Philadelphia Recommendations (2022)

Sandwiches
Middle child, especially weekends with the breakfast sandwich
John's roast pork
Nicks old original roast beef

Bagels
Korshak
Kismet

Sardine bar, great outdoor space

Camden (yes that Camden) has a couple things in particular, namely donkeys place for cheesesteak (see Bourdain for the rec if you're a fan) and for people with kids, the aquarium .

For anyone with a gluten free companion, okie dokie donuts does great gluten free donuts.

Coffee
Elixr (esp for pour over), has two locations
Green Street (get some to go with the middle child Herschel, which I should note, if you, like me, have a gluten free companion their GF bread is almost as good as their regular bread, which is a feat)
Reanimator, my fishtown favorite

Elwood in fishtown is a BYOB with a bunch of old school PA dishes and was great when I went.

Mikes BBQ (my preference)
ZigZag bbq

Le virtu
Italian, big outdoor patio, obv useful with covid always waxing and waning

 

I edited to add a couple things too.
Should note zahav I agree is great, though you'll either need to show up early with maybe another person before opening for a bar seat or RSVP way ahead of time. I think for prime weekend a friend pulled the trigger at midnight or something like a month before when the booking opened. I'm too lazy to check but if someone is planning way ahead of time, and must go prime time (esp of you have a larger party and want the lamb) I'd check precisely when the reservations open, at 7am or midnight or what- have- you (60 days out or 30 days, I don't honestly know). But I showed up prepandemic solo on a Tues at like 415/20 and got a bar seat, anecdotally.

 

Middle child also opened a dinner place, the clubhouse. Have heard good things but have not been since I'm not down in South NJ anymore.

 

One other thing.
For those staying in south NJ, Collingswood has some nice restaurants, but the star is Hearthside. BYOB, upscale American. Reservations much like Zahav require setting that alarm. Though they have first come first serve two tops outside. Amazing place, also easily accessible by PATCO.

 

@William_Navidson

definitely cool idea. What would be nice is if you had permission/ability to edit your initial post as updates pour in.

 

To leverage the neighborhood theme: you can visit the Callowhill neighborhood and visit a number of breweries/taprooms. Starting from one end you can visit:

· Love City

· Roy Pitz

· Tripel Bottom

· Yards

I have done this brewery crawl a number of times and I have always enjoyed it.

If you travel further west you enter the Fairmont neighborhood and I am a fan of Bar Hygge (a brewery/taproom).

You could construct similar brewery crawls in other neighborhoods (e.g., Fishtown, etc.)

Cheers!

 

May be worth noting Forest & Main sells cans at Rittenhouse Market every Saturday 10am-2pm

City Taphouse in University City is a decent spot to grab a meal and drink a variety of locals and domestics

https://www.citytap.com/menus-ucity/#beer-5

 

Brauhaus Schmitz has great German food and German beers that you will rarely see on tap anywhere else.

As far as cheesesteaks, I always say that the best one I've ever had wasn't as good as the worst roast pork I've ever had.

 

Definitely of the classics in Philly, John's roast pork was tops for me. But honestly, given only one to pick, I'm going Middle Child all the way.

 

I don't at this point buy Tired Hands stuff, but for completeness, by St. Oners, in the summer previous years, they have had a nice outdoor beer garden, with portable toilets and sinks, and historically bring your own food, though maybe they'd only get you St. Oners stuff? In any case if and when it opens, I did think it was fairly well run and had cans to go with some decent sun coverage. Again, good if you have concerns about Covid and want an option with outdoor.

 

For the "I want to blow some money"

Vernick and Fri/Sat/Sun (new American, cocktails, etc). All that jazz about reservations above used to apply, probably does now.

Vernick coffee bar I'll mention is actually great for pastries, especially the carrot cake pie. It's expensive relatively but it was good and funny mix of commuters, office workers, and tourists when I was there.

One I have to mention, but never been, is Juana's tamales in South Philly.
So it seems to be controversial. It's very expensive, limited hrs, and the owner/head chef seems like they have their heart in the right place, paying a living wage, etc, but there's a lot of vitriol in some reviews, mostly over cost. I guess if anyone goes give a review! I think it's BYOB too. Heck hit it one day and Barbacoa the next, theoretical BA'er. You probably won't regret it from a taste standpoint. Can't speak to your wallet.

 

Last rec that comes to mind. For those looking to get some brown liquor to break things up, Lloyd's in fishtown is great, if you hate having a full wallet.

 

Best brewery for a solid hazy IPA?

 

Easy answer - Other Half. Quality at Tired Hands has fallen off of a cliff over the past couple of months.