Cold Weather, Warm Sandwich (Part 2)

Greetings, Readers!

As I mentioned in last week’s post, my sandwiching experience back East was cut a bit short with illness, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t get to taste some of the local flavor.

On my last day back East, I headed to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch with my mother and sister. I hadn’t been to the Market since I was there two years ago to review DeNic’s Roast Pork Sandwich, so it was definitely time for a return visit.

Going without a particular shop or sandwich in mind that I wanted to try, it took some time to walk around the entire market and find a place that I wanted to eat at. It was definitely much busier than my last visit, and some of the aisles were near impossible to get down because they were so crowded.

Finally though, I happened upon the simply named The Rib Stand in a far corner of the Market. This stand is pretty bare bones, offering shredded ribs, slabs of ribs and three side options, but you’ll still have a hard time deciding which way to go. The scent of ribs and the sides will have you salivating while you wait in line.

I went with the shredded rib sandwich and was not let down in my expectations. The rib meat is juicy and had obviously been marinated for a long time as it was bursting with flavor. There was also a distinct flavor of black pepper that permeated the sandwich without being too overpowering.

The ribs had been marinated in a thin red sauce instead of a more thick, standard barbecue sauce, but The Rib Stand provides you with a container of deliciously made sauce that you can add to the sandwich in your desired quantity.

While the rib sandwich was delicious in its own right, this addition of barbecue sauce really sends it to the next level. It’s got a little kick to it, but nothing that will set your mouth on fire.

The only downside is the roll. It mostly held together until the end, but wasn’t really anything spectacular. It did its job as a vehicle for delicious rib meat, so I guess we can applaud it for that.

For my sides, the green beans and mac & cheese were excellent options and complemented the sandwich so well. Definitely worth choosing these two if you happen to lunch here one time.

And so ends my trip back East, Readers. Hopefully next time I can visit more places on my list and get a better sense of the sandwiching culture there.

Next week, I finally catch up to an LA food truck I’ve been chasing for years.

Until then, Readers…

Rib Sandwich
**** Stars
The Rib Stand
Reading Terminal Market
Philadelphia, PA