The October Hit List: Suraya, Friday Saturday Sunday, Fishtown Social, and More

It’s hard to sum up Wm. Mulherin’s Sons. Their pizza and cocktails are always a hit, but their wood-fired meat and seafood dishes, along with their pastas, are the sleeper hits of the menu. Served up in an elegantly rustic dining room, you’re in for a casual yet upscale dining experience. If you can take the heat, the Spicy Jawn pizza doesn’t play. The perfectly crispy, chewy dough is topped with sweat-inducing duo of hot coppa and long hot peppers, balanced with caciocavallo cheese and sharp provolone. For a more savory meal, go for the grilled halibut served with chanterelles and a foie gras black truffle vinaigrette, or try the saffron malloreddus coated in a fennel sausage ragu and topped with pecorino di fossa.

Whether you’re having brunch with friends or enjoying an intimate dinner, every meal at Suraya is abundant. The Lebanese menu encourages sampling from a multitude of flavors, from a refreshing and citrusy sweet taboulé to a creamy, smoky, and garlicky shish taouk. Suraya always is buzzing with an energy of forks clanging against plates, excited chatter, and staff focused on providing top-notch hospitality. Inside, you can see the kitchen and watch as staff pull puffy pita from the wood fire stove. Outside in the garden, on the other hand, is more low key. Watch the bartender expertly pour Lebanese inspired cocktails and imported wines. Pro tip: be sure to try the arak.

Chances are you’ve been to Franky Bradley’s, but only for a variety hour or burlesque show. But this Gayborhood institution also has a tasty menu of bar bites. Sink your teeth into a saucy plate of smoked chicken wings with a choice of spicy bourbon barbecue sauce or Buffalo sauce. The mac ‘n’ cheese is made with thick, twisty cavatappi macaroni that’s coated in a rich and creamy three-cheese sauce and sprinkled generously with garlic breadcrumbs. New on the menu is the chicken Parmesan sandwich made with a breaded chicken cutlet and fresh mozzarella, topped with a housemade marinara sauce — a mighty sandwich that the bun can hardly contain. Grab a bite before the show, or after. The kitchen stays open pretty late.

Chefs and owners Scott Calhoun and David Feola let nothing go to waste. Under the philosophy of nose-to-tail and root-to-leaf, Ember & Ash creates a distinctive menu using the cuts of meat and parts of produce that usually get thrown away. On the “Off Jawns” menu, grilled chicken hearts with a green mole and lamb tongue fries ease you into the unconventional meal that lies ahead. For the main course, you can share a pig’s head with charred kale and okra or enjoy a blood sausage in coconut broth on your own. Even the cocktails venture into uncommonly traversed territory. The Milk Punch balances the smokiness of smoked green tea and charred grapefruit with the tartness of pineapple and spiciness of jalapeno in a mezcal cocktail.

For reservations, call (267) 606-6775. 

As the seasons change, so does the menu at Friday Saturday Sunday. With fall underway, they’ve brought a couple of favorites back into rotation, including the octopus served on a bed of beans and the chicken liver mousse. Both are only available at the bar, which is first come, first served. If you’re looking for more of a sit-down meal as opposed to light bites at the bar, Friday Saturday Sunday is offering their tasting menu. It’s an eight-course meal that takes diners on a flavorful journey, featuring a buttermilk dashi wild halibut with turnip, a dry-aged New York strip, and a succulent barbecue veal cheek with an herb-spiced chermoula and yam. And of course, no meal at Friday Saturday Sunday is complete without one of Paul MacDonald’s inventive cocktails. For a light and effervescent drink, try the citrusy, floral Orange Catholic, a vodka and prosecco cocktail made with lemon, orange, and hibiscus.

Helm’s menu reminds us that it’s perfectly okay to play with your food. Chefs Kevin D’Egidio and Michael Griffiths always are cooking up something unique using familiar ingredients in unexpected ways. The chalkboard menu rotates pretty regularly, but expect to find some combination of specialty mushrooms, spicy seafood dishes, melon paired with meat and cheese, and either a pork or lamb dish with accoutrements that amplify its natural essence. Bring a bottle of your favorite beverage (it’s a BYOB) and expect to be surprised every time you visit Helm.

Enjoy the flavors of sustainable and organic natural wines made by small producers at this Fishtown spot. Natural wine is at the forefront of Fishtown Social’s mission, but in addition to the wide selection of unique wines, including vintages that are not widely available in Philadelphia, they also have cocktails and beer. To go along with the libations, Fishtown Social offers small plates, charcuterie, and shareable snacks as part of the menu. Top a seeded cracker with fig jam and a bit of funky blue cheese, pair your wine with a variety of pickled vegetables, or enjoy briny sardines straight out of the tin.

Tables are first come, first served.

This experience will forever change the way you see hoagies. Billed as a “hoagie omakase,” the Hoagie Room at Pizzeria Beddia guides diners through a thoughtful tasting starting with a cocktail and small plates, Beddia’s famous pizzas, several different styles of hoagies, and ends on a sweet note with their signature soft serve ice cream. The private room seats up to six guests, so you and your friends can fill up on some of Philly’s finest.

Condesa is back! Named after the neighborhood of Condesa in Mexico City, the menu celebrates the culinary traditions of Mexico that UNESCO recognizes as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Start off with the bright and subtly earthy scallop aguachile and a couple of pescado frito tacos made with cod, masa tempura, and a smoky spiced chipotle crema. If you’re hungry for more, try the half duck served with fresh corn tortillas and a deeply complex mole negro.

This American brasserie takes American classics and gives it a bit of style with French culinary treatment. The Wayward Burger tops a huge patty of Pennsylvania-raised Angus beef with caramelized onions, Dijon mustard, and Gruyere cheese, creating a towering burger. Rich and silky bone marrow along with an herbaceous chimichurri brings the steak frites to a new level. The Wayward is also a great place for small bites and cocktails. The Petite Seafood Plateau is a gorgeously presented, crowd-pleasing tower of oysters, Gulf shrimp and a niçoise tartare. Try it with a signature cocktail like the Revolutionary, made with Bluecoat gin, grapefruit, Créole Shrubb, ginger beer, and orange bitters.