Press Release

PHILADELPHIA’S DINING SCENE: WHAT’S NEW AND NOTABLE?
Young Chefs, Second Acts, New Menus, Fresh Cuisine

New On The Scene
Maverick chef Marc Vetri (chef-owner of Center City’s matchless rustic Italian Vetri) is bringing hoards of haute diners to North Broad Street via Osteria, an industrial chic outpost serving deliciously out-there wood-fired pizzas topped with egg, octopus or robiola cheese and candele over wild boar Bolognese. Osteria’s dining room is booked weeks ahead, but a counter facing the open kitchen offers grateful foodies first-come, first-served seating. More edgy Italian-inspired fare is on the menu at James, a youthfully elegant bistro one block from the Italian Market. Here, among chandeliers, cocoa-colored velvet drapes, exposed brick walls and sleek murals, chef-owners Jim and Kristina Burke serve espresso-braised oxtail ragu with homemade sweet potato agnolotti and mushroom cappuccino with chestnuts and pine. The Fairmount neighborhood takes a more classic approach to Italian cuisine with L’Oca, a glassed-in BYOB serving classic bagna cauda, minestrone soup, saffron spaghetti with prosciutto and thick ribbons of pappardelle laced with “l’oca” (Italian for “goose”) ragu.

La Lupe

Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

Morimoto alum Gunawan Wibisono opened a sushi place of his own in Old City: Bright-white Zento is a spare, modern setting for deftly composed square sushi of avocado, eel, sweet plum and ahi; deeply rich ramen soups; light-as-air tempura; and perfectly assembled sashimi and maki. Society Hill gets a taste of modern Puebla cuisine—slow cooked lamb, huitlacoche-stuffed gorditas and mango and thyme-touched cocktails at Xochitl (pronounced “so-cheet”), a collaboration between Marigold Kitchen chef Steven Cook and Puebla native chef Dionicio Jimenez. Farther north in Fishtown, Tiffin is poised to become the ultimate Indian restaurant: Its familiar, $13 and under menu of paneers, kofta, masala, curries, briyani and vindaloo belies these dishes’ impeccably spot-on preparations.

In the ’burbs, chef Chip Roman, a veteran of Le Bec-Fin and Vetri, brings strictly seasonal fare—spring herb risotto with lavender foam, Alaskan halibut with rhubarb puree and daikon, Verjus emulsion—to Blackfish, a BYOB in an old Conshohocken storefront. In Narberth, first-time restaurateur Margot McGinley has opened Margot on the site of the former Carmine’s Creole Café. The candlelit BYOB serves upscale modern American foods like smoked gouda meatloaf and whole-wheat linguini with sun-dried tomatoes and asparagus. Chester County’s 300-year-old Chadds Ford Inn is now the setting for the Brandywine Prime Seafood and Chops, featuring locally raised, dry-aged beef, a vast raw bar and inventive dishes such as coffee-encrusted venison loin and whole Maine lobster with fennel risotto by the acclaimed Dan Butler.

True Taquerias
A number of amazing, authentic taco spots have cropped up in and around Philadelphia. One of the first—and still most popular—is the Italian Market’s neon-lit, breakfast-through-late-night Taqueria la Veracruzana, serving cilantro-dusted chile rellenos, tripe and steak milanesa tacos and spectacular seafood soup. In a less-traveled block of the Italian Market, Los Tacquitos de Puebla has become known for its flour tacos al hambre (beef, pork, mushrooms, Chihuahua cheese and onions) and on Mondays, its menudo (soup). On the same block as Geno’s Steaks is real-deal La Lupe for rich torta sandwiches, huitacloche quesadillas and mole poblano enchiladas. Northern Liberties’ Taco Riendo is famous for its tongue—yes, tongue—tacos, sopes and burritos.

Sustainable Food
Sourcing ingredients from area farmers, butchers and cheese mongers allows restaurants to promote local businesses, to reduce energy used in transportation and to put only the freshest food on diners’ plates. The menu at University City’s White Dog Café includes goat cheese from Avondale’s Shellbark Hollow Farm, Lancaster County-raised chicken, steak from Chester County’s Buck Run Farm and vegetables and herbs grown in gardening programs at area public schools. Longtime White Dog chef Kevin von Klause continues this fair-food mission in his collaboration with Metropolitan Bakery at Old City’s Farmicia, where he brings in veggies from Lancaster’s Green Meadow Farm, yogurt from Pennsylvania’s Pequea Valley and poultry from Meadow Run Farm in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Last year, the Reading Terminal Market welcomed the Fair Food Farmstand to sell humanely raised meats, milk and cheese from grass-fed, hormone-free cows and organic produce. Reading Terminal is also home to Livengood’s Produce, a source of certified organic seasonal fruits and vegetables from Lancaster County.

Second Acts
Philly’s entrepreneurial chefs have been opening second locations all over town. One of the newest is Marc Vetri’s Osteria (see “New on the Scene” above), an off-the-beaten path gourmet gamble building on the success of Vetri, his first restaurant—and paying off quite instantly. Jose Garces, chef-owner of Old City’s immensely popular Spanish tapas bar and restaurant Amada crossed to the swankiest side of town to open smaller, even more authentic Tinto, a wine bar gone Basque. Chef Daniel Stern, owner of Queen Village’s petite and precious Gayle switched things up a bit when he opened the vast and showy Rae in the new Cira Centre across from 30^th Street Station. Susanna Foo, the only woman restaurateur and chef to splash her name on Restaurant Row, recently headed to the elite Main Line to expand with Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen.

Almost-Secret Dining Spots
Although everyone who’s anyone in town has jockeyed for a prime sidewalk table at Rittenhouse Square’s Rouge, quieter diners prefer to escape the masses at secluded urban courtyards. Tucked behind DJ-driven Gayborhood hotspot Bump is a lattice-covered and fountain-adorned patio for amazing, bargain-priced noshes like Cuban sandwiches and truffle mac and cheese. Ernesto’s 1521 Café also hides its best tables outdoors behind its back dining room, a perfect Italian spot for vegetable Napoleon, pesto salmon and homemade tiramisu. High above Northern Liberties’ Standard Tap exists a clandestine deck that’s the ultimate spot for washing down double burgers, perfect fries and chicken pie with a locally brewed Yards Saison. University City’s Zocalo, famous for its poblano-spiked queso fundido, habanero shrimp and top-shelf margaritas barely conceals its alfresco tables with a dividing wall. More Tex-Mex fun can be found at the vast garden outside Conshohocken’s Coyote Crossing, the perfect, tree-lit spot for a bucket of Coronas and bottomless baskets of chips.

Featured Chef: Matthew Levin
At age 34, Matthew Levin, executive chef at the Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, is Philadelphia’s youngest four-star chef. Levin graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, worked under Georges Perrier, Charlie Trotter and Craig Shelton and earned national praise during his first executive chef tenure at the former Moonlight in New Hope, Bucks County. Last year, he took over the kitchen of Jean-Marie Lacroix at the retiring chef’s eponymous Rittenhouse Square restaurant. His signature dishes: 24-hour braised pork belly with Jamaican allspice puree and octopus ceviche; Scottish langoustines in liquid coconut, white chocolate powder and cloves; and Japanese hamachi with avocado milk and green apple dashi.

Café Culture
Philly has no shortage of Starbucks: Still, the coolest sources for a caffeine fix are its independent coffee shops. Chief among cafes is the Rittenhouse Square outpost of Philadelphia roaster La Colombe, where bohemian artists, society dowagers, university students, big-wig attorneys, ballerinas and bike messengers mix over the East Coast’s best espresso. Tucked along narrow, historic Church Street is serene Old City Coffee, another small-batch, superior quality roaster. Fair trade coffees and completely edgy art are for sale at hipster-driven, one-year-old Chapterhouse, just a block from South Philly’s Italian Market. Deeper into South Philly, cozy, quirky Benna’s Café provides respite from the crowds at Pat’s and Geno’s cheesesteak stands with floral teas and thick, pre-sweetened cappuccinos. If you want to see what Philadelphia’s future looks like, head to the Rocket Cat Café in Fishtown, just north of uber-trendy Northern Liberties. Bryn Mawr’s new MilkBoy Coffee is a trendy suburban spot located inside the Bryn Mawr Film Institute where coffee lovers can chill and listen to live music, while New Hope’s Organic Coffee Bar is a haven for artsy types.

New On The Scene:

• Osteria, 640 N. Broad Street, (215) 763-0920, www.osteriaphilly.com
• James, 824 S. 8^th Street, (215) 629-4980, www.jameson8th.com
• L’Oca, 2025 Fairmount Avenue, (215) 769-0316, www.locafairmount.com
• Tiffin, 710 W. Girard Avenue, (215) 922-1297, www.tiffinstore.com
• Zento, 138 Chestnut Street, (215) 925-9998, www.zentocontemporary.com
• Xochitl, 408 S. 2^nd Street, (215) 238-7280, www.xochitlphilly.com
• Blackfish, 119 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, (610) 397-0888, www.blackfishrestaurant.com
• Margot, 232 Woodbine Avenue, Narberth, (610) 660-0160, www.margotbyob.com
• Brandywine Prime Seafood and Chops, Routes 1 & 100, (610) 388-8088, www.brandywineprime.com
  

• Taqueria la Veracruzana, 908 Washington Avenue, (215) 465-1440
• Los Tacquitos de Puebla, 1149 S. 9^th Street, (215) 334-0664
• La Lupe, 1201 S. 9^th Street, (215) 551-9920
• Taco Riendo, 1301 N. 5^th Street, (215) 235-2294

Sustainable Food:

• White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom Street, (215) 386-9224, www.whitedog.com
• Farmicia, 15 S. 3^rd Street, (215) 627-6274, www.farmiciarestaurant.com
• Fair Food Farmstand, Reading Terminal Market, 12^th & Arch Streets, (215) 627-2029
• Livengood’s Produce, Reading Terminal Market, 12^th & Arch Streets, (717) 464-2698

Second Acts:

• Osteria, 640 N. Broad Street, (215) 763-0920, www.osteriaphilly.com
• Tinto, 114 S. 20^th Street, (215) 665-9150, www.tintorestaurant.com
• Rae, Cira Centre, 2929 Arch Street, (215) 922-3839, www.raerestaurant.com
• Susanna Foo’s Gourmet Kitchen, 555 E. Lancaster Avenue, Radnor, (610) 688-8808, www.susannafoo.com

Almost-Secret Dining Spots:

• Rouge, 205 S. 18^th Street, (215) 732-6622
• Bump, 13^th & Locust Streets, (215) 732-1800, www.bumplounge.com
• Ernesto’s 1521 Cafe, 1521 Spruce Street, (215) 546-1521, www.ernestos1521.com
• Standard Tap, 2^nd & Poplar Streets, (215) 238-0630, www.standardtap.com
• Zocalo, 3600 Lancaster Avenue, (215) 895-0139, www.zocalophilly.com
• Coyote Crossing, 800 Spring Mill Avenue, Conshohocken, (610) 825-3000, www.coyotecrossing.com
  

Featured Chef: Matthew Levin:

• Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, (215) 546-9000, www.lacroixrestaurant.com
  

Café Culture:

• La Colombe, 130 S. 19^th Street, (215) 563-0860; 4360 Main Street, Manayunk, (215) 483-4580, www.lacolombe.com
• Old City Coffee, 221 Church Street, (215) 629-9292; Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch Street, (215) 592-1897, www.oldcitycoffee.com
• Chapterhouse, 620 S. 9^th Street, (215) 238-2626, www.chapterhousecafe.org
• Benna’s Cafe, 1236 S. 8^th Street, (215) 334-1502, www.bennascafe.com
• Rocket Cat Café, 2001 Franford Avenue, (215) 739-4526
• MilkBoy Coffee, 824 W. Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, (610) 527-6627; 2 E. Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, (610) 645-5269; www.milkboycoffee.com
• Organic Coffee Bar, 111 S. Main Street, New Hope, (215) 862-1073

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:

Donna Schorr, GPTMC
(215) 599-0782, donna@gptmc.com

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