Eight eateries with elan

For good tastes, in city and suburbs.

September 09, 2010|By Craig LaBan, Inquirer Restaurant Critic
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  • at Rouge, and its sidewalk is a runway for fashionistas.
  • at Rouge, and its sidewalk is a runway for fashionistas.
  • yellowtail belly appetizer is a sample of the inventive seafood at Conshohocken's Blackfish.

Nobody puts on a suit and tie anymore to go out to eat, as formal dining continues its quick fade. But Philadelphia's restaurants still have some serious style. Here are eight great destinations, from cutting-edge city hot spots to cool suburban classics, a Paris-style boite, and a parkside perch where the people-watching is as prime as what's on the plate.

 

Adsum

(not yet formally rated)

700 S. Fifth St., 267-888-7002; www.adsumrestaurant.com

This fall's hottest no-reservations table comes courtesy of ex-Lacroix chef Matthew Levin, whose debut as an owner-chef is refining contemporary bistro style in Queen Village with a menu that's both cutting-edge and affordable. The largely sub-$20s prices should appeal to a young neighborhood crowd. But this is also an adventure eater's dream, where the cocktails come infused with smoked fruit, the already decadent poutine (of duck-fat fries and gravy) is crowned with foie gras, and spare-parts cookery (roasted marrow bones; KFC-fried sweetbreads) is elevated to a pedestal most local foodies will want to experience.

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Blackfish

119 Fayette St.

Conshohocken, 610-397-0888; www.blackfishrestaurant.com

There's a reason the spare white rooms of this contemporary Conshohocken storefront are perpetually filled with crisply pressed, pastel-wearing, fine-wine-toting Main Line devotees. Chef-owner Chip Roman's BYOB easily remains one of the most sophisticated places in the western burbs to dine, with a focus on seafood that is both refined and inventive, whether it's sublime sashimi laced beneath heirloom radishes with sweet and spicy Japanese sauce, perfect grilled tuna, or Cape May oysters topped with fizzy clouds of frozen Meyer lemon soda that are the ultimate raw bar fantasy.

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Kraftwork

541 E. Girard Ave., 215-739-1700; www.kraftworkbar.com

Hipster style is displayed in all its pierced and tattooed glory in red-hot Fishtown's newest gastropub, a corner beer bar fitted with curly maple communal tables and a tool motif that's an ode to industrial days past. The seasonally minded kitchen had its share of stumbles, but some exceptional sandwiches, specials, and charcuterie, plus one of the area's best new draft beer lists and a good-energy room, make this pub a keeper.

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Lacroix at the Rittenhouse

210 West Rittenhouse Square, 215-790-2533; www.lacroixrestaurant.com

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