I am partial to ethnic and hot/spicy, and I am a grad student on a stipend, so if you're looking for boring American slop or expensive continental cuisine, s skip this post.
* = one of my favorites (good value implied)
$= slightly more expensive than most of the others in this post
Chinatown (bordered by 9th and 11th sts. and Arch and Vine Sts.) is densely packed with Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese restaraunts. Try these:
Nha Hang Vietnam (11th St. across from Vietnam Palace) *
Joe's Peking Duck House (900 block of Race St.) *
Other Vietnamese: Tu Do and several others on 8th St. north of Washington Ave.
in South Philly near the Italian market. Some also on Wash. Av. and ad-
jacent streets. Also there is a Vietnamese/Chinese restaraunt, a cafe,
and Vietnmases deli and grocery in Hoa Binh Plaza (16th and Washingtion)
Thai: Many places all over Center City, I've mostly tried the ones in my area
(University City):
Thai Singha House (Chestnut just e of 40th)
South of Siam (40th and Chestnut)
Manus Place (43rd and Walnut) *
Thai Garden? (47th betw Pine and Spruce in apt. lobby)
Lemon Grass (Lancaster Ave. betw 36 and 37)
Afghan: Kabul (Chestnut betw Front and 2nd)
Ethiopian: Dahlak (Baltimore Ave. betw 47th and 48th) *
Red Sea (45th and Locust)*
a Asmara (near 44th and Chestnut)
Indian: New Delhi (Chestnut betw 40 and 41)
Taste of India (across from above): cheap buffet, but best on wknds--
the buffet is often skanky during slow days.Very cheap for lunch Tandoor India (40th betw Walnut and Chestnut)
Bombay Grill ( almost next to above--opening soon)
Mexican: El Zocalo (Lancaster betw 36 and 37) $ There is no awesome Mexican
food in Philly. Period. This place has somewhat authentic food, but
it's still kind of bland, and the prices and portions are a little
yupscale for me. But, if you get desparate for some mole. . .
Persian: Shaharazade (17th and Lombard) (Portions are small, though)
Omar Khayyam (22nd/23rd? and Lombard)--haven't tried yet
Korean: River Garden (48th and Spruce)* (I'm partial to all Korean food)
Other even better concentrations of Korean restaraunts on 5th St. a ways north of Roosevelt Blvd and in Upper Darby along and off of Market St. a as you head west out of the city. Sorry I can't be more specific. I
don't have a car, so I don't visit them as often (but I do when I can!!)
Japanese: look in phone book. I love sushi, but it's over my budget
Cajun: Magnolia Cafe ( 16 and Locust)*
Cafe Nola (South and 4th or less) $*
Seafood: Walt's King of Crabs (2nd south of South St. several blocks)
Snockey's (2nd and Washington-avoid the fried stuff)
Avoid Bookbinder's--it aint what it's cracked up to be
Restaraunt School Restaraunt--prix fixe chic stuff about $13 or so. must rese-
rve ahead (Walnut betw. 42 and 43)
Homecooked American in very nice, romantic atmosphere: Marigold Diner (45th
and Larchwood)
I'm sure I've missed some, but this should be a start. For lunch, try REading Terminal Market (12th and Filbert or so). Good place to eat, buy produce, meat, fish.
Deli: Koch's (Locust between 43 and 44)
Oh, I forgot--the only benefit of Pa.'s assinine liquor laws are that some of these places don't have liquor licenses, which means you can bring your own beer or wine or tequila or whatever and save $$$. Call ahead to be sure.
If you're in town for a few days, try to pick up a City Paper (free) or Welco- mat (free) weekly newspaper. There are always discount coupons in them for some of the above and others
Beer: Dock St. Brewhouse (Just south of Ben Franklin Pkwy on 17th or 19th?)
Sam Adams Brewhouse (Sansom St. betw 15 and 16)--Oyster house underneath sometimes has specials on half-shell stuff(yumyumyum)
Contact me for more info., or if you need to know about watering holes :)
Cheers. PetePhiladelphia, PA
Here are my Philly choices. . .
Nf-ID: #R:netnews.upenn.edu:104012:cdp:1451100001:000:518 Nf-From: Jan 8 08:04:00 1993 Lines: 15 If you want a bit more fancy and pricey food, try Alouette; I think it's around 2nd street, on the corner with South. Very nice creative/French; not terribly expensive but not cheap either; the menu doesn't change very often but for visitors that's not a problem... Also, for sort of upscale Chinese you can try Susanna Foo's; all my friends think it's out of this world but in my opinion Chinatown offers simila quality at 1/3 price... Andy Perrin Swarthmore College [email removed] [email removed]
i also *completely* recommend the Dahlak on Baltimore Avenue X46/47th. i lived across the street from it about 5 years ago, and still almost everytime that i visit filthadelphia--i insist on eating there. i even grew up in dc, but think that the Dahlak is as good as anyplace that i've eaten at there.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \\\\\\ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! alekz vermont / *~~~~~~<||||> ! ! My name is Vermont \____ ! ! I do what I want (haha) o| o "Trepanation -- ! ! ( |_ I need it like I need ! ! [email removed] |--> a hole in my head" ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \___/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY OPINIONS ARE NOT MY OWN -- THEY'VE BEEN *DRILLED* INTO ME.
Andrew P. wrote: >Also, for sort of upscale Chinese you can try Susanna Foo's; all my friends >think it's out of this world but in my opinion Chinatown offers simila >quality at 1/3 price... I strongly recommend Susanna Foo's, but I disagree that Chinatown offers similar quality. They are a bit on the more expensive side, but their food is _much_ better than anything I've ever had in Chinatowns in a number of cities. They do not serve the kind of _traditional_ Chinese food you'll expect at any Chinese restaurant -- they are different, and they are very good! In fact, my boyfriend claims that it's the _best_ Chinese food he's ever had! :-) Jennifer
Andrew P. wrote: > > If you want a bit more fancy and pricey food, try Alouette; I think it's around > 2nd street, on the corner with South. Alouette is on the corner of 4th and Bainbridge. One block south of South St. > Very nice creative/French; It's really Vietnamese/French. > not > terribly expensive but not cheap either; the menu doesn't change very often > but for visitors that's not a problem... > > Also, for sort of upscale Chinese you can try Susanna Foo's; all my friends > think it's out of this world but in my opinion Chinatown offers simila > quality at 1/3 price... I do agree with you. But Susanna Foo's is sort of unique in the kinds of ingredients they sometimes use in recipe's. I've never noticed a lot of lamb dishes on Chinese menus, for instance. Karen Byrd, VAX Sys. Manager University of Pennsylvania Medical School Computer Facility Philadelphia, PA 19104 (USA) Internet: [email removed]
Jennifer C. wrote: > Andrew P. wrote: > >>Also, for sort of upscale Chinese you can try Susanna Foo's; all my friends >>think it's out of this world but in my opinion Chinatown offers simila >>quality at 1/3 price... > > I strongly recommend Susanna Foo's, but I disagree that Chinatown > offers similar quality. They are a bit on the more expensive side, but > their food is _much_ better than anything I've ever had in Chinatowns > in a number of cities. They do not serve the kind of _traditional_ > Chinese food you'll expect at any Chinese restaurant -- they are > different, and they are very good! In fact, my boyfriend claims that > it's the _best_ Chinese food he's ever had! :-) I like Phila's Chinatown restaurants a lot but it's really a mistake to compare them to Susanna Foo's. Susanna Foo's is unique as they do not, as you've pointed out, serve traditional Chinese food. The only problem I have with Susanna Foo's is the portions. When I've had a terrific dish there it's rarely enough. That usually isn't a problem in Chinatown restaurants where portions can sometimes be huge. Karen Byrd, VAX Sys. Manager University of Pennsylvania Medical School Computer Facility Philadelphia, PA 19104 (USA) Internet: [email removed]