby back loin cut, it is much meatier and look at the smoke ring! 

The dry rub here is amazing, and so flavorful that you don't really need any sauce!

But I'm a sauce guy so I alternated between adding all the different sauce or just eating as it is.  Here it is with my favorite, Sweet Baby Jane.

Baked beans, and of course, baked with BBQ sauce.  Sweet.

This is also something unique: fried corn on the cob.  They take a whole ear of corn and just fry it!  Thought it was gonna be greasy but it's actually the opposite.  Pretty tasty.

Diana got a two-meat combo so we could try more.

Beef brisket and pulled pork!

Never seen beef brisket like this.  You can see a bit of the smoke ring.  Super tender.  Definitely not in the same class as the ribs.

Pulled pork!  Out of the two, I definitely liked the pulled pork more, especially with the Sweet Baby Jane and Pappy's sauce.

Sweet potato fries.  

Potato salad.

To be honest, I didn't care too much for the pulled pork, the brisket, or the sides cause I could not stop thinking about how good the ribs were!  It really is the best I've had and it sucks that I can't have in here in LA :[  GAH!  Pappy's = hog heaven.