The Saloon and Cent Anni are two wonderful Italian Rest on the same block of 8th Street in South Phila. Both serve wonderful food - different styl styles of cooking. Cent Anni serves "peasant" food and the Saloon is very upscale Italian. Try it !
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Restaurants
--------------------- PHILADELPHIA ------------------------------------- (As of 4/14/93) I've been putting together a list of good restaurants for selected areas of the country (those that I visit regularly) with an emphasis on flavor, quality & value, rather than ambience & service. Either I've had a very good meal there, or more likely, someone else has recommended it highly. Note that most of the comments in the list are not mine, but are from other people who've taken the time to write up something about their dining experience. If you have additions, corrections, comments, or suggestions for removal, let me know at [email removed] or, even better, post them to the rec.food.restaurants Usenet newsgroup. I'm especially interested in hearing about particular dishes to get or avoid at specific restaurants, so I can include that information in this list, which I will post every few months to rec.food.restaurants Philadelphia -- By Cuisine ========================== Kabul -- Afghan Rangoon -- Burmese Cafe Nola -- Cajun/Creole Magnolia Cafe -- Cajun/Creole Cherry St Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant -- Kosher Veggie Chinese Harmony -- Veggie Chinese Imperial Inn -- Chinese Joe's Peking Duck -- Chinese Joy Tsin Lau -- Chinese Mai Lah Wah -- Chinese Riverside -- Chinese Susanna Foo ($$) -- Chinese Astral Plane -- Eclectic Cafe Einstein -- Eclectic Callowhill -- Eclectic Carolina's -- Eclectic Catalina's -- Eclectic Friday, Saturday, Sunday -- Eclectic Garden -- Eclectic Judy's -- Eclectic Knave of Hearts -- Eclectic Rose Tattoo Cafe -- Eclectic Waldorf Cafe -- Eclectic Warsaw Cafe -- Eclectic Asmara -- Ethiopian Dhalak -- Ethiopian Red Sea -- Ethiopian Duex Cheminees -- French Le Bec Fin -- French South St Souvlaki -- Greek New Delhi -- Indian Tandoori Palace -- Indian Taste of India -- Indian Baci -- Italian Cefalu -- Italian Cent Anni -- Peasant Italian Criniti's -- Italian D'Angelo's -- Italian DiLullo's Centro -- Italian Girasole -- Northern Italian La Buca -- Italian La Trattoria dell'Artista -- Italian Marabella -- Italian Metropolis Trattoria -- Italian Mezanotte -- Eclectic Italian Osteria Romana -- Italian Portofino -- Italian Ralph's -- Italian Saloon -- Upscale Italian San Marco -- Italian Tira Misu -- Italian Upstares at Varalli's -- Italian Victor Cafe -- Italian Genji House -- Japanese Hikaru -- Japanese Kawabata -- Japanese Shiroi Hana -- Japanese Ziggy's -- Japanese River Garden -- Korean 16th St Bar & Grill -- Mediterranean El Zocalo -- Mexican Fez -- Moroccan Marrakesh -- Moroccan Omar Khayyam -- Persian Sheherazade -- Persian Phila Fish & Co. -- Seafood Sansom St Oyster House -- Seafoood Tapas -- Spanish Lemon Grass -- Thai Manus Place -- Thai My Thai -- Thai Silk of Siam -- Thai South of Siam -- Thai Thai Garden -- Thai Thai Singha House -- Thai Magic Carpet Veggie -- Vegetarian Alouette ($$) -- Vietnamese/French/Thai Capital -- Vietnamese Lemon Grass Garden / Quan Sa -- Vietnamese Nha Hang Vietnam -- Vietnamese Saigon -- Vietnamese Tu Do -- Vietnamese Philadelphia -- In Alphabetical Order ===================================== 16th St Bar & Grill -- Mediterranean 16th betw Locust & Spruce Alouette ($$) -- Vietnamese/French/Thai 334 Bainbridge Asmara -- Ethiopian nr 44th & Chestnut Astral Plane -- Eclectic Lombard betw 17th & 18th Baci -- Italian Cafe Einstein -- Eclectic Race betw 2nd & 3rd Cafe Nola -- Cajun/Creole South St betwee 3rd & 4th Callowhill -- Eclectic Callowhill at 18th Capital -- Vietnamese 10th & Arch (fantastic Vietnamese food, better than Saigon) Carolina's -- Eclectic 20th betw Locust & Spruce (a good but crowded restaurant) Catalina's -- Eclectic Hamilton inside Korman Suites Hotel Cefalu -- Italian Cent Anni -- Peasant Italian 8th St, South Philly Cherry St Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant -- Kosher Veggie Chinese 1010 Cherry St (wondeful place -- they make the usual Chinese dishes using wheat gluten or soy bean products) Criniti's -- Italian S. Broad & Shunk (Absolutely wonderful Italian food, 11 tables) D'Angelo's -- Italian Duex Cheminees -- French Dhalak -- Ethiopian Baltimore nr 47th (better even than DC Ethiopian!) DiLullo's Centro -- Italian El Zocalo -- Mexican Lancaster betw 36th & 37th (ok to go to if desperate for some mole) Fez -- Moroccan 2nd below Bainbridge Friday, Saturday, Sunday -- Eclectic 21st betw Locust & Spruce (it's a very funky eclectic restaurant) Garden -- Eclectic Spruce betw 16th & 17th Genji House -- Japanese 40th & Locust (excellent sushi) Girasole -- Northern Italian 1305 Locust (maybe the best of the Northern Italian places) Harmony -- Veggie Chinese 135 N 9th St (pretty good, though a bit expensive) Hikaru -- Japanese 607 S 2nd St (good for sushi) Imperial Inn -- Chinese 146 N 10th St (good for Dim Sum) Joe's Peking Duck -- Chinese 900 block of Race St Joy Tsin Lau -- Chinese Race nr 10th (good Dim Sum) Judy's -- Eclectic 3rd & Bainbridge Kabul -- Afghan 100 block of Chestnut Kawabata -- Japanese Chestnut, between Front & 2nd (good sushi) Knave of Hearts -- Eclectic South betw 2nd & 3rd La Buca -- Italian (great personal service and food) La Trattoria dell'Artista -- Italian 3rd & Cherry Le Bec Fin -- French consistently rated as one of the best in the country Lemon Grass -- Thai Lancaster betw 36th & 37th Lemon Grass Garden / Quan Sa -- Vietnamese 239 N 10th Little Saigon -- Vietnamese 69th St area off of Long Lane L'Osteria dell'Artista -- Italian 3rd nr Arch Magic Carpet Veggie -- Vegetarian South St Magnolia Cafe -- Cajun/Creole Locust nr 15th or 16th Mai Lah Wah -- Chinese 10th & Race (Not real fancy, but a nice place with really good food) Manus Place -- Thai 43rd & Walnut Marabella -- Italian 1420 Locust, 17th & Ben Franklin Marrakesh -- Moroccan on a small alley just west of 4th above South Metropolis Trattoria -- Italian Mezanotte -- Eclectic Italian 17th & Green My Thai -- Thai 22nd & Lombard (consistently very good at moderate prices) New Delhi -- Indian Chestnut betwe 40th & 41st Nha Hang Vietnam -- Vietnamese 11th St, between Arch & Vine Omar Khayyam -- Persian Lombard, nr 22nd or 23rd Osteria Romana -- Italian Phila Fish & Co. -- Seafood 2nd & Chestnut (decent and fairly inexpensive) Portofino -- Italian Ralph's -- Italian 9th & Catherine Rangoon -- Burmese 9th St in Chinatown (Excellent inexpensive food) Red Sea -- Ethiopian 45th & Locust River Garden -- Korean 48th & Spruce Riverside -- Chinese 234 N 9th (good for Dim Sum) Rose Tattoo Cafe -- Eclectic 18th at Callowhill Saloon -- Upscale Italian 8th St, South Philly San Marco -- Italian City Line Ave in Bryn Mawr Sansom St Oyster House -- Seafoood 15th & Sansom (decent and fairly inexpensive) Sheherazade -- Persian 17th & Lombard (small portions) Shiroi Hana -- Japanese 222 S 15th St (great Japanese Sushi restaurant) Silk of Siam -- Thai 614 W Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr South of Siam -- Thai 40th & Chestnut South St Souvlaki -- Greek Susanna Foo ($$) -- Chinese Walnut St (said to be one of the best Chinese in the country. Just started to serve Dim Sum) Tandoori Palace -- Indian 40th & Chestnut Tapas -- Spanish 3rd & Girard Taste of India -- Indian Chestnut between 40th & 41st (Go on weekend only for buffet) Thai Garden -- Thai 47th between Pine & Spruce Thai Singha House -- Thai Chestnut, just east of 40th Tira Misu -- Italian Tu Do -- Vietnamese 8th St north of Washington Upstares at Varalli's -- Italian Victor Cafe -- Italian (waitrons sing Opera!) Saigon -- Vietnamese 10th & Arch (awesome Vietnamese food) Waldorf Cafe -- Eclectic 20th betw Lombard & South Warsaw Cafe -- Eclectic 16th betw Spruce & Pine Ziggy's -- Japanese 12th & Walnut Philadelphia Coffee Houses ========================== 1521 Cafe Gallery 1521 Spruce St. Beanie's 3430 Sansom St. (on Penn's campus) Beathaus 12th & Ellsworth Sts. (come late-stay early) Borders Book Shop & Espresso Bar 1727 Walnut St. Bucks County Nut Co. Amtrak's 30th St. Station, 30th and Market St Cafe 930 930 Locust St. Cafe Brera Due 635 Bainbridge St. Cafe Coco 1880 JFK Blvd Cafe European Espresso Bar Wanamaker's Dept store, 1300 Market St. Cafe Flower Shop at Beautiful Moments, 2501 Meredith St. Cafe Kush 1431 Spruce St. Cafe Roma Pastry 6179 Ridge Ave Caffe Bar at Fante's 1006 S 9th St. Cappriccio at Warwick Hotel, 17th & Locust St. Caribou Cafe 1121 Walnut St. Cafe Lutecia 2501 Lombard St. Coffee Bar The Bourse, 5th and Market Sts. Coffee Beanery Shops at Liberty Place, 1650 Market St. Coffee Stop 130 S. 17th St. Ipso 517 S. 5th St. Last Drop 1300 Pine St. Painted Cafe 211 Chestnut St. Le Petit Gourmet 4311 Main St, Manayunk Main-ly Desserts 4249 Main St, Manayunk Makim's 2401 Lombard St. Napoleon 2652 Somerset St. Old City Coffee 221 Church St Old City Coffee at Reading Terminal Market Opera Cafe 20th and Pine Sts. Pink Rose pastry 630 S. 4th St. at Bainbridge Place Broad and Locust across from Academy. PQ's Gourmet Coffee 129 S. 16th St. Primo Cappucino 103 S. 12th St. Ray's Coffee Shop 141 N. 9th St. The Morning Cup 422 S. 2nd St. at Head House Sq. Rhino Coffee Company 212 South St.
Nadja Vaughan posted a request for gourment food in Philadelphia and mentioned Le Bec Fin. A number of responding posts agreed Le Bec Fin was too expensive andsuggested less expensive alternatives. If Nadja is going to attend the ALA conference--and last attended the 1982 ALA conference--she should know that bothPhiladelphia and our restaurant scene have improved remarkably. The best way to get great Le Bec Fin gourment food at affordable prices is by going to Le Bec Fin. Here's the secret. #1: Le Bec Fin has a prix fixe luncheon for about $35, one of the great culinarybargains in the U.S. #2: Le Bec Fin has another restaurant, Le Bar Lyonnaise, inthe basement. It has the same great food with entrees ranging from $8 to $18. If you know about Le Bec Fin and are motivated on this list, you should accept no substitute. :-) If you do plan to go to Le Bec Fin, you should make reservations NOW: 1-215-567-1000. Please feel free to e-mail me directly: [email removed] David Geliebter Philadelphia, PA
Someone wrote: : Hello all, : I've been asked by a friend to post a request for restaurants in : Philadelphia. She'll be in Philadelphia at the end of this month I've said this before on this newsgroup but I'll be glad to recommend it again. I work as Hostess at a Tapas resturant called Pamplona at 12th and Locust. The prices are moderate (about $15-20 per person, including tax and tip) and the food is excellent. Lots of grilled fish and other various seafood. Definitely try the octopus, toasted then tossed in a vinigarette, and ABSOLUTELY try the Shrimp Pil Pil. It's dusted in flour, then sauteed in olive oil, garlic and red pepper. For desert, I'll just say that I would never eat rice pudding until I worked at Pamplona! Reservations are only accepted for parties of six or more. Of course, Philadelphia also touts Le Bec Fin, supposedly the best French resturant in the country, and Striped Bass, which (either Esquire or Details) magazine recently called the hottest new resturant on the EAst Coast. Reservations a must at both of those, which are pretty expensive. My personal favorite resturant in Philadelphia is and always will be The White Dog. Upper moderate prices ($20-25) but excellent menu - very unique. Funky gift shop attached to prolong the experience. Very cozy atmosphere. It's on Sansom between 34th and 36th.
Someone wrote:
: : I've been asked by a friend to post a request for restaurants in : : Philadelphia. She'll be in Philadelphia at the end of this month
Chinese: Tang Yean, 220 N. 10th Street
Tang's 429 South Street (try anything in ginger &
scallion sauce)
Personal faves: Cafe Nola 328 South Street (cajun-creole)
Carolina's 226 S. 20th
Copa Banana 4th & South *or*
Copa Too! 263 S. 15th St - tex-mex, burgers and
the best margaritas in town
------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan & Audrey Marsh "When the going gets weird, [email removed] the weird turn pro..." [email removed] - H.S. Thompson
-------------------------------------------------------------------Try Tang Yang's Eggplant stuffed with shrimp in black bean sauce.
Someone wrote: > Newsgroups: rec.food.restaurants > Path: . !ai115 <snip> If you don't mind the noise, I can HIGHLY recommend the Dock Street Brewery. The food is pretty inventive, the beer is top notch and the prices are reasonable. the can accomodate larger parties, but it's a big open space, so it may get noisy on occaision. For a smaller crowd, you might also try Brigid's in the Fairmount section of the city. It is a Belgian restaurant with a fabulous menu, solid wine list, and a host of Belgian import beers and ales. Specialities of the house are duck and salmon. The price is a bit higher (about $30/person), but well worth it. Make reservations, though, as Brigid's only has about 6-8 tables. -Ken [email removed] "...No, I'm not joking. And stop calling me Shirley!" -Lesley Neilson, Airplane!
In article , [email removed] (Julie A Parr) wrote: > Someone wrote: > : Hello all, > > : I've been asked by a friend to post a request for restaurants in > : Philadelphia. She'll be in Philadelphia at the end of this month > > I've said this before on this newsgroup but I'll be glad to recommend it > again. I work as Hostess at a Tapas resturant called Pamplona at 12th > and Locust. The prices are moderate (about $15-20 per person, including > tax and tip) and the food is excellent. Lots of grilled fish and other > various seafood. Definitely try the octopus, toasted then tossed in a > vinigarette, and ABSOLUTELY try the Shrimp Pil Pil. It's dusted in > flour, then sauteed in olive oil, garlic and red pepper. For desert, > I'll just say that I would never eat rice pudding until I worked at > Pamplona! Reservations are only accepted for parties of six or more. > > Of course, Philadelphia also touts Le Bec Fin, supposedly the best French > resturant in the country, and Striped Bass, which (either Esquire or > Details) magazine recently called the hottest new resturant on the EAst > Coast. Reservations a must at both of those, which are pretty expensive. > > My personal favorite resturant in Philadelphia is and always will be The > White Dog. Upper moderate prices ($20-25) but excellent menu - very > unique. Funky gift shop attached to prolong the experience. Very cozy > atmosphere. It's on Sansom between 34th and 36th. > > -- > Julie A Parr Indeed, you mention some of the best, and expensive, restaurants in town. Don't be shy to trying some of thelesser known but excellent food sources. I recommend the following: Ray's Coffee House (China Town),
Someone wrote: : Indeed, you mention some of the best, and expensive, restaurants in town. : Don't be shy to trying some of thelesser known but excellent food : sources. I recommend the following: Ray's Coffee House (China Town), The White Dog is manageable if you stay at the bar. What they consider appetizers on their dinner menu (running around $7) are definitely a meal in my book! My favorite inexpensive place is Tandoor India for the all-you-can eat lunch buffet, $6.95. It's on 40th Street between Walnut and Locust. Make sure to try the delicious deep fried things soaked in honey that look like Long John Silver's hush puppies.
We have recently moved to the Philadelphia area and have found some great restaurants in Manayunk. Jakes is great though a little expensive. Le Bus has a great brunch. Grasshopper is a Sino-French restuarant that is BYO and is very good. Also, if you like oysters, the Sansom Street Oyster house has great oysters. Dmitri's is also very good - Greek food and is BYO.
Jan R. Klincewicz and Timmothy Burke, both citing bland food, took issue with my recommendation of Jack's Firehouse as an outstanding Philadelphia Restaurant. Jan also wondered why myself and a bunch of other restaurant critics (I prefer the term restaurant columnist - I try to direct readers to great dining experiences and not steer them away from disappointing ones) "lionize" chef-owner Jack McDavid. As most here are probably unfamiliar with Jack McDavid and his restaurant Jack's Firehouse - a brief synopsis. Jack grew up in the hills of southern Virginia and has managed to survive his years up north without losing his down home mannerisms and values. Prior to opening his own restaurants (Jack's Firehouse, and the Down Home Diner) he cooked at top restaurants in Washington and Philadelphia (including Le Bec Fin). A couple of years ago he was selected as one of the Top Ten Up and Coming Chefs in America by Food and Wine Magazine. Students from the CIA line up to apprentice under him, and often stop back to cook a while when they're passing through the city. He is a regular guest chef at New York's James Beard House. And not only has he been "lionized" by our local merry little band of sycophantic food writers, but by the likes of Esquire Magazine's John Mariani, the New York Times's Mimi Sheridan and Gourmet Magazine's Fred Ferreti. He has gotten more national press than any other Philadelphia chef. Foodwise Jack usually lets the ingredients speak for themselves. He is driven to find the best and to get it from local farmers and producers. He works with farmers and has contracted for a year's worth of crops just to get them to produce it his way. Enough lionizing. "Bland food." "Spices and seasonings undetectable." I've never experienced this nor heard it said about Jack's cooking. Have heard and offered some objections from the other end of the spectrum, especially when he gets feisty and experiments, but never bland. For some reason Jack is controversial. There is no middle ground in people's evaluation of his restaurants or his food. They love it or they hate it. For a long time he took a bad rap because he has featured hog jowl soup on his menu. A gourmet restaurant serving hog jowl soup? Try it. It's rather tasty. So anyway, yeah, I like Jack's Fire House, like it a lot. It's right up there with Zocalo, Demitri's, The Palm, La Playa de Salinas, Restaurante Tierra Colombiana and Tony Lukes as one of my favorite Philadelphia restaurants. But give Jack's a try. Decide for yourself. Enjoy
Holly M. wrote: > "Bland food." "Spices and seasonings undetectable." I've never > experienced this nor heard it said about Jack's cooking. Have > heard and offered some objections from the other end of the > spectrum, especially when he gets feisty and experiments, but > never bland. > > For some reason Jack is controversial. There is no middle ground > in people's evaluation of his restaurants or his food. They love > it or they hate it. For a long time he took a bad rap because he > has featured hog jowl soup on his menu. A gourmet restaurant > serving hog jowl soup? Try it. It's rather tasty. > > So anyway, yeah, I like Jack's Fire House, like it a lot. It's > right up there with Zocalo, Demitri's, The Palm, La Playa de > Salinas, Restaurante Tierra Colombiana and Tony Lukes as one of > my favorite Philadelphia restaurants. > > But give Jack's a try. Decide for yourself. > > Enjoy I'm certainly not trying to make Jack himself "controversial" or participate in any way in such a controversy. I'm not sure I care much about said controversy. I'd LOVE it if his food was exactly the opposite of what I experienced--hog jowl soup sounds terribly interesting--and was really shocked at the lifeless piece of grey mystery meat in brown sauce I was served. I'd be inclined to write this experience off as a weird anomaly except that: a) someone else posted here indicated a similar experience and b) when I asked the waiter why there wasn't any chipotle t S. wrote: instead 'We're trying not to offend by making it spicy'. I was a little irritated with this explanation. Now, in Jack's defense, this was a prix fixe meal on Valentine's Day, which I'm sure was a special circumstance in any number of ways. But I'd think you'd want to do your BEST work on Valentine's Day, not just shove a bunch of bland meals out the door of the kitchen. We'll probably go there again. But not for a while, thanks.
In article , "Mark H. Weinstein" Someone wrote: > I need good Italian restaurants in Philadelphia You picked the right city. Here are some of my favorites. There are others that are good as well. Panorama (in Penn's View Inn) Front and Market 922-7600 Expensive Bomb Bomb Care 1026 Wolf St. 339-9612 Mara Bros. 1533 S. 11 334-7722 (opens 5 P.M., 3 P.M. Sunday) Ralph's 760 S. 9th 627-6011 (most traditional Philly) Victor's 1303 Dickinson 468-3040 (opera singing waiters, good food too) Osteria Romana 935 Ellsworth 271-9191 (expensive) Philip's 1145 S. Broad 334-0882 (nice family, amazing eclectic decor) Saloon 750 S. 7th St. 627-1811 (the best- expensive) Villa di Roma 932 S. 9th 592-1295 (in old Italian Market, traditional) South Philadelphia Bar 7 Grille 12th & Mercy (near Snyder)
Margaret N. wrote: >Someone wrote: >: I need good Italian restaurants in Philadelphia > >I've been gone from Philadelphia too long to offer any reasonable >suggestions. Restaurants are just too volatile. However, I'm curious - >there used to be an Italian restaurant at 15th and Dickenson called >Stromboli's? My boss - a native South Philadelphian - introduced me to >it. Eugene Ormandy was a regular during his tenure with the symphony. >I think he liked it because it was a neighborhood place, off the the tourist >track and he could just go in and enjoy without being bothered. The last >time I ate there was 10 years ago, but I always like the family feel of the >place. I think you mean Strolli's, not Stromboli's. I haven't been there in years either, now that I moved to the Jersey shore. Anyway, does anyone know if it's still there? We used to go there all the time when we had just graduated from college because the food was good and filling, prices were amazingly reasonable, and the wine was cheap! Tracy