Brotherly Love: Summer In Philly, Says Bon Appetit

The just-dropped July ish of Bon Appetit treated our fair city to a two-page travel spread. Woo-wee! Restaurant Editor Andrew Knowlton (AKA the dude that made every critic in the city, present company included, revisit Little Fish after placing it on his Top 10 US Seafood restaurants round-up) drops the official rec on nationally recognized favorites Franklin Fountain, Zahav and Osteria, but also impresses us by including SPTR, Johnny Brenda’s and Bella Vista Beer Distributor. His nugget about that last one really has us ear-to-ear:

“Skip the shops selling mini Liberty Bell replicas and head to this 40,000-square-foot beer store behemoth for a souvenir you can really enjoy. Choose from Stoudts, Sly Fox, Tröegs, and more of the area's many craft brews.”

It’s nice to be recognized when you do something right, and as screwed up as Philly occasionally is, beer is definitely an area where we come correct. Beer is actually a common thread running through Knowlton’s round-up. Nice. In the same issue, there’s a cool story on American India Pale Ales that shows love to both Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute and Victory Hopdevil.

Photo: Randy Harris for BonAppetit

It’s Friday. It’s Lent. Order Pizza.

And for a complete listing of where you should order that pizza, peep our recent Philadelphia Style article (co-authored with editor Peter Proko) outlining the best pies in town. From the simple, fresh Margherita at kooky capitalization-afflicted SliCE to the sweet, almost dessert-like zucca pie at Osteria, here are the ones not to miss. We're told they're almost as mouthwatering as our MVP coverboy.

Photo: Jason Varney for Philadelphia Style

Brotherly Love -March/April

Were you ears ringing? Here's what the nationals are saying about us this month.

Monica Kumar of San Antonio (who has apparently not heard of Chowhound) wrote into Travel + Leisure seeking resto recs for Philly. The editorial staff replied with some informed suggestions: Cochon, Vetri, Osteria, and Zahav, opening in [insert spring month]. –Travel + Leisure, April, p. 34

Fish and chips, "the quintessential pub grub is swimming onto menus at casual and upscale restaurants around the country." Like at Rouge, who does them three ways. –Bon Appetit, March, p. 41

Delayed reaction: Gourmet just discovered Matt Levin at Lacroix, who “since the retirement of Jean-Marie Lacroix has been introducing edgier plates […] using frothy licorice-lemon puree to energize langoustines; anchovies and peanuts t massage Kobe beef into an elegant tataki; and avocado milk and apple dashi to tease the textural possibilities out of hamachi.” –Gourmet, March, p. 44

Saveur takes a break from essays on butter and stories about Bangladesh street food and devotes a column to cookbook stores… and mentions the Cookbook Stall in RTM, a “tiny shop sandwiched amid cheese-steak stands, Amish produce vendors, and Chinese take-out joints […] since 1980.” Attention, Saveur fact-checkers: there is no hyphen in cheesesteak. –Saveur, April, p. 26

Photo: Cochon