179864 Wed Jan 22 08:29:56 -0800 2003 31 15 Pennsylvania 0 966979 What are 5 Philadelphia restaurants you feel should not be missed? We enjoy fine dining, but most of all excellent food. BYOB's are accepatable also. I have heard about many Philly resturants we must try (Buddakan, Le Bec Fin, Striped Bass, etc...) but I would like to hear from all of you a list of 5 that you feel are the best. Wed Jan 22 08:29:56 -0800 2003 0 Alexa 1 966982 My personal opinion: Django, Vetri, Pasion, Morimoto, Chloe. Wed Jan 22 09:39:10 -0800 2003 966979 0 sara 2 966983 My top 3 right now: Pasion, Morimoto, Lacroix Wed Jan 22 09:53:07 -0800 2003 966982 0 JugglerDave 3 967005 If I am going to stick to fine dining I would pick LaCroix, Le Bec Fin, Savona, Vetri, and Fuji. Savona and Fuji are not in Philadelphia, but they are in the tristate area. Fuji doesnt have the atmosphere and service of the others and it is BYO, but the food is amazing. If I am going to broaden the definition I would add Tony Lukes, Steve's Prince of Steaks, Sang Kee Peking Duck House, Lee How Fook, Tai Lake, Vietnam Palace, Pho 75, Lombardi's. The Happy Rooster is also very good. Wed Jan 22 16:34:52 -0800 2003 966983 0 jen 4 967060 Happy Rooster not what it used to be. And agree with negative post re Pearl Oyster bar. Last two experiences there TERRIBLE. Thu Jan 23 15:10:08 -0800 2003 967005 0 carrie 1 966984 Pasion, Studio Kitchen, Fountain, Tre Scalini, haven't been to LaCroix but heard great things about it. Wed Jan 22 10:00:47 -0800 2003 966979 0 Jo 1 966987 The five I consider the best, though perhaps not all are fine dining in the traditional use of the phrase. Tony Luke's The Down Home Diner Steve's Prince of Steaks Le Bec-Fin The Hot Dog Truck at 23rd and Passyunk Holly Moore HollyEats.Com Link: http://www.hollyeats.com Wed Jan 22 11:56:42 -0800 2003 966979 0 Holly Moore 1 966988 Others come and go, but Le Bec-Fin still has the best food in Philadephia for my money. To round out my personal top three: The Fountain Django Wed Jan 22 12:11:35 -0800 2003 966979 0 Barry 1 966989 There are easily more than 5 "must dine" places in Philadelphia, so narrowing the list is challenging. In no particular order, but equally worthy of a visit, in my opinion, here are my choices: 1. Le Bec Fin 2. The Fountain at the Four Seasons 3. The Reading Terminal Market, especially: Down Home Diner Salumeria 12th Street Cantina Rocco's Hoagies DiNic's Roasr Pork Pearl's Oyster Bar 4. Chloe 5. David's Mai Lah Wah in Chinatown for noodle dishes and dumplings 6. Monk's Cafe 7. Django 8. Striped Bass 9. The Standard Tap 10. Geno's Steaks 11. Jake's 12. Pasion Wed Jan 22 12:30:40 -0800 2003 966979 0 RP 2 966997 Re the Reading Terminal Market list. Good selection, except I strongly disagree with the inclusion of Pearl's. The fried seafood is pedestrian (and I assume frozen or at least pre-breaded way too long in advance) and the french fries are third rate. Hardly a good example of fresh, seasonal cooking. Wed Jan 22 14:52:18 -0800 2003 966989 0 Bob Libkind 3 967003 You are incorrect about Pearl's. An hour of observation at the counter will rid you of that misconception. Wed Jan 22 16:17:25 -0800 2003 966997 0 RP 4 967014 Okay, RP, I'm willing to be persuaded. I'll try it again. But last time I had pretty soggy fried oysters and limp fries. Wed Jan 22 18:13:36 -0800 2003 967003 0 Bob Libkind 1 966991 What a great thread! Upscale: LaCroix, Vetri, Le Bec Fin For us, these are occasion places. Tops! Where we go more frequently, and have never been disappointed: Tre Scalini, Nan (French/Thai) (both BYOB) Haven't been for a while, but it was up there: Django Recently discovered and enjoyed, but too soon to tell: L'Angolo Hear great things about Pasion, but we've only been there once. Wed Jan 22 13:49:41 -0800 2003 966979 0 Sylvia G 1 966992 And of course, StudioKitchen! Wed Jan 22 13:50:27 -0800 2003 966979 0 Sylvia G 1 966993 Here is th deal Alexa. Of the top high end places, what is generally regarded as the top 4 are Le bec Fin, Fountain, Lacroix and Stiped Bass. with Deux Cheminees mentioned occasionally. Le bec has a rich history of haute cuisine but it is slightly overrated...worth a visit. My Opinion is based on the fact that it is not on the level of Daniel Boulud Nyc, Jean GeorgesNYC or French Laundry NAPA. The fountain basically serves creative hotel food with little flavor, service is great but culinarily it does not deserve 5 stars. Gjango is definitely overpraised, its good, just not that good. Avoid Buddakan at all costs, waste of time and money, all the food is either precooked or deep fried. I know that for a fact as a former insider. Pasion is ok, a lot of its praise is because people arent knowledgeable in latino cuisine plus its basically a rip of of douglas rodriguez's food from Patria. As you noticed, I havent even mentioned susanna foo........pointless, just repackaged chinese food. the new restaurant Salt serves delicious food, desserts are slightly weak. Reading terminal is good for lunch. Avoid the down home diner. The best creative food in philadelphia currently in restaurants isin the following order from the best Lacroix Food very good, desserts ok to pedestrian Salt Food excellent, desserts ok Le bec Fin Food good. desserts old schoool boring Fountain Food ok desserts ok, just ok. Striped bass Food ok to very good, desserts nothing special. there you have it. Wed Jan 22 14:11:29 -0800 2003 966979 0 Jack 2 966994 Jack, per this comment: Lacroix Food very good, desserts ok to pedestrian .is your opinion of their desserts pre- or post- migration of Le Bec Fin's exec pastry chef to Lacroix? -=$>Dave<$=- Wed Jan 22 14:18:11 -0800 2003 966993 0 JugglerDave 3 966999 juggler dave is indeed correct. Lacroix has poached Le becs pastry chef which means the desserts by conventional wisdom have to be better. I am going to dinner this week to check it out again, trip #5. Wed Jan 22 15:54:12 -0800 2003 966994 0 jack 4 967008 Which Le Bec pastry chef? Not Bob Bennett, right? He left ages ago to open Miel, and as far as I'm concerned, the pastry cart never recovered. Not that I'm a Le Bec fan at all- biggest ripoff in Philly for sure. Wed Jan 22 16:41:30 -0800 2003 966999 0 sara 2 967009 Jack, I'd love to hear more details about your meal at Salt--please do share. Thanks, Sara Wed Jan 22 16:44:41 -0800 2003 966993 0 sara 2 967011 I only had one dessert at LaCroix and I loved it. It was the one called "Chestnut Square" or something like that. It had three concoctions using chestnut (and frequently chocolate) and a chilled pear soup for a palate cleanser. I thought it was excellent. We should probably have a separate thread sometime for best desserts. I am absolutely a dessert person! Wed Jan 22 17:08:05 -0800 2003 966993 0 Sylvia G 3 967059 How 'bout dessert at Beau Monde? Mmmmmmmmm...... and so much fun! Thu Jan 23 14:26:21 -0800 2003 967011 0 Jennifer 2 967800 Sadly have to agree with Jack about the Fountain. Went there two Sunday evenings ago and started off with an ineptly made cocktail, then on to a "quite nice" dinner -- but we expected a great deal more than that from a restaurant with its stellar reputation. These days we do a lot better than "nice" out in the suburbs, at far less cost! All five of us agreed that overall, dinner was a disappointment. Service was impeccable and welcoming, but it couldn't make up for the far-from-brilliant food. Fri Feb 07 20:19:15 -0800 2003 966993 0 KayGee 1 966998 With a few exceptions (Holly Moore and RP's Reading Terminal Market list), most of the responders limit their choices to high-end establishments. I won't quibble that Le Bec Fin, the Fountan, and the top-level BYOS are wonderful restaurants. But do they truly offer a unique dining experience, one that can't be matched anywhere else in the world? I don't think so. Here's my highly personal list of establishments that I contend do offer a unique eating experience: 1. Your favorite purveyor of roast pork sandwiches. Mine are Tommy DiNic's, Tony Luke's and Johns. 2. Your favorite cheesesteak establishment. 3. Any place that makes its own snapper soup. 4. Your favorite hoagie place (mine are Saluermia, Primo and Sarcones). 5. Fisher's pretzels. Wed Jan 22 15:05:20 -0800 2003 966979 0 Bob Libkind 2 967042 Can you please recommend some faves? I haven't seen it around lately, but then I don't go out to eat as much as most folks on this board seem to. Thanks. Thu Jan 23 10:45:36 -0800 2003 966998 0 Ellen 3 967073 Sansom Street Oyster House makes a fine version. Thu Jan 23 17:00:31 -0800 2003 967042 0 Katie 4 967076 The best snapper soup by far was that ladeled out by Old Original Bookbinders. Incredibly rich stock. I'm hoping they haven't lost the recipe by the time they reopen. Holly Moore HollyEats.Com Link: http://www.hollyeats.com Thu Jan 23 17:17:07 -0800 2003 967073 0 Holly Moore 3 967100 I can vouch for Sansom Street Oyster House. I used to get it in the corporate dining room of my former employer, but it closed the dining room and I'm now retired! Be sure to splash a little sherry on it tableside. Helps deal with the richness of the soup. Thu Jan 23 22:13:00 -0800 2003 967042 0 Bob Libkind 1 967000 I know I am alone on this although I can't figure out why. My favorite high end Italian is La Famiglia. Favorite pizza- Lorenzo's on South St. My new favorite find is Beau Monde on Bainbridge. Best Steak sandwiches and best pork sandwiches- Tony Lukes. Best place for high end food in a very unique atmosphere is of course Studio Kitchen. I am an eternally dedicated fan of the Reading Terminal Market. Just go in and start walking around. Go slowly. Concentrate on your senses. Try not to get arrested! ha ha... One of the best days of my life was my first visit there. Went armed with a chilled bottle of champagne in a backpack, bought a rediculous amount of rediculously incredible food, walked to a park and sat down to a feast. Wed Jan 22 16:00:26 -0800 2003 966979 0 Jennifer 2 967029 You are not alone. I love La Famiglia. Formal Italian almost (but not quite) on par with those in NYC. Thu Jan 23 08:32:20 -0800 2003 967000 0 MDeP 3 967058 HOORAY! I finally found another supporter! What's the deal? Is not trendy enough for people? How 'bout the wine cellar? I almost passed out when I went down there! Thu Jan 23 14:22:23 -0800 2003 967029 0 Jennifer 2 967464 Where is Studio Kitchen? Thu Jan 30 20:54:03 -0800 2003 967000 0 susan lipowitz 1 967012 - Striped Bass - Studiokitchen - but you must have an open mind. - Pasion - cheesesteaks Le Bec, Fountain although favourites I find are too boring foodwise, and service could be better given the level they're competing in. When is Shola going to open a regular place???!!!! Really a pain mustering enough people to go. Wed Jan 22 17:32:35 -0800 2003 966979 0 SG