Cafe Estelle - Philadelphia, PA

This little spot was a nice find on our last trip to Philly. I remember waking up and being at the venue thinking how awful the weather was and how cold it was outside. Then we stumble upon thsi place. I didn't know what to expect.

Much to my surprise I loved it!

There isn't much to say about croque monsieur/madames except they are the best breakfast sandwich in the world! Paired with some fruit they are for breakfast, paired with a salad, and as that TV cooking guy would say "BAM", they are for lunch, pair it with some shoestring fries and all of a sudden you've eaten about 6000 calories and you're eating the same thing again for dinner. How could this versatile sandwich steer you wrong. I love this sandwich so much, if it's on the menu you better believe I'm getting one.

Now there's a major difference betweet the croque monsieur and croque madame, an egg. The madame has one the monsieur doesn't. Both are amazing sandwiches but how could you ever go wrong by adding an egg. . .more on that in another post.

There are so many variables that could ruin this amazing dish. The bread has to be good, the ham, the cheese, etc. There's just too much to mess up. Cafe Estelle seems to pull it off perfectly with their version. I would have to say it ranks up there in my top 5 favorite croque madames. All the ingredients down to the very fresh side salad made my mouth and my stomach happy as could be. I can't speak for any of the other items on the menu but I love this madame!

If you'd like to find this little spot check out the google page here.

Comments

[Nina]

Have you seen the movie "It's Complicated"?
In it Meryl Streep is the owner of a French bakery and she makes what she calls a croque monsieur for Steve Martin. But what you can see from the sandwich in the movie just looks like a grilled cheese.
I was a little confused when I noticed it was missing something because I remembered learning in French class that croque monsieur was something more than just grilled cheese. And now you've let me know! It's HAM!
Thank you for one-uping Meryl Streep and setting the record straight.

[Sam]

Not sure if you've tried a croque monsieur/madame in France, but when the tour brings you to Paris, well you won't be tempted to get one because there's so many other delicious things to eat there, but make sure to try one in France! The monsieurs have cheese melted on top of the bread and for the madame the egg is on top of the bread as well, and it's amazing. Their ham and cheese just tastes different.... I almost regret only eating croque monsieurs when I was there.... Almost but not quite. Croque monsieurs and red wine fit my budget perfectly. There is a lovely cafe in Paris behind Musee d'Orsay, quiet little place with just one older woman doing all the cooking. She was just fabulously French and I recommend it

[Julia Shirley-Quirk]

Thanks for the Philly Blog, I'll have to check it out the next time I'm back in the city. I'm in Australia for the next few months (I'll be seeing you guys at Bluesfest for sure) and your post gave me the little piece of home that I've been missing since I've been gone. I'll be sure to give you a few good places to check out the next time you're in the city. I've also got a few good ones for Australia. Thanks again!

[Stephanie]

I don't eat meat, but I love fried eggs on sandwiches! It is so delicious.

Oh, and I recently discovered your blog and I love it! All the food looks wonderful!