Does Barclay Prime serve the best steak? James Ijames’ family sure thinks so

This year, Philly playwright James Ijames graced the red carpet at the Tony Awards, saw his Pulitzer-winning play Fat Ham soar on Broadway, kept up a rigorous playwriting schedule, and still made time for his favorite restaurants in Philadelphia. (Fat Ham, a loose adaptation of Hamlet through a Black queer perspective, is currently running at the Wilma Theater through Dec. 30.)

Though his busy schedule often takes him out of town, Ijames is a mainstay in South Philly, where he lives with his husband, Joel Witter. Fellow Philadelphians might catch the couple in Passyunk Square at Rival Bros Coffee Bar or dining nearby at River Twice. Ijames also enjoys Flannel, where he likes to take lunch meetings.

Though he isn’t a vegetarian, the playwright misses the veggie dishes from the now-closed V Street. While the Wilma’s Fat Ham production uses actual barbecue from West Philly’s Dibbs BBQ — the play is set at a backyard cookout somewhere in the South — Ijames often orders his own from Fishtown’s Fette Sau. Suraya is another Fishtown favorite.

Earlier this year, Ijames also joined his friend (and Fat Ham coproducer) West Philly native Colman Domingo for dinner at Booker’s in Cedar Park for the Rustin actor’s travel-memoir show, You Are Here.

In Rittenhouse Square, Ijames and Witter like Spice Finch, but if family is in town, they’ll head to Barclay Prime. “I love Barclay Prime. I took my mom and my aunt and uncle there and I could do no wrong,” said Ijames in a recent interview. “They were like, ‘This is the best steak I’ve ever had.’”