Well, I can't say I started off these two stops with high hopes. Ishkabibble's II wasn't all that great, and Starbucks is well... Starbucks. Not to mention it was probably the coldest it's been all winter that evening, making the trek and eating in a cold, drafty restaurant all the more unenjoyable. People seem to really enjoy Ishkabibble's, given the number of signed celebrity pictures on the wall. Everyone from Weird Al to Usher have dined at this hole-in-the-wall stop, where there are a few stools at the counter and the grill is right in front of you. I did appreciate the warmth making its way to us from across the counter, but it almost immediately got sucked out of the establishment as soon as someone came in and opened the door. Even though I don't really like this place, it is a Philly staple and some people claim it has the best cheesesteak in Philly so I wasn't entirely surprised that a few more people came in to order while we were there despite the bitter cold.
I also appreciate that Ishkabibble's has a lot of chicken cheesesteak options. What I don't appreciate is when my chicken cheesesteak is made up of the chewy, ligand-y pieces of chicken that you usually cut off chicken breast because it's at the edges, it tastes bad, and you can't digest it. Which is what most of my sandwich consisted of, unfortunately. I ordered the pizza steak, which had pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. This part of the sandwich I really enjoyed - it was warm and gooey and tasted like what a pizza steak should taste like, although it could have had a little more seasoning. It might have been the cold's doing, but I think if the chicken were of better quality, I would have even recommended this sandwich. But not this time. We also shared some mozzarella fries, which were just a plate of fries with cheese melted on them. Can't really go wrong there, they were decent. And of course, since the best thing that seems to come out of Ishkabibble's is the Gremlin (1/2 grape soda, 1/2 lemonade), I ordered one to accompany my dinner. It was just as tasty as last time, but is definitely better enjoyed as a respite from hot weather in the summer.
We were both feeling pretty full, so our stop at Starbucks was spent sipping on London fogs and sharing a toffee cookie. The toffee cookie was alright, a little on the sweet side and a little too chewy (Yes, you can have a cookie that's too chewy. And yes, I know toffee items are generally on the chewy side but this cookie was too flat to make that chewiness acceptable). London fog is one of my favorite beverages (earl grey tea + steamed milk + vanilla), so I was excited to see it on their menu, since I'd never seen it advertised at a Starbucks before. It was okay - the milk was not steamed to my satisfaction (but I really, really like foamy milk in my hot beverages, so I'll give them a pass) but the balance of flavors was done pretty well. Definitely not the best London fog I've had in the city, but it was a pleasant way to warm up from the chill outside.
I still don't get the hype about Ishkabibble's, and you either like Starbucks or you don't, so this was not one of our most exciting stops... hopefully Hurricane Alley will surprise us on our next stop.
Ishkabibble's
337 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 923-4337
Starbucks
347 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 627-4060
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