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”Flavors of Philly,” our video series spotlighting local restaurants, chefs and dishes, goes behind the scenes and into the kitchens of some of the best eateries in neighborhoods around the city.
These short videos feature personal interviews with the brilliant culinary minds shaping Philadelphia’s dining culture and showcase the strong connections between food, family and Philly.
Watch as Ken Sze prepares the rice dish his father used to make for him, which he now serves on Tuna Bar’s menu. See Sal and Tony D’Angelo lovingly prepare pasta measured by hand at their namesake Italian restaurant. And check out the detailed prep work pastry chef Adriana Piper puts into Barclay Prime’s desserts, knowing patrons are there to celebrate something special.
These mouth-watering recipes, the people who created them and the communities they serve are the flavors of Philly.
— Photo by C. Smyth for Visit Philadelphia
The aptly named Love City Brewing opened in spring 2018, fully embracing all things beer and all things Philly. Owners Melissa and Kevin Walter are thrilled to be part of the city’s stellar craft beer scene and established their brewery near other top-notch Philly beer makers. Two things help Love City stand out: their Great American Beer Festival awards and the fact that this spot is owned by a woman — still an unusual thing in the brewery scene.
Featured In This Video
— Photo courtesy Dad's Hat
The whiskey at Dad’s Hat is a true Pennsylvania experience. The Bucks County distillery makes its spirit with locally sourced rye that’s grown specifically for its whiskey production. As co-founder John Cooper explains, the local grain helps achieve the desired flavor and the American-made glass makes Dad’s Hat a truly farm-to-bottle experience.
— Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia
The mouth-watering menu items at The Rooster, like the Montreal smoked meat sandwich, do more than just satisfy hungry customers. Chef Jarrett O’Hara and team find creative ways to use chicken parts leftover from restaurant group partner Federal Donuts to serve up delicious meals for a cause. Money made at the Center City sandwich shop goes to the Broad Street Ministry Hospitality Collaborative, which serves restaurant-style meals and provides social services for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable residents.
Chef Benny Lai of Vietnam Cafe cooks up “shaking beef,” a recipe passed down through his family, who arrived in America in the late 1970s. Their West Philadelphia grocery store grew into the two popular restaurants Lai now operates in West Philly and Chinatown. They both serve the beef entrée, which features wok-seared cubed sirloin steak with red onions and tomatoes tossed in a soy vinaigrette.
What’s in Hardena’s special sauce? It’s all about sticking to mom’s recipes. This traditional Indonesian restaurant adds tons of authentic flavor to Philly’s bursting food scene. Sisters Maylia and Diana Widjojo run the South Philadelphia restaurant their mother Ena opened in the early 2000s, and menu items like ayam bakar kecap — made with the sweet soy sauce Indonesian dishes are known for — helps the family showcase its proud heritage. In 2018, the James Beard Award-nominated restaurant opened an outpost on the Delaware River waterfront’s refurbished Cherry Street Pier.
Chef Ken Sze serves homestyle recipes with a twist at Tuna Bar. The simple Japanese menu is full of fresh fish, and Sze considers it a timeline of his life. The Mai friend rice, like his dad used to make for him, is stir-fried with shrimp, Asian sausage, onion, peas and fried egg.
— Photo courtesy D'Angelo's
Brothers Sal and Tony D’Angelo pride themselves on the corner spot they’ve owned together since 1990 in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse neighborhood. They serve up generations-old family recipes straight from Italy in an atmosphere designed to feel like home — right down to the tasty dishes made with passion and care, but never measurements.
— Photo courtesy ICI Macarons Cafe
This modern patisserie in Philadelphia’s Historic District delights hungry customers with French cookies and pastries, including 30 flavors of show-stopping macarons. Owner Michael Tan puts thought and care into the flavor concoctions, which range from everyday varieties like chocolate, pistachio and raspberry to seasonal favorites like pumpkin spice. Everything is made on-site, which makes each bite perfectly crunchy, chewy and flavorful.
— Photo by M. Fischetti for Visit Philadelphia
Chef Nicholas Elmi lets the seasons dictate the menu at his South Philadelphia restaurant, where the ingredients are fresh and local. The Top Chef New Orleans winner opened the French-influenced American BYOB in 2013, and continues to deliver personal, friendly service that matches the close-knit vibe of the surrounding community.
— Photo by Visit Philadelphia
Chef Walter Staib cooks authentic colonial fare for residents and visitors alike at this establishment that evokes the Colonial era. In his words, Philly has been “farm-to-fork for forever.” Dishes like escalopes of veal — served with mushrooms, sauce Bearnaise and season vegetables — offers a taste of culinary history at where Founding Fathers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson dined in the 18th century.
— Photo courtesy Paradiso
Comfort and elegance blend seamlessly in South Philadelphia native Lynn Rinaldi’s contemporary Italian spot, where a lively bar and an open kitchen provide the entertainment and a rooftop garden provides some of the ingredients. Rinaldi’s dishes — like the bucatini with purple varnish clams, pancetta and grape tomatoes — are full of local seasonal ingredients made from recipes inspired by her grandmother.
— Photo courtesy Barclay Prime
The desserts are just as important as the entrées at this modern steakhouse, where pastry chef Adriana Piper cooks up decadent meal-finishers like the market cheesecake. Barclay Prime’s marble surfaces and crystal chandeliers make the restaurant a popular special occasion destination, and the desserts are worth their own celebration. Seasonal variations of the cheesecake include an apple pie recipe that builds on the cinnamon swirl vanilla cheesecake with a warm pie topping and crust.
The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia), overnight hotel accommodations and choose-your-own-adventure perks.