lemon hill – classic patty melt


The Fairmount/Art Museum area unfortunately isn’t easily accessible by subway. Due to this, I haven’t been able to explore a lot of restaurants/bars in the neighborhood. Luckily for me, this past weekend’s holiday party put me in the area during brunchtime.

Lemon Hill doesn’t serve a burger, but what they do serve is pretty damn close. On their menu is a diner sandwich staple, the Classic Patty Melt, which is made up of a LaFrieda beef patty, American cheese, secret sauce, grilled red onions, and house pickles. I’ve had the Supper Burger before and I believe that they were using the same LaFrieda blend in this patty melt. So it’s definitely been on my list for some time but haven’t made it out until recently.


I’ve never had a patty melt from anywhere other than a diner or my own kitchen, so this was a pretty cool experience. When I ordered, I was asked if medium was fine. That being said, I guess they’re always cooked to medium unless specified otherwise. I definitely dig Lemon Hill’s patty melt. The patty melt was sandwiched between two perfectly toasted, thick slices of bread. The pickles & onions added a pleasant tanginess to the melt. The meat was juicy and the secret sauce added an extra element that you wouldn’t normally find on a patty melt. The accompanying parsley fries were good, too.

I also got to sneak some of my dining partner’s house cured LaFrieda bacon. Delicious.

Lemon Hill
747 N 25th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130
215.232.2299

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butcher & singer – butcher burger


Two weeks ago I was invited to a “meat & greet” at Butcher & Singer with Pat LaFrieda, the man responsible for several delicious burger blends across the country. The event was held to debut B&S’s use of a new blend for the Butcher Burger called the “Blend 5″. I also believe it’s going to be used in other Starr restaurants. I had the pleasure and honor of sitting next to Pat during dinner and we got to talk a lot about burgers and NYC! Pat also told me about Blend 5. I don’t want to tell any secrets though, so I’ll just say the the Blend 5 is awesome!

The Butcher Burger is made up of a 10 oz. LaFrieda “Blend 5″ beef patty topped with cheddar, charred Vidalia onions, Iceberg lettuce, Kosher pickles, tomato, and Russian dressing. It’s sandwiched between a toasted Parc-baked brioche bun and served with house cut fries.


This burger was absolutely delicious. Sure, maybe having a LaFrieda burger while sitting next to Pat LaFrieda himself may have elevated tastes, but no. Seriously. This was good. The meat was cooked to medium-rare (we weren’t asked). I thought the flavor of the Russian dressing really complimented the burger. Nothing was overwhelming, as the flavors were all pretty balanced. The toasted brioche bun held up nicely to the juiciness of the burger. The burger was also sized perfectly to fit on the bun. There were no burgerless bites with this one! The house cut fries were also good. If I didn’t have a hockey game later that evening, I would have finished them! Don’t worry, I didn’t waste them. Friend/fellow blogger Ryan Hudak gladly had the rest of my fries.


In addition to the burger, we were able to try some lamb chops, also from LaFrieda Meats. These were delicious as they were cooked and seasoned perfectly.

At the end of the meal, I kept thinking what took me so long to get to B&S and when I’d be able to come back again to have another Butcher Burger. Get out and try one!

Butcher & Singer
1500 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215.732.4444

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