How This New Restaurant Is Paying Tribute to Philadelphia Classics

Last May, after nearly four decades of slinging scrapple and corned beef sandwiches over a horseshoe-shaped counter in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square, Little Pete’s closed its doors. The classic diner was one of several long-standing spots that have gone out of business in recent years, including South Philly deli Sarcone’s and the 34-year old hoagie shop Salumeria in Reading Terminal Market. The shuttering of these beloved Philly institutions didn’t go unnoticed by Matt Cahn; the cook and Cherry Hill, New Jersey native went to high school in Philadelphia, and grew up devoted to these places. After working in New York City at Court Street Grocers andSuperiority Burger, the 28 year old returned to his home city and—inspired by these Philly favorites—opened his own place.Middle Childis Cahn’s ode to old-school Philly diners, sandwich shops and delis, but with an unmistakably modern approach.

Serving breakfast and lunch in the city’s Washington Square West neighborhood, Middle Child’s fare is rooted in the diner and sandwich shop mainstays, with a succinct menu and rotating specials that highlight the classics with some unexpected flavors. The Phoagie, for example, is deliciously messy layers of hoisin eggplant, bean sprouts and onions, pho sauce and sambal chili paste, all on a locally-baked hoagie roll. The Thai roast pork sandwich (an ode to nearby DiNic’s version, which is topped with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone) has slow-cooked, sweet-and-spicy pork curry, pickled mustard greens and a spicy mayo. For breakfast there’s aloxspecial, house-cured with salmon from a fishmonger at Reading Terminal Market, that comes with avocado cream cheese and pickled red onion. Even the eggs for the breakfast sandwich are whipped up in an immersion blender before scrambling—adding a creamy, fluffy element that’s not standard at most diners.

Cahn works alongside chef Keith Krajewski, who spent seven years at Marigold Kitchen, creating twelve-course tasting menus meticulously plated with tweezers. While Krajewski was ready for a change from fine dining’s fussiness, the duo approaches their food with a seriousness that belies their quirky, pun-laced menu. “Middle Child is trying to recreate these nostalgic foods, but updated for the modern palate,” says Cahn. This includes the blueberry jam, which they guys make from scratch using a house blend of garam masala to give it add a little warmth, and can be found on the blintz toast, layered atop whipped farmers’ cheese and a thick slice of potato pullman from local bakery Philly Bread. The pickles and apple butter are also made in-house, too, and both the turkey and corned beef for thereubensare brined for days and cooked for hours.

甚至该空间的设计都是对传统午餐会的新鲜感。卡恩说：“我认为费城倾向于拥有这些非常质朴或非常'Ben Franklin'的空间，那里的一切都应该有些老。”“我们不能有新的东西吗？”虽然布局在那个怀旧的因素中挖掘出来，但带有一个长长的柜台，开放的厨房和几张桌子，但干净，明亮的美学（黑色和白色的瓷砖地板和圆滑的固定装置）与过去的咖啡污渍食客相去甚远。而且由于是费城，老鹰装备自豪地装饰着墙壁和架子。

虽然清洁的空间和现代菜单与普通餐馆有所不同，但中间孩子的某些方面感到永恒，包括氛围。新来者和常客受到真正温暖的欢迎，在如此新的餐厅里经常发现。卡恩说：“我最喜欢费城的东西是这种强烈的社区意识。”研究生拥挤在一张角桌上，用手工卷百吉饼和早餐三明治的盘子动画说话。返回客户的名字被招呼，因为他接受了一杯热杯当地的Elixr咖啡，同时定居在柜台上。虽然中间的孩子肯定感觉像是一件即时的经典，但客户不应该期望它在未来四十年中保持完全相同。Cahn和Krajewski正在策划咖喱晚餐之夜，并与其他当地企业进行弹出合作，并计划稍微扩大菜单，同时保持他们制作味道真的很好的食物的使命。亚搏电竞有了希望，这包括Scrapple。