In recent months the city’s dining scene has racked up an impressive collection of mentions in national media, but at the risk of looking the proverbial gift horse in its proverbial mouth, it seems most of these pieces have one thing in common: Presenting a pretty myopic view of Philly, it’s restaurants and bars. New York Times did a glowing two-part piece about the local craft beer movement and some of the places that have helped it flourish. The only problem was, it only focused on Northern Liberties and Fishtown. And when Details got all gushy over Midtown Village, it gave a restaurant that was on the verge of closing and another that still hasn’t opened as reasons to visit. Using the release of his Rustic Italian Food as a jumping off point, GQ hits up Marc Vetri for a little more accurate assessment. With nary a cheesesteak mention and a holistic overview of the area’s food and drink offerings, finally someone’s gotten it right!
Vetri’s tour begins with a breakfast Hank’s Place in Chadds Ford (yeah, we’ve never been either), and circumnavigates the city with stop-offs that include ceviches at Jose Garces’ Distrito, coffee at La Colombe, “awesome beers” and “really good soup” at Silk City, and finally a visit to one time protege Michael Solomonov’s modern Israeli gem, Zahav.
