It sounds gross, but hear us out: Cheese tea is actually cheese-topped tea (specifically, cream cheese whipped with milk and salt). It’s like a tea cappuccino with an extra-thick, extra-creamy crown of foam. Or, better yet, a drinkable cheesecake. Read More »
115 North 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-239-5566
We’re not exactly sure why Double Knot doesn’t just put it on the menu, but if you sit at the downstairs sushi bar and politely ask chef Iwan Susanto to make you his chirashi, he’ll craft a seafood ensemble bejeweled with golden slivers of uni, a healthy spoonful of salmon roe and textbook tamago, almost too lovely to eat. Read More »
120 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-631-3868 | Website
Mama’s is one of those places that make you regret ever playing it safe with your career. Because a meatball-centric restaurant is ridiculously simple and downright genius – as long as the meatballs are good. Mama’s meatballs? Specifically, the sharp-provolone- stuffed, pesto-topped Rocky Ball Boa? They’re good. Read More »
2673 Haddonfield Road, Pennsauken, NJ | (856) 438-5674 | Website
Chinatown has, what, a million hot pot restaurants now? Still, Little Sheep stands above all the rest with its intense broths and high-quality meats. Read More »
1017 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-923-9222 | Website
These homemade Mexican stews have always been tough to find in Philly, even in our city’s deepest Mexican enclaves. Then came Roman Figueroa and Raquel Rodriguez’s little kitchen on South 7th, where everything is deliciously authentic, from the soulful pork ribs to the tortillas you’ll use to eat them. Read More »
1629 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-964-0491 | Website
Hipper than Reading Terminal, with more variety than your neighborhood farmers’ market, this Chestnut Hill spot is basically our very own Chelsea Market. You can shop for produce, grab a beer that’s brewed on-site, get your knives sharpened, have a gourmet pizza, and then top it all off with a sweet from Barry’s Buns. But don’t rush through; there are too many awesome places in which to sit and luxuriate. Read More »
8229 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 570-726-7030 | Website
For decades, RTM has been the beating heart of Philly’s food scene—a gigantic treasure chest of history, pork sandwiches, cheap lobsters and long hots. And just when you thought it couldn’t be improved on, two Market veterans went and opened a stand that sells fried cheese curds, hand-cut fries and fancy-pants corn dogs. Read More »
51 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-372-7935 | Website
Sure, Whole Foods has its problems. But it’s hard to argue that the new Center City store’s Restaurant Row is anything but amazing. After all, you can get ramen from Cheu Noodle Bar, hummus from Dizengoff and okonomiyaki fries from Wiz Kid in one place (plus some local beer to wash it all down). Read More »
2101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 215-557-0015 | Website
We can only hope that someday, every neighborhood in Philly will have a place like this—a big space filled with stands hawking street food and snacks late into the night. Dumplings and buns, rolled ice cream, Korean hot pots, Cambodian sausages, curry, Mexican-Korean fusion, liquor, beer taps, poke—the place has it all. And everything is good. Read More »
1016-1018 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-925-1111 | Website