2020 Big-Risk Restaurant
Elwood
Every decade or so, a chef tries to showcase our historic Pennsylvania culinary traditions in a modern light. And almost every single time, those chefs fail. This time around, though, chef Adam Diltz took a big swing — presenting his vision of Pennsylvania Dutch cookery, locally sourced and scratch-made — and hit the long ball. His homemade scrapple, served spiked on a deer antler, was perfect for the Instagram age. The whole ducks and rabbits presented tableside were shocking in just the right way. Granted, dining at Elwood could sometimes feel like an edible history lesson in a museum reconstruction of Great-Grandma’s kitchen. But there were honestly revelatory moments to be had, which made Diltz’s walk back through time a lesson worth paying attention to.
1007 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125; 215-279-7427; elwoodrestaurant.com/