Gourmet pizzas were hot; flavor trend was to hearty side

It was pizza-palooza in Philadelphia 2010, as kitchens from Headhouse Square to South Jersey and Ambler let the gourmet pizzas fly.

Stephen Starr launched the 'za-fest with Stella, but was quickly followed into the promised land of artisan pies by Zavino, Dettera, Treno, City Tap House, Radice, Barbuzzo, and even the Garces Trading Co.

With effects of the recession still lingering, the pizza players all aimed to feed the public's insatiable hunger for serious ingredients with refined comforts in spaces that were casual and affordable. We could still have our truffled egg yolks, Iberico ham, house-made lardo, and hand-pulled mozzarella - but we'd devour them on heat-blistered rounds straight from the wood-fired oven. Or as a revamped meatball, or a pierogie, a fried arancini, or a spicy "Korean taco."

The year's favored flavors trended hearty, toward house-made charcuterie and pickles for the now-ubiquitous antipasti board, or whole animals deconstructed into a single meal, or servings of hot bone marrow (the new duck fat) adding a gloss of high-octane decadence to everything from burgers to nachos and pizzas (naturally).

On the flip side, this was not a year when most restaurateurs aimed high-end. Craft beer remained a force, with gastropubs such as Resurrection Ale House, Kraftwork, and City Tap pioneering in Fishtown, University City, and other hot emerging neighborhoods. The corner of 13th and Sansom Streets finally came into its own. But good brew this year streamed beyond mere trend status deep into the mainstream, as the most ambitious new openings - Marc Vetri's Amis, Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran's Barbuzzo, and Matt Levin's Adsum - paid serious attention to beer. Culinary cocktails - with kitchen-made mixers, herbs, and artisan spirits - were close behind.