Philadelphia 2035 (Penn: bicycles, infant, red light)

[Tweb66]

Oh its bad but its bad everywhere and this was always the one industry that we knew would take a long time to recover. But it will recover. Its awful for the owners, so a lot of sympathy there especially since its mostly small business owners but as a whole I am not overly concerned. In time it will all be back.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

Without going too much into detail...

Philadelphia's dinning scene in general is in pretty bad shape right now. IMO

Tons of places have closed, the ones that are still open offer very limited menus, many are closed a few days of the week now and have reduced their hours and what is offered on the limited menus now are notably more expensive than it was pre covid.

Most specials are gone. The dining scene in general at least in Center City is actually pretty bad to be honest.



In terms of fast food. I am not a huge fast food eater. I do like Chick Fil A... and that sucks we lost that in Center City. It was in a central location at that.

Wawa is definitely the king of "fast food" in center city currently and the only broad option.

Chipotle is pretty good too...

But it is nice to have more options for places that have meals $10 or less... maybe some private and locally owned places will open. But Center City rents are becoming so expensive for commercial space.. it looks doubtful.



But the Philadelphia dining scene is definitely not back to pre covid levels overall and is actually not that great right now......



Hopefully time will sort that out. The biggest notice I have taken... are restaurants have increased prices dramatically, shrunken their menus dramatically and also happy hours are a thing of the past, tons of BYO's have closed and so many places are now closed on Sundays and Mondays now that never use to be.

What made Philadelphia's dining scene so wonderful, was it use to be dynamic. And now that has been lost.


You could go to Dandelion for a nice elevated Happy Hour, walk to Tria for an appetizer before walking over to Audrey Claire for a nice meal. (Audrey Claire is no more btw)...


- Dandelion happy hour no longer exists. Its menu is very very limited and also way overpriced now. A cocktail I would order here pre covid would cost $12 and now the same beverage they charge $18. Craziness.

- Tria has increased prices to a crazy high level as well for what you get with noticeably smaller portions, and do not offer fun specials like "Sunday school".

- Audrey Claire no longer is a restaurant. It has closed. I always considered Audrey Claire to be the "staple" Philadelphia restaurant. Cute, small, intimate, great food, not overpriced, BYOB, low-key but still classy. Dimitri's was also kind of like this too... And Dimitri's also closed.


Just a small example how the dynamic scene that made Philadelphia so great. Currently is gone. Hopefully it comes back.

But Philadelphia's restaurant scene has declined from an A

to a C--/D+ level in my book...

This is harsh... Give it time my friend. The city just fully reopened a few weeks ago, and none of this is the fault of restaurant owners / operators.

Plus, having traveled this country far and wide, Philadelphia's food / dining scene is tiers above virtually any other city, even in recovery mode. I understand your frustrations, but they are kind of moot since every city is in the same boat as we exit the pandemic. But I have ZERO doubt that Philadelphia will quickly rebound with regard to food / dining.

With regard to fast-food chains closing, I say good riddance. I have come to the conclusion that people just react to react. All these progressives and urbanists are crying on FB about these closures, when in reality, these places are huge corporations, unhealthy, inhumane, and the standalone locations are ugly and anti-urban... Yet when Starbucks opened a little stand in Dilworth Park it was the end of the world, same with their proposed location in Fishtown... I don't get people anymore, lol.

Separately, I just checked Dandelion's menu, and there are no $18 drinks listed, and nothing jumped out to me as out of line with pricing. Where are you seeing this?

(Also, you are gay, stop eating Chic Fil a).

[thedirtypirate]

Audrey Claire was there for 25 years. The owner changed concepts and the name. It's a Mediterranean place called Charley Dove. Just because I was curious, but Chic-fil-a still lists both of the center city stores on there site. The liberty place one says closed for planned maintenance and the East Market one says temporarily closed. If we are really nitpicking fast food available, there is the taco bell at 10th and chestnut, a dairy queen at 6th and chestnut, crown fried chicken on broad, wawa's, and 7/11s. It's not like there isn't cheap junk around to it.

I have ate out plenty lately. The dining scene is strong even with the turnover from the pandemic.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Audrey Claire was there for 25 years. The owner changed concepts and the name. It's a Mediterranean place called Charley Dove. Just because I was curious, but Chic-fil-a still lists both of the center city stores on there site. The liberty place one says closed for planned maintenance and the East Market one says temporarily closed. If we are really nitpicking fast food available, there is the taco bell at 10th and chestnut, a dairy queen at 6th and chestnut, crown fried chicken on broad, wawa's, and 7/11s. It's not like there isn't cheap junk around to it.

I have ate out plenty lately. The dining scene is strong even with the turnover from the pandemic.

That DQ, IIRC, doesn't serve the food menu.

There's also a Crown Fried Chicken at 11th and Filbert, right next to the Reading Terminal Market. The Popeyes and the Wendy's in the 1500 block of Chestnut also abide. As Inga Saffron noted in her recent column on the disappearance of fast-food burger joints in Center City, Alterra didn't kick Wendy's out of that building the way it did McDonald's at Broad and Arch, but rather moved it to a smaller space away from the corner itself.

I just hope City Council votes to allow the streeteries to remain beyond December. And Harrisburg needs to get its act together about fixing the disappearance of streetery liquor license extensions.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by cpomp

This is harsh... Give it time my friend. The city just fully reopened a few weeks ago, and none of this is the fault of restaurant owners / operators.

I agree. I think Rowhome's "go to" places aren't what they were (yet) and is justifiably frustrated but those aren't grounds to say that Philadelphia dining went from an A to a D.

[Muinteoir]

Yeah, coincidentally or not, all my "go-to's" are going strong. It is indeed sad that we lost so many local restaurants. But our restaurant scene is one of the best in the country, and I think it will remain that way post-pandemic. Everywhere is going through it, and everywhere is just starting to bounce back as we are now.

PS - I am in the core of Center City way less than I used to be, and didn't notice about the fast food. I agree in "good riddance," ESPECIALLY for Chick-Fil-A. The jobs lost with their closure aren't really missed for now --- restaurants open for business are desperate for workers. But please keep the Wawas and Chipotles.

[Duderino]

Keep in mind too, folks, that the dining scene was arguably the original catalyst for Philadelphia's post-Millennium renaissance. It's a food city through-and-through.

And if anything, while the recent closures are indeed very sad and disappointing (and definitely not all pandemic related) the silver lining is more opportunities for new up-and-coming talent to set up shop. That's how the cycle works in every major metropolitan city. And Philly essentially sells itself to potential restaurateurs based on its reputation alone.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Keep in mind too, folks, that the dining scene was arguably the original catalyst for Philadelphia's post-Millennium renaissance. It's a food city through-and-through.

And if anything, while the recent closures are indeed very sad and disappointing (and definitely not all pandemic related) the silver lining is more opportunities for new up-and-coming talent to set up shop. That's how the cycle works in every major metropolitan city. And Philly essentially sells itself to potential restaurateurs based on its reputation alone.

Data point in support of your statement:

There's a sign announcing a new seafood restaurant coming to a space on the south side of the 1300 block of Walnut, where a print shop had been located.

Now, this place's opening will bring the restaurant/bar count on this block and the 1200 block to its east to -1 relative to pre-pandemic, for COVID claimed both the Butcher's Smokehouse Q joint and the Toasted Walnut LGBT bar, but every other restaurant and bar in these two blocks remains in business (Samosa, the budget Indian restaurant, sporadically, as was the case before the pandemic). This opening, however, I also consider a sign of resilience in our dining scene. It may take a while, but I think it will come back as long as the economy as a whole doesn't tank.

[cpomp]

Anyone see the fireworks last night? They looked great and the skyline looked so beautiful from the helicopter angles, and the concert was a success I read.

Also, CNN apparently broadcast the Philadelphia fireworks live right after DC and NYC, they were all timed well and didn't overlap. Not a big deal, but it is nice for Philadelphia to get some recognition finally!

[Hedonism]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Anyone see the fireworks last night? They looked great and the skyline looked so beautiful from the helicopter angles, and the concert was a success I read.

Also, CNN apparently broadcast the Philadelphia fireworks live right after DC and NYC, they were all timed well and didn't overlap. Not a big deal, but it is nice for Philadelphia to get some recognition finally!

When our sports teams play on national TV, the networks always do a nice job of showing off the beauty of Philadelphia.


I especially like when they show a cheesesteak being made.