Monday, June 21, 2010

Northside Phillys: The hunt continues...

So, last month it was killing me:
Photos and blog post by Bryan Thao Worra

Where does the "Famous" part really come in for Fire 'N' Ice? I finally took the hit and ordered up one of their 'Famous Philly Steaks' and got this:
Curiosity killing me, I went to visit my friend Catzie V. in Philly who took me around the city to see things like some boxer:
She says she's never heard of Fire 'N' Ice. She did, however, offer to show me where real Philadelphians go to eat, and we wound up at John's Roast in the industrial quarter:
What did we get? Titanic awesomeness in a bun. I'm still having culinary flashbacks:

Much as we all suspected, there's absolutely NO comparison. I'm glad I went, but I can now say with complete confidence: Fire 'N' Ice deserves points for trying, but they need to step up their sandwich. While I'm waiting for that, anyone spot any good cheesesteaks in NoMi?

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7 comments:

Low End Leroy said...

We need someone to step up to the plate and contract w/ Amoroso's to get the right bread shipped out here. Until that happens, real Philly's in NoMi aint happenin'.

The guy at Papa's Pizza on 42nd knows what to do. He's from Philly. He just needs to do it.

Anonymous said...

What about ribs in NoMi? SoMi has Ted Cook's and St. Paul has Big Daddy's. We need some good ribs here in the hood!

Homewood Confidential said...

Anon 6:26, the ribs at JC's Barbeque on West Broadway are completely legit.

And as far as SoMi goes, I'd take Scott Ja-Mama's (though I'm more enamored with their hot BBQ pork sandwiches) over Ted Cook's any day. Diamond Lake & Nicollet.

Bryan Thao Worra said...

Yeah, NoMi got completely skipped in the latest listing of great rib joints in Minnesota.

As for Amoroso's, that would be a dream to get their buns out here, and then to get the shops to stuff them properly. I don't get how a state that loves buffets skimps on stuffing a cheesesteak...

Unknown said...

Papas Pizza & Pasta makes a great Philly Sandwich.I also like Tooties Philly.

MikeT said...

I'm checking out JC's in the next 48 hours. I believe a good rib place is critical to the North Side.

Critical.

Look at the devastation the loss of Levi's on Broadway in the mid-80's brought. That's when things turned South in North Minneapolis.

Just as a side note, Ted Cooke's wouldn't survive south of Kansas City, in my humble, but well-traveled rib-eatin' opinion (just ate pulled pork at The Joint in New Orleans this last weekend that would have Ted Cooke fetal under his bed, weeping).

Regarding Phillys; meh... over-rated cholesterol bombs in anywhere. Good? Sure, in a shameful eat-the-crumbs-out-of-the-fried-chicken-bucket sort of way. But serious cuisine? Not so much.

Carry on.

MikeT said...

Okay.
Ate there tonight.

Couple thoughts;
Sold out of a lot of stuff. Need to get on that.
Ribs were a trifle tough but not bad. Sauce was good; tangy and sweet. Not wild about overly sweet sauce, but that's just me.
Fries were forgettable. They need to add sweet potato fries with a little cayenne pepper or something. Cole slaw came in one of those tiny paper cups. Seriously, it was like a tablespoon. Why bother?

The chicken was said to be good, but I didn't have any.

Ambience needed help. I mean, I get that they don't have a budget, but all over the south there are equally challenged little rib joints that at least try and make themselves a little cozy.

All in all, it wasn't too bad, but there is a lot of room for improvement, too.

I'd go back.