Philly meets Puerto Rico in the pork sandwiches at Porky's Point
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
With no shortage of cheesesteaks, hoagies and roast pork sandwiches, we all know that Philadelphia is a sandwich town. With its drive-up corner locale at the intersection of Rising Sun Avenue and North Fifth Street, no-nonsense counter ordering and old timey signage, Porky’s Point looks like any number of cheesesteak spots around town. But Porky’s is another beast entirely. Open for nearly 40 years, Porky’s has melded two glorious traditions — the iconic Philadelphia roast pork sandwich and Puerto Rican lechon, a whole roasted pig with crisp-lacquered skin and melting flesh. At Porky’s, a game-changing roast pork sandwich runs you $7.50 and is made in plain sight with a big piece of fatty pork, skin and all, hacked up on the counter and sandwiched into a long roll. You can finish it off with a barbecue or vinegary hot sauce. “We don’t make it here,” explains the counter guy, “but be careful, it’s hot.”
Of course, the pork sandwich is only the beginning of Porky’s menu. There are chewy, salty deep-fried pork chops, whole sweet plantains (baked, split down the middle and filled with a beefy picadillo), creamy-on-the-inside papas rellenas and doughy half-moon pastellios with beef, chicken or pork. Pernil (more roasted pork), blood sausage and chicken gizzards are sold by the pound, and pig’s ear combos come with your choice of boiled bananas or mofongo (garlicky mashed plantains).
The ordering window opens every day at 8 a.m. for sorultos (breakfasty corn fritters) and the full menu is served until the pork runs out, usually around 9 p.m.
Porky's Point | 3824 N. Fifth St., 215-221-6243. Hours: Sun.–Thu., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 8 a.m.–10 p.m. Recommended dishes: Roast pork sandwiches, fried pork chops, pastellios, mofongo.
