If fabulous food and beverages are a must-have for any weekend getaway, then look no further than the City of Brotherly Love. Whether your palate has a penchant for vibrant Latin American fare or cozy French cuisine, whether you’re an oenophile looking to swirl, sniff and sip your way around the globe or you’d rather sample farm-to-glass cocktails, Philly’s got it all this fall. (With the exception of Bolo, which is a short taxi or Uber ride away and definitely worth the trip, the rest of these spots are all within walking distance of each other.)
Penn’s View Hotel / Panorama Wine Bar
Book a room that faces the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and Delaware River at this charming 51-room boutique hotel in the heart of Old City. Some accommodations offer spa tubs, gas fireplaces and private balconies; all are designed to meld old-world charm and décor with modern amenities. Downstairs, Panorama Wine Bar has one of the largest wine preservation systems in the world. (The restaurant made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for this feat — the setup is the focal point behind the bar.) General manager and wine director William Eccleston oversees the wine program, which includes 150 wines by the glass and 120 wines on tap, globally sourced with a slight Italian slant to mirror the cuisine. Curated flights of five one-ounce pours change regularly; a recent option, Seashells by the Seashore, offered selection of wines from coastal regions, all with a hint of salinity. You can also customize your own mini-flight of half-glasses; all are served in clever vertical wrought-iron holders that don’t take up too much real estate — perfect, since you will want to fill the table with all of executive chef Anthony DiSabato’s handmade pastas. Pillowy potato and ricotta gnocchi bathe in a San Marzano tomato sauce, orecchiette is tossed with diced calamari and tiger shrimp sautéed with olive oil and herbs, and cavatelli in cultured Italian butter picks up a touch of earthiness from porcini mushrooms. If you’re too full, you can drink your dessert from their menu of amaro and grappa. The weekday happy hour deal proves a steal, with $6 portions of pasta, $7 off wine flights, and other bites and sips.
This hot spot in Rittenhouse Square serves as Philadelphia’s newest Latin American dining room and rum bar. Chef Yun Fuentes draws on his Puerto Rican roots for traditional and unexpected takes on the cuisine of Latin America and the Caribbean. (The resto is actually named for and inspired by Fuentes’ grandfather, Juan “Bolo” Fuentes.) Start with a round of cocktails in the first-floor bar from bar manager Evan Maffiore, such as the savory, seasoned Don Johnny (also an ode to Abuelo), which shakes Ron Barrillito 2 Star Rum from Puerto Rico with a sofrito shrub, garnished with a bay leaf.
There’s an entire section of the menu dedicated to the beloved daiquiri, from La Floridita to the Hemingway, but when the sublime concoction of rum, lime juice and simple syrup achieves the perfect balance it does here (deceptively more difficult to achieve than it sounds), the original proves every bit as satisfying. Head to a table upstairs and order sweet blue crab salad spread on cod fish fritters, and fried plantain cups filled with tender mussels escabeche. Skewered options from chicken thighs to pork belly and octopus come with Cuban bread and accompaniments, and larger dishes like whole red snapper and lobster mofongo are shareable … or not.
Chef Christopher Kearse is a force on the Philadelphia dining scene, and this Old City restaurant provides a playground for his take on contemporary French cuisine. The vibe: stylish yet unfussy, bright and airy yet cozy and intimate, with a wood-burning oven and open kitchen serving as the focal points of the dining room. His fragrant take on escargot, with chartreuse-almond butter and a bergamot crouton, makes for an unexpected showstopper; and luscious foie gras mousse with wild blueberries, chamomile gelée and lemon poppy seed brioche could do double duty on the dessert menu.
Like the dishes, cocktails change seasonally depending on the availability of ingredients; the recent Be Kind, Rerind shakes gin and mezcal with a watermelon-caper shrub and rosé, a perfect use of a late-summer bumper crop. And French-forward wines by the glass include fun options like Picpoul and Chinon.
Around the corner from Forsythia lies this bustling brasserie housed in a historic building with tin ceilings, exposed brick, antique lighting and a 1830s-era pine floor. The all-day menu, complete with raw bar options, house-made charcuteries and classic French fare, means you can satisfy your craving for salade Niçoise, French onion soup, pâté, and tomato and goat cheese tart no matter the hour. Mussels are served with a decadent lobster jus and saffron rouille while braised endive, shaved fennel and smoked potatoes accompany the duck confit.
On the drinks menu, Oh, Snap! is a savory sipper’s dream, with snap pea-infused vodka, lemongrass and bergamot. Canard et Calvados washes the Normandy apple and pear brandy with duck fat, stirred with vanilla and cherry bitters. If spritzes are more your thing, a choose-your-own-adventure menu of the low-ABV effervescent elixirs lets you select a base of vermouth or amaro and either sparkling wine or club soda. If the weather’s pleasant, snag a table on the sunny, charming outdoor terrace and spritz the day away.
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