March 29, 2022

March 29, 2022 | 34st.com

2022 Dining Guide

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR On cheap eats, transcendent tomatoes, and why we write about food

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Italian Market: past and future

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Diana Widjojo and #NotPizza

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Restaurants in recovery

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The legacy of Chinatown

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The Community Grocer

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fell in love with food from afar before I learned to love eating. Food writing was the first kind of journalism that meant something to me, and it was all the more ironic that I was savoring the descriptions of dishes I would’ve demurred in reality. I recall picking up my first copy of Saveur, the November 2013 issue, which included this line in a guest column titled “The Food I Dream Of”: “I fell hard … for the deeply flavorful Black Iberian pork; the fruity olive oil; the nutty sheep cheeses; the tomatoes.”

I became enamored with all of these flavors I’d never tasted (and didn’t have much interest in tasting), but it was the

34TH STREET EXECUTIVE BOARD Emily White, Editor–in–Chief: white@34st.com Eva Ingber, Campus Editor: ingber@34st.com Walden Green, Culture Editor: green@34st.com Arielle Stanger, Assignments Editor: stanger@34st. com

34TH STREET STAFF Features Staff Writers: Sejal Sangani, Angela Shen, Jiahui (Emilee) Gu, Avalon Hinchman

34TH STREET EDITORS Mira Sydow, Features Editor Meg Gladieux, Features Editor Julia Esposito, Word on the Street Editor Jean Paik, Focus Editor Kira Wang, Style Editor Alana Bess, Ego Editor Evan Qiang, Music Editor Irma Kiss–Barath, Arts Editor Cindy Zhang, Film & TV Editor Andrew Yang, Multimedia Editor Kira Wang, Audience Engagement Editor

Style Beat Writers: W. Anthony Pérez, Anna Hochman, Shelby Abayie, Naima Small

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Focus Beat Writers: Gabrielle Galchen, Sheil Desai, Connor Nakamura, Lina Chihoub, Sruthi Srinivas

Music Beat Writers: Derek Wong, Grayson Catlett, Kate Ratner, Samara Himmelfarb Arts Beat Writers: Jessa Glassman, Kaliyah Dorsey, Emily Maiorano Film & TV Beat Writers: Jacob A. Pollack, Kayla Cotter, Julia Polster Ego Beat Writers: Anjali Kishore, Vidur Saigal, Grace Busser, Ariella Linhart

34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

tomatoes that fascinated me most, in all their non–adjectival glory. There was an intangible quality to this produce that transcended description entirely. Clearly, I had to go and find out what it was for myself.

I would later discover that this is just how foodies talk to each other. It’s a language where everything’s written in invisible tildes, and a well–placed emphasis or sigh tells you more than any synonym for delicious ever could. But if that’s the case, then food writing seems a pretty futile task, so why do it at all?

Writing about food also means writing about place, and I wanted this issue to serve as a love letter to the city whose culinary scene has meant more to me than any other. For their part, Street’s writers have done their due diligence in mapping out Philly’s vibrancy and heritage not just cafe by cafe, but neighborhood by neighborhood.

While you peruse this issue, you’ll see that the restaurants detailed within still have their price points handily marked, but you also won’t see any boasting more than two dollar signs. That’s because this

Staff Writers: Natalia Castillo, Chloe Hunt, Xinyi (Cindy) Jiang, Emma Marks, Shahana Banerjee Multimedia Associates: Roger Ge, Max Mester, Derek Wong, Andrea Barajas, Rachel Zhang Audience Engagement Associates: Kayla Cotter, Yamila Frej, Vidur Saigal, Caleb Crain, Katherine Han, Daniel Kochupura, Emily Xiong, Gemma Hong THIS ISSUE Copy Editor: Brittany Darrow Design Editor: Tyler Kliem Photo Courtesy of Emily White Cover Design by Lilian Liu

edition of Street’s Dining Guide provides you with exactly what it says on the cover: cheap eats, plain and simple. The cheap eats guide is the foodie’s best friend, whether you’ve got 24 hours in a new city or you’ve already turned over every underground gem your hometown has to offer.

In many ways, this is our hopeful goodbye to the era of COVID–19 dining—our longform feature about the ripple effects of the pandemic in the restaurant industry, and other articles shine a spotlight on the community organizations that are making an impact in its wake. We want you to hear the voices of people who have dedicated their lives to feeding others; just because it’s a cliché to say that food is the universal language doesn’t mean it’s not true.

So why write about food? If I haven’t convinced you already, allow me to make my final case: Food writing can travel a city and it can travel the globe, and it’s a whole lot less perishable than a tomato.

SSSF,

Walden CONTACTING 34TH STREET MAGAZINE If you have questions, comments, complaints or letters to the editor, email Emily White, Editor– in–Chief, at white@34st.com. You can also call us at (215) 422–4640. www.34st.com © 2021 34th Street Magazine, The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. No part may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express, written consent of the editors (but I bet we will give you the a–okay.) All rights reserved.

34th Street Magazine is published by The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc., 4015 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19104, every Tuesday.

glossy klepto mag! era

W O RDDI NOINN GT HGEU S I DTER E E T

Doubletime: A Precarious Balance of School and Work

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Why was working at Distrito so hard for me? | GRACE BUSSER

he first time I met my manager at Distrito during the spring of 12th grade, he asked me if I’d ever worked in food service before. “At a country club one summer,” I replied. “Well, it’s pretty much the same thing here. Instead of kissing up to golfers, you’re kissing up to Penn students,” he said with a sarcastic smile. I didn’t tell him where I had just committed to attend in the fall.

My time at Distrito is measured in its relationship to Penn students. My first shift was on Cinco de Mayo, just after Distrito had reopened from an extended COVID–19 pandemic closure. We weren’t doing reservations and when I showed up at 3:50 p.m. for the start of my 4 p.m. opening shift, the line of customers trailed down the block.

Bearing masks slipping below noses and PennCards in phone wallets, the mass of nacho–seeking patrons writhed before me. The host stand was the only thing that protected me from certain death at the hands of the crowd.

The end of May saw seniors who’d been drinking margaritas for four years bring their parents to one last happy hour and an enormous catering order from a loyal customer. I trained new hosts—a Penn sophomore and three juniors—for a job I hardly felt competent performing. I could teach them how to make a reservation, ring in a takeout order, and greet people with the right balance of cheery and cheesy, but I didn’t know how to teach them what tone of voice to use when asking the manager for the friends

Illustration by Kilahra Lott

and family discount for their entire high school friend group without a reservation or how to make an entrance to a party three hours late and desperate for dinner. The skills listed on the job posting weren’t the ones that made the job difficult.

After a slow, sticky summer of work, a barrage of two weeks' notices were sent from upenn.edu email addresses to our manager, who complained to me about the unreliability of student workers. Instead of quitting, I took the first month of school off. "To adjust," I said.

When I came back in late September, I started serving.

Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, I came in at 3 p.m. and left when the last of the silverware had been polished and put away, usually some time around 11 p.m. After move–in, my job had lost some of the fun.

Friends who had offered me advice all summer weren’t there to hear my anguished worries about the cute guy in my writ-

ing seminar, and secret glances at Instagram were traded for furtively written Canvas posts.

My homework schedule was based on my work schedule, and I often collapsed into bed still smelling of tacos. I once wrote a paper for my urban studies class last semester from the iPad at the host stand, frantically swiping back to OpenTable every time I heard the jingle of my manager’s keys. My eating habits adapted to Distrito: breakfast before my 10:15 a.m. class and lunch scarfed down on the walk to work. When I was on campus for dinner, it felt like an unfamiliar privilege to eat at 7 p.m.

The reality of a student worker is a lack of flexibility from two parties competing for your time and attention. School and work defined my life, leaving little room for friends and family. I encouraged friends to come to Distrito for their pregames so that I could feel more included, but I ended up not

being able to say much more to them than, “Would you like salt or sugar on the rim?”

The word server is, in and of itself, somewhat demeaning.

Perhaps not as bad as waitress, but the job is one of catering to someone’s every desire, and trying to predict what they ask for before the thought materializes.

Our income depends on it. As a student at a restaurant serving my peers, it felt derogatory to introduce myself to a table of people I’d seen in classes or clubs. “Hi! My name is Grace, and I’ll be your server. How are you all doing tonight?” I pretended not to know people until they decided to recognize me, a deferral of power that rendered me flat.

To exist in the plane of service makes it difficult for others to see you as an equal. Though I stood right next to them, my garishly colored Distrito T– shirt seemed to fit even more unflatteringly when I saw the made–up faces of friends and

acquaintances. My scribbled notes of carnitas tacos with extra salsa felt at once shameful and empowering. Here I was, serving you, but I was working, and I had a real job. I could spend my hard–earned money on dinners out with friends instead of asking for it from my parents. I tried to balance my embarrassment with smug feelings of superiority. A fragile coverup for my social insecurities, it never lasted long.

I often wished that I just didn’t have to work. I tried to blame my dismal math grade, my lack of date night invitations, and an overall feeling of discomfort and dissatisfaction with college on the fact that Distrito took up so much of my time. In all honesty, I was just stuck with the age–old Ivy League experience of feeling like an impostor while struggling with not being top dog anymore.

But my time at Distrito taught me the value of time management and cemented more good memories than bad ones. I decided to take another break, this time of undefined length, at the start of this semester. I’ve since found a different job, one that is less demanding and much more boring. I'm no longer entertained by the antics of my coworkers, stories of drunken big–little reveals, or discussions about which server has a crush on which food runner. Instead, I spend more time with friends and have found a healthier work– school–life balance.

Plus, now when I go to Distrito, I can actually enjoy the food on the menu.

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE

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DINING GUIDE

For Great Food and Some Cultural History, Stroll the Streets of the Century–Old Italian Market The businesses on South Philly’s 9th Street have been here for decades. Here’s a look into where they’ve been, and where they’re going. | JEAN PAIK

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Yang

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he shops, businesses, and curbside vendors that line 9th Street— better collectively known as the “Italian Market”—have been a hallmark of South Philadelphia for over 100 years.

The Italian Market is open every day of the week and offers a vast array of food products, including fresh produce, cheeses, meats, and seafood that color the outdoor stands and street–side stores during the early hours of the day. Local restaurant gems and specialty stores that sell items like pasta, spices, and baked goods are also an integral part of the South Philly food shopping hub.

The Italian Market remained largely operational during the past few years of the COVID–19 pandemic, with many vendors continuing to sell their groceries outdoors, but other economic challeng4

es have persisted— many of which predate the tumultuous years since 2020. While some of the communities and businesses that vitalize 9th Street have come and gone, the rich cultural and culinary history that has been built across generations continues to be an important part of Philadelphia’s legacy.

In the late 1800s, communities of Southern Italian, Jewish, Irish, and Lebanese immigrants began to move into the areas surrounding 9th Street in South Philadelphia. The first businesses established by these communities date back as early as the first decade of the 20th century, and by the 1960s, the Italian Market had grown into a popular tourist destination. Korean, Mexican, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Chinese immigrants also began to move and set up shops in the '80s, further con-

34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

tributing to the city’s diverse culinary landscape.

The Italian Market is now the oldest continuously operating open–air market in the country. A collection of nearly 200 individual businesses are housed across 20 city blocks, a number of which have been passed down their family lines for generations. For instance, P&F Giordano’s—the curbside fruit and produce stand marked by its iconic green banner at the corner of 9th Street and Washington Ave— has been running since 1921.

And Tortilleria San Roman, a brick–and–mortar storefront established in 2009, was the first tortilleria opened in Philadelphia.

Grassia’s Italian Market Spice Co. is another longtime staple at the Italian Market.

Founded in 1932, the family–owned and operated business has sold its spice blends

in Philly for decades. Sabatina Grassia, owner of the company, says that it took two families and the overcoming of some serious barriers to bring Grassia’s over to the 21st century. In 1999, Grassia had bought the company from her cousin who had been running the business for twenty years prior, and she's been operating her family’s spice company ever since. But more than just being a business owner in the market, Grassia has a strong connection to the South Philly neighborhood where she was born and raised.

Grassia is a first–generation immigrant, and growing up near the Italian Market, she's been able to see its changes and developments over the years first–hand. She specifically recalls two key aspects of her childhood: the bustling market, and the diverse communities in South Philly that

lived and worked there. Grassia says the narrative that 9th Street only recently became diverse isn’t true. Since the '70s when she was in grade school and the '80s when she entered high school, there were always families from different ethnic and racial backgrounds that were an integral part of the neighborhood.

In terms of her business, the things that have changed drastically for Grassia’s Italian Market Spice Co. can’t be removed from the COVID–19 pandemic. “It was very hard for me,” Grassia shares, “I could employ about five to six people, and right now I'm down to one employee … I can't afford many people. So that in itself is limiting.” Grassia found herself having to be closed for several months, and decided to venture into selling at farmers' markets when she couldn’t open up the shop.

DINING GUIDE

Photo Courtesy of Mike Klubok via Flickr More recently, she mentions that the challenge has been getting her supply of spice products, which are much higher in price than before. “The want is still there from … my regular customers,” Grassia says. She’s noticed an observable decrease in the number of people shopping at the market, with many customers working from home and making their purchases online.

Many of the businesses on 9th Street have amended their hours to be closed on certain days and hours in the past two years, but Grassia says the market has also been shifting to a "Shop from Home" model.

As an organization, the Italian Market offers the delivery service Mercato, and other stores have also utilized online platforms like UberEats. “I do see the foot traffic itself has slowed down because of that,” Grassia says. In addition to an observable decrease in the number of people shopping at the market, many merchants have also been working from home and operating their businesses online.

Although there may not be as many people moving through the Italian Market as there once were, Grassia remains hopeful—especially with the annual festival coming up. The Italian Market Festival, ”Philadelphia’s Largest Block Party,” is set to return on May 21–22, 2022. “It's two days of the year that our market shines,” she says. The festival is not only an exciting event that includes members of the neighborhood across all ages, but it’s also an important

opportunity for businesses to bring in people who’ve never been to the 9th Street stores.

“We're trying to entice them to come into our stores and see what we have that they don't need to [buy] online, or go to big–business box stores. We're little merchants, but we pack a punch with our products,” Grassia says. For herself, Grassia wants to continue providing fresh spices and herbs at her business, and to be able to acquire those products for her customers—something she's strived to do for over twenty years.

Egor Tolkunov, the General Manager of Taffets Bakery, has also lived and worked in South Philly for many years. He first began working at Taffets almost nine years ago, after one of the co–owners of the store overheard him asking about openings at a nearby coffee shop, and offered him a job to work at her and her husband’s bakery. Tolkunov is now a close friend of the Taffet family, who has owned the business for over ten years.

Before our conversation, Tolkunov gives me directions over the phone on how to find the shop. If you can’t find it, look out for the Good’s Vintage sign next door—you can’t miss it, he assures me. The exterior is a white–painted storefront on 9th Street overlooking a narrow row of produce stands.

When I arrive, the breads are unfortunately cleared off the displays. This is due to the fact that Taffets primarily operates as a wholesale business, although they are open for

limited retail hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The business specializes in gluten–free baked goods and sweets, the latter of which are visible by the neat rows of goods that line the metal shelves across my table.

The bakery has been working in wholesale even before the pandemic, and they were still operating during COVID–19 as an essential business—not just because they're a food store, but also because people needed gluten–free supplies.

Like many businesses in the Italian Market, Tolkunov has noticed a decrease in the

amount of customer traffic in the area. “It has been gradually decreasing,” he says, “With every year we get less [people at the market].”

However, the close connections between the vendors and business owners of 9th Street have remained. “Everybody kind of knows everybody,” Tolkunov says. Many people have deep connections to the area, and after working with one another on the same street for years, it’s not uncommon for the residents to know where each person in the neighborhood lives or what businesses they operate.

“We help people and peo-

ple help us,” Tolkunov says frankly, referring to both Taffets, and the Italian Market community at large.

For over a century, the Italian Market has existed as a historic site of eclectic culture, culinary legacy, generational memory, and the work of vibrant immigrant communities. Although many challenges persist, if anything’s been emphasized in the last few years, it’s that the market’s roots run deep in the Philadelphia community, and forging new ways to endure— even in the face of hardship— is something baked into 9th Street’s very foundation.

N EW A LL DAY BRUNCH EVERY DAY 9 AM - 3 PM

3420 Sansom Street • 215.386.9224 • whitedog.com WDUC_Daily Penn 3.10.22_verison2.indd 1

5 MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREE T M A G A2:35:45 Z I N E PM 3/10/2022

DINING GUIDE

Roundup: Campus Food Truck Owners' Favorite Items on Their Menus

Never worry about what to order again and learn the best thing on the menu from the owners themselves. | ANJALI KISHORE Tyson Bee's Street Food (Franklin Field)

Our first stop on our Grand Food Truck Tour was Tyson Bee's, Penn's one– and–only Thai–Korean food truck. That's how owner Maria Hernandez, who has been running the truck with her husband Pedro for seven years, describes it. "My husband worked with the previous owner and other restaurants to make a few changes

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to the menu," she explains.

"He learned how to do this kind of food for a few years, and we started working on our own about seven years ago." The quesadillas and burritos on the menu, however, wink to the Mexican Hernandezes', and Ecuadorian chef René's, cultural and culinary background.

Some may say crazy, most would say bold, but after giving it a go, I'm convinced that all would walk away from their Tyson Bee's experience

34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

a convert to food–truck fusion. We ventured forth with Maria Hernandez's favorite Thai basil chicken over rice, as well as her son's favorite (Korean barbecue beef short rib kimchi burrito), and we left a bit shell–shocked, yet wholly satisfied.

NYC Gyro (34th and Walnut)

Next up is a favorite of the southern–part–of–campus crowd—that is, the tidal wave of vitamin–D–deprived

students that escape DRL at 1:30 p.m., flustered engineers squeezing in a bite between classes, and HUP workers milling around in their ubiquitous blue scrubs.

NYC Gyro sits under Meyerson Hall on the corner of 34th and Walnut. Owner Issam cut his teeth at various gyro and halal trucks in Philadelphia and New York City, working for 14 years as a chef. Five years ago, he opened NYC Gyro, and the rest is history. When asked

about his personal favorite item on the menu, Issam smirks. "All of them, because I'm the best! I mean, look at that," he says, pointing to the line snaking down the Walnut Street sidewalk.

"The students love it!" That much is undeniable—Issam steadfastly refuses to play favorites, but I've heard from a NYC Gyro enthusiast or two that you can't go wrong with the chicken on pita.

DINING GUIDE

Illustration by Sarah Tretler

Chez Yasmine (Upper Quad)

In his 35 years as an HIV researcher at Penn's Wistar Institute, Jihed Chehimi grew frustrated with the food truck options on campus. (If only he'd had the Dining Guide!) Now, after leaving his position at the Institute, he's taking matters into his own hands. He describes his food as Mediterranean, influenced by his Tunisian upbringing with elements of French (medical school in Paris) and Swedish (the home country of his ex–wife and three children).

The sprawling menu is dotted with references to regulars: Each item is in honor of a customer, university colleague, graduate student, or another Chez Yasmine fan.

If you're looking to try it out, Chehimi recommends the Swedish salmon smörgãs and the Tunisian sandwich: You might even get a chance to be featured on the truck's Facebook page, where Chehimi highlights the Humans of Chez Yasmine on the regular.

Liam's Kitchen (under the bridge, near Chestnut)

You've probably seen this vibrantly painted truck below when walking across the bridge. Despite it only opening in November of 2021, Liam's Kitchen is instantly recognizable. Liam, as owner Aiyi explains, stands for her kids' names: Lorenzo, Ian, Aiyi, and Maximo. "We wanted to share what we eat at home with the community—our family is very diverse, mixed with Chinese and Dominican," explains Aiyi. "During the pandemic, we wanted to make it known that at the end of the day, food connects all of us. That's why I quit my other job to open a food truck." Liam's specializes in Hong Kong cuisine, which fuses European and Chinese food. Aiyi says people love the crispy chicken and bubble tea in particular, but in her opinion, you can't beat the beef noodle soup. If you too are coping with the city's two–faced weather and looking for a quick soup fix, Liam's Kitchen is the place to be.

Cristy's Mexican Food (under the bridge, near Chestnut)

After ten years working in another University City food truck, Cristy's Mexican

Food owner Cristina decided to branch out and opened her very own food truck in late 2018. It’s lucky for us that she did; customers rave about her green salsa in particular, which comes slathered on tacos, inside burri-

tos, and over quesadillas. As for Cristy herself, she can't pass up chicken tinga, one of the many family secret recipes that her truck specializes in. "Everything on the menu has come from Mexico," she explains, including the candy–colored Jarritos bottles that are calling your name from the side of the truck.

Next time you're fiending for Mexican, ditch the Chipotle and give Cristy's a go. You won't regret it.

And so, our grand food truck journey comes to an end, many steps and a week's worth of leftovers later. We came, saw, and conquered just a few of the seemingly endless food trucks that are sprinkled around campus, and it's safe to say that not a single one disappointed.

For when your dining dollars (or morale) are running low and you're looking for a pick–me–up, one thing's for sure: We'll always have our food trucks. Bon appetit, everyone!

Dim sum house tonight

Fresh lobster ginger scallion style 3939 Chestnut St. 2nd Fl. || info@dimsum.house || IG: @dimsumhousephilly MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE

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DINING GUIDE

The Monkey and The Elephant Doesn't Just Have Coffee. It Has Heart.

This Philly non–profit redefines the 3Cs: coffee, cause, and community. | KAYLA COTTER

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Photo courtesy of James Pensabene

n an interview with Street last semester, Eastern State Penitentiary Vice President and Director of Operations Brett Bertolino spoke fondly of the vendors the Penitentiary employs for Halloween Nights—in particular, his soft admiration for the mission–based coffee shop The Monkey and The Elephant immediately piqued my interest.

Despite being located in Brewerytown, a sector of Philadelphia I have yet to visit in my Penn career, it registered as an immediate must–try.

The Monkey and The El-

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ephant, which opened in 2015, is Philly’s first and only nonprofit cafe aiming to provide former foster youth with the “personal and professional skills, employment, and the supportive community needed to lead a sustainable, independent life.” Every purchase contributes to their Café program, which enables these individuals to pursue paid professional development and part–time jobs as employees.

The Pennsylvania State Resource Family Association reports that one in four PA youth who “age out” of the system experience

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homelessness and mental health challenges among other obstacles, highlighting the gravity of the cafe’s work.

At its heart is its mission, yet this hidden gem is more than the charitable spirit that its founder Lisa Miccolis exemplifies: The cumulative effort of its staff makes it an excellent choice for coffee and homemade goods. It’s a high–quality establishment, boasting a program that only adds to its appeal.

Upon my visit, I start with my go–to, and a definitive classic: hot chocolate. Made with

House Chocolate, a cinnamon– y alternative to plain chocolate, it's smooth, rich, and foamy; the cinnamon adds a distinctive and delicious flair—a perfect complement to the coffee cake I order next, another item that's balanced, crumbly, and, most importantly, just plain tasty.

Coupled with a whole milk latte, I then sample their maple scone. With a taste reminiscent of warm, home–baked cookies on Christmas Day, it’s as comforting as it is flavorful. Every bite feels especially tailored to you, bringing you a tiny bit closer to the community The Monkey and The Elephant has taken so much care to build. The latte is creamy and luscious—a wonderful match for the sugary scone.

The first–rate brewed drinks and pastries are enough to almost completely neglect the picturesque room where you're seated; In fact, the coffee shop’s atmosphere is one of its best attributes. Plants are draped on the furniture, culminating in a feeling akin to relaxation despite my busy schedule. Though the weather doesn't permit me to see it for myself, their outdoor garden with a mural by self–taught artist Sophia Roach is hailed for its beauty and is one of the cafe’s proudest features. A stunning Black Lives Matter mural painted by an associate of the shop illustrates its all–inclusive values: They aren’t afraid to make a very public statement, and it’s wonderful to see an organization stick by its community.

If coffee isn’t your go–to drink, fret not: The Monkey and The Elephant still has plenty to offer.

In addition to serving delectable baked goods and paninis, every month it transforms into a venue for BIPOC artists to present their work, and offers a supportive community in which these talents can flourish. And if you’re unable to make the trek to Brewerytown, they also have an online shop with merchandise varying from assorted teas to t–shirts that you can purchase in order to support the cafe.

Above all, this cozy nonprofit is a slice of home, though perhaps a nontraditional one; Its fresh yet familiar menu, eccentric plant decor, and, most importantly, friendly and diligent staff come together to provide a heartwarming experience. They tend to this secret garden with the utmost care—it’s beautiful and lively not only in its ambiance but in what it stands for. It’s a bit of a walk from University City, but nonetheless, the Penn community should pay a visit to Philly’s most inspirational (and perhaps, most approachable) coffee shop.

TL;DR: Philly’s first and only nonprofit cafe that supports and employs former foster youth is worth the trek.

Location: 2831 W. Girard Ave. Hours: Closed on Mondays, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tuesdays through Sundays Price: $

DINING GUIDE

Four Restaurants Owned by Black Women in West Philly Exploring the city's diversity through delicious meals | KATE RATNER

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est Philadelphia is a hub for ethnic and cultural diversity, reflected in its dynamic restaurant scene. For decades, Black women have been paving the way for bringing African and Caribbean cuisine onto the main stage of Philly dining. A nod to eating in West Philly wouldn’t be complete without celebrating restaurants owned

by Black women.

48th Street Grille — 310 S 48th St., $$ 48th Street Grille is a hidden gem just north of the intersection of 48th and Pine.

Carl Lewis, his wife nicknamed “Miss Dee,” and their daughter Carlene have been serving up American–Caribbean favorites since 2014. At 48th Street, customers can choose from classic Jamaican dishes such as jerk chicken, braised oxtail, and curried goat—but Chef Lewis also recommends the signature “Rasta Pasta,” penne pasta tossed in a spicy tomato–basil cream sauce. Lewis’ jerk chicken cheesesteak, served with grilled onions, provolone cheese, and fries, is the perfect crossover between an iconic Philly dish and Jamaican cuisine. 48th Street Grille stays true to its motto, “Simply Delicious,” whipping up fantastic meals with the most important Jamaican flavors and ingredients. 48th Street Grille is currently only accepting takeout orders due to an employee shortage. They are looking for hostesses, servers, and kitchen staff. 48th Street Grille is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Booker’s Restaurant and Bar — 5021 Baltimore Ave., $$ Whether you’re looking for

a hearty meal or a new happy hour spot, Booker’s Restaurant and Bar at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue is the place for you. Owner Saba Tedla opened Booker’s as an homage to the presence of Black culture and cuisine in the American South and to Booker Wright, a Black waiter who worked in a whites– only restaurant in 1960s Mississippi. Booker’s has expansive brunch and dinner menus, combining American dishes with traditional Southern favorites. Tedla serves an array of Southern–inspired dishes including country fried chicken, blackened catfish, and a vegan approach to Creole jambalaya.

Named one of the Inquirer’s favorite happy hours in Philly, Booker’s serves an array of cocktails and appetizers most weekdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., all ranging from $4 to $10.

Its cocktail menu includes signature cocktails including the “Whiskey Ginger Jawn” and “Booker’s Punch” with Hennessy VS, pineapple juice, lime juice, and cranberry.

Booker’s Restaurant and Bar is open for brunch Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Alif Brew and Mini Mart — 4501 Baltimore Ave., $ Just a quick trolley ride from Penn’s campus and a five–minute walk from Clark Park, Alif Brew and Mini Mart quietly sits at 45th Street and Baltimore Avenue. Owned by Addis Ababa native Hayat Ali, Alif Brew and Mini Mart is an Ethiopian–style cafe attached to a small grocery store stocked with various Ethiopian specialty ingredients. Since 2020, Ali has creat-

ed the perfect study spot while serving classic Ethiopian snacks and dishes such as lentil sambusas and injera wraps stuffed with spicy shredded chicken, marinated beef, and braised lentils. On Tuesdays, Ali replaces her iconic injera wraps with Ethiopian–style tacos.

The taco recipe changes every week—most recently, Ali filled them with beet falafel, guacamole, and a chipotle coconut yogurt drizzle. Not to mention, Alif serves the best iced chai in West Philly. Alif Brew and Mini Mart is the ideal spot to study or chat with a friend over a sambusa and chai. Alif Brew and Mini Mart is open every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

K i l i m a n d j a r o Restaurant—4519 Baltimore Ave., $$ Recently reopened at 45th and Baltimore, Kilimandjaro Restaurant (displayed as Youma African Cuisine) serves Senegalese–inspired dishes. Youma Ba, a Sengelese–born businesswoman, opened Kilimandjaro in 2005. Kilimandjaro has diverse lunch and dinner menus with Senegalese dishes, including thieboudienne (stewed fish and vegetables), thiebouyapp (lamb or chicken with rice, peppers, and garlic), and gigot (sauteed lamb shank). Kilimandjaro was one of Philadelphia’s first African–owned restaurants to

Illustration by Collin Wang be approved by the Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs.

Though Ba moved her restaurant from Chestnut Street to Baltimore Avenue, her delicious menu and renowned status among the West Philly community aren’t going anywhere.

Kilimandjaro Restaurant is open every day from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The next time you’re looking for a great meal in West Philly, take a step outside of the University City bubble. Black female restaurant owners are cheffing up some of the best American, Caribbean, and African food in the city.

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DINING GUIDE

How Chef Diana Widjojo Is Highlighting Indonesian Cuisine and Culture

The co–owner of the restaurant Hardena is making Indonesian food more popular than ever. | EVAN QIANG

N

estled in a heavily residential area, Hardena’s quaint location on the corner of Hicks and Moore streets conceals its significant impact on food and social justice. The restaurant’s drive and passion for sharing Indonesian culture and cuisine extends well beyond its local South Philly community, reaching every corner of America and the world. With almost 20,000 followers on Instagram and visits from renowned foodies like Guy Fieri, Hardena is a pioneer in blending activism, social media, and delicious meals.

Hardena was first founded in the early 2000s by the parents of current co–owner Diana Widjojo to serve the Indonesian population in Philly. Her mother’s friends “were encouraging her to open a spot here because there weren’t many [Indonesian restaurants] back then. But there were a lot of Indonesians, probably about 10,000 of us here,” Widjojo says.

After Widjojo and her sister Maylia took over the restau-

Photo courtesy of Diana Widjojo rant in 2017, they continued to share their parents’ passion for promoting Indonesian cuisine in the city. “I wanted to spread awareness of Indonesian culture because we had no representation. Everybody knows Chinese or Japanese food, but there weren’t really any restaurants or figures that represented Indonesia,” says Widjojo.

In the few years of this new era for Hardena, the Widjojo sisters have already been extremely successful in their marketing of Indonesian food. One of their innovations: Besides offering traditional Indonesian fare such as tempeh and sate, Hardena also has dishes like rijsttafel on its menu. The Dutch word for rice table and originating from the Dutch colonization of Indonesia, rijsttafel features rice on a “big circular wooden board” surrounded by a plethora of side plates, each containing a sample of Indonesian cuisine. When the COVID–19 pandemic hit, this was the dish customers were still clamoring for despite the restaurant being takeout only.

“I don’t know how we would be able to do it. How could I put it in to–go containers and have the same visual effects?”

Widjojo says. “And then one day, I was having pizza and I’m looking at the pizza box. What if I took out the pizza and laid it with a banana leaf so it won’t leak?”

Thus began the #NotPizza trend, which has spread to eateries all over the country.

The restaurant started using cardboard boxes for their rijsttafel—rather than holding pizzas, these containers included a delicious and visually stunning assortment of meats next to a selection of fruits and vegetables. Even though rijsttafel is difficult to safely pack and carry without damaging the dish's structural integrity, Hardena did it with creativity and innovation.

Other businesses started to take note. Stina Pizzeria in Philly incorporated Greek specialties in their boxes, and Filipino restaurant Patikim in New York City made their own vegan kamayan box. Not

expecting the idea to spread so quickly, Widjojo was flattered by the attention and spin–offs.

"One day I was like, 'I’m just going to try it. I’m going to post this and I’ll see how it fares on the internet,' and it just blew up. I was like, 'I started a trend!'"

Besides #NotPizza and combining the flavors of Indonesia into a box, Hardena has also been active in spreading awareness of Indonesian culture. In 2021, a mural highlighting Indonesian and other minority Asian groups was painted over Hardena’s exterior.

“If you were one of our original customers, there was absolutely nothing to the restaurant,” Widjojo recalls. “It was just plain white, and it didn’t have any color. But slowly, I introduced color. I’ve always wanted to do a mural. I told the Mayor’s Commission [on Asian Pacific American Affairs] my idea: a mural outside that represents Indonesia. There’s such a big community here, but we don’t really have anything. I’m really glad that an Indonesian artist was able to work with us and that we could incorporate not just Indonesians but also Cambodian and Vietnamese people.”

To celebrate the finished mural, Hardena held a big block party at the restaurant.

It was an important moment

to acknowledge Indonesian food, culture, and arts, as well as Hardena’s journey from local favorite to national recognition. To continue appreciating Asian culture, Widjojo has a bigger festival in the works.

“It’s going to be called Celebrate Asia at Race Street Pier.

Right now, I have a few vendors from different regions of Asia, and we’re planning to have different performances.

The city wants to see more of that, but the block party was just one block. So we’re going to make it big.”

These festivities have created an important role for Hardena to be not only a restaurant but also a place that actively supports its community and neighborhood. During the pandemic, Widjojo and some friends created a group that gave care packages and necessities to the people that needed them. Each bag had items like fresh produce or masks, and their efforts reached hundreds of people.

For Hardena and Widjojo, balancing restaurant management and community engagement is a tough but rewarding task. But Widjojo is passionate about what she does, and her work gives her energy and motivation. The future of Hardena, including both their food and their advocacy, is in the right hands.

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 11

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DINING GUIDE

When One Door Closes,

Another ONE Opens

While the COVID–19 pandemic led many restaurants across the city to close, others are heading in new directions as they navigate an ever– evolving restaurant landscape. | ARIELLE STANGER

T

akeout boxes, streeteries, Grubhub, Uber Eats, home– cooked meals, grocery store delivery—all of us have had to adapt and innovate food habits in the wake of the COVID–19 pandemic, and restaurants have certainly been no exception. From adapting their business models to focus on takeout, to changing their hours to deal with staffing shortages, to constructing outdoor huts to accommodate more outdoor dining, to even closing their businesses for good, adaptation has been the name of the game for restaurants in the COVID–19 era. But even as restaurants are going back to “normal,” owners are still being affected by the altered realities of the industry—and shifting their business models accordingly.

After months of barely getting by, many restaurants chose to permanently close their doors. This was the case for Poi Dog in Rittenhouse, a local favorite spot serving up traditional Hawaiian poke bowls, now moving to an online business rather than its former fast–casual storefront. Oth-

ers, like Stock in Fishtown and Rittenhouse and Day by Day in Center City, experienced the lasting effects of the pandemic and chose to shut down just over two years after COVID–19 began. Conversely, Koreana Food survived the pandemic thanks to its heaps of loyal student diners, yet is now forced to close for unrelated reasons: limited space in University City and big development companies buying up properties for administrative purposes.

James Garrow, communications director at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, said in an interview with WHYY that “there has been a rise in incubators and more mobile food establishments. Anecdotally, we feel this could be due to the influx of pandemic relief funding.” Garrow’s comments reflect the changes the restaurant industry has undergone in recent years. It's not the pandemic that caused these restaurants to close, but rather the ripple effect it had on all aspects of the industry—from property values to food supply costs to customer experience.

Illustratio

n by Tyle

r Kliem

“It was entirely gut– wrenching.

But sometimes you just have to know when to let go.”

— Kiki Aranita, Poi Dog

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 13

DINING GUIDE

Kiki Aranita, owner of Poi Dog, has a soft voice, but behind it lies major hustle. She jumps right into the story of how she got started in the food business.

In 2011, she was at Bryn Mawr College getting her Ph.D. and growing “pretty exasperated with studying classics.” She knew going in that it would be a challenge to get a tenured job, a fact that became clearer after about five years.

As she became more and more disillusioned with academia, she also became increasingly aware of the “burgeoning food truck scene” in Philly. She cites Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race and the movie Chef circa 2014 as catalysts that fostered excitement and brought alternative restaurant models into the spotlight in the 2010s, when Aranita says it was “prime time” to open a food truck.

In 2011, Aranita and her business partner Chris Vacca left grad school and bought a truck from the owner of the restaurant she worked in at the time, taking over the commissary and parking space as well. Aranita, “half from Hawaii” herself, decided to sell Hawaiian food, making the truck stand out and grow in popularity quite quickly. After running the food truck for four–and–a–half years, they opened a fast–casual brick and mortar restaurant in 2017.

Running a restaurant is a huge operation. With the high rent of a hot location in Rittenhouse and 20–person staff, it had to be incredibly busy just to break even.

Poi Dog had two LLCs—the restaurant fell under one, and the

Photo courtesy of Neal Santos

“I don’t care if I ever get into Whole Foods or not, but I want the sauces to be on the shelves of specialty grocers that feel like neighborhood gems.”

— Kiki Aranita, Poi food truck and catering businesses fell under the other. “The restaurant LLC essentially didn't make any money,” Aranita explains. “It broke even. The food truck and the catering side brought in quite a significant amount of money, and these two businesses balanced each other out.” Aranita adds that Penn was Poi Dog’s biggest catering customer.

When the pandemic struck in March 2020, the lunch crowd that Poi Dog depended on to stay operational suddenly disappeared.

Takeout and delivery weren’t fallback options because there wasn’t a cap on delivery fees for apps such as GrubHub and Caviar. The costs associated with operating on these apps became unsustainable. “Imagine selling a $10 plate—Caviar takes 25% of that, or $2.50,” says Aranita. “The food costs could be between 30% and 40%, and then the labor cost is 30%. That essentially makes that $10 plate of food a loss for the business.” The cheap prices that were once a draw for

Chris Vacca (left) and Kiki Arenita (right)

14 34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

their customer base were now what was sinking the business; relying on third–party takeout stripped Poi Dog of profits.

Poi Dog closed temporarily, as most businesses did, at the end of March 2020. A few months later, it began to do online order pickups once a week. In July, it finally decided that it didn’t make financial sense to stay open, and it announced its final day of service at the end of the month. “We had a lot of support, like, lines around the block for our last services,” Aranita says. She also invited her “employees with their own little food businesses at that point [to sell their food], which brought a lot of money into their pockets.”

As the old adage goes, when one door closes, another one opens.

Aranita saw the devastating closing of Poi Dog as an opportunity for new growth. She went above and beyond to make sure her employees and other local businesses could benefit from Poi Dog’s closure.

Then–employee Chance Anies, current owner of Tabachoy Filipino food truck, sold lechon—a slow–roasted suckling pig dish.

He’ll soon be opening a Tabachoy location on Passyunk Square. Alejandro Gonzalez, a former line cook, was starting a business selling tamales, so he made and sold them on Poi Dog’s last day as well. Another employee, Jamaar Julal, was starting his kombucha brand JamBrü, and this was the first time that he sold his kombucha to the public. He’s now the head of fermen-

tation for Honeysuckle Projects in West Philly.

In addition to selling her employees’ food, Aranita also donated all of the equipment either to staff who were starting their own businesses or to primarily minority– owned places in the city that were in the process of opening. She calls the experience a “really, really rewarding” one.

Still, closing her restaurant was emotional. “It was entirely gut– wrenching,” she says. “But sometimes you just have to know when to let go.”

But that wasn’t the end for Poi Dog. When you open its website, you’re greeted with a single message: “We make sauces now.” Aranita says this wasn’t initially part of the plan when closing, but rather “the idea was planted in [her] brain in September” by her friends who own Burlap & Barrel, a company that sells equitably sourced spices.

“They tasted something that I made and they were like, ‘Hey, put this into bottles.’ And I was like, ‘That’s never occurred to me, but tell me more.’”

Another close friend of hers is one of the founders of Gotham Grove, an importing company that sells sauce online. Both companies originally set out to sell to chefs, but they both changed their business to be more accessible to the home cook as restaurants began to close.

They saw exponential growth in their direct–to–consumer sales online during the pandemic, and talked Aranita through what she would do in order to bring her sauces to market.

She also credits the food scientists at Drexel Food Lab and the Drexel Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts Department, as well as those at Rutgers Food Innovation Center, for helping her test the products’ shelf stability. After that, Aranita says she reached out “over email, and found co–manufacturers and worked with them to further develop my formulas, adding guava katsu [sauce] to the line.”

Aranita now focuses on the guava katsu and chili peppah water sauces, specifically because they’re vegan. “One of my personal mis-

sions is to make the flavors of Hawaii and the history of its immigration more accessible to people of different diets,” she says. Most katsu sauces, including the one they sold at Poi Dog, aren’t vegan. She was determined to replicate the flavors with plant–based ingredients.

“The trick,” as she puts it, “was to substitute fish sauce and chicken stock with a blend of white miso and mushroom powder. And it’s Photo courtesy of Mike Prince

exactly the same, it tastes meaty and umami–rich. I'm really proud of that.” You can hear the passion in her voice. Food science is fascinating, and she’s a total genius.

In February 2021, the sale of Poi Dog sauces became more streamlined. Aranita has learned a lot from business in the last year.

“I try not to bite off more than I can chew. I don't push too hard in terms of marketing because I'm trying to grow the infrastructure and methods of shipping and expansion at a rate that I can handle,” she says.

She recently signed up with a soon–to–be–announced Lancaster–based distributor, and she’s “very behind their ethics and what they do, how they support small farmers.” When it comes to sales, Aranita says, “I don't care if I ever get into Whole Foods or not, but I want the sauces to be on the shelves of specialty grocers that feel like neighborhood gems.”

As for the future of Poi Dog, Aranita hopes to come up with two new vegan products this year. Though closing the storefront in the face of the pandemic

DINING GUIDE

was devastating, the sauce business brings Aranita to a new stage of her career as the restaurant industry rediscovers its footing on the other side of the pandemic. It’s easy to get lost in the sauce when a pandemic takes away your business, but Aranita and Poi Dog are taking it in stride. When life gives you guavas, sell guava katsu.

This past December, Time Magazine reported that “roughly 80,000 restaurants have temporarily or permanently closed since the start of the pandemic, according to estimates from the National Restaurant Association, down from 110,000 at the peak of the pandemic.” Many restaurant owners took to social media to announce closures or temporary closures that eventually became permanent as the pandemic stretched on.

Day by Day, a classic brunch spot that had been around for 41 years, closed permanently right around the start of 2022. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, owner Robin Barg shut down the restaurant in November 2020 instead of seating at 25% indoor capacity. With some help, she resumed service with outdoor seating and catering in April 2021, and things looked good during the summer. She looked for new em-

Stock, a popular Southeast Asian restaurant by Chef Tyler Akin, recently closed both locations—Fishtown after eight years and Rittenhouse after four—posting on Instagram, “While feeding our community has been an honor over the years, we came to realize that the restaurants were not built to weather [an over–two–year] pandemic for a lot of reasons.”

Continuing, they wrote that they “didn’t feel comfortable with indoor dining in [their] tight spaces and delivery alone wasn’t a sustainable business model.”

Restaurant closures have hit University City, too. Beijing, a longstanding student favorite that had been around for 32 years, shut its storefront in September 2020. The most recent casualty is Koreana, a cozy campus–adjacent gem which, despite weathering the pandemic, is now closing its doors as its building transitions to new ownership.

There’s a cruel sense of irony in that. In fact, they’ve been doing so well lately that even on a random Wednesday evening, the restaurant is jam–packed with students.

“We were so backed up, because I got … to the restaurant kind of late, like 6:30,” owner Mike Choi explains. “We had so many things

”I’d like to thank everyone for the last 15 years … Our customers are the greatest.”

— Mike Choi, Koreana @ University City ployees to replace her “aging workforce,” but “she realized that most were not vaccinated against COVID–19 … She had no idea of what she would do.” To recoup some of her losses, Barg sold the equipment at the beginning of January to anyone interested.

all over the place.”

This routine is not unusual for Choi—Koreana is not his day job.

He's been a full–time engineer for the last 20 years. He works Monday through Friday and comes to Koreana after work and on weekends. His wife, Emma, was a nurse,

but quit to run the restaurant full time.

Choi started selling pizza and hoagies in Abington in 2003.

Two years in, the work was pretty stressful, so he sold that business in 2005. He went back to his old job in engineering, where his former employer rehired him. “Thank god for that,” he says with a chuckle.

But in 2007, he discovered a small restaurant at 3801 Chestnut St. that sold Korean dishes and pizza.

He ended up taking it and converted it to strictly sell Korean dishes.

Thus, in May of 2007, Koreana Food as it’s known so fondly today in the University City community was born.

In 2017, Choi found a second location in Rittenhouse, built it from ground up, and ran it for two years before selling it in 2019 because it was too much for him and his wife to manage alone. This was just before the onset of COVID–19, which was accidentally great timing on their part.

Even without the second location, the pandemic seriously hurt Koreana. “The last two years we didn't do that well because our business is based on our students, and when the students weren’t here, we lost a lot [of business],” he tells me. When some students came back to live off campus in Philly in September 2020, things started to pick up a bit. He says he was happy to see the takeout and delivery rates increasing, even though they didn’t have indoor dining at the time. It was a small profit, but it was enough.

This past January and February, though, business stalled.

“I couldn't figure out why,” Choi says. “But when I talked to some other business people, they were going through exactly the same. I couldn't believe how bad it was.” He’s still not sure what caused the lull—he speculated it could have something to do with new vaccination requirements for restaurants, or the Omicron variant—but thankfully, things picked back up at the beginning of March, and Koreana is

lively once again.

If they’re doing so well, why do they have to close? Choi explains that for the last seven years, they could only get a year–to–year lease instead of a

tinue to be busy until they close their doors on April 17.

Looking forward, the Chois are currently on the hunt for a new location. They have some help with the search and some

Photo courtesy of Mike Choi Mike Choi (left) and Emma Choi (right) long–term one. “It was really hard on us. Normally, when the lease is over, they will give you either a five– or ten–year lease, but they couldn’t renew long–term, because they knew they were selling that property,” he says.

Mike and Emma Choi found out in December that their lease would not be renewed. A developer purchased the property to build a “modern, high–tech office with a laboratory,” he says.

For Koreana to close after so many years of hard work is hard on Choi. It’s a sad thing for him and his wife to go through, because “[they] put a lot of effort into this restaurant.” He reflects on the progress over the years with pride for what they built.

“When I first started, there was no business. And we built our restaurant like you wouldn’t imagine. Before COVID-19, we were doing so well,” he says. They had nine part–time students working for them and four full–time employees as well. Now, their staff has shrunk to a one–, sometimes two–person kitchen.

Choi will especially miss the location in University City. It’s an ideal spot right near Penn's and Drexel’s campuses, as well as several office spaces. But still, he’s happy with how good business has been for the last month, and he knows it’ll con-

money saved up, and will “see what happens during the summer.” If they find something they like, they hope to reopen Koreana this fall in time for students’ return to campus.

Above all, Choi is endlessly grateful for his customers. He loves to meet students from all over the world, and has even met some lifetime, loyal supporters. He mentions specifically one woman who started coming to Koreana as a first year, continued throughout her undergraduate and medical school at Penn, and is now a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

When asked if there’s anything else he’d like to add, Choi only has one thing to say: “I’d like to thank everyone for the last 15 years … Our customers are the greatest.”

The food industry is a dynamic one, but the pandemic exacerbated the rate at which change occurs. Many restaurant owners couldn’t, and continue to struggle to keep with the ever–shifting demands of landlords, diners, and safety protocols. Even when restaurants are forced to close their doors, it doesn’t mean the end—sometimes, a new door will open. In defining the new normal in this post–COVID–19 era, adaptation is a must.

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 15

From grab-and-go favorites to sit-down meals, Shop Penn has options to suit every diner, price point, and cuisine. With more than 40 dining destinations on or around campus, you’ll be sure to find whatever you’re craving.

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DINING GUIDE

Illustration by Alice Choi

Kenny Chiu Keeps it Fresh with Fridges & Family Fighting food insecurity in Philadelphia, one fridge at a time | NATALIA CASTILLO

“I

f you need food, you’re eligible.”

Fridges & Family’s famous tagline is a statement so simple, yet unfulfilled for 21% of Philadelphians facing food insecurity today.

Kenny Chiu (C ’25) co– founded Fridges & Family to combat food insecurity and food waste by implementing mutual aid fridges around Philadelphia. The non–profit is true to its slogan’s promise.

Their fridges operate on a no– questions–asked basis, refilling daily to feed hundreds of residents from diverse backgrounds across the city. Fridges & Family is community work, not charity work. The distinction is important to those engaged in mutual aid work where intentions are rooted in real, interpersonal relationships to meet community needs. Mutual aid attempts to remove the complicated power

imbalance rooted in traditional philanthropy and charity work.

In 2021, Chiu was restless, tangled in the uncertainties of the pandemic, and motivated to help those without access to consistent, nutritious food.

Chiu and his friends began cooking hot meals out of his kitchen and distributing them to unhoused Philadelphians alongside packages of basic utilities like toothbrushes. The young band of friends followed their ritual every two weeks until it became unsustainable long–term. Chiu sent a call out on Twitter for funds to sustain their homegrown operation.

That’s when the feeds of Twitter and the universe align– kismet struck. Another impassioned then–Philadelphia resident, Justin Battle, saw Chiu’s work, reached out via Twitter, expressing his admiration. The best part was that he wanted to

1 8 34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

help.

Collaborating with Battle meant building a community separate from the logistics and barriers preventing Philadelphians from receiving the nourishment they need.

Fridges & Family was born: a resource by the people, for the people.

Perhaps you've heard your parents say there’s no such thing as a “free lunch?” At Fridges & Family there is such a thing as “free lunch,” and Chiu wants to be able to provide it by simultaneously combating food waste. The community fridges partner with local grocery stores, bakeries, and other food industries, rescuing food from unnecessarily going to waste. Food waste is not a novel issue—a mobile app even implements systems for people to buy perfectly good unsold food at discounted prices. Chiu and Battle’s part-

nerships have launched Fridges & Family’s organization into a full–fledged sustainable operation, and its impact is incomparable.

When asked to recount a favorite memory, Chiu recalls a day when he and his friends were stocking one of the fridges and someone asked, “How much can I buy? How much does [the food] cost?” Chiu responded, “It’s free!” It's such a simple notion, yet so impactful for Philadelphians experiencing food insecurity at a rate almost 75% greater than the general United States population. The pandemic only exacerbated the plight.

Chiu makes it clear that the work has never been solely about himself, nor has he felt a sense of sole ownership over the non–profit. Mutual aid is inherently community– based, sustained on solidarity.

The locations of the fridges

themselves indicate Chiu and Battle's dedication to the communities that shaped them, bringing the fridges to life with dynamic collaboration. The original location is partnered with The People’s Kitchen, residing at 1149 S. Ninth St., just minutes from Chiu’s childhood home. Two other fridges found homes at 7044 Woodland Ave. and at the 1940 Dorm at Temple University.

The fourth fridge is in Battle's New Jersey hometown at 587 Springdale Ave., E.O. Chiu’s operations have extended far beyond what he ever could’ve dreamed of in his childhood bedroom. As the son of immigrants, he “feel[s] a lot more like a Philadelphian than like an American.” Chiu successfully weaves the soul of the city into the Fridges & Family community, centering real people first, and prioritizing longevity.

DINING GUIDE

People are what make a place whole, and Chiu shares why it's important to him to conscientiously contemplate fridge locations.

“I love [the fridge on S. Ninth St.] so much is because there are so many immigrants and undocumented folks here.

Many can’t get food stamps or can’t cash support from the government if they're undocumented. Others have language barriers too. I don’t even think that I could fill out the food stamps for right now. It’s hard to get these social benefits. It’s awesome to see people having a resource, even if it won’t solve all their problems. But hey, if we can cover half your week’s grocery bills, that’s awesome," Chiu said.

Transcending language barriers and bureaucracy, Fridges & Family flourishes on an incredible word–of–mouth network, continually expanding the population they serve.

At some point or another, you may have seen dozens of students dotting Penn’s campus in brown hoodies, trucker hats, and splashy screen–printed shirts, all emblazoned with the same Fridges & Family logo and slogan. Since coming to Penn, Chiu is unable to visit the fridges as often as he’d like to assess and restock. Now left to delegate tasks to others, he instead finds new ways to bring the non–profit's camaraderie to campus.

Last summer, Chiu and a Philadelphia–based artist, Brice Armond Patterson, collaborate to build a visual story through logo designs for merchandise, to be sold for fundraising. Later, Nick Shellenberger of Camden Printworks, a Fridges & Family volunteer with a career in screen printing, offers to collaborate with Chiu to turn his designs into a reality.

Chiu successfully fosters a network of Fridges & Family supporters at Penn via word– of–mouth and social me-

dia. He promotes the merch through photoshoots stamped with his signature flair for comedy and eccentricity. His most recent, wildly–successful drop of trucker hats, shirts, and tote bags has already made a splash on Locust Walk. Peers and sometimes even strangers can be found donning a hat or sweatshirt promoting Fridges & Family on any given day.

Chiu is serious about the work he does but doesn’t take himself too seriously. His casual nature of self–assured authenticity radiates through his dedication to the people of Philadelphia—a community he considers to be one big extended family. At heart, Chiu is a sports fanatic and lover of all things Philadelphia.

He loves the city as though it birthed him itself.

He has long–term plans to reside in the city and to sustain Fridges & Family. But he also understands the root causes of issues like food insecurity as shortcomings of public policy.

Chiu insightfully acknowledges, “I'm glad to be doing [Fridges & Family], but it’s not [our] responsibility, we have jobs, and we have school.

It’s really the government’s responsibility to take care of us.”

He aspires for Philadelphia public office, and possibly beyond, committing to tackle root stressors of Philly’s public school system, food insecurity, and gentrification among other exacerbators of inequality.

Ultimately, it's the resilience and solidarity of real people— real Philadelphians—that keeps Fridges & Family alive.

The next time you see someone on campus wearing a Fridges & Family shirt or hat, remember that you too can effect change by donating, helping with fridge stocks, buying a shirt, or even just spreading the word.

In the meantime, Fridges & Family will continue to keep it fresh in Philadelphia, fighting food insecurity one fridge at a time.

You can follow the Fridges & Family journey @fridgesandfamily on Instagram or visit their website to find ways to support and get involved.

Photo courtesy of Noel Chacko

Enter 34th Street’s Giveaway!

To enter: • Go to @34stmag on Instagram and find and like this post • Tag a friend in the comments you want to go to brunch with • Have you and your friend both follow @34stmag

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 19

DINING GUIDE

Mood Cafe is the Spot for South Asian Comfort Food

Great service, twists on classic dishes, and more await you at this comfy Baltimore Ave cafe | CONNOR NAKAMURA

L

ocated a couple blocks west of Clark Park, Mood Cafe is small but mighty. Once inside, owners Shanze Faisal and Hasan Bukhari can be heard giving customers detailed recommendations or describing the many unique dishes that the restaurant offers.

Bukhari says that, over the years, the menu has changed constantly, due to repeat customers' unorthodox requests.

But these experiences have helped shape their creative outlook, and many of their menu items can now only be found at their restaurant.

Faisal recently joined the Mood Cafe team, and led the effort to create a new menu, keeping several fan–favorites while also bringing in new twists on familiar dishes. She says that the restaurant has a renewed focus on making

Photo by Connor Nakamura healthy and delicious food accessible to their customers.

In just around an hour at the restaurant, several customers come in to order lassi, a thick drink made with yogurt. From mango to almond pistachio, Mood Cafe boasts an extensive list of twists on the classic South Asian beverage. They even offer a vegan version of the drink, which Hasan says was a request by a customer many years ago.

The rose cardamom lassi is one of Mood Cafe’s unique takes on the refreshment. The cardamom provides a subtle flavor that adds depth to the drink, while not overpowering its characteristic sweetness. Despite its milkshake– like appearance, it has the light and refreshing texture of a smoothie, becoming the perfect vehicle for the slightly fruity and minty flavor. The

20 34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

lassi is the ideal accompaniment to any meal at Mood Cafe, and the richness of the yogurt balances out the spices in the other dishes.

With new main courses being offered at the restaurant, Faisal wants to challenge people’s ideas of what “healthy food” looks like. “There is such a stigma [around] ethnic cooking—that it can't be healthy. Or that a bowl of Caesar salad would be healthier than this bowl of chaat,” she says. Many of Mood’s new menu items focus on healthy plant–based sources of protein like chickpeas and tofu that still provide a delicious and nourishing meal.

Turmeric and fenugreek, spices with numerous health benefits, are also key ingredients in many of their dishes.

Despite being plant–based, the tofu turmeric wrap doesn’t

sacrifice any of its flavor profile. When asked what seasonings are in the tofu, Faisal responds with simply “everything.” The tofu scramble has a delightful crumbly texture, with the flavor of the turmeric, paprika, and all the other spices coming through with each bite. The naan is served warm with a creamy sauce and lettuce, tomatoes, and green onions that provide a nice contrast to the hearty tofu.

Mood Cafe is also well known for their chaat, a comfort dish found in many South Asian homes. The chicken tikka chaat is a contemporary twist on the original dish, pairing warm chicken with a variety of vegetables and toppings, creating a symphony of flavors and textures.

The tender chicken brings a hint of spice to the dish, and pairs well with the sweet

stewed chickpeas and cold potatoes. Crispy pieces made of chickpea flour add a welcome crunch into every bite.

Faisal and Bukhari clearly care about their customers, taking time to answer any questions about the dishes and asking incoming customers how their days are going.

“We say the word ‘vibey’ a lot,” Faisal says. “But that's really what it's about. We just want a place where people feel comfortable.” This is evident from the moment you step into the restaurant, with the warm aroma and intimate setup creating a comforting atmosphere. Their signature “vibey dates” are also a perfect representation of this ethos: a new experience that is also deeply inviting.

The medjool dates with ginger, cinnamon, peanut butter, and dark chocolate have quickly become a fan favorite.

Faisal and Bukhari are excited for the warmer months, where they will be able to offer outdoor seating and host more events for the community. Only a 20 minute walk from campus, Mood Cafe is definitely worth the trek.

TL;DR: Inventive and unconventional takes on Middle Eastern and South Asian dishes just a walk into West Philly away.

Location: 4618 Baltimore Ave. Hours: Closed on Mondays, 12 to 8 p.m.

Tuesdays through Sundays Price: $

DINING GUIDE

Head to Càphê Roasters for Coffee with a Purpose

This Vietnamese coffee roastery and cafe is worth making the trek into Kensington. | ANNA HOCHMAN Photo by Anna Hochman

T

ucked away on a corner in Kensington, a block away from one of the last train stops on the MFL SEPTA line, sits a vibrant and relaxing coffee shop. Càphê Roasters, a Vietnamese cafe and coffee roastery, sells delicious food and drinks in a hip, calming, and welcoming atmosphere.

Càphê Roasters was founded in 2018 by Raymond John, the CEO of 12+, a Philadelphia nonprofit that works to increase equity through partnerships with public high schools, and Thu Pham, a Philadelphia–born Vietnamese American who formerly served as a 12+ college and career advisor. After winning Shift Capital’s Kensington Avenue Storefront Challenge, an initiative that focused on funding the opening of community–driven and sustainable businesses in the neighborhood, Càphê Roasters came to life.

With Kensington being one of Philadelphia's neighborhoods that struggled immensely throughout the opioid crisis, John and Pham hope to use Càphê Roasters as a way to “[revitalize] the neighborhood through coffee." In order to fulfill this mission of social impact, the roastery donates a portion of its profits to 12+. Furthermore, the cafe also directly partners with the organization's partner schools, hiring students from their programs and giving them a safe space that allows for personal and professional development.

But Càphê Roasters' connection to the Philadelphia community doesn't just stop at 12+. By partnering with local retailers like Federal Donuts and Di Bruno Bros., Càphê Roasters' reach

stretches far past Kensington.

The flavors of Càphê Roasters' unique coffee can also be found in collaborations with Weckerly’s Ice Cream and Lil’ Pop Shop, as both stores utilize the roastery's bold espresso beans when crafting Vietnamese coffee–flavored ice cream sandwiches and popsicles, respectively.

Through this, it seems clear that Càphê Roasters is all about community. This core value stems from Vietnamese culture, where the phrase “đi uống cà phê,” or “let’s get coffee,” is synonymous with connecting with the people around you. As another nod to its Vietnamese roots, Càphê Roasters sources the shop’s coffee beans primarily from Vietnam and other Southeast countries such as Thailand. In fact, Càphê Roasters prides itself as Philadelphia's first and only Vietnamese coffee shop, paving the way for diversity in the coffee business with its massive success.

Vietnamese coffee has an incredibly strong and rich flavor, and Càphê Roasters’ drinks lived up to my sky–high expectations.

I tried the egg coffee, an iced Vietnamese espresso topped with a thick custard made of egg and condensed milk, all sprinkled with a dusting of cocoa powder.

Whe sweetness of the custard and the smooth bitterness of the espresso melded together, creating an unforgettable coffee experience. The drink was a sweet and deluxe treat—perfect for a warm morning.

I paired my coffee with the J Street Sando, a breakfast sandwich made up of brioche bread filled with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, tomatoes roasted with pho herbs, and caramelized onion

aioli. The eggs were creamy and fluffy, melting in my mouth and pairing nicely with the cheese. In contrast to the mellow smoothness of the eggs, the aioli was packed with intense and complex flavors while the tomatoes provided a bold acidity to round out the sandwich. These unique flavors were delicately balanced by the sweetness and softness of the slices of brioche, making the sandwich almost addicting.

The cafe itself is bright and colorful, with spacious seating and light flooding in through big windows. R&B tunes play softly in the background as friends chat and laugh over coffee and sandwiches. Standing in stark contrast to the nearby El tracks, this roast-

ery provides an inviting environment where people can lounge around and feel at home. Through this, Càphê Roasters clearly lives up to its mission—it brings together members of the Kensington neighborhood in a welcoming space that fosters connection and community, all while serving up high–quality coffee and delicious Vietnamese meals.

TL;DR: Go to Càphê Roasters for great eats, great coffee, and great people.

Location: 3400 J St. G1 Hours: Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays: Closed; Saturdays and Sundays: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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DINING GUIDE

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DINING GUIDE

Stop By Eggcellent Café for Mind–Scrambling Brunch Eggcellent Cafe offers up sunny–side–up meals for all of your brunch–related needs. | NAIMA SMALL

L

ocated in Philadelphia’s charming Old City just a short SEPTA ride away from Penn's campus, Eggcellent Café offers an Asian–owned casual brunch and breakfast spot that offers up fresh yet decadent bites every day of the week. Founded in late 2019

by Daniel Anggrianto, Eggcellent Café has quickly become a popular brunch spot for good reason.

Surrounded by other small shops and cafés, Eggcellent’s bright, egg– yolk–yellow door immediately stood out as I made my way down the street.

The restaurant was busy and bustling during Sunday brunch, with a short wait time for a table when we first arrived.

The restaurant itself is small, with tightly packed tables in a single room.

It didn’t feel crowded, though, as large windows illuminated the space. Inside, the minimalist, rustic decor is interspersed with cheery splashes of yellow, reflecting the playful nature of Eggcellent Café’s pun–titled brunch offerings, such as the "Eggspectation" brunch bowl or the "Eggsplosion" burger.

Wood–paneled floors and walls, hang-

Photo by Andrew Yang ing lights, and lush green plants add to the restaurant’s welcoming aesthetic.

Eggcellent Café emphasizes its commitment to providing customers with healthy brunch options that are affordable and high quality. According to their website, the café strives to “provide customers with an exciting and very different dining experience than what they can find anywhere else.”

It took a moment for a waiter to come over to our table, but an extensive food menu and a separate beverage menu was soon placed before us. Their beverage menu included unique coffee drinks, tea lattes, organic smoothies, and a selection of special Korean teas such as the citron yuzu herbal tea.

Despite the diverse and creative assortment of ingredients, ranging from tricolor quinoa to house–made basil pesto, everything was under $15.

We ordered the Clucker Benny, an eggs Benedict dish that swapped out the typical Canadian bacon for fried chicken, and the maple almond granola bowl that had fresh fruit, yogurt, and crisp granola. The food came quickly, and was arranged carefully with clear

attention to aesthetics.

To put it simply, the Clucker Benny was delectable. It was plated similarly to most traditional eggs Benedict dishes, just with fried chicken—two unbroken poached eggs with creamy hollandaise sauce placed over crispy fried chicken and perfectly toasted English muffins. Breaking the egg and seeing a yolk cooked to runny perfection was extremely satisfying to watch and taste. The mouthwatering fried chicken paired well with the rich hollandaise sauce and soft poached egg, and the side of breakfast potatoes were crisp and seasoned to perfection. Just for $13, it was a sizable enough portion that I could easily share it with another person.

The maple almond granola bowl was good as well, but didn’t stand out as much. It was plated beautifully, with hearty granola on one side and strawberries, blueberries, and banana on the other, all over a tart, creamy yogurt.

The strawberries and blueberries were deliciously fresh and the granola was a nice mix of sweet and salty, but there were certainly more standout sweet op-

tions on the menu, such as the berry cheesecake French toast that I would have liked to try in retrospect. It was also a small portion, serving as more of a light appetizer than an item you would order as a fulfilling meal.

All in all, I would be happy to visit Eggcellent Café again, especially as the sheer volume of menu items ensures a different experience each time. If you're looking for recommendations, order anything that has eggs—after all, they're Eggcellent's namesake. The good service, fresh ingredients, cozy atmosphere, and low prices solidify it as a brunch restaurant with a lot of potential to be a regularly visited spot. If you’re looking for a casual dining experience that still has fun and interesting twists on basic brunch options, set a date to go to Eggcellent Café sometime soon.

TL;DR: Visit Eggcellent Café for healthy, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing brunch.

Location: 113 Chestnut St. Hours: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. every day Price: $ MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 23

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DINING GUIDE

Ocean Harbor Is the Chinese Restaurant of Your Dreams This authentic spot in Chinatown serves up dim sum, affordable entrees, and loads of appetizers to try. | EMMA MARKS Photo by Andrew Yang

T

ucked away in the heart of Philly's Chinatown, Ocean Harbor is an incredible Cantonese style restaurant located at 1023 Race St. The bright yellow sign hanging above the front entrance catches my eye from across the street, as it stands out against the sleek, modern grey tiling that makes up the bottom half of the exterior surrounding the doorway.

Beautiful red carpeting with swirls of gold covers the entire floor, and grand golden pillars line the room. I walk up the stairs from the front entrance to the check–in booth and see, behind the counter, a stunning red calendar with metallic gold writing on it. The woman behind the front desk seems busy, but seats me immediately. As she leads me to my table, I take note of the fact that the interior looks more like a banquet hall than a typical restaurant. There are

square– and circular–shaped tables draped in white tablecloths and metal–framed chairs at each one. I also observe what appears to be a stage in the back of the restaurant, framed by golden curtains.

Sparkling chandeliers hang from the ceiling and there are TVs and speakers all around the room. It seems like a large party could be hosted here, and it adds to the feeling of excitement and energy despite there only being two other families present. I opted to come for dinner on a weeknight because I’ve heard it’s packed on weekends, and I feel good about my decision.

I’m seated at one of the square tables in the middle of the room and a friendly waitress comes over to ask if I want anything to drink. She places a metal teapot on the table and brings water over very quickly. When I pick up the menu I’m excited to see

such a wide variety of options: They have everything from a beef flank hot pot to shark’s fin soup.

Almost all of the main dishes on the menu are affordable (under $15 to $20), and their dim sum gets rave reviews, but I’m in the mood for a diverse array of appetizers. I ordered wonton soup ($2.95), egg rolls ($2.50), spring rolls ($3.00), and steamed shrimp dumplings ($2.75).

Waiting for my appetizers and soup to come, I see the back corner of the restaurant adorned with a shining golden folding partition. There are also tanks with live crabs and eels. Just as I’m starting to space out, listening to the conversations and laughter from the groups eating near me, one of the TVs turns on and starts playing sounds that can only be described as “game show noises,” bringing me back to the present moment and filling me with excitement and an-

ticipation for the food that is on its way.

The first item to arrive is my soup. Two large wontons float in a translucent broth, garnished with scallions. The soup’s temperature is just right: not too hot, not too cold. The broth itself is salty and delicious, and the wontons are doughy and flavorful.

It’s a very good portion for what it costs, too.

Next come the egg rolls and spring rolls. The egg rolls are fairly large and have a thick, fried pastry on the outside, with hot shredded vegetables on the inside. The spring rolls are similar in appearance to the egg rolls but different in terms of content.

The outside shell is thinner and flakier, and they’re filled with delicious shredded pork that is briny and juicy.

Lastly come the steamed shrimp dumplings. There are four of them, and they almost

look like little seashells. The outside consists of a wrapper that’s white, noodle–like, and chewy.

I can see the light pink shrimp peeking through the wrapper on the inside. They taste super fresh, and I can detect a hint of sesame oil. While the wrapper is sticky, the shrimp themselves are soft and well–cooked. After I finish eating and pay the check, the waitress brings over orange slices and fortune cookies—it’s a perfect way to end the meal.

Not only is the delicious food at Ocean Harbor inexpensive, it’s also easy to get to from Penn’s campus. You can simply hop on SEPTA at 40th Street and take the Market–Frankford Line to 11th Street. It’s open from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, so there’s plenty of opportunities to check out this lovely dining experience.

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 25

DINING GUIDE

The Charm of Chinatown's Longtime Restaurants A deep dive into some of Chinatown’s oldest eateries—save room for dessert! | CINDY ZHANG

I

have a habit of untying my shoelaces as I ride the elevator to my dorm, a byproduct of growing up in an Asian household. Rule number one: Take off your shoes when you enter someone’s house. This is a nod to the sanctity of the home, and the physical act of removing one’s shoes represents a mental shift from presenting oneself to the outside world to stripping away those layers.

Although I don’t feel the same urge to untie my shoelaces every time I’m in Chinatown, something about it feels like the unfiltered experience of being at home. The longtime restaurants in Chinatown form the backbone of the neighborhood’s culture, with their remarkable flavors and reasonable prices, and I’ve always been amazed by the never–ending flurry of activity at places like E Mei Restaurant, Xi’an Sizzling Woks, Ocean City, and Spice C, despite their minimal use of digital marketing and even more minimal decorations. It made me wonder: What’s the secret

Photo courtesy of Ethan Wu

ingredient that’s been driving the long–lasting success of these restaurants? I began my investigation at a foodie’s first stop in Philadelphia’s Chinatown: Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House.

Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House

Snuggled between Red Kings 2—a Penn favorite for late–night karaoke—and the Ten Ten Race Street apartment complex, Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House is a popular pit stop for both Penn

Photos courtesy of Andrew Yang

26 34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

students and Chinatown residents. Its storefront sign is a bold royal blue, a stark contrast to the predominantly warm color palette of Chinatown, but its reputation precedes this eye–catching display. Known for its fresh homemade noodles, this 19–year–old restaurant has earned its fair share of accolades over the years, all of which are proudly displayed on the first wall one sees upon entering.

Food is often joked to be the love language in Asian households, but you can really taste the care put into its dishes, the most popular being the beef brisket hand drawn noodles. This dish is made with tender beef, chewy noodles, cilantro to refresh the palate, and white radish, which adds an unexpected crunchy texture; chili oil comprises the finishing touches to the noodle soup. It’s obvious why there isn’t an empty table in sight—the flavors are simply exquisite.

Mrs. Chen Yan Yun, who co–owns Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House with her husband, tells me how she’s watched each generation of Penn students flock to their restaurant. She explains that their noodles and dumplings are all made from scratch,

which has made them a standout in the restaurant scene. In fact, it’s not unlikely to spot a queue extending from Nan Zhou’s door, a feature that's persisted from its inception in 2003.

and relocate from 927 Race St. to 1022 Race St. to accommodate the high demand.

Their reasons for frequenting Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House are threefold: delicious flavors, familiar tastes, and a genuine fondness of the restaurant owners.

Chen explains that the way people often hear about their restaurant is through word of mouth—customers will recommend the place to their friends and family—which makes the restaurant feel like a gathering place for one big family. Indeed, the atmosphere is lively this Saturday morning, and I revel in the patrons' animated chatter.

Although Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House excels in its various noodle soups,

Photo courtesy of Cindy Zhang

Photo courtesy of Andrew Yang

Customers, both old and new, fill every crevice of the restaurant. Chen’s face lights up in recognition of one of their longtime customers, an elderly couple who’s watched their restaurant expand to three times its original size

its pan–fried dumplings, scallion pancakes, and stir–fried noodles are notable must–try dishes, too. My appetite having been satiated by the beef brisket hand drawn noodles, I set out to find some classic Chinese desserts.

DINING GUIDE

Heung Fa Chun sential ingredient in tradi- vid’s Mai Lai Wah—have tional Chinese medicine. either permanently or Sweet House Located in the heart of Chinatown, Heung Fa Chun Sweet House has occupied the exact same location for the past 33 years, and its bold mahogany storefront is hard to miss.

Like Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House, its homemade goods are a huge selling point. Heung Fa Chun Sweet House offers an array of traditional Chinese breakfast foods—both savory and sweet—such as steamed buns, sticky rice dumplings, sesame balls, and tofu–based dishes.

Mr. Ren, the dessert shop’s owner, tells me that tourists from all over the United States, especially Texas and Los Angeles, come to Philly’s Chinatown specifically for his desserts.

Typically consumed warm, well–made bean curd jelly boasts a smooth texture— the one I had melted satisfyingly in my mouth.

There’s a small seating area near the window, but the majority of its customers order takeout (usually multiple servings to bring home to loved ones). Even so, Ren fondly recalls the longtime customers whom he’s watched progress through various stages of their lives, from elementary school students to now–married adults. He finds that customers who dislike his food will make no effort to hide it, but the same goes for those who love it. He rattles off a couple of his customers’ usual orders, and his atten-

Photo courtesy of Cindy Zhang

Heung Fa Chun Sweet House preserves a small piece of Chinese history in its signature dish: bean curd jelly, or "douhua."

Invented during the Han dynasty in an attempt to create food that would bestow immortality, its heavenly, albeit unconventional, taste has been affirmed on Yelp (where the dessert shop has earned a solid 4.5 stars). It can be savory or sweet—the sweet version is usually adorned with toppings such as red bean, peanuts, and sago pearls, and drizzled with syrup made from ginger, an es-

tion to detail reflects the perception in Chinese culture of food as a means of bonding. Funnily enough, the Chinese equivalent of “How are you?” is “Have you eaten yet?”—a testament to the social significance of food.

Passersby form a large proportion of his customers now, as the combination of COVID–19 and rise in anti–Asian racism has taken a toll on the business in recent years. In fact, many of Chinatown’s distinctive restaurants— such as Rangoon, Imperial Inn, TT Skewer, and Da-

temporarily shut down in recent years.

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to detect the quaint dessert shop’s charm. Its design is minimalistic, directing one’s attention to its elaborate menu and colorful desserts. Like Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House, Heung Fa Chun Sweet House shows a preference for substance over style and executes it flawlessly.

The charm of Chinatown’s longtime restaurants lies in the care and love put into the dishes that their owners have perfected over the years.

Their ability to bring authentic Chinese cuisine to Philly’s residents—and get them to keep coming back—while relying mostly on word of mouth and online reviews have made them anomalies in the

Photos courtesy of Cindy Zhang

restaurant scene. There’s nothing like a hearty meal to make a place feel like home, and these irreplaceable purveyors of Chinese food do just that. Walking into these restaurants is akin to entering a bustling

household in the midst of Chinese New Year preparations—you don’t know what to expect, but you’re bound to leave with a full stomach. Except this time, you should probably keep your shoes on.

Catering · Delivery · Takeout 4040 Locust St. pattayarestaurant.com

MARCH 29, 2022 34TH STREET MAGAZINE 27

DINING GUIDE

SHAILA LOTHE HOMETOWN: Richmond, Va. MAJOR:

Political science and economics with a minor in Hispanic studies

ACTIVITIES:

Penn Appétit, Wharton Undergraduates in Public Policy, Penn Democrats, Social Impact Advisory Board, TA for OIDD 290, Behavioral Economics Research

Meet the senior passionate about public policy, Argentina, and (vegetarian) food. | VIDUR SAIGAL 34th STREET: Tell us a little bit about your work with Penn Appétit.

SHAILA LOTHE: Penn Appétit is the largest student food organization on campus.

It's really just a hub of people who are interested in talking about food. It is definitely the biggest thing that I've been involved with on campus related to food; being on the board for two years was a big commitment.

Last year, I was doing more of the work internally within the club. The

year before that, I had a larger responsibility to the club, as I was assigned to run [the website]. It was a really fun experience, and I was able to get some good leadership experience.

I was able to manage a team of 16 people.

One thing that really stuck out to me during my time at Penn Appétit was the impact of the diversity here at Penn. Many people fall in love with food because of the cultural significance it can have.

Thus, when people write about food, they

28 34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

tend to write about culture. I found it really fun to read about people's heritage and families—all of that comes out when people are talking about food.

STREET: Tell us about your food adventures while abroad in Argentina.

SL: Food during my time abroad in Argentina was interesting because I'm a vegetarian. I believe Argentina, at the time, was the No. 2 per capita beef consumer in the world with No. 1 being Uruguay, which is

right next door. So it was definitely a challenge to be a vegetarian there at times. However, when I was there, I found food as a way to connect with the local people. In Argentina, I was living with a host family, and every night we would have dinner together. Having a space to connect with people over food and talk about recipes that I like to make with my host mom made my experience abroad really fulfilling. Ultimately, I just see food as a way to connect

with people. Actually, Penn Abroad made fun of me because all of my blog posts about my trip abroad were food– related.

STREET: How has being vegetarian changed your relationship with food?

SL: I've actually been vegetarian forever. For me, it's more of a cultural thing. I don't think of it as being weird in any way.

However, I obviously know there's a bunch of stuff that I'm probably not going to try and will never try. It

DINING GUIDE

just feels normal to me, but I get that it feels very different to some people.

STREET: Out of all your extracurricular activities, which would you say has had the biggest impact on your experience at Penn?

SL: I would say that probably being president of Wharton Undergraduates in Public Policy was a really interesting experience. The year before I was in charge of the club, it had actually been affiliated with Wharton directly, the now–defunct Wharton Public Policy Initiative. When I took over, it was really in a time of transition, and we had to rebuild the club from scratch without that Wharton sponsorship and the institutional support it had.

COVID–19 also complicated the process of rebuilding the club. I was in charge of the club starting in August 2020, and it was a really big challenge, but also something I'm really grateful to have experienced.

STREET: Any memories with food and friends on campus?

SL: During COVID–19, in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, we had a friend group that ended up going out a lot more. There were so many days of outdoor happy hours and going out in the middle of the winter with blankets and giant thick socks to try to not freeze.

Philadelphia’s indoor dining [scene] was shut down, so we didn’t really have an opportunity to experience food in the traditional sense. Honestly, just going out with a blanket and stuff is something that's wild to me now. I don't think I'll ever forget freezing under a heat lamp in 20–degree weather just because we all wanted to eat dinner together.

STREET: How have you found balance in everything you do?

SL: When I was coming into Penn, I tried a bunch of things that looked interesting to me, even if I didn't have a ton of experience in a certain thing and even if it wasn't something that I thought I would like. By trying a bunch of things, I was able to find and keep doing the things that were important to me. This helped me to be happy and find the right group of people to be around.

I would say that if you're actually doing things that make you happy, then the balance isn't that hard to achieve.

However, a lot of people get overwhelmed and stressed when they do a bunch of things they don't actually care about. So, find things that you care about and stick with them.

STREET: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned during your time at Penn?

SL: I would say just follow your own path. There are a lot of external pressures to do certain things depending on certain groups. It can feel like all of your friends are doing something or that everyone's going to one place or everyone's trying to get an internship at a specific firm. I would say to do the things that you truly want to do and block out all of the noise around you. Don't do what everyone else is doing; do what actually makes you happy. I feel like I saw the value of this with my internship abroad my first year. It felt like everyone was trying to do preprofessional stuff their first summer. They were all staying on campus doing research or working a professional internship. But for me, going abroad that first summer really taught me a

lot, and it was something that I really wanted to do. That’s just kind of my own example of why I think people should follow what they're truly interested in instead of what may seem like the path of least resistance.

STREET: What is some important food advice you

have for students at Penn?

SL: Don't stick to the restaurants just around Penn.

Make sure to explore farther west and throughout other parts of Philadelphia. The best food is not directly on campus.

STREET: What's next for you after Penn?

SL: I'm most likely taking a year off to travel, and then I'll be returning to Bain & Company to consult the year after that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

LIGHTNING ROUND STREET: Last song you listened to?

SL: “Out Of My Head” by Charli XCX ft. Tove Lo and ALMA. STREET: Last thing you cooked?

SL: Pasta with these weird mushrooms I found at the farmers' market.

STREET: Favorite restaurant near campus?

SL: Taco Taco.

STREET: Death row meal?

SL: Mac and cheese.

STREET: Favorite study spot on campus?

SL: Wharton Academic Research Building.

STREET: There are two types of people at Penn …

SL: People who study in libraries, and people who don’t.

STREET: And you are?

SL: I don't think I've been into a library voluntarily since my first year.

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DINING GUIDE

Bring Everyone Back to the Table How The Community Grocer is revolutionizing the solution to food insecurity as we know it | ALANA BESS

T

hree winters ago, Eli Moraru (C '22) and Alexandre Imbot (C '20) stood on a street corner not far from campus. They weren’t alone, waiting along with the lucky company of a few hundred USDA food boxes.

But nobody wanted their apples, chicken, onions, and cheese. Cars sped by with kids piled in back, arms hanging out the windows, and seatbelts nowhere to be found. No matter how widely Eli and Alex smiled, no matter how helpful their partners from the Resident Action Committee 2 (RAC2) were, the people of the neighborhoods of Grays Ferry and Tasker–Morris— only 1.3 miles from Penn— didn’t want what they had for them. Despite most of them being on food stamps, receiv-

Illustration by Devdyuti Paul ing more from the government didn’t appeal to the people on the other side of the street.

But, Eli and Alex wondered, if they needed government help to buy these exact ingredients, why didn’t they want them?

And so, The Community Grocer (TCG) was born. “Our first question was: What are people’s relationships with their food stamps?” Alex says. Why were people frequenting the corner stores that only sold chips and soda? The two friends began talking to anyone who would respond. “We investigated public data and found that most of the neighborhood was considered a food desert,” Eli explains.

Ninety percent of the people in the area wanted healthier food options but were met with too many obstacles to find the food they needed. “They didn’t

30 34TH STREET MAGAZINE MARCH 29, 2022

cook, didn’t have the time, or didn’t even have working kitchens. There were so many reasons why they couldn’t use fresh ingredients, no matter how easily or cheaply they could be found,” Eli says. They needed everything ready to go.

So Eli and Alex embarked on their journey: to provide hot, healthy, and accessible meals to everyone who needed them.

The Washington, D.C., natives realized that almost everyone there had EBT cards.

“Almost 2,500 individuals had food stamp cards, and that wasn’t even including the families who had them, too,” Eli says. They reached out to the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic to figure out how to use food stamps to pay for and make the hot, healthy meals that were so needed.

They found a solution: Why couldn’t they design a store where the front part sells meal kit ingredients and the back part, or the area right next door, is where someone can prepare said meal? What you receive is your recipe, and you only need to take a few steps before it’s cooked to perfection. Eli and Alex wanted to create a community kitchen, run by a local nonprofit, designed to cook the meals people are bringing them—the meals TCG sells. “And that’s radical in this country,” Alex sighs.

“Within the existing operational footprint of the traditional corner store,” Alex says, “we repurposed the layout to meet the federal requirements of a retailer.” Over half of their inventory had to be staple items in order to utilize food stamps,

which practically meant just checking off the different sections of the all–too–famous food pyramid from those middle school days. “For a corner store, if you really just want to push Doritos and Pepsi, then you only need to have a few cans of peas, sausages, and corn that never go bad and are always for sale hidden away in a corner,” Alex explains. After seeing how so many other places were able to skirt the rules, Eli and Alex decided to push their luck navigating the loopholes as well.

“Everywhere I look in Philly there’s opportunity for improvement,” Alex says. “As a country, we throw away one–third of our food. To tell me that we can’t provide access to healthy food to everyone … I’m not going to take that,” he says. “Fighting food insecurity in Philadel-

DINING GUIDE

phia has been really stagnant,” Eli continues. With so much money being thrown at solving this issue, the solutions have stayed the same: Soup kitchens and handouts won’t work for much longer. “People want an empowering dining experience, and when someone’s pride is the last thing they have, they don’t want to get in line for their next meal of the day,” he says.

One–third of Philadelphians will be receiving food stamps this year, and “it’s just bonkers,” Alex says. There are more food stamps than ever in the United States but not enough places where people can spend them. “It just took a new perspective to see that we’re doing something wrong here, and I don’t think either of us are geniuses, but we were there to ask some questions and then work to find the answers,” Eli says. “Allowing customers to retain their pride is absolutely critical to their experience,” Alex says. “We’re providing the agency and accessibility to people to be able to eat better at a cheaper price,” Eli adds.

It doesn’t come easily, though. Real estate problems pop up everywhere they look.

“There is no commercial space anywhere,” Alex says. Fundraising and planning become that much more difficult when these densely populated neighborhoods block the road to building TCG up to its potential.

“These neighborhoods were built so there would be no economic flow in there,” Eli says.

“They’re reliant on outside places to spend their money, and so no wealth has accumulated within the community.”

But community, as the name suggests, is at the core of everything TCG stands for. Everything is by the community and for the community, with familiar faces at every step of the way. “Nothing is extracted to Frito–Lay or Walmart. Those extra dollars stay here and go back into youth programming, nutritional education, and fi-

nancial planning,” Alex says.

It takes an army to reimagine nutritional systems in the way Eli and Alex want to, and they make sure to tackle their

assistance, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work for the community until it’s officially up and running,” he explains.

It doesn’t only have to be Eli

ilege to do it,” Eli says. People can tap into Penn’s educational resources and grant systems to secure funding for underprivileged communities. “My first

Photo courtesy of Eli Moraru goal both inside and outside the kitchen. Beyond the logistics of running TCG, Eli and Alex also make the effort to join the community on a personal level. “We’ve spent Father’s Days and Thanksgivings within their communities, and we wouldn’t want to have it any other way,” Eli says. “We plan on holding cooking classes in the store on the weekends and bringing personal trainers into the park to teach the kids, ‘Hey, this is what it means to work out to be healthy, and it’s fun,’” he says. As we talk, Alex reminds Eli about the sports leagues they’re attending soon.

“Catch us reffing in the zebra stripes and whistles,” he laughs.

Recently, Alex and Eli led a trip, along with RAC2, that brought kids from the community to Washington, D.C. to visit National Museum of African American History and Culture and try some neighborhood food trucks to experience certain foods for the first time.

“Hearing the kids say, ‘Eli, street corn is amazing!’ is great, because we get to give these kids new experiences in a new place, helping them do something they’ve never done before,” Eli says. “Obviously our main model is TCG and nutritional

and Alex who are making these efforts with Penn’s neighboring communities. We can do our part, too. “Because we left Penn’s bubble, we realized [these communities] need change. And you know what, Penn students have the resources and the priv-

thing I’d want to say to the Penn student body is to leave campus. See what Philadelphia has to offer,” he says. “Most Penn students wouldn’t walk in there, and we found a family.” They could also use more hands–on help alongside their

new interns from Penn’s Nutrition Education Service Team.

“So many kids are great at PowerPoint here, so we need them to update our slide decks,” they laugh. “Reach out to us, and we promise we’ll find something for you to do,” Alex says with a smile. "And we'll never say no to donations either," Eli adds.

They share a common dream: to bring TCG to every community that needs one. There are countless neighborhoods that need access to fresh ingredients.

“There’s no reason we can’t be the ones to bring everyone back to the table,” they say. “Except for New York, because they’ve got bodegas,” Alex jokes.

And so, three years later, Eli and Alex are no longer alone when they stand on the street corner that once ignored them and their boxes. Instead, they’re greeted with smiles, claps on the back, and invitations to someone’s next baseball game.

Everyone around them is a part of their new community: The Community Grocer.

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