philly for one night only

[tonguesandwich]

i'll be back visiting family outside of philly next week and was thinking of taking my wife into the city for dinner one night. Just curious, from a local's perspective, what's the one place I need to go to?

I'm looking for upscale casual (i'm from seattle, we don't wear ties during our 4 star meals) with a slow food bent (fresh, seasonal)... could be sushi to french to american regional...

any recommendations?

[cdh]

You've gotta give something more of a clue about what you want. The silence you're running into is the paralyzation-by-excessive-choices phenomenon. Philly has a great selection of restaurants that meet your criteria... look at other threads in this topic. None of the places that get their own threads (except Le Bec Fin) make you dress up...

[mrbigjas]

i'm gonna go ahead and say pif. nice place, small, chef-run, byob, basically french in concept, with ingredients purchased daily from the italian market nearby. in those ways it represents a lot of the dining trends in philadelphia all at once.

alternately call django and try to see if they have any cancellations that day.

[herbacidal]

Yea, Chris and bigjas are right.

You're being too general. I could probably crank off 10 different restaurants.

That said, let me say that:

we have a excellent selection of Bring Your own Bottle of Wine restaurants.

Pif would be a good choice, and I would actually put Django first on your list.

Given Django's popularity though, I'd also plan to have a backup.

Since I don't believe Seattle has a strong Italian tradition, I'll throw my favorite little Italian BYOB on there second, La Baia.

I think Philly's strongest in Italian and Italian-American, French bistro, and regional American.

Don't go for sushi; you can probably get better 'round your way.

Edited October 26, 2004 by herbacidal (log)

[rlibkind]

My recommendation: go with what you can't get in Seattle.

Since you've got a decent selection of New American and French-inspired restaurants in the PNW, why not go for something that's done better and with more variety in Philadelphia than in Seattle.

In other words: Italian. You've got lots of options in a number of different styles:

Everything from inexpensive but satisfying red gravy (Marra's, Villa di Roma, Ralph's, Criniti) to top-of-the-line with prices to match (Vetri, Il Portico) and everything inbetween.

[tonguesandwich]

My recommendation: go with what you can't get in Seattle.

←

thanks, you're all correct, i was a too broad.. and why not focus on Italian since Seattle's not known for that... I'll check out Vetri and Il Portico. I may have to schedule a second night also since Pif and Django sound excellent as well.

thanks for all your input!

[gabe]

If you can't get into Vetri, L'Angolo or Melograno would be good, if less highfalutin, choices for Italian. And both of those are BYO.

[little ms foodie]

a few years ago I had to go to Philly 3 times in a month from seattle. I ate at Fork, Bistro St Tropez, Davio's and Pasion!

I REALLY liked Fork and Pasion! to the locals, are these still good restaurants? The lamb tongue ceviche I had at Pasion still gets talked about.

Davio's was ok, the portions were way to big for me. And it seemed a bit stuffy. I remember the people at the next table had the truffle tasting menu though, that smelled GOOD!

drinks at Budakhan made me think that would be worth a visit.

Edited October 26, 2004 by little ms foodie (log)

[wkl]

My recommendation: go with what you can't get in Seattle.

←

thanks, you're all correct, i was a too broad.. and why not focus on Italian since Seattle's not known for that... I'll check out Vetri and Il Portico. I may have to schedule a second night also since Pif and Django sound excellent as well.

thanks for all your input!

←

Django is wonderful.But, be advised, it is a tough reservation.

[KatieLoeb]

My recommendation: go with what you can't get in Seattle.

←

thanks, you're all correct, i was a too broad.. and why not focus on Italian since Seattle's not known for that... I'll check out Vetri and Il Portico. I may have to schedule a second night also since Pif and Django sound excellent as well.

thanks for all your input!

←

If you decide to stay that second night and hit one of the local BYOB's, check the PA Forum for the latest suggestions of great wines available at the PLCB HERE

We've all been buying and trying and comparing notes, so you'll have some guidance as to what's been a particularly fantastic wine value most recently. If I can provide any further assistance, don't hesitate to post or PM.

[herbacidal]

If you can't get into Vetri, L'Angolo or Melograno would be good, if less highfalutin, choices for Italian.  And both of those are BYO.

←

I agree, although Melograno has started to approach Django as far as being hard to get into.

I REALLY liked Fork and Pasion! to the locals, are these still good restaurants? The lamb tongue ceviche I had at Pasion still gets talked about.

Fork and Pasion are still well-liked.

From all accounts, Pasion has dropped slightly from its previous status (maybe the equilvalent of half a star, in some people's minds) but I'd probably still prefer it over

A LOT of other places.

[stephenc]

Melograno doesn't take reservations, so arrive early, put in your name, and then go get a drink somewhere else if there's a wait.

[tonguesandwich]

Just thought i'd let you know we decided to hit Melograno for our one night in Philly, and we were very pleased. It was election night and there was no wait, a pleasant staff and some great dishes. The scallops and artichoke heart appetizer and braised quail main course were highlights. Really nice area of town too. Thanks again everyone who gave an opinion.

Edited November 7, 2004 by tonguesandwich (log)