Hot Dogs And Fishcakes At Johnny's Hots
Johnny's Hots on the Fishtown waterfront has a specialty. It's a sandwich of... fishcake and hot dogs. Lari Robling of the Daily News recently stopped by Johnny's Hots to check out the fare:
For lunch, try the Hot Dog and Fish Cake ($4.25) which is oddly quite tasty as long as you have plenty of tartar sauce on it. Skip the Roast Turkey ($4.75), however; plenty of other offerings on the menu are much better.For the most part, I think the obsession with cheesesteaks is really misplaced. This is a sandwich generally consisting of inferior meat with fake cheese and substandard bread. At Johnny's, I guess I have to eat my words because his Cheesesteak ($5.50) is made from top round specially butchered for him. Instead of chopping the meat to disguise it, here you are served actual slices. Surprisingly, I liked it.
As admirable as Johnny's Cheesesteak can be, I remain a loyal fan of the Roast Pork with Rabe and Provolone ($5.75) sandwich. However, while Johnny's rabe has the requisite garlic overkill and you can order sharp provolone, the pork itself could use a little more South Philly influence. It just didn't have the succulent "pig thing" going on.
Sandwich toppings include Pepper Hash, a vinegary mix of finely chopped cabbage and peppers. Pepper Hash has its roots in Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine and I've also seen it referred to as Philadelphia Relish - probably a better name because it has much more cabbage than pepper.
Do you have the hots for a sandwich? [Daily News]
[Photo via Philadelphia Daily News]
