restaurants in Philly

[KelLeg]

Anyone have favorite restaurants in Philadelphia? We are going there for Virginia football game (against Temple). We have a large group that includes several children. But, we are celebrating my DH's b-day and my in-laws' 40th wedding anniversary. We would like somewhere with good food. It doesn't have to be especially "kid-friendly," but not too stuffy either. We like California cuisine, Italian, Mexican, Pacific rim, etc. Just tell me any favorites, if you can! Thanks.

Kelly

[Meg O'C]

Hi Kelly,

I'm sure others will reply with better suggestions. I am only about 45 minutes from Philly but we don't go in that often. However, just in the past few months I have been there for work and once with DH and enjoyed the following places:

Striped Bass - pretty pricey, not kid-friendly, but excellent seafood!

Davio - I guess I would call this an Italian-style steak house - not too formal but very nice. I had a large group work dinner here so we only walked through the main restaurant (which looked pretty cool) on our way up to a separate floor where we ate (nice terrace overlooking the city for cocktails and then a private room for dinner. Can't comment on the prices because the menu was pre-selected for us so we never saw the real menu (;) gotta love those work dinners!). However my filet was very good and those who selected the crab cake option we had thought they were outstanding.

Devon Seafood Grill - recently DH and I did go in for dinner and we ate here; not as pricey as Striped Bass, but it wasn't as tasty either. Nice atmosphere though.

Rouge - casual bistro near Devon Seafood Grill - highly recommended to us and it looked good but we chose Devon instead.

You can't miss Reading Terminal Market - where we usually eat if we are there during the day. It's an old train station converted into a market/food court. There is something for everyone. I usually go for a cheesesteak and follow it with some ice cream from Bassett's (yum!), and we grab a loaf of the sundried tomato bread from a bakery in there (forget the name of it) to enjoy at home.

[KelLeg]

Meg, thanks for the suggestions. I will look them up on the internet. Have you heard of Sotto Varelli? It sounds kind of good.

TIA!

[Meg O'C]

Hi Kelly,

No, I've never heard of that place but I just remembered the name of a place where some friends of ours went for dinner recently - Buddakan - they serve Asian cuisine.

Meg

[AZLorena]

We were just in Philly a couple of weeks ago.....We had a wonderful dinner at a place called Pastaria's....

Lorena

[SusanL]

Alma de Cuba was wonderful. Here is the site...
http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/11352777/

[MinEaston]

Originally posted by KelLeg
Meg, thanks for the suggestions. I will look them up on the internet. Have you heard of Sotto Varelli? It sounds kind of good.

TIA!

It's a very good restaurant. My parents go there frequently before or after orchestra concerts. I've been to Upstairs Varelli, same restaurant but upstairs. Great risotto!

[ellen6242]

I was born and raised in Philly. My two favorite restaurants in the Italian Market are:

1. Villa di Roma - order the chicken neopolitan!! This restaurant was featured on $40 A Day when Rachael Ray visited the city. Cash only, no credit cards. Very affordable!
2. Ralph's - fabulous, family owned for over 100 years! The mussels in red sauce are delicious, as is pretty much everything on the menu.

This one's not in the Italian Market, but it's also excellent. On South Street, go to Copa Banana - the best margaritas I've every had. Great Mexican food, also!

For upscale, fabulous Chinese food, go to Susanna Foo on Walnut St. Pricier than the others I mentioned.

Ellen

[KelLeg]

I wanted to let all of you know where we ended up eating. We ate at a great restaurant near Penn called the White Dog Cafe. I would really recommend this restaurant. All of the food is made on the premisises (even the ice cream) and they use lots of organic and local produce (the restaurant sees eating as a "political event"--kind of a social activism kind of place). Anyway, the food was delicious and the menu was huge. Highly recommend!

I'm embarassed to say we ate at the Capital Grille the second night. It is a chain, but is quite good if you like steaks.

Thanks for all of your help.

[Meg O'C]

Kelly,

Thanks for posting the update. I couldn't remember when you were going to Philly but I was hoping we would hear where you wound up for your meals. I have heard of the White Dog Cafe but never been there - will definitely check it out the next time we are in Philly - sounds wonderful!