The latest entry on the Zootown food scene is Philly West, now open less than two weeks. These guys claim to be the only authentic Philly cheese steak in the area, and that is evidently not an idle boast. I base my opinion on the rapidly growing, and happily munching, lunch crowd I've seen.
I had the mandarin salad with chicken, which was a tasty combination of, "mixed greens with toasted almonds, mandarin oranges, red onion, chow mien noodles & balsamic vinaigrette." Next time, I hope to have a bigger appetite and try the namesake cheese steak sandwich.
Where is it? Next to Fedex, where La Parrilla used to be.
Being prepared to discuss some aspect of the Philadelphia sports scene will help you fit in. The place is closed on Sundays, open 11am to 10pm Monday through Thursday, and 11am to 2:30 am on Friday and Saturday. The weekend, wee hours gotta eat something now people will find this a convenient addition to their late night resources.
A tourist asked me where he and his wife could get a "buffalo burger." I didn't lecture him about the proper use of buffalo/bison, but I did embarrass myself by my ignorance. The only place I could think of with bison on the menu was the Pearl, which is too pricey for me to sample, and out of the price range our visitor was looking for.
Only later, did I find the Blue Bison Grill, which includes bison on its menu. Feeling guilty about giving that tourist a bum steer, I promptly had a bison dish served with frybread, Flathead cherry BBQ sauce, purple cabbage coleslaw and soup.
Other bison dishes available included soup, bison with rice, sandwiches, burgers and bison chili.
Where is the Blue Bison? Look for the sidewalk sign, above, on Front Street 1/2 block west of Higgins, or for this sign on the south side of the street.
It's been right there in Stockmans for about two months, and let's hope it stays.
Hours are 11am to 10pm Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.
