Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

15 New Restaurants On The Scene
Summer brings fresh new flavors to Philadelphia’s posh Rittenhouse Square neighborhood in the form of Noble American Cookery, a much-awaited opening from restaurateurs Todd Rodgers and Bruno Pouget. The eclectic, sophisticated fare (grilled Portuguese sardines, roasted Hudson Valley duck breast, yogurt Bavarian with chili chocolate and herbed strawberries) is served up in a cleanly designed space with outdoor seating and a sky-lit dining room. Also new in Rittenhouse, The Kibitz Room widens cured meat quotas and belt positions with this new Philly outpost: Think pound-sized house-smoked pastrami sandwiches and enough whitefish salad to expand any waistline instantly. What’s more, executive chef extraordinaire Jose Garces continues to expand his Philadelphia empire with Village Whiskey, a whiskey bar with American comfort food eats (bison burgers and house-cured pickles) and serious cocktails (Kentucky straight bourbon with wheat beer and ginger) set to open in August next to his Spanish eatery Tinto.

On the other side of Center City, Old City’s Italian eatery Amici Noi has been revamped into Bocca, a stylish Mediterranean small plate restaurant where crisped cauliflower with romesco sauce and ravioli with talleggio and mushrooms are passed alongside watermelon basil martinis and elderflower/cucumber cocktails. Old City also welcomes Stephen Starr’s SquareBurger to Franklin Square where the simple eats include hot dogs and juicy burgers on potato buns, gelato and more.

Just in time for summer, Philly’s riverfront dining scene has a new tenant: Octo Waterfront Grille picks up where Rock Lobster left off, offering a “tropical urban oasis” to diners with atmopsheric fish tanks, DJs, live music and three bars slinging signature cocktails. On South Street, Mango Bush is also working island-style magic with West Indian eats (jerk chicken, oxtails, brown stew) served in a sunny, casual setting.

Drinkers, too, have much to toast this season with a spate of new watering holes. The founders of Center City’s uber-successful Good Dog double their holdings with a new gastropub in Northern Liberties’ The Piazza at Schmidt’s with The Swift Half, where the liquids include 10 beers on tap and the solids include duck prosciutto and fig salad and mole ribs (Also in the Piazza is Darling’s Diner, an almost 24-hour 1950s-style eatery that promises chicken and biscuit stew, black angus burgers and granny smith and golden raisin pancakes into the wee hours of the night; Vino, an Italian restaurant and wine bar that features brick-oven pizza, a cheese-and-olive bar and more than 50 wines by the glass; and P.Y.T. Bar and Burger Joint, a burger palace that doubles as a club where DJs spin fresh sounds.) And building on a successful regional mini-chain, J.D. McGillicuddy’s will be Northern Liberties’ newest Irish pub, serving live music, karaoke, classic bar fare like wings and nachos and foamy pints galore.

In Midtown Village, the owners of the well-loved restaurant Valanni have opened Varga Bar, named for a famed pin-up photographer and noted for its microbrew selection plus refined noshes like truffled macaroni and cheese and Sly Fox beer-braised Kobe beef hot dogs. The Blockley Pourhouse and Mary Oak’s—two separate restaurants that share one space—ride the gastropub trend to West Philadelphia, where in addition to a new live music stage the hybrid venue’s offerings include short rib-studded poutine, boar bangers and mash and 36 draft beers.

South Street’s already gearing up for Oktoberfest thanks to the addition of an authentic German eatery Brauhaus Schmitz, where traditional cuisine like potato pancakes, wurstplattes and apple strudel can be washed down with 16 different draft selections plus more than 75 international bottled beers.

Finally, South Philly gets caught up in the region’s French new wave with cash-only Bibou, a jewel-box bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) spot from former Le Bec-Fin chef Pierre Calmels and his wife Charlotte, featuring finely crafted eats like escargots with fava beans and seared scallops with pickled ratatouille and saffron sauce.

Dining Deals
This summer area restaurants continue to offer dining stimulus deals, like the great one at Sole Food at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, where patrons can dine on three courses priced at $40 for two people. Couples can opt for dishes like yellowfin tuna tartare, tomato soup or salad for the first course; ocean trout, crispy filet, chicken breast or hangar steak for the entrée; and a seasonal dessert of the chef’s choosing, which might be a Philly cream cheese cheesecake with pretzel crust and a Yuengling caramel sauce.

Long known for its inexpensive wine (only $10 per bottle markups) Friday Saturday Sunday
now has one of the city’s best happy hours: All drinks are half-price with $5 martinis, $4 glasses of wine and $2 beers, plus there’s an affordable snack menu with treats like artichoke truffles and pastrami breadsticks. Bryn Mawr’s Blush has another great happy hour, with half-off eclectic flatbreads (Earth: garlic oil artichoke, spinach and parmesan; Water: tuna ceviche, pineapple juice, cilantro crema) and all drinks, Monday through Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Queen Village’s sophisticated wine bar and eatery Ansill now offers happy hour every Tuesday through Saturday, so customers can swallow oysters for $1 and Korean tacos for $5 and wash them down with a $5 martini or a $3 draught beer. Lively Tex-Mex eatery Coyote Crossing has retooled its happy hour menu to offer more discounts, including hand-squeezed frozen margaritas for $4 every day and daily changing specials like $4 Cuba Libres and $5 mojitos, as well as wing platters on the rooftop bar of the West Chester location.

Big Burgers
Warm weather conjures up cravings for burgers, and area eateries happily oblige. An emerging chain with a reputation for sustainable ingredients, Elevation Burger brings its organic, grass-fed natural burgers (the vertical stacks up multiple patties) and olive-oil fries to Wynnewood. At Fishtown’s Sketch, burgers dominate the menu, and the kobe beef patty with smashed grilled onions is a favorite, though vegan options abound.

It’s no coincidence that most of the best burgers in the region can be found in close proximity to beer. Gastropubs like Good Dog and Pub & Kitchen serve memorable renditions—the former stuffed with blue cheese and the latter made with pork belly and English cheddar. On the high end, Brandywine Prime’s chefs were lauded by Philadelphia magazine as making the region’s best burgers. And it’s no wonder—not only do their patties arrive topped with Kennett Square mushrooms on a brioche bun, but they’re also ground with scraps from unused prime meats like rib eyes and New York strips.

Cued Up
Southern barbecue is gathering smoke in Philly, where a fresh crop of meateries have set up shop. The Italian Market’s smoldering new addition Bebe’s Barbecue smokes its pulled pork Carolina style with a dry rub, to be washed down with sweet tea and banana pudding. A reincarnation of Old City’s landmark Philadelphia Fish and Company, Q BBQ & Tequila is a barbecue joint and tequila bar with a little bit of Tex-Mex flash—the hickory-smoked ribs and pulled pork burritos can be paired with more than 60 tequilas.

Holding down the classic barbecue scene is the Northeast’s Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse, which packs ‘em in for its Monday night BBQ Buffet and stellar rotisserie chicken, smoked kielbasa and Dixie Coleslaw. In Jenkintown, Abner’s Authentic Barbecue prepares its meats in an old-fashioned pit, producing luscious Carolina pulled pork, Memphis ribs and Texas brisket. A South Street institution, Phoebe’s Bar-B-Q does a mostly-takeout business of Oklahoma-style ribs, pulled pork and rotisserie chicken.

Sweet Summertime Treats
Overheated visitors take note: The tangy yogurt trend has hit Philadelphia hard. At South Street’s Phileo, the luscious soft-serve confections are offered up for do-it-yourself dispensing in flavors like plain tart, mango and green tea, along with a slew of toppings like fresh berries, mochi (Japanese rice cakes) and breakfast cereals. The just-opened Yogorino store on 20^th and Locust Streets brings an Italian chain to the region with a healthier twist: probiotic yogurt.

For the sweeter-toothed customer, Chestnut Street’s expansive candy store and ice cream parlor Scoop DeVille prepares chocolate and vanilla yogurt soft serve—variety comes in the form of a vast array of toppings. In the sweet and dense yogurt category, historic Bassetts Ice Cream in the Reading Terminal Market serves up three creamy flavors—chocolate, vanilla and peach. They hardly need adornment though chocolate- and nut-studded cones are available, and the yogurt can be packed by the pint for take-home enjoyment.

Featured Chef: Jim Burke
Before opening the nationally lauded James restaurant in Bella Vista, Jim Burke trained at the Adams Mark Hotel. It was a turn in the kitchen at Marc Vetri’s widely revered Vetri that inspired Burke’s intense fascination with Italian cuisine. Following his palate, he landed in Bergamo where he trained with Michelin-starred chef Paolo Frosio. He brought his newly acquired skills back to the region in later stints at Vivo Enoteca in Wayne and Angelina in Philadelphia. In 2007, he and his wife Kristina Burke opened James, which has been noted for its lush fine dining atmosphere, seasonal, creative cuisine (roasted cauliflower with golden raisin emulsion and bottarga; grass-fed veal loin with fava beans and morels) and intricately crafted cocktails. It hasn’t taken long for the culinary world to take notice of his talents: In 2008, Food and Wine magazine named Burke “Best New Chef,” and this year he was a James Beard Mid-Atlantic Best Chef semifinalist.

Featured Neighborhood: Midtown Village
Midtown Village, the blocks stretching east of Broad between Market and Lombard Streets, is one of Center City’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods. Long known for its retail options, it’s grown in recent years to encompass a vast array of excellent eating and drinking options.

Few restaurateurs have done more for the neighborhood than Marcie Turney, her brother Evan Turney and George Anni. Anni started the trend with his Valanni restaurant, where Evan Turney fused Latin and Mediterranean flavors to create a fresh cuisine in a sleek setting. Anni and Evan Turney went on to open Mercato, an Italian-centric BYO with contemporary flavors (short rib ragu with ricotta gnocchi.) Marcie Turney, meanwhile, opened her nuevo Mexican bistro Lolita, and Bindi, a modern Indian eatery across the street, both of which showcase her deft use of spice and seasonal market ingredients and take the BYO to another level with interesting house-made drink mixers.

Stephen Starr’s El Vez has long been a neighborhood favorite for its inventive Mexican food, superb cocktails and lively bar scene replete with table-side guacamole service and fresh fruit margaritas. Across the street Raw Sushi & Sake Lounge serves up creative Japanese cuisine (almond shrimp tempura; eel, avocado, plum and salmon rolls) and a long list of sakes. On the more traditional end of the spectrum are authentic French restaurants Caribou Café and Zinc, both of which are owned by Olivier Desaintmartin and feature cross-regional dishes and good wine selections. While Caribou cooks up housemade pâté, cassoulet and choucroute, Zinc trades in bistro fare such as escargot in puff pastry and rabbit stew.

Midtown Village is a drinker’s dream. One of the original tenants of the neighborhood, Fergie’s Pub has a top-rate beer selection, authentic Irish pub vibe and a dedicated following for its popular quizzo nights. For the beer and wine enthusiast, Tria offers great brews, international wines and a small-plates menu of cheeses, charcuterie, panini and other snacks. On 13^th Street, Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro is a French-inflected wine bar with an excellent selection of wines by the glass and a changing menu of light seasonal fare. The Village is also home to the city’s first major cocktail bar, APO Bar + Lounge, which shakes up all manner of herbal tinctures and extracts in its avant garde drinks like Sage Wisdom (white rum, white grapefruit, fresh sage, gingko, pineapple-sage foam).

A sweet ending is never out of reach in Midtown Village, either. The area boasts an outpost of Bonté, a cafe specializing in Belgian gaufres; the original flagship of Capogiro Gelato Artisans, Philly’s top-rated artisan gelateria; and Naked Chocolate Café, a bonanza of all things cocoa, from hot chocolate to cakes, candies and fondue.

ADDRESS BOOK

New On The Scene:

• Noble American Cookery, 2025 Sansom Street, (215) 568-7000, noblecookery.com
• The Kibitz Room, 1521 Locust Street, (215) 735-7305, thekibitzroom.com
• Village Whiskey, 118 S. 20^th Street, (215) 662-1088, villagewhiskey.com
• Tinto, 114 S. 20^th Street, 215-665-9150, tintorestaurant.com
• Bocca, 236 Market Street, (215) 625-6610
• SquareBurger, Franklin Square, 200 N. 6^th Street
• Octo Waterfront Grille, 221 N. Colombus Boulevard, (215) 923-OCTO, octophilly.com
• Mango Bush, 524 S. 4^th Street, (215) 625-2410
• Good Dog, 224 S. 15^th Street, (215) 985-9600, gooddogbar.com
• The Swift Half, 1001 N. 2^nd Street, swifthalfpub.com
• Darling’s Diner, 1001 N. 2^nd Street, (267) 239-5790, darlingscheesecake.com
• Vino, 1001 N. 2^nd Street, (215) 923-2014, vinorestaurantlounge.com
• P.Y.T. Bar and Burger Joint, 1001 N. 2^nd Street
• J.D. McGillicuddy’s, 421 N. 7^th Street, (215) 925-5310, jdmcgillicuddys.com
• Valanni, 1229 Spruce Street, (215) 790-9494, valanni.com
• Varga Bar, 10^th & Spruce Streets, (215) MA7-5200, vargabar.com
• The Blockley Pourhouse and Mary Oak’s, 38^th & Ludlow Streets, (215) 222-1234, theblockley.com
• Brauhaus Schmitz, 718 South Street, brauhausschmitz.com
• Bibou, 1009 S. 8^th Street, (215) 965-8290, biboubyob.com
• Le Bec-Fin, 1523 Walnut Street, (215) 567-1000, lebecfin.com

Dining Deals:

• Sole Food, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market Street, (215) 231-7300, loewshotels.com
• Friday Saturday Sunday, 261 S. 21^st Street, (215) 546-4232, frisatsun.com
• Blush, 24 N. Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, (610) 527-7700, dineatblush.com
• Ansill, 627 S. 3^rd Street, (215) 627-2485, ansillfoodandwine.com
• Coyote Crossing, 102 E. Market Street, West Chester, (610) 429-8900; 800 Spring Mill Avenue, Conshohocken, (610) 825-3000, coyotecrossing.com

Big Burgers:

• Elevation Burger, 50 E. Wynnewood Road, Wynnewood, (610) 645-7704, elevationburger.com
• Sketch, 413 E. Girard Avenue, (215) 634-3466
• Good Dog, 224 S. 15^th Street, (215) 985-9600, gooddogbar.com
• Pub & Kitchen, 1946 Lombard Street, (215) 545-0350, thepubandkitchen.com
• Brandywine Prime, 1617 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, (610) 388-8088, brandywineprime.com

Cued Up:

• Bebe’s Barbeque, 1017 S. 9^th Street, (267) 519-8791, bebesbarbecue.com
• Q BBQ & Tequila, 207 Chestnut Street, (215) 625-8605, qoldcity.com
• Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse, 7500 State Road, (215) 331-3112, sweetlucys.com
• Abner’s Authentic Barbecue, 505 Old York Road, Jenkintown, (215) 885-8600, abnersbbq.com
• Phoebe’s Bar-B-Q, 2214 South Street, (215) 546-4811, phoebesbbq.com

Frozen Yogurt:

• Phileo, 416 South Street, (215) 873-8361
• Yogorino, 233 S. 20^th Street, (267) 639-2341
• Scoop DeVille, 1734 Chestnut Street, (215) 988-9992, scoopdeville.com
• Bassetts, 45 N. 12^th Street, (215) 925-4315, bassettsicecream.com

Featured Chef: Jim Burke:

• James, 824 S. 8^th Street, (215) 629-4980, jameson8th.com
• Vetri, 1312 Spruce Street, (215) 732-3478, vetriristorante.com

Featured Neighborhood: Midtown Village:

• Valanni, 1229 Spruce Street, (215) 790-9494, valanni.com
• Mercato, 1216 Spruce Street, (215) 985-2962, mercatobyob.com
• Lolita, 106 S. 13^th Street, (215) 546-7100, lolitabyob.com
• Bindi, 105 S. 13^th Street, (215) 922-6061, bindibyob.com
• El Vez, 121 S. 13^th Street, (215) 928-9800, elvezrestaurant.com
• Raw Sushi & Sake Lounge, 1225 Sansom Street, (215) 238-1903, rawlounge.net
• Caribou Café, 1126 Walnut Street, (215) 625-9535, cariboucafe.com
• Zinc, 246 S. 11^th Street, (215) 351-9901, zincbarphilly.com
• Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom Street, (215) 928-8118, fergies.com
• Tria, 1137 Spruce Street, (215) 629-9200, triacafe.com
• Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro, 129 S. 13^th Street, (215) 922-3095, vintage-philadelphia.com
• APO Bar + Lounge, 102 S. 13^th Street, (215) 735-7500, apothecarylounge.com
• Bonté, 1315 Walnut Street, (215) 732-3259, mybonte.com
• Capogiro Gelato Artisans, 119 S. 13^th Street, (215) 351-0900, capogirogelato.com
• Naked Chocolate Café, 1317 Walnut Street, (215) 735-7310, nakedchocolatecafe.com

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit gophila.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to Hear Philly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.

Contact(s):

• Cara Schneider, (215) 599-0789
• Donna Schorr, (215) 599-0782