Best of Philly: Dining With a Mission

Rooster Soup Company/Facebook

Best of Philly 2017 is now online as well as at newsstands. Check out the best in dining for a cause as well as the rest of the Best in food, drink, shopping, beauty, health, fitness, fun and games.

When good chefs, good eats and good causes come together, everyone wins. Here’s where to get the tastiest feel-good food in Philly.

The Monkey & The Elephant
2831 West Girard Avenue, Brewerytown
The place: Philly’s first nonprofit coffeeshop.
The cause: M&E helps young adults who were in the foster care system develop professional skills. They work behind the counter and go through owner Lisa Miccolis’s development program.
What to order: A solid cortado; English muffin with fig, smoked gouda and arugula.

Rooster Soup Co.
1526 Sansom Street, Center City
The place: Michael Solomonov’s nonprofit luncheonette.
The cause: One hundred percent of the restaurant’s profits go to Broad Street Ministry’s Hospitality Collaborative, which provides meals, healthcare, clothing and support to Philadelphians in need.
What to order: Smoked matzo ball soup; cornbread and sausage waffles; banana cream pie; whiskey sour.

EAT Café
3820 Lancaster Avenue, Powelton Village
The place: A pay-what-you-wish spot.
The cause: This collaborative effort from Drexel University, Vetri Community Partnership, Giant Food Stores and others gives good food to people in need and employs community members.
What to order: The prix-fixe menu has items like gazpacho and spice-rubbed salmon. Fifteen dollars is suggested, but you do you.

Published as “Dining With A Mission” in the August 2017 issue of Philadelphia magazine.