#BEST FRESH FISH RESTAURANTS NEAR ME UPDATE#
#BEST FRESH FISH RESTAURANTS NEAR ME SERIES#

But we loved the place long before it was cool.

The James Beard House might’ve singled out FSS for its Outstanding Restaurant award this year. It shows diners that when food is cooked this close to the soul, luxury - the feeling that you’re truly being taken care of - comes naturally. FSS doesn’t mark its deluxe territory with parades of truffles and caviar.

#BEST FRESH FISH RESTAURANTS NEAR ME SERIES#

That is, if you want elegance without stuffiness or fluff - eight courses that flow like they’re synapses firing in series inside Chad Williams‘s brain: crisped sweetbreads with plantain and mushrooms, followed by gemelli draped in lardo and scallop XO, then sticky jerk-seasoned quail with a side of chicken-liver-stuffed coco bread. That is, if you want to try what is without question the most precise and innovative fine-dining food in Philadelphia right now. When a restaurant operates a city-defining bar downstairs (with great snacks) and a $155 tasting menu upstairs, the natural question becomes: Do you really need to do the tasting to get what’s going on here? In the case of FSS, you do. Grilled quail, coco bread and lamb ribs at Friday Saturday Sunday / Photograph by Ted Nghiem 1. Whether you want to relive a dining experience from your own travels, dine at a James Beard Award-winning restaurant, impress your friends with a menu that makes a bold statement, or see what flavors emerge when a chef’s creativity is unleashed, you can dine at the restaurants on this list knowing they’ll meet and likely exceed your expectations. Jason Sheehan, Hannah Albertine, Regan Fletcher Stephens and Maddy Sweitzer-Lammé have done an outstanding job highlighting the best dining experiences our city and region have to offer.

#BEST FRESH FISH RESTAURANTS NEAR ME UPDATE#

I’ve only been Philadelphia magazine’s food editor for a few days, and editing this summer update to our 50 Best list was my very first order of business. Thanks to our culinary stars bringing home more James Beard Awards than any other city this year, including two national awards (Friday Saturday Sunday for Outstanding Restaurant, and Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group for Outstanding Restaurateur), we’ve officially been thrust onto the national stage as a world-class dining destination. We’re no longer seen as a cheesesteak pit stop between New York City and Washington, D.C.

But in recent years, the rest of the country has finally caught on. Philadelphia has always known that Philadelphia is an incredible food city. And whenever my tastebuds want to return to Mexico, I know the nopales topped barbacoa tacos at South Philly Barbacoa will take me there. Kalaya brings me back to my honeymoon in Thailand, where my husband and I first fell in love with crab curry at Raya Restaurant in Phuket City. Zahav reminds me of my travels in Israel, where the tahini-forward hummus is as creamy as what you’d find in Abu Ghosh’s Lebanese Restaurant. What I love most about the Philadelphia food scene is how the communities who come here from around the world keep their nuanced cuisines intact - an inspiring act of resilience and perseverance when you consider that so many restaurants in Philadelphia (many of which are featured on this 50 Best list) have been able to maintain their culinary traditions over generations and thousands of miles. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of people ask me why I stayed in the Philadelphia region - why didn’t I just move to a bigger city or a remote island beach, or live a nomadic lifestyle? Aside from my emotional attachments to this place, my response was (and still is) that I feel so spoiled to live here, because no matter what meal I eat in various corners of the planet, chances are, I can find it in Philly. Royal Sushi & Izakaya / Photograph by Jesse ItoĪs a food and travel writer, I’ve researched culinary traditions across four continents, from following spice trade routes through Israel and Europe to fishing with the Māori in New Zealand.

Best fresh fish restaurants near me