A poster near the door reads “No stadium casino arena in Chinatown” in large block print. It’s another iteration of intercommunal support in the Philly food world, addressing a question of what matters to whom. Proponents claim that a new basketball stadium for the 76ers would reinvigorate the local economy. Critics cite the inevitable displacement of popular and beloved neighborhood businesses where both locals and tourists flock to seek out decadent egg tarts, dim sum, healing, and cultural programming.
If history is any indication, the victories people want to talk about within Philadelphia, and the stories people outside the city want to share, are the ones that highlight the tiny, mighty trailblazers. It is the indie differences, not the generic and the commercial, that define this place. Just before schooling her team on how to prepare her crab curry recipe, Suntaranon expresses it to me this way: “The stories that come to us here, they are reflective of the appreciation people have for us. In Philly we do things differently.”
Where to eat
Husband-and-wife team Chad and Hanna Williams have cultivated an approachable space serving a seasonal New American tasting menu with dishes like braised veal cheek that will leave you wanting nothing at Friday Saturday Sunday. American bistro and adjacent bar a.kitchen and a.bar are inside AKA Rittenhouse Square and have been quietly impressing for more than a decade. The staff is warm and passionate about chef Eli Collins’s cooking—try the airy chickpea panisse and grilled half chicken with carrot jus. In addition to offering classics like sushi rolls and chirashi, at Royal Sushi & Izakaya, chef Jesse Ito serves up playful dishes like a house-made bucatini with uni cream and purple chunks of tuna with wasabi and guacamole, as well as a 17-course omakase. From Connecticut-raised chef Amanda Shulman and her Quebecois fiancé, Alex Kemp, comes bistro My Loup, specializing in twists on French classics. The always-changing menu prioritizes the fresh and seasonal, which could mean grilled scallops with brown butter one day and roasted bone marrow with fava beans the next.
Veteran baker Juan Carlos Aparicio spent two decades cutting his teeth in other Philly restaurants—and making their bread programs famous. Now he has his own spot, El Chingon, where he serves tacos in sourdough tortillas and giant cemitas, or Pueblan sandwiches, overflowing with ingredients like a traditional cheese dip known as choriqueso. The Bok Building’s eighth floor houses Michael Ferreri’s invigorating interpretation of modern Sicilian food, Irwin’s Upstairs. Come for serious, friendly dishes like fried swordfish glazed in a sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce and garnished with pickled kohlrabi. Also in the Bok Building, artisanal bakery Second Daughter Baking Company by sisters Mercedes Brooks and Rhonda Saltzman offers ornate cakes and cupcakes decorated with local edible flowers. You can’t go wrong here, but the giant fudge brownie is a particular winner.
Family-owned Ethiopian joint Abyssinia, on an unassuming West Philly corner, serves excellent stews and spongy breads. Its two bars—one upstairs, one downstairs—are lively destinations unto themselves, with the full food menu and an extensive cocktail list. Popular urban winery Mural City Cellars drops a few varietals a year made from grapes sourced within a 300-mile radius of Philly, which pair nicely with the low-key surroundings and spare snack menu. With a new, expanded location in Fishtown, Kalaya burns brighter than ever with eye-popping seafood like goong phao (river prawn the size of a lobster), among other Thai delicacies. Emily Riddell’s cheerful bakery, Machine Shop, turns out excellent bread and seasonal treats, like berry tarts in summer and a grapefruit-poppy-seed concoction in winter.
Where to stay
The design shop on the ground floor of Shannon Maldonado’s boutique hotel serves as a preview of coming attractions. Inside Yowie, 13 rooms are Normann Copenhagen chairs, ceramics by brands like Studio Arhoj, and more objets from noted and emerging designers, with a priority on underrepresented makers; much is available for purchase. At Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center, the guest rooms, which begin on the 45th floor, all have floor-to-ceiling views of the city. The attentive service throughout is just as satisfying. Even if you’re not staying, take the glass elevator to the 60th floor for SkyHigh, a bar featuring Asian- and French-inspired bites from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, along with more panoramic perspectives.
