Cousin's Grubhouse introduces South Philly to breakfast beyond scrapple, egg and cheese
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.
What did Chris Ritter know about West Passyunk before becoming partner and chef of Cousin’s Grubhouse? “I knew almost nothing,” he says. “Wait — I should remove the modifier. I knew nothing.”
A reformed attorney who cooked at a Delran hoagie shop through school, Ritter legitimized his culinary ambitions with gigs at Rogues Gallery and Brauhaus Schmitz before recently landing at Grubhouse. Last year, his business partner, Jim Lord, took over the space that had housed a luncheonette since 1955.
I grew up in this neighborhood, but can only remember eating at Cousin’s once. I don’t remember what I ate, but it definitely wasn’t fluffy buttermilk biscuits with tangy house-made tomato jam — a sidecar to the crunchy, panko-crusted chicken cutlet that was sunk like a surfboard in sand into a bowl of milk-shake-creamy grits. Scallions, hot sauce and schmaltz topped off the dish.
Schmaltz isn’t exactly a pantry staple in this area, a mix of black, Asian and Italian households. But it’s selling, as are approachable breakfast and lunch upgrades like tender pancakes with a halo of coconut-milk caramel, pulled pork sandwiches tossed in a root-beer barbecue sauce, an Elvis Melt with bacon powdered sugar, a Cuban sandwich — all foodie baby steps for a bacon, egg and cheese crowd.
A polished counter runs down the front of the space, next to a pastry case stocked with baker Susan Wierzbicki’s brownies, bars and cupcakes lathered with Bailey’s frosting. Thick-knuckled guys in hoodies nibble at her raspberry linzer cookies
Though the food is terrific and the prices dirt cheap, Grubhouse is almost more important for what it represents for this neighborhood, where the nearby corners host Philip’s Steaks, Dati’s Water Ice and the kind of nail salons with Gina Gershon-in-Cocktail faces emblazoned on the signs and windows.
Things are percolating here in South Philly’s Wild West, thanks to businesses like Miss Rachel’s Pantry, the Taproom on 19th, Café con Chocolate and JR’s, a bar where I used to drink Captain and Cokes when I was in high school and that now does underground punk shows. Cousin’s Grubhouse has joined this cohort, forging unexplored territory in the Red Gravy Belt.
Cousin’s Grubhouse | 2340 S. Hemberger St., 215-334-3525, cousinsgrubhouse.com. Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Breakfast, $2-$8.50; lunch, $2-$8.
