PHILADELPHIA IS FOR FEASTING
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You probably didn’t visit Philadelphia in’76. We were ready for you with dozens of new restaurants but you didn’t show up. Had you arrived in droves, as expected, those new restaurants might have gotten fat and lazy on the easy money tourists traditionally bring.
When you let them down, Philadelphia’s restaurateurs, many of them idealistic young people on shoestring budgets, were faced with the rather formidable task of getting finicky locals to dine out often. They succeeded. The restaurants were comfortable and bright. They were, for the most part, happy, informal places to dine. They let Manhattan and Paris hire the haughty maitre d’s who doomed strangers to Siberia. They gave you friendly young women and men who were proud of the food they served.
And Philadelphia restaurants are still doing that. Let’s take a look at what Philadelphia has to offer you.
Dubbed “the best French restaurant in the country” by serious critics, Le Bee Fin is a surprisingly amiable place in which to find fine cuisine. It’s tucked away in a Spruce Street townhouse and until the restaurant moves (a new location is being planned), you’ll be wise to arrive exactly on time for your reservation or end up waiting in a cramped vestibule or on the street.
Reservations are a must and the place is often booked for weeks ahead. Reasons for popularity include silken sauces, the best available ingredients, and dozens of great desserts, including cakes and tarts prepared by the resident French pastry chef and ice creams and sherbets made on the premises. (Ask for tastes of several desserts. It’s a request they like to hear.)
Wines match up to the food and the knowledgeable wine steward can steer you to the wine of your preference and price. The prix fixe is over $50 and that does not include tax, tips or drinks. Save your pennies. It’s worth it. Bee Fin will take your check (with the proper identification) but no credit cards.
Almost as expensive, with food that’s giving Le Bee Fin a run for its money, is La Truffe on Front St. La Truffe is a beauty; if it has one failing, that might be portions that seem designed for dieters.
Elegant, eclectic in approach and considerably more affordable are Frog, and The Garden, two restaurants that are extremely popular with locals aVid tourists alike.
Frog at 1524 Locust St. is a multilevel restaurant with a piano bar at the bottom and attractive, minimally furnished dining rooms on two floors. Frog’s forte is imaginative combinations, many with Oriental overtones. Examples? Snails in pasta shells with spinach, walnut and pernod, or veal with macadamia nuts. For the inevitable plain eater there are burgers and steaks. A separate dessert menu shows off the most attractive sweets in town. The wine list is full of California treasures. The Garden at 1617 Spruce is equally as appealing. In warm weather, dine outdoors in a sophisticated city garden or on a deck that has side-curtains for blustery days.
Food is simple with emphasis on seasonal bounty. Try the fish (varieties change daily) baked in parchment or the rack of lamb with fresh herbs and garlic. At lunch, homey pleasure comes with the combination of glazed ham with warm, French-style potato salad.
Frog’s spin-off for those on smaller budgets is The Commissary at 1710 Sansom St. The food is similar to Frog’s in that it is imaginative but here you are limited to dishes that do well in a cafeteria, which is what The Commissary is. Expect great soups, salads, pates, cold plates plus hot pastas, stirfry dishes and omelettes. Unusual wines are available by the glass. Upstairs, sit down and be served. The small second floor dining room has a somewhat more expanded menu.
Another spin-off, this one even less expensive, is Eden. There are two locations, one on the Chestnut St. Mall and the second on the same street, several miles west, on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Both offer burgers, salads, soups and the like, interestingly seasoned, in a cafeteria setting. It’s easy to get away with a filling meal for less than $10.
You could write a book and still not include all the good restaurants that are within walking distance of center city hotels. With apologies to those omitted (for reason of space), here’s a sampling.
Just off Rittenhouse Square is The Rittenhouse, where the steak is likely to be aged sirloin sauced with cognac and four different peppercorns, and the duck arrives with a choice of pureed strawberries or fresh tarragon cream sauce.
On Camac St., between Spruce and Locust, is Deux Cheminees, decorated with 18th‘century American furnishings and blessed with a chef who knows how to prepare good, simple (though at times expensive) French food.
The penthouse at the top of 15th and Locust houses Tripp’s, where beautiful food competes with a breathtaking view of the city and suburbs.
Almost across the street, Gabriel’s Horn at 1420 Locust gives you a handsome stained-glass and brass embellished setting for a caringly-cooked meal before or after a concert at the adjoining Academy of Music.
Arthurs, at 1512 Locust St. is the city’s sole surviving steakhouse. It lasts because the meat is prime, the service swift and the cooking competent.
Plain, noisy and popular, the Sansom Street Oyster House has nothing more to offer than good fresh fish and seafood and modest prices. The cooking is unapologetically simple. Unless you come with a party of six or the place is empty (unlikely), be prepared to share a table.
West of Sansom, at 2043, Magyar plies you with big portions of delicious, substantial Hungarian food. Save room for one of the desserts. They include cakes made without flour (ground nuts hold the creaminess together) and sumptuous strudels.
For a carnival-type setting, hop a cab to the South St. area. What was once a home for struggling artists has grown into a 13-block strip of shops and restaurants that can be a fascinating place for a stroll on a nice evening. On South St. itself, find Knave of Hearts and Liekety Split, two restaurants with a young, adventurous approach to dining. At the latter, you watch the passing parade at a table in what used to be a display window. At Knave, you’re crowded into a cozy room painted in a rainbow of pastel colors. For lighter fare, there’s Montserrat at 623 South. Burgers, fried potato skins and barbecued ribs are served here, at affordable prices.
Across the street from Liekety Split (you’ll know it by the smell of sizzling steaks and onions) is Jim’s Steaks. You’ve heard about Philly’s famous steak sandwiches; here’s where they’re at their best. Cafe Nola, also on South, offers New Orleans cuisine. If you’re on a diet, you could stop at the shrimp and oyster bar where oysters and clams on the half shell and cold shrimp are always available.
Just north of South on Fifth, find Wildflowers and Alouette. The former has the best salad bar anywhere as well as a big. well-stocked bar (the spirited kind). At Alouette, the emphasis is on French food with a twist provided by a talented chef from Thailand. This is one of the more moderate priced French restaurants in town and one of the most pleasing. Check about wines. If they haven’t gotten a liquor license, you will have to bring your own bottle.
South of South St. at 609 East Passyunk, find Lisbon Madrid. Not fancy but a good place to get to know authentic Spanish/Portuguese food. Try the carne a Alentejana, a pairing of pork and clams the restaurant does particularly well.
On Leithgow St. north of South is Marrakesh, a small, dark and authentic Moroccan restaurant. Recline on pillows while you dine at low brass tables. The $15 fixed price meal includes salads, bisteeya (Moroccan meat pie), entree, fruit, nuts, dessert and mint tea. Eat with the fingers of your right hand; they’ll show you how. Reservations are important.
At the foot of South find Bangkok House, where Thai food, liberally spiked with garlic and hot pepper, is available at modest prices. Check the menu for stars. If you see three, it means your tongue will tingle for hours.
One of the prettiest Italian restaurants in the city is in the same block of South St. as Bangkok House. La Cucina has a domed, see-through ceiling that lets you watch the stars as you twirl your fettucine.
Budget-minded food shoppers flock to Philadelphia’s Italian market in the area around 9th and Christian Sts. It’s where you’ll get the best buys on fresh fish, produce, meats and pastas. It’s also home to several good restaurants.
Newest is Osteria Romana at Ellsworth St., just off Ninth. As the name implies, the food is Roman style. Top quality ingredients are cooked to order so the pace is sometimes slow. Prices are moderate.
For good food at bargain prices, try Dante and Luigi’s or Saigon. The former, at 762 South 10th, is an oldfashioned Italian restaurant with prices to match. The latter is Vietnamese, one of three restaurants of this nationality in the Italian market area and the best. Expect a setting that is one step from austere. Try the caramel chicken and the Vietnamese spring rolls.
Philadelphia’s Chinatown has about 30 restaurants in an area bounded by Race and Arch, 9th and 11th streets. The district is a quick car ride from downtown hotels and well worth the fare. (Streets may look dark but Philadelphians feel safe walking here.)
Among the more reliable operations are China Flower on 10th St., Imperial Inn (two locations, both good), and Ho Sai Gai (two locations, both good). Check out the Chinese Cultural Center. If you’re lucky, they’ll be scheduling one of their banquet series. For a small price (usually around $15), you’ll get a full course banquet cooked by a newlyarrived (from China) chef.
If you want an unusual meal that can be wonderful or chaotic, depending upon the crew in command, check out The Restaurant of the Restaurant School at 2129 Walnut. The school trains those who would own, cook for or otherwise staff, small restaurants. The Restaurant is their training ground. The bill of fare at the small, elegantly understated room changes with each class. The price is always under $10. Enough said.
If you crave a meal with a river view, try The Riverfront right on the Delaware at Poplar St. The salad bar is big, the food simple but delicious, and the passing river traffic is a constant show.
Finally, to see how our colonial ancestors dined, City Tavern at Second St. near Walnut provides a building that’s an authentic, brick-for-brick replica of a tavern that stood on the site at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Costumed waiters and waitresses, live harpsicord music and food that is simple but substantial make the history lesson extremely palatable.
Elaine Tait has been restaurant critic of The Philadelphia Inquirer for 19 years. She is author of “Best Restaurants Philadelphia & Environs (101 Productions),” a guide to dining in the area.
