Food Country Restaurant Reviews serving the Delaware Valley

Jeff's Take: I’ve heard of Kansas City-style barbecue. Ditto with Texas-style and Memphis-style barbecue. But I’ve never heard of Philly-style barbecue. And I don’t think I’m alone. But Tommy Gunns, a tiny joint in Manayunk, claims that it has The City of Brotherly Love’s unique variant of the American classic. Well, at least for spare ribs. What makes “Philly-style” spare ribs unique, according to the website, is that while other styles trim more meat off the bone in order to achieve a uniform rib size, Tommy Gunns eschews size uniformity, and therefore leaves more meat on the bone. In addition, while most places serve their ribs right out of the smoker, Tommy Gunns throws them on the grill quickly before they’re plated. In the flavor department, the spare ribs here are excellent. The meat has a nice smoky flavor that’s complemented well with the dry rub Tommy Gunns uses. The accompanying barbecue sauce is also solid—tangy with just the right amount of heat. The texture of the mea

Sonny’s, a small shop in Old City Philadelphia, isn’t one of the better-known cheesesteak places. The wall isn’t lined with press photos of celebrities who have eaten there. But they do serve excellent steaks. Unlike most of other steak shops in the area, which purchase their steak pre-sliced, Sonny’s uses freshly sliced ribeye for their cheesesteaks (check it out, the slicer is right on the counter). Sonny’s also slices their steak a little thicker than other places, and serves their steaks on a soft, chewy roll. Jeff’s Take: There are several reasons why Sonny’s is my current pick for best cheesesteak in the Delaware Valley . First off, their quality is more consistent than most other places. With a lot of the better-known cheesesteak places, it’s either hit or miss, and this gets frustrating. Second, I like that Sonny’s has thicker sliced meat—a lot of other places finely chop their meat, which occasionally results in a dry steak. Also, I prefer cheese whiz on my steak, and Sonny’s

Jeff's Take: At Lennies, the Italian hoagie is king. We’re not just talking the standard pepper ham, Genoa salami, capicola, and provolone that make up the traditional Italian hoagie. This small takeout shop on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough , PA offers a mix-and-match menu of several other Italian meats and cheeses. In addition to the usual trio, there’s prosciutto, mortadella, soppressata, and cotechino, all offered in various combinations. But it’s not variety alone that makes Lennies Hoagies stand out. What really makes this place special is that it uses all of its ingredients to the fullest, and everything tastes fresh. First off, the meat. Where else would I start? The quality of the meat at Lennies is better than most hoagie shops, with more spice and flavor than you’ll usually find. It’s also clear that the meats here are freshly sliced, which makes a world of difference. Next is something that is usually an afterthought in the hoagie world—the vegetables. Most hoagie places