Hershel's East Side Deli

The Reading Terminal Market is home to many delis where customers can find all kinds of delicious lunch meats and order life changing sandwiches. My absolute favorite of these delis is Hershel’s. Hershel’s EastSide Deli is a classic Jewish deli, serving hand-carved pastrami, corned beef, and turkey sandwiches and authentic homemade Jewish specialties.

  

If someone were to ask me where to go in the Market and I only could give one selection, I would choose Hershel’s. It is my consistent go to restaurant in the Market because they flat out make good food. 

 Reubens...yum

The reubens are so good they are not actually to die for, they are to kill for. I have only gotten the corned beef reuben, but pastrami, brisket and turkey are available too. The sandwich breads are great and it is very enjoyable to watch the Russian dressing smeared between the monstrosity of a sandwich. The meats are cut fresh right on the board in front of you, and they do not hold back, there is a hefty amount of meat. If you are able to finish a whole sandwich then you must have packed a serious appetite.

The one down side of Hershel’s is that sometimes the line is long and can take about 10 minutes on a busy day. The staff pumps out sandwiches fast so it is never to long of a wait. A hidden secret (at least it seems this way), is that there is seating in the back and you can sit down and enjoy your food. Seats always seem to be open yet a lot of people try to hunt down for chairs in the main seating pit (of death). 

 Greatest Sandwich Ever?

My favorite sandwich is the corn beef special. I have had all the meats from Hershel’s and I’m convinced the corned beef is the best they have.  The corn beef special is loaded with corned beef, swiss, russian dressing, and cole slaw. The slaw seals the deal; mixed with the Russian and the hot corned beef it makes an amazing combo. Please order this!

I highly recommend Hershel’s. They pack your plate with food for a reasonable price and it is delicious. Hershel’s embodies everything the Reading Terminal Market is about, it screams local and packs big flavor. If you go to the Market…go to Hershel’s. 

The Original Turkey and Meuller Chocolate Co.

The Original Turkey

After eating at The Original Turkey I had a What About Bob? moment as seen above. If you feel like you need a Thanksgiving Tryptophan fix in August, then head down to the Market immediately. The fresh roasted hand carved turkey will surely make you forget about that guy at the Greyhound Station awkwardly asking you for bus fare to Buffalo so he can be with his wife in labor (If you don’t know what I’m talking about walk past the Greyhound Station next to the market and you'll get a big ole' dose of crazy).  

   
It doesn’t stop at turkey, the menu features… “Steaming hot stuffing, fragrant with celery, onions and spices. Tangy cranberry sauce. Thick slices of freshly baked bread. Giant spoonfuls of real mashed potatoes.  Homestyle gravy, simmering hot.”

The Turkey Steak

I didn’t go to The Original Turkey for one of there many delicious gourmet sandwiches, but I sure left with one in my gut. It was hard to pass over the Dinner Sandwich, packed with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I decided to be daring and stare the Philly Cheesesteak gods in the eyes and chow down on the Turkey Steak. The Turkey Steak had no steak but the delicious turkey was topped with roasted peppers and onions, chipotle and provolone. It was great; I would absolutely recommend the sandwich to anyone. My only qualm with the Turkey Steak is that, the turkey was not served piping hot, it was a little cold. It threw me off a bit, but the cheese and chipotle sauce threw it all back together. The sandwich can’t be finished in one sitting, I highly recommend splitting it with a beloved friend.

Mac Attack

For the side I went with a solid mac and cheese choice, something to weigh me down a little more. I got a half-cup for $4, which easily could have been lunch by itself. The macaroni noodles were giant, didn’t make anything taste better I’m sure but I found it remarkable. I’m not a huge mac and cheese guy but this stuff changed my whole perspective on the food. 

Mueller Chocolate Co.

For desert I splurged on Mueller Chocolate Co. This confectionery market marvel makes really good sweets. Customers can try everything from truffles and fudge to cotton candy flavored rock candy or chocolate molded like an ear. I highly recommend the sea salt caramels; I became a better person after eating them. This cute little corner spot in the Market is great for gift ideas and definitely won’t disappoint the pallet.

Olympia Gyro and Flying Monkey

Last night the wife and I made it a movie night! For the millionth time we broke our rule and watched a movie we both have seen before. We watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” which ends up being a perfect segue into reviewing Reading Terminal Market’s Olympia Gyro.

Olympia Gyro

I have walked past Olympia Gyro dozens of times but have never stopped in to say hello to their Athenian goddess-like gyros. Olympia is situated nearest the entrance on 12^th street and Arch. One of the biggest draws to Olympia, is that it has seating available to dine in and is located in a less trafficked aisle of the Market, giving the eater a more peaceful grazing session.

Unlike a main character in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” I eat meat. However, my wife, who dined with me at Olympia has never had lamb because she refuses to eat baby animals. Lamb is usually the primary meat in gyros, thus my wife has never had a gyro. One of the best parts about the Market is that most places will give you free samples if you ask. The sample of the gyro meat convinced my wife to give a gyro a chance! Olympia Gyro’s meat consists of a beef and lamb hybrid, delivered to us from the top of Mount Olympus by a Zeus lightening bolt.

The Gyro

My wife and I ordered the gyro sandwich and were very pleased. The gyro consisted of gyro meat, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce (sour cream, cucumbers and garlic dressing) on pita bread. There was plenty of meat on the sandwich, and was not greasy like the local gyro carts serve throughout the city. The meat and tzatziki, make the gyro and were the dominating the flavors. The gyro would absolutely fill you up and it took less than a minute to make, before I blinked a gyro was in front of me. No lines and immediately receiving your food is great but if I am being 100% truthful, $8.25 for a gyro is steep when comparing it to the many street carts that offer gyros for less than $5. 

Operation Dessert Storm

Flying Monkey

My wife cannot leave the market without dessert…it cannot be done. Finally we stopped at the Flying Monkey to get their famous whoopie pies. I would describe a whoopie as a hand-held cake sandwich. I ordered the Classic Whoopie, which consists of two round mounds of moist chocolate cake sandwiched between a delicious cream cheese based filling, very similar to the icing one would put on a carrot cake. We purchased a S’mores Bar as well only because we needed to reach the $5 credit card limit. The S’mores Bar was a hybrid of a brownie and a s’more, the bar was layered with marshmallow, graham crackers and chocolate chips, it changed my life. 

I would absolutely go back to the Flying Monkey and explore the menu further. Olympia Gyro is worth the visit, but I won’t be mad if you skip it.

Beck's Cajun Cafe: The Train Wreck and Alligator Sausage Po' Boy

It was my 26th birthday and I decided that it was necessary to gorge. The Reading Terminal Market is the perfect locale to belly up the feeding troth and carry around a basketball sized food baby for a solid six hours.

Months back, while showing my friend around the Market, we tried a free sample of gumbo. It was spicy and delicious, and that sample nearly served its purpose by convincing me to buy a full cup. This gumbo makin’ joint is called Beck’s Cajun Café and this will be the first “Market Marvel” I will review.

Beck’s sits smack dab in the middle of the Market and offers take out plus a breakfast menu. Customer’s can sit down at one of the ten stools to order or carryout to the disastrously crowded public seating area.

 

Chef Bill Beck creates “exotic, flavorful and spicy Cajun/Creole favorites…inspired by the rich cultures, people and history of New Orleans and the Mississippi River Delta.” Beck’s menu is littered with po’ boys and gumbos. A po’ boy is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana served on French bread. According to folklore, po’ boys are named after the poor workers of the 1929 New Orleans streetcar strike. A restaurateur and former streetcar worker pledged to feed his brethren during their strike and referred to the workers as “po’ boys.”

The Train Wreck

I dined in with my best friend Adam and we proposed a handshake agreement to share the other half of our sandwich with each other.  Adam ordered the Train Wreck Po’ Boy, ingredients: Andouille sausage, steak, salami, American cheese, and onion. I ordered the Alligator Sausage Po’ Boy, ingredients: caramelized onions, peppers, creole mustard, and alligator sausage.

The Train Wreck, or the “Cajun cheesesteak,” was very good, almost causing Adam to break his handshake agreement and eat it all for himself. Beck’s Train Wreck did not skimp on the meat and every bite had melted American cheese running throughout. 

I was expecting the Train Wreck to have a little more spiciness than it did, I fixed that issue with some hot sauce. In my opinion the hot sauce took the po’ boy to a whole new level.

Alligator Sausage Po' Boy

The Alligator Sausage Po’ Boy was simple but a treat. The sausage had a touch of sweetness to it. I would have been a fan of more peppers and onions on the sandwich, and if I am being honest more sausage. The Creole mustard was tasty and came highly recommended by the very friendly waitress. For good measure my friend and I split the Cajun Fries. The fried potatoes were tossed in Louisiana spices and were layered with jalapeños and onions, definitely worth a try, but not enough to merit the $4 price tag.

At the end of the day, the prices and service were good and the food was better. I strongly recommend stopping by Beck’s Cajun Café for a po’ boy!