The Philly Mag 50

This is the moment when we usually pause to chatter happily about the year’s best new restaurants. And don’t worry, we will. But there’s a bigger topic on the table, too. Because this year, when we talk about Philly’s best new restaurants, we’re also talking about Philly’s best restaurants. The best. Period.

We won’t use the term Restaurant Renaissance — the ghost of 1970s Philadelphia dining is invoked far too often — but we will argue that this was a landmark year for the region’s restaurant scene. It was the year that the chefs took charge, with notable openings like Rae, James, Osteria and Supper that dramatically altered the state of the plate in Philly.

So we set out to map the city’s new restaurant hierarchy, and the delicious results are in: Philly Mag’s first-ever one-to-50 ranking of the region’s best restaurants.

The staff for this enormous project: three restaurant critics, with almost 50 combined years of serious eating in the region, and 1,000-plus meals in the past 12 months alone.

The process: We easily limited our definition to include only food-focused restaurants with table service. (We still love you, Tria, Capogiro and Franklin Fountain!) But defining what makes a restaurant “best” was the subject of months of debate. We took into account food, atmosphere and service, of course. But we also considered even more amorphous ideas like value, consistency, identity and ambition. And every once in a while, we simply found ourselves charmed, as foodies often are, by bold ideas. After that, we argued, narrowing the region’s 8,000-plus restaurants to a list of 80 contenders and then to our final Philly Mag 50.

 

1. Osteria

The lightly charred Lombarda pizza, studded with nutmeg-y cotechino sausage and topped with a soft-cooked egg. A tangle of tender candele noodles, a hard-to-find and harder-to-make wide tube-shaped pasta, just coated with a wild boar bolognese. A ramekin of artichoke leaves, roasted both bitter and sweet. A massive, meaty rib eye for two, served over white beans and grilled scallions. The petite polenta budino, an unexpected and delicious dessert made from the Italian cornmeal staple, crowned with chocolate-hazelnut cream. All that, plus a quartino of food-friendly vino, and we’re still going to tell you that the food — oh, that food — is only a small part of the reason Osteria is the best restaurant in Philadelphia.

There’s never been a moment’s doubt that Philadelphia favorite Marc Vetri and his 30-year-old protégé Jeff Michaud can cook, but even in their talented hands, the intense flavors of these classic Italian home-style dishes wouldn’t taste as good in your kitchen. A restaurant isn’t just about eating; it’s about the complete experience, even — maybe especially — when you can’t think about anything but the next bite.

Osteria tastes better because the painstakingly shaped and carefully sauced pastas are served in quirky, colorful handmade ceramic bowls, and the Italian wines are poured into dramatically oversize stemware. It tastes better because the waiters are so knowledgeable, they sound as if they could moonlight as the chef, and so attentive that a rave about those roasted artichokes will bring a sample, compliments of the kitchen. It tastes better, even, because of the elaborate and expensive ventilation system that’s the envy of many chefs in town. You’ll never notice the — yawn — high-end exhaust fans, except for this: They allow for the 700-degree brick oven that turns out those — yum — crisp-crusted pizzas.

Osteria is the best restaurant in Philadelphia because of its attention to every element. It’s not trying to be Vetri, with the exclusivity of an always-full reservation book. (In fact, Osteria just added more than 50 seats.) Instead, it’s proof that a great, detail-oriented restaurant can be casual and convivial. Vetri, Michaud and front-of-the-house partner Jeff Benjamin weren’t interested in cloning the classic Italian osteria. They only aimed at capturing its essence — a conscious choice ensuring that the North Broad Street space, city-chic with its industry-meets-art decor, doesn’t veer into theme-park territory.

They’ve left us diners with only one decision, but it’s a big one: Should we order the Lombarda pizza — again — or sample the equally enticing double-crusted pie, stuffed with salty house-cured ham and hearty spinach? Or both? Make a reservation now

2. Lacroix

Dear Matt Levin: We understand and appreciate that you are reinventing fine dining in this city, as chef at Lacroix, no less, with daring ingredients and unorthodox cooking techniques. We see how you toy with science: charcoal sauce on abalone, and a “raspberry progression” in which the berry is presented freeze-dried and stuffed with elderflower gel; as a liquid ravioli mixed with red pepper; and fresh, sprinkled with olive oil powder. Yet you don’t force your concepts down anyone’s throat, and you never lose focus on your clientele — diners also have the option of exquisitely prepared, accessible dishes like scallops with sun-dried tomato jam. But most of all, you never forget that what you’re serving should taste good. Your Spanish octopus — silky on the inside, crispy and caramelized on the outside — was the best we’ve tasted of this trendy ingredient. We love how you never overlook the little stuff, and put as much care into writing your menu as cooking it, explaining every dish, but leaving just enough to the imagination. (The butternut squash in said octopus dish was an ice cream!) We love that you present your creatively concocted food as strikingly as it deserves to be displayed, and that your tasting menu has no rules; anyone or everyone, three, four or five courses. But most of all, we love that you take chances. You don’t always succeed, but you’ll never give up. Make a reservation now

3. Blackfish

We’ll start with the bouillabaisse. Well, actually, if we’re sitting down to dinner at this Conshohocken BYOB, we’ll start, please, with the rich house-smoked salmon, draped over — surprise! — a deep-fried, soft-centered egg, then the bouillabaisse, then the irresistible, if messy, still-hot vanilla beignets. But to explain the brilliance of Charles Roman’s Blackfish, we need only speak of the bouillabaisse. This is a well-known and well-loved dish, just as the BYOB is a well-known and well-loved category of Philadelphia restaurant. And Roman doesn’t stray from those traditions; his talent is in the details. The classic, simple, elbow-to-elbow BYOB dining room gets more thought here — small artistic touches like the gleaming bent-spoon napkin rings on the white-linened tables, high-quality wine ware, and dazzlingly coordinated servers who swivel and shimmy smoothly through the crowd with Roman’s carefully plated dishes. And his attention to the bouillabaisse is as intense: Roman cooks each element of the stew individually, ensuring that the mussels are as satisfying as the crisp-skinned black bass, without sacrificing the flavor of the complex saffron-anise broth. More bread, please. Make a reservation now

4. Amada

Amada bills itself as serving “authentic Spanish tapas,” but that undersells the accomplishments of this bustling Old City restaurant. Chef Jose Garces doesn’t just serve tapas; he transforms the traditionally cheap and simple snacks into refined plates. The Amada empanada isn’t merely a spinach-and-manchego-stuffed pastry; the artichoke salad underneath could be a delightful dish by itself. The rudimentary patatas bravas, carefully aligned tater tots individually garnished with paprika aioli, are testament to the meticulous attention the kitchen pays to every dish. And the irresistible sangria and creative cocktails are reason enough to hit the bar for a drink — and a tapa or two. Although Amada can be punishingly loud, we thrive on the crackling energy of the bar, the large main dining room with a stage for flamenco performers, and the chef’s counter overlooking the kitchen. Of course, this elevated style comes with a price: Multi-plate blowouts hit the wallet hard, but the bold and exciting flavors somehow make us forget any concerns about cost. Make a reservation now

5. Rae

Never, in our estimation, has Philly had a place that so successfully plays all its almost-contradictory roles. It’s a snazzy power lunch and dinner spot for the Cira Centre’s tenants, it’s a casual, approachable and affordable eatery for those same workers every other day of the week, and it’s their after-work bar. Plus Rae is special and trendy enough to woo Center City-ites to the opposite river bank. It’s a credit to the top-notch service and airy, modern room that Rae can be all of those things to all of those people. And it’s a credit to chef Dan Stern’s enormous, well-prepared slate of offerings: There’s an all-day, all-night menu filled with truffle pizzas, house-made veggie burgers and chopped salads; a Sunday brunch menu with Bloody Mary eggs and hash, and a lobster roll; and a lunch and dinner menu stocked with reliables like onion soup and roast chicken, plus more adventuresome options like cocktail Reubens with foie gras, venison cheesesteaks, and “tastings of lamb with Middle Eastern flavors.” Make a reservation now

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