Simply Huge...

Famous 4th Street Diner

700 South 4th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

http://famous4thstreetdelicatessen.com/ 

My girlfriend's sister, brother-in-law and niece came to visit her around thanksgiving, right around when we got back from our trip. I was off until after Thanksgiving, but my girlfriend had to work, so I spent some time with them while she was working. We wanted to grab some breakfast one morning before I headed back to Jersey, so I took them to a place that I had heard a lot about, the Famous 4th Street Delicatessen. It is a traditional style Jewish deli set right in the heart of the South Street district. From the moment you walk inside, you know you are in a delicatessen similar to one you would find in New York. They had corned beef hash on the menu, so you know I couldn’t resist that! My girlfriend's brother-in-law and I were going to order one each, but our waiter said, "You guys have never been here before have you?" We said that we hadn’t and he told us that the portion was enormous, so we took his word for it and just ordered one. I ordered my eggs over easy with rye toast, and he ordered the same but with wheat bread. 

 

We were astounded when the corned beef hash came out from the kitchen. The portion size was outrageous! It was enough to feed five people no problem. It wasn’t just a huge portion... it was also absolutely delicious. The corned beef was tender and tasty, and the potatoes, peppers, and onions were an amazing element of contrast to the corned beef. We only got about halfway through the plate before throwing in our respective towels. The slices of rye bread were gigantic as well, but they were fresh and tasty. I used them to sop up the runny yolks from the over easy eggs and the crunch provided was amazing. 

Funny story about this place, on my way home from here I had brought the leftovers with me. A homeless man asked me for some change, and I told him I didn’t have any for him, but that I would give him some food if he were hungry. He said of course, and I handed over the corned beef hash. He turned to me and said damn, that’s got some weight to it! I laughed and said, “enjoy it; Happy Thanksgiving,” and went on my way.

Definitely a three pint rating here. The portion sizes are a bit out of control, but the price that you pay for the amount of food that you get is phenomenal. Everything was scratch made and the corned beef hash was out of this world. The rye bread was fantastic as well. Good service and stays true to what it is trying to be. I love places that don’t try to do too much. Definitely check this place out if you get the chance, because its authentic as can be, and absolutely delicious. Cheers!