Estia
We’re not saying you must go here. Because if you did, we’d no longer be able to walk in and get a table, a drink, a plate of grilled Mediterranean sardines, some langoustines and dolmades whenever we want. So no, seriously. We hear the Hard Rock Café on Market Street is super good. Go there instead. 1405 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, estiarestaurant.com/philadelphia-pa/philadelphia-pa.asp,.
Brigantessa
Roasted long hots, wood-grilled artichokes, octopus salad and Portuguese sardines rise up in mounds on a bar that sets a new standard for antipasti. And that's before you get a craft beer and a Dr. Seuss-Goes-to-Naples pizza pie this one shaped like a star, that one like a tennis racket, and all of them at least as tasty as they are whimsical. 1520 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147, brigantessaphila.com.
Normal Gossip's Kelsey McKinney
Gossip makes the social world go round. Gossip is the foundation of many a friendship. Yet it doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. Kelsey McKinney, author and host of the podcast Normal Gossip, which chronicles anonymized tales of quarrels and petty drama between regular people, seeks to do a little reframing. McKinney moved to Queen Village last year, shortly after launching the program, and since then has taken to our city like a fish to water. The show has similarly earned a rightful place in podcastdom, with thousands of listeners, inclusion in Vulture and Time’s best podcast roundups, and a national tour. But you didn’t hear that from us.