Where to Indulge in the Best of Stone Fruit Season
It’s peak stone fruit season and these restaurants understand the assignment.
Pizza Pizzeria’s peach and prosciutto white pizza. / Photograph by Mike Prince
Late-summer stone fruits hit different. For most of the year, peaches are mediocre at best, cherries are flat and soft; and nectarines, plums and apricots aren’t even worth considering. But right now, during peak season, they’re irresistibly juicy and mouthwateringly sweet, and chefs across Philadelphia are showcasing this seasonal delight’s full potential with summery desserts and mind-blowing entrées. From peach-and-prosciutto pizza to cherry-and-pistachio ice cream sandwiches, here’s where the glory of stone fruit season is on full display.
Pizzata Pizzeria, Graduate Hospital and East Passyunk
Peaches are sweet, so your first instinct might be that they’re only good for dessert. But because of their high acidity and meaty texture, the possibilities for savory applications are endless. Pizzata Pizzeria has a white pizza topped with mozzarella, peaches, speck smoked prosciutto, burrata, arugula and Mike’s Hot Honey. It’s the sweet and savory joy of summer served up on a chewy crust. If you can’t get over to Graduate Hospital, you can snag this pie at Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria as well. 240 South 22nd Street; 1700 East Passyunk Avenue.
El Merkury, Center City
There’s nothing like following up El Merkury’s pupusas with one of their over-the-top churro and soft-serve sundaes. It’s a playfully whimsical dessert and a must-try, especially during the summertime. This season, they’re doing a vanilla soft-serve topped with fresh nectarine slices and a nectarine cherry reduction with cardamom syrup. 2104 Chestnut Street.
Soft-serve frozen yogurt with blueberries and plums at Picnic. / Photograph by Mike Prince
Picnic, Kensington
All anyone wants to talk about is Picnic’s rotisserie chicken, but pastry chef James Matty is killing it with the desserts. Right now, he’s doing a frozen yogurt soft-serve with plums and blueberries, a perfect accompaniment to their wide selection of natural wines. 2421 Martha Street.
Royal Sushi and Izakaya, Queen Village
Look closely, and you’ll find peaches in two forms at Royal: pickled in a chilled corn potage with lobster and chive oil, and as a seasonal fruit base with Japanese BBQ sauce, caramelized onions on house-made milk bread for their tonkatsu sandwich. The peaches bring a sweet and tangy element to each dish. 780 South 2nd Street.
Kiddo, Center City
Pork and apples is a classic combination, but Kiddo is swapping in peaches for a seasonal twist. Served with a hefty pork porterhouse and grits and paired with a few of their house-made pastas, it’s a summer meal worthy of an occasion. 1138 Pine Street.
Plum-marinated lamb at Lacroix / Photograph by Mike Prince
Lacroix, Rittenhouse
If you are curious to see the many ways in which plums can be transformed, look no further than Lacroix. Chef Eric Leveillee is serving up a lamb marinated in fermented plum served on sourdough toast alongside plum butter and plums compressed in woodruff oil. It’s French technique at its finest. 210 West Rittenhouse Square.
The Kettle Black, Northern Liberties
The Kettle Black offers a regular rotating selection of ever-changing baked goods in addition to their bagels. Recently, they’ve been baking loaves of pillowy focaccia studded with plums. It’s like looking at a stained-glass window, except with stone fruit. 631 North 2nd Street.
Bloomsday, Old City
Pie is nice, but if I’m being honest, I prefer a galette for its rougher construction and better fruit-to-crust ratio. Bloomsday is adding a peach galette to their dessert menu, topped with oat streusel, ice cream, whipped cream, toasted almonds and a sherry reduction. It’s the kind of thing you order when you’re going out for dessert and a couple glasses of wine. 414 South 2nd Street.
Duraznos con Crema at Kampar / Photograph by Sam Pritchard
Kampar, Queen Village
Chef Cote Tapia-Marmugi of Mole Street Baker is serving Duraznos con Crema, a traditional Chilean dessert. The peaches are lightly poached and served with crema Nestlé, crunchy sweet quinoa and peach skin crackling. It’s an elegant take on a homestyle dessert. 611 South 7th Street.
Weckerly’s, Fishtown
When it comes to fruit-forward ice cream, Weckerly’s will never let you down. They always come up with clever ways to translate the seasons into inventive and flavorful frozen treats. This summer, they have a cherry-and-pistachio ice cream sandwich that you’ll yearn for when we get to pumpkin-spice season. 9 West Girard Avenue.
Seared foie gras with grilled peaches at June BYOB / Photograph by Mike Prince
June BYOB, Collingswood
If champagne with fried chicken has taught us anything, its that acidity and fat are two contrasting elements of cooking that, when brought together, excite our tastebuds. At June BYOB, chef Rich Cusack is playing with that concept with his seared foie gras and grilled peach dish. Scooped up with the brown sugar pumpkin bread its accompanied by and you’re in for a late-summer flavor bomb. 690 Haddon Avenue.
River Twice, East Passyunk
It’s not often you find seafood with stone fruit, but when you experience the subtly of kampachi served with the smokey sweetness of charred nectaries, the pairing makes sense. And when you consider chef Randy Rucker’s dedication to sourcing the highest quality of local ingredients, you know that this is the it’ll be one of the best dishes you have all summer. 1601 East Passyunk Avenue.
