Dig In
Plot your culinary course based on our list of the hottest bars, cocktails,
restaurants and chefs in town. |
LEFT: The garden salad from R2L, one of the city’s most popular restaurants. RIGHT: Amis
Top Tables
PHILADELPHIANS ARE FIERCELY loyal when it comes to their favorite restaurants, so it should be no surprise that some of our picks for the city’s most coveted tables are ones we’ve held near and dear to our hearts for a while now. Hotel hideaways like 10 Arts (10 Avenue of the Arts; 10arts.com)—home of Top Chef contender Jennifer Carroll—and XIX (200 S. Broad St.; nineteenrestaurant.com) remain favorites along with Michael Solomonov’s Zahav (237 St. James Pl.; zahavrestaurant.com). Relative newcomers like Michael Schulson’s Sampan (124 S. 13th St.; sampanphilly.com) and Daniel Stern’s R2L (50 S. 16th St.; r2lrestaurant.com) instantly impressed us, while suburban stalwarts like Gilmore’s (133 E. Gay St., West Chester; gilmoresrestaurant.com), Azie (217 W. State St., Media; azie-restaurant.com), Northbrook MarketPlace (1805 Unionville-Wawaset Road, West Chester; northbrookmarketplace.com) and Talula’s Table (102 W. State St., Kennett Square; talulastable.com) keep us coming back for more.
Splurge Spots
Le Bec-Fin (1523 Walnut St.; lebecfin.com)
Vetri (1312 Spruce St.; vetriristorante.com)
Lacroix (210 W. Rittenhouse Square; lacroixrestaurant.com)
Fountain Restaurant (One Logan Square; fourseasons.com/philadelphia)
Buzz-Worthy Newbies
Amis (412 S. 13th St., 215-732-2647)
Village Whiskey (118 S. 20th St.; villagewhiskey.com)
Fish (1708 Lombard St.; fishphilly.com)
Old-School Cocktails
Butcher and Singer (1500 Walnut St.; butcherandsinger.com)
Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company (112 S. 18th St.; thefranklinbar.com)
Southwark (701 S. Fourth St.; southwarkrestaurant.com)
The Old Guard House Inn (953 Youngsford Road, Gladwyne; guardhouseinn.com)
Hotel Bars
Swann Lounge (Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, One Logan Square; fourseasons.com/philadelphia)
La Bourse (Sofitel Philadelphia, 120 S. 17th St.; sofitel.com)
Square 1682 (Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, 121 S. 17th St.; square1682.com)
C5 (The Chelsea, 111 S. Chelsea Ave., Atlantic City; thechelsea-ac.com)
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Ristorante Panorama; Marcie Turney; Vintage
Most-Anticipated Openings of 2010
Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran continue to dominate Midtown Village with the recently opened Mediterranean-influenced Barbuzzo (110 S. 13th St.; barbuzzo.com), the couple’s fourth restaurant in the nabe. Across town, Lucas Manteca has taken over Gayles’ former space to open Hoof + Fin (617 S. Third St., 215- 925-3070), a BYOB focusing on (natch) meat and seafood. And Stephen Starr is on track to open El Rey on the site of the old Midtown Diner at 20th and Chestnut Streets.
BYOBs
Fond (1617 E. Passyunk Ave.; fondphilly.com)
Kanella (1001 Spruce St.; kanellarestaurant.com)
Bibou (1009 S. Eighth St.; biboubyob.com)
Sola (614 Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr; solabyob.com)
Birchrunville Store Cafe (1403 Hollow Road, Birchrunville; birchrunvillestorecafe.com)
Restaurant Alba (7 W. King St., Malvern; restaurantalba.com)
Blackfish (119 Fayette St., Conshohocken; blackfishrestaurant.com)
Bottle Service
Zee Bar (100 Spring Garden St.; zee-bar.com)
G (111 S. 17th St.; thebestlounge.com)
Mur.mur (One Borgata Way, Atlantic City; borgatanightlife.com)
Dusk (2100 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City; duskac.com)
Wine Lists
Ristorante Panorama (14 N. Front St.; pennsviewhotel.com/ristorante_panorama)
Tria (123 S. 18th St.; triacafe.com)
Savona (100 Old Gulph Road, Gulph Mills; savonarestaurant.com)
Vintage (129 S. 13th St.; vintage-philadelphia.com)
Knife & Fork (3600 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City; knifeandforkinn.com)
Caffe Aldo Lamberti (2011 Rte. 70 W., Cherry Hill, NJ; caffelamberti.com)
Raw Bars, Crudo and Ceviche
Union Trust (717 Chestnut St.; uniontruststeakhouse.com)
Oyster House (1516 Sansom St.; oysterhousephilly.com)
Dock’s Oyster House (2405 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City; docksoysterhouse.com)
Tomatoe’s (9300 Amherst Ave., Margate; tomatoesmargate.com)
Positano Coast (212 Walnut St.; positanocoast.net)
Chifa (707 Chestnut St.; chifarestaurant.com)
Sushi
Morimoto (723 Chestnut St.; morimotorestaurant.com)
Haru (241–243 Chestnut St.; harusushi.com)
Izakaya (One Borgata Way, Atlantic City; theborgata.com)
Izumi Restaurant (1601 E. Passyunk Ave.; izumiphilly.com)
Zama (128 S. 19th St.; zamarestaurant.com)
Bluefin (1017 Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, 610-277-3917)
Samurai Japanese Restaurant (1201 W. Lancaster Ave., Rosemont; tosamurai.com)
Pizza
Osteria (640 N. Broad St.; osteriaphilly.com)
Pizzeria Stella (420 S. Second St.; pizzeriastella.net)
Zavino (112 S. 13th St.; zavino.com)
Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar (4367 Main St.; jakesrestaurant.com)
Stella Blu Restaurant (101 Ford St., West Conshohocken; stellablurestaurant.com)
Treno (233 Haddon Ave., Westmont, NJ; trenopizzabar.com)
Burgers & Bites
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Rouge’s signature burger |
If there’s a neighborhood in Philadelphia that doesn’t have a place to grab a great burger these days, we can’t think of one. Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.; thepubandkitchen.com) makes a mean version, as do Varga Bar (941 Spruce St.; vargabar.com), Monk’s Cafe (264 S. 16th St.; monkscafe.com) and Georges’ (503 W. Lancaster Ave., Wayne; georgesonthemainline.com). And even the Society Hill Hotel, Bar and Restaurant (301 Chestnut St., 215-923-3711) turns out a chin-dripping rendition. But the city’s newbie burger shacks like PYT (1050 N. Hancock St.; pytphilly.com) in Northern Liberties and University City’s Bobby’s Burger Palace (3925 Walnut St.; bobbysburgerpalace.com), from grill master Bobby Flay, have brought more competition into the mix. Even Rouge (205 S. 18th St.; rouge98.com) has opened an all-burger grab-and-go called 500˚ (1504 Sansom St.; 500degrees.com).
Comfort Food
Percy Street Barbecue (900 South St.; percystreet.com)
MidAtlantic (3711 Market St.; midatlanticrestaurant.com)
Q, BBQ & Tequila (207 Chestnut St.; qoldcity.com)
Meridith’s (575 Lancaster Ave., Berwyn; meridiths.com)
Honey’s Sit ‘N Eat (800 N. Fourth St.; honeys-restaurant.com)
Café Estelle (444 N. Fourth St.; cafeestelle.com)
City Tavern (138 S. Second St.; citytavern.com)
Steaks
These days in Philly there’s a steakhouse to suit every personality and budget. Big deals are still hashed out over lunch at The Palm (200 S. Broad St.; thepalm.com) or dinner at Morton’s The Steakhouse (1411 Walnut St.; mortons.com/philadelphia), while see-and-be-seen crowds flock to Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House (1426 Chestnut St.; delfriscos.com) and Chops (401 City Line Ave., Bala Cynwyd; chops.us) on the Main Line. Barclay Prime (237 S. 18th St.; barclayprime.com) remains a favorite for intimate dinners, while Chester County’s Brandywine Prime (1617 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford; brandywineprime.com) and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in South Jersey (500 Rte. 73 N., Marlton, NJ; flemingssteakhouse.com) are both ideal for wine lovers. In Atlantic City, Bobby Flay Steak (One Borgata Way; theborgata.com) attracts high rollers and foodies alike for its winning cuts of beef.
Italian
Le Castagne Ristorante (1920 Chestnut St.; lecastagne.com)
La Famiglia Ristorante (8 S. Front St.; lafamiglia.com)
Table 31 (1701 JFK Blvd.; table-31.com)
Le Virtù (1927 E. Passyunk Ave.; levirtu.com)
Il Mulino (1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City; ilmulino.com)
Girasole (3108 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City; girasoleac.com; 440 S. Broad St.; girasolephilly.com)
Mia (2100 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City; miaac.com)
Fornelletto (One Borgata Way, Atlantic City; theborgata.com)
La Collina (37–41 Ashland Ave., Bala Cynwyd; lacollina.us)
Saloon (750 S. Seventh St.; saloonrestaurant.net)
Davio’s (111 S. 17th St.; davios.com)
FROM LEFT: Parc; Pizza from Osteria
Quick and Tasty To-Go Meals
Pumpkin (1610 South St.; pumpkinphilly.com)
Grocery Market + Catering (101 S. 13th St.; grocery13.com)
Di Bruno Bros. (1730 Chestnut St.; dibruno.com)
Fork: Etc. (308 Market St.; forkrestaurant.com)
Pagano’s Market (2001 Market St.; paganosmarket.com)
Carlino’s Market (2616 E. County Line Road, Ardmore; 128 W. Market St., West Chester; carlinosmarket.com)
FoodSource (663 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr; afoodsource.com)
Catering
Starr Events (starr-restaurant.com/events)
Georges Perrier Events (lebecfin.com)
Callahan Catering (callahancatering.com)
Finley Catering (finleycatering.com)
Global Dish (theglobaldish.com)
Max & Me Catering (maxandmecatering.com)
Marathon Catering (marathongrill.com)
Business Lunches
The Capital Grille (1338 Chestnut St.; capitalgrille.com)
10 Arts (10 Avenue of the Arts; 10arts.com)
Bliss (220 S. Broad St.; bliss-restaurant.com)
The New Tavern Restaurant and Bar (261 Montgomery Ave., Bala Cynwyd; thetavernrestaurant.com)
Alfresco Dining
The Water Works Restaurant and Lounge (640 Water Works Dr.; thewaterworksrestaurant.com)
Parc (227 S. 18th St.; parc-restaurant.com)
The Continental Mid-town (1801 Chestnut St.; continentalmidtown.com)
Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen (555 E. Lancaster Ave., Radnor; susannafoo.com)
Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar (10 S. Second St.; cubalibrerestaurant.com) Best Reinvention
New ownership has breathed fresh life into White Dog Cafe (3420 Sansom St.; whitedogcafe.com), a University City stalwart since 1983. Judy Wicks turned over the reins in late 2009 to restaurateur Marty Grims. So far the transition has been virtually seamless, as Style food writer Brian Freedman recently reported: “…We devoured [chef Eric Yost’s] deconstructed pot roast, the meltingly tender beef short rib enlivened by Branch Creek baby carrots, Shellbark Hollow Farm goat cheese, cippolini onions and sweet pea purée. The dish’s classic flavors were reworked to become new and exciting again—just like the White Dog itself.” |
