PYT 1050 N. Hancock St. (215) 964–9009 Northern Liberties
Don't Miss: The Party Fries Skip: Getting a shake for yourself (share one with a friend). $$
Three blocks away from the Girard stop on the Market–Frankford Line, the modern architecture of the Piazza at Schmidt’s stands as a symbol of the attention that the Northern Liberties neighborhood has received over the past decade. Anchoring the recent development is PYT, the self–proclaimed “home of America’s craaaziest burgers.”
With its bright colors, funky furniture and dancing hamburger illustrations, PYT is all about having a fun and carefree dining experience. The hip waitstaff are helpful and attentive, but not in your face.
The menu is a modern take on traditional 1950s diner fare — think hot dogs, but wrapped in bacon and covered in jalapeños ($7), or hamburgers, but made with lamb and dusted with crushed pistachio ($12) — with plenty of options for the red meat–averse, such as the Veggie Loaded Nacho Burger ($12) and the Lobster Dog made with truffle aioli ($9).
We started with the Party Fries ($8 individual, $15 for the table), a heaping serving of fries (the individual size was more than enough for our party of three) smothered in Cheez Whiz and house–made gravy, topped with generous amounts of chopped steak, bacon, banana peppers and fried onions. The uncooked banana peppers added a pleasantly surprising kick, with a freshness and acidity that cut through the greasiness of the meat and cheese.
For the main course, we settled on the classic PYT burger ($9.50), the cheesesteak pretzel roll burger ($12), and the lobster crab cake burger ($14). The beef, lobster and crab were all high–quality and tasted delicious, but we found that the sauces often overpowered the flavor of the many other ingredients.
The cheesesteak pretzel roll burger is served on a pretzel bun made especially for PYT by Philly Pretzel Factory. While it’s a cute idea to combine two of the city’s most iconic foods into one uber–Philadelphian burger, on a patty already heavy with toppings and sauces, the denseness of the pretzel was a little much.
The lobster crab cake burger was an excellent alternative to a traditional beef burger. The Old Bay–seasoned fries complemented it well, and the citrus aioli was less overpowering than the sauces on the beef burgers.
We were most excited for the adult shakes. We ordered the Bananas John Foster shake ($10), which mixed banana liqueur and spiced rum with vanilla ice cream and bananas, and the Butterfinger shake ($10), a blend of caramel vodka, ice cream, peanut butter and Butterfingers. There was just enough alcohol to let you know that you were drinking liquor, but not enough to make drinking it difficult. However, they were extremely rich, especially when paired with the decked–out burgers. We would recommend getting one and splitting it between friends.
If you’re looking for a light meal, then PYT isn’t for you. But why would you go all the way to Northern Liberties for something low–cal? Instead, use this burger joint as an excuse to check out a neighborhood that often flies under most Penn students’ radars.
