Kampar
When Ange Branca’s Saté Kampar shut down in May 2020, it was only partly due to the pandemic. (Despite, you know, everything, Branca’s landlord refused to budge on a 15 percent rent hike.) So we all kinda knew that she’d be back. And after a few years of pop-ups, Branca returned bigger than ever, taking over the two-story Nomad Pizza location in Bella Vista. The building is perfect for our Best Second Act winner: Pair an achat martini with the beef rendang and nasi lemak upstairs, or try dishes from two rising resident chefs downstairs. 611 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, kamparphilly.com.
Joey Chops
Steakhouses are dull. Oh, maybe they’re fine for preening hedge fund bros, reunion dinners and your grandpa, but these days any restaurant should be able to offer more than just thick steaks, cooked mid-rare, dressed in maitre d’ butter and served with some starch and veg. Thankfully, the team at Joey Chops feels the same way, and they’ve put just as much care and consideration into their lobster dumplings, airline chicken Milanese, blue crab deviled eggs and burrata ravioli as they have into the dry-aged ribeye and the New York strip. 245 Lancaster Avenue, Malvern, PA 19355, joeychops.com.
Le Souk Market
From the owners behind Northeast Philly’s Bishos (the very same Bishos that won Best of Philly in 2023 for their highly refreshing lemonana) comes a new organic market stuffed to the gills with goods from across the Middle East and North Africa — many of them made in-house, such as their roasted nuts, pickles, baklawa and spice blends. Don’t miss their extravagant and utterly popular made-to-order crepes and waffles. 7952 Oxford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, instagram.com/lesoukmarketphilly.
Mount Masala
You don’t expect to find the best korma of your life in Voorhees, in a strip mall just down the street from the weed dispensary. And yet, these things happen. Mount Masala has an enormous menu, full of delicious, Chinese-influenced Nepali and Tibetan cuisine, and if you’ve never been, you’d never expect it. But once you find the place and settle in behind plates of sizzling momo or chicken curry or a truly remarkable korma, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. 300 White Horse Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043, instagram.com/mountmasala.
Friday Saturday Sunday
In the eight years Chad and Hanna Williams have owned their beloved bilevel restaurant, the downstairs bar has always drawn a crowd — for a first-date meet-up, for a bowl of brothy beans and octopus from the à la carte menu, for an aperitivo while you wait for your table upstairs. After a sleek spruce-up, though, envisioned by local firm Stokes Architecture + Design, with tiger-print stools and a custom wood back bar, it’s official — the first floor is a destination in its own right. 261 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, fridaysaturdaysunday.com.
Korea Taqueria
Korea Taqueria began its life as a refitted halal food cart selling al pastor tofu tacos and gochujang-chicken burritos. But when partners Alexander Sherack and Rene Lopez decided to open a place with an actual address, Korea Taqueria lost absolutely none of its charm. The bulgogi birria tacos with kimchi consommé, Korean-fried sweet garlic chicken sandwiches, and staff-meal-style bulgogi cheesesteaks with salsa macha and melted mozzarella prove that even without wheels, KT has held on to every ounce of its wild, Mexi-Asian experimentalism and street-corner swagger. 3101 Tasker Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145, korea-taqueria.com.
“A Gritty Resolution”
Photograph by Jeff Fusco It’s been close to six years since the Flyers unleashed Gritty into the world, and we thought we had seen every possible creative tribute to the beastly orange mascot. But then, in June, Northern Liberties composer Melissa Dunphy, who has seen her modern classical music performed at such esteemed venues as Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, debuted this dramatic five-minute choral work with words adapted from Helen Gym’s 2018 City Council resolution honoring our orange id. “I would die for Gritty,” Dunphy tells us. Catch a live performance of the song at melissadunphy.com. melissadunphy.com.
Scott Laughton
Last year, when the NHL announced that it was outlawing Pride practice jerseys and rainbow stick tape, longtime Flyer Scott Laughton was the first player to call bullshit. He announced that he’d use the tape anyway and dared the league to do something about it. The league quickly and rightly reversed course. The veteran center has been a leader in this arena off the ice as well, from supporting the You Can Play campaign to donating to related causes to raising the rainbow flag outside the Wells Fargo Center. Lots to be proud of.
Dawn Staley
Photograph by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos/Getty Images Oh look, another Best of Philly for North Philly native and former Temple coach Staley. This year she led her South Carolina Gamecocks to their third national championship (besting Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team, no less) and notched a perfect 38-0 season in the process. Plus, she’s been refreshingly outspoken about the rights of trans athletes at a time when other high-profile coaches prefer to sidestep the question.
Megan Boni
We admit that there are things about TikTok that still confound us. For instance, how a young woman from the Main Line can post a 19-second video of herself singing “I’m looking for a man in finance,” caption it “Did I just write the song of the summer?” and then have that become the actual song of the summer. It all happened to Boni, a.k.a. Girl on Couch, who tells us she’s signed a music deal with Universal. Modern living! instagram.com/megan_boni.
B. West
Back in 2015, longtime Silk City owner Mark Bee took what had been the city’s only lesbian bar, Sisters, and turned it into a Gayborhood burlesque-and-drag paradise called Franky Bradley’s. Today, he’s taken the adjacent property, formerly the storied gay club Key West, and transformed that into a magical performance space, bar and dance club that might contain more disco balls and glowing vinyl paintings than any other place on Earth. Look for regular events like a fashion-design contest called Seam Queen, Latin dance parties, and performances by Best of Philly-winning cabaret duo Glitter and Garbage. 1320 Chancellor Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, frankybradleys.com.
Fabric Workshop and Museum
We’re not even sure how free museums exist these days, but such is the case with this museum, which always has inventive programming in the contemporary art realm and is free to enter. (A $5 donation is suggested.) Through September 29th, go to see, hear and feel “The Rose Garden,” an immersive exhibit centered on gender and transformation, created by legendary Philly drag artist John Jarboe of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret. 1214 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, fabricworkshopandmuseum.org.
Pirate Pebbs
Think being a karaoke host is easy — that you just hit play and introduce a singer? Wrong. You need personality. You need to be able to belt out some tunes yourself to get people in the mood. And you need to be able to deal with drunk people. Pirate Pebbs, as she goes by, checks all those boxes and can pull off Prince, Lady Gaga and Tracy Chapman, which is quite the feat. Find her at SouthHouse, Tavern on Camac and El Bar. instagram.com/piratepebbskaraoke.
Theatre Contra
We’re pretty sure we’ve never given out a Best of Philly award for live readings before because, well, they generally inspire yawns. But then we discovered this scrappy young theater company that does dramatic live readings of scripts from movies like Die Hard, Snakes on a Plane and The Fast and the Furious. The events are held at a variety of bars and venues: Watch them do the Nicolas Cage-John Travolta sci-fi action movie Face/Off on September 4th at Tattooed Mom. theatrecontra.com.
Longwood Gardens
Philly has some beloved, beautiful fountains. But you have to go out to Longwood Gardens to see what a real fountain display is all about. Their main fountain garden includes almost 2,000 fountain jets, synchronized music, and remarkable landscape design. Look for fireworks nights into October and make it a twofer. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348, longwoodgardens.org.