There’s a good chance I don’t need to tell you too much about Ida Mae’s at this point. The new brunch spot in Fishtown has been paraded up and down the papers and Philly food blogs. “Sure,” the papers and blogs say, “the place is cramped. But it’s cheap, it’s delicious, and it doesn’t have the long wait that most of the city’s brunch spots do.” This is all true. I do not need to waste space here going into more on that end.

What I do need to tell you about is Ida Mae’s potato chips. I know, it’s such a small thing, but it’s important. I am usually disappointed when a restaurant serves a sandwich with chips. It’s like the restaurant is saying, “We like you. But we don’t like you enough to give you fries, which we know full well are more delicious.” And then they throw one of those shiny silver bags of Wise chips on your plate and consider themselves done with you. But Ida Mae’s chips. Holy crap. They’re fresh and homemade and the most amazingly thin potato chips I’ve ever consumed. I think they’re laser cut. And I know this might be sacrilegious to say, but: they’re better than fries. Yes, that’s right: better than fries.

Look, Ida Mae’s breakfast is good, their lunch is good, and when they start serving dinner later this month, I bet that’s going to be good too. Check this place out before the line starts getting long.

Ida Mae’s Bruncherie
2302 E Norris St, Philadelphia, PA 19125
(215) 426-4209