This past Saturday, I found myself in Philadelphia with a friend and a couple of hours to kill. We finished our morning activity and weren’t quite yet ready to venture back to Bryn Mawr, PA. So, with a couple of empty stomachs, we set out to find a place to grab a bite to eat.
We searched on Google Maps for a few minutes before stumbling upon a place called Middle Child. The name struck us as interesting and after a quick scan of the menu, we decided to walk to the mysterious restaurant.
When we arrived at 248 S 11th Street in Center City, we were greeted by a lovely, and quite aesthetic, store front. The name of the restaurant was proudly painted on the crisp exterior in a fitting shade of Kelly green. To our surprise, and perhaps delight, there was a line almost out the door. A good sign, right?
As we waited in the queue, we perused the menu and narrowed our choices. From classic reubens to a vegan “Phoagie,” there was not a shortage of choices. My dining partner, the self-declared splitting-scheme queen, suggested that we choose two sandwiches and split them.
Our first choice was the Shopsin Club: house turkey, sweet pickles, avocado, bacon, cranberry-miso mayo and lettuce on ciabatta. After much debate on our second sandwich, we settled on the So Long Sal: salami, prosciutto cotto, onion, sharp provolone, house dressing, artichoke spread and arugula on a seeded hoagie roll.
After placing our order and waiting for a seat, two spots at the counter opened up and we quickly
perched on the stools to fill the vacancy. Our front row seats were the perfect choice. With less than an hour to closing time, we were offered two great dill pickles on the house, and the man seated next to us even got a free cookie.
As we sat at the counter we took in the buzzing, and somewhat eclectic, nature of the joint. From
string lights tacked to the ceiling to quirky posters and painted skateboards, there was certainly not a lack of personality at Middle Child.
Before we received our order, we noticed that a sold-out sign had been taped to the front door. We had made it just in time. Within a few minutes, our sandwiches appeared, and we got to work.
While we both agreed that the So Long Sal was a great take on a classic Italian sandwich, the real star of the show was the Shopsin Club. The unique cranberry-miso mayo and thick-cut turkey were the perfect complements and made the spinoff club sandwich truly stand out. As we sat and enjoyed our lunch, we talked about how surprised we were that we hadn’t heard of this place sooner. In fact, we realized we hadn’t heard much about any Philadelphia restaurants at all. With full stomachs and a desire to find some more Philly haunts, we made a pact: this would not be the last time we did this.
Our successful adventure serves as a reminder to Villanova students that there is so much waiting for them beyond campus. Exploring a city by exploring their food is often one of the best ways to get to know a place, and Philadelphia is no exception. So cheers to Middle Child and cheers to exploring Philly…one bite at a time.
