Philadelphia Dining History: A Revolutionary Evolution of Eating
PHILADELPHIA, Fall, 2005 - Those who think cheesesteak when thinking Philly food: think again. The city long known for American history, passionate sports fans and, yes, cheesesteaks, continues to emerge as one of the country's finest culinary destinations. More than a decade of development has transformed the region's dining scene from merely memorable to absolutely abundant. Throughout the city and beyond, four-star dining rooms coexist with unassuming, note-perfect neighborhood bistros; boisterous upscale taprooms counterbalance romantic foodie hideaways; and family-operated Bring-Your-Own-Bottle (BYOB) establishments share the sidewalk with high-profile restaurants owned by star restaurateurs.
Farmacia
Photo by K. Ciappa for GPTMC
Pre- and First Renaissance
Vestiges remain of Philadelphia's truly historic culinary tradition. In addition to City Tavern (1976), an authentic-as-they-come replica of an 18th-century colonial tavern in Old City, there's the charming, fully restored, circa 1758 Dilworthtown Inn (1972) in historic Chadds Ford. Most locals agree that the city's first "Restaurant Renaissance" began in the 1970s. The original "Restaurant Renaissance" man was the late Wallis Callahan, whose superb and elegant Coventry Forge Inn opened in 1954 outside the city. When the restaurateur hired esteemed Peter von Starck as sous chef, Callahan set off a culinary chain reaction.
While studying in France, von Starck met rising star and future partner Georges Perrier. The pair opened Philadelphia's acclaimed La Panetiere in a small townhouse on Spruce Street in 1967. They were ushering in the country's first new wave of fine dining. In 1970, von Starck moved La Panetiere to a larger space on Locust Street. Perrier, however, remained and opened Le Bec-Fin. In 1983, Le Bec-Fin also outgrew its original townhouse and relocated to its current address on Walnut Street, where it currently anchors a neighborhood known as Restaurant Row. A Mobil five-star restaurant, Le Bec-Fin remains one of the country's finest dining destinations.
Predating this first new wave of restaurant expansion are more notable standbys. The Reading Terminal Market (1892) remains Center City's most eclectic indoor farmers market, with more than 80 merchants, including Amish vendors, local butchers, Asian fish purveyors, bakers and chocolatiers, along with caviar, organic produce, Southern soul food and hoagie and cheesesteak vendors. Along South 9th Street, the 100-plus-years-old Italian Market is the nation's oldest and largest open-air market, featuring artisan cheeses, Italian bakeries, Mexican taquerias and vendors selling vegetables, fish, meats and produce. At the Famous 4th Street Deli (1923), a third-generation Jewish deli, where a new owner and new menu have gleaned an abundant new following, the chocolate chip cookies have a fan base of their own. Recently reopened and revamped is Old City's Old Original Bookbinder's (1865), which instantly reestablished itself as the city's preeminent special occasion seafood restaurant.
Still thriving from Philadelphia's first Restaurant Renaissance: cozy Friday, Saturday, Sunday (1973) on the edge of Rittenhouse Square and the Happy Rooster (1968), a caviar and vodka bar turned dining haven.
Raising the Bar in the 1980s
In the 1980s, a variety of restaurants followed the lead of La Panetiere and Le Bec-Fin, answering the new local demand for fine neighborhood dining.
The same year Perrier moved Le Bec-Fin to Walnut Street, another French chef was making waves nearby at The Fountain (1984) at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. The chef's name: Jean-Marie Lacroix. (His devoted employees called him "Papa.") It was in 1983 that Lacroix and Perrier began competing for best-in-city honors. Both men garnered international acclaim and both mentored rising stars such as Francesco Martorella, chef/owner of Bliss (2003); Robert Bennett, pastry chef/owner of Miel Patisserie (2002); and Martin Hamman, who now helms The Fountain. Lacroix moved on to open the highly lauded Lacroix (2002) restaurant.
Ristorante Panorama (1989), Susanna Foo (1987) and Jake's (1987) also followed fine-dining suit. Along with Deux Cheminees (1979), they were among the first local restaurants to invest in fine china, linens, silver and elaborate decor. Their presence took the city's restaurant community to a new level of excellence.
In 1985, The Book and the Cook festival became the first citywide event to celebrate this newfound gastronomic diversity. The event's organizers invited local and national cookbook authors to host cookbook-themed meals at area restaurants. More than 20 years later, The Book and the Cook continues to draw crowds to Philadelphia's top restaurants every March.
Ethnic Dining Takes Off
Predating and continuing throughout the city's restaurant development, immigrant-based communities flourished, establishing culinary traditions on the edges of business districts.
Located north of Market Street between 8th and 11th Streets, Philadelphia's active Chinatown traces its origins to 1870, when immigrant Lee Fong opened a laundry at 913 Race Street. Chinatown continued to flourish throughout the 20th century, with a bevy of restaurants opening in the 1950s, and in 1972, the first Szechwan, followed by the first dim sum restaurant. Today, former restaurateur/chef Joseph Poon is the neighborhood's ambassador, offering tours on weekends. The neighborhood, home to more than 35 restaurants, offers Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Malaysian, Burmese and Hong Kong style-cuisine.
In the 1870s, Italian restaurants began cropping up in South Philadelphia, serving mainly Northern Italian cuisine. Among them, Ralph's (1900) and Dante & Luigi's Corona di Ferro (Crown of Iron) (1899), two popular, century-old spaghetti houses where locals refer to marinara sauce as "gravy."In the early 1900s, small, family-owned specialty food shops emerged, selling homemade pasta, spices, sausages and cheese along 9th Street, forming the Italian Market. South Philadelphia gained more popularity during Prohibition, when speakeasies and white-tablecloth restaurants served Abruzzi and Neapolitan cuisines. Diners still frequent the area for traditional foods as well as for nouvelle Italian cuisine at Felicia's (1997) and Christian's (1998). At the southern tip of the Market, crowds line up for that infamous cheesesteak at take-out competitors Pat's (1930) and Geno's (1966). Even farther south, in-the-know eaters claim Tony Luke's (1991) and John's Roast Pork (1930) make the best "steak" in town.
Just on the border of University City lies a neighborhood teeming with great ethnic eateries. Students, neighborhood residents and out-of-towners flock to the area for Ethiopian fare at Dahlak (1983), Mexican at Zocalo (1977), French at La Terrasse (1966), Senegalese at Fatou & Fama (2002), Indian at Tandoor India (1991), Thai-French at Nan (1997) and Japanese at Pod (2001). Anchoring this community: The White Dog Cafe (1983), an Alice Waters-esque brownstone eatery owned by activist Judy Wicks.
The Flourish of the 1990s
The 1990s took Philadelphia's restaurant scene to new heights. During this era, Walnut Street became known as Restaurant Row. Around Le Bec-Fin, restaurants thrived. Georges Perrier opened a second, more casual location, Brasserie Perrier (1997). Other popular restaurants making the area a dining destination: Striped Bass (1994) (recently reopened under new management), Rittenhouse Square's posh jewel-box Rouge (1999), popular Devon Seafood Grill (1999), and, in 2000, Bleu, a fine bistro addition on the Square.
In 1998, chef/restaurateur Guillermo Pernot foretold the rise of neuvo Latino cuisine with Pasion, also earning four-star status. Following Pernot's lead, three more Cuban restaurants arrived: Douglas Rodriguez collaboration Alma de Cuba (2001), Cuba Libre (2001) and Cafe Habana (2000). Nearby, maverick chef Marc Vetri opened the intimate and very upscale Italian restaurant Vetri (1998) in the same Spruce Street townhouse that once housed La Panetiere and Le Bec-Fin. Like his predecessors, Vetri earned and continues to earn accolades for his rustic style and elegant presentations.
The decade also saw the reemergence of Old City, an historic and once neglected neighborhood near the Delaware River waterfront, which overnight became Philadelphia's premier night-out spot. Neighborhood pioneers included Ellen Yin, owner of the elegantly casual American bistro Fork (1997) and omnipresent restaurateur Stephen Starr, who opened Asian fusion Buddakan (1998) and the casual but tony Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar (1995). All three restaurants continue to be among the city's hottest dining destinations. Around these forerunners sprung up a bevy of Old City hotspots and high-end eateries: Bluezette (2000), a posh tribute to soul food by Delilah Winder; Chloe (2001), a trendsetting new American BYOB bistro co-owned by couple Mary Anne Ferrie and Dan Grimes; Cafe Spice (2000), a high-end Indian eatery; and Farmacia (2004), a local produce-centric restaurant arm of Philadelphia's artisanal Metropolitan Bakery.
Into the Millennium
For years, neighborhood BYOBs, immensely popular among local diners, have emerged from the ranks to compete with larger restaurants for fine-dining patrons. The best-ranked of them is Django (2001), a trendsetting, cozy European spot that continues to produce Philadelphia's edgiest cuisine, thanks to owners Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora. This unassuming culinary hotbed, located just off South Street, is currently the hardest-to-get reservation in town.
Django inspired a BYOB outpouring that included many couple-owned restaurants such as Old City's Chloe, American bistro Matyson (2003), petite French Pif (2001), homey French La Boheme (2000), South Philly find L'Angolo (2000), first-come-first-served Italian spot Melograno (2003) near Rittenhouse Square and Old City's contemporary-cozy Bistro 7 (2004). Also new and notable: Marigold Kitchen (2004), a tranquil West Philadelphia brownstone with amazing modern fare. In the meantime, Italian BYOBs such as Radicchio (2003), Caffe Valentino (2003), La Viola (2002), Bronzino (2003), Caffe Casta Diva (2002) and dozens more continue to spring up from South Philadelphia to Center City and beyond.
Although restaurant expansion is far from over in Center City, pioneering restaurateurs continue to set new standards in outlying neighborhoods. South of South Street, the Bella Vista section houses terrific finds such as international and pastry kitchen Cafe Sud (established 1979, established as restaurant 2003), the popular Royal Tavern (2003), and, just south of the Italian Market, Taqueria Veracruzana (2003), for heavenly authentic tacos and tamales. North of Old City, Northern Liberties offers great options such as local-brew-only Standard Tap (2000), with a kitchen headed by former four-star chef Carolynn Angle; N. 3rd (2001), a cozy spot with eclectic fare and a great sidewalk scene; glittery Napa-inspired wine bar and restaurant Sovalo (2004); and Italian BYOB hideaways Aden (1999) and Il Cantuccio (1998).
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) builds the region's economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.
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CONTACT:
Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com