Five local restaurants were among the nine participating restaurants at the Pepsi Philly Eats Fest, which took place on Oct. 4 at Eakins Oval.
Local restaurants were
• Cafe Carmela, which offered fried mozzarella, meatball sandwiches and tiramisu.
• Three Monkeys Cafe, which served smoked wings, cheesesteak egg rolls, Nashville chicken sandwich, smash burger and truffle waffle fries.
• Chickie’s & Pete’s, which sold crabfries and tenders.
• Rocco’s Italian Sausage, which sold Italian sausage sandwiches.
• The Flavor Spot, which made “swicy” jerk chicken sliders, loaded jerk fries, tropical chicken pineapple bowls and loaded cheesy beef patties.
Restaurants taking part in the event were selected because they sell Pepsi products.
The event featured entertainment by the hip hop duo Clipse, R&B singer Ari Lennox and rapper Freeway. Also appearing were former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, Swoop and Eagles cheerleaders and drum line. Activities included cornhole and a football toss.
At the end of the event Pepsi donated $150,000 — $10,000 to each of the participating restaurants, along with $10,000 to six other restaurants, including Steve’s Prince of Steaks.
Leading up to the event, Cafe Carmela’s location at 2859 Holme Ave., which opened in February 2020, hosted a VIP preview party. Guests feasted on cheesesteaks, truffle fries, salad, chicken parm, drunken rigatoni, pizza, cannoli cake, Pepsi drinks and wine.
Cafe Carmela owner Joe Maglio said he tries to use the best ingredients, keep prices low and make customers feel like they are eating at their mom’s house.
The staff includes a number of Maglio’s family members.
“It really is a family affair,” he said. ••
