Web Original: Inside Out

In our July “Guide to Outdoor Dining,” I railed against restaurants that think two tables on the sidewalk constitute an outdoor dining room. But the hazy heat of August has brought far worse offenses against al fresco seating.

First there was JL Sullivan’s simply-silly single table — behind a velvet rope, of course — on Broad Street, sandwiched between the stairs to the restaurant’s subterranean “speakeasy” and the stairs to subway.

Then, more tragically, there were the white-linened tables crowded in front of otherwise-elegant Susanna Foo on Walnut.

But the sight that made me wish for rain and freezing temperatures and a return to the time when no Philadelphian dared eat outdoors was the two high-top tables with upholstered chairs standing as sad sentries alongside the once-exclusive entrance to Le Bec-Fin.