Philly Restaurants

[david coonce]

We will be there in June for a wedding, probably four days/3 nights. Looking for a couple dinner recommendations. I've always wanted to check out White Dog - I like their philosophy and the food sounds good. That leaves a few other meals. Let me know - Lunch, dinner, and for real, what is the legit place to get a cheesesteak. (I don't want to go to that "English Only" place, either. )

Thanks, Philadelphians.

[MarketStEl]

Last question first: Don't go to the place across from that "English Only" place either unless you're in the area anyway.

Any of these should satisfy:

Steve's Prince of Steaks in the Northeast

Cosmi's at 8th and (Tasker? Morris?)

Tony Luke's at Front and Oregon -- but if you go there, you really should order the roast pork Italian instead; you will be very pleasantly surprised

Craig LaBan liked John's Roast Pork at Water and Snyder, but I can't tell you whether he's on target or off base. Is Holly still hanging around here?

Of which speaking: Take a look at the recommendations on HollyEats.com. You won't go wrong with any of his 4- or 5-grease-stain-rated places.

As for really great restaurants, let's see, where to begin? Money no object, or do you have a budget to watch? (For instance, I've heard Amada is absolutely fantastic, but I haven't been able to swing the cost yet.) I think I will have to leave this to the really hardcore fine foodies on this board--but I will say that if you enjoy both great jazz and decent food in the same room, Zanzibar Blue (Broad and Walnut in the Bellevue basement) should be on your list. I wouldn't say that it ranks among the really great places food-wise, but its food is good enough and the jazz more than makes up for the rest.

Further down the scale, you might want to give Vintage near me (13th between Sansom and Walnut) a try, especially if you would like to experiment with good, reasonably priced wines and good, reasonably priced food in a convivial atmosphere at the same time.

As for lunch: Reading Terminal Market. Take your pick from any of the prepared-foods vendors. Nothing further need be said.

Edited February 20, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[Tim Dolan]

Not to step in for Holly, but I think that John's Roast Pork definitely lives up to the hype. Both their cheesesteak and, you guessed it, their roast pork, are as good as you'll find anywhere. The only problem is their hours. They're only open till 3pm during the week, and although I've read somewhere that they're supposed to be open on Saturday, they've been closed on the 3 Saturdays that I stopped by. I've learned my lesson and won't be testing them out on a Saturday again...

[Tim Dolan]

Also you can search the rest of the board for more in-depth reviews of certain places, but being that you have 3 nights I think a great way to get the most out of your trip would be to hit one of each of the following types of restaurants: BYOB, "gastropub" a.k.a a bar that serves damn good food that isn't chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks, and one high end/ fine-dining place (open to much discussion what that constitutes). Have fun choosing your places.

[Andrew Fenton]

In my opinion, the cheesesteak at John's is overrated:

Good bread (about a third of an Italian loaf). The steak comes in nice thick slices (sliced not chopped); the meat isn't as greasy as most steaks are. Which is a problem: you want that perfect amount of meat juice and grease blending with the melted cheese, forming a perfect matrix of fats.

The really striking thing about John's steaks is just how much cheese they use. Lots of cheese. And the thing is, they put it on the grilling meat just before it all goes into the bread. The result is a sandwich composed of strata of meat and cheese, the latter not fully melted when it comes off the grill. It's like geology on a roll: youy'll be eating through layers of meat and then suddenly hit a pocket of provolone (White Gold! Load up the truck and move to Beverly...) Which is fine, but-- the fat matrix, man! Where's the matrix? The non-melted cheese surprised and bothered me: was it just because they were busy when I was there? Or is that typical?

I suppose if you really like a lot of cheese, this is the steak for you. (But I'd recommend letting it sit, tightly wrapped, for a minute or two in order to let the cheese melt fully.) As far as I'm concerned, though, Tony Luke's reigns supreme.

And for what it's worth, Holly agrees with me; too much cheese.

Edited to add: the roast pork sandwich is quite good. But if I'm already driving and am in the mood for an artery-clogging sandwich, I'm heading to Tony Luke's.

Edited February 20, 2007 by Andrew Fenton (log)

[Diann]

Some ideas:

- Italian with wine list: Osteria (GO! It's delicious.) Nicer and more expensive -- Vetri. They're related...

- Italian BYO: Melograno

- American with wine list: Restaurant M

- American BYO: Matyson (also, I hear Mandoline rocks, but I personally haven't been there yet)

- Small plates: Ansill

- Tapas: Amada

- French (BYO): Pif

- Gastropub: Standard Tap (duck confit salad...mmmm), Good Dog

- Vaguely Mexican, maybe not "authentic" but tasty and gussied-up: Xochitl, Cantina los Caballitos, Lolita (BYO)

- Lunch: Reading Terminal

- More lunch: Sarcone's Deli for more hoagies

- Cheesesteak: I hear Steve's in Northeast Philly is good? Tony Luke's does have the benefit of (a) being open almost 24/7 and (b) serving my favorite roast pork sandwich ever.

And if you do decide to hit up a BYO or two, there's a nice wine & spirits store at 12th and Chestnut (assuming you're staying downtown).

Edited February 20, 2007 by Diann (log)

[philadining]

Diann's list is excellent, and gives a good crossection of what's especially good in Philly right now. I'll just add a couple of things: for Mexican, consider Mocajete Mixto as well. (I just got another glowing report from a friend.)

Philly has a surprising number of Malaysian restaurants, if that's intriguing at all, Check out Aqua (7th and Chestnut), Penang or Banana Leaf (both in Chinatown). Perhaps even better, and more unusual, is Rangoon, a Burmese restaurant also in Chinatown. If you like Thai and Indian food, you'd probably like Burmese. It's not exactly like either, but has some similarities to both.

And along those lines, if you like spicy, authentic Sichuan food, not easily found everywhere, we're lucky to have two good places within a few hundred feet of one another. Szechuan Tasty House, and Chung King Garden are both in Chinatown, on Arch street, near 9th.

Many of us have long had a mission here in this forum to help convince people that the real Philly sandwich is the Roast Pork, not the cheesesteak, and if you get a chance, you should try one from DiNic's in the Reading Terminal Market, or Tony Lukes, or John's Roast Pork.

And what the heck, you're here in Philly, you should probably try a cheesesteak just to say you did. But as with the pork sandwich, it may not be practical to travel all over creation just to find the elusive "best" sandwich. You could get a decent one at the big three tourist joints: Jim's, Pat's or that other English-only joint (yeah I stopped going there too...) and even if those spots may not serve up the ultimate sandwich, they DO offer authentic experiences, plenty of neighborhood folks go there and stand in line, and put up with the attytood from the guys on the line, and drip grease and cheese on their shoes. (And you know, sometimes those steaks are delicious.) If you have a car, the time, and the inclination, sure you can try to make it out to Steve's Prince of Steaks, way the heck out in NorthEast Philly, or down to John's Roast Pork during the 15 minutes they're open each day, or way down in deepest South Philly to Tony Luke's. But depending on your schedule, you might just want to try a decent one without devoting an entire excursion to it.

Whatever you do, don't get one in the hotel restaurant, don't try a random cart on the sidewalk, don't get one at a diner. Go to a place that concentrates on cheesesteaks. Sadly the convenient place in the Reading Terminal seems to get generally bad reviews. If you're touring around South Street, Jim's is easy to find, at 4th and South. If you go to the Italian Market to look around, just keep doing down until 9th intersects with Passayunk and you'll find Pat's and Geno's. (Although if you're down there what you really should eat is a Taco...) If you're in Old City, near the historical stuff like Independence Hall, Sonny's on Market, near third, is decent.

In any case, enjoy, and if you need more tips, give us more details about what you might want. I really like the advice to cover the bases: get a cheesesteak, a roast pork and a hoagie for lunches. For dinners, try a BYOB like Matyson, Melograno or Pif, or if you'd prefer a place that serves wine and other drinks, try Ansill, Amada, Osteria or M. Then try some of the ethnic stuff that's especially good here: Mexican or Chinese or Burmese or Malaysian.

You won't go hungry here...

[philadining]

Oh, and back to your original post, you'll notice that none of us has mentioned the White Dog...

That place has been a long time favorite of mine, and I have always liked the vibe, and the philosophy, and usually, the food. I ate there fairly recently, and it was fine, although not mind-blowing. There's been a bit of churn in the kitchen, and it's even been reported that the owner and main driving force, is planning to sell it to employees, or some such thing.

That said, it's not as if it's gone all to hell, it's much like it has been for years, a pleasant, slightly funky, comfortable space, serving good food with a consciousness of trying to use local providers, or other ethically-oriented suppliers, etc.. It's just a little less solid these days because of the various changes. But you'd likely have a pleasant meal there, if you're intrigued by it. Service is always a little spotty, but rarely outright horrible.

A decent fall-back is to just go to the bar, they always have great local beer on tap, and some interesting wines, and they have some very tasty lighter food on the bar menu, if you just wanted to make a pilgrimage without burning a dinner opportunity. But again, the meal I had there recently, from the main dinner menu, was fine, just not transcendent.

[KatieLoeb]

Either drive or cab it to Tony Luke's on Oregon Ave. You can have your cheesesteak and your Roast Pork too. It's the best of both worlds with little chance of catching them closed since they're open pretty much all of the time. Not sure if they're still closed on Sundays like they were at one point. Anyone?

It's the Roast Pork Italiano that we're promoting. Roast pork, sharp provolone cheese and sauteed broccoli rabe. It's the best sandwich in Philly. For sure.

There's a ton of restaurants here and virtually any cuisine you can think of. A quick glance around our little slice of eGullet will easily confirm that. Read up on our experiences and see what seems intriguing. Feel free to ask questions here, we'll be happy to opine for you. My feeling is you should check out those things you can't get at home or we know we do very well. Mexican, various Asian cuisines, roast pork sandwiches, creative byob's, Osteria, gastropubs etc. all have a warm spot in our hearts.

[rlibkind]

Go to a place that concentrates on cheesesteaks.  Sadly the convenient place in the Reading Terminal seems to get generally bad reviews.

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That would be Rick's. While hardly up there in the Pantheon of Cheesesteaks, it's okay, so if you must have a cheesesteak but can't get out of Center City it will do.

That said, the choice sandwiches at the Reading Terminal Market would be:

Roast Pork at Tommy DiNic's. (Tommy also has his adherents for the roast beef and brisket sandwiches). If you get the pork, be sure to order greens and aged provolone.

Hoagie at Salumeria. I usually order the prosciutto, but take your pick. It would be wise to order it with the house dressing and marinated artichokes. Carmen's also has its boosters, and they make a very nice hoagie, too, but I prefer Salumeria.

The RTM is a great place for breakfast. Either the Dutch Eating Place (cheap and filling) or the Down Home Diner (not as cheap, but still fairly priced, filling and excellent quality). At either place, be sure to order scrapple. The Dutch Eating Place is closed Sunday-Tuesday. Down Home Diner is a seven-day operation. You can also pick up baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, etc., at any number of other stalls. The only establishment I avoid is Profi's Creperie; maybe they've gotten better but I thought they were pretty awful.

Other of my favs at the RTM:

Pizza at By George Pasta & Pizza

Cupcakes at Flying Monkey Patisserie

Spring rolls at Little Thai Market

Various pakoras, fritters, etc., at Nanee's Kitchen

Roast Pork/Duck and noddle soup or rice/veggie plates at Sang Kee Peking Duck

Ice Cream at Bassett's

[Diann]

Either drive or cab it to Tony Luke's on Oregon Ave.  You can have your cheesesteak and your Roast Pork too.  It's the best of both worlds with little chance of catching them closed since they're open pretty much all of the time.  Not sure if they're still closed on Sundays like they were at one point.  Anyone?

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Tony Luke's is open 6AM-midnight Monday-Thursday and 6AM-2AM Friday and Saturday. Closed Sundays.

[Rich Pawlak]

[/quote rlibkind]

That would be Rick's. While hardly up there in the Pantheon of Cheesesteaks, it's okay, so if you must have a cheesesteak but can't get out of Center City it will do.

I actually think Rick's gets a bad rap; someone decided that it wasn't a good steak and people, whether they have eaten there or not recently, carry on the bad review. A few weeks back I sampled a "cheez wit" there, and it was every bit as good as a steak at Geno's, Pat's, Steve's and Tony Luke's. Really. After that experience (which I forgot to post about due to a flurry of other writing assignments), I think Rick deserves the benefit of the doubt and a re-visit by anyone who's criticized his product in the past. I say give Rick's a do-over.

[YummyInMyTummy]

For a good cheese steak i like Tony Luke's or Pat's. Pat's isnt a sit down place though

[MarketStEl]

For a good cheese steak i like Tony Luke's or Pat's. Pat's isnt a sit down place though

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You can too sit down at Pat's! There are tables under the canopy on the 9th Street and (I think) Wharton Street sides of the building.