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I joined the Inquirer as its restaurant critic in 1998, after a stint covering the food beat for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Having eaten about 500 restaurant meals a year here ever since, I never cease to be amazed by the diversity and sophistication of Philadelphia's kitchens. To travel from its many authentic ethnic neighborhoods to the gastronomic temples of Walnut Street to its beery gastropubs, cozy BYOBs and multitude of greasy-but-great steak joints, is to know this town delivers satisfaction at every level of the food chain. Including online dish.
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Book: The Philadelphia Inquirer Restaurant Guide is available through our online store.
4 Bells: According to Craig, the best restaurants in the Philadelphia area.
- Video: Fond
- Gallery: Fond
- Gallery: In Riva
Have our little BYOBs grown up?
Intriguing new ones, to be sure, are still trickling in. But the phenomenon that in many ways defined the Philadelphia restaurant boom for the last decade - and a story line of small, chef-driven dining rooms - has matured to the point where some of our best are growing beyond the start-up ambitions of their initial bare-bones boxes.
- Video: In Riva
- Gallery: In Riva
Stella didn't invent the notion that a Neapolitan-style pizzeria could become the new neighborhood bistro. But in Philadelphia, at least, Stephen Starr's stylish take on the concept three years ago, focused on serious wood-fired pies, fresh salads, and prices still within reach of local regulars, certainly landed ahead of the trend - and has remained influential.
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Two bells for Indian Hut
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My wife took a bite of crispy cauliflower, and her eyes opened wide: the glossy red "Manchurian" sauce swirled from a deceptive first hint of sweetness to a sudden sour, then a wicked, swelling chile heat.
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Review: Two bells for Tavro Thirteen
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'I don't love moving. Really, I don't," says Terence Feury. "I want to be somewhere for the long haul."
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Mouth-watering BBQ at Fette Sau
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A couple weeks ago, I found myself down a country road in Chapel Hill, N.C., waiting for lunch amid the taxidermy and ice-cold jugs of sweet tea at Allen & Son Bar-B-Que. Old smoke shacks sometimes don't live up to their legends. But my first taste of this torchbearer of the East Carolina pit - its finely chopped hog sauced with a spicy vinegar tang - was akin to finding religion.
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LaBan review: Fork
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I usually don't get worked up over leftovers. This is especially true of remainders from old places I've come to know well over more than a decade of visits.
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LABAN REVIEWRex 1516
- Tastes of Dixie for a flourishing restaurant row on South Street WestCraig LaBan: Tastes of Dixie for a flourishing restaurant row on South Street West.
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LaBan review: The Cambridge
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'It will be an hour for a table . . . ." That used to be the line hostesses gave when they wanted you to give up - defeated - before you even started. Rarely was it ever actually going to be an hour - unless, of course, it came with a withering stare from one of the infamous list-ticking sirens at Village Whiskey. But at least there it was worth the wait.
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LaBan review: The Mildred
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Have you heard of the Pot Whisperers of the Mildred? Some chefs listen to the seasons as their muse. Others channel the ancestral voices of family tradition. But for cooking school pals and partners Michael Santoro and Michael Dorris, the call of enameled cast iron - in particular, their collection of Staub stove-to-tableware - is what guides the Mildred's menu. The pot that hangs at the center of the restaurant's sign? It speaks.
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LaBan review: Pizza Brain
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'What are people expecting - the Louvre? A pillared building with pizza toys?" Brian Dwyer's monumental shock of pepperoni-red hair (think Cosmo Kramer dipped headfirst into pizza sauce) is all aquiver, though not with indignation. He radiates the simple thrill of knowing a conversation is already baking the moment one steps for the first time into Pizza Brain.
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