Where to eat in Philly?

[vinniecap]

Going to be in town next week, and looking for restaurant recommendations. Looking for a wide variety of places from a sandwich shop to an upscale restaurant. We are staying in the Center City area. We are aware of Reading Terminals proximity to us, and are looking for some other ideas.

[Tom]

There's a good, if slightly idiosyncratic list at the "Philly Plus" link for Slow Food Philadelphia

[HD73]

There's a good, if slightly idiosyncratic list at the "Philly Plus" link for Slow Food Philadelphia

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I'd never seen that list before. I like it for the most part, but they've got some interesting ideas about the city's geography. Pho 75 (11th and Washington) is in Old City? Even better, John's Roast Pork is in Old City?

My favorite, though, is that they list the address of Eclat chocolates as:

24 South High St. West

Chester, PA 19382

I really hope no one's ever looked at that list and gone looking for South High Street West in Chester.

[KatieLoeb]

Ignore the bad advice and typos and just look over the PA Forum for ideas of where to go and what to eat. Feel free to PM me or stop by my place of employ (easily locate in my signature line) for a glass of wine, a beer or a cocktail and a detailed discussion of what might suit your needs/desires. I'm in Wed-Saturday and would be delighted to help you plan an attack of the eateries in town. There's more than enough places to keep you busy for three squares a day and some snacks!

[ulterior epicure]

I'm going to cross many an eGulleter's pet peeve (including my own) and ask for lunch and dinner suggestions for one day in Philadelphia. I'll be driving in on a Friday and hopefully having dinner at Vetri. Saturday lunch and dinner are open.

FYI, I have been to Le Bec Fin, Susana Foo's, and Lacroix at the Rittenhouse once each, and morimoto twice, and have no real desire to repeat those experiences at present.

[andanand]

I'm going to cross many an eGulleter's pet peeve (including my own) and ask for lunch and dinner suggestions for one day in Philadelphia.  I'll be driving in on a Friday and hopefully having dinner at Vetri.  Saturday lunch and dinner are open. 

FYI, I have been to Le Bec Fin, Susana Foo's, and Lacroix at the Rittenhouse once each, and morimoto twice, and have no real desire to repeat those experiences at present.

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I had the pleasure of getting to Vetri's tasting last summer, and it was well worth the two months I had to wait between reserving and eating.

I would recommend Amada or Tinto (Amada is more traditional Spanish tapas, Tinto is the basque version of this, or pinxtos). Or do both for lunch and then dinner.

[zeffer81]

So it sounds like you're looking to do an upscale dinner? Philly has lots of great BYOBs that turn out delicious food but don't have the LaCroix atmosphere. Philly is also great for ethnic dining; are there any cuisines you don't get the chance to experience where you live? Vietnamese? Mexican? Italian?

For lunch I would recommend a roast pork sandwich (or brisket, my new favorite!) at DiNic's at the Reading Terminal. The above mentioned Amada or Tinto are also nice if you're looking for a nicer atmosphere, but I daresay that nothing beats the atmosphere of the Reading Terminal.

[ulterior epicure]

So it sounds like you're looking to do an upscale dinner?  Philly has lots of great BYOBs that turn out delicious food but don't have the LaCroix atmosphere.  Philly is also great for ethnic dining; are there any cuisines you don't get the chance to experience where you live?  Vietnamese? Mexican? Italian?

No, I'm not necessarily looking for upscale. But, I can get plenty of great ethnic cuisine, so I'm looking for a dining experience that is uniquely Philadelphia.

Also, I failed to mention that I've also been to both Geno's and Pat's (I haven't decided which one I like better, or if either were really worth the extra calories), as well as Alma de Cuba.

Regardless where I eat, I'll be stopping by Capogiro for dessert after each meal.

[andanand]

So it sounds like you're looking to do an upscale dinner?  Philly has lots of great BYOBs that turn out delicious food but don't have the LaCroix atmosphere.  Philly is also great for ethnic dining; are there any cuisines you don't get the chance to experience where you live?  Vietnamese? Mexican? Italian?

No, I'm not necessarily looking for upscale. But, I can get plenty of great ethnic cuisine, so I'm looking for a dining experience that is uniquely Philadelphia.

Also, I failed to mention that I've also been to both Geno's and Pat's (I haven't decided which one I like better, or if either were really worth the extra calories), as well as Alma de Cuba.

Regardless where I eat, I'll be stopping by Capogiro for dessert after each meal.

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I think the general consensus is that the better of the two "signature" Philly sandwiches is the Roast Pork. Get it with the garlicky broccoli rabe and sharp provolone from either John's Roast Pork or DiNic's, in Reading Terminal Market.

[Tim Dolan]

so I'm looking for a dining experience that is uniquely Philadelphia.

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I'll agree with what others have said and recommend the Reading Terminal. Strikes the best balance between "quality" and "uniquely Philadelphia" that I can think of.

[KatieLoeb]

Shank's & Evelyn's on 10th Street is most definitely a uniquely Philly experience. The Roast Beef, Chicken Cutlets or anything there is delicious. And it's a slice of Sou'Filly like no other.

[jm chen]

Regardless where I eat, I'll be stopping by Capogiro for dessert after each meal.

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I applaud your decision.

Tinto is right across the street from the 20th & Sansom Capogiro... certainly some of the best food in the city. Duck montadito is a can't-miss.

Besides RTM (roast pork at DiNic's, rabe, provolone) the other thing that says Philly to me is the small-delicious-unstuffy BYOB scene. Which you could enjoy at Matyson - which, like Tinto, is not far from the 20th Street Capogiro. Food is modern American. Unfortunately they don't have their tasting menus on weekends but the food's inventive and enjoyable.

Good luck with Vetri. It is indeed outrageously good.

[philadining]

You said "hopefully" doing dinner at Vetri. If not, do Osteria.

I'm not sure how uniquely Philadelphian any upscale restaurant is going to be, the real hometown classics are a little more modest. As many have mentioned, either for lunch, or as a snack, get a roast pork sandwich at DiNic's in the Reading Terminal, or at John's Roast Pork, or at Tony Luke's. Get the greens and sharp provolone, and get a large if you're at John's.

The other pure Philly experience is breakfast at Carman's Country Kitchen. Call ahead, that morning, and reserve a spot. Don't plan on eating much the rest of the day.

I'm not sure how unique you'll find any of these, but the happening, buzz-worthy spots seem to be: Amada or Tinto, Rae, Zahav. You might also consider Le Bec Fin (recently gone a la carte, to mixed reviews...)

The dining scenes with the most uniquely philly flavor are probably the chef-driven BYOB, and the gastropub. For BYOBs, you might want to try Cochon, Matyson, Melograno (unless they're in the process of moving) Little Fish, Marigold,

For Gastropubs, I'd go to Standard Tap, Royal Tavern, or Memphis Taproom. The food is good regardless, but the charms of the whole format may be lost if you're not interested in craft beers.

Philly's also recently gotten some interesting expressions of Mexican food, from the basic taqueria (Taquitos de Pueblo) to buffed-up modern versions (Xochitl) with a few stops in-between (Cantina los Caballitos, Molcajete Mixto, Lolita).

I'm not sure how Philly-centric it is, but it's fairly unusual: Horizons makes some delicious, sophisticated food, and oh, by the way, it's vegan.

And we've been lucky that lately, our Chinatown has gotten some interesting regional twists: Szechuan Tasty House; Dim Sum Garden for Shanghainese soup dumplings and noodle dishes; Zhi Wei Guan for northern noodles, breads and dumplings; Xiao Guan or Ken's Seafood for Cantonese, especially live seafood; Ong's for Chiu Chow; Empress Garden for Shanghainese (you might have to ask - or read Chinese -to find it); Four Rivers for Sichuan.

And staying in Chinatown, but straying outside Chinese cuisine: Rangoon serves up very good Burmese food, and Pananag and Banana Leaf do credible Malaysian, none of which is all that easy to find in many cities.

Then there's always "red-gravy" Italian for a real Philly feel.

Any of that sound appealing? We can clarify, or narrow it down if you let us know what sounds good to you...

[ulterior epicure]

Excellent. I appreciate all of your suggestions.

It sounds like the roast pork at Reading terminal is unavoidable as a Saturday lunch option. (Any suggestions as to which between DiNic's, John's Roast Pork, and Tony Luke's?)

Friday night will have to be at Vetri, since they're closed on Saturday nights at present.

Questions:

1. Would doing Osteria on Saturday night be too much of an overlap/redundant with Vetri the night before?

2. I'm heavily leaning toward the BYO scene (though I don't imbibe enough to warrant the BYO). As between the options named, any particular stand-outs? I have heard of Matyson, but know little of the rest. Once I get this whittled down, I'll go search out their threads.

FYI, I've been to Le Bec Fin and have absolutely no desire to return there on this trip.

Edited June 16, 2008 by ulterior epicure (log)

[HD73]

Excellent.  I appreciate all of your suggestions.

It sounds like the roast pork at Reading terminal is unavoidable as a Saturday lunch option.  (Any suggestions as to which between DiNic's, John's Roast Pork, and Tony Luke's?)

Of the three places you mention, only DiNic's is at the RTM. In my opinion, it's also the best by a pretty wide margin.

John's Roast Pork makes a good pork sandwich, but their cheesesteak is fantastic. You mentioned above that you weren't sure if Pat's and Geno's are worth the calories. They're not, but neither would they appear on the top ten list of the majority of this forum. JRP is a real South Philly experience. A little gruff and no-frills, but with a lot of love at the core.

[mattohara]

I know this is not directly related to the above response, but I sincerely feel that the Turkey Sicilian at Sarcone's is the best sammich in the city.

Oh and for what it's worth Cochon definitely is my recommendation for the BYO part, especially if you like French.

[Bluehensfan]

Gotta hit DiNic's at Reading Terminal Market for roast pork (not pulled) with provolone and broccoli rabe. While in the market, also get a hot pretzel out of the oven from Fisher's pretzels. Also, if you get there early enough, the pancakes at the Dutch Eating Place are avatar-worthy.

As an aside, there's a lot to photograph at the market, including interesting food, food stalls, merchants, and customers. And if you want to photograph the best chocolate in Philly, visit the Naked Chocolate Cafe on Juniper and Walnut Sts.

Finally, when hitting Capogiro, make certain to try the bacio.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Bluehensfan (log)

[ulterior epicure]

Rest assured, Bluehensfan, I've never been to Capogiro and not ordered nearly everything on the case.

[shacke]

Rest assured, Bluehensfan, I've never been to Capogiro and not ordered nearly everything on the case.

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A little birdie told me that Honeysuckle gelato might be on the flavor list tomorrow. Considering it only makes a fleeting appearance each year, you may want to try it. Some folks don't like all the flowers in there but it doesn't bother me - not one bit.

[andanand]

Excellent.  I appreciate all of your suggestions.

It sounds like the roast pork at Reading terminal is unavoidable as a Saturday lunch option.  (Any suggestions as to which between DiNic's, John's Roast Pork, and Tony Luke's?)

Friday night will have to be at Vetri, since they're closed on Saturday nights at present. 

Questions:

1. Would doing Osteria on Saturday night be too much of an overlap/redundant with Vetri the night before? 

2. I'm heavily leaning toward the BYO scene (though I don't imbibe enough to warrant the BYO).  As between the options named, any particular stand-outs?  I have heard of Matyson, but know little of the rest.  Once I get this whittled down, I'll go search out their threads.

FYI, I've been to Le Bec Fin and have absolutely no desire to return there on this trip.

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Keep in mind that on Friday nights you can only get the tasting menu from Vetri. This is excellent, but if you're not in the mood for that, it could be a problem. Another problem is that you usually have to reserve those tastings 2 months in advance (by date) at noon EST (which is when the phone lines open). I think that doing Vetri and Osteria is a bit much, personally, but you certainly would be getting two great meals. It's like eating at Babbo for dinner on friday and Lupa for lunch on Saturday. The food will certainly be different (and those Osteria Pizzas are delicious, especially the Lombarda) but still too similar for two consecutive meals out for me.

As for BYOs, Marigold used to be my favorite neighborhood place in Philly before Michael Solomonov left to start Zahav. Now that it is Southern instead of Middle Eastern, I find it really uninteresting. Cochon is one place that I've been dying to try, as they seem to share with me a pork fetish.

[ulterior epicure]

I wouldn't think of going to Vetri and NOT getting the tasting menu.

To be honest, I'm oinked-out, if there is a such a thing, but I will take a look at Cochon's menu nonetheless.

Is Zahav Middle Eastern? That intrigues me.

[andanand]

I wouldn't think of going to Vetri and NOT getting the tasting menu.

To be honest, I'm oinked-out, if there is a such a thing, but I will take a look at Cochon's menu nonetheless. 

Is Zahav Middle Eastern?  That intrigues me.

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The menu that I see on their website doesn't look like it's changed since the restaurant opened a long time ago. Check philadining's photos on the thread here. The "specials" are what look great. As for Zahav, it's mostly Israeli, but the concept (dips and skewers) doesn't excite me as much as Marigold's fare used to. If I understand correctly there's a tasting-menu-style room but I haven't heard any reports from it.

[rlibkind]

I'll be driving in on a Friday and hopefully having dinner at Vetri.  Saturday lunch and dinner are open.

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No breakfast? Or do you have another commitment?

If you've never had scrapple, you must take breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market. Either the Down Home Diner or the Dutch Eating Place . I tend to eat it plain, but others top with ketchup or syrup. Great side dish for eggs. The Down Home Diner does a wonderful job with pancakes. Overall I prefer the Down Home Diner to the Dutch Eating Place (the quality of the ingredients isn't as good at the latter), but it's a matter on which honest people can disagree. The Down Home Diner also serves incredibly good biscuits. (Should you stop by for breakfast Saturday, you'll probably find me schmoozing with Tommy or Joe at DiNic's soon after the market opens at 8 a.m.; yes, you can get a pork sandwich for breakfast!)

And at lunch, save room for dessert from Bassett's, est. 1861, and serving at the RTM since it opened in 1893. Any flavor of their high-butterfat ice cream will do, though I'm partial to French vanilla, rum raisin and raspberry truffle.

If you can get high quality Jewish-style hot pastrami where you live, you can skip Hershel's at the RTM and get DiNic's roast pork; but if you can't, you should get a sandwich there...and the roast pork at DiNic's as well! You could also stop by Hershel's on Sunday morning for lox and bagels. The Down Home Diner is also open Sunday, but the Pennsylvania Dutch places are not.

If you wish to avoid excessive meat consumption at lunch, you could get a hoagie at Salumeria or Carmen's, since although neither is skimpy on meat there are lots of veggies to go along with the prosciutto, etc. I prefer Salumeria which makes a unique tasting hoagie (ask for the house dressing, marinated artichokes and aged provlone on your sandwich), but others rightly argue the cause of Carmen's picture-perfect sandwiches. Neither, however, is quite as good as the hoagies from Sarcone's Deli at 9th and Fitzwater. But decent hoagies, subs, italians, etc., can be found in many cities, not just Philadelphia.

[KatieLoeb]

Rest assured, Bluehensfan, I've never been to Capogiro and not ordered nearly everything on the case.

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A little birdie told me that Honeysuckle gelato might be on the flavor list tomorrow. Considering it only makes a fleeting appearance each year, you may want to try it. Some folks don't like all the flowers in there but it doesn't bother me - not one bit.

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I will confirm this with a phone call tomorrow. A quart will come home and reside in my freezer until we can all get together for the annual Moscato Float ritual.

YAY!!!!

[Capaneus]

I wouldn't think of going to Vetri and NOT getting the tasting menu.

To be honest, I'm oinked-out, if there is a such a thing, but I will take a look at Cochon's menu nonetheless. 

Is Zahav Middle Eastern?  That intrigues me.

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Israeli.

Osteria is not quite Vetri. I think it's a different enough experience to stand on its own:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=99064&st=0

But if it were my Saturday dinner I'd opt for Amada or Tinto. And hey!: Tinto is one drunken stumble away from the 20th St. Capogiro, thereby simplifying travel a smidge.

Of the credible roast porks, only diNic's is at the RTM, or, for that matter, within walking distance of Center City. Everything else will require driving or public transit. Make sure you ask specifically for the brocolli rabe: they've only recently repented their spinach-slinging ways, and may relapse. You would then incur a terrible karmic price.

Cochon is a terrific restaurant, as you can ascertain from their thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=108409&st=0

James is another place you may want to consider:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=98254&st=150

Really, any permutation of the above would be a meal I'd gladly undertake for you, should you feel unequal to the task. You know, if you find yourself "oinked-out", or otherwise unmanned.