Restaurants long gone...

[monavano]

Pardon me if this has been mentioned, but nothing beat Headhouse brownies and chocolate chip cookies after a night at Dickens Inn .

[phungi]

Pardon me if this has been mentioned, but nothing beat Headhouse brownies and chocolate chip cookies after a night at Dickens Inn .

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I forgot about Headhouse square... what was the name of that Steak place that was quite forgettable?

[jmbrightman]

I had fun family dinners when I was a kid at Kanpai at Newmarket. it was my first "Japanese Steakhouse" experience.

[James Colabelli]

I really miss the Commissary, where I worked when in college... Going there for brunch on Sunday was a regular thing. Also the Piano Bar next door. Great place.

I'm surprised noone has mentioned Hillary's, the ice cream shops. There were like three in town, one on South Street, one near the Ritz, and one on Chestnut. I have fond childhood memories of the Oreo Mint Chocolate ice cream, in particular....

[KatieLoeb]

I really miss the Commissary, where I worked when in college...  Going there for brunch on Sunday was a regular thing.  Also the Piano Bar next door.  Great place.

I'm surprised noone has mentioned Hillary's, the ice cream shops.  There were like three in town, one on  South Street, one near the Ritz, and one on Chestnut.  I have fond childhood memories of the Oreo Mint Chocolate ice cream, in particular....

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And one behind the old Urban Outfitters that's now Strikes Bowling Lounge at 40th & Locust. I loved Hillary's! We used to sit there and try and decide what the worst combo of flavors and toppings we could think of was. I think the Grand Prize went to Mandarin Orange Sherbet with Red Hots and Hot Fudge.

[phungi]

I'm surprised noone has mentioned Hillary's, the ice cream shops.  There were like three in town, one on  South Street, one near the Ritz, and one on Chestnut.  I have fond childhood memories of the Oreo Mint Chocolate ice cream, in particular....

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was there a Hillary's on Old York Road and 73? I recall several different restaurants at that locale...

[skinik]

I guess I will have to chime in. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Day's Deli at 18th and Spruce. It was the first deli where regulars had to pay even if they didn't show up.

[herbacidal]

Pardon me if this has been mentioned, but nothing beat Headhouse brownies and chocolate chip cookies after a night at Dickens Inn .

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Yea, Koffmeyer's was good.

[JanMcBaker]

I really miss the Commissary, where I worked when in college...  Going there for brunch on Sunday was a regular thing.  Also the Piano Bar next door.  Great place.

I'm surprised noone has mentioned Hillary's, the ice cream shops.  There were like three in town, one on  South Street, one near the Ritz, and one on Chestnut.  I have fond childhood memories of the Oreo Mint Chocolate ice cream, in particular....

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ooohhhhh..... Hillary's was gooood.... Peach Courvoisier was my favorite flavor!! And the only one I ate without any topping...... And my sister loved milkshakes with Rachel's brownies and Bailey's Irish Cream.

[South Jersey Epicurean]

I didn't go through all of the posts....But the "Conversation" at about 15th/16th & Pine was a small French bakery with a fabulous restaurant upstairs that we used to go to alot pre-show or just out to dinner because my cousin was in law school & lived at 17th & Pine. She didn't get out much!! It was not French in portions either. The bread was wonderful. This was in the early/mid 70's.

The best BRUNCH EVER & the first place to ever have the concept of a "salad bar" in the city was at a place between South & Lombard on 5th Street? (Right where or adjacent to Tira Mi Su is/was located. It had a red sign, was a one-word name, but I'm blanking on the NAME!!! I thought of the name.....Wildflowers!!

We had my parents 25th anniversary brunch party there. The pecan pancakes with orange butter were to die for in addition to everything else made on the premises in the brunch buffet bar.

Victor's Cafe on Dickinson Street with live opera used to be such a good, inexpensive place that you could just walk into without waiting. I learned to love veal parmisiana there and ordered it EVERYWHERE I went for about 9 years--even if it was a Chinese restaurant. It's way too expensive now.

The Fish Market was wonderful. I still have their recipe for Apple Walnut Pie which is to die for.

I also loved the chain MAGIC PAN at the Gallery for crepes. It was a great high school date place and the product was excellent (73-80).

What about The Magnolia Cafe on Locust between Rittenhouse Square & 16th & the original Cafe Nola for Cajun/Creole/New Orleans cuisine. The decor of each place was very cool too with those beads in the trees on Locust in front of Magnolia's.

We can't forget some South Street Main Stays our family went to many times!!! Lickety Split, Knave of Hearts (no one gave a bigger salad than the Knave). Both were eclectic cuisines--the Knave's mismatched dishes, linens, tableware were always interesting while Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, or Gang of Four played to the uppercrust or yuppie scum who went there!!

Some of the worst meals at places gone by:

The Garden on Spruce Street

Bookbinder's (Who cares if it is back)!

Restaurante Focolare in NewMarket--people waited for hours; We.had one of the worst all time meals there. We waited 90 minutes PAST our reservation; we waited 2 hours for the food; most of it came out cold or burnt. they offerred no apologies. My brother gave them the best comment: "I've had better food at my high school cafeteria."

speaking of NEWMARKET:

I loved the Rusty Scupper occasionally; I went to the Kan Pai in NewMarket for a couple of my teenage birthdays. Way better than Benihana!!!

I only mention the Cheese Cellar on Lombard between Front & Second because I worked there. I really got introduced to better wine there. And the chocolate fondue as well as the 2 cheese fondues (Cheddar & beer; emmenthal, gruyere, white wine) were great.

Edited April 9, 2005 by South Jersey Epicurean (log)

[MarketStEl]

What about The Magnolia Cafe on Locust between Rittenhouse Square & 16th

You're the third person to mention this place, which I think is the record for any single establishment on this topic.

& the original Cafe Nola for Cajun/Creole/New Orleans cuisine. The decor of each place was very cool too with those beads in the trees on Locust in front of Magnolia's.

My further recollection is that Magnolia was more reasonable than Cafe Nola. So what exactly did it in?

We can't forget some South Street Main Stays our family went to many times!!!  Lickety Split, Knave of Hearts (no one gave a bigger salad than the Knave). Both were eclectic cuisines--the Knave's mismatched dishes, linens, tableware were always interesting while Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, or Gang of Four played to the uppercrust or yuppie scum who went there!!

Of the original Restaurant Renaissance establishments, only two survive: the Astral Plane and Friday Saturday Sunday.

The Astral Plane has the same eclectic decor and mismatched table settings that the Knave had. It also has a bit of history on its walls in the form of front pages from The Philadelphia Independent, an African-American newspaper whose offices the restaurant now occupies. The Independent was racier and had more celebrity stuff in it than did the Tribune.

Some of the worst meals at places gone by:

The Garden on Spruce Street

I had a less-than-memorable meal there once, though it was far from the worst I've ever had.

I do recall a zinger about the Garden in a magazine--Philadelphia, I believe. It was a mini-review that described the place's "new American cuisine" as "American Express cuisine."

[Sfuffy]

We can't forget some South Street Main Stays our family went to many times!!!  Lickety Split, Knave of Hearts (no one gave a bigger salad than the Knave). Both were eclectic cuisines--the Knave's mismatched dishes, linens, tableware were always interesting while Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, or Gang of Four played to the uppercrust or yuppie scum who went there!!

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And the Knave of Hearts' space has sat empty for about two years after the building's new owners totally undid the space.

[mrbigjas]

What about The Magnolia Cafe on Locust between Rittenhouse Square & 16th

You're the third person to mention this place, which I think is the record for any single establishment on this topic.

& the original Cafe Nola for Cajun/Creole/New Orleans cuisine. The decor of each place was very cool too with those beads in the trees on Locust in front of Magnolia's.

My further recollection is that Magnolia was more reasonable than Cafe Nola. So what exactly did it in?

if i remember right, and i think i do, it was done in by the owner of the building drastically increasing the rent.

[KatieLoeb]

What about The Magnolia Cafe on Locust between Rittenhouse Square & 16th

You're the third person to mention this place, which I think is the record for any single establishment on this topic.

& the original Cafe Nola for Cajun/Creole/New Orleans cuisine. The decor of each place was very cool too with those beads in the trees on Locust in front of Magnolia's.

My further recollection is that Magnolia was more reasonable than Cafe Nola. So what exactly did it in?

if i remember right, and i think i do, it was done in by the owner of the building drastically increasing the rent.

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Having worked with the former owner of Magnolia, that is indeed correct. Same story he told me. Actually I think it had something to do with the original landlord passing away and the landlord's son doubling the rent with virtually no notice and no opportunity for negotiation.

[MarketStEl]

My further recollection is that Magnolia was more reasonable than Cafe Nola.  So what exactly did it in?

if i remember right, and i think i do, it was done in by the owner of the building drastically increasing the rent.

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Having worked with the former owner of Magnolia, that is indeed correct. Same story he told me. Actually I think it had something to do with the original landlord passing away and the landlord's son doubling the rent with virtually no notice and no opportunity for negotiation.

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So did the landlord's son learn his lesson or something?

I recall that the space sat empty for a while before Tequila's moved into it. Either Tequila's charges so much more for what it serves that it can afford to pay the rent, or the landlord wised up and decided some rent was better than none at all.

[Carlson1105]

I worked for a few years at Magnolia Cafe, managing it for a few. Customers always seemed to enjoy it, and we had great Mardi Gras parties.

A few places I remember well were 20th St. Cafe (now 20 Manning, after being Carolina's) Worked there for a while too. The Gilded Cage, Club Rittenhouse (now D'Angelo's) and Dewey's where Little Pete's is now on 17th St. Remember going with Dad every Saturday for breakfast.

[Rich Pawlak]

Il Gallo Nero, where now a shameless Buca di Beppo sits

Of Time and The River, on Leithgow and South, where Marrakesh now sits

Russell's, where La Baia now sits

The origional H.A Winston at Front and Chestnut, which sadly sits empty and forlorn. It was great for a college student Saturday night out in the mid-70s.

La Chaumiere, on Sansom, which, in its time was a lovely intimate French place

Magyar, also on Sansom, which was a fun little taste of Hungary.

Conversation, at 17th and Pine, previously mentioned, with a great Sunday brunch

The Three Threes, an eccentric place on Smedley, that proved that liver and onions and sherry could make for an elegant entree. The last dinner destination of the first Dangerous Dining Club in October of 1992.

The first wood-burning oven pizza joint in Philly, at 4040 Locust, and I CANT REMEMBER ITS NAME!!! The site of the very first Dangerous Dining Club get- together in 1988.

La Cupole, Olivier de St. Martin's very first restaurant in Philly, on the 4th St side of the Bourse. He introduced skate with brown butter to Philly there, I think.

Shippen's, at 4th and Bainbridge, one of the great, stylish pick-up bar-restaurants, which became several different places before its current reincarnation as Southwark.

[philadining]

The first wood-burning oven pizza joint in Philly, at 4040 Locust, and I CANT REMEMBER ITS NAME!!!  The site of the very first Dangerous Dining Club get- together in 1988.

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Bocce Pizza, i think it was mentioned upthread a bit, and yeah, that was good stuff. There was one out in Suburban Square for a while too, and that one seemed to drift in quality, but I generally had good luck with the duck pizza. I got one once that was topped with more rosemary than duck, and that was a little hard to take, but I'm pretty forgiving if there's a wood-fired crust and duck in the same general vicinity.

[mrbigjas]

aw man, bocce was a good place. that was the first time i had a pizza with gorgonzola on it. being poor college students we couldn't go all the time (not with allegro's being right there and so cheap), but it was a treat when we did...

Edited April 13, 2005 by mrbigjas (log)

[Carlson1105]

Ah, good old Days Deli. Remember always going there to buy beer because they never felt obligated to card us, and we were like 16 years old.

[MarketStEl]

I walked past the site of Jamison's this afternoon and remembered what it was that forced that wonderful little cafe-bakery to close.

It wasn't the rent. It was L&I.

Jamison's served a Sunday brunch featuring a special of the day (usually an omelet or quiche). This, L&I determined, made the place a restaurant. And restaurants must have restrooms.

Jamison's didn't, and the space was too small to put one in.

[DenK]

Please help. I need the name of the Italian Restaurant at Bustleton & Princeton Aves. in Philadelphia, PA. Out of business many years, went there as a kid and just trying to remember some of the old sites.

[jmbrightman]

I miss the Rittenhouse Soul Food cafeteria that was on the 2100 block (2000 block? it was past the Oliver Bair funeral home) of Sansom Street. It was open for breakfast and lunch. The menu changed daily, but typically featured a fried fish, barbecue turkey and chicken, fried chicken, and if you were lucky, amazing brown gravy and onion smothered pork chops. Their cornbread stuffing was/is thebest I have tasted.

[Holly Moore]

To keep this thread going, the Taco House on Pine. Microwaved Mexican never tasted so good and great guacamole. Cheap too. Tippy's special, a little bit of most everything, for something like eight bucks.

[KatieLoeb]

When, exactly, did Taco House close?? I'd been eating their solidly mediocre Tex-Mexican food since like 1981, when I was still a student and my 7 roommates and I would pool our pennies and get a big Taco House order and all share. I still remember the tostadas and the quesadillas, both of which were quite tasty. And the little containers of the homemade hot sauce. I loved that stuff...

I guess the influx of authentic and well made Mexican must've put them out of business, eh?

Edited February 24, 2009 by KatieLoeb (log)