Macaroni and cheese is taken to a new level at Rouge. With fontina cream, chervil breadcrumbs and Lancaster county goat cheese, it will undoubtedly put your Easy Mac to shame. The dish--along with seared day-boat sea scallops, king salmon and yellow fin tuna--make up the restaurant’s winter tasting menu. Twentynine year-old chef Matthew Zagorski is the menu’s brainchild, sealing his spot as one of the city’s top culinary talents. It’s available Tuesdays through Saturday evenings for $55, with an optional $30 wine pairing.
Join Rittenhouse in welcoming another sleek dining spot to the neighborhood.
Square 1682, connected to Palomar (the hood’s newest boutique hotel), serves “new American” cuisine with local craft brews and specialty cocktails. Their dishes “cheerfully transport you from Asia to Mexico, then to India and back home.” Thank chef Guillermo Tellez for the journey; his 20-year culinary résumé ensures a great trip. Think cold yellowfin tuna tostados to start, followed by lobster pot pie.
There’s something oddly satisfying about drinking in a Prohibition-era speakeasy.
Grey Social Bar + Lounge, with a rich history and two years of renovations, will offer old school drinks with a modern twist and French bistro-style cuisine. It nods to its teahouse history with a Tea for Two martini, plus classics like the French 75 and the Clover Club. The menu includes a scrumptious-sounding butter poached lobster crepe, shrimp and avocado salad, and port poached pear. For pictures of the nearly finished location, check out their
Facebook albums.
Avril BYOB’s husband and wife team, Christian Gatti and April Lisante, have created the perfect fall menu. This month, try seasonal flavors like pumpkin, apple and squash paired with traditional staples like ravioli and trout. Starting at $12, the poached apple with smoked trout, wild mushroom with pumpkin ravioli and roasted root vegetable gratin with grilled sausage are affordable (and delicious) dinner choices.
Seafood Unlimited’s fall cocktails are 20 years in the making. Forget their fresh oyster, clams and crab entrees for a moment; their $8 cocktail selections alone warrant a visit to the friendliest spot in Rittenhouse. The caramel apple martini includes Sour Apple Pucker, SKYY vodka and butterscotch Schnapps. If you’re feeling adventurous, give the
Pumpkintini a try. With vanilla vodka, pumpkin liquor and a splash of OJ, it’s a sure-fire fall smash.
Pie doesn’t have to be sinful; just ask the folks at
Sweetie’s Pie Diner. The retro-themed kitchen serves 35 sweet and savory pies featuring local ingredients like lavender, pine nuts and honey. Crusts are filled with cream cheese, minimal flour and butter. Try a gluten-free sweet potato spinach lasagna pie with soup or salad for just $9.50.
In just four days, Ly Michael’s owners transformed the restaurant into
Tazia, where “Dim sum meets tapas.” The Chinatown spot’s new menu features small, Asian dishes like daily sushi and sashimi selections, Vietnamese wok-tossed filet and pan-tossed Siamese wild boar. Check out the menu
here.
Bistrot La Minette, located in Queen Village, is offering a three-course, prix fixe dinner, Mondays through Fridays during the month of November. For just $35, enjoy French bistro cuisine selections like Créme de Chou-fleu (cauliflower soup, potatoes and parsley oil). Similarly French-named dishes make up the menu and their English translations sound delicious. For dessert, try Glaces et Sorbets, a selection of house-made sorbets and ice creams.
No longer is University City plagued with only greasy, college kid-infested food carts. Enter
Hub Bub Coffee, a gourmet coffee shop on wheels parked at 38th and Spruce Streets. After spending $45,000 on overhauling the truck, Penn grad Drew Crockett’s masterpiece is ready for service. Featuring premium drinks like espresso macchiatos, English breakfast tea,\ and fresh lemonade, the cart is a full-service coffee stop. Baked goods are only $2. Like his gourmet mobile counterparts (a la Buttercream and Rubb BBQ), Crockett uses Twitter to communicate with his
devoted customers.
Verdad has unveiled their fall menu, featuring Euro-Latin cuisine. Chef Nick Farina’s creations include crispy red snapper with oyster, garlic, and parsley; spicy rib tuna with avocado; tortilla soup with smoked jalapeño; and more. As usual, the bar features Latin-inspired cocktails, Spanish wines, Latin beers, and more. Check out the full menu
here.
Tex-Mex restaurant and bar
El Camino Real has acquired chef Dustin Chalermkittichai. Look for updated takes on cowboy bar classics—“faithful yet innovative,” to be exact. His experience extends from London to New York City, so flavors won’t be limited to Tex-Mex staples.
El Camino Real is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week from 11am until 1am. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays.
With entrees ranging from $8 to $19, Broad Street’s brand new
Chew Man Chu is both upscale and affordable. Located in the Symphony House, Chew Man Chu will serve fresh takes on classic Asian cuisine. Chef Tyson Wong Ophaso comes to the restaurant from France, Bangkok, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Complement a crispy Chinese salad with a ginger
margarita, made with fresh ginger and lime juice.
Take-out menus are no longer limited to Chinese, Indian and pizza. For its second year in a row, Andalusian tapas bar and restaurant
Amada will offer their signature roasted suckling pig to go. The full-blown meal doesn’t come cheap at $250, but you won’t leave hungry. It’s served with herb-roasted fingerling potatoes, spinach with chickpeas and rosemary white beans with Spanish ham. Dessert is included, too. The restaurant’s chef, Jose Garces, has appeared on
Iron Chef America and NBC’s
Today show.
Oyster House has brought British flair to Philly. On Fish-N-Chip Tuesdays and Late-Night Saturday Happy Hours, try beer-battered day boat cod and hand-cut fries for $14 and $3 Yards Brawler Ales. Saturday’s Late Night Happy Hour takes place from 9pm until 11pm and features “buck-a-shuck” pricing for select oysters, $3 select draft beer and a rotating $3 oyster shooter.
