Philadelphia

[Simon]

Any recommendations?  Heading there for a few days next month.  Have enjoyed Vernick in the past but would love some other suggestions!  Thank you!

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

What kind of experience are you looking for? Some of the most popular spots that live up to the hype are Mawn (modern Cambodian), Pietramala (refreshing and legitimately tasty vegan cooking), Her Place or My Loup (owned by the same couple, the former a supper club-type atmosphere with a prix-fixe menu, the latter a Montreal-esque bistro with Au Pied de Cochon roots), River Twice or Little Water (owned by the same couple, the former a creative, affordable seafood-focused tasting menu spot, the latter a creative, seafood-focused neighborhood restaurant with an a la carte menu), Little Walter's (modern Polish), Bastia (a recent Esquire best new restaurant pick, broadly Mediterranean but in a really fun, fresh way). The new Honeysuckle will be open with a tasting menu ($95) centered around Black food traditions; Friday Saturday Sunday, a JBFA winner for Outstanding Restaurant, is distinct, but similarly pulls from those same cooking traditions and presents them in a tasting menu format ($165). They also have a new JBFA-nominated cocktail bar called The Lovers Bar. Another great watering hole is Super Folie, a wonderful hole-in-the-wall wine bar that has the approval of NYC royalty like Pascaline Lepeltier. They just opened a new spot with a market component and a slightly larger menu called Superette. For cheesesteaks, Angelo's (though it's always mobbed) is the most famous now, but tbh, you can probably just go to Danny & Coop's in the East Village since it's essentially an offshoot; John's Roast Pork is a classic for both cheesesteaks and roast pork, and well worth the trip; check out Paesano's for a great, nontraditional pork and greens sandwich, or a unique fried chicken liver sandwich. Head to John's Water Ice for its signature frozen treat or a gelati (it's also right down the street from Fiorella, Marc Vetri's ode to pasta). Then there's Roxanne, a delightfully weird/cerebral yet playful restaurant that does silly things like putting a burger on the dessert menu, but the patty is seriously beefy and comes with a slice of room temp. Red Rock cheese, a blue-cheddar hybrid out of Wisconsin that almost makes it a cheese course. Also, two of the city's best bakeries, Machine Shop and Second Daughter, are housed in Bok, a repurposed high school that has other vendors worth checking out, plus a rooftop bar with a nice view of the city.

ETA: Speaking of living up to the hype, Kalaya really is quite good. And if you're around during the weekend, the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park is worth hitting up for items like stuffed chicken wings and lemongrass cheesesteaks.

Edited April 24 by GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry

[Wilfrid]

I remember trekking down to John's Roast Pork (sorry, have nothing new).

[Wilfrid]

A quick weekend trip coming up.  Vernick does look good, but for one diner it's walk-ins only. However, there are half a dozen promising-looking restaurants nearby around Rittenhouse Square, so I will try my luck. Sunday, Forsythia, which looks like my kind of menu.

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

Some friends of mine just had an anniversary dinner at Forsythia that they were raving about.

[Wilfrid]

Great, I love the menu. Thanks.

[MitchW]

On 4/22/2025 at 4:33 PM, GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry said:

Speaking of living up to the hype, Kalaya really is quite good

Just seeing this, and we had a really great meal at Kalaya - 4 of us, and I don't think there was a clunker with anything we ordered.

Also enjoyed the seafood restaurant via Vernick quite a  bit.

[Wilfrid]

Vernick menu: sea urchin with warm scrambled eggs.

Tom Colicchio, Gramercy Tavern circa 2001.

Not a complaint, just a flashback.

[Wilfrid]

Vernick was excellent. The sea urchin was not served in its shell, unlike at Gramercy. A layer of cool sour cream between the uni and the eggs. A great shallot-powered kick to the latter.

The star was the tea-smoked duck breast. The online menu had me ordering venison, but real life had duck instead. I said a short prayer to St Liebling and ordered it. Terrific. Lightly smoked, meat like velvet, crispy skin. Best duck breast since Providence. What's up, New York? You can't just throw it on the grill and serve it bloody with none of the rubber bands broken down.

With it, delicious fresh peas and a sauce soubise. 

Oh, neat little gazpacho to start. 

 

 

[Wilfrid]

And pleasant after dinner drinks at Franklin Mortgage (etc) just off Rittenhouse Square, not easy to find and once you're in the bar is behind an unmarked door.

[Simon]

I'm also in Philly this weekend.   Dinner at Friday Saturday Sunday tonight.  Technically excellent (aside from overbreaded sweetbreads), with the influence of Black food traditions subtle and sophisticated.  Maybe too subtle in some dishes, where I was expecting bolder flavors.  Perhaps the most ingenious preparation: agnolotti filled with grits.  Brilliant and delicious.

[Wilfrid]

I did consider that option.

Busy day today. I had never been to the Barnes Foundation and was under-prepared for how big the permanent collection is. 23 rooms with some 11 or 12 paintings on each small wall, yes piled on top of each other. Much sculpture too, especially African.

The focus is very much Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso and it has some famous masterpieces. Plenty of other stuff too, including Black American art which Barnes, I gather, championed.

Also a special exhibit of Cecily Brown, much more spacious and generous than the cramped 2023 show at the Met.

I thought I'd spend most of the day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but I was pretty drained. I saw the "Boom" show about art and design of the 1940s. It was okay (and big). 

Walked down to Reading Terminal Market, open and crowded but with better known vendors like DiNic closed for the weekend. I ate one and a half Philly dogs, leaving the buns. Sticky fingers.

Now at a kind of rock and roll cocktail bar, Poison Heart, before heading to Forsythia.
 

 

[Wilfrid]

Maybe I was due for a mishap. Dinner at Forsythia was one of the worst restaurant dinners I have had in a while. Not near the same level as Vernick for food or service.

Okay, it was annoying the rabbit was 86'd (not 8647, note). So fish or steak. That's life.

Beet soaked devilled eggs were kind of sticky and tasted like curry powder was added.

Foie gras in a pot, okay. House made duck fat "Ritz crackers" were nice. Came with some kind of blueberry compote. The poppy seed butter with the bread was okay, veering toward the edge of the plate in a WD-50 kind of way.

A small fifty buck ribeye, designated Wagyu, cooked to order but in a gloopy sauce I hope I would never serve at home. Crispy mushrooms, fine.

A couple of scoops of Tete de Moine with same blueberry thing that came with the foie gras.

Wines BTG were okay, but unlike Vernick, no presentation of the bottle or (admittedly pointless) offer to taste.

Climax, I ordered a glass of Calvados. Server presents a smear of it in a glass. "This is all we had, so it's on me." Great. Any chance of a full measure of something else?