(1017 S. Ninth St. ) in the Italian Market, Dante's (4834 Lancaster Ave.) in West Philly - but there are some big fine-dining names set to stoke their smokers, too: Lacroix's former avant-garde guru, Matthew Levin, is promising "no-rules, punk-rock barbecue" at Rubb (4445 Main St., Manayunk) in a space beside the fire station (how appropriate); the crew behind Xochitl and Zahav, meanwhile, will ride ex-Marigold chef Erin O'Shea's inventive New South chops at Percy Street Barbecue (900 South St.), in the former Crescent City Space.
Craig LaBan's list
Just about everyone has been joining the upscale burger fray, from Stephen Starr (at his shake hut, SquareBurger in Franklin Square, Sixth and Race Streets) to promoter Tommy Up's overpromoted P.Y.T. (1050 N. Hancock St.)hipster patty lounge in the Piazza at Schmidts. Even Emeril Lagasse (at the Sands Bethlehem) and Bobby Flay (rumored for West Philly) have become possible contenders. But neither of those national names has the local cachet of homegrown star chef Jose Garces, whose urban saloon, Village Whiskey (118 S. 20th St.), recently began serving foie gras-topped burgers, duck-fat fries, and nearly 60 bourbons at 20th and Sansom.
The ubiquitous Starr is headlining the upscale pizza parade with a much-anticipated parlor called Stella Pizza (Second and Lombard) slated for October in the former Cosi on Head House Square. I'm equally excited, though, by the expansion of South Philly's Slice to a second location near Rittenhouse Square (1740 Sansom St.), where my vote for the city's best "everyday pizzeria" will finally give this neighborhood a quality pie it hasn't seen since Lombardi's disappeared from a nearby storefront years ago.
Midtown Village rising
Pizza is obviously also on the menu at Zavino (112 S. 13t St.), a pizzeria-wine bar from chef Steven Gonzalez, a Vetri and Brasserie Perrier alum who should be firing up his gas-and-wood oven in October at 13th and Sansom. But it's the overall buzz surrounding this long-percolating crossroads (a.k.a. Midtown Village) that's especially worth noting. Next door to Zavino, Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran are planning a November opening for Barbuzzo (110 S. 13th St.), a wood-fired small-plate Mediterranean that will have a bar to complement their considerable empire of Midtown BYOBs (Bindi, Lolita, Verde).