The Dish: Mozzarella Triangles from Bar Jawn in Manayunk

MANAYUNK (WPVI) -- In this edition of The Dish, we're making one of America's favorite appetizers at home!

At Bar Jawn in Manayunk, they serve up a riff on mozzarella sticks: mozzarella triangles. And they promise they are as easy to make as they are delicious.

"This is our been our number one seller, probably from day one," says owner David Lee and his wife and business partner, Anna. "We wanted to make it different than a stick, so we went with a triangle. It holds up a little better, it's a little more meaty. When I talk about cheese pulls, you're never going to get a better cheese pull than this!"

For the mozz: go big!

"We take the log of the mozzarella and then we cut them into slices about as thick as your finger, maybe about an inch thick," Anna says.

You can cut it yourself or, pro tip, have it pre-cut at the cheese counter.

"I think the secret to our recipe is that we double bread it," Anna says. "The double breading gives it that extra crunch."

It's the way Anna says she grew up making cutlets.

"My kids call it Dominican chicken, but it's just chicken cutlets," she says, her family's Dominican way. "We season the meat before we bread it and then we use the same breading process we use here on the triangles."

Anna says this is an easy, homemade appetizer for parties because you can make them ahead of time.

"You could throw them in the fridge and then that way, they're already prepped and ready to go," she says, ensuring they are piping hot for your guests.

They fry theirs in a commercial fryer, but you can do yours on the stove in a pan of super hot oil.

"Another trick is to pop right into the air fryer," says David. "Once you bread them, refrigerate them so they are cold. When you're ready to eat them, pop them right into the air fryer for about nine minutes at 375 degrees. They come out perfect."

David and Anna's other spot, Pizza Jawn, is just down the street in Manayunk. It started in 2017 when David, a cross fit gym owner, and Anna, a real estate agent, were just making pizzas for friends.

"We met somebody who worked at Philadelphia Brewing, and they said, 'Why don't you come down and sell some pizza there?'" Anna recalls. "So that's what we did. We drove down there and we started making pizzas out of our pickup truck with a portable oven."

Then, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put their day jobs on pause.

"So, we started selling pizza out of our house and the site would crash," she laughs. "We realized that there was a lot of demand for it, and so we opened our brick and mortar Pizza Jawn right here in Manayunk."

They later added Bar Jawn down the street, which will soon be home to Pizza Jawn too.

One thing is clear: this is a family affair. David and Anna's children, Justice and Nevaeh, are familiar faces.

"I get to learn about being in the family business and making money and learning how to save," Nevaeh says.

Justice also helps come up with new recipes, like the Chicken Ranch Nachos.

"We just always change things up a little bit, so people want to keep coming back," Justice says.

Bar Jawn's Mozzarella Triangles recipe

Ingredients:

- Egg wash (egg whisked with milk)
- pre-cut triangles of mozzarella cheese
- Italian breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Bread the mozzarella triangle
2. Dip it in the egg wash
3. Bread it AGAIN
4. Fry, bake or toss in air fryer until golden brown

Enjoy!