Han Dynasty

Everything that you've head about this place is true. First of all, it's incredible. Authentic Szechuan in the middle of Olde City's douche-fest. And yes, it's face-numbingly hot. Hotter than anything any of us have ever eaten in Brooklyn, or China even. The owner Han is both super friendly and super hilarious. He told us how every other Chinese restaurant in the City is bullshit, because the food has no flavor, and his chefs are straight from Sichuan Province.

There is also a Gringo menu of General Tso's chicken and all that, but Han will tell you not to order it, it's there for the unadventurous. He sent us to Eulogy to pick up beer before our meal (it's BYOB, and Eulogy is happy to recommend beer based on what you ordered at Han) and passed out Chinese cigarettes to us out front after our meal.



Beef & Tripe in Chili Oil
WOW. The hottest I have ever had, cold tongue and tripe - both super tender - swimming in chili oil, and dotted with szechuan peppercorns, numbs your entire mouth, but so god damn delicious.


Spicy Cucumber
Great side, helps cool you down, at least until you get the wave of heat from the chili oil. But so addictive.

Dan - Dan Noodles
Brutal heat. Tossed in a firey paste tableside. LIke everything else here, just on the edge of bearable heat, but so good you keep going.


Rabbit Dry Pot Style
Oh yeah. Terrific. Watch out for the bones, but no big deal. This is the real thing.


Lamb Cumin Style
This was my favorite. Lamb stir fry with Szechuan Peppercorns, whole dried chiles, and tons of cumin. Not as spicy as some of the other dishes, but still mouth numbing.


Chicken Long Hot Pepper style.
Stir Fried chicken, garlic, longhots. Awesome.

Garlic Seafood.
Mixed seafood in garlic-chili oil. Last dish to come out, by this time I was drunk and my whole mouth was numb.'

If you've thought about eating here but haven't made it yet, get on it! One word of advice- the portions are BIG, and also because they are so hot, you aren't going to finish the whole thing. 1 entree for every 2 people, and a side or 2 would be plenty. We took home half of our food, and it was even better the next day.

And if you bring someone who doesn't like adventure or spicy food, make sure you get at least 1 thing from the Gringo menu, or just let them fill up on rice - because the Szechuan dishes are not for the culinarily challenged. By the way, it's also a really nice place, and the service is fantastic.

Han Dynasty
twitter.com/handynasty
108 Chestnut
(also 2 locations in the suburbs)
Philadelphia

George's Tripe Sandwich

I've walked past this place a million times but never tried it until a few months ago. Split a roast pork and cheesesteak with some friends and holy s#$% it was good, totally blew my mind.

If you order a roast pork he warms it up on the grill, bastes the meat and greens with the pork juices. Sharp provolone and a lightly toasted roll and you're ready to go. Cheesesteak was great too, good amount of meat but not so much it falls out onto 9th street. A good mid-sized steak somewhere between the smaller soft-roll style of Pat's and the massive Sarcone's-loaf style of Cosmi's and John's Roast Pork.

Anyway if you don't know they are famous for having an Italian Tripe sandwich which made it onto the PBS Sandwiches You Will Like documentary a few years back featuring Philly food guru Holly Moore.

I'm a big fan of tripe but until now had only eaten it Asian or Mexican style. So I went back last week for a roast pork & tripe combo with provolone, roasted long hots, hot peppers and onions, a monster of a sandwich. The tripe cooked in tomato sauce was super tender and the combination with the pork was out of this world.


Some guy drinking out of a paper bag asked me for change while I was ordering. But don't let the exotic atmosphere scare you away, or you'll miss out on some of Philly's best. There's another George's sandwich shop across the street, haven't been there & can't vouch for it, look for the one with the "sandwiches you will like" sign.

George's
900 South 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA