Around Jawnville: Whiz Kid Review
Saturday afternoon, with a Philly Beer Week hangover, I was craving something hearty and different. I was in Rittenhouse Square for the Farmers Market so I decided to try the vegan spot Whiz Kid at 124 South 19th Street.
Whiz Kid is owned by folks who also own Vedge and V Street, two spots I’m an avid fan of. I’ve read and heard a bunch about their vegan cheesesteak and figured that would be enough of a sponge to sop up a beer left in my belly. I was thrown a bit of a curveball when I got to the counter and saw special sign for a pizza cheesesteak. I was in. I also grabbed a KFT (Korean Fried Tempeh) sandwich.
The vegan cheesesteak looked like a solid regular beef cheesesteak and greasy enough to cure a hangover. Overall, I had mixed feelings about the sandwich. The best part was the texture. The sandwich is seitan based and that can be problematic a lot of times. Most places cut the seitan too thin. Whiz Kid finely chops or minces the seitan to tiny pieces that resembles the steaks at many great corner sandwich shops. The taste was pleasant and a solid substitute for meat.
The roll was also good in an old-school neighborhood shop kind of soft, chewy kind of way. It help up impressively throughout consumption.
My issues were with the pizza aspect. The sauce wasn’t great pizza sauce. I found the sauce overly acidic without much taste. The sandwich had a layer of vegan cheese on the bottom, but pizza steaks should have globs of melted, gooey cheese on top of and throughout the meat.
I probably would’ve been happier with the straight up regular cheesesteak and the seitan had a great taste to it. The lack of cheese and sauce seemed to detract from the enjoyment of the overall sandwich.
On the other hand, the KFT sandwich was quite impressive. The tempeh had a great, fried chicken texture to it with the kimchee and siracha thousand island dressing being a perfect complement.
A sneaky highlight of the meal was the drink. I think it was a Rhubarbade (combo of rhubarb and lemon ade). That jawn was refreshing on a hot Saturday afternoon where I needed some hydration.
As with Vedge and V Street, it is obvious Whiz Kid uses high quality ingredients and preparation in their food. I’ll be back for that ade, the KFT, and to give the straight up regular cheesesteak a shot.