Philly’s biggest food stories of 2024 | Let’s Eat
Hot cheesesteak news, a wake-up call about the coffee scene, and a look inside the new location of a Chinatown restaurant.
We’re closing out 2024 with a look at the food stories and trends that helped shape the Philadelphia-area scene. Omakase experiences were big. So were small bakeries. But cats and dogs are on the list, too?
🚨Heads up: The next “Let’s Eat” newsletter will hit your inbox on Jan. 8. Meanwhile, we’ll be around in print and online at Inquirer.com. I’ll also see you on Instagram, and while you’re at it, follow The Inquirer’s Food team at @phillyinqfood.
Also in this edition:
Cheesesteak bites: Meet Danny DiGiampietro from Angelo’s Pizzeria, a man on a mission, and Kiki Aranita shares the latest word about cheesesteaks in Hawaii.
Coffee talk: Why does Philadelphia not have a late-night coffee scene?
Cheers: Dry towns in South Jersey like Haddon Heights and Moorestown are banking on booze for downtown revivals.
Read on for restaurant news and a look at a Chinatown institution’s new home.
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Philly’s chefs and restaurants got shut out of the James Beard Awards. The Phillies halted dollar-dog nights. Yeah, well. It was still a very good year if you like boutique bakeries, Jewish delis, cat cafes, and creative bars.
Danny DiGiampietro has embarked on an audacious plan to expand Angelo’s Pizzeria beyond its South Philadelphia rowhouse. Can the man nicknamed “Danny Disaster” pull it off? Read on for my profile.
😋 You can get cheesesteaks in Hawaii. During a trip back home to sample the local wares, Kiki Aranita learned that one shop owner’s Philly favorite is ... Angelo’s. (He’s from Baltimore.)
🚒 Carangi Baking Co., which had been selling cheesesteaks along with rolls and other breads from its building on Oregon Avenue near 13th Street, was extensively damaged by fire last week.
💡The best cheesesteaks in the region.
Dry towns like Haddon Heights and Moorestown are banking on booze for downtown revival, and Kevin Riordan explains why centuries-old laws are changing.
The venerable Sang Kee Peking Duck House in Chinatown — one of our 76 essential restaurants — was ordered to close last week because steam from an unknown source had been creating a rainstorm in the basement and threatening its electrical panel. Vicinity Energy popped a vent into the sidewalk Saturday, and crews are working to fix it.
Philadelphia’s late-night coffee scene is nonexistent, and Fred Tally-Foos explains why.
Dinner and a show
You may be headed to a show. Here are three productions now playing on local stages, along with suggestions for nearby dining:
A Beautiful Noise, based on the songs of Neil Diamond, is at the Forrest, and our critic, Dan DeLuca, says it packs “surprising heft for a jukebox musical.” Within a reasonable walk from the Forrest (1114 Walnut St.), there’s the Fork offshoot High Street (Ninth and Chestnut), Hi-Lo Taco Co. (1109 Walnut St.), and Oloroso (1121 Walnut St.).
The Play That Goes Wrong, a comedy by 1812 Productions at Plays & Players is “ham on wry,” as critic Toby Zinman describes it. Close to the theater (1714 Delancey St.) are Parc (18th and Locust), Monk’s Cafe (264 S. 16th), and Black Sheep Pub (247 S. 17th St.), or get a last meal at Devon Seafood Grill (225 S. 18th), whose 25-year run ends Jan. 1.
People’s Light Theatre has designed a British “panto” around Peter Pan, and critic Frank Schierloh found it entertaining. For dinner, there’s Fern & Fable on site. Not far by car are Manam Indian Cuisine, Bunha Faun (Asian-French), and Sutao Cafe (Asian-vegan).
Scoops
Wonder, a fast-growing “food hall” and delivery service backed by about $1.5 billion in investment, will open a location in Fishtown in a new building on the former 7-Eleven site on Girard Avenue near Front Street. Wonder, which recently agreed to buy Grubhub, has been flooding North Jersey and New York City of late, and it’s poised to do the same in the Philadelphia area. Read on for more on Wonder, which bills itself as “the super app for meal time.”
Cantina La Martina’s Dionicio Jiménez and Mariangeli Alicea Saez are taking over the food side of Human Robot Brewery’s Jenkintown location (208 York Rd.), effective New Year’s Day. Menu includes tacos, enchiladas, tortas, burritos, nachos, a birria burger, wings, ribs, and Cantina’s signature Señor Machete, a 24-inch corn quesadilla filled with a choice of protein and served with salsas. This year was a bell-ringer for the couple, who also opened La Baja in Ambler and pop-ups on Cherry Street Pier.
Taste Taco Bar, an offshoot of Kevin Dolce’s Taste Cheesesteak Bar, is on the way to 300 South St., the former site of Jon’s Bar & Grille. Dolce told me that the Larry Fine/Three Stooges mural would remain. Why soi-tainly.
D&S Sub Shop in Hammonton will close after business Saturday. Owner Daryl Salvatore has been at it for 42½ years, as he mentioned on his goodbye sign.
Avana, Felicia Wilson and Darryl Harmon’s long-awaited “modern American comfort food” restaurant in Park Towne Place (2200 Ben Franklin Parkway), will open for dinner on Dec. 29, close on Dec. 30, and open for regular service on Dec. 31. Prices: $14-$18 for shared plates, $12-$16 for soups and salads, $16-$25 for burgers and sandwiches, $25-$55 for house specialty entrees, $22-$32 for pastas, and $40-$95 for steaks. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday. Brunch is on the way.
Zsa’s ice cream shop in Mount Airy announced “a year-long grand closing,” saying the business will call it quits in December 2025. Owner Danielle Jowdy wants to move on, delivering a heart-melting explanation on Instagram.
Restaurant report
Dim Sum Garden. For 16 years, Philly fans of xiao long bao have sought out the steamed deliciousness created by Shizhou Da and Sally Song of Dim Sum Garden. The Shanghai-born mother-daughter duo immigrated in 2003 and five years later moved to Philadelphia, where they started cooking in a storefront on 11th Street in Chinatown, now Tom’s Dim Sum.
In 2013, they moved nearby in 2013 to 1020 Race St., where DSG became not only one of Chinatown’s most popular restaurants, but a leading supplier of frozen soup dumplings.
Tired of renting, they bought the high-ceilinged building two doors away at 1024 Race, and last weekend opened a much larger Dim Sum Garden. Da and Song had a balcony constructed behind the main dining room, allowing the stacking of two 40-seat dining rooms. There’s also now a 10-seat full bar with a cocktail list; at 1020 Race, they had a service bar with limited options.
Besides all kinds of dumplings, DSG’s menu covers Shanghai-style noodle dishes and a broad collection of Chinatown staples.
Song said they are using the same menus (and prices) in the new location, at least for a while. Even though the new DSG is only 20 feet away and there’s a sign on the sidewalk, Song said she is concerned that their customers will be confused; the landlord at 1020 Race has leased it to a new operator who could maintain much of DSG’s decor.
Dim Sum Garden, 1024 Race St. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Briefly noted
Here’s where to find Christmas dinner in the region.
Friends of the Rail Park will gather at the Trestle Inn (11th and Callowhill Streets) from 6-9 p.m. Thursday to raise funds to fix a park platform damaged by fire. Among the specials will be a $9 cocktail punningly dubbed Ryed the Rails and based on Traveller whiskey.
Kensington’s Sor Ynez (1800 N. American St.) is hosting a tamal market from noon-3 p.m. Saturday to benefit the Mexican Cultural Center. Chefs from Sor Ynez, Porco’s and Small Oven Pastry, El Mictlan, Jezabel’s, Jet, Rex at the Royal, Gabriella’s Vietnam, and the Morris will sell their own tamales. Sor Ynez will also have margaritas, Grinch-inspired cocktail specials, and hot chocolate available for purchase, as well as Masa de Sor Ynez for those who would like to try a recipe of their own. It’s pay as you go.
Camille Cogswell, who won the 2018 James Beard Award for rising-star chef during her time at Zahav & K’Far, will return to Philadelphia from her home in western North Carolina to throw a bake sale to benefit the area’s recovery from Hurricane Helene. From noon-3 p.m. Dec. 31, the downstairs space at Kampar (611 S. Seventh St.) will be flush with pastries from Cogswell plus items from Philly chefs repping Dear Jean, Fiore Fine Foods, Her Place, Jezabel’s, Jodi Rhoden, Kampar, Kouklet, Party Girl Bake Club, Rooted Sole, Second Daughter, and Tabachoy. The beneficiary will be the Community Housing Coalition in Marshall, N.C. Cogswell will open her new venture, Walnut Family Bakery, in Marshall in the spring.
❓Pop quiz
Which fast-food chain just announced a return to Center City?
A) Quizno’s
B) Roy Rogers
C) McDonald’s
D) Burger King
Find out if you know the answer.
Ask Mike anything
What’s coming in next door to La Sera, that new Italian place on South Street near 16th, where Chez Hansi was? — Anthony T.
It’s a second business from Albert Murraku, who opened La Sera Italiana, a quaint BYOB at 1608 South St., in March on the former site of Entree. Murraku is awaiting final city inspections on La Sera Dolce e Cafe at 1610 South St., serving Italian coffees, gelato, and pastries.
Happy holidays. And remember, if you get a restaurant gift card, do yourself a favor and use it right away.
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